Today this website and domain are three years old. How quickly they have passed.
I guess I should relate our trip to Vancouver this past weekend before I forget the details. We had lots of fun and one of the best border crossings in history.
It all started out Saturday morning at about 7:00am. We awoke and got ready for our day. On the way out of town we hit a Tully's for some hot coffee. By 11:00am we were at the Peace Arch going into Canada. We only had to wait about 20 minutes or so in line to get across the border. No ploblems there. The first exit after getting into Canada we stopped at an ESSO station for some Player's cigarettes and a map of Vancouver. We then headed into town.
The first thing we did was head for this huge grocery store (the Real Canadian Superstore I think) so Erin could get some treats that are not available in the US. On the way we spotted a Future Shop and stopped to see if they carry GPS units. It was like a Best Buy in there, but red instead of yellow. They did carry GPS units, but not the brand I was after. We left Future Shop empty handed. We picked up some katchup chips, some salt and vinegar chips, shampoo, lipton instant dinner things, and a few other odds and ends. This store was huge. Erin says it is owned by the same company who owns a chain of discount warehouses similar to Costco. Anyway, after we were done with that we headed north through Richmond in search of some lunch. We were both hungry and decided on Boston Pizza.
We found the Boston Pizza on Broadway that Erin had gotten the address for. The map was coming in handy already. Boston Pizza was really good. I had the Proggie Pizzaz Single Pizza and Erin had the veggie pizza single. After lunch we headed to the University of British Columbia campus in search of a coffee shop called "Second Cup." We found it without much fuss, again thanks to the map we bought. We went in and purchased a pound of Irish Creme whole bean coffee and left. Next we decided to head for a mall call Oak Ridge a bit south east of the UBC campus for some shopping. On the way there we passed a store called Pinky's and stopped to look at their selection. Nothing good there, however.
At Oak Ridge mall we found Le Chateu. Erin says it isn't as good as it used to be. So we didn't buy anything there. We found a coat store that had a winter coat exactly like the one Erin had been looking for. It was on sale too! Rock, so Erin got a new winter coat. We wandered around in the mall a little bit more, but quickly got bored and left. We decided to head to Robson street downtown. Once on Robson street I found some amazing parking and we got out to explore. We found a London Drugs and purchased some 222's and Gravol. Mmmmm, codine.
Wandering around on Robson street reminded us a lot of Seattle. Too many people on not enough sidewalk all trying to talk over eachother. It was loud and cramped. The stores were no good here either. Nothing Erin was looking for. We left Robson street and headed over to Hastings. On Hastings we found a nice block or so made into makeshift punk rock housing. We noticed the further east we went on Hastings, the worse the neighborhood got. We decided to head south to a mall in Richmond where HMV has a store.
We hit Knight St. south until we got to the Westminster Hwy and then headed back west to No 3 St. At the corner we found yet another mall with roof-top parking. We went inside and wandered around a little bit. We found a sporting goods store that reminded me of Gart Sports and I wanted to see if they carry hockey jerseys. They did, but most of them were really small. Erin found a Montreal one that was Pro Player brand though. It was a large too! To make it even better, it was only marked as $89.99 (CAD). Woo! So we decided to get it. We went to the cashier and it rang up as $45.00 (CAD)! Double Woo! That made it cost a bit over $20 US. Tripple Woo!
Erin was thirsty so we looked for something to drink. I was almost out of Canadian cash so we had to find an ATM. The ATM in the mall didn't like my US card, so we left and went across the street to RBC. RBC liked me a bit more and decided it could make $1.50 (CAD) off of my checking transaction. But I was able to get $20, so whatever. We walked back across the street and into another drugstore. This one was a bit bigger. Erin found the hair dye she likes, but didn't buy any of it. We picked up a Coffee Crisp, Wunderbar, and a bottle of Canada Dry. Thirst quenched, we decided it was dinner time. We decided we wanted A&W and passed one on our way to Future Shop earlier. I decided we could find it again and headed north to where we saw Future Shop. It was getting dark by now though, so things looked a bit different.
