everyday is d. day

boo!

now one never means to go out and get themselves carried away, but it happens. in the excitement of the moment; throw in some new people and avid conversation and it remains possible.  still my intake was a mere 6 glasses of wine over the course of the entire evening. it was the stupid dr. pepper shooters that were doled at a few points in the evening that sealed it. i gobbled down tiny meatballs as a substitute for a four square meal that didn't happen and hoped for the best. some water would have probably been a good idea.

saturday was one of those recovery days, where not much of anything is of interest. my body was listless in its recuperative state, completely lacked the energy to do anything but simply exist in a lumplike state. funny thing is, because of upstairs neighbours who didn't want to hear a peep from under them--and began banging on the ceiling above us at 12:15--we were off too bed before most ghouls were beginning to really whoop it up. all 10 of us were hardly a boisterous crowd to begin with, we spoke quietly amongst ourselves while the halloween themed music hung as a muted backdrop around us.

here's to autumn

we're sitting at burgoo now in the intensity of the fiery slanting rays of the october afternoon sun. we did a bit of a wander down main street; through the the old hood. i would have liked to ramble further, but the toe won't allow it, not one bit.  and as it is, i'll pay for this later. originally, the idea was to attend some sort of celebration of art fest thing--the drift-- but we've been hard-pressed to find any evidence of it save for a few discreet notices taped in the odd shop-keepers' window. maybe it lost some momentum between yesterday and today. it was to be a two day thing. hmmm....now this reminds me of the "farmers' market" we went in search of last week in gastown. it could be that it hasn't grown to its anticipated size, but one vendor with a basket of carrots and few sad potatoes does not a market make.

the clouds have rolled in and the temperatures have begun to make their way plunging into the single digit territory. perhaps a storm is in the offing. we've been spoiled for the longest time, i suppose it's time for a reality check. after all, what is vancouver without its famous deluges?

scooped a few finds at a couple local thrift stores to augment my mere winter wardrobe.  sweating and squinting in the sun and peeling off excess layers to cope is so over.  i'm thankful. i'm ready for the cooler weather.  now we'll see if i can make it through without down to protect me this winter.  i wonder how i'll do. when we hit the street again to make our way home, it was blustery and cool. according to the forecast 12 degrees. i won't say i was shivering in my boots, but i wasn't all that comfortable. i think it has to do with that whole damp cold dry cold thing.

memories of.....

took a stroll through my old vancouver hood. it's like visiting an old familiar friend. whom you've dearly missed. these days i'm not 3000 miles away, but i am far enough removed to wax nostalgic about the sturdy 3 story walk-ups and the characters that line the streets under the graceful hush and sweeping arms of the well established canopy of trees. the trill of birdsong dances lightly in the air. today the scene is brilliant under a warm wash of summer sun. i can do nothing but sigh and carry on to my destination, but there is an exquisite pang of longing. if only.....

a name by any other name

i always found it curious and amusing to notice the similarity in street names surrounding me in my new neighbourhhods, not that street names are unique and specific to certain cities. it's something else. there's no shotage of main streets and numbered avenues. but get this: when we moved to our first apt, ontario street was one block east and now, at the new place gladstone is only a few blocks away. it's not earth shattering, it's bound to happen! his duplication of names, however the names  are unusual. and there's this: would you think it curious that this western city, with it's famous loathing of its eastern cousin, should be intersected by that province's namesake, ontario?

definitely not express

oh i remember this vancouver rush hour and it's famous amount of "not in service" buses. enough to make a person--even one that wants to save the earth or @ least be a respctful citizen--buy a car. the way i figure it they must like to see the (available) buses cramped and filled to capacity gives the illusion that ridership is high. waiting 10 minutes for 5 min express service. the riders don't help, crowding around the available doorways like lemmings, seeking a way out in case of disaster. the disaster is this transit system. it's only plus is that you can text  the stop number and find out when the next bus is coming, assuming that it is on schedule.

i push my way on with my two narrow blue bins, which have been garnering weird looks all day. (for a green city, people seem awfully unaccustomed to the accoutrements of recycling.) i am met with resistance but i am undaunted. i've done my bit of letting buses go by. no more ms. nice. i drop the edge of my bins against the calves of a particularly recalcitrant rider. a wide load with an even wider backpack. i am unapologetic. i'm up to here with all this today and weeks now. these laid backs have a lot to learn about being part of the public at large. i am thinking of my contemporaries in the east and how much i prefer their outlook to this. 

