What We've Been Up To

It is already the 2nd week of September and we've been back home for a little over one month. Now that we are pretty much settled into our place and have returned to work it seems like we never left the country at all!!

As most of you know by now Jamie and I finally found a place to live. We moved in about 3 weeks ago and it was during this time that we realized we own A LOT of stuff. You don't really think about how much stuff you actually have if there is a place to store it all. We were lucky because our old apt. in Burnaby and our basement suite in Vancouver both had tons of storage space. When we found this place we figured we would be ok. -- yes we had gone from a 2 bedroom to now a 1 bedroom--but really...how much stuff could we possibly have?!?!

Moving in felt like it lasted weeks. Opening each box seemed more like a chore then anything else. Each time we would pull something out, one of us would utter "Seriously, where the heck is that going to go?" I was so fed up with looking at boxes full of random things I just ended up throwing things away. I look back at it now and figure I probably could have made some moola selling things we don't really use anymore, but I was honestly going nuts looking at things that we didn't have a home for. I am kind of weird that way, meaning I like things to be put away and organized stat!!

The good thing about moving into a smaller pad is the fact that I was forced to throw out/give away things that I didn't need. I am a bit of a pack-rat, so it was challenging for me but I did it. We were very lucky because Jamie's dad built us a couple of storage cabinets for us to put by our underground parking stall. So as of a few days ago we were finally able to take our remaining boxes that had been sitting in our living room downstairs. We don't know what we would have done with our stuff had we not had these things. We lucked out with this new place too because it comes with a full size storage closet whereas most of the places we looked at before only came with small storage cubicles.

So ya...things are finally starting to come together at our place. We don't want to do too much more for the time being because we just found out we have to get our carpets replaced. Long story short, they washed the carpets the day before we moved in and they haven't fully dried. There are still some spots that are damp and create a sticky sensation when walking around in our bare-feet. Not so cool, but the good thing is the carpets are pretty ratty so it will be nice to get something new.

What else...what else. Oh ya, I am happy to say that I am officially back on the concert bandwagon. I was in a bit of a slump in Japan due to the fact that concerts there started very early and were usually on days that I worked. Since we have been back I have been to 2 shows and am going to another one at the end of the month.

On the September long weekend Jamie and I went to the Gorge in George, Washington to see the Dave Matthews Band. When I was still in Japan my long-time girlfriend from Calgary emailed me saying she would like to treat us to the concert for my 30th bday. What a great gift!!! Not only did I get to see one of my favourite bands, but I also got to see my best friend and her hubby who I hadn't seen for about 2 years. So they drove from Calgary and met us in George on Sunday.

I had never been to this venue before, but I had always heard how great it was. When we arrived we set up our tent and chatted. At about 4:30 we made our way to the amphitheatre which was a 20 minute walk from the campsite. We left pretty early because we wanted to make sure we could get a spot on the grass as the majority of the space was general admission.

We sat for about 3 hours. The weather was beautiful and the scenery was breath-taking. After watching the opening band perform, DMB came on-stage at about 8:30. I have seen these guys before at GM Place and it was a great show. However, this show took the cake. Every year DMB plays at the Gorge for 3 sell-out shows in a row. The night we went was the last night and him and his band-mates definitely rocked out! Dave kept apologizing because he throat was a bit raspy. Had he not said anything I would have had no idea because he sounded amazing. However, during his last song of the night he voice completely gave out.

It was a spectacular show!! Every single person in the band performed as if it was their last show on earth. I have been to a lot of concerts and I can say that him AND Sarah McLachlan are the only two artists I have seen that sound better live then they do on their CD. In addition, the Gorge is an amazing venue with awesome sound. I have noooooo idea why I haven't been there in the past, but now that I have experienced the Gorge in George, I am definitely going to make it an annual thing!! Anyone want to join us??

Good friends at the Gorge

Thanks for the sweet b-day gift Mich!!

Look at that view!!

Taken just before DMB came on stage

We got back from the States on Monday, finished storing all of our remaining boxes and CRASHED at about 9:30pm. We barely got any sleep the night before because the campsite we stayed in was one massive field with about 15 000 people in it. We went to bed at about 2:30 am and had our alarms set for 7am. Throughout the night we woke up to bongos, fireworks, people yelling etc. So needless to say we got about 2 hours of shut eye. No complaints though because you have to know that if you are going to stay in a field with tons of other people, it is bound to be a gong show :)

Tuesday morning was difficult because we both woke up early for our first day back at work. I say "real" work because what we did in Japan didn't really count as work because frankly it was super boring and not stimulating at all! The day went by quickly and we both felt that being back at work was comparable to riding a bike. It was pretty much the exact same as we remembered. Since 8 hours of the day was spent working for real and brain power was required, we were once again exhausted at the end of the day.

September 5th was a day that I had been looking forward to for months!! Ever since I got a text message in April from my friend Jo telling me that my boyfriend Justin Timberlake was coming to Vancouver. There were about 6 of us that wanted to go, but since it's Justin--tickets sold out pretty quickly and it was impossible getting 6 seats together. Instead only 2 seats came up for sale. You know you have good friends when they say "I know how much you love him, so you can have the ticket, really!" So to Alex, Carly, and Nicolle -- thanks so much ladies!! You rock!!!

All day Wednesday my girlfriend Joanna and I were soooooo excited texting each other back and forth. We met up at GM Place at 7 o'clock and we were so giddy. Once the opening band was done performing we were that much more excited. We felt like we were teenagers again--it was awesome! Justin came on stage just after 9pm. I am not going to lie to you....I think I lost my voice within the first few 5 minutes. I took several pictures and some videos, but on the video all you can hear is a bit of the music, but it is mostly me screaming and yelling "Juuuuuussssstin" as if he could hear me :)

A lot of people may not like Justin Timberlake and that is totally fine. However, people who label him as "the one from that boy band -- he is just a pre-fabricated artist". Seriously, this guy is talented. Not only does he write his own songs, but he sounds awesome live and is a dancing machine! The guy is in shape!!! For the first hour he was dancing up a storm, running around the stage and did not sound out of breath at all. The guy has a wicked sense of humour and played different instruments for a lot of his songs. I am not sticking up for him just because I love him. I just want people to know that this guy is extremely talented and puts on an AMAZING show! It was hands down the most entertaining and energetic show I have ever been to. It was like being in a massive nightclub dancing for 3 hours to revamped JT songs. It has been a few days since the show and I am still smiling :)

Two of JT's biggest fans

Where's JT?

Cheers to finally performing in Vancouver

Every single person on this stage was involved in putting on an outstanding show!

So ya, that is basically what we have been up to. Another weekend is over and another work week begins. We have Hopson & Kev's 30th to look forward to this coming weekend. The weekend after that we get to babysit the nephews for the weekend. At the end of the month a little nostalgia will set in as me and a few girls are going to GM Place to check out Def Leppard! Ohhhhh yeah!!!!

Stay tuned for some more entries and once we get our place a bit more fixed up we will be sure to post some pix for all you out of towners!!