I’m less than five days away from my first legitimate travel experience. Russia, of all places I hadn’t thought that this would be my destination. If I wasn’t so wishy washy and uncommital to my own flights of fancy I may of traveled sooner and somewhere else, but as fate would have it I will be flying to Moscow come the 23rd of July.

Fortune was in my favour, as mentioned before, my mother passed on her long earned British Airways airmiles (airpoints? milepoints? whatever they call them) bringing what would be an absurdly overpriced high season airfare down to the general airport and international travel fees. Until then I had barely even entertained the idea of travelling anywhere a bus couldn’t take me. I’m excited, I think I’m excited, I don’t get excited about things very often so I’m really unsure what excitement feels like. I’m also very nervous.

With so much time spent between posting entries I’ve forgotten numerous events that I likely would of shared. Perhaps these things are a bit dwarfed in comparison to my upcoming holiday time.

Earlier in the month me and my girl had the priviledge of seeing Venetian Snares at The Fall. His set apparently ran a full two hours but we bailed halfway through since we both had to be up early and the intense heat inside there was just draining. He mixed in one of my favourite tracks right before we left so that was great. The next day he came into my work and I was able to tell him the set was good fun, and make him an americano.

I’ve also invested in a Canon Powershot S5 IS. Primarily for my upcoming trip, I wanted something better than the tired Sony Cybershot from 1999 I’ve been using. Since I’m not a pro-hobbyist when it comes to photography nor am I happy with the results from the quick point and shoot slim style cameras, I figured the S5 would be perfect for me. So far I’m really happy with it, no complaints other than the lensecap fits a little loose and is knocked off with far too little force. I think I’ll have to set up a flickr account soon so I may post photos more efficiently. I haven’t had much luck with running my own photo databases in the past. Often I will cause the entire blog to display improperly until I revert to an untouched version of the code.

Speaking of my upcoming trip, I am off to Russia at the end of the month! A fortunate twist of fate involving free airmiles points (thanks Mom!), getting a little extra time off work, and my beautiful tour guide for company will embark me on my first legitimate trip off the continent. While there I hope to be able to meet up with a couple long time fellow mapping nerd friends. There’s even talk of a couple more making the rendevouz to St. Petersburg from Finland. Most of all I’m interested in just exploring some major cities hand in hand with my girlfriend. Maybe I’ll even find some delicious coffee while I’m there. I will definitely be updating on this topic in future posts.

A little consumer whoring for myself now. Firstly I found these a few months ago and thought they were just fantastic. An entire set of cappuccino, espresso, and latte mugs ontop of a first class espresso machine would be so sexy. They make angel wing, deer antler, and fishtail varieties as well. Very classy. If anyone feels like dropping the euros to get me a set, I won’t say no!

Sami Rinne - Keramikka Kauppa - Lepakko - Bat Espresso

I’m also in dire need of a new wallet as mine is literally coming apart at the seams. I found these Tope designer wallets and am quite fond of them, both inside and out. I took the liberty of picking out one for myself that I should pre-order when the time comes.

DB Clay Wallet

Three in the morning and I’m still awake even thoug I have lots to get done tomorrow. At the crack of dawn, well a few hours later, I need to make a phone call to Ottawa in regards to acquiring my Russian visa. Mostly questions regarding quantities of paperwork I need to send, and just what information they are asking for on the application when the form is too general and more guesswork is required than is comfortable. I’m not very good at filling out anything that asks for my address, gender, and signature all at once. I second guess even the simplest of details I’ve written down like my own last name.

Hopefully once I’ve tackled that task I can scoot down to the nearest post office and mail things off promptly. Caffeine is next on the list as on my days off, for some reason, I require far more coffee to function than the days I am actually working. Perhaps the constant saturation of espresso in my chapped hands keeps the cravings at bay. The coffee is required as I’ll need some form of energy boost, especially since I have lousy breakfasts by habit. Then as I get back home it’s furniture moving time.

