Another year in the books. Can’t believe we’re here already!
Hope everyone’s 2017 was rad. As for me, I hit a couple of professional rough patches. Due to a huge deficit, I was laid off from Providence Health Care in late September. Unfortunately, the health authority, of which there are 6 in BC, was the only one that carried a deficit, and as a result, a lot of positions were eliminated.
But it didn’t stop there. My contract with Pan Pacific Vancouver also came to an end on December 31. I had been working with them part-time for 2.5 years. So I’ll be starting 2018 with being on EI and looking for work.
But it wasn’t all thorns. I had a really stupendous year of travel and got to see a lot of central Europe: the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Czech Republic. So there’s that!
Let’s rewind and reflect, shall we?
January: Getting our superflat on at the VAG.
February: Timeless tv show being filmed at Robson Square. Double birthday celebration including a secluded cottage stay on the Sunshine Coast. San Francisco in da house!
March: Celebrating our 8th anniversary at the Shangri-La. A tv in the bathroom mirror!
April: the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience comes to Vancouver, complete with dragon’s breath and green wildfire. A birthday horseback ride in the valley.
May: Damage and Joy with the Jesus and Mary Chain. Fete’ing my friend on getting married.
June: 2 jobs for 2 years. The burn out is real, so I’m getting ready for a 2 month sabbatical.
July: Celebrating Canada’s sesquicentennial by working. Sean and I head to Amsterdam and Berlin! Double bill! Hitting the Bansky: Laugh Now and Dali: Genius exhibits at the MOCO. Getting naked at the Spa Zuiver. You talking to me? Checking out the Martin Scorsese exhibit at the EYE. Returning to Bosch’s wondrous and weird world. What good timing + fortune. We happened on the red carpet premiere of Valerian, with director Luc Besson in attendance! Wha?! Meeting Jing Qiao and Meng Meng at Zoo Berlin. I just can’t with this sad news. RIP Chester. Watching Valerian in Berlin (and falling asleep). Cruising Lake Zurich. It may not be a conventional museum, but FIFA World Football Museum is one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. All the colours in the rainbow! Orangutans at Zoo Zurich. Visiting the bears at Bern’s Bärenpark. 2 teenage dreams fulfilled! I visited the HR Giger Museum in Gruyères, and made a pilgrimage to Audrey Hepburn’s home town of Tolochenaz. Plus seeing the Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy exhibit in Morges. Landing a last minute spot to go to CERN.
August: Happenstance! Came across the Peter Lindbergh: From Fashion to Reality exhibit. Watching the Eisbach surfers shredding waves. Captivated by Cy Twombley’s Roses at the Museum Brandhorst. Digging on Munich’s subterranean Eyptian Museum. Amaze-ball collection of modern art at the Pinakothek der Moderne. Completely blown away by Magic City. Following in The Sound of Music footsteps in Salzburg. Marveling the Red Bull’s fleet of Flying Bulls at Hangar 7. I won’t do catacombs but I’ll do crypts. Vienna’s Museumquartier is a super rad place to hang out. How pretty, how imperial, Vienna! Getting caught in a storm at Tiergarten Schönbrunn. Getting caught in an even bigger and more fierce storm at the Interpol concert! Joining shoes addicts and Manolo Blahnik fans at the Art of the Shoe exhibit at Musuem Kampa. A nice little find at the hidden in plain site GOAP. Getting the nerve up to climb aboard the Gulliver Airship at the DOX. Following in the footsteps of David Cerný in Prague. Hiking Germany’s Bastei, their version of the Grand Canyon. I love Hamburg. Following in the Beatles’ footsteps. Marvelling at Frank Gehry’s leaning, twisting and spiraling buildings on Dusseldorf’s waterfront. The Kiefernstraße may look rough, but it’s totes worth a visit for its murals. The Classic Remise Düsseldorf is a gearhead’s dream destination. Cologne makes an impression. And just like that, my 6 weeks vacation in Europe comes to an end.
September: Checking out Vancouver’s cool, new murals.
October: Hacking our reality and meeting Jason Silva! Dippee-mo-dee!
November: When Ghost in the Shell’s geishabot met Total Recall‘s Kuato.
December: Dancing our tukis off at The Killers’ gig. Getting up hella early for my 3rd and final Christmas Wish Breakfast at the Pan. Christmas greetings from Casa de Sullichan. Ushering in the new year with The Last Jedi.
That was one hella packed year for me! Plus a (much needed?) fresh start – professionally – for the new year! Let’s see what I get up to at next year’s recap.
Wishing everyone a fantastic 2018!
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