Fizzle, Flash, Bang, Boom

Last night myself and a friend went to see the final night of the Vancouver Festival of Lights fireworks display over the harbor by Kitsilano Beach. The ideal location is actually English Bay on the other side of the waters, but that would have been crowded to standing room only across the entire beach area, and also would have meant crossing the bridge both there and back again, adding a lot of time to our travels, especially with the crowds on the way back.

As I still don't own a camera, I don't have anything to show for it here. Claire stayed at home as we were house-sitting a cat for a friend, and she was feeling the effects of the days heat at that point anyway.

On the way to the beach, Jordan and I got lunch at a delicious noodle bar, and then I got a refreshing homemade lemonade from some young entrepreneurs on the sidewalk for just 25c. In a stroke of genius on their part, they had added mint leaves to the drink, and by the time I had finished my cup, I wanted to go back for seconds.

Instead we continued down to the beach and walked around for about 45 minutes before picking a spot, sitting on the rapidly cooling sand and waiting for the show.

The sun set over the waters, casting reds, oranges and yellows across the sky, and as the last bright rays of colour faded, the fireworks began.

There were massive spheres, small rockets, tiny pops, loud bangs, amazing ones that fizzled into smaller and smaller snowflake-like sparkles, hanging in the calm night air. There were twizzlers and spinners, and explosions of every colour! Reds and greens were the most popular, interspersed with blues, and golds. Toward the end there were heart shapes and disks, and even a very impressive set of staged rockets, that flared with each stage ignition, reminding me of the air distortion when a jet crosses the sound barrier.

In short, it was truly awe-inspiring. I'm  sure we missed out on some of the patterning from the angle we watched it at, but I didn't care. There was music to accompany the whole show, which lasted half an hour in total, starting at 10pm, but we could only hear hints of it from our spot on the beach.

Anyone planning a trip to visit us next summer should consider arriving for the start of August and getting to see one for the nights of fireworks. I'm glad I went to it last night, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again this time 12 months.

Post Script: This is my 399th post on this blog! The next is going to be legend... wait for it...

Six Months On

During this last week Claire and I hit the end of our sixth month here in Vancouver. I would have blogged on the day, but work has been keeping me busy and tired!

The longest time I've spend outside of Ireland apart from this was six weeks in America back in 2008. That was an incredible time, jam packed to bursting point with adventure after adventure, none greater than the start of our adventures into married life together.

Six months is also the longest time between visits home to see my family. When I first moved to Cork I went home every weekend, then every other weekend, then once a month. Soon everything I considered important to me apart from family was in Cork, and I went home only on occasion. But I was never away for a whole six months. I loved getting home to mums cooking, the beautiful views, the smiling faces of old friends. I loved relaxing and doing nothing, chatting to my family and playing with the dogs.

But now I'm on the other side of the planet. I can't grab a train home, or just go for the weekend. And where Cork was filled with all my friends, making trips home less important by virtue of how much it too was my home, Vancouver hasn't hit that point yet. It still feels like Cork did during my first year there. Sure, I have made some friends here and I'm busy from Monday to Friday, this time doing work I love rather than studying. But I still miss what I had.

All that aside, I still don't plan on running home to Ireland any time soon. Vancouver is an incredible place. Over the last few months I've had the chance to sample just a little of what this city and it's neighboring areas have to offer.

I can't get enough of the hiking, walking, and other outdoor activities that I can do from either own front door or after a short hop on the bus. I've worn t-shirts on top of snowy mountains in the middle of June, walked across shaky suspension bridges and around suspended cliffside walkways, I've walked to Downtown from my doorstep, traveled the edge of the local park, and sat out on the grass with 2,000 other people to watch one of my favourite movies played on a huge screen for all to enjoy. 

These first six months have come and gone with surprising speed. I'm looking forward to more time spent exploring Vancouver over the next few months and, with luck, years.

Two Months

It's Been One Month

I totally forgot to link this here when I posted it to YouTube! Anyway, this was recorded on the 28th of February and uploaded a few days after.


