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Hello from wet, not terribly cold, Vancouver, BC! Canada is lovely this time of year - although the weather is a bit wonky. Three inches of snow between Saturday and Sunday, but by Monday the temp had rose to 9 degrees and the snow was gone (remember: 30 is steamy, 20 is nice, 10 wear a sweater, zero is ice). So think of 9C like 48F. But it has been raining for days. The restaurants in the hotels are really good - I've had some wonderful soup (which is really all I am craving right now).
So the meeting is at one hotel, but because of a reservation screw-up all the staff are at another hotel. So I have a five block walk in the rain every morning and every evening. Although it is a nice walk - and honestly, I could cab it if I had to, I just feel like it is a ridiculous $5 expense - plus getting out of the hotel for a fifteen minute walk along Coal Harbor is lovely.
And, of course, I arrived feeling a little under the weather which blossomed into a fabulous cold. But Mother M (our meting planner) sent me back to the hotel yesterday afternoon and I slept for a good long time. I feel more energetic, but have a low, sexy, husky voice today to go along with the vague congestion and itchy ears.
Saturday night the staff went to the top of Grouse Mountain to the Observatory Restaurant (we took a tram up the side of the mountain!) for our "farewell" dinner. We all got the Canon powershot digital camera as a gift. Pretty cool, actually. And dinner itself was delicious.
Gotta go do some more work!
So the meeting is at one hotel, but because of a reservation screw-up all the staff are at another hotel. So I have a five block walk in the rain every morning and every evening. Although it is a nice walk - and honestly, I could cab it if I had to, I just feel like it is a ridiculous $5 expense - plus getting out of the hotel for a fifteen minute walk along Coal Harbor is lovely.
And, of course, I arrived feeling a little under the weather which blossomed into a fabulous cold. But Mother M (our meting planner) sent me back to the hotel yesterday afternoon and I slept for a good long time. I feel more energetic, but have a low, sexy, husky voice today to go along with the vague congestion and itchy ears.
Saturday night the staff went to the top of Grouse Mountain to the Observatory Restaurant (we took a tram up the side of the mountain!) for our "farewell" dinner. We all got the Canon powershot digital camera as a gift. Pretty cool, actually. And dinner itself was delicious.
Gotta go do some more work!
So Vancouver is lovely, even in the rain. I've been here for a week and seen the sun twice. The hotel is also lovely, and the people are fabulous. Can I say on the whole, I love Canadians? I got off the plane last week with a tiny little dry cough that has morphed into the bronchial honking cough from hell. Our main hotel contact went out and got me cough medicine and Tylenol One (which has codiene in it) because it is provincial law that if the pharmacist isn't there to help you, you can't get cough medicine. And any time I am out of the hotel, of course the pharmacists have gone home.
The Vancouver Aquarium is AMAZING! I love the Pacific white-sided dolphins (Spinnaker and Laverne!), the Beluga Whales, the sea otters! They are so cool. They have pygmy marmosets in the Amazon exhibit, and they are the funniest little monkeys!
So to entertain you all here: Beluga Cam!
I spent more than a few minutes in the Off the Coast of BC exhibit being mesmerised by the moon jelly fish as they moved with the gentle upward current. The sharks were fierce and the caiman alligators were creepy in that they looked like statues, and you just knew they were biding their time.
I go home on Saturday... I can't wait to be in my own bed, but I will miss this pretty area - what a great place!
The Vancouver Aquarium is AMAZING! I love the Pacific white-sided dolphins (Spinnaker and Laverne!), the Beluga Whales, the sea otters! They are so cool. They have pygmy marmosets in the Amazon exhibit, and they are the funniest little monkeys!
So to entertain you all here: Beluga Cam!
I spent more than a few minutes in the Off the Coast of BC exhibit being mesmerised by the moon jelly fish as they moved with the gentle upward current. The sharks were fierce and the caiman alligators were creepy in that they looked like statues, and you just knew they were biding their time.
I go home on Saturday... I can't wait to be in my own bed, but I will miss this pretty area - what a great place!
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SPOOK-A-PELLA III (at TCAN):
The Duende and Five O'Clock Shadow concert last night rocked! I loved Duende far more than I thought I would - and the vocal percussionist and bass were, I think the hardest working ones of the six of them. The vocal percussionist was so cool as he had his "drum sounds solo" - it was incredible listening to this guy go through the various drums and cymbals with nothing but his voice and a microphone. So COOL!
