Thursday and Friday

We're still waking up early. I keep rising at 3:30 and we're usually out of bed by 5. Yesterday it rained all day. Margo had a graduate school orientation at UBC and spent most of the day there. It was for all the grad students so it was large and generic. She didn't meet any classmates.

Sarah and I stayed home all morning. I had a phone interview at 11:30 and I couldn't find any errands (like going to the library and getting library cards, or opening a bank account) that I could complete before then, so I called some of our accounts and updated our address. (It's nice to be able to use 1-800 numbers.)

After my interview we walked a few (really long) blocks (in the rain) to a bike shop. It was the highlight of Sarah's day. The shop sells Norco bikes, a Canadian brand. This shop didn't have any of the models I was interested in, in stock, but we did get a bike for Sarah. We were first looking at a frame for 8-10 year olds but we realised, as tall as Sarah is, and with this cycling season nearly over, she will outgrow it quickly, so we went to the next size up, and even that still had room to raise the seat for her. So it's a bit big for now but she'll grow into it quickly. Sarah is really excited. She was happy to ride back in the rain. She'd been singing Queen's "Bicycle Race" all day.

Today we're going to a government service centre to apply for social insurance numbers. Then it's off to the Metrotown mall to get clothes for Sarah plus perhaps other sundries - cell phones, a wireless router, office supplies, some kitchen supplies.

Then, if there's time, I'll visit another bike shop near Metrotown and see what they have in stock. I'm picky about having internal gears - they're much less maintenance and chain wear is greatly reduced. I've been trying to decide between a performance commuting bike (really lightweight but bare) and a comfy commuting bike (heavier, with fenders and a rack built on, and with some suspension). I'll probably go with the comfy one.

Margo and I are spending most of our free time taking turns on her laptop. We don't know what we'd do without an Internet connection - we're constantly surfing, and locating places on maps. I've been tracking the shipment of my iMac - it arrived in Vancouver yesterday and I'm waiting with bated breath for its delivery. A bike and a computer and I'll be pretty well sorted.

In a way, we're struggling with just about everything. It's nice to have a furnished place to stay. But we're getting used to the high cost of everything (Margo spent about $500 on groceries her first trip!), the constant research and decisionmaking, and not knowing anyone. I struggle with not having any work role. We don't really belong anywhere yet. We went through all of this when we got settled in Ipswich, but it's still a pain. But with each new account and each discovery we get closer to being settled, and I'm guessing a week from now we'll be feeling much more comfortable.