The first 9 months

Hi everyone! Finally I am writing about life in Vancouver, it has only taken me 9 months!

I'll include some small pictures in this message but you can view a lot more pictures in our online albums at http://www.droscher.com/gallery

We've been very much enjoying life in Vancouver, it is hard to know where to start describing it. I definitely don't want to write 9 months worth of chronological detail! So perhaps I'll start with a brief description of where we live.

Our apartment is a one bedroom apartment in the West-End of Vancouver. A lot smaller than the last few places we have lived but that is probably a good thing - less place to put junk so we don't buy as much junk! It accomodates us and our two cats quite nicely. When we got here all the furniture we started with was a King-size bed and a small computer desk and chair. Over the first few months we slowly added furniture, now we have a nice big sofa, entertainment unit, wide-screen tv, sheves, storage cabinet, dining table & chairs, tall-boy and dresser. Thanks mainly to IKEA but also Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Costco. Our building has a swimming pool and fitness room that we can use (but haven't yet) as well. We love where we are located, there is a bus stop nearby which makes it easy to get anywhere, we are right across the road from a Safeway supermarket, a couple minutes walk away from the lovely English Bay beach and the wonderful Stanley Park. We've seen a bit of wildlife around our neighbourhood - as well as a lot of squirrels we have seen some racoons and also a skunk. Unfortunately we have also smelled the skunk quite a few times!

Here a picture of our building and the view from our kitchen window:

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So that's where we live - now on to a bit of a description of my job! I work for a software company called Elastic Path Software, Inc which produces a Java-based eCommerce software platform for building online stores. I started as a Software Engineer in the Product Development department, but pretty much straight after my 3 month probation period I was promoted to Senior Software Engineer and I now lead a team of 4 other developers. There is no dress code at all, jeans and t-shirt are fine. Half the guys in the office wore shorts during the summer, and one guy even wears slippers around the office. We get a weekly delivery of complimentary fruit, and a drinks fridge filled with complimentary softdrinks and fruit juices. Once every couple of months there will be a staff outing too - so far we have been Indoor Go Karting, Curling, Indoor Rock Climbing and a great Summer BBQ at the CEO's house. Add to that the fact that I have a nice view of downtown Vancouver and the mountains from the window next to my desk, a great bunch of people I work with, and a large number of good, cheap eating places nearby, pretty much makes it my dream job! Oh, and a few weeks back we had a "hack day" at work - basically an overnight 24 hour code-a-thon to team up and code something cool for cash prizes. I ended up winning $250 which I used to buy myself a Nintendo Wii gaming console.

Here's some photos from staff outings - Indoor Go Kart Racing, Curling, and Indoor Rock Climbing:

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Sharon works part-time (3 days a week) at Bosley's Pet Food Plus, a store that sells pet supplies. She works with a nice bunch of people in the store, and enjoys meeting all the neighbourhood dogs and cats that come into the store for their treats! Plus we get a huge discount on all the stuff we need for our cats!

This brings me to some sad news which most of you would have heard already - on Monday 27th August our cat Geffin was put to rest . There is a tribute to her on our web page at http://www.droscher.com/geffin-farewell. We were very lucky to have had her in our lives, especially for the last 9 months as we originally didn't think she was going to be able to join us in Canada. Our other cat Mikeneko is doing well, she has been enjoying Vancouver, especially looking out the window and playing with all the toys Sharon brings her from work. These past few weeks she has been getting (and requiring) a lot more attention and playtime as all three of us miss her "sister". Here's some pictures of our girls:

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Health wise we've been good except for a nasty stomach bug back in late February/early March. Took us both a while to recover (soup and toast was one of our main meals during March), and as a result I am not only slimmer than I used to be but also quite lactose intolerant.

We've celebrated major holidays and events here as much as possible, decorating our apartment windows etc with the holiday theme and Sharon baking holiday themed treats. This included Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter, Victoria Day (similar to the Queen's Birthday in Aus) and Canada Day. We are already collecting decorations and stuff for Halloween, our favourite holiday of the year

We've tried to get out and experience Vancouver as much as possible during our time here so far, although there is still plenty to see (not to mention the rest of Canada). We've spent time in Stanley Park; visited Grouse Mountain both in Winter and Summer; visited the Science World museum; taken long evening strolls along the seawall; had dinner on the beach watching the sun set; and of course had quite a few shopping expeditions around town. We've seen free hugs, hula hoop girls, various protests and late night dancing at Robson Square. In May I went on a day hike up a mountain (the Stawamus Chief peak) with a bunch of people from work. We've seen a lot of interesting things happening right in our neighbourhood too - a triathalon went past in spring; the annual Celebration of Light fireworks (over 4 nights in summer) was just down the street; the last friday of every month during spring & summer 100s of bikes rode past as part of the "critical mass" protest; a few weeks ago a few hundred people dressed as zombies shuffled past our window as part of the annual "Zombie Walk" ! Here's some pictures taken out our window:

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The various events and festivals we have attended during the year include: The Polar Bear Swim (New Year's Day); Cherry Blossom Festival; Dragon Boat Festival; Scandinavian Festival; Greek Day; Canada Day celebration & fireworks at Canada Place; Canada Cup of Beer; Yaletown Street Party; Commercial Drive Car Free Day; Celebration of Light fireworks festival; Caribbean Days Festival; Powell Street (Japanese) Festival; Gay Pride Parade; (Hare Krishna) Chariot Parade & Festival; Davie Day. Here's some pictures:

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We've been to a few music gigs too - we saw The Kaiser Chiefs, The Dandy Warhols, and will be seeing They Might Be Giants later this month. We were scheduled to see The Cure in October but they have moved the gig to next year some time. Seems like quite a few bands stop by here on their North American tours, and tickets are certainly cheaper than in Sydney.

Food wise we are spoiled for choices here. We eat out quite often as it is quite affordable and very tasty. Some of our favourite places to dine are: The Keg Steakhouse; Moxies Classic Grill; Davie Mongolian BBQ; The Cactus Club; Denny's Diner; Mr Pickwicks Fish & Chips; Vera's Burger Shack; Hamburger Mary's; and the hotdog vendor down on English Beach. Lately we've also got into the habit of going down to the local bar - Soho Bar & Grill - for drinks and 25c chicken wings on thursday nights with friends.

Speaking of drinks, unlike Australia, Canada has a good range of very nice drinkable beers. Every restaurant and pub have some good dark beers available, like Rickard's Red, Sleeman's Honey Brown, Dead Frog Brewery's Nut Brown, Big Rock Honey Brown, and many more.

In May we took a trip down to Disneyland to celebrate our wedding anniversary and visit with our Southern Californian friends. This was a lot cheaper and quicker than doing the same trip from Sydney and we had a great time. Here's a couple of pics:

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In July our friends James & Mark came up from Southern California to get married, with us as witnesses. It was a nice ceremony and it was great to have some visitors!

Summer wasn't too hot - much milder than Sydney, which was good because hot summers are one of the things we wanted to get away from. During the height of summer sunset was after 10pm which took a bit of getting used to. It was even harder to get used to the sun coming up at 5am - we very quickly went out and got some black curtains to complement the blinds.

In October we are making a trip down to Sydney to visit family & friends and also move stuff out of our costly storage unit, as we intend on staying in Vancouver for a while longer than the original 1 year we had planned.

That's about it for now, these newsletters will definitely be more frequent now I have "caught up". Keep an eye on our website for new pictures being added to our gallery and other updates as well.