tuesday is it?

this is the second telling of this post. this morning, up with the birds i thought i had fleshed out the notes i had jotted down, but as things do when we are not so swift, the save was never saved. oh well.

we've made a few forays into our new neighbourhood. the immediate situ doesn't offer a lot, but it was expected. we had scoped out the area beforehand. what is lacking is tradeoff for the apartment. we could have sworn there was a starbucks in the small plaza below our apartment, but we were wrong. there is a coffee kiosk. novel idea, but her little home brewer creates the least palatable of bad coffees i've ever had. this is a disastrous discovery, but with any luck a starbucks will sprout up soon close by. our current favourite shop nearby is the spca thriftmart. i have discovered that any major shop will involve a pilgrimage, though there are loads of asian shops lining this stretch of victoria, it takes a good deal of work to summon up items like granola bars, wholewheat pasta and organic food. they are, for the the most part, nonexistent.

stay on the victoria bus long enough and it winds itself into commercial drive. (s. gives me grief about the up and down thing all the time. it's not really about direction, but rather another sort of here or there reference.) we've supped and shopped in the mecca of stores and restaurants in the area before and are sort of familiar. it is the get what you need but come as you are. there is no pretension whatsoever besides the odd fashionista with giant sunglasses, scarf over a tshirt and skinny jeans. today there is a guy playing the ukelele outside the starbucks. it's a broad spectrum

part of the reason i have made the trip is to find a petstore i know is around somewhere but i'm not sure where. the small cramped shop takes its name after the amiable and knowledgeable proprietor. but after my over zealous shopping in supervalu i give up looking and opt for the big petorium on the corner. at the cash desk there are two employees. one is droning on a story of complaint to the other about another coworker who apparently spends a good deal of time on the computer and a lot of time doing nothing. i can hear the strains of her voice as i search for what i need. there is no offer of help from the garrulous girl and it seems her captive audience cannot break away. as i leave the pained looking girl acting as sounding board offers a weak "have a nice day" while the other continues on with her story of indignance without so much as missing a verbal comma. the irony of it escapes them, but hits me like a thud in the back of the head. i crank out my blackberry as soon as i get out of the store. it turns out my little petshop is just down the street on the other side. 

here we go again.....

another scorcher of a day. getting all sorts of different stories as to how hot it was. the consensus is crazy hot. melting. my hat and i went out but took to shade as quickly as we could. i've never been accused of being graceful and i am even less so with rivulets of sweat coursing down my back. i'm passing by people who don't seem to sweat at all. maybe i've been watching too many space shows, but are these people human?

i'm going for a meeting/cum interview on monday and have to gussy myself up in some semblance of corporate uniform. i'm so thrilled i can hardly wait for the appointment to arrive. it's bullshit. i feel like i've grown past this, but persist i must. girl's got to eat. the roof over is being generously supplied by the lovely bf. and so it goes. i'm starting to think desperate measures to protect the $$ in the bank. this is not going to be a repeat of the toronto experience:  destitute,  desperate, demoralized and down in the dumps after blowing all the saved dollars to cover  the rent and other basics of life.....*sigh*

let's do it again, only this time with feeling .

it was another fit of lack of inspiration that brought us again to the purple crab. I'm not a fan of the menu, but I'm going with the flow. It's easier. The crab is cheap. None of that so-hip-it-hurts crowd here--even though it's on the Main Street strip. It features good for you fish cooked in such a way it puts me off my food. I choose chicken, but it's not a wise choice--a handful of nugget size pieces deep fried into oblivion that don't even come close to measuring up to the standard mickey d's effort. I'm getting particular with age. scratch that. i am particular about my food especially since not paying attention to this conviction has begun to show on my frame and something has to be done to stop it.

cuisine aside, the crab features music on fridays and saturdays and is almost always worth a listen. today we can even talk across the table. sadly, almost always too, it becomes a long night, despite our promises otherwise. tonight the group on stage is a 3 pce folksy ensemble, featuring original music and some well rendered neil young and a lyrical guitar that hooks us. we meet some of the friends of the band, part of the faithful fanbase and learn more about them all as the evening wears on. there's crazy janna-banana (sp)who coerces me into singing i will survive with her. we knocked it out fairly well for an a inpromptu a capella take on it. not exactly my strong suit. i love my karaoke, but it is a lot more difficult without music or lyrics. again at her urging (she aks as subtle and insistent as a mack truck) she pulls me on to the floor to dance to september.....the music is key. i don't just dance to anything. i was a willing participant, feeling pliabe and loose. 3 drinks more--at a musical break-- we buy aaron's cd and i get his card. numbers are exchanged here and there for parties and get togethers later come as they may or not, no matter. despite ourselves--and budget busting aspect--it was an experience well worth it.

