So yesterday I spent the day chatting up my online friends and madly sending out my resume to a grocery list of places (though, no grocery stores... I am more than tired of those). It's easy to do - if you like a particular boutique or store, you look up their web pages and seek out the button at the bottom that reads 'Careers' and voila! Fill out their forms and hope for the best! And that is essentially what I have been doing.. hoping for the best. With my luck I will have a dozen places randomly calling me up on my cell phone offering me a job in a few months.. and if that's the case.. SHOW ME THE MONEY BABY!!
Yesterday is also the day I met Hailey, one of my Love's old flames and current friends (he seems to have a lot of those!) We went out to dinner the three of us once he was finished work for the day. She seemed nice enough, though I found I knew why their relationship ended.. it was my woman's intuition popping up again (it does that a lot).
We went to a supposedly Greek restaurant and I immediately longed for Montreal when I read the menu... there was about a dozen items listed that were actually Greek meals... and the rest were far from it. There was schnitzel on the list! And lots of Italian dishes!
I opted for what I considered a safe bet - chicken souvlaki on rice, and that was fine, although Hailey ordered the same thing and ended up with a mouthful of splinters from the skewer. They also looked as if they were frozen skewers that were all pre-made before the restaurant got to it. Fantastic. My love ordered the stuffed vine leaves and he said those were good, though I didn't try them, since they didn't look like they could hold a candle up to my grandmother's recipe.
I tried to stay in the conversations they were both having, but it wasn't easy.. he was sweet enough to be constantly explaining things to me, and I ended up being mostly silent, adding an amusing anecdote here and there to show that I was at least following along. And no.. after the fiasco of the dinner menu, I did not wish to try their baklava.. then I'd really miss Montreal.
Food here isn't all that bad, if you look well enough, and are lucky, though the Mediterranean restaurants so far haven't really floored me..
I finished the book, 'The Sculptress' and it was decent. The entire book had you trying to piece together who had committed the murders, and when it was finally solved, you were still left wondering if it was all true. Very interesting! I will start on the other books in the apartment I haven't read yet that seem interesting, then go and explore the city's library. The weather is fair here and it's very comfortable to go outside and read in the sun... it's never harsh enough to burn your skin, never humid enough to sweat, and never too cool... though I have taken to wearing sweaters anyways.
Missing my Montreal eating! Waiting impatiently for my bulghur wheat to arrive to start cooking up some comfort dishes!
Melody
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
New Friends and District 9
Second day that my Love is gone, and it started with a phone call.
I, Melody, am in a province of strangers. Though I do not seek out the candy-giving type, I do realize that I must turn to strangers for friendship.
Through a Montreal-friend of mine, I found a forum filled with like-minded individuals. I introduced myself to them all, explained my situation and they were intrigued, to say the least. Since then, I have been in steady correspondence with them, as I go about getting acclimated to my new environments.
One such forum-user, going by the name of Kaji, called me up yesterday, wondering what I was doing that evening. Nothing, it was planned, as my Love was busy on Vancouver Island, spending the morning with family, in particular his sister and his newest niece, not even a month old. He suggested then, that I make my way to Metrotown and see a movie with him a few more friends. Of course, I said, I would love to... how do I get there?!?
Turns out I had to make use of the Skytrain! It was very easy going, and my fears were soon put to rest. The bus close to home took me straight to the Skytrain terminus, and I simply had to ride it to... Metrotown! I could do that!
The Skytrain is like bizarro-Metro. It works on the honor-system. Pay if you are so inclined to... apparently there are random checks, but I was not put to any when I was there, though, I was honest, and had a ticket, just in case! (I swear officer, I didn't know I had to pay!!) There are no turnstiles, just machines strung about, in case you wanted to pay. As the Metro is several levels below ground, the Skytrain is several levels above it. It was nice to peer out the windows and get a clearer view of this strange land, and not have to watch the cement as I was used to in Montreal. It was also a nice, quiet ride, not like the Metros, who were noisy, and made it hard to even think straight. I am sure if I had someone to speak with, I wouldn't have to raise my voice to be heard... and so soft a ride it was, with once more, a sweet female voice telling me which stop we were arriving at.
I quickly met my friends at the station, and recognized them from photos posted in the forum. They were thrilled to meet me, and we quickly fell into the comforts of friendship, chatting about each others hometowns and activities.
