We continue to navigate Vancouver and all it has to offer. I see the mountains but I can't imagine when I'll have time to access them. I see the ocean but I can't imagine when I'll be able to afford the boat to sail on it. But that's all academic, because right now seems more about keeping the good ship Fitch-Dudek afloat.
Vignettes of frustration
Child care.
For the most immediate perspective, we resolved that the easiest route to take is to try and navigate Canadian Immigration and bring over a nanny from Britain. We don't take dealing with federal bureaucracy lightly (I'm still waiting on a reply from the International Tax Office from a request submitted in December, 2006), but we reckon it will be easier than finding anything convenient that we feel suits here. Daycare was our goal. Apparently the wait list for most hovers around 2-3 years. And, to be fair to those with whom we've spoken, they tend to be genuinely nice and very sympathetic. They acknowledge the relative absurdity of having to place your 'child' on a waitlist at conception to stand any chance of them ever being included. Pre-conception is advised. When I ask what people do who move to the city (and presumably don't throw their kids' names on waitlists for random cities on the chance they might move there), the child care community is unanimous in their response: "Gee, I don't know. Have you considered a nanny?" Nanny it is. The brief update, however, is that Anna is in a little day-home-style nursery. She's settling in okay, but is one of only a couple of girls and while it seems safe and nurturing, I don't get the feeling she'll be challenged. We'd rather have the nanny take her to a proper pre-school for an hour or two daily/few times a week. Caleb is going to a different day-home situation. The upside is that the lady is Polish and right on board with our nappy-free outlook (they call it "EC" here?) and she'll speak some Polish with him. It's also about 20 feet from Ange's work.
Driving.
We've put more than 13,000km on our cars in 4 months. Enough said.
House buying.
This, thankfully, has come to an end. Fifteen offers. One house we nearly ended up with needed a new foundation (house still for sale). One had a crazy lady who wouldn't sell while her ex-husband was desperate to sell. It all went to court. The court sided with crazy lady (house still for sale). One guy wouldn't budge on his price from the boom (house still for sale). One house we threw a verbal offer on are now asking less than we threw out (house still for sale). Anyway, we've found a nice little house that fits our needs in a superb area. We're well happy and genuinely excited to move in. It'll be 3 miles to my work. I'm already contemplating commuting on the BSA!
Moving.
Thank goodness for our friends and family. The move from Calgary to Vancouver nearly broke my back. We've got loads of people lined up for 28 February. I phoned U-Haul this morning to confirm everything was in order. Sadly, it wasn't. Despite my online reservation to have the truck for 24 hours, I was allocated only 5 hours. I asked if they thought that might be something they ought to have contacted me about. Apparently they tried. I suspect they didn't try very hard. Anyway, I pointed out that the driving from the U-Haul store to the flat and then the drive from the flat to the new house and then the drive from the house back to the U-Haul store would occupy at least 2.5 hours of my 5 (with no traffic). That left only 2.5 hours to load up the truck with all our worldly possessions and unload it at the other end. The jerk was unwilling to concede that it might be problematic. It was incredible: he became a robot. He would only say that "it's possible to do it." He refused to engage in conversation. I asked under what circumstances he thought it could be pulled off. He was unwilling to outline what sort of resources I was supposed to have at my disposal. I suppose I also did not concede that I had Vince on my side and that sort of absurd challenge would probably have been right up his alley. After much one-way discussion, I enquired what the late fees were. $50 per half hour! I excused myself from the conversation and phoned head office. They were most helpful and have arranged an alternate plan. It may involve me picking up the truck on Saturday morning in Chilliwack or Hope or Blaine, Washington but we'll have the truck all day! If you're considering U-Haul, check back to see if it works out. At the risk of the blog becoming some kind of counseling device, I'll rail against them right here if it doesn't.
Okay, deep breath. I've got 200km of driving ahead of me today...