We actually found the A&W without any trouble. We went in and got some dinner. Erin ordered Poutine with her Chubby Chicken. I tried it, but I didn't want to eat too much fast food poutine and ruin my opinion of it. After we ate we decided it was time to head home. We visited all of the places on Erin's list and were even able to get her a winter coat. Our mission accomplished, we headed out of town. Or so I thought! We were at Highway 99, but the only on ramps we could find went north! Was there no way to get south to Seattle? Finally after getting on a highway (The New Westminster Highway I think) I found an exit to Knight St heading north and went that way. Exited and then got back on Knight St heading south. Finally a link to Highway 99 South.
We again stopped at the ESSO one exit before the border and got some gas. Erin also went inside and got two more packs of Canadian cigarettes. We then headed for the US border. We were nervous. Before the stamp on page 10 of Erin's passport, she was not allowed to exit the country. Now we were on the other side trying to get back in. Kind of scary.
We arrived at the border shortly before 7:00pm. After waiting for the two cars in front of us to get questioned, it was out turn. We pulled up and the officer asked us for ID. We gave him both of our passports. He asked me to turn the truck off and give him the keys. He looked in the bed of the truck and under the bed. I guess he was looking for drugs or something. He then asked me if my tires were the correct size. I told him no, that I had gotten larger tired put on. He said he asked because my spare tire was so much smaller then them. I forgot the spare was even back there. He then asked us if we were bringing anything back into the country. I told him some chips and... He smiled and told us to have a good evening.
We were allowed back into the US. Total time at the border, 10 minutes! Rock. So to celebrate our successful trip to Canada we decided to make an out of the way trip to Krispy Kreme before we headed home.
We walked back into our apartment at about 9:00pm. The cat wondered where we were all day, but seemed to calm down after 30 minutes or so.
I can't wait for our next trip to Vancouver. Other then the downtown area being ugly as hell, it is kind of nice being in a new city. New things to explore and all. Next time though, I hope to have a new GPS unit to help us get around.
It all started out Saturday morning at about 7:00am. We awoke and got ready for our day. On the way out of town we hit a Tully's for some hot coffee. By 11:00am we were at the Peace Arch going into Canada. We only had to wait about 20 minutes or so in line to get across the border. No ploblems there. The first exit after getting into Canada we stopped at an ESSO station for some Player's cigarettes and a map of Vancouver. We then headed into town.
The first thing we did was head for this huge grocery store (the Real Canadian Superstore I think) so Erin could get some treats that are not available in the US. On the way we spotted a Future Shop and stopped to see if they carry GPS units. It was like a Best Buy in there, but red instead of yellow. They did carry GPS units, but not the brand I was after. We left Future Shop empty handed. We picked up some katchup chips, some salt and vinegar chips, shampoo, lipton instant dinner things, and a few other odds and ends. This store was huge. Erin says it is owned by the same company who owns a chain of discount warehouses similar to Costco. Anyway, after we were done with that we headed north through Richmond in search of some lunch. We were both hungry and decided on Boston Pizza.
We found the Boston Pizza on Broadway that Erin had gotten the address for. The map was coming in handy already. Boston Pizza was really good. I had the Proggie Pizzaz Single Pizza and Erin had the veggie pizza single. After lunch we headed to the University of British Columbia campus in search of a coffee shop called "Second Cup." We found it without much fuss, again thanks to the map we bought. We went in and purchased a pound of Irish Creme whole bean coffee and left. Next we decided to head for a mall call Oak Ridge a bit south east of the UBC campus for some shopping. On the way there we passed a store called Pinky's and stopped to look at their selection. Nothing good there, however.
