Recent Adventures at Sea Level
Dec. 30th, 2003 02:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqShopping
It was the right before Xmas, so I was getting gifts for assorted people. A bunch of us went to Future Shop. Among other things, I got![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
somejauntypolka a copy of Coupling season two. Note: don't go shopping for presents with the person you're shopping for.
"Hey, who's the copy of Coupling for?" asks Athena.
"Carmen" I lied.
I also went to the Virgin store (still out of stock on the virgins though. weird) and once again spotted lots of things to buy cheaper somewhere else. There's a new Pat Benatar album out! Hoody Hoo!
Lord of the Rings
Brian calls us up and asks if we wanted to see Return of the King and of course we do. We pick a theatre and make plans. Then Brian calls up again and declares that he can't go because of a work emergency. We figure, Ok, part of the reason for going was to see it with him so we decide to postpone. While browsing for virgins, I get a phone call from him, "I'm downtown and finished work - where are you guys?" he asks. We too are downtown I say. Five minutes later we're all together and two blocks from a theater that's showing the movie in about an hour. What was a cancelled effort became a spur-of-the-moment trip that worked out rather well.
Ironically, the movie was only out two days but the theatre wasn't full. I attribute this to it being a huge theatre and a weekday matinee prior to the Christmas break. It did mean we got great seats.
As for the movie itself - what I think of it doesn't matter, if you're into it, you'll go if you're not, you won't. For what it's worth, I liked it, though I thought the ending dragged a bit. I suspect Peter Jackson will get an Oscar for this (regardless of whether or not it's worth it - It'll be a reward for actually surviving and making money too.
Battlestar Galactica
Brian found a copy of the new BG on the net. It has yet to be broadcast in Canada (January 17 & 18 it premiers on Space). We watched it and it was very good - not as good perhaps as Firefly - but easily the second best sci-fi I've seen last year.
Galactica benefits from solid writing and acting. Plus, they realize that the premise is inherently dark (from twelve colonies to 50K survivors - of course it's dark), and worked with it.
There are also little touches that play with the existence of the earlier show. An earlier war with the Cylons is referenced, and all of the old Cylon technology is from the old show (i.e. there is a shot of a war museum with replica Cylons, Cylon fighters and Cylon base stars and all of them are identical to the ones from the original show). The new Cylons look much cooler, but you can see how the new technology was based on the old one without looking cheesy.
While we're on the subject - the show has none of the campy cheese of the original (though who knows what we'll think of it in 2025). it's a pretty decent show - check it out.
Bowen Island
kermie_canada and I went to Bowen Island - my secret reason being to try and spot Michelle Meyrink. I didn't, but I probably came pretty close to her kids.
Carmen had the day off, but we got off to a fairly late start (this is important for later on). Josh dropped us off at Lonsdale Quay and we caught a series of buses to Horseshoe Bay, where we caught the Bowen Island ferry.
We were there at about four in the afternoon - which put us on the same ferry as all the school kids returning home from West Van (Bowen Island has no junior or senior high schools to my knowledge). I sat out on the forward deck and was immediately reminded that it was December as it was moist and cold - though not cold enough for me to go in till half way through the ride. Carmen, whose taken a lot more boat rides than me (and has a much lower tolerance for the cold) went inside somewhat earlier.
And we get to Bowen Island - just as everything closes and the sun goes down. So we walk to the top of the hill trying to find something interesting to do, then walk back down. Luckily we found Doc Morgan's Inn, which was open and willing to serve vagabonds like us.
We also discover (through the radical method of asking the waitress) that you don't need a ticket to ride the ferry back to main land. Ha ha, you can rip off BC Ferries by having lots of children on the island!
So after a somewhat lackluster one hour visit we head on back. this time our ferry ride was in the dark, and I spent the first half inside and the last half outside. Back at Horseshoe Bay we catch a stupidly crowded bus back to downtown Vancouver. As luck would have it, I managed to fall in love with at least three other passengers who were nearby - such is the fickle ways of love. None of them were Michelle Meyrick (whose married and has three children - no doubt some of them were on our first ferry).
