Back in Vancouver, love it here.

Out of nowhere a friend of mine from the late 90′s who moved out west sent me a message saying “what’s up”. Turns out he was talking with one of our mutual friends back home and I’m sure you can figure out the rest.  He picked me up in Tsawwassen and we drove into Vancouver.

Once there we eat All You can Eat Sushi as though we had been castaway on some deserted island for months. We devoured plate after plate, with great vigor and zeal. After that drove up to the top of Mount Seymour then walked to the top of the ski trails and had a beer while discussing what’s new and all that shiz. Conclusion? Living in Vancouver is better than Ottawa, anyway you cut it, unless you like shoveling and want to work for the government.

Tomorrow is loaded with more vaccines and getting some prescriptions in case my stomach explodes from some cheap rat meat from the streets of Thailand or something of that nature. I’m also going to buy health / travel insurance. I do believe it’s ~$700 or so for 6 months or a year. Considering the bedlam that has ensued already on this trip, I’d be a fool not to get covered, a fool I tell you.

I am in Vancouver until Wednesday, then off to Las Vegas for ~5 days. That said, I don’t have a ticket out yet so who knows.

I’m staying here until next Monday, the day after Thanks Giving. The guy I’ve been staying with has invited me to join his family for the festivities, it’s great having good friends.

I have to say that I’m starting to get deprogrammed from my “prior train of thought”. I never used to have time for any of the basics, laundry, brushing teeth, eating properly, relaxing, sleeping. I was always “go go go go go” on an endless carousel to nowhere. It was funny how when you have a finite “free-time| period each day how your “true” priorities come to light. When you have more time than commitments, everything gets proper attention.

For the first time this is starting to feel like a vacation, mainly because I have an exit date which is October 14th –> Vegas.

It’s beautiful outside and as a result I’m going to go work on my golf game and just enjoy the weather.

Do I regret derooting my previous existence in quest for a new, more fulfilling one? Not at all.

Having been sick like a dog for awhile, and on antibiotics until today, it changed the trend of this trip and made me a sedated soul akin to the majority of the residents in this here town, Victoria. This weekend definitely changed that and the trip is done consolidating and ready for another leg up, so to speak.

Caught the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver on Friday, got into town, went to buddies brothers and began drinking pints at his place and random pubs until we finally reached our destination, the B.C Lions game. They are die hard Sask Roughrider fans and madness ensued. When cheering for the opposing team, seems like anyone wearing your colors is someone you’ve known forever, it’s interesting to say the least. The subway / sky train system here is puzzling, there’s no gate for your tickets, one could even assume it was free.

After the game we headed to Gas town to get gassed. Ended up in several bars, most with the name * Whiskey or Whiskey * before settling in at Bourbon. Great times. On the way out it was bedlam trying to get a cab, as a result I flagged down a limo and settled with the driver on a reasonable price to take the 5 of us back to a friends for an afterparty of sorts.  Turns out getting a limo was only fractionally more expensive and exponentially more fun then 2 cabs should you have a group larger than a typical cab can accommodate. I highly recommend you start chatting up a driver should they be at a stop light or near a club you’re at when in a similar situation. Should they not be driving someone, they have nothing to lose. Also try and incorporate some stops into the mix to stretch it out and enjoy the festivities, especially when entertaining.

Along the way we ran into a bunch of arguably diseased and definitely derelict characters, one of which was wearing a blazer with creased khaki’s. We told him if he wishes to produce, he has to change his game plan. (we saw him at start & end of night and was still working on that $5). Granted by the end of the evening he only needed $1 from his initial $5. That guy needs a lesson in street knowledge, if you’re going to bum, the least one can do is look the part. Another enterprising fellow of sorts was selling low quality artistic renderings, my only regret of the evening was not purchasing his “Dragon Rider” when I had the chance. When enquiring about this piece of artistic mastery later in the evening I was informed it was already sold, much to my chagrin.

Upon return to the home, dial a bottle came into effect and before you knew it a massive lasagna was being taken down slightly before the crack of dawn. The next day was a somewhat right off. Ever wake up after what feels like being run over by a mack truck and just “get the day going”? I find when that happens it’s met by a sharp crash into a wall about ~5-7 hours later. Saturday was no exception.

