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| Our aparment (pre-Elizabeth Taylor) |
A bit of an eventful week so far, the main item for the agenda being our new apartment. It started off pretty badly when we moved in and the place was a pig sty...I started crying whenever I went in the bathroom. However, we got the beers in and spent a long weekend spring cleaning it (coupled with money off the rent) and it finally started to take shape.
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| Ash in our 'cosy' kitchen |
Next was to personalise it a bit, so in true student halls way we bought some fairy lights and I managed to get a free picture of Elizabeth Taylor (although that’s currently up in a little alcove and it looks like a shrine).
We spent a long, long time looking for some new bedding to jazz up the place, and replace the stuff we’d borrowed from Sandi and Steve. The only duvet covers we could find anywhere, including the massive scary mall, were upwards of £100. It finally clicked that they just don’t really ‘do’ duvets over here. It’s all about the comforter. So we found ourselves owners of a 7 piece ‘bed in a bag’ which we then had to trawl home (Ash carried it most of the way because I got a hankering for a milkshake).
However we were just settling in and getting the place how we like it when DISASTER struck.
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| Museum of Anthropology |
We’d just spent the evening at the Museum of Anthropology which was really interesting, although a bit of a pain to get to on public transport from us. Me and Ash also agreed that we’d probably seen enough totem poles. However, when we returned home we were just settling in when something big and black scuttled across the apartment, and under the fridge at a lightning pace. Safe to say we both pretty much wet ourselves. Ash took herself off to lock herself in the bathroom while I tried to man up and get the torch to see if I could see what it was. What followed was a fraught evening where we tried to decide if it was worth staying in the apartment; the main conclusion was that it was possibly a cockroach. After Ash did some research we decided to face it head on and took to spring cleaning the kitchen again, taping up the holes and laying down inviting concoctions of coffee grounds, washing up liquid and water. Ash spent the next day on a mission to find cockroach poison, including an awkward encounter where she tried to buy boric acid and got ever-so-slightly mistaken for a terrorist. Anyway, we’ve squirted the whole apartment and we now lay in wait. So far we haven’t seen any more of them or any dead bodies. The current school of thought is that maybe it was a mouse so the search for a trap begins. Our landlord is trying to get the management to come out but to no avail so far.  |
| Ash ready to tackle the roaches |
So, apart from that hiccup this last week has been fun. Me and Ash are working back to front schedules a bit, so we’re trying to organise our days off together. We still haven’t managed to get to the suspension bridge because of the rain, but that is first priority on our next non-rainy day off together. I’m still enjoying work and getting to know everyone, and I know have my own purple tie (I’d managed to get away with it for a bit).
I’ve been having a bit of a problem with screw top beer bottles which seem to actually cut into my hand whenever I try them, and make me feel like a total idiot. We’ve worked out the liquor store issue and stopped trying to find alcohol in the supermarkets; they don’t sell it. You have to go to a government owned liquor store. Thankfully there are 2 within a short walking distance from our apartment. How convenient. Similarly to the duvet issue, we’ve had a total mare trying to find bubble bath and spray deodorant which leads me to think that there may be some personal hygiene issues over here.
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| "Me" at the Museum (by Ash) |
On the food side, we haven’t had as many discoveries this week. I tried salmon jerky which brought back too many painful Japadog memories, and we went to a great noodle house in Kitsilano. We found a great diner round the corner from us, but Ash put sugar on her chips by accident so the visit was slightly marred. I’ve become obsessed with perogies, a sort of Eastern European dumpling which, coupled with my dim sum addiction, is taking my dumpling frenzy to a whole new level. We’ve also discovered Whole Foods, otherwise known as the best supermarket ever. It’s better than Waitrose. They give out loads of free samples so sometimes we just go to hang around. But the food is mostly organic, and the kale is out of this world! No Cheese Whiz or Baconnaise there.
We’re eyeing it up for a possible Christmas shop.
Oh, and we had CHORIZO Eggs Benedict
It’s my day off today so I’m heading under the sink to check out the traps. Wish me luck.
Stella x
PS. I’m still trying to work out what Miracle Whip is.
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