unusually wet/warm season, or global warming??
i was just watching the news here in vancouver and apparently we're having the wettest january, ever. it rained for 29 of 31 days and had the most rain, too. in other major cities in canada, the average temperature was up 6-10 degrees C. hmmmmmmm.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
when i was two years old, my mommy gave birth to my brother, erik. i'm sure in an effort to "help" her, she told me i was the big sister in charge of him. BIG mistake. i now have the feeling every now and then that i should be in charge of other things, and i start to make lists in my head of what i'd change about whatever it is i'm thinking about. so, without further adieu, i present, a list of things i'd change about sports.
*ncaa football playoffs
all right, so people have been talking about this a lot the last season, but erik and i have always thought this was a great idea. they have it in division II, and it works great there!! they could do it for division I as well and still have each game sponsored (or the last ones) if college football whines about it.
*playoff commentators
on the subject of the playoffs, one thing that really bothers me when i'm watching any sport is the commentators. they get two lame dudes who i've never heard of to talk about two teams they know little about. they generalize all their comments, talk only about two of the good players from each team, and will flip-flop for who they're rooting for. i think there should be a happy marriage here. i'm talking about one commentator from each team's media group. and they have to take turns talking about the game. i think it would make for a more interesting game because both are a little biased which will make for some colorful moments, and they know who the random guys are. no more, "oh, great catch by number 86!!" :)
*i'm sorry notes/timeout corner
sometimes when i'm watching football, i'll shout at a player that he needs to go in the timeout corner. this is usually for really bad personal fouls, or when someone is just not focused on the game. i think that a player has to cool off for mean plays and sit in the timeout corner. for really bad plays, they have to sit and write an "i'm sorry" letter, too.
*drugs
okay, really, a zero tolerance here. testing ALL the time, and pretty much one chance after you've tested positive for something until you're banned for life. FORever. and all your stats will be erased.
*more respect for kickers
i don't know why, but i love 'em. ever since i was a little girl, i've always wanted to be a kicker in the nfl. they get so little respect for what they do. true, all they do is kick a ball, but when the game is on the line, i'd like to see more respect to go to the guy who got those last points for the win, than the quarterback who was having trouble throughing anything in the endzone. kickers are either not respected, or teased for chocking on a game-winning field goal. i think they need more hugs and high-fives for points they get.
*hockey rules
i have a theory that americans don't like hockey because they're stupid. i think it takes someone with an active brain to watch what's going on because the pace is so fast. but honestly, it's not that hard to understand!! there's just a lot of movement involved. no pauses like in baseball between pitches, or in football as refs move the ball up the field. for god sakes, the line changes are as the puck is moving. moving, moving, moving. i think they should have hockey clinics so people can figure out what the hell is going on, and finally enjoy the best fucking game in the world. even the calls are easy to figure out; guess what a two-line pass is??
*sportswriters
there are probably only a handful of people who write about sports i'm not talking about. but for everyone else, listen up. you are NOT, i repeat, NOT allowed to comment on things you saw on a replay or know nothing about. for example, todd bertuzzi. almost everyone who wrote articles about what an animal he was after his hit on moore is a retard. first, were any of them paying attention to the last time vancouver played colorado?? most likely not, because if they did, they'd know that moore gave nasland a concussion and NO penalty was assesed to him. of course bertuzzi is going for retribution in the next game. and it wasn't him that caused damage to moore, it was colorado's players landing on him to get bertuzzi off that hurt him the most. in closing, if you don't know the details or previous incidents, specific stats about a team/game/player, you're not allowed to write about it. oh, and sportswriters are not allowed to comment on whiney players. nobody likes to hear about them (i.e., t.o.) so just drop it already.
*forward progress
this is one of the stupidest rules in football. i don't care that a player got to the 10 yard line. i care that he ended up 5 yards back. if he isn't smart enough to drop to his knees, or doesn't have anyone pushing him forward (think rugby) then he doesn't deserve the closest spot.
*batting gloves
batters CANNOT keep adjusting their gloves inbetween each pitch. baseball is slow enough. if you stop to adjust, i'll ban them.
*knee down in ncaa football
this is so lame. i hate that when a receiver has been running down the field at full blast, but trips over his own feet. if nobody is around, that's where they spot the ball. i feel like i'm watching a high school game because it gets so slow for this rule.