Back in downtown Vancouver we took what could have been a horrifying bus back to Kerrisdale. Carmen gets on the bus and heads for the back, she picks a seat with an extra spot for me, but another woman (who got on the bus between Carmen and I) beats me to it. I sit in the very back - inadvertently next to a psycho talker (imagine Donkey from Shrek).
That's when I was saved by two Russian lesbians. They came to the back of the bus together and the Psycho Talker said hi to them.
Now it was clear that they wanted to sit at the back together. Psycho Talker would have to shift over to make room for them - he could go left, forcing them to sit between us, or he could move right, forcing me to yank his still-beating heart from his chest. Luckily for everyone concerned, he went left.
And it seemed that they knew each other - or at least they were humouring his delusions. They chatted for a short while and then he got off the bus at the south end of downtown. The Russian lesbians then fell asleep against each other and ended up getting off at the same stop as Carmen and I.
Normally a trip like this would end with exhaustion, but not this time. Instead we decided to go to the Keg with Josh, who was now off work for the day.
Athena's Birthday
One of the reasons I choose this week to visit was so I could be around for Athena's birthday. We went to the Wolf and Hound (or something) a fairly decent pub. The service was adequate, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the waitress didn't like me. I didn't feel that she was going to secrete something into my drinks, but still.
Anyway, we met her other boyfriend, and it was a good time for all.godeater_sw, ovidius, spookiemonkie2, kermie_canada, Brian, bognaustroglum, Athena's dad(!) and a whole bunch of people whose names I don't remember were there.
There was a folk band playing and they were at just the right volume so that we could talk and hear ourselves, but also shut up and hear them if we wanted to. We requested (Slayer, play some Slayer!) a few songs and they actually played them.
I had a drink, and it didn't suck. It was called a China White (Irish Cream, Creme de Cacao and a pinch of cinnamon) and it was very very sweet. I couldn't taste the alcohol (which is good), but it had a cloying sweetness and a syrupy texture that reminded me of drinking melted ice cream. It was not something I would choose to get drunk on.
My Last Day There
Everyone was busy this day so I opted to reconnoiter my Aunt & Uncle's house. I needed to make sure that it had a reasonable level of handicap access for my Dad's trip out there at the end of January.
I phone up my Aunt and ask for the address - she gives it to me but assumes I know vaguely were it is. I assume it's in Burnaby (which is where my brother said it was), so just a short trip. I assumed wrong - it's actually in Langely Township (which is like Langely, only farther). To give Cowtowners an idea of just how far that is, assume you have to get from MacKenzie Town to Arbour Lake, and nobody knows what the hell a freeway is. It took me less time to get back to Calgary - and that includes waiting for the plane to board.
I left Athena and Chris' place at 10 AM and i got to my Aunt's place at around 1:30. It took somewhat less time to get back, but only because my Aunt gave me a ride to the skytrain station in Surrey.
The good news is that the place has wide hallways, Only one step to get into the house and the bathrooms have plenty of room to maneuver a wheelchair. The only bad news is that travel times are going to be a bitch even with a ride from the airport (and we had better be getting a ride from the airport, or things will be grim), and I probably won't have a chance to visit any of my friends (though I'm thinking a late night jaunt to The Clubhouse on Saturday night may be in order if I can swing a ride and if my relations don't mind me wandering in at two in the morning).
I get back just in time to repack my stuff with all the gifts that others wanted me to deliver back to Calgary and head out for the airport.
From waking up to going to sleep, I think I might have not been traveling for about two hours. so the last day was kind of a bust, but it needed doing, and the rest of the trip made up for it.
It was the right before Xmas, so I was getting gifts for assorted people. A bunch of us went to Future Shop. Among other things, I got
somejauntypolka a copy of Coupling season two. Note: don't go shopping for presents with the person you're shopping for."Hey, who's the copy of Coupling for?" asks Athena.
"Carmen" I lied.
