Camp Vancouver

The opposite of down

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:23:29 -0700

A few weeks ago, the ground-floor elevator call button broke in our apartment. When the service person came to fix the button, s/he had apparently run out of arrows. So now the only direction we can take the elevator from the ground floor is...41.

41 is the new up

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Curtain call

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:16:11 -0700

My mom was kind enough to make us some curtains for our living room, which she brought out here on her recent visit. They look awesome and match the rest of the room perfectly – an impressive feat considering she did this based on rough measurements and a simple picture I took!

Just like a real hotel (except without the, um, actual bed)

So now our "guest room" will give our visitors a little more privacy. Which is great, because I know how much all of you like walking around in the buff.

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A story that (surprisingly) does not include a butt crack

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:54:21 -0700

In case you missed the memo: in our apartment, we have a really old bathroom. It’s the kind of retro place that thinks pink is cool and that all of one’s storage needs can be fulfilled with one tiny, behind-the-mirror medicine cabinet. We’ve adjusted to our colorful restroom over the past several weeks (it helps knowing that the property manager still has plans to renovate the bathrooms in this building, probably sometime next fall). However, we were having trouble getting the sink and tub to properly drain.

Our landlord took a look at the drains several weeks ago and decided to call in the plumber. He came by a couple of times before determining how to get at the problem – basically, it would require power tools, a replacement part and a whole lot of noise. On Thursday, he went to work on the sink and tub, and had both fixed in under an hour.

Part of the plumbing issue? A bottle of perfume, a tube of red lipstick and a AA battery, all pulled from somewhere within the piping. Oh, pink bathroom, you never cease to amuse us.

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Ye ole apartment tour

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:01:45 -0700

The view:

Mmm, daylight

Aka the guest room

Aka Shane's office

The living and dining rooms:

Renovated

vs. non-renovated

The kitchen and bathroom:

The bedroom:

A definite upgrade from the floor

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The post-furniture update

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:16:17 -0700

The best, bitch-ass Couch around

On Friday of last week, we left town to a Saturday forecast (in both Washington and Vancouver) of 80% chance of rain. I was sure the West Coast was preparing to hit us with a wet, welcoming bitch-slap on moving day. However, we miraculously managed to avoid the rain in BOTH locations, loading and unloading our moving van with nary a sprinkle until nightfall. Much gratitude goes out to Ian, Mary Jo and Rick for helping us avoid getting drenched! (And for cramming the bulkiness of The Couch™ up two, tiny flights of stairs.) You guys rock.

We've spent the days since unpacking, unpacking and then doing some more unpacking. It is truly insane how much stuff we’ve accumulated over three-plus years of living together. Thankfully, this apartment came with plenty of storage space – both in our suite and in our storage locker downstairs – so we found a place for everything and then some. I would especially like to give a shoutout to our kitchen closets, which are totally (and roomily) awesome.

And behind door numbers 1 and 3: a helluva lot of unexpected space!

Laundry board space converted to spice rack converted to tea rack

There are still a few finishing touches we want to put on the place before the official “unveiling.” But no worries, Internets, we will give you a virtual tour soon! And you too can experience sitting in this very chair I am typing from. Except without the having-to-wash-dishes part that is about to follow (you lucky bastard you).

In other news, The Couv underwent a federal and provincial inspection today. Aside from needing (ridiculously expensive) daytime running lights (seriously, it felt like I was back with my Focus for a moment), our Prius passed with flying colors. Next stop: registration, license plates and insurance, all of which are apparently taken care of through B.C.’s Autoplan, whatever that is. (I guess we’ll find out...)

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The puppy-love period begins

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:11:12 -0700

Here's what all that money and paperwork got us

Yesterday, we landed in Canada as permanent residents. It took us an hour and a half to get through the border – exporting The Couv from the U.S., importing it to Canada and then going through the paperwork to make our immigration official. At the end of everything, the customs officer presented us with two tiny Canadian flag pins and said, “Welcome to Canada!” It was very cool.

We arrived in Vancouver in the early afternoon and drove directly to our apartment. We met up with the building manager and got a tour of our new digs. While I was disappointed to learn that the bathroom was NOT renovated as intended (hello, pink tiles!), everything else was in order. Shane and I agree that this will be a good fit for us starting out, although it will be a very different experience not having a dishwasher (hello, dishpan hands!).

