This draft has been sitting in here, half written, rewritten and rewritten again, since my birthday. Here’s what I wrote initially: The simple answer is no, I did not think, a year ago today, I’d be where I am right…

Capilano Suspension Bridge. 450 feet. From one end to the other. And it must be traversed twice. Once to go check out the other side, and again to return. It’s quite an impressive bridge. But before getting to the bridge,…

It takes a year, they say, to adjust to a big life change. New people. New surroundings. New country. But a year from when? A year from when my visa was issued? A year from the first few months spent…

It was odd waking up this morning and not being bombarded by morning shows recounting the events of 11 years ago. Exactly 11 years ago as it was a Tuesday morning. The moments of silence observed, the gatherings at Ground…

At the Vancouver Canadians game last week, they sang both the American national anthem, better known as “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and the Canadian national anthem, better known as “O Canada.” For the third time, I was amazed that a foreigner…

For all the crappy weather I experienced those first six months or so, Vancouver delivered a perfect baseball evening. Clear. Cool. Perfect. And to top it off, the Vancouver Canadians played the Boise Hawks, a Cubs affiliate. About as close…

Vancouver is a small town with a cityscape, as it were. It is not uncommon for people on the bus or at some event to recognize friends or acquaintances, and panhandlers and homeless people are on corners or in front…

I’ve mentioned before that Vancouver has some cool cloud formations. They kind of look like jelly fish, though from a distance one looked like a tornado had formed but refused to touch down. Sirius clouds. Thunderheads. Cumulus. Used to those,…

Some workmates and myself met up with a softball teammate for lunch yesterday. Turns out we work close to each other, which is rather nice. We were all talking while waiting for our orders, and the observation was made that…