Talk Show On Mute

Well, it's been a while since the last update. Like I said in the very first entry, it gets like this everytime for me :D so from now on, don't expect updates every day. They'll come when they're ready. I get so lazy sometimes (all the time), and this feels like work. We'll see what happens in the future.

Anyhoo, this weekend has been a bit pointless. I haven't done anything special, if I don't count the chats I had with Henna and Niko and Johnny, which are of course always special :P in addition to those chats, I've mostly been freezing in my room and wishing it'd be christmas already. I'm kinda feeling like this'll be the crappiest christmas ever, since I heard a rumour that Brenda and Dave are going to visit their relatives somewhere, and we won't be invited. Great. That means that I'll most probably be at the house, eating cereal and watching cartoons the whole christmas. I could go to downtown, but I doubt there's anything special on christmas day, since everyone's celebrating somewhere. Ha-freaking-ha. I might as well pull that allnighter that I was supposed to do last night, but I had to let Henna down since my arm was itching like crazy and I just wanted to go to sleep so I wouldn't feel the itch. I'm such a pussy :D

I walked around downtown today though. It's been snowing like crazy for the last few days, and I hear this is almost unheard of in Vancouver. I must've brought the snowstorms with me, niiiice! At least we get a white christmas in here as well (I don't wanna mention the fact that it'll be raining probably in a week, and all the snow's gonna melt away and don't come back until next winter, if then). It was pretty fun to just walk around without any hurry, and see a little more of the downtown area that I've seen thus far. I almost got a bit scared since I found myself in the area that wikitravel describes with some nice words:

"The Downtown Eastside is a dangerous area at night for those not familiar with Vancouver, an area of homelessness, drug-use, and prostitution. One should avoid touring this area, but if you accidentally stroll in it is not difficult to find your way out. The "Downtown Eastside" includes Chinatown and tourists are advised to avoid Chinatown after 7/8pm - There is an extremely limited number of shops and almost no restaurants open after that time. The owners seem to close early to avoid any spill over trouble from the Hastings Street Area."

Indeed, I accidentally strolled into the area, and immediately recognized it as the infamous Hastings-area. There were some characters, let me tell you.. in the two block area that I walked through, I saw a woman beating a dude, a bunch of junkies in a cozy looking huddle and an old guy who kinda looked like Santa throwing snowballs into a pub window. I think I'll avoid the area from now on.

I might as well list some things I like and dislike about Canada/BC/Vancouver. The list will definately grow in the following months, but this is the situation so far.

I like:
- The scenery. It's beautiful up in this joint (Johnny, un-street wise?? WHAT?!). The mountains, the sea.. it's all good.
- The people. The people in general are really nice in here.
- The intercultural atmosphere. I love the fact that there are people from everywhere in the city. It's like NYC, although with about a million more Asians. Hongcouver, indeed.
- The transit system. It's very well done, and you can count on the fact that the buses, the seabus and the skytrain run smoothly and on time. It's also very cheap, at least if you're used to the Kuopio prices..

I dislike:
- Shopping. If something says it costs $9.99, you can't go to the counter with a ten dollar bill, oh no. The labels only tell you the store price, they don't tell you the actual price, taxes included. It's so confusing.
- The toilets. 'nuff said.
- The doorknobs.
- Excessive christmas decorations. I've grown really tired of the singing and dancing Tigger and Winnie The Pooh.
- Peanut butter + jelly.

+/-
- The weather. I love the snow, but I know it'll be raining again soon. I like the fact though that it's not too cold.
- The food. Mostly it's good, but sometimes.. oh boy. By the way, I really miss all the christmas foods, macarone casserole (or pasta in a box, as they say in the big world of TECHNOPOLIS), Salmiakki and finnish bread / rolls. Mmmmmm.

Hmh. I'm feeling like I'm missing everyone back home. Come and visit me, eh?

LTRZ