And Five O'Clock Shadow was amazing. FOCS ended the night with a "true" a cappella song - no mics at all. Just the pure voice. Amazing.
I bought the Duende CDs and Gwen got the FOCS ones. Actually she bought half of mine, too, because I only had two fives in my wallet.
Vancouver this coming week. I really don't want to fly cross country again, but I've never been to Canada, or the northwest part of the US - so Vancouver should be fun - once I get there. *sigh* Another week and a half in a hotel. Fun fun.
ETA: WTF? It's SNOWING??!!??
The Duende and Five O'Clock Shadow concert last night rocked! I loved Duende far more than I thought I would - and the vocal percussionist and bass were, I think the hardest working ones of the six of them. The vocal percussionist was so cool as he had his "drum sounds solo" - it was incredible listening to this guy go through the various drums and cymbals with nothing but his voice and a microphone. So COOL!
And Five O'Clock Shadow was amazing. FOCS ended the night with a "true" a cappella song - no mics at all. Just the pure voice. Amazing.
I bought the Duende CDs and Gwen got the FOCS ones. Actually she bought half of mine, too, because I only had two fives in my wallet.
Vancouver this coming week. I really don't want to fly cross country again, but I've never been to Canada, or the northwest part of the US - so Vancouver should be fun - once I get there. *sigh* Another week and a half in a hotel. Fun fun.
ETA: WTF? It's SNOWING??!!??
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For my week-and-a-half in Vancouver. Anyone ever been there? I'm going for work, so most likely I will not see much of the city. Airport to hotel and environs of hotel back to the airport. At least the hotel is right on the water and I am told there are copious restaurants, and park-like walking paths all around. Taking my umbrella and my walking shoes.
( whinging and whining about a number of things y'all can just ignore - also cut because of potty-mouth language. )
More amusing - I get home after pizza with Gwen to a message on my answering machine obviously not for me. It is a teacher at the High School for the parents of, let's call him "Barney" (not the name given to me) who is not doing his homework and has a test on chapter eight this Friday and is failing Earth Sciences. The teacher want the parents of "Barney" to understand the situation and goes on for a while about what he hopes the parents do for getting "Barney" back up to doing the work for class. The teacher slurred his name (or else had such a broad accent I couldn't understand it) and did not specify what High School he was calling from. As I have no child named "Barney" (or otherwise), and no husband named "Harold" or otherwise, I listened to the message carefully so I could call the teacher back and let him know his telephone message went awry.
No number was included. I figure, okay, no way can I track this down and go to bed. I am still awake at two am and get the bright idea to look up online if there is a Earth Sciences teacher at the most local high school whose name vaguely resembles the one I wrote down earlier from the phone message. I get onto the HS site, and find the Science department is bigger than any four departments put together at the HS I attended many years ago. But there is one possible guy, and I shoot him off an email telling him I hope "Barney's" parents get the message this time, if he truly is the teacher in question.
Haven't received a reply, but if "Barney" fails the test on chapter eight on Friday, don't come crying to me. I did everything I could, probably more than most.
( whinging and whining about a number of things y'all can just ignore - also cut because of potty-mouth language. )
More amusing - I get home after pizza with Gwen to a message on my answering machine obviously not for me. It is a teacher at the High School for the parents of, let's call him "Barney" (not the name given to me) who is not doing his homework and has a test on chapter eight this Friday and is failing Earth Sciences. The teacher want the parents of "Barney" to understand the situation and goes on for a while about what he hopes the parents do for getting "Barney" back up to doing the work for class. The teacher slurred his name (or else had such a broad accent I couldn't understand it) and did not specify what High School he was calling from. As I have no child named "Barney" (or otherwise), and no husband named "Harold" or otherwise, I listened to the message carefully so I could call the teacher back and let him know his telephone message went awry.
No number was included. I figure, okay, no way can I track this down and go to bed. I am still awake at two am and get the bright idea to look up online if there is a Earth Sciences teacher at the most local high school whose name vaguely resembles the one I wrote down earlier from the phone message. I get onto the HS site, and find the Science department is bigger than any four departments put together at the HS I attended many years ago. But there is one possible guy, and I shoot him off an email telling him I hope "Barney's" parents get the message this time, if he truly is the teacher in question.
Haven't received a reply, but if "Barney" fails the test on chapter eight on Friday, don't come crying to me. I did everything I could, probably more than most.
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