Making It Up As I Go Along #445

So Close Vancouver, So Close
I had a chance at Vancouver a few weeks ago. A job at the BC office that works in tandem with ours. And I didn’t apply for it. To the best of my knowledge, nobody did… but the surprise around the office is that I didn’t.

It’s been well known by most that I have a real fondness for BC. And even though I didn’t apply, I’d say I like Vancouver as a city better than Ottawa still. So it even surprised myself that, with work prepared to pay for the move, I decided to let the opportunity pass me by.

I guess Ottawa is becoming home after all.

Yes I hate the Ottawa winter. The older I get, the more snow means nothing to me… not in a positive light anyway. Sure, there’s the picturesque aspects of it. The quiet, snow covered, Christmas morning. The Winter Wonderland of a fresh coat of snow atop a forest of pine. But more and more, for me, it’s become an annoyance upon my car… and a trail of slushy dirt upon my boots at work.

And the Ottawa cold has never been something I’ve warmed to. St. John’s gets it’s share of snow… and the wet winds off the sea can chill you to the bone… but the -30s or worse that can be found in Ottawa leaves me considering vacation days, simply so I don’t need to venture out. So the idea of a Vancouver winter is appealing to me.

Another consideration for Vancouver, one I actually did think about, is the hockey factor. I find the Ottawa Senators to be one of the least likable hockey teams in the entire NHL. The organization just doesn’t get it. And I’ve said it before, and continue to stand by it… if the NHL was people, instead of hockey teams, the Ottawa Senators would be the annoying geek that tries to build himself up by creating tall tales… but everyone else knows it’s all a lie. The local crew that cover Senator games whine about referees who miss calls. Opposing goalies were lucky to have beaten the Sens… the Sen players played amazingly, despite the loss… and on and on. The idea of moving to a city with a hockey team to be proud of was appealing to say the least.

And the sea and mountains. I’ve always missed the sea in Ottawa. Rivers and lakes just don’t measure up to the smell of the ocean and the mystic that great creatures may be lurking beneath the surface. While the mountains bring me a similar feeling of wonder. To be able to gaze upon the folds of rock and rising forests. When I’m in a plane, I can look down upon the land, wondering about the world below. Being able to see cars move about, the lights of homes, and the layout of cities. Knowing that people are living regular lives below but not being able to see the finite details of those lives from 35,000 feet above. It leaves the imagination to run.

For me, the same holds true for mountains. Except, instead of being in a plane looking down upon the world, you’re on the ground looking up at the landscape towering above you, or across at the land on the other side of the valley. To be able to look at crevasses from a distance and wonder if there are nesting eagles sitting there. To be able to see a distant meadow just above the tree line, and to wonder if you watched it long enough, if you’d be able to see a bear wander out into the open space. I peer up towards the great mountain forests and wonder if the wondrous Sasquatch could be trudging through there. Hidden from view yet so close.

Yet when it came to deciding where to live my life, for now, Ottawa won out. Many factors played a role.

The roots of the place have begun to take hold. I don’t have a great number of Ottawa friends, but I do have a group now that fill my week. Be it those I play ball with… or those I meet for UFC or movie nights with. There are burger trips across town and lunch buddies at the office. And yes, I’m sure that friends would eventually be made in Vancouver, but the idea of starting fresh in that regard was not an appealing one.

There is also the comfort of knowing your way around a city. It’s taken a while to get that in Ottawa. Only in recent years have people been able to describe a place to me and have me figure out where they’re talking about. To finally feel that comfort and then start over in a new city… again this was not an appealing idea, despite me already knowing parts of Vancouver.

Closeness to home was another big factor. Knowing I can hop a plane to Newfoundland in under three hours. Knowing I now head back there two, sometimes three times a year. And knowing that my parents can make their way here two, sometimes three times a year… it’s nice knowing I’m that close to home.

And then there is my Ottawa home. A few years ago, I was trying to find a new place to call home in Ottawa. And I still don’t expect to stay in my Terrace Home for the rest of my days in this city. But it’s grown on me. Just the perfect size for my needs with the things I need nearby… and a small lake to walk around virtually at my doorstep. The idea of going to Vancouver and having half (or less) of what I have now was a major drawback.

So in Ottawa I stay, working with friends and about to venture home for my Christmas vacation. While praying that global warming, if it must occur, will at least rid me of those -30 degree days in the dead of Ottawa winter.

MONDAY...
--- day shift. It's cold and the car is half full of ice before I can head to work. Work is fine with a nice lunch with Annick and Shannon.

TUESDAY...
--- messy day. Lots of snow makes the drive in not so nice.
--- downtown after work to get the computers synced. Groceries after that, I'm not home and settled until about 8:30.

WEDNESDAY…
--- Back downtown today as the computers are ready. Play around about after that and then get ready for night shift at work. Thai food makes it good.

THURSDAY…
--- Work is slow tonight. And not much going on beforehand.

FRIDAY…
--- Up around noon… some computer organizing until the dentist… to Shannon’s after that for burgers at Dick’s… a bit of TV once I get home.

SATURDAY…
--- Around the house… talk to sis on the phone, hockey and some movies and TV shows… computer time. Spaghetti makes for a fine Saturday supper.

SUNDAY…
--- Win our last game of the fall ball season. So we are the “B” Champions. Get t-shirts for the effort. A fine season under the dome.
--- Final of Survivor tonight is accompanied by pizza. Good stuff.