*locker rooms with cameras
okay, so i'm kidding on this one. sort of. just seeing if you made it through the list. :)
*ncaa football playoffs
all right, so people have been talking about this a lot the last season, but erik and i have always thought this was a great idea. they have it in division II, and it works great there!! they could do it for division I as well and still have each game sponsored (or the last ones) if college football whines about it.
*playoff commentators
on the subject of the playoffs, one thing that really bothers me when i'm watching any sport is the commentators. they get two lame dudes who i've never heard of to talk about two teams they know little about. they generalize all their comments, talk only about two of the good players from each team, and will flip-flop for who they're rooting for. i think there should be a happy marriage here. i'm talking about one commentator from each team's media group. and they have to take turns talking about the game. i think it would make for a more interesting game because both are a little biased which will make for some colorful moments, and they know who the random guys are. no more, "oh, great catch by number 86!!" :)
*i'm sorry notes/timeout corner
sometimes when i'm watching football, i'll shout at a player that he needs to go in the timeout corner. this is usually for really bad personal fouls, or when someone is just not focused on the game. i think that a player has to cool off for mean plays and sit in the timeout corner. for really bad plays, they have to sit and write an "i'm sorry" letter, too.
*drugs
okay, really, a zero tolerance here. testing ALL the time, and pretty much one chance after you've tested positive for something until you're banned for life. FORever. and all your stats will be erased.
*more respect for kickers
i don't know why, but i love 'em. ever since i was a little girl, i've always wanted to be a kicker in the nfl. they get so little respect for what they do. true, all they do is kick a ball, but when the game is on the line, i'd like to see more respect to go to the guy who got those last points for the win, than the quarterback who was having trouble throughing anything in the endzone. kickers are either not respected, or teased for chocking on a game-winning field goal. i think they need more hugs and high-fives for points they get.
*hockey rules
i have a theory that americans don't like hockey because they're stupid. i think it takes someone with an active brain to watch what's going on because the pace is so fast. but honestly, it's not that hard to understand!! there's just a lot of movement involved. no pauses like in baseball between pitches, or in football as refs move the ball up the field. for god sakes, the line changes are as the puck is moving. moving, moving, moving. i think they should have hockey clinics so people can figure out what the hell is going on, and finally enjoy the best fucking game in the world. even the calls are easy to figure out; guess what a two-line pass is??
*sportswriters
there are probably only a handful of people who write about sports i'm not talking about. but for everyone else, listen up. you are NOT, i repeat, NOT allowed to comment on things you saw on a replay or know nothing about. for example, todd bertuzzi. almost everyone who wrote articles about what an animal he was after his hit on moore is a retard. first, were any of them paying attention to the last time vancouver played colorado?? most likely not, because if they did, they'd know that moore gave nasland a concussion and NO penalty was assesed to him. of course bertuzzi is going for retribution in the next game. and it wasn't him that caused damage to moore, it was colorado's players landing on him to get bertuzzi off that hurt him the most. in closing, if you don't know the details or previous incidents, specific stats about a team/game/player, you're not allowed to write about it. oh, and sportswriters are not allowed to comment on whiney players. nobody likes to hear about them (i.e., t.o.) so just drop it already.
*forward progress
this is one of the stupidest rules in football. i don't care that a player got to the 10 yard line. i care that he ended up 5 yards back. if he isn't smart enough to drop to his knees, or doesn't have anyone pushing him forward (think rugby) then he doesn't deserve the closest spot.
*batting gloves
batters CANNOT keep adjusting their gloves inbetween each pitch. baseball is slow enough. if you stop to adjust, i'll ban them.
*knee down in ncaa football
this is so lame. i hate that when a receiver has been running down the field at full blast, but trips over his own feet. if nobody is around, that's where they spot the ball. i feel like i'm watching a high school game because it gets so slow for this rule.
*locker rooms with cameras
okay, so i'm kidding on this one. sort of. just seeing if you made it through the list. :)
just a few things i've noticed since i've been here...
differences between the u.s. and canada
*maple leafs everywhere.
no, seriously. they're on signs for mc donald's (which they sometimes say MAC donald's), wendy's, blockbuster, denny's, etc. it's like, "in case you didn't know you were going to a canadian denny's, we'll put a maple leaf on the sign, so you'll know everything's in candian dollars." hehehehehe!!