I also went to the Virgin store (still out of stock on the virgins though. weird) and once again spotted lots of things to buy cheaper somewhere else. There's a new Pat Benatar album out! Hoody Hoo!
Lord of the Rings
Brian calls us up and asks if we wanted to see Return of the King and of course we do. We pick a theatre and make plans. Then Brian calls up again and declares that he can't go because of a work emergency. We figure, Ok, part of the reason for going was to see it with him so we decide to postpone. While browsing for virgins, I get a phone call from him, "I'm downtown and finished work - where are you guys?" he asks. We too are downtown I say. Five minutes later we're all together and two blocks from a theater that's showing the movie in about an hour. What was a cancelled effort became a spur-of-the-moment trip that worked out rather well.
Ironically, the movie was only out two days but the theatre wasn't full. I attribute this to it being a huge theatre and a weekday matinee prior to the Christmas break. It did mean we got great seats.
As for the movie itself - what I think of it doesn't matter, if you're into it, you'll go if you're not, you won't. For what it's worth, I liked it, though I thought the ending dragged a bit. I suspect Peter Jackson will get an Oscar for this (regardless of whether or not it's worth it - It'll be a reward for actually surviving and making money too.
Battlestar Galactica
Brian found a copy of the new BG on the net. It has yet to be broadcast in Canada (January 17 & 18 it premiers on Space). We watched it and it was very good - not as good perhaps as Firefly - but easily the second best sci-fi I've seen last year.
Galactica benefits from solid writing and acting. Plus, they realize that the premise is inherently dark (from twelve colonies to 50K survivors - of course it's dark), and worked with it.
There are also little touches that play with the existence of the earlier show. An earlier war with the Cylons is referenced, and all of the old Cylon technology is from the old show (i.e. there is a shot of a war museum with replica Cylons, Cylon fighters and Cylon base stars and all of them are identical to the ones from the original show). The new Cylons look much cooler, but you can see how the new technology was based on the old one without looking cheesy.
While we're on the subject - the show has none of the campy cheese of the original (though who knows what we'll think of it in 2025). it's a pretty decent show - check it out.
Bowen Island
kermie_canada and I went to Bowen Island - my secret reason being to try and spot Michelle Meyrink. I didn't, but I probably came pretty close to her kids.Carmen had the day off, but we got off to a fairly late start (this is important for later on). Josh dropped us off at Lonsdale Quay and we caught a series of buses to Horseshoe Bay, where we caught the Bowen Island ferry.
We were there at about four in the afternoon - which put us on the same ferry as all the school kids returning home from West Van (Bowen Island has no junior or senior high schools to my knowledge). I sat out on the forward deck and was immediately reminded that it was December as it was moist and cold - though not cold enough for me to go in till half way through the ride. Carmen, whose taken a lot more boat rides than me (and has a much lower tolerance for the cold) went inside somewhat earlier.
And we get to Bowen Island - just as everything closes and the sun goes down. So we walk to the top of the hill trying to find something interesting to do, then walk back down. Luckily we found Doc Morgan's Inn, which was open and willing to serve vagabonds like us.
We also discover (through the radical method of asking the waitress) that you don't need a ticket to ride the ferry back to main land. Ha ha, you can rip off BC Ferries by having lots of children on the island!
So after a somewhat lackluster one hour visit we head on back. this time our ferry ride was in the dark, and I spent the first half inside and the last half outside. Back at Horseshoe Bay we catch a stupidly crowded bus back to downtown Vancouver. As luck would have it, I managed to fall in love with at least three other passengers who were nearby - such is the fickle ways of love. None of them were Michelle Meyrick (whose married and has three children - no doubt some of them were on our first ferry).
Back in downtown Vancouver we took what could have been a horrifying bus back to Kerrisdale. Carmen gets on the bus and heads for the back, she picks a seat with an extra spot for me, but another woman (who got on the bus between Carmen and I) beats me to it. I sit in the very back - inadvertently next to a psycho talker (imagine Donkey from Shrek).