At Oak Ridge mall we found Le Chateu. Erin says it isn't as good as it used to be. So we didn't buy anything there. We found a coat store that had a winter coat exactly like the one Erin had been looking for. It was on sale too! Rock, so Erin got a new winter coat. We wandered around in the mall a little bit more, but quickly got bored and left. We decided to head to Robson street downtown. Once on Robson street I found some amazing parking and we got out to explore. We found a London Drugs and purchased some 222's and Gravol. Mmmmm, codine.
Wandering around on Robson street reminded us a lot of Seattle. Too many people on not enough sidewalk all trying to talk over eachother. It was loud and cramped. The stores were no good here either. Nothing Erin was looking for. We left Robson street and headed over to Hastings. On Hastings we found a nice block or so made into makeshift punk rock housing. We noticed the further east we went on Hastings, the worse the neighborhood got. We decided to head south to a mall in Richmond where HMV has a store.
We hit Knight St. south until we got to the Westminster Hwy and then headed back west to No 3 St. At the corner we found yet another mall with roof-top parking. We went inside and wandered around a little bit. We found a sporting goods store that reminded me of Gart Sports and I wanted to see if they carry hockey jerseys. They did, but most of them were really small. Erin found a Montreal one that was Pro Player brand though. It was a large too! To make it even better, it was only marked as $89.99 (CAD). Woo! So we decided to get it. We went to the cashier and it rang up as $45.00 (CAD)! Double Woo! That made it cost a bit over $20 US. Tripple Woo!
Erin was thirsty so we looked for something to drink. I was almost out of Canadian cash so we had to find an ATM. The ATM in the mall didn't like my US card, so we left and went across the street to RBC. RBC liked me a bit more and decided it could make $1.50 (CAD) off of my checking transaction. But I was able to get $20, so whatever. We walked back across the street and into another drugstore. This one was a bit bigger. Erin found the hair dye she likes, but didn't buy any of it. We picked up a Coffee Crisp, Wunderbar, and a bottle of Canada Dry. Thirst quenched, we decided it was dinner time. We decided we wanted A&W and passed one on our way to Future Shop earlier. I decided we could find it again and headed north to where we saw Future Shop. It was getting dark by now though, so things looked a bit different.
We actually found the A&W without any trouble. We went in and got some dinner. Erin ordered Poutine with her Chubby Chicken. I tried it, but I didn't want to eat too much fast food poutine and ruin my opinion of it. After we ate we decided it was time to head home. We visited all of the places on Erin's list and were even able to get her a winter coat. Our mission accomplished, we headed out of town. Or so I thought! We were at Highway 99, but the only on ramps we could find went north! Was there no way to get south to Seattle? Finally after getting on a highway (The New Westminster Highway I think) I found an exit to Knight St heading north and went that way. Exited and then got back on Knight St heading south. Finally a link to Highway 99 South.
We again stopped at the ESSO one exit before the border and got some gas. Erin also went inside and got two more packs of Canadian cigarettes. We then headed for the US border. We were nervous. Before the stamp on page 10 of Erin's passport, she was not allowed to exit the country. Now we were on the other side trying to get back in. Kind of scary.
We arrived at the border shortly before 7:00pm. After waiting for the two cars in front of us to get questioned, it was out turn. We pulled up and the officer asked us for ID. We gave him both of our passports. He asked me to turn the truck off and give him the keys. He looked in the bed of the truck and under the bed. I guess he was looking for drugs or something. He then asked me if my tires were the correct size. I told him no, that I had gotten larger tired put on. He said he asked because my spare tire was so much smaller then them. I forgot the spare was even back there. He then asked us if we were bringing anything back into the country. I told him some chips and... He smiled and told us to have a good evening.
We were allowed back into the US. Total time at the border, 10 minutes! Rock. So to celebrate our successful trip to Canada we decided to make an out of the way trip to Krispy Kreme before we headed home.
We walked back into our apartment at about 9:00pm. The cat wondered where we were all day, but seemed to calm down after 30 minutes or so.