*boston pizza and new york fries.
those are chains up here, but not back in the states. boston pizza is like chili's and a sports bar had a high-class baby. it's really yummy!! and new york fries sells poutine, a candian treat. but hey, i can't make too much fun of these american names in canada, since we eat "canadian" bacon and it's not called that up here. :)
*km/g/metric system!!
ahhhhhh!! it's taking a while to get used to, but they also measure things in inches, and weigh things in pounds. grrrrrrrrrrr.
*one dollar and two dollar coins
last time i was up there, i kept getting one and two dollars back with coins. i knew they had them up in canada, but i thought they also had bills. i thought i was getting them because they knew i was a tourist. it's really a good idea, because they're easy to find for the bus or whatever, and i'm sure it saves the government tons on not printing a bazillion dollar bills each year. but they have silly names and i try not to giggle when people say them outloud. a dollar coin is a looney and a two dollar coin is a tooney. i'm pretty sure those are both misspelled.
*hockey
one thing i LOOOOVE about (or should i say, aboot??) canada is that hockey is effing everwhere. no, seriously. even the junior championships were the top story every night up here. i looooove that canadians get this game!!
*english/francais
all right, so this i already knew; everything in english on a box of cereal is also in french. but it's seriously on EVERYthing!! i do double takes every now and then when i see the name for bran flakes or whatever. hopefully my french will improve un peu.
*driving
so there's no reflectors on the roads, no reflective paint, no u-turns at signals and weird left turns. the first two drive me absofuckinglutely crazy at night, because i just have to follow the car in front of me. the u-turns thing is more like, you can turn around if you've pulled to the right side of the road and nobody is coming, which is never in vancouver. sometimes you get "advanced" green signals for left turns, and sometimes you don't. so sometimes at a signal, there will be a specific left turn lane which you get to go through before oncoming traffic, and sometimes you don't. when you don't, you have to wait for traffic to clear first, which sometimes means you wait until the light turns red, and you fucking fly through the intersection.
*news
it seems a bit more fun and relaxed up here. no crazy ladies in tons of makeup, and they're just reading the news like robots. they showed a clip from the daily show the other day where jon stewart is making fun of canadian election ads. they showed it on the news and had a good laugh. i loved it.
*gov't
of course their government is different from ours; we hated the british and they have the queen on some of their money. it's interesting to learn the different parties up here since there's an election tomorrow, and figure out how people are represented and stuff. oh, and the liberals aren't really liberal.
*flags
damn, canadians have flags on everything!! if you had 5 american flags in front of your house in the states, people either think you have a son serving in the army, or you're a crazy hick. they have a lot of pride up here, eh.
differences between the u.s. and canada
*maple leafs everywhere.
no, seriously. they're on signs for mc donald's (which they sometimes say MAC donald's), wendy's, blockbuster, denny's, etc. it's like, "in case you didn't know you were going to a canadian denny's, we'll put a maple leaf on the sign, so you'll know everything's in candian dollars." hehehehehe!!
*boston pizza and new york fries.
those are chains up here, but not back in the states. boston pizza is like chili's and a sports bar had a high-class baby. it's really yummy!! and new york fries sells poutine, a candian treat. but hey, i can't make too much fun of these american names in canada, since we eat "canadian" bacon and it's not called that up here. :)
*km/g/metric system!!
ahhhhhh!! it's taking a while to get used to, but they also measure things in inches, and weigh things in pounds. grrrrrrrrrrr.
*one dollar and two dollar coins
last time i was up there, i kept getting one and two dollars back with coins. i knew they had them up in canada, but i thought they also had bills. i thought i was getting them because they knew i was a tourist. it's really a good idea, because they're easy to find for the bus or whatever, and i'm sure it saves the government tons on not printing a bazillion dollar bills each year. but they have silly names and i try not to giggle when people say them outloud. a dollar coin is a looney and a two dollar coin is a tooney. i'm pretty sure those are both misspelled.
*hockey
one thing i LOOOOVE about (or should i say, aboot??) canada is that hockey is effing everwhere. no, seriously. even the junior championships were the top story every night up here. i looooove that canadians get this game!!
*english/francais
all right, so this i already knew; everything in english on a box of cereal is also in french. but it's seriously on EVERYthing!! i do double takes every now and then when i see the name for bran flakes or whatever. hopefully my french will improve un peu.