Metrotown, or what I have seen of it, is full of commerce. The Skytrain took me to the mall, which, according to my newest friends, is the largest in B.C., if not, it was close second. Just like Fairview, it was brimming with high-end boutiques, but also had a wickedly concentrated little arcade, where my new friends and I hung out drinking bubble teas (mine was strawberry) while we waited for time to go by.
We actually waited too long, and when we went into the theater, it was packed. If it wasn't for the cunning of Lunar, one of my new friends, scoping out seats for him and I, I would have been craning my neck and straining through the subtitles. Instead we sat way back, in the corner, but, we sat together, and enjoyed a very fine movie, and shared some gummy bears and wine gums. The others were scattered about, out of sheer necessity.
District 9 was a fabulous movie, all I will say is that it well worth the price of admission, but it is not an alien movie. If you are looking for aliens trying to take over the planet, think again. This is a human movie, full of human issues.
I returned home, all by myself, getting quickly used to the public transportation. I never had to wait for my rides, they always arrived the moment I stepped foot at the stop. My eyes were open, and I knew exactly where I was. All the while, my Love was stuck waiting for a ferry back, sitting around from 3pm... until he finally got home, which was close to midnight.
He was glad one of us had a good day. *grins*
I, Melody, am in a province of strangers. Though I do not seek out the candy-giving type, I do realize that I must turn to strangers for friendship.
Through a Montreal-friend of mine, I found a forum filled with like-minded individuals. I introduced myself to them all, explained my situation and they were intrigued, to say the least. Since then, I have been in steady correspondence with them, as I go about getting acclimated to my new environments.
One such forum-user, going by the name of Kaji, called me up yesterday, wondering what I was doing that evening. Nothing, it was planned, as my Love was busy on Vancouver Island, spending the morning with family, in particular his sister and his newest niece, not even a month old. He suggested then, that I make my way to Metrotown and see a movie with him a few more friends. Of course, I said, I would love to... how do I get there?!?
Turns out I had to make use of the Skytrain! It was very easy going, and my fears were soon put to rest. The bus close to home took me straight to the Skytrain terminus, and I simply had to ride it to... Metrotown! I could do that!
The Skytrain is like bizarro-Metro. It works on the honor-system. Pay if you are so inclined to... apparently there are random checks, but I was not put to any when I was there, though, I was honest, and had a ticket, just in case! (I swear officer, I didn't know I had to pay!!) There are no turnstiles, just machines strung about, in case you wanted to pay. As the Metro is several levels below ground, the Skytrain is several levels above it. It was nice to peer out the windows and get a clearer view of this strange land, and not have to watch the cement as I was used to in Montreal. It was also a nice, quiet ride, not like the Metros, who were noisy, and made it hard to even think straight. I am sure if I had someone to speak with, I wouldn't have to raise my voice to be heard... and so soft a ride it was, with once more, a sweet female voice telling me which stop we were arriving at.
I quickly met my friends at the station, and recognized them from photos posted in the forum. They were thrilled to meet me, and we quickly fell into the comforts of friendship, chatting about each others hometowns and activities.
Metrotown, or what I have seen of it, is full of commerce. The Skytrain took me to the mall, which, according to my newest friends, is the largest in B.C., if not, it was close second. Just like Fairview, it was brimming with high-end boutiques, but also had a wickedly concentrated little arcade, where my new friends and I hung out drinking bubble teas (mine was strawberry) while we waited for time to go by.
We actually waited too long, and when we went into the theater, it was packed. If it wasn't for the cunning of Lunar, one of my new friends, scoping out seats for him and I, I would have been craning my neck and straining through the subtitles. Instead we sat way back, in the corner, but, we sat together, and enjoyed a very fine movie, and shared some gummy bears and wine gums. The others were scattered about, out of sheer necessity.
District 9 was a fabulous movie, all I will say is that it well worth the price of admission, but it is not an alien movie. If you are looking for aliens trying to take over the planet, think again. This is a human movie, full of human issues.
I returned home, all by myself, getting quickly used to the public transportation. I never had to wait for my rides, they always arrived the moment I stepped foot at the stop. My eyes were open, and I knew exactly where I was. All the while, my Love was stuck waiting for a ferry back, sitting around from 3pm... until he finally got home, which was close to midnight.