Yuck, Cube just threw up on the floor on top of speaker wires running across a doorway, which I am going to be handling tomorrow. Paper towels would be so handy right about now.

Today was a good day to have off from work. I took advantage of this by riding my bike to North Vancouver this afternoon and poking down some roads I don’t usually travel by. In fact some of these roads I had never even seen in my seventeen years in Vancouver.

Not a particularily interesting shot, but this is where I began my excursion.

Also as proof that it was me who went out and I didn’t just steal some random crappy photos from a website here’s my mug. I’m half blind from the sunlight that I’m not used to exposing myself to and fully wired from two double espressos.

As a special treat I compiled a panoramic shot of my view from a little side park along the road. Go ahead and click on it. If the park had a name it wasn’t posted anywhere. Also don’t mind the watermark, I’ll be fixing that as soon as my copy of the program finishes downlo…er purchasing itself.

Down by some of the grain elevators. If this was my destination I probably would of gone in for a closer look around.

Rolling down under the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, or Second Narrows as most call it.

There was more graffiti and stuff to look at but I think I was interrupting this surly looking fellows mid afternoon sleep.

Whoops too far! Technically I’m in Burnaby at this point.

Back on track from Burnaby Heights. North Vancouver ho!

Spying down from the bridge to where I just was. Yes it’s a big drop.

From there on it was just roads and pathways I’ve seen hundreds of times so I neglected to continue any more photography except a few quick snaps of my father riding his new motorcycle with his hairy stomach hanging out. I’ll spare you that.

Back at home that evening I went out for some more Thai food. Red thick curry with beef and grean beans for me. I was tired.

It really is this green in here.

Now I’m really tired.

It’s 3:26 am, I have a lukewarm mug of over steeped tea, sleeping black furball known as ‘Cube‘, and the usual late night dreary audio on the headphones. Less usual of late I guess, as I don’t often spend these wee hours up alone. I enjoy this time of night, especially without back of the mind stress of work the next day. Ideally, I accomplish something I set out to do at the beginning of this time before I retire for sleep. Odds of accomplishing such a feat I’d say are quite low indeed as I rarely do much beyond frantic web browsing and chatting that would make even the most staunch ADHD diagnosed kid envious.

Last week I did make a trip to the local passport office. Well two trips is more accurate as I left behind my birth certificate on the first visit even though I had, according to the official checklist, all appropriate identification on me. I had the day off, so besides hustling across town in a hurry it was no big deal. What genuinely pissed me off was on my second vist, at the second booth at the passport office, was the treatment I received from the agent. This shrewish little woman with more makeup than could be considered healthy, was as rude as rude gets without breaking some kind of decorum in a federal office.

I don’t know if I personally did anything to irritate her aside from maybe not running to her booth immediately when my turn was up, but she took every opportunity to tell me just how much I messed up my application form. Her number one concern and argument with me was over my fathers phone number. He had used the same ten digits for both daytime and evening. At first I had to defend him saying he did have a job, I don’t think she believed me. Then she grilled me on why not have his work phone number. I was feeling kind of plucky at this point and asked her “do you know what a cellphone is?” hoping she would just get on with the process. Maybe she was playing dumb, but she repeated her mantra again if my father had a job at all.

She continued to scoff and give me the stinkeye as she crossed things out and wrote all over my form. After she finished I was told “You barely made it” followed by another grunt of irritation. Maybe she just didn’t like my face, I mean who would right? Would you let this into your country?

Within spitting distance of my home is a new 24hour Thai & Vietnamese restaurant (Literally called 24/7 Thai Cuisine). This is a blessing as I do find myself and company hungry at hours the normal populace would consider “well past bedtime”. The menu is quite varied and full of delicious curries, soups, and rice dishes. Tonight I tried out something I had been meaning to have for a long time, Vietnamese Coffee (Cà Phê).