*driving
so there's no reflectors on the roads, no reflective paint, no u-turns at signals and weird left turns. the first two drive me absofuckinglutely crazy at night, because i just have to follow the car in front of me. the u-turns thing is more like, you can turn around if you've pulled to the right side of the road and nobody is coming, which is never in vancouver. sometimes you get "advanced" green signals for left turns, and sometimes you don't. so sometimes at a signal, there will be a specific left turn lane which you get to go through before oncoming traffic, and sometimes you don't. when you don't, you have to wait for traffic to clear first, which sometimes means you wait until the light turns red, and you fucking fly through the intersection.
*news
it seems a bit more fun and relaxed up here. no crazy ladies in tons of makeup, and they're just reading the news like robots. they showed a clip from the daily show the other day where jon stewart is making fun of canadian election ads. they showed it on the news and had a good laugh. i loved it.
*gov't
of course their government is different from ours; we hated the british and they have the queen on some of their money. it's interesting to learn the different parties up here since there's an election tomorrow, and figure out how people are represented and stuff. oh, and the liberals aren't really liberal.
*flags
damn, canadians have flags on everything!! if you had 5 american flags in front of your house in the states, people either think you have a son serving in the army, or you're a crazy hick. they have a lot of pride up here, eh.
Friday, January 20, 2006
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
"um, so our son is really this saint. he's a smart young man who went on a spiritual quest and he's smart and listened to bin laden speak twice, but had no idea he was a terrorist."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/19/american.taliban.ap/index.html
i call bullshit. any person in the world who listened to the news knew that bin laden was not a good man before 9/11. does anyone remember previous terrorist activites by him?? bombings in tanzania, kenya, on the u.s.s. cole, being one of the fbi's most wanted terrorists BEFORE 9/11. hmmmmmm...that sort of screams terrorist to me. *rolls eyes*
"um, so our son is really this saint. he's a smart young man who went on a spiritual quest and he's smart and listened to bin laden speak twice, but had no idea he was a terrorist."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/19/american.taliban.ap/index.html
i call bullshit. any person in the world who listened to the news knew that bin laden was not a good man before 9/11. does anyone remember previous terrorist activites by him?? bombings in tanzania, kenya, on the u.s.s. cole, being one of the fbi's most wanted terrorists BEFORE 9/11. hmmmmmm...that sort of screams terrorist to me. *rolls eyes*
Monday, January 02, 2006
My big trip!!
Hi everyone,
I hope you all are doing well and had a fabulous New Year celebration!! I wanted to update you all on my big move to Canada!! I have a feeling that this might be a long post, so just know that I made it up here okay...on my second attempt. Feel free to skim the highlights below!!
*December 30, 6:38AM (all times are approx!!)
Oh my goodness...it's so dark in the morning!! Bean and I finished putting the bike on my car and hopped in to start our big journey!! My Mom took a quick picture of us, and it's the only one I have for our trip!! After this point, it pretty much rains and pours on us for the rest of the trip. :)
*December 30, 10:29AM
Thanks to my cousin Caitlin, I had some In N Out cash to spend. Bean and I googled the northernmost location, and found out it was in Redding and that they opened at 10:30. Hamburgers have never tasted so sweet!!
*December 30, 11:03AM
Back on the road, heading up I-5 when a sign tells us that it's going to be closed up at Yreka and they have
no time table as to when it will re-open. It's closed due to rockslides, mudslides, and flooding. Lovely!! I had been planning on driving for 9 or 10 hours the first day, and 5 or 6 the second, and I only got to do 5 on the first day. We made it up to Weed and stopped there because of the snow on the road. I honestly was pretty freaked out because I knew the road up ahead was going to be closed, and all of a sudden, there was snow and me with no snow chains. Luckily, at the exit, there was a wonderful hotel and Taco Bell. We were saved!!
Bean was getting over the last bit of a cold and had slept most of the way, and I got him more medicine and he seemed fine by night. Luckily, I have the coolest Father in the world who kept checking the weather in the area and giving us lots of calls with updates. Turns out that the snow was going away and we would have a little window of time in the morning to
"escape" before another snowstorm came in.
*December 31, 6:35AM
On the road again and it's too dark to take any pictures of the mountains with snow on them. Oh yeah, and it's POURING rain like I've never seen before in my life with lots of wind, so it's really difficult to take pictures.
