I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream in my cartigan

Every assumption was correct so far. This city is absolutely blazing with life and has a constant safe yet entertaining atmosphere about it.

Hi, my name is Bede Timms. And I am now officially a faux-Canadian. 

The flight to LAX was brilliant. Not just because V Australia blasted "Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA" twice in the cabin (before and after touching down) but their service decrees that they really are the best airline I've ever been on. The fact I was on premium economy has alot to do with it. When you're trapped in a chair for 12 hours, the least any human deserves is a shitload of leg space. A TV in front of you that gives you any recent movie and TV series and unlimited booze at the snap of a finger. It also helps that flight attendant was an awesome dude who was full of conversation. Everybody loves a bartender who has a chat with them, I enjoy an airbourne bartender who knows you want a Bacardi and coke and has an awesome anecdote and Q&A session to go with it.

I ended up making friends with the girl sitting next to me. A 22 year old who lives out in a hippy commune in North California. A true icon of small country town living with a USA twist. Cool person.

The security at LAX is NOT as daunting as I've been told. 2 checkpoints is not exactly the peak of stress. But sergeant buzzcut who told me I filled out the wrong Visa form was. Not because I had to fill out the same details on a different coloured piece of paper.. But because the 32 people who lined up after me had to be dealt with before I did.

Going to Calgary was a clusterfuck due to how utterly messy LAX terminal 2 is though. Trust me when I say that Australian airports have it easy.. At least it's obvious where you're meant to be going half the time. It was completely overwhelming to be flying over Nevada and was absolutely breathtaking. It's like a big giant scene from Man vs Wild, but being looked at like it's a giant Lego town. That's the best description I can give. I have photos from the plane, but they can't be uploaded until I buy a laptop. The terminal itself was a breath of fresh air compared to LAX though. Customs were friendly (due to them being Canadian.. and OH YES! It's true what they say - Canadians really are the most friendliest people!) and my immigration Visa was approved with only a handful of questions and a flashing of my documents (wink wink nudge nudge). The best part is my 2 years here is now confirmed. I thought I'd have to reapply for my Visa at the end of my first.. But it turns out when they ask you "How long do you want to stay for?" that REALLY IS how long you're going to be there for.

So right about now I'm utterly jet lagged and rather sleep deprived. In total I got about 40 mins nap on the LAX flight, 20 mins on the Calgary flight and 45 mins on the Vancouver flight. But that didn't stop us from finishing up Ryan (my housemates) birthday. We went for a walk downtown and saw a few landmarks, like the Stanley Theatre and the plethora of shops available that are just 3 minutes walk from our apartment. We ended up at the Cactus Club where I was treated to 3 huge TVs playing the current Calgary Flames vs Detroit Red Wings game. Various people cheered around the place when one team or the other would score, but we were too busy eating and drinking to take heavy notice. I'm still overwhelmed by the hockey atmosphere here already. It's so utterly strong. I tried a Canadian burger (AWESOME) and drank some Canadian beer (Udder Ale) and am now enjoying the apartment atmosphere with some homebrew and some TV/games. 

And, oh yes, our apartment is officially FUCKING SWEET! It almost feels like home already.

Pics are coming after I buy my laptop tomorrow and my iPhone, other than that, tomorrows agenda is basically exploring downtown and walking all around the city.