Glad we made the trip to Vancouver, it was an awesome time and now I’m back on the island for the next while. I will leave at sometime this week or early next week. Upon returning home after the weekend we swung by the delicious beverage dispenser and hit up the short game area discussed in a previous post. Perfect way to end a weekend of leisure and gluttony.

Finally, if you’re going to a game that isn’t a big deal, just buy your tickets from scalpers, buddy got a considerably better ticket for $8 more than our tickets. No we didn’t take the first offer we got in case you were wondering.

Victoria is not just the land of the walking dead filled with walk-in clinics on every corner and nurses filling the seats of every bus. It’s actually a great place to kill time in a “retired like manner” with plenty of decently maintained putting greens. Victoria is effectively a great place to “putter around”.

When people first retire, are laid off or stop working for whatever reason you often hear them talking about how they have “nothing to do” or find it hard to “fill the time”. I think it’s nonsense and simply a matter of conditioning. The other day for a split second as I sat watching the market longer than necessary I thought, I *could* be getting paid to do this. That’s when I decided to check out the local putting green in the middle of what could only be called a “massive park”, I’m glad I did.

It’s got an 18 hole putting setup and you can change the start pegs to effectively make as many courses as you wish. It’s also got so much surface area and surrounding area that it’s perfect for practicing your short game in general. All you need is a wedge or two and a putter. Short game is an area of golf you can never spend too much time on, it helps when you enjoy practicing it. Having played lots of late fall golf in my time, the weather here is actually quite agreeable.

If you aren’t going to find productive outlets to pass your time during the day, you might as well work, doing anything. This is a constructive way to pass time  during the day until going to Vegas in ~ 2 weeks.

Supposedly going to the Lions vs Rough Rider’s game in Vancouver tomorrow, that could prove interesting.

As it happens, shortly after posting that, I was awaken to hear the whole crew coming in the door, much to my chagrin. Well not really to my chagrin, I just felt like saying that  but it turns out the night ended as quickly as it started.

On of the ladies that was with them jumped the VIP line and some large, grizzly, aggressive bouncer threw her out of the bar similar to the way Uncle Phil used to throw Jazz out of his place in the  Fresh Prince of Belair, now that was a great show. After being thrown out one of the ladies wanted to go dance at a gay bar so off they went. My friends, being bewildered came back and spent the rest of the evening doing whatever drunk guys do, drinking rye.

I on the other hand passed out and woke up for the first time in days without the feeling of having a dagger in my throat. Life’s a lot more enjoyable when you have basic functions sans pain, seriously.

Today  I’m finally going to get to go fishing. Maybe catch some rock cod or some dog fish. Frankly I’ll take anything that will bite my line and hopefully put up a decent fight. The plan is still to go to Tofino tomorrow. Whether it happens or not is anyone’s guess.

I have been looking into the trademarks and became aware that Canadian Trademarks hold no weight in the United States. I still have to research this but it makes sense. Another issue with trademarks besides the cost of registering (which is nominal, say $250) is the price of enforcing them. If someone does use your trademarks and you’re legally entitled to make them stop, you still have to spend the $$$ on lawyers in order to effectively make it happen. If it’s some crappy startup that you’re “suing” what do you hope to get from them? You can’t get blood from stone so … I’m not sure what to think on that regard. Time to do some more research but for now, time to do some fishing.

The weather out here in Victoria is unreal, it’s been sunny since I got here and extremely pleasant. Below is a picture from the Harbor I took when I first arrived on Tuesday.

The issue of time compounds the problem. The longer you’re traveling the longer you have to lack sleep until ~1-2 weeks into a trip you’ve realized you’ve slept an average of ~4-6 hours a night and gone to bed with your energy depleted each time. As a result your immune system becomes weaker and weaker until you run across some type of virus or bacteria that normally would be no big deal but it manifests in you. It manifests in you because your immune system is the one that’s taken a beating. It’s quite simple really, the longer you treat your body like a circus the higher the chances are you’re going to get sick.

As a result of this most untimely illness I have no stories or hyjinx to share, just me “sweating it out” on a friends pull out. The worst part is I just met his roomate, who is a cool guy but I’m sure he isn’t thrilled having a diseased traveler on his couch, I mean, it’s only natural.