Lavar Burton would be proud

Our time so far has been split between cleaning the apartment (in preparation for moving in next weekend) and running around town to check off items on our all-important To Do list. Today, we went and applied for our Social Insurance Number – or SIN – cards (the equivalent of U.S. Social Security Numbers), met with representatives from some local banks and…wait for it… GOT LIBRARY CARDS. This last one is exciting on many levels for me, not the least of which is the awesomeness of being able to check out materials from the spectacular central branch downtown.

The next few days will involve more errand-running and generally enjoying life in Vancouver (before the serious job-hunting starts). Then on Friday, we’ll head back down to Seattle to shop for apartment stuff and spend the night (before retrieving our shipped belongings on Saturday).

By the way, for those of you wondering whether we were able to transport our wedding sand vase intact, we did! And we’ve got a sweet little nook in the apartment that fits the vase perfectly.

Nook sweet nook

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Hoping we didn’t pack the straightjackets

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:17:13 -0700

Our weekend was absolutely insane. We kicked off with a Friday-night goodbye party, generously organized by our Three Amigos – Carrie, Jon and Shannon. Many, many thanks to them and to everyone who took the time to attend and wish us well! We had a blast (at the ever-delicious Chatterbox) and stayed up well past our bedtime. (And as much as I would love to post some photos from said event, well, it’s really hard to take pictures and be farewelled at the same time. FYI.)

When we finally got up on Saturday, it was time to start packing. We spent the entire day not only loading boxes, but writing down EACH packed item on a special form for immigration purposes. Now, I’m as detail-oriented as they come, but this was a whole new level of crazy. I suppose it’s fitting, though, considering how voluntarily moving cross-country and then across the border is not exactly for the sane-of-heart.

Sunday was spent much the same way, slowly transforming our meticulously organized apartment into chaotic piles of paper, cardboard and furniture. By the evening, we had cleared out every cupboard and closet, taken down every last picture frame, and begun to worry (already) that we had packed something important we’ll need.

And just think: this is merely a hint of how we’ll feel for the next several weeks. (Oh my HELL.)

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Oh, sweet relief

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:50:57 -0700

WE HAVE FINALLY SECURED A VANCOUVER APARTMENT. Starting April 1^st, we will have an address in the West End (downtown). Thank you, karma (and everyone else who sent positive vibes to us these past two weeks).

Our potential future residence

More details to come...

EDITED TO ADD: As Shane mentioned in the comments, we will be living RIGHT next to Stanley Park (and only blocks from the ocean). So although we are giving up certain indoor amenities (like a dishwasher), we are definitely gaining perks in location.

We were lucky enough to view the exact second-floor suite we’ll be renting during our January trip (alas, I have no interior pictures to share). The kitchen, bathroom and plumbing were being renovated at the time, so we don’t have a full idea what the finished apartment will look like. But we approved of what we saw; the floors are hardwood and tile, a long row of windows lines one side, and because there’s no balcony, the interior felt fairly roomy (for ~650 square feet).

Barring any unforeseen surprises (or bedbug infestations), we will sign on the dotted line and receive our keys on the 31^st. I will be holding my breath a little until then, since we still need to SEE that everything is in order when we arrive. But I am very, very excited to finally have our name on a potential future residence.

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On my way to an ulcer

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:16:13 -0800

Our attempts to secure an apartment for April have been going terribly. At the end of February, we called the places we had visited in January to see which had availabilities. We were pleased to find that many had open rooms, but it’s been a bitch getting the managers to commit to a lease. The same people who assured us a month ago they work with immigrants “all the time” are now acting as if the concept is completely foreign to them.

Shane and I are both having a hard time with this. We are used to places rushing to sign papers with us (ah, the life of the middle-class); the hesitation we’re facing now is bizarre and unbelievably frustrating. We are beginning the application process with our THIRD apartment building today, and we are hoping against hope that the outcome is positive. It is almost too much to handle the stress of finding a place to move in at the same time we are preparing to move out. (Just writing this post makes me want to throw up.)

Anyway, we should hear something by the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed that it’s good news, okay?

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Home invasion

nobody@vox.com(Tisha) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:12:32 -0800

On my way home last night, I noticed that I had received a voicemail from our apartment office earlier in the day. The property manager had called around 10 a.m. to give me a heads-up that he would be showing the apartment (in January? seriously?) to someone from out-of-town at 5:15. He apologized for the late notice, but this was the only time that worked.

By then, it was well past 5:45, but I proceeded to FREAK OUT anyway, worried that I had left the apartment in a state of disarray unfit for human sight. Fortunately, that was not the case. The laundry was (mostly) put away, the bed made, the kitchen (fairly) clean...and the porno safely stashed.

Thank you, borderline-OCD tendencies, for not letting me down this time.

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