Our White Christmas

Today it's snowing furiously. It's warmer than it's been the last few days so we're getting big, soft flakes. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet is playing on one of the classical FM stations. Margo and Sarah have just made a snowman in our back yard, and Sarah is building a snow fort nearby.



Apparently Vancouver gets snow at Christmastime about once every ten years. We've also had near-record cold temperatures this past week.

I've been out every day one way or another, often on foot, and while there's less traffic, people are still getting around. Buses are running reasonably well, and the SkyTrain has been running empty trains overnight to keep the tracks clear.

Monday I rode much of the SkyTrain system via a trip downtown and a trip to Surrey. The track is at tree level, and riding is like flying through forests of firs dipped in icing. And while we've been used to seeing snow on the tops of the mountains to our north, we're now seeing snow covering every part of them. The mountains are such a great backdrop; all you have to do is look north, and everything looks great in front of them. The sun came out as I was having lunch at Central City Brewing, and what a happy meal: fish and chips, first with a glass of the seasonal Thor's Hammer barley wine ("drink it slowly", the bartender advised), then a pint of their award-winning Imperial IPA, whilst looking out at the snowy, sunny scenery.

Yesterday the three of us went downtown to collect our permanent resident cards at a preappointed time. The cards are official proof of our status as Canadian residents. It's the last step in our immigration process, the culmination of four years, thousands of dollars, and dozens of forms, and I'm well pleased to finally have this card. We went to lunch afterwards, and since we were nearby, Margo and I got driver licenses at an ICBC office. (We couldn't do this until we got our PR cards.) It's great to have this finished, and I feel more like I belong here now.

I expect to be working in January. One company is in the process of making me an offer, but it's slow going as they're a large multinational corporation and their HR does not move quickly, as well as it being the holidays. And though I've been told it's as close to a certainty as one could expect, in case it doesn't work out, there's a contracting opportunity that may also become active next month. Both of these opportunities have been cooking since early November, when I'd first been contacted by recruiters for each. And really, there haven't been many other opportunities in that time - I'd guess fewer than five that I'm aware of. The market is still very tight, though recruiters tell me things should pick up after the holidays as new year budgets are active.

Margo and I have both (unknowing of each other) made donations to the Vancouver Food Bank. We also wanted to buy food as a family activity but decided not to as a donation is more efficient - the Bank has the buying power to get more value if it makes the purchase. I've been looking into volunteering opportunities also, but haven't found a good fit yet, mostly since I'm unable to commit to daytime schedules as I could be working at any time. But we are grateful to have a warm house and ample food and drink.

With two weeks together, we are hoping to avoid killing each other. Being snowed in, with an unemployed father, we'll probably avoid watching The Shining.

Sarah is enjoying her holiday, but she does bore easily. Her first choice is to play LittleBigPlanet, a Playstation game we got her for her birthday last week. She's already building her second level. She also enjoys reading comics from the library and books from our collection, especially Harry Potter.

Unlike Sarah and myself, Margo has no troubles finding things to do. These mostly include baking and napping, both of which seem to take place daily.

We are looking forward to hosting friends from Portland next week. Sarah is especially looking forward to sharing her bunk bed with her best friend Nika.

Whatever you are doing this holiday season, we wish you joy and peace. I leave you with some holiday words of wisdom from Frank Zappa: Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow.