Yeah the mountain of plugs, that is. After plugging in an adapter in the power point provided on the wall, I use a double socket to balance this mountain consisting of a transformer (converts 230V to 110V), and another adapter, followed by a multi-socket plug to charge my mobile phone and power my laptop. If I shake the table it will cause my laptop to shut down without notice.

One of the major differences I notice here is that everything is significantly higher, and taller. Thus making me feel super short, because many things are almost out of my reach, if at reach.

1. Peephole for the apartment door: I cannot see clearly even upon tip-toeing.

2. Shower Faucet: Placed much higher than what I’m used to, but reachable fortunately.

3. Curtain rods: You know the rods you pull to pull the curtains? My arms have to reach for them at an 80 degree angle (almost vertical, geddit?).

4. Bookshelves: The shelves above my desk table in my room are way too high. I have to tiptoe to place books on one of ‘em. The other one is unreachable unless I stand on the chair.

5. Clothes rack in shops: I have to ask for assistance, and it can be embarrassing. But it’s a good small talk topic and worth a laugh with.

6. Drinks dispenser (at places like Subway): usually my arm just has to extend at around elbow height. Here it’s a 70 degree stretch.

7. MY LETTERBOX: I’m provided with my own letterbox, but I cannot even reach it. Yes, yes, laugh all you want. I cannot reach the keylock, let alone see whether I have any letters or not.

My letterbox is on the 2nd highest tier. I’ll have to make friends with tall people now, don’t I?

Squareface walks into a North Face store:

Service Attendant: HELLLLLLOOOO!!! How ARE you?!

Squareface: Oh hi! I’m great! And you?

Service Attendant: I’m doing WELL! Thank you SO MUCH for asking!

Squareface doesn’t know how to continue the conversation so she looks at the clothes and asks for advice on a suitable buy.

And then, for the first time in her life, she buys a GENUINE North Face Jacket. Made in Bangladesh.

I have to hold such conversations for almost every store I walk into! Haha, help me think of more topics for small talk! There’s always the weather, I know, but that’s all I know! Haha…

Paper is the way to go!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Thanks CG and Shaina for mentioning me on their blogs (and for sharing my photos)!

Shaina! Here’s more food! Okay la not very exciting, but it’s my secret stash in my drawer…

Did you know? Read it here.
Ah, but not the world’s most liveable place per se.

My Chinese schoolmates from Fudan and I made our UBC Student Card and UPass today. Really fast and easy!

Yeah I know my hair sux. I kept asking the person-in-charge whether I should take another picture since my hair was covering my eyes, but they already started printing the cards! Bleh. The Upass on the right gives me unlimited access to most of the public transportation in Vancouver! How cool is that!

I thought this sign was pretty witty.

We went to Metrotown’s Metropolis’s T & T Supermarket. Gosh, I thought I was back in China. Almost all its patrons and service crew are Chinese, and the paging done in the supermarket is in Cantonese. People speak Mandarin and Cantonese there like everyone was back in China. I seriously thought I was. Anyway, Chinese/Asian head to this supermarket because the familiar can be found there, and Chinatown is way to expensive.

So we sure did buy plenty of things from T & T and this shop that sells everything for a dollar or less (EXCLUDING TAX. YOU MUST PAY TAX FOR EVERYTHING HERE. IT IS NOT INCLUSIVE IN THEIR PRICE TAG. THERE IS GST AND PST (PROVINCE SERVICE TAX)). 13% TAX CAN YOU BELIEVE IT. IF YOU EAT-IN IT’S GONNA COST YOU 15-20% TIP. TIP!!! MONEY YOU GIVE IN THE NAME OF VOLUNTARISM HAS A MINIMUM SUM LIABLE!!)

Skytrain (their version of a subway) ticket dispensers. (Only your integrity is at stake if you don’t purchase one)

There are no barricades whatsoever to check your tickets. There are supposedly inspectors who go around checking that you bought tickets (we didn’t meet any), but it’s mostly based on a trust system. Such sophistication!

And we missed our last bus back to UBC! We went to the wrong bus stop and saw the last bus leave! Of course, at that time we didn’t know it was the last bus did we. I approached another bus driver and managed to take it and then transfered to another bus nearer UBC and thus here I am! Mental note: leave downtown before 6pm in order to avoid being stranded.

