Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Things I've done so far

1. Worked on an organic vineyard
2. Went to a Canadian rodeo
3. Stayed in a log cabin near a lake, saw mounted animals
4. Drove a tractor, lawn mower, and ATV
5. Saw Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, Kelowna
6. Saw a bear in the wild
7. Went to a bar where you throw the peanut shells on the ground
8. Hitch hiked to San Francisco
more to come later

Currently woofing on a vineyard

Interesting and good experience, but I need to figure out what I'm doing next :)

Thursday, July 8, 2010

6 Annoying things about Canada

1. Probably the only continent that doesn't use the far superior metric system. Oh and measurements vary too (US vs Canadian gallon) and they sometimes decide to use metric just for kicks. There are also 2 differnt kinds of pints. Make up your fucking mind Canada, either use metric or don't.
2. Many people here don't 'get' dry/sarcastic humor or irony.
3. They have their own 'special' paper system (I think the people who came up with it were a bit special). Hey let's ignore the beautiful ISO 216 based on the fibonnaci sequence the rest of the world uses and implement parochial archaic measurement systems.
4. The hidden cost of everything, no wonder people hate advertisers. Coffee is 1.60 + gst + pst + tip = 2.10 = Fucking bullshit.
5. Tipping, it's bullshit plain and simple. Tipping means more attractive employees (particularly attractive females) will get earn more money, additionally it also means employers can weasel out of paying people a proper wage and results in passive aggressive behaviour when you don't tip (or don't tip much). Personally I think it's kind of retarded to let customers evaluate wait staff on their service and pay them accordingly.
6. High cost of living, comically low wages. Minimum wage in Vancouver (one of the most expensive cities in the world) is 8.00 an hour. How the fuck does the government and more importantly the people allow this to be so?

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Feeling a bit foolish

well well well...
Not really getting any response to my job applications, pretty disheartening given I've applied for so many. I've tried varying my application and targeting it more specifically to each advertisement, so we'll see if that brings any results.
Anyway Canadian clothing stores have a pretty shitty range and I'm finding it hard to buy interview clothes that don't look completely ridiculous, let's just say the clothes here tend to be ill fitting, baggy and conservative. Might try another mall tomorrow to get a decent shirt and a pair of pants, belt and shoes.
Once I get that sorted I really need to start canvassing for jobs to get some money coming in, the other alternative at least for the short term is wwoofing.
To be honest it's a bit frustrating just how retarded the job situation and recruitment process is here, there have definitely been moments where I felt like chucking it all in and going home to Australia.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Rockies

Just got back from the rockies, it may in fact be the most beautiful place in the world, at least what I have seen.
Currently at the Samesun on Granville st, it's kind of shit but was cheap after the moose tour. Think I might check into something quieter in a day or two, maybe after I get my SIN number and Canadian Sim card in town I might go to the HI in Jericho Beach for a bit of quiet and apply for share houses and jobs.
All in all having a good time, weird moving around so much though.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Got there in one piece

Arrived in Vancouver and everything went well. Had the stopover in Seoul that was interesting, good food and bad english, was fun though.

The hostel I checked into is a bit of a ghost town, not very social and a tad depressing to be honest. The only good thing about it will be the quiet and the wireless internet, good for job hunting.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Leaving tomorrow

Nearly packed, just washing some of my clothes then packing away the rest of my stuff. Have to get to airport at 6:30 (eek).