I had to ask if they offered it since it was nowhere on the menu, I’d only seen the waitress making herself one on another visit and was curious about the contraption dripping french roast into a tall milkshake glass. So I ordered one iced version up with my vegetable wanton and yellow noodle soop. Probably not the best combination of tastes, the thick syrupy sweet condensed milk paired with coffee next to a salty savoury bowl of hot soup. Regardless of bad taste pairing I enjoyed my condensed milk and coffee and look forward to having them both warm and iced. I might even acquire one of the drip filters and sample the various coffees I use at work.

For more specific instructions on brewing up these bad boys I recommend this Link I found.

Ok, now a bit of musical link sharing. Nothing really exciting to say since it’s so late at night right now. Each is quite different than the next.

Sol Invictus sounds how it usually does, strings and drums accompanied by Tony Wakefords voice. Sets the Mood nicely.

Twinkle is a newer electronic/break-beat/industrial/noise project. Anyone a fan of disgusting crunchy meaty beats and morose creepy sampling would appreciate some of what Le Jouet has to offer.

Classical music? Yes, classical music is in my playlist sometimes. This one is a rather obscure two sided vinyl rip that I can’t even find out where I managed to find it from now. I’ve checked my history and nothing. Regardless, the music itself has whimsical medieval charm, delicious.

A couple months ago my bike was stolen right from my patio. Invasion of my privacy aside, this was also my transportation when I am not using my illegitimate Simon Fraser bus pass. Since the bus pass is about to expire I went browsing the ditches of Craigslist for a new bicycle. Below is the result of my efforts; a shiny 12-speed Miyata road bike.

It rides pretty nice so far. I’m not quite used to this style of riding yet and have caught my toes on the wheel a couple times taking slow tight corners, causing my front fender to get bent and twisted. I’m going to remove and possibly replace that fender anyways. As well, I may switch the handlebars to the more familiar straight hard bars that I’m used to when riding. I just think i’ll feel safer with my hands closer to the brakes.

Nick Cave squished out a new album after last years Grinderman release. Dig, Lazarus Dig sounds a lot like it picks up right after the Grinderman disc only with the familiar storytelling nature of all Bad Seeds records. A good mix of upbeat dirty guitars and wailing horns piled high with sinister wordsmithing. Nick Cave is aging disgracefully and he wants you to watch and listen.

A further note of interest I thought worth sharing.

Zamak-Blog - I stumbled across this interesting blog of 3D design the other week. His more recent works are very unique in style and piqued enough interest in me to sign up to his feed.

I would like to read more. Investing time in the type of fantasy fiction stories I usually do seems less plausible with an occupied schedule these days. Short stories or novellas, the kind of books that win awards, all seem to be of length I require. Maybe I could pick up some hardbound leather editions of Robert Frost and estblish myself as some nouveau bohemian beatnik, that might go well with my more recent interest in coffee culture. Sipping espresso in the rain drizzled mornings of Vancouver with a book nobody reads unless they want to be seen with it, or maybe not.

On a related note, the piqued coffee interest of late has been due to my moving up in the company I work for. Yes, I serve coffee for a living, but it’s pretty damn good coffee and it’s good times. So recently I have toured the city a bit sampling drinks from various reputable specialty coffee houses. I don’t know if I came out of it with anything more than a further embedded addiction to caffeine, refined palate, and a bigger paycheck. A convenient highlite to visiting coffee shops is that it becomes something nice to do with company and so I dragged my girlfriend along with me. My pretty face and delicious lattes, how could she say no?

3rd Coffee update

So I ventured out and procured a cup of french roast to stay warm with, got some paperwork in order, upgraded video drivers and am now noodling away in photoshop. Odds are pretty good I won’t finish what I’m tinkering with and will move on to something else. Perhaps I should finish getting my passport forms together, crop up a couple of acceptable pictures and get them printed out. I haven’t had an unattended day off in a while, I’m not really sure what to do with myself.

Apparently there are cinnamon buns on their way to my place. That would go nicely with another coffee.