He was glad one of us had a good day. *grins*
Saturday, August 22, 2009
On my Own Again!
Alrighty! While my love is off enjoying his cousin's wedding, I am in the apartment... using my time effectively? Okay, mostly effectively.
Buses, here in Surrey, are different than the ones back in Montreal. The outsides of them look very similar, but their interiors are another story.
The fare to get on one of these bad boys is cheaper than in Montreal, though I doubt these guys go as far as the others do. Also, they don't have the very awesome OPUS cards, which means I need to either have the exact change on me, or be lucky enough to by tickets at the vendors around town.
My love and I went cruising around on them the other day, just to get me comfortable with them. They have these awesome signaling signs, which update at every stop/intersection we get to, with a lovely lady voice announcing our current location. That is really clever, because it leaves me knowing where we are without either having to bug the driver or crane my neck and squint my eyes to spot street signs (that will be really handy in the dark and the wintertime!)
I have yet to get on the Skytrain, or even those buses that run on those fancy wires and I am very curious about them.. though, one step at a time. First I want to get used to the simple stuff, not get too far away from home base, and then eventually expand my horizons. Dipping my proverbial toe into the water before jumping in and possibly freezing in the water (or getting eaten alive by leeches)
I got kinda excited today, shopping around for jobs. I walked all the way over to Central City Mall, keeping my eyes open on my surroundings. I gave out a few applications at some of the boutiques and store within, and will of course keep you updated as to whether I land a job or not!
The mall is quite different from Fairview Mall in Montreal, though has a lot of the same flavours. It is an odd blend of higher end boutiques in a sea of lower end ones, whereas Fairview is now saturated with high end clothing boutiques as the lower ends get left in the dust.
It all makes sense though, when you look at the population here. You have many very lovely suburban homes, such as the one I am living in with my love (we occupy the basement), though you also have many mobile homes, older-looking condos and cheap-looking motels. I chuckle somewhat at the barbed wire I see lining some fences, and the security cameras.. though they also make me a bit uneasy. Do we really need that level of security in this neighborhood?
Got home weary of all the walking, though the weather was quite fair, 20c with sunshine! Made myself a chili, though it was made throwing the recipe to the winds, and am currently settling into a decent book, "The Sculptress" by Minette Walters, apparently some sort of murder mystery.. it has whet my appetite, I will tell you all whether it is worth a read once I am done with it!
Other than that... I will probably call up my love later on tonight, to simply tell him to have a good night, and promptly fall asleep..
A demain!
Melody
Buses, here in Surrey, are different than the ones back in Montreal. The outsides of them look very similar, but their interiors are another story.
The fare to get on one of these bad boys is cheaper than in Montreal, though I doubt these guys go as far as the others do. Also, they don't have the very awesome OPUS cards, which means I need to either have the exact change on me, or be lucky enough to by tickets at the vendors around town.
My love and I went cruising around on them the other day, just to get me comfortable with them. They have these awesome signaling signs, which update at every stop/intersection we get to, with a lovely lady voice announcing our current location. That is really clever, because it leaves me knowing where we are without either having to bug the driver or crane my neck and squint my eyes to spot street signs (that will be really handy in the dark and the wintertime!)
I have yet to get on the Skytrain, or even those buses that run on those fancy wires and I am very curious about them.. though, one step at a time. First I want to get used to the simple stuff, not get too far away from home base, and then eventually expand my horizons. Dipping my proverbial toe into the water before jumping in and possibly freezing in the water (or getting eaten alive by leeches)
I got kinda excited today, shopping around for jobs. I walked all the way over to Central City Mall, keeping my eyes open on my surroundings. I gave out a few applications at some of the boutiques and store within, and will of course keep you updated as to whether I land a job or not!
The mall is quite different from Fairview Mall in Montreal, though has a lot of the same flavours. It is an odd blend of higher end boutiques in a sea of lower end ones, whereas Fairview is now saturated with high end clothing boutiques as the lower ends get left in the dust.
It all makes sense though, when you look at the population here. You have many very lovely suburban homes, such as the one I am living in with my love (we occupy the basement), though you also have many mobile homes, older-looking condos and cheap-looking motels. I chuckle somewhat at the barbed wire I see lining some fences, and the security cameras.. though they also make me a bit uneasy. Do we really need that level of security in this neighborhood?