We are almost to the Oregon border when we notice a car stopped in the fast lane and one on the side of the road. I slow down to see two huge boulders in the road!! Oh my goodness!! It looks like they had just fallen off the side of the mountain, and one car either was hit with one, or by the other car. There was a truck driver and another car helping out, so I didn't stop. There was a lot of confusion already and everyone looked okay, so I didn't feel too bad not stopping.
*December 31, 8:24AM
I pull over to get gas, only to find that there's someone outside of my car ready to pump. I've never been to a gas station where this has happened!! I felt like I was in 1950 or something. "Fill er up, sonny!!" Hahahahahah!!
*December 31, 8:28AM
Okay, I was freaking out so much for the guy pumping my gas that I forgot to hit up the bathroom. We pull over at the next rest stop and notice they have free coffee at these things in Oregon!! They also had other treats, and I really wanted to take a picture of it (since there was this huge sign stating, "FREE COFFEE") but again...really hard with pouring rain and wind. Oregon is cooler than I thought.
*December 31, 11:50AM
Still driving through Oregon and Bean and I decided to stop at Wendy's in Eugene. We walk in to see 90% of
the people there wearing green and yellow. I guess Oregon was playing basketball later on, but dang, everyone was sporting some sort of Oregon gear!! Even two young girls had their hair painted green. I felt really out of place since I had blue on (go bears!!) and because I kept giggling at everyone.
*December 31, 1:20PM
Did you know Safeway sells gas?? Well, it totally does, and it was the cheapest gas on the way up. I believe it was $1.96/gallon. And I thought I had a deal when I found it for $2.01 in Fremont before I left!! (By the way, I'm not looking forward to the conversions with Canadian dollars and litres up at the gas stations up here. I'm hoping Bean will be able to help out and let me know when it's expensive!!)
*December 31, afternoon
We're pretty much just driving through rain and rain and rain and I start to hate Oregon drivers for cutting me off, especially when it's so wet outside. I want to punch them.
*December 31, afternoon
We are now in Washington, and it looks exactly like what I had seen in pictures. Oregon was wet, wet, and wet, and Washington is wet with really big trees. Their drivers just like to get in front of you and make you slam on your brakes. I'm starting to miss California drivers.
*December 31, 5:30PM
Bean and I are in Seattle and looking for a Starbucks. I had gathered a bunch of change before I left and put it on a Starbucks card. I remembered I had it and figured I could get a snack there and recharge for the last leg of the trip!! It was hard to see anything outside since we weren't downtown and it was pretty dark. Canada, here we come!!
*December 31 8:30-10PM
Canadian border!! I was so excited and nervous and ready to get to Vancouver so I could unload my car and sleep for a while!! Bean and I told the guy at the window our story, and we were told to go inside to Immigration. We talked to them for a while and they guy there told me that I would not be allowed into Canada. I was told by a lawyer that I could enter Canada under a "visitor" status and find a job from that point. So that's what I told immigration. I guess there were two red flags when I was up there that would have been nice to know ahead of time. I was told that I would have to have proof of residence in California, proof of funds, and proof of past employment. Also, since I had so much stuff in my car, it looked like I was moving up there, and I'm not allowed to do that as a "visitor." The guy says if I get those papers faxed up, I can come back up. I'm trying to not freak out, and just sort of nod my head at everything he says.
Bean and I turn back around to the U.S. only to have another problem. Since Bean is Canadian, they want to know why he's coming back again. We had to go to inside to U.S. Immigration to tell them our story. Luckily, we had a really understanding guy who said it wasn't a problem. He gave both of us some forms letting us know what type of documents to bring in for my return up to Canada. He also told me that I would really have to prove my point next time because if I didn't get in next time, I could be physically removed from Canada, taken (next door, basically) to the U.S. and be banned for 5 years. I started crying at this point, just from being tired, frustrated, and a bit scared. The guy felt awful, and reminded me that everything was okay, and I should cry since it was so close to New Year's.
*December, 31, 10:30PM
We got the clear to go back to the U.S. and drove to Bellingham for the night. Luckily, by the time we were checked in and found food and got cleaned up, we hadn't missed midnight. I had to call my parents to let them know that I was denied up at the border, and I would need their help faxing some things down the next morning.
*January 1, 9:02AM
After several calls to my parents, who are both incredible people for helping me out so very much, it sounded like we could get all the items I needed. My Mom's friend's Aunt lives up in Bellingham (random!!) and has a three story house. She said she was more than willing to store some items for me so it didn't look like I was "moving" up to Canada, just "visiting."