Hey, I just bought activated a SIM card from a Canadian mobile service provider, so I’ll be suspending my Singapore Starhub line, thus ceasing my roaming service. Do obtain my Canada number from my MSN, and feel free to call me because I get free incoming calls!

Very very expensive though, around S$70 per month. Very depressing.

I chose to stay in Walter H. Gage Apartments because I thought they’d be what it’s called: apartments. I had the impression that I’ll be staying in a homely cosy apartment for 6, but what I see now is more of a student’s hostel with a kitchen and sitting room. The bathroom is akin to a common bathroom, with 2 showers and 1 WC (shouldn’t it be the other way round though?).

BUT THE VIEW IS GREAT!

This is the direct view from my room. Albeit a little blocked by buildings and ongoing construction, the mountains still leave me in awe. Such a magnificent window view.

The view a little to the side.

From left: Front Desk, Gage Towers, and the bus terminal (I live less than 5 minutes from it!)

Here’s how the somewhat clinical setting looks like. We all have personal cards to our own rooms.

And here’s how my room looks like:

Don’t you think the cupboard is in a funny shape? But it utilizes the corner space wonderfully.

We have a conventional oven! And 2 refrigerators! And I had a hard time with the vertical vacuum cleaner. I can’t get it moving smoothly forward, so I placed one foot on it and was sliding around to push it forward. And I can’t really clean under things. Is this normal for such vertical cleaners?

The bathroom:

We have an emergency exit in the house!

The laundry area is in the basement (I live on the 11th floor). So I was going up and down every half an hour to place the clothes in the washing machines, transfer them to the dryers after they were done, and then finally bringing them back up. I actually have to separate my clothes into differentiated piles: permanent press; delicate; whites; coloured; etc etc, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to remember such a complicated process.

’nuff said.

Chubby Squareface with Lion’s Gate Bridge

Only good things await!

A friend of my mom’s kindly put me up at her place for a night, and it was really an eye-opener! She lives in a cosy corner in Surrey, called Nico Wynd, and lives just next to her favourite hangout, the golf course. Along with her 50-year-old German husband, Judi, 64 years old, was born in Penang, lived in Singapore for 30 over years, and is now semi-retired in this lovely abode.

Her lovely self-decorated two-storeyed home, is complete with a garage, a fireplace, and even a basement with a mini wine cellar.

I was provided with my own bedroom and bathroom in the basement!

In the night, I experienced something I rarely experience in my life: Dead silence.

Some interesting sights:

From left: switches in Canada, trash can, and a parking coupon dispenser

White Rock

Eateries

We ate at Green Papaya. I had a steak sandwich with some creamy soup. My first meal in Canada!

This is a van that actually transports old folks to and fro from their homes to the supermarkets!

A&W exists here! And that’s a trolley that caters for kids.

Pricesmart, a supermarket:

Fat chickens/turkeys

Cheese cheese cheese! Plenty of cheese!

Condiments Condiments Condiments! Take as much or as little as you need!

Same for candy candy candy!

Fruits fruits fruits!

This is called sophistication. You can save a lot on workers’ wages by having self check out counters. It only takes one or two workers to keep an eye on cheaters.

Chans Grocery Store

Crescent Beach:

Would you come sit with me?

Almost camouflaged bird

Dinner with them was quite a grand affair to me, with fine ware and fine wine, and lots of talk, it introduced me to the stressful life of living out of a Tatler’s magazine.

But the food was goooooooood! Judi cooked them herself, complete with chicken curry!

Dessert part 1: custard pudding. Dessert part 2: biscuits.

Mini wine cellar, complete with typical basement lightbulb.

Saying goodbye to the high life. The reason why my jacket is so oversized is because it’s a men’s jacket (with removable inner fleece jacket) at a great deal at Zeller’s, which I bought for only CAN$26. My luggage is foolishly filled with short-sleeved shirts when it’s already below 20 degrees celsius here.

Canoeing in such lovely weather and sky

How come any picture just looks so beautiful?

Would you sail away with me?