When I arrived in Vancouver, I spent several nights at the St. Claire Hotel on Richards St. A quaint historical building renovated to a $49 per night inn, shared bathrooms and showers but clean and tidy and teeming with international travelers. After a week of sleeping on an ancient blue wrought iron bed and combing Craigslist Vancouver for apartment listings I came across an add for a one bedroom apartment in a heritage building in Gastown. I had immediately been drawn to Gastown for its upbeat vibe and Boho feel, so on Thursday night at 19:30 I wandered down Alexander Street and met Barrie, my future landlord. One apartment tour, one trip to Barrie’s West End art gallery to sign paper work, one damage deposit, and two months rent in advance later – the keys to a beautifully renovated flat are mine! Historic ceiling beams, original brickwork, modern fixtures, thumbprint recognition entry… AH, James Bond meets Andy Warhol… BAM!!! Welcome Home.
Notes of a geekier nature on the new home:
FREE WIFI!
Free Vancouver Wifi
One of the first things I did when I got the keys to the new apartment was to check if I was lucky enough to pick up any unsecured wifi in the area. Sure enough following the luck of my hugely discounted flat screen, there it was, some free wifi. I was first disheartened by the closed network named “C*NT!” initially, but I did find an open network with steady signal. Great stuff!
After discovering the free wifi I thought I’d give the cable a try (or sky as I would call it), hooked up the flat-screen, annnndddd BINGO, 70 free cable channels including DISCOVERY CHANNEL. Boom-di-yatta, Boom-di-yatta, I love the whole wide world!
Thoughts: In India begging is seen as a necessary and perhaps even noble profession, as it gives the average person a chance to improve their Karma by giving generously to those less fortunate than themselves. Is it true?! Could this stroke of technological good luck be the result of handing out my spare “Loonies” up and down Water St.? No quantitative data to back this up, but i think i’ll keep letting the change roll out and the luck roll in!!
Cheers!
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The free wi-fi isn’t uncommon in the Gastown area. There is a growing number of companies sending out free waves so we can make Gastown internet friendly. As for the free cable, all new tenants get free cable for the first 30 or so days. Then Shaw will drop a flier in your mail saying you’ve had enough free crack, it’s time to start paying your pusher.
Welcome to Vancouver.