Holidays with family and friends

Actually this Christmas holidays I spent completely the opposite, in the mountains for 3 days of endless fresh snow and 30+ random people. I don't care too much about any holidays but as a week in the mountains it was beautiful. At work we are having a week off because of the network operators don't want to mingle anything with network hardware during holidays = higher cell usage. Since I started working almost immediately upon arriving in Vancouver not working for couple of days is a nice treat, to take a breath, sort thing about driving licence, diploma recognition, IETLS test, medical insurance, immigration stuff, changing companies / careers...

Few more days and holidays are over and of course I didn't do any of the mentioned above. Only thing I'm really committed to is planning where to go next weekends. And yea, Mario made zeljanicu (burek from zelje, zelje = spinach in Bosnian, Bosnians are grumpy when saying burek from zelje so I'll be politically correct and say it pita from zelje), I was also really committed to ate it all. Unfortunately for Mario, cover picture will be mountains, but zeljanica will be 2nd to the top, promise!

Trail to Elfin Lakes, BC

As I suppose all of you head, winter came to North American continent. First Trump, now winter (for now without whitewalkers) and next should be rain stopping?!? It was really cold for couple of days all over the continent bringing some of the record lows. Saying that, Vancouver got couple of days of snow in last two weeks and temperatures were going up to minus 10 degrees Celsius (I'll never switch to complicated Fahrenheit) and rest of the Canada was laughing at us from -30.

Why? Croatian readers will remember big snowfall three years ago when Split got paralyzed. Only thing here we don't have Braco & Seka but rest is pretty much the same. Ok I'm exaggerating a little bit but Vancouver is not used to snow however it maybe sounds strange. Ocean is a big mass (Laki am I using correct terms? :P ) that effects Vancouver's climate greatly, warming it in winter and cooling it in summer. While in downtown there was little snow, only 10 km east completely different picture, 50+ cm felled close to my house in last two weeks. Couple of days buses where running late, cars stuck everywhere, schools closed, falling ice from bridges etc.  

To summarize it I came in the coldest and wettest winter in last 6,7 years. But I would change snow and -10 for rain and +1 any day! Vancouver is cheating and bringing disgrace to the rest of the Canada with average temperatures above 0 in the winter.

Mario and his Bosnian roots

Back to more positive subjects. During those cold days at some point trains stopped driving (i see skytrain from my window). I thought It was because of the amount of the snow on the tracks but allmighty google gave me an answer. One station to the west of me, on 29th Ave a (mentally ill) guy with an hatchet was threatening passengers. All of the passengers were moved to safety and police officers tried to make a guy to cooperate. There were unsuccessful and they were forced to shoot a guy (there is raw video somewhere on youtube). He was shoot with one bullet, enough to incapacitate attacker. 

Immediately social media was on fire with comparison to the police shootings from the southern neighbors. I'm soooo far away from most of the standpoints of the Black Life Matters / Social Justice Warriors guys but it is kind of nice to be living in a place where violence of any kind is on very low level.

Downtown Vancouver

My Canadian/Australian friend is probably going back to Australia for at least 6 months. Even though I'm kind of sad like a girlfriend is breaking up with me, I also advised him to do it because is a (job) opportunity you can decline. To put it in a Australian language, bloke is going to make a heps of money. That is a curse and a blessing of a place like this, people are always on the move somewhere. On a bright side, Laki is moving up the ladder to my #1 pal (sucking up) and Kirk is gonna be loaded once he comes back. Let's go new dynafit bindings and all of your Tinder matches!

Tomorrow morning, on New year's eve couple of us are going to hike/ski on a nearby mountain. After I return I'm going to a dinner/house party with mostly people I don't know so I will need to behave myself and not show my true face. And like a real and true man with character I'm ditching all of my friends :D.

When I came to Vancouver a friend introduced me from back home to a Croatian family that is living here for last 50+ years. Since then they are really helping me to make me feel like home here. Ivo has been inviting me to a lot of events he is attending to meet some of his engineering colleagues trying to give be a better insight engineering field in British Columbia. Some guys I met couple of weeks ago were absolutely fantastic, 40+ guys with some serious positions at big companies but so laid back and relaxed guys. When I grow up, I want to be like that (relaxed and laid back, not CEO of some company).

Also, Ivo invited me to a soccer he is playing with his son every week. That will set my rich soccer carrier back on a winning tracks! Only thing that is keeping me from becoming professional soccer/futsal player is lack of stamina, agility, reflex, speed, precision, dribbling and shooting. But nothing I can't overcome!

Eagle Bluffs, BC

While we are at careers, jobs and stuff till the end of next week I'll decide whether or not I'm changing companies. New company I got a job offer from is pretty much in the same field of work as the one I'm working right now but they reckon me as a more stable, more serious company. Yes, money will be better but money is far from only option when deciding about to change things or not. I have to think about my future as an immigrant here. I don't want to be stuck for few years in a company I don't see my future in just because I have to since my working permit will be related to that company. Pretty much decision is straight forward, but I want to be 100% sure.

Change is always something risky, especially now when I'm close to ending my first three months of a probationary period and signing a permanent contract (=better hourly rate). Just to clarify things, in Canada permanent contract is pretty much same like temporary one. Only difference is when you are on a permanent contract if company wants to fire you for no reason they have to pay you some extra money.

Chasing sunrise at Elfin Shelter, BC

Going for a job interviews has been a very nice experience since I came. Maybe not the first one, but as soon as I got first job my attitude is much more relaxed. As with many things in life, practice makes you better. Job market is much more dynamic than back home, meaning more jobs are being offered, more positions are being changed, more different ways of how to direct your career. All of that combined gives the worker much more power in his hands in every way. At some point I was enthusiastic enough to think about ditching all of my engineering and tower climbing and change to mountaineering photography (going with some big shots on some big expeditions and being part of photo team). When I woke up I realized I'm here on a one year working visa and I need to stop thinking about pleasure :D.

Back to the interview part, I did couple of them. On most of them I started talking, talking, talking, talking...Talking about tourism, immigration, business, working ethics, skiing, Croatian coast... Everything, just like I'm on a coffee with my best friend not a GM or CEO. I'm starting to realize (at least think I'm realizing) that for a proper company that got they shit straight, you need to be a proper (normal) person and have some fast hamster up there. Things are easy to learn, but you can't change bad raising up.

Some educational stuff, Vancouver

I don't remember what was going on since I last wrote... Oh yea, I returned my working shoes after because after a month they started to fell apart. Here you can return pretty much everything after xy days of using it. And more important thing, I found out about all you can eat (good) Japanese restaurant for 12$ at lunch time! Praise the heavens and the Irish lady I forgot a name that recommended me this place! Food is still amazing and cheap. Nothing changed since I praised the food last time.

Company for the mountains, hiking one or backcountry skiing one, is getting more and more bigger. I went for 7 mountain trips since I landed in Canada and not a single one was with the same people. Meaning, you can really go wherever, whenever and with whoever to so much different areas around here. And I still haven't scratched a surface of discovering (beautiful) British Columbia.

Elfin Shelter and western sky, BC

Now writing is going little bit faster (mostly because I stopped being afraid of grammar nazies!). I have a lots on my mind but for some things is still not a place nor time. After now almost three months I still think the same about my moving here and about Vancouver/Canada as a place to be. Honestly I think I'm going to say the same thing in a month, two, a year, 10 years...

Wishing everybody a new year with more balls for whatever they will need them. I'm still missing one on mine for some things but he will come along :D