i almost died

so, for one reason or another i decided to start running again. this morning i jogged over to a near by track. i stretched a bit and decided to do a snowball (not that kind of snowball, you sick bastards). anyway, i was going to run 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m and then 500m. if i was feeling good i would start counting back down to 100m. well, as it turns out i'm not an 18 year old track star any more (big surprise). after the 300m run i almost died (hense the post title). it took a good 20 minutes to catch my breath and another 20 to feel like i wasn't going to throw up. so, the lesson for today is "you have to ease into these things." tomorrow it will be a light jog... assuming my legs still work.

later today i'm going to talk to a guy about volunteering at a music festival. also, zero 7 is playing this saturday and i need to find someone to go with.

Now I've Gone Too Far

This is way over the line.

You Tube

Seeing as how it is a daily challenge to keep myself busy I've wasted many hours downloading a watching videos. Recently I've been watching every episode of the X-Men cartoon series (it still kicks ass). I've also been spending hours on end watching random videos on You Tube. They started posting full episodes of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, which is awesome considering we don't have cable. I've also posted a couple of my videos on You Tube, including such hits as "Geoff and Patrick's Worst Ski Video Ever." In our defence there is about 2 feet of concrete like snow on the ground (i.e. speed and air are not options).



I have managed to participate in socially healthy endevours as well. Saturday I went to a party, drank crummy Canadian beer, and met a bunch of cool people. One guy is in the process of building his own biodiesel plant and has a few connections in the sustainable tech industry. We'll see if all this networking can get me anywhere.

Mmmm... Blackberry Pie

Yesterday, Steph and I picked blackberries in some vacant lot. Hopefully soon I will be enjoying some blackberry pie. After blackberry picking I had some fun with Luca and watched some X-men cartoons (they never get old). Then I went out to a bar/indie rock venue with Anna and some of her friends and had a good time although not drinking (DD) and trying to explain to Canucks that you: moved to Vancouver for a girl, broke up, and are now staying to try to maintain some sense of place in this world gets tiresome and is often ineffective (judging from the confused looks).

I Lied

It turns out I don't get to house sit, since the original person (i was the replacement) came back from being awol. the good news is that i have wireless internet now.

New New House

So, I am going to house sit for a friend of Anna's next week. That means I have a whole house to myself for a week (plus a cat). Also the woman that lives there (Kim) might be able to set me up with a temp job helping her neighbor do some screen printing. It would be nice to have something to do and some money while I look for a job. Speaking of jobs, I talked to a manager at a fuel cell company today and they are posting a mechanical position next week... good news. Now they just need to hire me.

I've had it with these MFing snakes on this MFing plane

That's right.... I saw Snakes on a Plane today. It was everything I hoped it would be. Steph and I saw it in a theater filled with 6 other people. We actually had a lot of fun laughing at a movie that obviously had no intention of taking itself seriously. Unfortunately the guy in front of us was taking it a little too seriously and moved because we were talking too much.

New Place

I moved into my new place Saturday and it is working out really well. The woman that owns the place (Anna) is a 34 year old single mom with a 3 year old son (Luca). He is a lot of fun, but only around about half the time. There is another room that is going to be used by a girl from Toronto. I guess she is going to school out here. Anyway, I really like Anna, her friends, and the house. See pictures of it here: www.flickr.com/photos/geoffhill

Saturday, one of Anna's friends came over. A really nice guy named Shane who has a band and works for a funeral home. It turns out that one of Shane's friends works for one of the engineering firms I just applied to. Shane got me in touch with him and it looks like I might get an interview out of the deal. So, the job search is going as well as I could expect although I'll feel better when I'm sitting at a computer designing something... on the other hand maybe I won't. I'll certainly be happy not to be so broke. Other than that every day is mostly a struggle to stay busy. I'm trying to find a sports league and a volunteer program to keep out of the house.

There was a complaint that you had to have a login to leave a comment. I changed it so you can leave a comment without having an account.

riiiiiight

i'd be lying if i said it hasn't been an eventful week. we'll start with the big news and then work from there... steph and i broke up earlier this week. the good news is that it was amicable (although that always seems to be the case). not that it makes it any easier. so, the reasons are not exactly clear cut, but basically the stress of the situation was making it too difficult (maybe i'll write more about this at a later date). so, the next bit of news... i'm not leaving vancouver, at least not yet (wtf geoff). granted steph was the reason i came up to vancouver, but she was not the only reason to stay. reasons to stay include:

- i've put so much time and energy into finding jobs and creating a life here
- the fuel cell/sustainable technology industry is really big here
- the job search is finally getting fruitful (i.e. potential interviews and getting contacts in the industry)
- vancouver is awesome (ask me again in a few months after i've been through the rainy season)
- no offense to my friends and family in colorado, but i just want to be somewhere different for a while
- i found a really cool sublet with fantastic roommates
- cheap cheap sushi

basically the plan is to stay for a couple months and see how the job search pans out. if i can't find anything i'll crawl home with my tail between my legs. as for things with steph, we're going to try to be friends although that might require a break in order to ease the transition. so, feel free to leave me comments telling me that i'm crazy. i hope all is well everyone.