Jet Lag

Jet lag is the reason why I am writing this post at 5 AM.

First of all: I'm doing fine. I've had some issues getting to the office and back to my hotel, but I always make it eventually. The other main problem I've had so far, and mainly for lack of effort, is finding food. When I left the office yesterday I was so tired by the time I got home, due to a combination of jet lag and traipsing around trying to find the hotel, that I just passed out when I got there. It's probably too early to find food now, but once it gets light out I'll go try and find some steamed buns, as I've heard they're good, and available in the mornings.

That's pretty much it for problems. Today after work I'll move into the apartment and see what that's like, and I'm sure more adventures will ensue as I try and find my way to and from the office. At least I will be able to buy food and prepare it at home. At the very least I'll have cup noodles!

Now, the back log:

In Victoria I mostly wandered around with Chloe and Alex, drank good coffee, ate good food, and did a little bit of shopping. Getting from Victoria to Vancouver proved to be a much more interesting process than I had anticipated. I took a cab to the bus station to catch the PCL bus that goes across on the ferry. The bus was supposed to depart at 4:45, and the cab got there at about 4:42, so I thought my chances of catching the bus were pretty slim, given that I still had to buy a ticket. Then, as my cab driver was trying to pup next to the station, he drove a small way onto a road that was closed, which wouldn't have been a big deal if there weren't a traffic cop standing next to the ROAD CLOSED sign that he just drove past.

She walked up to the car and told him to turn around and leave. Once she stepped away from the car, he said that she was just showing off, and pulled up closer to the curb to let me out. She came back told him he was pushing his luck, so he made a u-turn and parked again, presumably to let me out. At that point the officer asked him for his taxi license, and I sensed things were going downhill rapidly, so I asked the officer if I could leave, and she said that if I had the money, I could throw it at him and get out. I didn't throw it at him, but I did pay him and leave as quickly as I could and ran to the bus station with my luggage.

I did end up catching the bus, which was late, because one bus had filled up, and they got a second one to take the extra people. I ended up on the second bus, which made life interesting once we got to the ferry. Because the second bus couldn't go on the ferry, we got off it and were given instructions to find the driver of the first bus and find out what bus to catch when we got off the ferry. When I got onto the ferry and found the place where we were supposed to find the driver, I recognized one of the other passengers from the overflow bus, so I went and talked to her, because she looked like she knew what was going on. She did, and we eventually got some cryptic instructions from the driver, after which we sat around and talked for the remainder of the trip.

As we were leaving the ferry, walking down the ramp, we could see the bus waiting, and figured all was well. That of course, is when the bus left.

Anyway I'm going to have to leave it at that for now, because I really need to find something to eat before work, but since I'm in Beijing, you know that the story at least has a happy ending. I will also post pictures when I'm less discombobulated.