Truth be told, I’m not so annoyed about getting sick, sure it sucks that I have strep and if the anti-biotics dont’ work it could be the flu. However I can use this as a reminder not to “play the fool” overseas and take the time required to rest up when required. The reality is, if you don’t take care of yourself, don’t eat a balanced diet and don’t get enough sleep, it’s only a matter of time until you get sick. I’d much rather be sick here than somewhere in Asia.

I’m seriously hoping that it is strep or tonsilitus as this “not being able to swallow without excruciating pain” is getting old. The sweats, body aches, I can deal but the swallowing… That said it’s also a good reminder of what it’s like for people who smoke a lifetime and get throat cancer or something else that is grizzly like that. It would really suck to feel this way and know it’s not getting better.

Just told some friends I won’t be going golfing and I have no one to blame but myself. Hopefully this will be feeling considerably better tomorrow and “life can go on”. Until then I’m in some quasi dimension which expands from the pull-out couch, the bathroom, the kitchen and the occasional time warp to the pharmacy where there is a beautician who helps me find everything even if I know where it is who could only be described as “intriguing”.

In closing, being sick sucks, being sick on the road is worse and being sick in a foreign country is even worse. I’ve been in Panama and gone “overboard”  at the all inclusive and had something similar to this.  We take our health for granted and it’s similar to a fishing. You got your health until you don’t, just like a lure isn’t working until it is.

Ever gotten sick while traveling?

Living in Victoria is different, it’s got that whole “island living” vibe. Not sure what “island living” means but it’s whatever you’re picturing, I’ sure. It’s a slower vibe which makes sense as when you’re out and about during the day it’s just retirees, everywhere. People breaking at flashing men and driving 40KM an hour in the fast lane, Victoria has it all. It’s actually the retirement capital of Canada, I believe.

Made it into the concert last night. Truth be told I’m not a huge GZa fan. I know his stuff and enjoy it but that’s about as far as it goes. We were looking for something to do on a Tuesday night and it was our best option. He put on an alright show, I mean he’s gotta be ~35+ and he was playing for a pretty small crowd … Not sure why he even bothered coming to be honest. You’d of thought I was a super fan as I muscled my way to the front of the gate, much to the chagrin of many of the diehards.

When that ended we had an afterhours cocktail part of sorts, luckily my friends roomate is a sound sleeper and had no idea of the bedlam that ensued.

Back to the whole retiree theme, golf courses are plentiful and dirt cheap. We played a course today, a pitch and putt mind you but it was only $7.50. Great way to pass a good afternoon in the sun. The parks even have putting greens in them which I think is pretty cool. I think a lot of cities should install putting greens in public parks, it encourages people to play golf, gives people access to practice and it’s just grass, I mean it’s not rocket science.

Having been eating out, mainly just sushi and the like for the past week now I’m starting to feel like crap. Time to take it easy and live the retiree lifestyle for a few days just enjoying the day and not getting up to anything too crazy at night.

Looking forward to venturing from here but also enjoying my time here. Supposed to check out Tofino but there is an H1N1 breakout ~100KM from it in an isolated native reserve. That definitely puts a few “but’s and if’s” in the decision.

while this is going on I’m trying to plan out my next stop. I have a few ideas in Asia but have not picked a definite location yet and time is ticking.

Have you been to Asia? If so where did you go and how did you like it?

Last night I was looking at the bus lines to get to the ferry and I was thinking this isn’t right. I’ve been to BC tones of times and never, ever taken public transportation. I mean, I didn’t even know where to start looking.

Sure enough last night I messaged an old friend, he was supposed to pick up a friend from LA last night but she missed her flight so when I told him I had to go to the ferry he was like “Sure dude”. He picked me up, we went to White Spot, shot the shiz and caught up and sure enough was on the 11AM Ferry.

There’s a saying the indians have about the red path and the black path. You’re on the red path when things have a mysterious way of just “working out”, you’re on the black path when stuff isn’t working out.

Running into my buddy was confirmation I’m still rocking the red path.

Alright, being the verbose guy that I am, I could go on forever. However I have some important matters to attend to aka finding concert tickets and maybe fitting in a 9 hole of golf.

That’s all for now.