Guu was Guud!

On our visit to Vancouver we took advantage of having family and went on a date while the sidekick remained with Cate and Marc. We have been on one "date" since getting to Edmonton as teenage babysitters charge crazy amounts of money here and the people we childcare swap with keep getting posted. I love my little sidekick but it was really nice to have an evening out without having to parent.

A few months back Ian went somewhere (hard to keep track of that guy) and it was necessary for him to fly Air Canada. While reading EnRoute magazine he read about a Japanese pub in Vancouver called Guu, where the staff yell in Japanese across the restaurant and yell in Japanese at you when you enter the restaurant. Ian very seldom gets excited about things so I hoped we would get the chance to go. Upon further investigation it was apparent that it was definitely not a family restaurant and we would need a sitter. Yay Cate and Marc!

There are 4 Guu locations in Vancouver; Ian chose the one on Robson and we set out on the bus to get there. Guu is a pub and doesn't take reservations and we had a small wait once we got there so we explored some shops on Robson.

Our name was called and we were loudly greeted by a hostess. I was a little disappointed that there were no inside seats left as that's where the electric atmosphere and cool decor was. The outside patio was small but it was a nice night and it did make for a nice date atmosphere.

The menu was huge. All the menu items were said to be traditional pub fare and were small tasting plate sized. No knowing what to order we started with a shaved pork cheek, baked oysters, edamame and scallop sashimi. Ian had a Sapporo and I ordered what I thought was lemonade but it turned out to be Ramune. Ramune is a lightly flavoured soda in a nifty bottle with a marble in the neck; funky.

Everything but the sashimi came and was all delicious. The oysters were so phenomenal when we reordered our sashimi we ordered more oysters and a ton of other food. The scallop sashimi never came but all of the other dishes we tried, except the fish cake, were really tasty.

We left Guu feeling pretty full and having had a nice time without the sidekick. Funny thing about the sidekick though, we talked about him almost the entire time.

Upon returning to Cate and Marc's we were surprised to find the G-man asleep in the bed. He never goes to sleep for anyone but us so Cate is a superhero.

Gratuitous Gaius Photo

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Social Woes

Ian and I don't now many people here. My social life consists of G and Ian, or me and a book. It is impossible to get a date with Ian because we don't know anyone who can/will babysit. A lot of people here use young teenagers for babysitters (who charge $13-$15 per hour!) but I just don't feel comfortable leaving the G-man with a 12 or 13 year old; he is too young and I still remember being 13.

It would be nice to get a date but since G is sleeping well, Ian and I get a lot of hang out time at night and when he is a bit older, Ian can take a vacation day, we can put G in the base daycare and get a "day date"; parents need to be creative.

I really want someone to go out for coffee with. Not just anyone, I have criteria. I want to have an easy flowing conversation, maybe a slight difference of opinion but knowing that no judgement is being passed and even if we disagree we are still friends. Basically what I want is Bridget, Karen, April, Heather, Cate or Melissa to pack up and move around with me. I would rather have coffee alone with a book than struggle to create a friendship.

This month I have attended a few parties that led up to a wedding. The person getting married is someone with whom I have a struggle relationship. I don't like it and would avoid it if I could. I admit things are getting easier in our interactions but I still prefer my lonely book to struggling conversation.

At the wedding I got to chatting with one of the guests; we seemed to have a lot in common and conversation was easy and silences weren't awkward. I started thinking "this could be the start of something" then I found out.... she lives in (get this) OTTAWA. Arghh! I am doomed to be friendless in Alberta.



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