In other news, we now have, finally, gotten internet sorted in the apartment. Should be getting some blogging, Flickring and general online socializing done soon enough.

Welcome To No. 6

My first video blog, a quick video tour of our new place, now mostly furnished.

The Last Post

Closing a decade long chapter in our lives, Claire and I have had to face a lot of final moments over the last few days and weeks. Everything from seeing friends before we leave, to going somewhere we haven't been in a while. Work and play all have their share of closures, some easier than others.

The last week at work. I hated it. Not because I didn't want to be there. I very much did. I love my job, and just didn't want to have a "last week", or, worse, a "last day". I could feel this growing sense of gloom with each passing hour. Once the dreaded day arrived, I managed to hold back the tears amid repeated reminders of why I love my work, from my co-workers, other teachers, parents, and most of all, the kids themselves. I finished my day at noon, but left some time after half two. I dragged out the last moments as far as I could. But still the time came. As I walked out of the gates for the last time, my body cracked and my breathing shuddered, and I finally cried.

The last time with friends was never going to be easy, but I am so lucky to have so many, I was fooled into thinking it wasn't all that painful after all. Saying good-bye at our going away party was fine. I knew I'd be seeing a lot of my friends between then and now. Saying good-bye to my Early Childhood Studies friends was slightly more painful as I really was the last time we'd all be together as this group. It was numbed by speedy departures, avoiding long good-byes and leaving that clutching feeling you get in your chest until after the fact. I also avoided going back as far as any of their cars in an effort to escape the inevitable, final flood of emotions. And there was always the chance I'd see any of them before I left. I still had days to go before the flight! I was still in Ireland, still in Cork. It wasn't time yet.

Time.

The last time eating in Puccinos, where we had breakfast almost every Sunday for five years. The last time we celebrate New Years together. The last time walking around UCC. The last time wandering aimlessly into Other Realms. The last time I go to the weekly Sunday morning breakfast. The last meal from Lennox's. The last time playing BattleStar Galactica. The last time gaming online in the same time zone. The last time hanging out and just chatting. The last time we'll ever just be together as one group, one fellowship, one amazing collection of the best people anyone could wish to call friends.

The last day. Time was starting to run out.

I chat to Kris. I hand him my keys. I say my good-byes. I feel my eyes water, my mouth turn dry and my voice shake. I want to stay longer, but I can't. I don't have time.

I hug Ashka. Claire puts her in her carry case and we pack her stuff into the car. All the way to Cork I rest my hand on her. She doesn't complain like she usually does when she is locked up in that small box. She just sits quietly while I cry. The city lights are ahead. It's almost time to let go.

I stand outside in the night air. All around me are people that have written in the chapter of my life I am closing tonight. There isn't anything I can say to tell them how important they are to me. Instead we just joke and smile and fight back the tears. My voice shudders briefly. Time to go.

I sit on the step of the stairs. Ashka purrs softly on my lap, and I feel those tears returning. She's our baby, our child that we've raised and loved. She's staying with the best people we could hope her to be with until she can come back to us, but we'll miss her terribly. I hold her tightly and whisper things she doesn't understand. Time to leave.

I try to say something. The words stumble out. I hug them both and step outside. The door clicks behind me and I turn to Claire. "You ok?" I ask. ""Yeah. You?" "No. Let's go home. We have too much to do and too little time."

The "You're Almost Finally Rid Of Us" Party Details

As the vast majority of you know, Claire and I have been planning our trip to Canada for some time now. For those that don't know, here's the cliff notes:

I've always wanted to live in Canada since I was a kid. MacGyver seemed to like it, and I liked MacGyver, so it was a match made in heaven. A few years ago Claire and I talked about it and slowly started the ball rolling. Finally, last September we applied through USIT and booked flights for the 27th of January, 2011. Well, after a delay with my Visa application on account of needing a full medical, our Visas have arrived and we're good to go. While the initial Visas are for only 12 months, we are looking into all the options open to us to stay longer.

