Yay! Pictures!
JZ, Sam, Joe and me attending the X-Files movie.
Updated outside of house picture.
The beginning of the new wall. The original wall was not meant to be load bearing. So we've started replacing it by putting in a header to distribute the weight down to the foundation. Eventually the wall will be put back including an entry closet and 2 half walls with a entrance to the living room between them.
In addition to the aforementioned explosions, our
weekend was filled with some colourful culture.
On Saturday, we ventured out for the Powell
Street Festival in the notorious Downtown Eastside. For those who may not know, this
poverty-stricken area is the place in
Vancouver for
drugs, prostitution and other such shady business. We tend to avoid even driving through there,
but the event was going on in Oppenheimer
Park (located in the midst
of it all), so we jumped on a bus and rode through the craziness.
The festival is a celebration of Japanese-Canadian
culture, and we got to experience a little of everything. We started by perusing the craft booths,
which included very cool origami art, hand-crafted tea sets and several sushi-shaped
items like jewellery and candle sets. We
tried two Japanese items for lunch: a hot dog with seaweed, terikayi, and
wasabi mayo (surprisingly good) and some dorayaki (sweet, bean-filled pancakes). And we smiled at a few Japanese
phrases we overheard and recognized from watching Sailor Moon (a Japanese anime).
Much like the Sawan Mela event a few weeks ago, the performances here were amazing. The groups ran the gamut from contemporary (a Japanese-Canadian punk band was playing when we arrived) to traditional (featuring one set by the same duo we saw at the Ohanami event in April). We really enjoyed watching the taiko drumming group, whose members managed to combine precision with equal parts exuberance during every piece.
Sunday was the day of Vancouver’s infamous Pride Parade. After walking around at the Powell Street
Festival all day Saturday, staying up for fireworks that night and then completing
our regular six-mile run on Sunday morning, we were looking forward to relaxing
during this event. Clearly, we had no
idea what we were getting into.
The Pride Parade this year stretched out over 3 miles
and took 3 HOURS to finish the route.
Not that this made it boring; oh no, it was 180 minutes of PURE
PARTY. We joined the spectators
(estimated to be near 500,000) in clapping, cheering and dancing around as the participants
and floats – with their live bands and blasting techno music – cruised by,
rainbow-hued flags, banners and balloons flying behind. The parade was brimming with a celebration of
the GLBT community and sexuality in general; I absolutely loved it.
Mixed in with the requisite drag queens and
scantily-clad twentysomethings were some unexpected faces. Coming from the Midwest
(where such participation is unheard of), I was pleased to see the number of
political figures (current mayor, mayoral candidates, the local MP and the leader of a national party!)
joining whole-heartedly in the gaiety.
And there was even representation by the firefighters, police, EMTs,
Mounties and armed forces. Canada, you rock.
Overall, the Pride Parade (and the weekend in general) left me with a feeling of pride for how welcoming Vancouver is. But it also taught me an important lesson: next year, we are totally bringing chairs.
Last weekend saw the conclusion of Vancouver’s annual Celebration of Light. This international fireworks competition is
held over four nights (two Wednesdays and two Saturdays) every summer, with
three countries competing for the top prize (and one night for the grand
finale). The fireworks are shot off a
barge anchored in English
Bay – an easy, five-minute
walk from our apartment! – and attended by close to 500,000 people. Each show lasts for 25 minutes and is set
meticulously to music, thus making the biggest explosions all the more
dramatic.
The 2008 teams represented Canada, the U.S. and China. Canada ended up taking home the first-place prize (and we agreed their show was the most artistic), but China won the people’s choice award (probably due to the non-stop barrage of enormous, ear-shattering explosions that ran throughout their show). We loved every minute of this experience and are already looking forward to joining the (insane) crowds again next year.
"I don't like walking in the middle of the carpet; that is where everybody walks. I try and use the unused portion." I was immediately struck when I heard my mom make this statement. She IS from where I get all those strange quirks after all. It got me to thinking what else I have learned from my mom.