I can't wait for our next trip to Vancouver. Other then the downtown area being ugly as hell, it is kind of nice being in a new city. New things to explore and all. Next time though, I hope to have a new GPS unit to help us get around.
Our INS quest is now over! This morning at about 10:45am Erin received a stamp in her passport that enables her to cross the boarder at will. In 6-8 months she should have her card as well.
And tonight we are going to celebrate.
And tonight we are going to celebrate.
CBS Sportsline has one of the coolest scoreboard pages I have come across. The data in the page updates without having to refresh and without having to load some crappy hard to read java app.
Make sure to check out the live gamecenter while a game is going on. It shows a scoreboard, the last five plays, scoring summary, penalty summary and player stats. Good stuff.
Make sure to check out the live gamecenter while a game is going on. It shows a scoreboard, the last five plays, scoring summary, penalty summary and player stats. Good stuff.
NHL.com has a new feature called Impact! It is sort of a web-zine for hockey fans.
Best of all, it is free! I like it so far.
Best of all, it is free! I like it so far.
This morning we had our INS interview for Erin's perm resident status. We didn't get it though. We are approved if I can submit some more information by next Wednesday. I need to provide my last three years tax forms and W2 forms, as well as a letter from my current employer stating that I am employed, the date I started, my job title, salary and number of hours I work per week.
Of course we had no clue the INS was going to require this information prior to today. I mean, when we filed for this entire process I provided the last three years worth of W2 forms. You would think that within the last year that they have been pending our status change they could have made a quick call to the IRS to check to see if I had filed. Not to mention I provided my last few paychecks today which pretty much proves I am employed.
Oh well, we will have to suspend our trip to Vancouver until next weekend.
Of course we had no clue the INS was going to require this information prior to today. I mean, when we filed for this entire process I provided the last three years worth of W2 forms. You would think that within the last year that they have been pending our status change they could have made a quick call to the IRS to check to see if I had filed. Not to mention I provided my last few paychecks today which pretty much proves I am employed.
Oh well, we will have to suspend our trip to Vancouver until next weekend.
I just got an email from ticketweb to say my tickets had been refunded due to CANCELLATION of the event. We did order two sets of the tickets and cancelled one set though, so I set out to find some JTB news.
I happened across the Jade Tree website and found the following news item:
JETS TO BRAZIL US TOUR CANCELLED
Due to sudden illness, Jets to Brazil have cancelled their entire US tour, which was scheduled to begin tonight in Brooklyn. Further details on rescheduling or upcoming tours will be released as those plans develop. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and will release more information as it is made available.
Damnit.
I happened across the Jade Tree website and found the following news item:
JETS TO BRAZIL US TOUR CANCELLED
Due to sudden illness, Jets to Brazil have cancelled their entire US tour, which was scheduled to begin tonight in Brooklyn. Further details on rescheduling or upcoming tours will be released as those plans develop. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and will release more information as it is made available.
Damnit.
What...
Nothing here...
I'm...
Darkness...
Nothing here...
There's nothing here!
Darkness...
Falling...
I'm not here. There's not even me here. Just the thought that I might be here. I think. Or don't think. No, don't stop thinking. Because then even you won't be here anymore. Don't stop thinking...
No. Not falling, floating...
In the darkness...
Where am I?
You're here, thinking about here...
Keep thinking...
But who's doing the thinking for me...
You are...
Right...
Who am I...
You are...
Right...
Get me out of here!!!
Darkness...
Nothing here...
I'm...
Darkness...
Nothing here...
There's nothing here!
Darkness...
Falling...
I'm not here. There's not even me here. Just the thought that I might be here. I think. Or don't think. No, don't stop thinking. Because then even you won't be here anymore. Don't stop thinking...
No. Not falling, floating...
In the darkness...
Where am I?
You're here, thinking about here...
Keep thinking...
But who's doing the thinking for me...
You are...
Right...
Who am I...
You are...
Right...
Get me out of here!!!
Darkness...