June 17, 2012

• Report # 891

  Hey everyone, I hope that you've all been having a wonderful weekend. I am officially 27 years old now. I was 19 when I started this blog so I officially feel ancient now. To think I'm closer to 34 years old than to 19.... that's just horrible ! I never should exaggerate but it's just scary to think about. I guess I have to go back to 2005 and read my old blog entries if I want to see what 19 year old Kyle was doing. Anyways I'm not 34 yet or even 30. I have 3 more years of 20 something so I will have to stop worrying.

  On Friday I got a birthday card from the manager as well as a lottery ticket, but I wasn't able to win anything off of it. It's very nice of her to get everyone a birthday card all the times..... no other boss in the past has done that before. After work I stopped at Tim Hortons and then went to my Spanish class. My story is now 38 pages written, so I'm sure by now it's the longest story I've ever written in my life. I still have a lot more to add to it as well. Getting it all typed on the computer will be lots of work.

  I arrived home just before 9:00 pm and my parents had ordered some chicken souvlaki for my birthday. Afterwards I had a piece of chocolate cake. It was not an ice cream cake this time as I never feel too great after eating them so it was just a regular chocolate cake with lots of icing, but it was very good. We had all this stuff on the 15th, a day before my birthday, because my parents had a dinner to go to on Saturday evening. Unfortunately I ate too much food late in the day so I didn't feel too great after.

  To make up for all of that I went for a great run yesterday morning. Well it was great except for the weather. It was absolutely pouring so I got completely soaked by the time I got home. My grandmother came over in the afternoon and she took me and my brother out to Denny's for lunch. Afterwards we went to Colossus to see The Dictator. This movie was sooooo funny, but some parts were a little too gross. I had some popcorn after having lunch at Denny's so I was totally stuffed the rest of the day.

  In the evening my parents came home and I got a new shirt and a Tim Hortons gift card and a $ 300 cheque, so it was a great birthday. I even got to talk to Dora to start my birthday on Saturday morning just past midnight, and to close out my birthday so that was really special as well. This morning I went for another run and I bought my dad a book for Father's Day. Once again it was pouring and I got pretty wet. I never mind though as I have a shower always when I return anyways. It's been horrible how rainy this month has been.

  I will be having another meal today as well, so just a weekend of lots of eating out. It's been a great birthday weekend, but it will be nice to get back to normal starting tomorrow. In the movie the dictator, the dictator character said something like "America founded by the blacks and owned by the Chinese." He had lots of funny lines like that, but that made me think about Vancouver. In Metro Vancouver there is a very high population of Chinese people, and even when you are in the Vancouver International Airport, the messages are in English and Chinese.

  Some people have blamed the people from China for moving here and paying so much money for houses and making all the housing prices go up. These people are not only being short sighted and discriminatory, they are being so hypocritical. I have met a lot of Chinese people and they are usually very intelligent and hard working people who are super friendly as well. Sure there are many wealthy Chinese people who move here, but in the end that's a benefit for Vancouver.

  They are coming here and starting up businesses and really working hard to contribute to the economy. I'm sure the Canadian government prefers these types of immigrants than the people who come here with little money and not as many skills. Though of course everyone who wants to come and work hard should be welcome. And with regards to the high housing prices in Vancouver, that is certainly not the fault of anyone other than the demand in general.

  There are many Canadians who do the same thing in other countries. For example I know there are many Canadians who have taken advantage of the economic struggles in the US and who have bought houses, apartments or vacation homes for dirt cheap in places such as Florida, California, Arizona or Las Vegas. And probably some people in other countries as well. So people can't be upset that there are people with money from other countries who are coming here and buying houses too.

  I do think the issue of housing affordability needs to be addressed in the Metro Vancouver area, and that is something that is important to look in to, but to blame any people from another country coming in and purchasing properties as the reason for the high housing prices is just not right. In the end people just need to think a little harder as to what is causing these problems instead of blaming it on one group of people or another. Problems can be solved a lot better when people of all walks of life work together, not when groups start passing the blame around.

  Ultimately I feel that diversity is a wonderful thing. And it's just awesome that Vancouver has been able to appeal to so many people from many different countries. It would be so boring living in a city full of nothing but white people. So I for one hope the trend of people from other countries moving here continues. And the fact that they have the skills to get good jobs and the ability to move right in and purchase homes is nothing but good news for the economy here.

  For the next question:

  How is the housing market in your area ? Are there lots of people from other countries living there who have moved there and purchased homes ? Do you feel this is a positive or negative trend ?

  Today I will leave you all with pictures that I took while on the train from Creel, Chihuahua to Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Wednesday, bye for now.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  • 3:24 pm
  • 3 Comments