*January 1, 3:03PM
Bean and I were again on our way with all the documents and had unpacked some items, and totally ready to get to the border. Luckily, the drive was quick, and the wait was about 3 minutes instead of about 20 the night before. We were asked to go into immigration again so I could show my proof of everything, basically. It was a long process with a lot of questions, but I got in!! The guy working was really nice and even had to run a background check. Woohoo!! I get to stay here for 3 months as a "visitor" and in that time, I'll be looking for a job and a work permit.
*January 1, 6:00PM
We finally pull up to the house, get slightly unpacked, call our parents, and order some yummy Chinese food. Mmmmmmm!! I can't believe I'm actually here...after all the drama...and I can't wait to sleep!! One weird thing I noticed while driving from the border to Vancouver, there are little to no reflectors on the roads and sometimes no painted lines. That was sure fun in the dark and rain in a new country!! I'm trying to focus on how many kilometers/hour I'm driving instead of miles, and all of a sudden, I'm not sure what lane I'm in. Hahahahahah!!
Well, if you've made it to this point, you get a gold star!! Horray for finally being in Canada!! :)
Hi everyone,
I hope you all are doing well and had a fabulous New Year celebration!! I wanted to update you all on my big move to Canada!! I have a feeling that this might be a long post, so just know that I made it up here okay...on my second attempt. Feel free to skim the highlights below!!
*December 30, 6:38AM (all times are approx!!)
Oh my goodness...it's so dark in the morning!! Bean and I finished putting the bike on my car and hopped in to start our big journey!! My Mom took a quick picture of us, and it's the only one I have for our trip!! After this point, it pretty much rains and pours on us for the rest of the trip. :)
*December 30, 10:29AM
Thanks to my cousin Caitlin, I had some In N Out cash to spend. Bean and I googled the northernmost location, and found out it was in Redding and that they opened at 10:30. Hamburgers have never tasted so sweet!!
*December 30, 11:03AM
Back on the road, heading up I-5 when a sign tells us that it's going to be closed up at Yreka and they have
no time table as to when it will re-open. It's closed due to rockslides, mudslides, and flooding. Lovely!! I had been planning on driving for 9 or 10 hours the first day, and 5 or 6 the second, and I only got to do 5 on the first day. We made it up to Weed and stopped there because of the snow on the road. I honestly was pretty freaked out because I knew the road up ahead was going to be closed, and all of a sudden, there was snow and me with no snow chains. Luckily, at the exit, there was a wonderful hotel and Taco Bell. We were saved!!
Bean was getting over the last bit of a cold and had slept most of the way, and I got him more medicine and he seemed fine by night. Luckily, I have the coolest Father in the world who kept checking the weather in the area and giving us lots of calls with updates. Turns out that the snow was going away and we would have a little window of time in the morning to
"escape" before another snowstorm came in.
*December 31, 6:35AM
On the road again and it's too dark to take any pictures of the mountains with snow on them. Oh yeah, and it's POURING rain like I've never seen before in my life with lots of wind, so it's really difficult to take pictures.
We are almost to the Oregon border when we notice a car stopped in the fast lane and one on the side of the road. I slow down to see two huge boulders in the road!! Oh my goodness!! It looks like they had just fallen off the side of the mountain, and one car either was hit with one, or by the other car. There was a truck driver and another car helping out, so I didn't stop. There was a lot of confusion already and everyone looked okay, so I didn't feel too bad not stopping.
*December 31, 8:24AM
I pull over to get gas, only to find that there's someone outside of my car ready to pump. I've never been to a gas station where this has happened!! I felt like I was in 1950 or something. "Fill er up, sonny!!" Hahahahahah!!
*December 31, 8:28AM
Okay, I was freaking out so much for the guy pumping my gas that I forgot to hit up the bathroom. We pull over at the next rest stop and notice they have free coffee at these things in Oregon!! They also had other treats, and I really wanted to take a picture of it (since there was this huge sign stating, "FREE COFFEE") but again...really hard with pouring rain and wind. Oregon is cooler than I thought.
*December 31, 11:50AM
Still driving through Oregon and Bean and I decided to stop at Wendy's in Eugene. We walk in to see 90% of
the people there wearing green and yellow. I guess Oregon was playing basketball later on, but dang, everyone was sporting some sort of Oregon gear!! Even two young girls had their hair painted green. I felt really out of place since I had blue on (go bears!!) and because I kept giggling at everyone.
