Second Olympic Week

During my second week in Vancouver, I met a few friends and we updated each other. All had interesting stories.

I went to a victory ceremony with one friend. During that ceremony, the always funny-looking Shaun White from the US was given a gold medal for snowboarding. Also, Christine Nesbitt (a Canadian), got a gold medal for speed skating. Being a Canadian, she got the crowd going crazy when she accepted her medal. After the ceremony, I had dinner with my friend and we talked about Life (career, love, cities...) until 1am. I thought she looked better than ever and was disappointed when she told me she now has a boyfriend as I wouldn't have minded at all to be hosted in her Yaletown condo...

The next day, I had lunch with some old co-workers from Nexon in Gastown. I then visited the new game studio where they now work. After that, I went in the Oakridge area of Vancouver to check out a guest house for a friend who'll be staying in Vancouver for a month to look for a property to buy.

Given that the friends at whose places I thought I would be staying in Vancouver after my time at my first host's place sort of flaked out on me and given the fact that I didn't want to overstay my welcome at my first host's place, I decided to move to the guest house. My property-buying friend will be staying for a month and by including my stay as part of her reservation, I get to pay for the time I stay at the monthly rate rather than at the daily rate.

Guest houses are one of Vancouver's secrets. There are basically houses owned by a family in which people can rent rooms or suites. One can easily rent a room for under $40 a day (even during the Olympics) in guest houses. The reason many people don't know about them is that they are run mostly without permits and whatever revenue they generate goes undeclared. Most of them cater to newly landed immigrants from China. If a guest house has a website, it is likely to be in Chinese only. Google "family guest house" Vancouver or family house hotel Vancouver and you'll find the sites of a few that have English versions. The one where I'm now staying is conveniently located next to a SkyTrain station and a shopping center; offers free Internet and cable TV and has all the amenities you would expect to find in your house. It website is located at http://www.linsinn.com/ . Use Google Translate to understand what it says.

After checking out the guest house, I went back downtown to walk a bit with a friend around Stanley Park and then eat some Japanese food. Then, I took the SkyTrain all the way to the suburb of Surrey to attend a free Sam Roberts concert. When I got there, the show had already started, but the best songs had yet to come and it turned out to be a great concert. The crowed was very much enthused and the sweet smell of weed was all over the place.

After coming back downtown, I walked a bit on Robson and Granville streets. The streets were PACKED. I've never seen Vancouver that excited and exciting. It felt like a Canada Day party gone out of proportion. People drinking on the streets, shouting "Go Canada!", flaunting they stuff or just walking around to "bathe" in the crowds.

I met two girls that were very suggestive in their way of dressing and their attitude. I had a few drinks with them and then walked around downtown with them. They were funny, but not nearly as funny as noticing guys' stares in their direction and blatant sexual interest in them. Life as a sexy girl must have many benefits.

Speaking of lovely ladies... Vancouver is chock full with them. Not only is there a dazzling variety of Asians, but the Caucasian girls here make me renew my interest for white girls. Amazing blondes, slim anglophones, fitness enthusiasts and rich ladies from all over the world visiting for the Olympics. People in Vancouver are not afraid to wear shorts and flip-flops all year round. So, it comes as no surprise that despite this being February, the array of tight leggings and bare legs I saw in the past two weeks beats months of Montreal's "Winter Collection".

Not only is Vancouver a city I enjoy living in, but it also provides all these beautiful, educated and affluent women. Maybe Vancouver truly is my destiny.

At any rate, this Saturday, I met some more friends and we basically wasted our time waiting in line for events we never got to attend (the venues were full). Then, on Sunday, I had a Nippo-Korean all-you-can-eat experience at Shabusen on Granville street with John (an Amazon co-worker) and his wife. Then, I walked some more downtown and came back to my place to rest a bit.