Got home weary of all the walking, though the weather was quite fair, 20c with sunshine! Made myself a chili, though it was made throwing the recipe to the winds, and am currently settling into a decent book, "The Sculptress" by Minette Walters, apparently some sort of murder mystery.. it has whet my appetite, I will tell you all whether it is worth a read once I am done with it!
Other than that... I will probably call up my love later on tonight, to simply tell him to have a good night, and promptly fall asleep..
A demain!
Melody
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Fear and Loneliness in Surrey
Last night I had my first run-in with intense fear in my new environment. Went a little something like this:
My love has a wedding to go to this weekend, and well.. although I was invited to the wedding itself, I was not invited to the reception afterward. Which would leave me wandering alone on Vancouver Island for a few hours. Not to mention that I wouldn't even be sitting with him at the wedding, since he has the privilege of being an usher. And so I will not be going with him, instead remain alone at the apartment from Friday evening until Sunday evening.
Obviously I freaked. I didn't do the whole screeching 'it's not fair' crap. I merely fell into my sobs on the bed. Typical Melody, ask around, you'll see. My mind raced around the fact that I know absolutely nobody here, not to mention the fact that I do not know my way around the neighborhood... or even the street, with confidence.
To his credit he did his duty as a good boyfriend and tried to console me, trying to see if any of his friends would come over (no, since they do not know me and that would be odd) and giving me various options for things to do (such as explore, but I am dead scared of getting lost... and he is too far away to be of any serious help.. and I had my mother's voice in my head, 'what if something goes wrong? What if Melody falls into trouble, who will save her?')
Eventually he decided that today, after work, he would take me on the buses, so that I would become used to them, and also show me around at the same time. All I have to do is do the research first, check out the busing in the area around the house (there is a few) for when he gets back from work. I might also drag him for more groceries, so I don't starve during the weekend (I have a tendency to forget to eat when I am eating solo... and it is easier to forget when the fridge is running on empty).
All this reminded me of when I was really young, going on my first city bus ride alone, one of my first days of high school without a school bus to get me home. My mom gave me strict instructions to take 'this' bus, and I did. It was the wrong bus. It went the opposite direction. So instead of taking me home, it took me further away from it. I remember being so stiff with fear that I dare not get off, hoping the bus would eventually loop around and take me back. It never did. I ended up at the train station, in another town, being asked to get off. I started bawling my eyes out, and the bus driver was kind enough to call one of the bus officials with their fancy GPS systems (that was fancy back then, anyways... and HUGE) and the man took me to my door.
So... maybe subconsciously I am afraid of getting on a bus? I am afraid of being alone, and lost? Then again... who isn't? This is the price of my brave act of moving so far, having to tackle all of my fears head-on, because I haven't a choice in the matter.
My love has a wedding to go to this weekend, and well.. although I was invited to the wedding itself, I was not invited to the reception afterward. Which would leave me wandering alone on Vancouver Island for a few hours. Not to mention that I wouldn't even be sitting with him at the wedding, since he has the privilege of being an usher. And so I will not be going with him, instead remain alone at the apartment from Friday evening until Sunday evening.
Obviously I freaked. I didn't do the whole screeching 'it's not fair' crap. I merely fell into my sobs on the bed. Typical Melody, ask around, you'll see. My mind raced around the fact that I know absolutely nobody here, not to mention the fact that I do not know my way around the neighborhood... or even the street, with confidence.
To his credit he did his duty as a good boyfriend and tried to console me, trying to see if any of his friends would come over (no, since they do not know me and that would be odd) and giving me various options for things to do (such as explore, but I am dead scared of getting lost... and he is too far away to be of any serious help.. and I had my mother's voice in my head, 'what if something goes wrong? What if Melody falls into trouble, who will save her?')
Eventually he decided that today, after work, he would take me on the buses, so that I would become used to them, and also show me around at the same time. All I have to do is do the research first, check out the busing in the area around the house (there is a few) for when he gets back from work. I might also drag him for more groceries, so I don't starve during the weekend (I have a tendency to forget to eat when I am eating solo... and it is easier to forget when the fridge is running on empty).
