First Ice Hockey Experience!

So the time finally came for us to check out the local sport. Since the beginning of our trip we have been encapsulated by the local sport. Unlike Australia (and particularly Melbourne) Vancouver does not have the luxury of a rich diverse sporting culture, however that does not diminish their passion. Where in Melbourne we are spread between our love of footy, soccer, rugby, ect...Vancouver (and pretty much the wider community of BC) is supporting the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL. While there is no denying the Canadians all round ability in ice-hockey, to their credit it is their primary national sport. I have already had numerous debates with Canadians regarding Australia as the best sporting national per capital argument. Pride gets in the way at times, but surely everyone can acknowledge that.


Anyway I'm getting off track here. So since our arrival it has been hard not to be emerged in the hockey culture. It is always on TV, people are passionate like crazy and everywhere you look you’re surrounded by it. Naturally being the sporting fans we are, in the substitute of football, it has became our new passion. And in all fairness I have found a new appreciation for a sport I didn’t quite understand.

Slowly the rules and understanding of the game are coming to us, and I’m starting to understand the finer details of the game. Although very different to footy, there are quite a few wicked things about the sport. For one it’s pretty physical and rough, which is always interesting. It’s fast paced; there are hits and bumps that nearly rival footy collisions. But without a doubt the best feature of the sport would be the punch ons between the players. Although all in brawls are quickly defused by the officiating ref, if two players decide to settle a gentlemanly score they pretty much have the green light to go ahead and smash the suitcases out of each other. As long as it stays one on one and they don’t hit the ice they can punch on as savagely as they want. And these happen quite regularly, sometimes up to half a dozen times a match. It truly is fantastic. And the resulting penalty...2mins each in the sin bin...then straight back on. 15 weeks suspension...unlikely. Back on the ice in 2 mins and back into it...unbelievable.

So after much organising in the first couple of weeks getting the house and such done we decided it was time to go to our first game. We got tickets through the hostel, even though we weren’t staying there anymore. We were off to the Vancouver Canucks hosting the Nashville Predators at GM Place. The game was at 7.30 so we decided to go to a bar close by and have a few skewies in preparation for a big night. It was also Andrew’s last night in Vancouver before he was leaving on the rest of his travels, so it was also destined to be a massive one.

When we got to the stadium it was just like rocking up to any other sporting event. People hocking tickets in the walk up to the ground, buskers trying to score that extra generous dollar and people selling ‘official’ merchandise on the street for half price. We got in and weren’t exactly sure where to go. From the beginning we’d been talking about buying jerseys so the first thing we did is go suss that out. After purchasing a jersey we got some beers, found our seats and then got ready for the game. Being there live was so much better, it was unreal. The crowed atmosphere, the little local chants we didn’t understand national anthems and lots of banter. It was weird though because 95% of the crowd or more are passionate Canucks fans so it’s a completely unified crowd. When the game is being played its dead silent, not a sound. If the opposition scores sometimes you barely even notice it because there is cheering, however if the Canucks score the place literally loses it shit! So the game continued, and to our disappointment the Canucks lost  they had been doing so well, but lost out on our first trip. We were quite disappointed, but quickly got over it as we continued to consume copious amounts of local brew. The rest of the night pretty much followed the same pattern and then elapsed into the early hours of the morning. All in all a wicked experience.

Just recently we also were fortunate enough to attend another game. Once again we hit up the hostel for dodgy tickets. Wonder how long we can get away with that one for. This game was the Canucks hosting St. Louis Blues. Lucky for us this time we got a victory beating them in a tense game 3-2. Even saw a bit of hustle and bustle. Definitely getting massively into the hockey. Thought I’d be missing footy a lot more, but we’ll see how it goes.

The Journey Continues

Hey gang,

So some time has passed between my last blog. A lot has happened in the mean time. We found a place to live, had a sweet as New Years, have settled into our new area and are now on the job hunt to support our raging alcoholism!

So start at the most important factor...yes we have solid accommodation and have been able to move out of that dingy hostel. Although hostel living does have it's perks (surrounded by people willing to get loose) unfortunately this one was full mostly by tossers. Well not exactly full of, there were some ok people there, but they well and truly out stayed their welcome. By the end we were just getting home sauced and causing a havoc.

The day we secured this apartment was off the chains. There is a bit of back story so i will inform. We were searching craigslist desperately trying to find a place before our time at the hostel ran out. We came across this awesome fully furnished apartment in Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver (think Beacons Cove but 10 times better). The price was $1,500 a month but we were willing to sacrifice a bit for this top place. We called the landlord, had it all discussed and decided that this was the place for us. We even said that a look over was not necessary, and that would take it....however there was an unfortunate catch. When we started talking dollars somethig out of the blue occured. Seems we had made a mistake and that the actual asking price was $1,500 a WEEK! Wow what a kick in the aggots! So we regrettfully declined the offer and went off to drown our sorrows.

Then like a gift from Jebus someone out there reached down and picked us up out of the slums. We got an unexpected call the following day from the landlord saying there was a change of plans and that she was now looking to sell the place. If we wanted to rent it on a month by month basis for $1,500 then she was happy to do it! Awesome...but the deal got sweeter. Seizing this moment of goodwill i pushed the envelope that little further and scored the place for $1,400 a month. Well then the rest went pretty smoothly. We met the landlord, who apart from being an incredibly desirable young mum, was an awesome lady. We moved in before New Years Eve and the rest is history. The view is off the charts!

That last picture is from Lonsdale Quay Market. Our place is located just a couple of mins walk from the SeaBus. The SeaBus is what connects North Vancouver and Downtown Vancouver. It's a super sweet system which during the week comes every 15mins, and only takes 12 mins to get across to where it's all happening. It's kind of nice living a bit away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, but still so close to hit up up whenever the urge arrives.

So where to next...well were were planning to lay low for a while after a very busy 2 weeks enjoying the festivities, however Andrew's arrival after New Years really set us back. Let's say he didn't have to twist our arm too hard to get out and back on the sauce again. It's been wicked having him back in town and he is currently residing on our couch. His only payment requried is to make sure the fridge is always stocked.

Ok so on the work front. Not a great deal to report at this stage. We aren't really keen into stepping straight into full time employment at this stage, so we might work some crappy temp jobs until we're ready to be grown ups again. We joined up at the local YWCA which is sweet in being able to organise jobs. Free computer use, job search and assistance in whatever. Chris is thinking about doing a bit of labouring, maybe move into work later. I'm thinking about throwing my resume around to a few of the rich local private schools for some tutoring work. Apparently it is pretty easy to secure and it'll be easy flexible work in the mean time. But while that all pans out we pretty much walked into a job the other day while checking out the local mall.

We came across the manager of this Winter Olympics superstore which is locates in Sears. Next thing we know we were using our Aussie charm and the lady pretty much offered us jobs. We have a group interview on Friday, so fair to say it's gonna be interesting. Think the interview scene out of Step Brothers :D

Ok well that's it for now. I'll try to get them more regualrly so i don't have to write the house down. No internet in the apartment so i'm currently sitting in Starbucks leeching off them. They have no problem with people sitting in their shop for 2 hours if you buy a $3 coffee. Feel kind of guilty doing it, but that is quickly eroding as i look around me now and see people doing homework, reading novels, and pretty much spending hours of quiet time in here.

Slowly, ever so slowly, getting used to this culture. So different, but similar at the same time.

Catch ya later!