The First Week (AKA The Pilot Episode)

Well, I made it. And I’m still alive out here.

The journey from Toronto to Richmond was all right, and my first day went fairly well.
Though I made the mistake of trying to find a restaurant for dinner during a storm… and got soaked. :/

Walking around on May 28th… before the rain.

Thankfully, the weather’s been much more even-tempered, sunny and warm since then.

I started my new job this week! I’ve just been doing training since then, but my new coworkers gave me a warm welcome and have been very supportive.
My trainer’s given me a lot of good information about housing in Richmond–I can’t thank him enough for that.

I’ve already spent a lot of time researching apartments, and I looked at a couple
after I arrived. One seemed like a good deal–one bedroom in a new house, shared laundry available–but I discovered when I went there that the place was a basement unit. The windows were just small slots at the top of each room! That, coupled with the tiled floors throughout the apartment, made it feel like a cave. Didn’t seem right for me.

I don’t know what I would have done without my Compass Card and the local transit system. Without a driver’s license and without a bicycle, the only way to travel any significant distance in this region is by bus. The SkyTrain is also very impressive; it’s totally automated and the price is very reasonable on weekends and holidays.

I’ve seen some interesting things while waiting for the bus, by the way. …Like this huge tree, for example–check it out!

Haven’t seen one of those in Ontario