And so, we need a party to thank you all for being the best friends anyone could hope for! You lot have been great. I've been in Cork 12 years and Claire 11 for , and we've both made far more friends here than back home, and much better one's too. If that's the case, then why, you may ask, are we leaving? It's not you, it's us. We want to try something new, somewhere new. We want to explore our horizons while we still can, and find what's out there. We're still (relatively) young and free to travel. We don't have kids yet, though we do have Ashka, our beloved cat. Thankfully, it's easier to leave a cat with some friends than it is to leave a child, though in the absence of any kids of our own, we're going to miss her terribly until we get her shipped over once we settle down.

Anyway, enough of that. Suffice it to say, we'll miss you all, and you're more than welcome to come visit. But before then, party!

When: This Saturday, 15th of January
Where: Food in Wagamamas from 6:30pm then on to the Franciscan Well for the night, probably around 8 or a little after. Whenever food is finished.

Wagamamas is not a booking. As far as I know from past experiences, they don't take bookings. So the plan is to turn up and try to get everyone sitting reasonably close together. Alternatively, if people let me know before tomorrow if they'll be there, I'll try to use my pull with the manager to get us a bench. I'll need to know how many to expect though, so if you're interested in food, RSVP.

And that's it. I've tried to email everyone I can think of, or at least everyone I have an email from. I'll also be txting my entire phonebook, so some of you might be getting the important details twice. Three times if you got my email, read my text and have my blog bookmarked or in a Reader Feed! But I'm not going to be able to reach everyone, so spread the word. Everyone is welcome. This is a chance for us to say "thank you" to you guys. If someone that knows us hasn't heard about all this, then tell them. They haven't not been invited, we just don't have contact details for them. Please. Everyone is invited to come along. It's open to everyone from my best friend (You da man, Ted!!!!!) to my worst enemy (I HATE YOU TED!!!!!!!!! (But, in the spirit of leaving the country, even you, Ted, oh nemesis of mine, is invited to the Well for drinks. But no food. No food for you. Thankfully we're eating in Wagamamas and I know how you're allergic to wooden benches, glass paneling and the public)).

See you all on Saturday!

Thank Ya Kindly, Ma'am

Let me tell you the tale of the Ryan Family Kids.

It all started way back in the halcyon days of 1998 when the eldest Ryan, young, dashing Denis moved to Cork to attend college. Instead of returning home once his education had been completed, he remained there for the next twelve years, finding a lovely Limerick girl that didn't stab him and "hooking up with her", as the kids call it today. And so began what would be called in the family history books as "The Great Exodus". In 2001, his brother Philip moved to college in Limerick. He then fled to the great land down under, Australia in 2006 or so, from where he has yet to return. The youngest of the Ryans wished to work with animals, and so, following her dream, Margaret-Ann moved to England to study in Bristol. Stephen, the youngest of the three brothers, finding himself at home with nothing to do, decided that the best thing for him was to pack up his Xbox and move to New Zealand, the land of grass and sheep. So, rather like home then.

Suddenly realising he was the only one of the Ryan Kids left in Ireland, Denis looked at where he was. He had a job he loved, but the pay wasn't great. He had, without a shadow of a doubt, the best friends in the entire world. But the itchy feet that had befallen his younger siblings had now afflicted him. Denis' wife too, the fair and beautiful Claire, had an urge to travel, brought on by a combination of poor management at work and poorer management in the nations government. Together, they made a pact. Canada would be their destination. A land rich in many things, but three above all others: opportunity, trees and endless wilderness to dispose of the bodies of their enemies.

Back on the family land in Killea, the people of the village jokingly questioned of the Ryan Kids mother. "What did you do Kathleen? They've all left". Smiling, she shook her head and claimed she did not know. But she did know. She had taught them love and care, compassion and courage, faith and the belief in a better world. She had shown them glimpses of how incredible that world can be, and encouraged them to be free, to live and to explore.

And so, one by one, they traveled to the four corners of the globe to spread her lessons to everyone they met.

And the world lived happily ever after.