Commercial Drive 3:30pm

getting adjusted: a synopsis.

It's been a few weeks now. I've taken notes and intended to blog. Of course I haven't. So I'm going to cut it to the chase a bit. Aside from some rather interesting, one off experiences, most of it really doesn't bear noting, especially now that it is well aged.

So far the sunny day count has been something like this: In the 30 days of June that have passed to date, thre has been 5 that provided actual sunlight. Several have been glary, hazy, bright and milld but the cloud cover has remained steadfastly in place. There have been a few days of Vancouver's famous rain. Apparently, though, the same weather has been plaguing Toronto, so I don't feel too cheated.

The transit system will take some getting used to. We're having to Learn about the whole "zone" thing. I remember it from before I left, but after using Toronto's system, where as far as you might want to travel costs a mere $2.75. It feels like a bit of an insult. I mean who really wanted to go to Etobicoke anyway? So now it's peak time this, blahblah. And now it costs more to get to the suburbs. A lot more.I've never travelled through so much ugly scenery to get to where I need to get to. This is why I would stick to my downtown neighbourhood; much closer to the mountains and to the park. This sort of thing really doesn't exist in Toronto.

I've never navigated around the city from this location. It's proving a little trying, especially with major construction everywhere hindering progress. We walked to Commercial Drive and it is almost faster doing that than it is taking transit. Ah, this is the transit system I know and loathed. God I miss the subway!

Some familar places like Balthazar and Bukowski's don't exist anymore. I'm looking to find a few uniquely Toronto venues and not finding them. No Kensington here. It is a unique spot that absolutely isn't replicated here. Shaun is appalled at the price of what a used/vintage goes for in the shops around us.

We've spent the first couple weeks here, eating out up and down our street. Partly out of curiosity and necessity. There's work to be done in the suite and the stove has yet to be plugged in. It's also surrounded by boxes of stuff that we can't seem to find a place for, and I am wondering how it might possibly be stuffed into the smaller square footage of our new digs. There's nothing particular stellar. It's serviceable. Lubricated a judicious sum of wine and beer helps the less palatable more edible. Public Lounge has the most interesting menu, but the service is appalling. I vow never to go back, but it's close and Shaun succumbs to have a beer there and I can get a glass of Bonterra. It'll just be awhile in coming.  

We spent some time perusing furniture row here looking for items we could press into service  to hide some of our stuff in a way that doesn't look like boxed storage.

I've gotten my first haircut just around the corner at barbarella. I haven't found my bargain stylist yet, so I'm paying full whack, but it is inline with what I am used to paying, but since I'm not working yet, I might be soon lopping the stuff off myself.

Cheap BC Wine is infinitely better. I don't care what anybody says and there's more Californian available, and lately I've sipped on Bonterra a lot, an Organic. The freestanding beer and wine stores gouge beyond belief and we've been purchasing from their small selection because they are closer. It is refreshing, however to be able to buy wines from all over the world and not just locally.

Met some interesting characters. On one particular night it is Stephen, a transplant from Montreal, circa 1993. I met Jeremy on the street, though I didn't know that was his name at first. He used to work at the Starbucks I frequented in Toronto.I knew on sight that I'd clapped eyes on his face before. I just couldn't place him. He's been here awhile now and lives in the undesirable address in the area of Main and Terminal. Go ahead, ask anybody. That area is crap. His building faces the Cobalt and is on the same block as the Ivanhoe. Need I say more? He and his wife didn't know better when them moved here. Their unfortunate circumstance reminds me of the hapless tourists that take a wrong turn out of Gastown and end up in the throes of skidrow life, which is worse than it ever was. Some of the goings on were a little less visible. I guess that is when a lot of the business was conducted in the grotty alleys, but now it is out there for all to see and it is overwhelming and is disheartening. Jeremy related to me that he has been to New York, San Francisco, LA for a few and has never seen anything like it. Hardly a badge to wear with pride.