Rubbish

Vancouver For One Day

2010-01-19T00:07:00.000-08:00

On February 10th I will be in Vancouver for one day. I am looking forward to this as much as being in Costa Rica from February 11th to the 18th. I will be by myself so the trouble I will get in will be minimal but I do plan on treating myself, first class all the way.

I will arrive by car at the Vancouver airport (YVR) in the morning at about 8:00 am. I can not check in to the hotel until 3:00 pm, so what I plan to do is use the baggage storage serves at the airport to keep my bags until i check in. Then I will have the entire day in Vancouver. My plan so far is loose. I will take the Skytrain from the airport to downtown, have something to eat, do some shopping, and just look around town until its time to check in to the hotel.

I am staying at the four star Fairmont Hotel. I have not stayed there before, however it looks very nice and it is in the airport so I should have more time to sleep before the US customs and airport security ordeal at 5:30am. I was going to get some room serves or eat in the hotel restaurant but I just looked at their menu and it is not for me, so I think I will eat dinner somewhere else.

After dinner I think I will just take it easy at the hotel, maybe watch a movie or something. My plane leaves at 8:45 am and I need to check in at least three hours early at 5:45 am, and that will only be the start of a long day. I plan to go to sleep early, but I don't think I will get much sleep.

Vancouver Olympics and My Trip

2010-01-15T11:43:00.000-08:00

My up coming trip makes it necessary for me to stay overnight for two nights in Vancouver in February. Normally a trip to Vancouver is a good thing, it is an opportunity to go to restaurants and shop because Vancouver is a big international city where you can get or do anything your heart desires. However this trip will be during the 2010 winter Olympics and hotels are charging way more than normal and most have no rooms available. I need to stay over the night before I leave for Costa Rica because I need to be at YVR(Vancouver Airport) three hours before my flight at 8:45am on February 11/2010. When I come back on February 18/2010 I land at the airport late at 7:20pm. Kelowna is about four or five hours away from Vancouver by car and this is how I will be traveling.

The two nights in the hotels are going to cost me a whopping $732.00. On the tenth I will be staying in The Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel. I have never stayed there before, it is a four star luxury hotel that is in the airport. On the way back I will stay at The Coast Vancouver Airport Hotel, it looks like a nice place also. I had to go with two different hotels because all hotels in and around Vancouver are full becouse of the Olympics.

I will have a few things to shop for when I get to Vancouver but nothing important, maybe some clothes for me and gifts for people in Costa Rica. I will probable go to a nice restaurant for dinner depending on how I feel, I am going to play it by ear.

Even with all the stress of traveling to a different country all I can think about is how much fun I am going to have in Cost Rica. I will be there in less than four weeks! I will post pictures of Vancouver and the hotels after I get there.

Costa Rica only 4 weeks away!

2010-01-09T13:58:00.000-08:00

My trip is getting close and I am still not ready. We decided on renting a house in Playa Hermosa instead of a hotel. Elcy is arranging the transport from the airport in San Jose to the house. I still need to do some banking. Shopping for the trip is the worst part of getting ready because I am not sure what I need yet.

Renting the house is a big worry of my mind. On my last trip to Costa Rica we stayed in a house in Hurrandura. Hurradura is a few minutes north of Jaco in the central west coast region of Costa Rica. This time we are staying a few minutes south of Jaco in Hermosa. Playa Hermosa is a famous surfing beach. We liked staying in a house rather than a hotel or condo because of the privacy and the whole vacation seamed more relaxed. I think last time the most fun we had was the pool party and BBQ we hosted for all the people we met on the trip. This time the house is only fifty meters from the beach. I have great expectations.

The plan for getting from the airport in San Jose when I arrive to the house in Hermosa is to have Pedro the Taxi driver pick me up. I know that sounds shaky, but we met Pedro on the last trip and he was very reliable. He speaks English and has a certified taxi that is a large SUV. Pedro was also our tour guide, he took us to the zip line and Manuel Antonio National Park. Elcy my girlfriend lives in Jaco and wants to travel with Pedro to the airport and pick me up so I am leaving the arrangements up to her. Leaving things up to someone else makes me nervous so I sent Pedro an email and he said he would be there but the rest I will leave up to Elcy.