*December 31, 1:20PM
Did you know Safeway sells gas?? Well, it totally does, and it was the cheapest gas on the way up. I believe it was $1.96/gallon. And I thought I had a deal when I found it for $2.01 in Fremont before I left!! (By the way, I'm not looking forward to the conversions with Canadian dollars and litres up at the gas stations up here. I'm hoping Bean will be able to help out and let me know when it's expensive!!)
*December 31, afternoon
We're pretty much just driving through rain and rain and rain and I start to hate Oregon drivers for cutting me off, especially when it's so wet outside. I want to punch them.
*December 31, afternoon
We are now in Washington, and it looks exactly like what I had seen in pictures. Oregon was wet, wet, and wet, and Washington is wet with really big trees. Their drivers just like to get in front of you and make you slam on your brakes. I'm starting to miss California drivers.
*December 31, 5:30PM
Bean and I are in Seattle and looking for a Starbucks. I had gathered a bunch of change before I left and put it on a Starbucks card. I remembered I had it and figured I could get a snack there and recharge for the last leg of the trip!! It was hard to see anything outside since we weren't downtown and it was pretty dark. Canada, here we come!!
*December 31 8:30-10PM
Canadian border!! I was so excited and nervous and ready to get to Vancouver so I could unload my car and sleep for a while!! Bean and I told the guy at the window our story, and we were told to go inside to Immigration. We talked to them for a while and they guy there told me that I would not be allowed into Canada. I was told by a lawyer that I could enter Canada under a "visitor" status and find a job from that point. So that's what I told immigration. I guess there were two red flags when I was up there that would have been nice to know ahead of time. I was told that I would have to have proof of residence in California, proof of funds, and proof of past employment. Also, since I had so much stuff in my car, it looked like I was moving up there, and I'm not allowed to do that as a "visitor." The guy says if I get those papers faxed up, I can come back up. I'm trying to not freak out, and just sort of nod my head at everything he says.
Bean and I turn back around to the U.S. only to have another problem. Since Bean is Canadian, they want to know why he's coming back again. We had to go to inside to U.S. Immigration to tell them our story. Luckily, we had a really understanding guy who said it wasn't a problem. He gave both of us some forms letting us know what type of documents to bring in for my return up to Canada. He also told me that I would really have to prove my point next time because if I didn't get in next time, I could be physically removed from Canada, taken (next door, basically) to the U.S. and be banned for 5 years. I started crying at this point, just from being tired, frustrated, and a bit scared. The guy felt awful, and reminded me that everything was okay, and I should cry since it was so close to New Year's.
*December, 31, 10:30PM
We got the clear to go back to the U.S. and drove to Bellingham for the night. Luckily, by the time we were checked in and found food and got cleaned up, we hadn't missed midnight. I had to call my parents to let them know that I was denied up at the border, and I would need their help faxing some things down the next morning.
*January 1, 9:02AM
After several calls to my parents, who are both incredible people for helping me out so very much, it sounded like we could get all the items I needed. My Mom's friend's Aunt lives up in Bellingham (random!!) and has a three story house. She said she was more than willing to store some items for me so it didn't look like I was "moving" up to Canada, just "visiting."
*January 1, 3:03PM
Bean and I were again on our way with all the documents and had unpacked some items, and totally ready to get to the border. Luckily, the drive was quick, and the wait was about 3 minutes instead of about 20 the night before. We were asked to go into immigration again so I could show my proof of everything, basically. It was a long process with a lot of questions, but I got in!! The guy working was really nice and even had to run a background check. Woohoo!! I get to stay here for 3 months as a "visitor" and in that time, I'll be looking for a job and a work permit.
*January 1, 6:00PM
We finally pull up to the house, get slightly unpacked, call our parents, and order some yummy Chinese food. Mmmmmmm!! I can't believe I'm actually here...after all the drama...and I can't wait to sleep!! One weird thing I noticed while driving from the border to Vancouver, there are little to no reflectors on the roads and sometimes no painted lines. That was sure fun in the dark and rain in a new country!! I'm trying to focus on how many kilometers/hour I'm driving instead of miles, and all of a sudden, I'm not sure what lane I'm in. Hahahahahah!!
Well, if you've made it to this point, you get a gold star!! Horray for finally being in Canada!! :)
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