Saturday, August 07, 2004
My accommodation situation is getting awkward really. I'm getting booted out of this place in a week which is causing me undue stress as I was supposed to be allowed to stay until the end of the month. I've sent out maybe 10 emails about accommodation and only one of those has turned into a viewing (going tomorrow). So I contacted a guy who advertised that he wanted to form a team so that we could go rent somewhere together. I'm meeting him today if he calls but I was thinking we may have problems as neither of us will pass a credit test as he's new here from the States. Also, I don't know if he has any stuff and I need to stay somewhere with stuff (crockery, cutlery, tv, phone etc...) I guess I'll have to make a quick assessment of the situation as I can't have any more uncertainty with only a week to find somewhere. If I don't commit to something by the middle of next week then I may find that I can't even get into hostels and then would have to go into a crummy hotel. I don't really want to go into a hostel as they don't seem that cheap compared to shared accom and obviously hotels are expensive for long term stays. I may have to look outside of vancouver where the students don't want to live and get used to the good old commute.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Some random stuff...
I've worked out what's funny about the way people talk round here. They get very excited when they talk, especially at the beginning and the end of sentences, and they say "yaaaaah" a lot. If you've seen the movie Fargo - the main character (the policewoman) played by Frances McDormand spoke exactly like the mum here speaks in real life!
Been to see a resume (cv to you) guru this morning. He said mine was pretty good but has given me some very good tips vis a vis, the differences between B.C. resumes and the UK and he even claimed that they were quite different from the rest of Canada. He said they are more of a marketing tool here and can be quite boastful whereas in other places they are more about stating the facts. I have to put a profile description on mine and put more stats and facts about achievements in my job history. I've also got to make my objectives clearer and use more adjectives and key buzz words in my descriptions. The guy was full of information and I was actually dying for him to shut up. People out here love to tell you everything they know. I was ready to leave after about 20 mins but ended up talking to him for an hour and a quarter.
Getting a job here is all about networking and so I'm going to have to overcome my disdain for the phones and talking to strangers and be a bright little social butterfly. I bet you're all thinking..."nah, can't see it"? Well I already phoned a company this morning called 6s marketing to talk with the manager about the vacancy they have. I told him to look out for my resume.
Final note - they have lactose free milk here so I'm enjoying a creamy coffee for the first time in years.
I've worked out what's funny about the way people talk round here. They get very excited when they talk, especially at the beginning and the end of sentences, and they say "yaaaaah" a lot. If you've seen the movie Fargo - the main character (the policewoman) played by Frances McDormand spoke exactly like the mum here speaks in real life!
Been to see a resume (cv to you) guru this morning. He said mine was pretty good but has given me some very good tips vis a vis, the differences between B.C. resumes and the UK and he even claimed that they were quite different from the rest of Canada. He said they are more of a marketing tool here and can be quite boastful whereas in other places they are more about stating the facts. I have to put a profile description on mine and put more stats and facts about achievements in my job history. I've also got to make my objectives clearer and use more adjectives and key buzz words in my descriptions. The guy was full of information and I was actually dying for him to shut up. People out here love to tell you everything they know. I was ready to leave after about 20 mins but ended up talking to him for an hour and a quarter.
Getting a job here is all about networking and so I'm going to have to overcome my disdain for the phones and talking to strangers and be a bright little social butterfly. I bet you're all thinking..."nah, can't see it"? Well I already phoned a company this morning called 6s marketing to talk with the manager about the vacancy they have. I told him to look out for my resume.
Final note - they have lactose free milk here so I'm enjoying a creamy coffee for the first time in years.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
I wish I could have my London salary in Canadian dollars as rents here are cheap. I've been looking at flat shares in pretty swanky city centre tower blocks and they're only about 350 - 450. For that I get a view of Vancouver harbour or maybe the mountains and a luxury building with concierge, gym, etc... The main downer is that it looks like if/when I do get a job I'll be taking about a 10K pay cut on what I was on in London.
