Bring Your Own Coconut

Yeah it's definitely beautiful out here in Vancouver - definitely worth a trip or two if you can swing it. Trains are nicer for that kind of thing (where the act of getting there is as important as the destination ... think kodak moment) although a bit more expensive.
I've been dying to go to the Science World that is maybe 25 min from my friend Wren's place, right at the edge of downtown (right by the Pacific too).
A few days ago we went to English Bay (a beach downtown - yes, downtown!) and chilled on the beach with one of her uber cute friends, while I drank wine from a salsa jar - I felt like a movie star.
right now i am nicely toasted - just got back from a BYOC (bring your own coconut) party. was actually kinda awesome, wasn't sure I would enjoy myself, but turned out awesome, topped off by the walk home to Wren's with 5 or 6 other people, all stumbling (thankfully downhill) 40 blocks while drinking rum and lime juice out of coconuts with smeared lip-gloss faces.
Culminated in a visit to the park where we were the victims of a drive-by by cops. They were pulling some crazy intimidation techniques in order to detect terrorists who could potentially pose a threat to the Olympics (I have quickly come to learn that this basically means all locals not involved with the service industry, Natives or Aboriginals of any nation, and youth in general). The cops pulled through the middle of the park, drove right beside where we were standing, playing with a neighbour's dog, then sloooooooowly cruised by, staring us down and daring us with their eyes to twitch the wrong way the whole time. Ridiculous.

[with modification, from a note to a friend]

Playing Dress Up

Before I forget, just wanted to mention the trend that I've noticed is sweeping the city - t-shirts printed with graphics to make them look like they are a suit and tie. Weirdness.

Lost in the City

Image via Wikipedia

So I went with the friend I am staying with in Vancouver downtown so she could run some errands. She dropped me off at the library so I could do a bit of nErdy stuff (update my blog, check my email, hopefully find a new book or two to devour while I am here). On the way in we passed by some awesome grafiti (pics to follow). Then she dropped me off and said "meet you here in an hour and a half" and vanished into the throngs. 20 seconds later I realized the library, part of Simon Fraser University, was closed for a summer break. So now here I was, completely lost in a strange city, with no where to go and nothing to do for an hour - surely I couldn't get into much trouble, could I?

After getting forcibly removed from the hallway outside the library (where I had planned to camp out with my laptop) by campus security ("But I'm from Ontario," I insisted. "Do you want me to get my taser out?" he responded.), I began hoofing it about, trying to look like I belonged. After nearly getting hit by a car (the driver's fault), and stumbling into a drugged-out crazy pregnant woman (definitely my fault), I decided the best thing to do would be to find somewhere to sit down where I wouldn't be in danger of a) getting shanked b) accidentally shanking someone.

[By the way, the pic on the right is purpotedly of McFog (!!!!!????), the mascot of SFU. Awesome.]

More to come.

Vancouver Hell Cats

Have been in beautiful BC (I'd call it La belle province if that wasn't already taken) for the past few days now with my oldest, bestest friend Wren (see: photo). Settling in nicely (minus the fact that last night we were rudely awakened at 4AM by full bottles of wine (one opened but full of water) crashing down around our heads like bombs. They were being thrown from above by her cute but evil kitties Mogs and Minx, who managed to look completely uninterested by the watery carnage they had inflicted upon us from above.
More to come.

Real Life Vs Blog Land

And so for the third time in a week I've been through something IRL that I just have to blog about - but haven't, because its an unresolved issue revolving around people who read my blog. Whoops! I've been trying to decide how best to go about handling this push/pull situation - should I just throw caution to the wind, and pour everything out onto the web? This kind of consequence-be-damned approach appeals to my cavalier values. I'm thinking maybe I could just start prefacing my entries with a warning, such as "spoiler alert - this blog may contain my thoughts and feelings on _______". That way when I am confronted by an angry/hurt/confused friend I can just say "didn't you read the warning?".

I'd love to have some thoughts on this predicament, and how I should tackle it (or how other fellow bloggers do). Much appreciated! (And by the way, once these various situations have resolved themselves a little I'll be sure to post the juicy stuff here).

BC Bound

It's official, I'm taking off - don't worry, I'm not talking about some five dollar strip tease in a back alley (sorry girls). Instead, I'm leaving my recession-depressed province of Ontario (represent!) to fly to the depression-proof (unless you're affected by the weather... pathetic fallacy, anyone?) province of BC for a little time to work on my tan and recharge my batteries (which are apparently solar powered). Gonna stay in downtown Van (that's Vancouver for the uninformed) for a few weeks, and hopefully visit some family, including a trip to Winestock 2009 to see my uncle at his vinyard.

Lost and Found

I have been reading a lot more since I got off my anti-depressents - not sure if they were somehow affecting my attention span or what. Have been on a Tom Robbins kick lately, and loving it, but it has been having some interesting spillover effect into my "real" life - been doing this weird soul-searching, what-is-the-meaning-of-life thing, trying to figure out where I'm going and why, etc. So far I haven't found any answers, and I'm scared to death that I'm gonna end up wasting my summer vacation/school career/life, on banalities and pointless whoop-dee-doo.

I've been thinking - maybe I should train-hop out west to visit my friend Wren (this at least would be real, novel, exciting).

I've been thinking - maybe I should join the HCBP protests (this would be something I believe in, would connect me to my community, would be dangerous and selfless).

I've been thinking - maybe I should have a child (this would grant me immortality, would allow me to correct my parents' mistakes while making my own, and to mould a life in my own image).

So far I haven't come to any decisions, leaving me feeling paralyzed and distrustful of my faculties and more lost than ever, but I am happy that I am finally having these thoughts again, important and all-encompassing, for the first time since I popped the first pretty little Effexor in my mouth nearly two years ago.

[taken from an email to a friend]

Antoni Gaudi

I recently stumbled across a post on one of the blogs I follow about a mug designed by Antoni Gaudi. This led me to look up some of his other work. I found out that he has mostly worked with buildings as his medium of choice (rather than cups and spoons). Here are some awesome pictures from GreatBuildings.com, let me know what you think (or point me to others!).

[Final exams coming up Wed and Thurs - stay tuned for more good stuff after that]

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