In no particular order:
-a love of tomatoes
-the wisdom of always using a super sharp knife when cutting
-how to drive
-love of driving
-to listen to my car for strange noises
-how to drive a stick-shift
-to always leave the washer lid open after use so as not build up mold
-my appreciation for a crease-less bed
-how to make my bed
-how to put the pillow cases on the pillow with the tags always inside first
-how to fold a stack of towels that won’t tip over
-how to iron a shirt
-how to iron pillowcases
-how to refer to a men’s shirt as a ‘shirt’ and not a ‘blouse’
-a love for popcorn
-that when I jump into a pool without ‘swimmies’ I will come back to the top
-how valuable it is to be honest
-the value of trust
-to laugh a full-belly laugh
-Double Solitaire
-to get giddy about the upcoming days before Christmas
-to dust
-to vacuum stairs
-to love and appreciate my common sense
-to love the color of my hair
-to find the pleasure in taking a walk
-to relax and enjoy getting my teeth cleaned
-the fun of roller coasters
-the excitement of amusements parks
-the joy of driving really fast over a bump and losing my stomach
-to enjoy a little turbulence on an airplane
-that dogs can sense our feelings
-if a movie is getting too scary- mute the volume
-how to fully load a dishwasher
-to rotate the clean dishes when unloading
-self-sufficiency
-that there is no shame in watching the same show repeated times
-to make a pan of Rice Krispie bars
-to efficiently pack boxes when moving
-to treat people the way I would want to be treated
-that Lucille Ball is the best thing to ever happen to television
-to always begin a puzzle using the edge pieces
-to search the ground for money, pennies and all
-gratefulness
-to clean my plate
-to lick the spoon
-to know when someone is being facetious rather than sarcastic
-to save the use of a coupon until the item is also on sale
I was in seventh grade social studies when I first
found Vancouver
on a map. It wasn’t by accident; I had
recently noticed that my favourite show (and soon to be newest obsession) The X-Files was filmed there. I decided then that someday, somehow I would
visit that mysterious Canadian city.
It took many years (and months of planning) before I
made it happen. But in July 2001, I
arrived in British Columbia
for a ten-day tour with Ian, Shane and Amy in tow. I had plotted out an extensive list of X-Files-related stops to find in Vancouver and its
surrounding suburbs (thanks in large part to the book X Marks the Spot). It was the ultimate treasure hunt for a bunch
of X-Philes (that is: nerds) on vacation.
We visited upwards of 100 locations in total. At many spots, we staged re-enactments of the
related scene(s), resulting in some pretty hilarious pictures. Here is just a sample of the (embarrassing
totally awesome) shots we took.
Perhaps I should have realized then how my life was
going to change, but I didn’t. It would
require several more trips out west (and long, are-we-crazy? discussions) for
me and Shane to understand just how much Vancouver
had affected us.
So for those who have wondered how we ended up here, there you go. It all started with a little television show and a middle-school student with big, dorky dreams. How appropriate, then, that this weekly paper ended up on our doorstop within the first month of residing here.
As one last howrah before I start work on Monday, I thought it would be fun to go garage sale shopping. Here's what I found:
A-never-been-used egg cooker originally $30.00, I got it for $3.00. Now I think I'll have an easy way to prepare poached eggs!
My Grandma Sexe passed away Wednesday morning at 5:00. She was 87.
Shannon,
Joe, Shannon's mom and me we were able to visit on Saturday in St.
Peter. She was alert and was telling stories of when she was a little
girl. She was smiling and very happy to see Joe and the rest of us.
It was a great visit and I'm glad I have that as a lasting memory. Here is the obituary.
After Shane heard back about the job last Monday, we started a week-long extravaganza of getting him ready (read: shopping) and
cramming in as much fun (read: eating out and getting out) as possible.
Friday we drove over to the North Shore again for some mountain hiking in Cypress Provincial Park. Along one of the trails, we ran into a resident of the mountain (apparently there are close to 160 cabins in that area), and he suggested we try hiking to the top of Hollyburn Mountain. We gave it a shot and made it within 2 km of the peak, but had to turn around due to time constraints and lack of proper footwear. But we will be back to conquer the mountain one of these weekends! (Without my sandals.)
Friday evening, Ian drove up, and the three of us spent the weekend just hanging out. It was a perfect, relaxing way to cap off a great week. We went to see The X-Files movie too (but of course); it was terribly lame, but made me nostalgic for the good old days when the show was in its prime. Stay tuned for more on that in my next post...