The banking is not so complicated but I keep going back and forth on how much money I need to bring. I would rather bring what I need for the whole trip in US cash and have my credit cards as a backup. I had no problems with bank machines last time other than the limit of three hundred dollars a day, but my friends cards did not work in some machines so I feel like I can not count on my cards.

Shopping for the trip is a pain in the butt because I will be In Costa Rica for Valentin's Day and I have to get something for Elcy. Elcy wants sexy lingerie but there is no way I am going into an underwear store and buying it. What would I say about the size? There is no way she is getting underwear. It has to be jewelry. I would also like to bring Pedro a gift from Canada, but what I don't know. All I need is a suitcase and some socks and maybe a nice shirt to wear out to dinner on Valentine's Day.

All I think about while getting ready is how much this vacation is costing me. This is usually the case before the trip but once there ye haw!

Costa Rica Vacation!

2009-12-31T12:46:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for February because that is when my vacation in Costa Rica is (Feb.11/2010 - Feb18/2010). This will be my second trip to Costa Rica. The last trip went very well. I met my girlfriend Elcy and had an awesome time. Costa Rica has something for everyone, there are zip lines through the jungle, ATV tours and many parks full of monkeys, sloths and birds of all kinds including toucans and parrots. The nightlife is more fun than anywhere I have been in the past and the restaurants were outstanding.

This time around I am not yet sure where I will be staying. I have only booked my tickets, Vancouver to San Jose round trip $1200. Last trip I stayed in Hurrandura, a small town a few minutes north of Jaco. We rented a house that a BBQ and pool. I feel that I can't go back to staying in a hotel ever again. The privacy and freedom of the house made the vacation a lot better. We were loud and came and went at all hours of the day and night and even hosted a pool party, and we did not disturb anyone. This time I am leaving it up to Elcy to find a place, this makes me very nervous. I told her that my first choice is a house with a BBQ and pool just like last time, but we will see what she comes up with.

There is so much to do to get ready to go. I need some new clothes and miscellaneous travel stuff. I also need to go to the bank and get my money sorted out. The last time I ordered Costa Rican currency (colon) and then did not have to mess around cashing travelers checks or changing money. That worked well but in Jaco US dollars are accepted everywhere so this time I will bring US dollars. Spending US dollars is also a lot easier because you don't have to do any math in your head.

My next thing to do is to make a things to do list, so that is what I am up to now.

Forest Fires and Fishing In The Okanagan

2009-08-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today I feel fat, but its no big deal because its Sunday and its summer in the sunny Okanagan Vally. Well not so sunny today. There are forest fires burning in the mountains near where I live filling the sky with smoke. The wind blows most of the smoke away from the city but you can smell it and the sky is hazy. The forest fires have affected some people allot because of evacuations and road closures, but not me I don't think about it much.

Yesterday my brother and I took our nephew fishing in Echo Lake near Lumby B.C.. We got skunked but it was fun anyhow. We saw allot of wild life - dear, ducks, loons, a snake, a heron, squirrels and the most amazing siting was thousands of baby frogs on the shore of the lake. The frogs were the size of nickels and the sand looked alive with the swarm of little frogs jumping around.

The rubbish industry is normally slow in august and this year it has been slow all summer but I will worry about all that on Monday. For now its been a great weekend and I think I am going to make myself a Mojito, get a little fatter and take a nap.

Finally it's fall!

2007-10-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

Finally it's fall! All summer we are so busy cleaning up garbage piles, and it's so hot that I can hardly wait until fall. We go to the homes of poor people, Rich people and everyone in between. Something that I have noticed is that peoples attitudes about garbage and recycling change with the seasons.

Spring wakes people up. After being cooped up inside all winter they finally muster up the energy to clean out their basement or shed. Winter is muddy and messy, so by the time spring comes around everyone is eager to clean up. What I hear the most from our customers in the spring is " I need this garbage out of here right away " everyone is in a big rush even though they have been piling up the garbage for years sometimes.

Summer is my least favorite season. People focus on cleaning up their overgrown yards and make huge piles of dirty prunings and clippings that are full of bugs. This summer there has been more than usual amounts of wasps and rodents, and they all live in the garbage piles. The hot weather is the other bad thing about summer. If there wasn't a air conditioner in the truck I would die!

