Category: Vancouver

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Living Through the Weekend Hangover

Making my coffee and oatmeal this morning, Bill sent me a link to a story about creating your very own popcorn popper coffee roaster. Looking at this, I thought it was cool in a geeky way. Then I looked over at the microwave oven we just got for our wedding and the coffee waiting for me in the press. I have to say that after going a number of months of living with the restriction of jiffy pop for popcorn popping purposes, this wasn’t such a cool idea.

The real problem is that there is only one location in the west end of Vancouver that we have ever been able to find jiffy pop at. I can’t be too sure how far that is, but you can get there and back within the time span of a single intermission during a Canucks game.

When I sat down to read this again, I realized that it’s just a ghetto coffee roaster. I live in Vancouver where you can’t throw a rock without hitting some place to grab a coffee. Fantastic coffee, I might add. Don’t need the roaster, but the microwave is sweet.  So is the toaster oven!

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Oh Yeah, That Was Today

On Sunday, I got up a little bit before Rebecca did to take a nice run before our mad day of running errands.  With iPod loaded and clothing bound to keep me warm enough for the approximately five kilometer route, I was on my way towards the waterfront by Coal Harbour and into the park.  That’s when I remembered seeing some signs about a charity run going on, but I couldn’t remember if it was Saturday or Sunday.

It was Sunday.

No big deal, but here are all these people running along, completely taking over the path that they were being led on.  I did my best to avoid the congestion and stay out of their way, but coming back towards Lost Lagoon on the Tatlow trail, I had no choice but to join the group.

I wasn’t sure how far these people had ran already nor how far they were going.  I just felt like such a jerk because here I was, passing everyone on their left without missing a beat.  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught some people kind of giving that look of disbelief.  How could they be getting passed?  I was probably on kilometer 3.5 at that point.  Then someone was trying to keep pace.  I can only imagine how tired he or she must have suddenly felt when I went off to the left while the rest of the crowd ventured right.

Speaking of running, this site is a must have bookmark for anyone who is a runner in Vancouver.  Thanks to vanmega.com for the link.

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It’s Frickin’ Freezing in Here Mr. Bigglesworth

Sitting next to the window and writing this right now, I’m cold. It’s cold here in Vancouver. Yes, I know I’m living in a climate north of forty second parallel, but it really does not get this cold here normally. In fact, this is unusually cold. How do I know that? I think part of it comes from running. When you pass some dude whose nose and ears are bright red, wearing shorts, bald, and looking at your shamefully because you have much more clothing that must be warmer than he is, you know this isn’t the usual type of weather they are used to.

The fact that Rebecca came home from work the other night and ranted about wind chills tells me another thing. Wind chills are a way of life where I come from. In Iowa, it’s just something that is associated with winter time. So cold that the snot freezes in your nose walking inside from the car. That, my friends, is cold. Vancouverites are warriors in their own right with all the rain that falls here. I’m not sure they would be able to handle an Iowan winter though.

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Destroying Your Knees In the City

Stanley Park TrailsI love being able to use my near daily runs to help discover the city.  You really don’t want to stay too close to the interior of downtown if you plan to do some distance running.  The hills are one thing, and crossing intersections can be another.  It’s the plight you get from any large city. The easiest thing to do is to head towards the water or the park.  There’s still a bunch of people you have to weave through, but there is no way you would want to run down a street such as Robson(which I have seen before).

Be careful about running in the park though.  The Sea Wall is easy as long as the wind coming off the water isn’t too intense.  Rain has never been a problem. You just have to not be afraid of getting wet.  However, that route goes around all the neat trails you can take by actually going into the park.  If you’ve never been in the park, you can get into trouble.  Study the maps as well as you can before you think you can take an easy run to Beaver Lake.  If you can’t handle the hilly terrain, stick to the sea wall.

Watch out for wildlife. Dogs, raccoons, and squirrels are all over the place.  The last two want food from you.  Dogs for the most part are incredibly tame around the city.  Just today was the first time I was heckled and chased by a dog before the length on its leash ran out.  Just the other day, an otter bolted out of the brush when I was on the Bridle Trail, just off of Second Beach. That was bizzare and cool all at the sametime.  Rebecca says it was a beaver.  Google images tell me that I saw an otter.

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Corporate Radio in the Lower Mainland

I probably don’t listen to enough radio to make too many statements about the industry in and around Vancouver, but the market here seems to be easier to stomach than anywhere back in the states. This could be for the simple fact that everything here is still very new to me. Add to the fact that there is the Canadian Content regulation that requires a certain amount of Canadian material to be aired everyday.  This exposes me to all sorts of music that we simply do not have back in the states.  Within that, so much of what I am hearing is refreshing.  It’s new, and I like a lot of what I hear, minus the Nickleback.  I could really do without them.

That’s not to say that a lot of what I dislike about the American markets isn’t here either.  There is still a lot of the same programming techniques in the Vancouver market that grates on me like no other.  Over playing a single until you can’t stand it is just one of the many things that tends to drive you nuts.  Screaming DJ’s are here as well.  Seriously, who talks like that in real life?

Programming is just a slice of some of the insight that I’ve been able to gain about this market.  I’ll post more in the future as more of these thoughts get translated to here, but the tech side gets fairly interesting as well.  I need to learn more about it, obviously, but what really needs to happen is one of these stations just needs to have an opening when my work permit comes through so I can get in there and start playing again.