All this reminded me of when I was really young, going on my first city bus ride alone, one of my first days of high school without a school bus to get me home. My mom gave me strict instructions to take 'this' bus, and I did. It was the wrong bus. It went the opposite direction. So instead of taking me home, it took me further away from it. I remember being so stiff with fear that I dare not get off, hoping the bus would eventually loop around and take me back. It never did. I ended up at the train station, in another town, being asked to get off. I started bawling my eyes out, and the bus driver was kind enough to call one of the bus officials with their fancy GPS systems (that was fancy back then, anyways... and HUGE) and the man took me to my door.
So... maybe subconsciously I am afraid of getting on a bus? I am afraid of being alone, and lost? Then again... who isn't? This is the price of my brave act of moving so far, having to tackle all of my fears head-on, because I haven't a choice in the matter.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Hiya!
So.. if you do not know me.. that's fine. I am not anyone famous, or particularly special in any way.. I am simply Melody.
I am currently living in beautiful Surrey, British Columbia. I moved here just a few days ago, after living my entire 23 and a half years of life in Montreal, Quebec. I left my loving family and friends behind to do this. Why, you ask? Why such a move!? Why seclude yourself, albeit in a gorgeous province, alone and nearly lost? Simple. I did it for love!
Truth is I fell in love with a guy online. Crazy, I know. I have been given that title a lot lately. I have known him for a good year now, we were friends, met in a virtual world, under odd circumstances.
In May I went to visit him, here, in Surrey, and stayed for a week. The week went by too fast. Talk about intense. We were both crazy for each other. Then he came to see me in Montreal last month. He met my family, and by then most of our family members knew our devotion to each other. It was then I made my decision to move. I got rid of a good 95% of my possessions, said au revoir to Montreal and all I know and landed here.
So, how many people could say they would go through all this trouble for love? I mean honestly, drop it all, all of it, the cushy job, the amazing friends, the loving family, and end up in a place where you know no one, can't find your way around your own house, and are jobless?
This is the start of my life's adventure. Haven't you ever craved more from your life? Sat your butt down and wondered, dreamed, regretted? I had been doing that for too long. Now I feel more alive than ever before. I am going after my heart's desires!
If you are looking to follow me on my adventure, well then, stick around!
Although, to be honest.. not everyday is a roller-coaster ride of excitement.. Today is mostly spent wondering where I will fit all of my stuff, how the heck we can accumulate so much dirty dishes in two days, where this supposed "heat wave" is at, where to apply first for a job, and what's for dinner!
Toodles for now, this house-kitty is off to try to finish these dishes, if it kills her!
I am currently living in beautiful Surrey, British Columbia. I moved here just a few days ago, after living my entire 23 and a half years of life in Montreal, Quebec. I left my loving family and friends behind to do this. Why, you ask? Why such a move!? Why seclude yourself, albeit in a gorgeous province, alone and nearly lost? Simple. I did it for love!
Truth is I fell in love with a guy online. Crazy, I know. I have been given that title a lot lately. I have known him for a good year now, we were friends, met in a virtual world, under odd circumstances.
In May I went to visit him, here, in Surrey, and stayed for a week. The week went by too fast. Talk about intense. We were both crazy for each other. Then he came to see me in Montreal last month. He met my family, and by then most of our family members knew our devotion to each other. It was then I made my decision to move. I got rid of a good 95% of my possessions, said au revoir to Montreal and all I know and landed here.
So, how many people could say they would go through all this trouble for love? I mean honestly, drop it all, all of it, the cushy job, the amazing friends, the loving family, and end up in a place where you know no one, can't find your way around your own house, and are jobless?
This is the start of my life's adventure. Haven't you ever craved more from your life? Sat your butt down and wondered, dreamed, regretted? I had been doing that for too long. Now I feel more alive than ever before. I am going after my heart's desires!
If you are looking to follow me on my adventure, well then, stick around!
Although, to be honest.. not everyday is a roller-coaster ride of excitement.. Today is mostly spent wondering where I will fit all of my stuff, how the heck we can accumulate so much dirty dishes in two days, where this supposed "heat wave" is at, where to apply first for a job, and what's for dinner!
Toodles for now, this house-kitty is off to try to finish these dishes, if it kills her!
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