This homestay is gonna be ok though as the mum is an excellent cook. She just made rack of lamb with rice and runner beans. It was very good and the beans were out of the garden and tasted better than any I've had from the supermarket.
I'm getting a little bored spending so much time on the Internet. I've got a meeting tomorrow with a CV expert so hopefully I'll get some decent feedback. Then I'll be firing it off to several agencies as here they don't ever want to meet you or talk to you unless they have a potential job for you.
If anyone knows how I get a counter for this blog can you let me know? Thanks...
This homestay is gonna be ok though as the mum is an excellent cook. She just made rack of lamb with rice and runner beans. It was very good and the beans were out of the garden and tasted better than any I've had from the supermarket.
I'm getting a little bored spending so much time on the Internet. I've got a meeting tomorrow with a CV expert so hopefully I'll get some decent feedback. Then I'll be firing it off to several agencies as here they don't ever want to meet you or talk to you unless they have a potential job for you.
If anyone knows how I get a counter for this blog can you let me know? Thanks...
Well the holiday is over...well actually it's not. I was all geared up to get my act together as my mum flew home yesterday and it turns out it's a bloody bank holiday today. It's BC day, that's British Columbia day to you, and everyone in this province is on holiday.
I'm in the new place which is actually a very old place. It's a wooden house and the family are renting the main part of the house. The basement is rented by some other people one of which is an expat Brit from Bristol. Looks like he's here for the slacker lifestyle too by the look of him. I haven't talked to him much but he's into skateboarding and drinking so I think we'd have something in common. The mum of this family is incredibly outgoing and gregarious. She's all over the place saying hi to people, often complete strangers, and chatting to all the neighbours. I bet they all secretly hate her as she's always walking into their houses shouting "yooo hooo"! Well anyway, she's a lovely person and I've been out doing chores with her today to keep myself occupied. I'm pretty bored right now and have become an expert at 3 card draw solitaire. Well, not really as I still only win about 1 in 10 games.
The dad here is pretty quiet for an American. I think he's the shy one, hence, why he's with a really loud partner. He's in IT but only working a contract on a hourly rate of about #10 an hour. I think the family are a little hard up, hence, why they wanted some extra income from having "homestay" guests.
The lad here is 18 and is never here. He gets up at 5.30pm and goes out at 6pm. I've said "what's up" to him a couple of times but I don't think we'll be going out cruising the bars together.
Tomorrow I'm gonna achieve some stuff like going to the driving licence place, going to the job centre and calling some temp agencies. If I get a call from Ipsos that is good news then I'll be going to the pub.
I'm in the new place which is actually a very old place. It's a wooden house and the family are renting the main part of the house. The basement is rented by some other people one of which is an expat Brit from Bristol. Looks like he's here for the slacker lifestyle too by the look of him. I haven't talked to him much but he's into skateboarding and drinking so I think we'd have something in common. The mum of this family is incredibly outgoing and gregarious. She's all over the place saying hi to people, often complete strangers, and chatting to all the neighbours. I bet they all secretly hate her as she's always walking into their houses shouting "yooo hooo"! Well anyway, she's a lovely person and I've been out doing chores with her today to keep myself occupied. I'm pretty bored right now and have become an expert at 3 card draw solitaire. Well, not really as I still only win about 1 in 10 games.
The dad here is pretty quiet for an American. I think he's the shy one, hence, why he's with a really loud partner. He's in IT but only working a contract on a hourly rate of about #10 an hour. I think the family are a little hard up, hence, why they wanted some extra income from having "homestay" guests.
The lad here is 18 and is never here. He gets up at 5.30pm and goes out at 6pm. I've said "what's up" to him a couple of times but I don't think we'll be going out cruising the bars together.
Tomorrow I'm gonna achieve some stuff like going to the driving licence place, going to the job centre and calling some temp agencies. If I get a call from Ipsos that is good news then I'll be going to the pub.
