Another trip, another return

I'm back from that Vancouver trip: we were out there for eight days total, got done early, and got to leave ahead of schedule. We even had [gasp] some time to see the city, as opposed to the usual airport-jobsite-hotel-jobsite-hotel-jobsite-hotel-airport trip that I'm used to. The work went well, and the client (and other visitors) were impressed by our work.

In addition to going to the restaurant with hot waitresses, mentioned earlier, we went to the Yaletown Brewing Company. It's a brewpub in the part of town that used to be warehouses, and now is going more upscale (read: getting yuppified). But hey--excellent pizzas, and they have a very tasty Brown Ale--good malty flavor, and a very creamy mouthfeel--a bit like Guinness in that way.

Speaking of Guinness, the photo above shows the Lion's Gate Bridge, which was--no lie--built by the Guinness family in the late 1930's. Basically, they bought property on the north shore of Vancouver, and wanted to recoup their investment by having people build houses and move there. I took this shot while a group of us were walking through Stanley Park on a day off. I found this park especially interesting because it is a large peninsula attached to the central part of the city that has remained parkland--it is almost the same size as the downtown core of Vancouver--take a look at this Google Map. I guess that it was declared a park early enough that development didn't encroach on it. Also, I assume it might be like New York's Central Park: not only is it an institution, but there is a lot of money invested in the interface between the city and the park (i.e., having a Central Park West address and view).

Other entertaining items: the client rented a skybox at a Vancouver Canucks game as a thank-you gift to the installation team and some of his subcontractors. First fistfight started less than four minutes into the game--that was a new one for me. The game was pretty good.

Also, I convinced my coworkers to go to dim sum on Sunday morning. The restaurant didn't do carts, which was a bit disappointing, but the food was excellent. Vancouver is a very Asian city, and I noticed, while walking around downtown, that the women there seemed to only fall into two groups: ultra-stylish twentysomethings, wearing faddish clothing, and fiftysomethings who look like they would be at home pulling one of those two-wheeled grocery carts. Perhaps I was seeing a skewed sample.

Weather in Vancouver was crap, as expected for this time of year (cold, dreary and rainy). The weather forecast was: "Chance of rain." "Chance of rain." "Chance of rain." "Rain." At least I made good use of my hat and raincoat. I have to imagine that living in that stuff for months must be pretty soul-destroying. Reminded me of a cartoon that used to be hanging up at Tep:

Caption: visitor to Seattle, shows woman sitting in coffee shop

"I just love the rain--it's so romantic, and it makes the city look beautiful."

Caption: after living in Seattle for three months; same woman in coffee shop, but looking noticeably more frazzled

"I'll take a pound of dark roast suicide inhibitor."

Barista: "Is that for here, or to go?"

"For here."

[BTW--if anyone knows who drew that strip, I'd love to give credit where it is due.]

Anyway, a midterm in four days, and then a five-day trip to Richmond after that. Once again, a sprint-and-coast schedule.