Fall is my favorite time of year. Work starts to slow down. Everyone has been working hard all summer and now its time to relax and take it easy. Fall seams to be the time of the year to move and that is good for us because its easy to clean up after a move, it's all boxes and no stinky stuff. We don't get much rain here and the cooler weather is better to work in.

Winter is for vacation. The weather is to wet and cold for anybody to go out side and clean anything up or make a mess. The cold and wet is hard to work in but we don't get a lot of calls so it's not so bad. All the messy people store up there crap inside all winter and that's another reason we get extra busy in the spring. Winter is our time to recharge and get ready for next year.

We see the same cycle every year. People need to think about their waste and impact on the environment all year not just in the summer when its easiest. Most of what we take to the landfill could have been recycled or not needed in the first place. If you don't keep up with your garbage it can get to be overwhelming so recycle all year round and your garbage won't get out of hand.

Rubbish Piles

2007-09-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

Holy crap today I got attacked by killer wasps. Allot of garbage piles lately have a wasp nest in them , more then in years past. Maybe it's because of the whether or who knows what but today I got swarmed by the wasps. Most times I just grab whatever the nest is in and quickly throw in in the truck then that's it for the wasps. Today tho about a thousand wasps came out and swarmed me and my partner and chased us down the street. I got bit about five times and my arm swelled up. The wasps usually defend their nest but this was crazy! I have herd about killer bees I wonder if there is such a thing as killer wasps. Has any one else had trouble with wasps in garbage piles? We had to come back for the rest of the garbage the next day after the home owners killed the nest with poisen.

Stop buying crap!

2007-04-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Modern industry makes almost all products to be disposable. In the old days things such as machinery, tools and appliances were made to last. Now after five or ten years they go to the dump. Refrigerators and washers are the most common thing in the metal recycling pile at our landfill. The people that throw them away think they are being responsible by recycling but the truth is they are being wasteful. The manufacturer purposely makes it expensive to repair so you tell yourself I might as well just get a new one. Industry only thinks about money not what is best for the world so we should all stop buying crap to get manufacturers to stop making it!

Garbage Bylaws Are Rubbish!

2007-04-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

Every one knows what to do with their paper and cardboard but what about hazardous materials such as paint, pesticides and used moter oil. people don't know what to do with this stuff. They don't want to throw it in the garbage so they wined up storeing it in their shed or garage. The city tells you you must recycle and they give you a list of what you can and can not throw out in your garbge but they don't do a very good job of dealing with the hazzerdous waste.

In my job as a rubbish man a common situation that we come across is people moveing out of their houses call us to come get their trash and junk but find themselves stuck with all the old paint and oil they have been storing up. The city should make it easy to get rid of this stuff insted of being heavy handed with fines becouse the result is alot of hazzerdous waste being dumped down the drain or on the ground and it is a problem that effecs the entire comunity. We find ourselves telling almost every costomers were to take their oil and paint. The fact that nowbody knows what to do with this stuff proves that the city aproch to waste is ineffective and narrow minded.

Spring is Here!

2007-04-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

Spring has arrived and everyone wants there rubbish gone right now! The phone has been ringing of the hook and its always the same story "I need it gone today" . When we get to the customers house the garbage emergency turns out to be a bunch of old junk that has been roting in the back yard or under the house and stuff from their basement that has been in boxes for years. My advise to the public is don't let junk clutter up your house. As soon as you don't need or want something get rid of it. Alot of people say to us as we are loading the truck "this is still good" or "it still works" . The thing is if you don't want it and you can't give it away or sell it then it's junk and it needs to go .

Is Recycling Necesary?

2007-04-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

Yes recycling is necessary. A common misconception is that the only reason to recycle is to save room in the landfill. This is not true. There is enough room on the planet to bury all our garbage forever. One big problem with landfills is the methane gas created by the rotting garbage. Another is the chemicals that leach out of the garbage. Every town and city in the entire world has a garbage dump and some are huge. The gas screws up the atmosphere and the chemicals screw up the ground and water. This is one reason to reduce waste that is going to the landfill and recycle.

People Are Wastefull

2007-04-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

I see it every day, people are very wasteful. It does not matter if i go to someones home, business or a construction site. Most of the garbage that they are paying me to take away is recyclable, reusable or stuff they didn't need in the first place. Most people don't even think about their garbage beyond taking it to the curb. Garbage is a huge industry worldwide that costs alot in terms of both money and the environment.