"mutter mutter postmen mutter mutter", he says, while facing me as though we were already having a conversation.Now the back seat of the bus had five positions. Some guy was in #1 (looking out the left hand side window), the psycho talker was in #3, taking up the very center, and I was in #5 (the right hand side window). #2 and #4 were unoccupied. So I caught Carmen's eye from across the bus and motioned that she should come sit beside me. Her look back telepathically conveyed the following message: I love you dearly cousin, but I love peace and quiet more.
"Aroo?" I reply.
"The postmen in Vancouver are all young - I've never seen one older than thirty." he (allegedly) repeats.
"And you're telling me this why?" I ask, still thinking that there can be rationality within his mind.
"The postmen in Calgary are all old."
That's when I was saved by two Russian lesbians. They came to the back of the bus together and the Psycho Talker said hi to them.
Now it was clear that they wanted to sit at the back together. Psycho Talker would have to shift over to make room for them - he could go left, forcing them to sit between us, or he could move right, forcing me to yank his still-beating heart from his chest. Luckily for everyone concerned, he went left.
And it seemed that they knew each other - or at least they were humouring his delusions. They chatted for a short while and then he got off the bus at the south end of downtown. The Russian lesbians then fell asleep against each other and ended up getting off at the same stop as Carmen and I.
Normally a trip like this would end with exhaustion, but not this time. Instead we decided to go to the Keg with Josh, who was now off work for the day.
Athena's Birthday
One of the reasons I choose this week to visit was so I could be around for Athena's birthday. We went to the Wolf and Hound (or something) a fairly decent pub. The service was adequate, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the waitress didn't like me. I didn't feel that she was going to secrete something into my drinks, but still.
Anyway, we met her other boyfriend, and it was a good time for all.
godeater_sw, ovidius, spookiemonkie2, kermie_canada, Brian, bognaustroglum, Athena's dad(!) and a whole bunch of people whose names I don't remember were there.There was a folk band playing and they were at just the right volume so that we could talk and hear ourselves, but also shut up and hear them if we wanted to. We requested (Slayer, play some Slayer!) a few songs and they actually played them.
I had a drink, and it didn't suck. It was called a China White (Irish Cream, Creme de Cacao and a pinch of cinnamon) and it was very very sweet. I couldn't taste the alcohol (which is good), but it had a cloying sweetness and a syrupy texture that reminded me of drinking melted ice cream. It was not something I would choose to get drunk on.
My Last Day There
Everyone was busy this day so I opted to reconnoiter my Aunt & Uncle's house. I needed to make sure that it had a reasonable level of handicap access for my Dad's trip out there at the end of January.
I phone up my Aunt and ask for the address - she gives it to me but assumes I know vaguely were it is. I assume it's in Burnaby (which is where my brother said it was), so just a short trip. I assumed wrong - it's actually in Langely Township (which is like Langely, only farther). To give Cowtowners an idea of just how far that is, assume you have to get from MacKenzie Town to Arbour Lake, and nobody knows what the hell a freeway is. It took me less time to get back to Calgary - and that includes waiting for the plane to board.
I left Athena and Chris' place at 10 AM and i got to my Aunt's place at around 1:30. It took somewhat less time to get back, but only because my Aunt gave me a ride to the skytrain station in Surrey.
The good news is that the place has wide hallways, Only one step to get into the house and the bathrooms have plenty of room to maneuver a wheelchair. The only bad news is that travel times are going to be a bitch even with a ride from the airport (and we had better be getting a ride from the airport, or things will be grim), and I probably won't have a chance to visit any of my friends (though I'm thinking a late night jaunt to The Clubhouse on Saturday night may be in order if I can swing a ride and if my relations don't mind me wandering in at two in the morning).
I get back just in time to repack my stuff with all the gifts that others wanted me to deliver back to Calgary and head out for the airport.
From waking up to going to sleep, I think I might have not been traveling for about two hours. so the last day was kind of a bust, but it needed doing, and the rest of the trip made up for it.
