The Life of Ben (as of 25 August)

Hey!!

Time for a quick update of the life and times of Ben in Vancouver....

Well since last writing a few significant things have happened, I have a job and a place to live.

The place where I'm living at the moment was just a room sublet for August. It's a reasonably nice place to live (a bit dirty) but has a kitchen with dishwasher which is pretty nice, hot water, and is in a convenient location. One of the other guys living there is Hari, he's from India and just about to start his second year of university studying law. He is a funny bloke and I appreciate having him around. A really good bloke. The other room was vacant for half a month and then I noticed a new person in the house one morning wandering from the bathroom to my bedroom half asleep. I'm not real sure if there's just one girl or two girls living in the room, and haven't had anymore of a conversation than hello cos they are either really shy or don't speak english (spanish seems to be there preferred language). Another couple live upstairs and use the same kitchen and bathroom, and for a few days didn't realise they were their either, except for the weird creaky noises during the night. The best part about the room is that it has a landing on the side of the house with a nice 2 seater garden chair. I think every house should have a little landing, perfect for eating breakfast and reading in the evening.

The place that I'll be moving to is a basement suite, which I'll be sharing with a girl from church named Nellie (I'm always so tempted to call her smellie Nellie but somehow resist at the last moment). Accommodation around East Vancouver is in short supply, you usually need to grab at least a month in advance and stuff disappears quick. I rang about the suite and talked to a lady named Laurie and she was really nice, so nice that when I got off the phone I said to Charlene, 'That lady was really nice'. We went to check out the suite, and Laurie had a matching really nice husband named Perry that we got on well with. The suite is really roomy with a biggish kitchen, lounge and bathroom and decent sized bedrooms. Compared to another place we had checked out it is absolutely huge... though there are some low hanging portions of the ceiling which will probably bruise my noggin. Well the nice couple liked us lots and then with an amazing reference from Elias for me they are happy for us to move in down stairs.

Since last Wednesday I've been working with a company called QuestAir that develop gas purification systems for industry. The part I'm working with tests different things and designs and builds test equipment. I'm finding it pretty interesting so far. It's supposedly a 2 month contract, but I've since heard it mentioned as 3 months so I'm wondering if it will turn full time. I'm still keeping my ears open for full time work in the mean time. I thought it was going to interfere with going riding from Jasper to Banff in a couple of weeks, but my supervisor is pretty relaxed. He rides heaps and is happy for me to go and has spent a fair bit of time there himself in the past. So I can't wait. I've been riding to work each day... about half an hour each way which is a nice commute but I don't think I was eating enough to keep the fuel tank full cos I was getting wearier and wearier for a few days, and I think Wednesday night after catchin the skytrain home decided to try eating tonnes and tonnes and have felt great since.

Charlene has been away on the West Coast Trail this last week with 3 girls from church. It's rated as one of the best (most challenging) walks in BC, covering about 75km over 5 or 6 days, with sections of deep mud (up to your chest), rivers, slippery walkways, ladders, cable cars, etc. Apparently some people die on it occasionally so I'm hoping we get a phone call this afternoon or tomorrow to come pick them up from the ferry. They will have had an amazing adventure. It's always weird trying to imagine people hiking for days on end when you are doing something completely different, so I'm looking forward to photos. I got some books out from the library to get some idea of the terrain and it looks nice. The girls she's hiking with are all pretty nice too, so I'm sure some really strong friendships will have formed in the course of the last week which is good.

The Van battery story is well past but might get a mention soon. I pulled hair out so next time. Hope every one is well.