Days C6-12: A Whirlwind of Madness

February 2, 2023

Reverse shock is hitting hard in general. While we were essentially locked down for 3 years and couldn't leave China due to the closed borders, time didn't stand still as we thought from our perspective. Life indeed went ahead back home and passed us by while we were stranded. Many changes took place back home too, and significant ones. We can certainly feel it now. Combine all this with the sheer volume of things that need to be done to sort myself out and try to get grounded again after this pandemic, the first two weeks of the trip had all the elements of madness.

The purpose of this two week initial stay was multi-layered

1. Deal with the aftermath of my Dad's death that happened while I was away and all the family matters involved with that.

2. Re-establish key documents such as credit cards and drivers license, among others that had expired during the last 3 years.

3. Buy a whole host of items that could only be gotten in Canada or the US as well as re-establish links such as international paypal accounts, phone numbers, etc. Also open bank accounts in order to better facilitate money transfers and my international lifestyle.

4. Introduce my wife Sophia to Canada as it is her first visit.

5. Catch up on all the family and friend history over 3 years, as well as see for myself how things changed after the pandemic.

While most of this has been proceeding well, there were more than enough snags to make me lose my mind. Long story short, I was made to feel like a foreigner in my own country. Well at least we are making progress. A friend back in Shanghai said that this trip is harder on me than I realize. That much is true. It is turning out to be a very expensive and stressful trip but it has to be done.

Look at it this way. It is amazing how much can be done in two weeks that would otherwise be wasted in quarantine if this was still the pandemic. But this is one of the nastiest side effects of all that prior isolation: making up for lost time and running like a chicken with my head cut off in the process.

We still found time for some fun hiking activities on the weekend.

Somewhere in downtown Vancouver on the way to meeting the superintendent of my company.

These buses were new, also nice to get your bike in them. And yet, I STILL haven't got to the biking part of this trip!!

Social distancing like it was still covid or something

One thing we definitely made up our minds on: no more vaccines. Despite people asking about whether I'll get the Pfizer vaccine now that we have the opportunity to do so, the answer is a firm no. It is because the previous vaccines we got did nothing to stop the spread of covid, and I already got covid itself. So what good would another vaccine do?

Some of my closest friends and relatives never got the vaccine in the first place, including my father. Well what can I say, good for them. We just witnessed vaccine failure of epic proportions over this whole pandemic. The so-called anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorists proved themselves to be correct. I won't be able to get a refund on the three Chinese vaccine doses I got nor can I remove the effects from my body. But there's nothing more to be said about this topic anymore.

Running for the ferry and barely making it on time.

These shopping malls are a lot emptier than I imagined.

On a hunt for one of my old bicycles. This was back at my late father's house, stored for over 3 years, and now missing. Where did it go?

Thankfully it was just moved to the bike storage room. This bike is going to be given away to charity anyway. This Tern was the one I used on a Vegas to LA tour over 4 years ago.

It was like looking for a needle in a haystack to find it.

The old car and boat that my Dad used to take to our family cabin. We got this as part of the estate, but I haven't a clue where to start with all this. The battery of the car is dead and I don't even know what to do about the boat or all the parking fees involved.

Well at least there is some delicious cake to eat while thinking about all this.

Pitbull said it best "Every day above ground is a good day, remember that"

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Andrea BrownI’m really sorry. My condolences on the loss of your father and this chilly reception you got from family members. I’m so glad your wife is by your side through this. Sometimes we just have to build the life we want and you’ve spent a long time doing that. The pandemic killed not only people, but family relationships, I’m here to attest.
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1 year ago

Fit SteveThanks so much Andrea. Yes you're quite right. It's hard to say exactly how the pandemic did this kind of damage to relationships but I can see it everywhere. This trip is now far from the lockdown yet the consequences of it are felt even here
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1 year ago