Temp agencies are great. They have offices with pretty views over the city and make you feel intelligent with their 'technology proficiency' tests (according to one, I am an 'Excel Master'). Even my typing turns out to be not so bad, despite the fact I never learned to do it without looking where my fingers are going. So far I have registered with Spherion, Temporarily Yours, Manpower and a few others. These are downtown and easy to get to once you understand the (actually very logical) street/building numbering system. I was also briefly perplexed by Canadian elevators. Having entered the lift after one particularly harrowing proficiency test, I was unable to find the 'Ground' button to get me back down. The doors closed and I stood there like a peasant as the lift moved up to another floor. A man entered, noticed there were no buttons lit, looked at me and politely asked whether I was trying to actually get somewhere or just having a nice ride on the elevator. He then revealed that the 'M' button stands for 'Main'. Which means Ground. Thankfully we were both headed there.
I've also found a really useful job hunting center on Davies Street. They are vaguely connected to a Vancouver college but welcome anyone enthusiastically and warmly. There's free internet and phones and they even let you use their mailing address for job applications - particularly useful for me as I am STILL AT THE HOSTEL.
It's proving rather difficult to find anywhere to stay here for under $450/month. Every day I look in the papers for shared accommodation but so far the only viable option I have found turned out to be a 'single occupancy residential hotel' on Main Street, above a bar (which I'm fairly sure was a euphemism for 'homeless shelter'). The nice Fijian man at the door asked me four separate times whether I was on drugs. I am trying hard not to interpret this as a comment on my physical appearance - corpse-like from a London summer, scarecrow-like from my recent travels.
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