Vancouver - After-Thoughts - 1/5/09

What do the songs "Country Roads" (John Denver), "Nena" (Miguel Bose y Paulina Rubio) and "Poker Face" (Lady Gaga) have in common? Probably not that much. But to me, they do mean something. They are all the main songs that remind me of my three biggest trips. "Country Roads" was the song that our tour guide would play on the bus as we started each day in our 2005 European Discovery tour. It was our "tour song." "Nena" was a song that we heard a lot while we were in Madrid, Spain in January of 2008. And then there's "Poker Face", it was one of the main songs we heard a lot while we were visiting Vancouver, Canada. So now all these songs, anytime I hear them, will always take me back to those awesome memories.

As I sit here typing this, it's nearly 7pm on Monday night. Just three days ago I was still out in Canada. Now, things are slowly but surely starting to roll back into my regular routine. "Routine"....uggh...such an ugly word, don't you think? But then again, I tend to be someone that relies on routine. I like to know what to expect from certain areas of life. Work is one of them. Despite how bored I may be at times, or tired of working, I like to know what to expect. Maybe it's a bad thing maybe it's not...to each their own, right? But when there's a break from that routine, like, say...a nice vacation to Canada...it feels oh so good!

I've blogged in pretty much boring detail about my trip to Vancouver. Unless you're me or Juan....you probably won't even read most of them. hehe I don't blame you, I know they're long. But then again, I do try my best to read all of everyone else's blogs. I'm just sayin'. lol Anyhow, the blogs were more of a record of what we did each day. But here, in this post, I wanted to reflect a bit more on what the whole trip meant to me.

What else can I say but...I loved it! Up until just a couple months ago, Vancouver, Canada was probably nothing more than a little fact I had stored up somewhere in my mind. Had you told me to find it on an unlabeled map, I probably wouldn't be able to! But then Juan put the idea on the table. "Why don't we go visit Vancouver for a week this winter!" And me, with my usual hesitations at spontaneous ideas...I kinda shot his idea down a bit at first. I won't have money...what if they don't give me time off....I hear it's super cold....it might rain a lot...etc etc....random reasons I kept giving myself. Why? Who knows!? 'Cause I sure as hell know that any chance to escape work and have some fun is definitely welcome! In the end, Juan offered this trip up as my X-Mas gift. It was something he really wanted to do for me, for us...so of course, you can't say no to a gift from the heart, right? So there it was...we were going on this trip!

We planned it out a bit, bought a couple things we'd need (but not too many) and then we were off! The day after X-Mas, on Canada's Boxing Day, we arrived in Vancouver. From that very first moment when we sat it snowing outside and all the snow covering the city...we had that "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" moment. I loved it.

Vancouver itself was a very beautiful city. Granted, we only got to see most of Downtown for the most part, but still it was really nice! We always had snow all around us, so it really did feel like wintertime holidays, which I enjoyed. I don't think I'd want to deal with snow year round though. But even there in Vancouver snow isn't a common thing. They get rain more than that. We lucked out that during our visit it didn't rain too much. Just a few light rains here and there.

All the people we met were really great as well. Whether it be the random people on the street that we didnt talk to, or the people that were helping us out (shuttle driver, bus driver, hotel staff, waiting staff, etc.), or the new friends that we met....they were all very nice people. I kept hearing about how Vancouverites are some of the nicest people...and I can definitely vouche for that! I don't like to put down my own city, but we can definitely use some more kindness around here. Being there in Vancouver, I always felt like if I needed help on anything, I could probably walk up to a random person and they'd help me with a smile on their face. Of course, I know that not EVERYONE will be like that...but it was just how it felt. hehe Funny thing is, even when we did need help, we'd hesitate to ask for it. We're so used to feeling this "don't talk to strangers" L.A. vibe, that we'd only ask for help if we had no other option.

One thing that really stood out for me personally on this trip is that we got to meet a few people, and even made some new friends. I may be quiet in person and seem too shy, but if you know me well you know that I like to get to know people. I'm the type that loves to keep in touch and try to make new friends. I only wish I was more outgoing in person. Once I get to know people though I tend to open up more. Fortunately Juan was with me of course, and he's more outgoing from the get-go when he's in the social mode. hehe So he'd usually get the conversational ball rolling for us. I really enjoyed the time we spent with Kevin, who lives there, and his friend Sara, who was also visiting. We had a great time with them, and I can only hope that we'll meet again sometime down the road.

The whole trip, the places we saw, the pictures we took, the people we met...ever single second of it...was so special to me. But one major thing that's made this, and previous trips, mean a lot more is having spent them with Juan. Being with him, I never feel homesick, I never feel scared or nervous being in a new country. I always feel at "home". Home is where the heart is, after all. And a huuuuge chunk of my heart is with Juan 24/7/365. So it felt so nice to be able to spend a lot of days, non stop, being with him. Never having to say "good night" on the phone, becuase he'd always be at my side. Always knowing that he'd be there when I woke up. Knowing that whatever we did that day, as long as he was at my side, it would be special. I hope he realizes...I'm sure he does...how much just spending time with him means the world to me, wheter it be in our own homes, or in another country.

About the hotel room...I always felt like it was our home. The place where we'd come back to each day, share a bed, watch tv....things people who live together do. Since we both currently live apart, those days when we live togehter in a hotel room are the closet thing we have right now to REALLY living together. So even just going back to the hotel room was a nice experience for me. lol

And hey, gay marriage is legal in Canada. Major kudos to that! Seriously...America's gotta start stepping things up a notch, give me more reason to stay! 'Cause in all honesty, I could see myself making the move up to Vancouver if I could. hehe As long as Juan went with me of course. lol Hmmm...I should've gotten married while I was up there! LOL

Being back home in L.A. now, I'm trying to readjust to my normal life. Tomorrow I go back to work, finally. I think that'll be the last stepping stone before I return to reality. I slept over at Juan's on Friday night, and we spent a lot of time at his house just resting. It was nice. On Saturday night, he made plans to hang out with his friend and cousin. He invited me too, but I wasn't really in the mood to go out yet, plus I hadn't even been to my house yet. So he drove me home...and then it happened. I started to cry a bit in his car. I hadn't really cried in front of him in a while. And it wasn't exactly that I was depressed or sad. It's hard to describe. I think I just started to think about how I had such a nice time and I didn't want it to end. Then I started to think about that it was going to be the first night in many nights that I wouldn't get to have him at my side as I slept. I would be alone that night, in my bed. So it kinda tugged at my heart and had me crying a bit. But I was ok by the time I got home. I unpacked, saw my family again, and started the settling in process.

The next morning, Sunday, he came over and we hung out and rested at my house. It was nice. At the end of the night, as he went back home, I deciced to sleep over. One final time before he headed off to work. Today, he was back at work, and I was at home doing some chores and these blogs. I missed him a lot. I miss him all the time. But I love him, I know he loves me, too....and that's always what gets me going when we're apart, and anticipating the moment we meet up again. :)

Thank you Juan, for everything. And thank you Vancouver, and its people, for being so nice to us. :)