Fireworks

Every year Vancouver hosts the Celebration of Light, a 4 night "international pyro-musical fireworks competition". My arrival here on Wednesday coincided with the first night and tonight was another viewing. This performance was put on by South Africa while the one before was done by Canada. It's a big show and a lot of people go see it. The fireworks are shot from barges on the English Bay so the entire area around there is great for viewing. It doesn't get dark enough until about 9:30 here so the shows start at 10 but everyone is out. Most people bring picnics/chairs/blankets to the various public beaches and parks and make a jolly night of it. I'm no fireworks expert but I'd say these are some of the most intricate shows I've seen. And the music being simulcast is a lovely touch. I'd love to be on a boat for this thing next summer. It was pouring rain tonight but still the show went on. Mother Nature put on a competing show of thunder and lighting which may have been more interesting. A friendly guy from Orange County shared his umbrella with me and we had a nice chat. He had moved to Vancouver for a year so he could snowboard and go to Whistler a lot. Yep, ok. Anyway, it was nice to talk with someone. After the show I soggily made my way home so I could get in a nap before waking up at 4 to fly to Orange County for Sarina's bridal shower. Naturally, I'm not too sleepy so I figured I get this out before forcing myself to go to bed.

Welcome home! (Canadian version)

I arrived in Vancouver this past Wednesday and collected the keys to my apartment. It’s true. This post is being written from my apartment in Vancouver. The cable/internet guy was here Thursday morning so even though I’m sleeping on the floor, I feel like I’m settled. Not even close. But it is nice to be able to Skype with people in the evenings when I’m not out because I don’t know anybody here yet. But it feels good to be coming home (yes, home!) after each foray out to collect items for living.

I brought two giant, 50 lb. bags of stuff with me but that isn’t as much as you might think. It was all unpacked within an hour. And while the closet looks better with some clothes in it, the rest of the place is empty. With beige carpet and pinkish-beige walls and gross curtains. However, I measured all the rooms (that’s would be 3) so I can plan my furniture. The bedroom is only large enough for a bed and nightstand but that’s ok because the closet is big enough for all my clothes. And I did get some sheer, white curtains for the living room though I'll be needing some thicker ones as well. Turns out the building next to me has motion-sensor floodlights that are particularly well aimed into my windows. It was very startling the first night. I do plan on painting. It would've been nice to do that this week when I have nothing in the place but that may have been a bigger project that I was ready for.

Today I have a number of yard sales that I'm going to visit. It's a beautiful Saturday morning so everyone will be out; these Vancouver-ites love fresh air. And there are fireworks over English Bay tonight! There were fireworks my first night here as well, a lovely welcome to the neighborhood! Though I don't have a view out onto the bay, I can just walk out on the sidewalk and see quite well. The beach will be very crowded tonight but I may venture down there anyway. I'm just one person so I'm fairly certain I can find a little perch for myself. I'll try to take more pictures because I want to show everyone my new home! I'm no professional but I think you'll get the idea and be convinced you need to visit.

NYC

I spent the weekend in New York City to see my sister as well as Dan and Amy who were concluding an East Coast tour there. John and I drove up on Saturday, arriving in the early afternoon. After lunch with Caitlin, we headed into the city and walked around some because it takes me a bit to figure out my norths and souths at first. But we found our way to the Shake Shack in Madison Square so we could give it a try. Owned by Danny Meyer, whose Union Square Hospitality Group also employs Caitlin, it's rumored to have some of the best burgers in the city. Because it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the line was quite long but the "B-line" came in handy because we were able to get some drinks (it seemed quite odd that you could buy beers or an entire bottle of wine if you wanted) and hang out in line. The burgers are good, quite good. I decided that if the line wasn't long it would easily be the first place I'd go to get a burger. We didn't try any shakes or custard because we weren't that hungry but I'll assume everything there is good.

From there we proceeded to walk around some more, eventually ending up at a bar where we couldn't watch the Phillies but were forced to watch the Yankees and Mets instead. We stayed for quite a long time because the conversation was good and very revealing. It kind of felt like a first date because I learned so much about John. Finally we left that bar and stopped by a friend of John's. After a couple drinks with them, it was 11 PM so we decided to stop by and see Caitlin at her night job. She bakes overnight at Amy's Breads in Chelsea Market. Quite a floury spectacle there but it seemed like a fun place to work, certainly with some characters. Then we went home and fell asleep, exhausted, though John had to eat some cookies first.
The next morning we slept late and loitered around with Caitlin, enjoying coffee and cinnamon challah rolls she brought from work. Finally we got ourselves together and went back into the city.

We meandered in Times Square, a place I don't like very much. We stopped in the M&M store, the Hershey store, and promptly had to leave them because there were too many people. We went up to Columbus Circle and the Time Warner Building so John could see per se and of course, we had to go into the Samsung store. They have amazing TVs. A brief foray into Central Park and then we headed back downtown to meet Amy and Dan for dinner. It was so good to see them, though dinner was mediocre. John had to leave then but the rest of us wandered down into Chelsea and Greenwich Village. There we happened upon some sort of Irish pub and went in for drinks and to see the Cubs lose. It was a great place and the bartender (who was supremely bored) gave us a few rounds of shots to liven up the night. Then I went back to Jersey City while Dan and Amy went uptown.
Monday morning, I met them in line to try to get rush tickets to Next to Normal. No luck there but that left us with time to go back to downtown and to Strand's Bookstore. An amazing place that I wish I lived near. But it's good that I don't because I would fill my home with books unnecessarily. By this time it was midday and we were all very hungry. Fortunately the night before on our way to the bar we walked by a fish and chips place that was on Bobby Flay's Throwdown. So we went there and it was perfect. Delicious. A Salt and Battery, it's called. The British guy working there was also perfect. Unfortunately, I had to depart soon after so I could be back in Philly to take Nolan to the airport. So I rode the MegaBus back which was very convenient though very cold.
All in all, it was a pretty nice weekend. And it's always a treat to see some Iowans. Almost a relief too, an assurance that I actually did go to school and meet these people and become friends with them and that we still are friends. I'm going to try to go back to Iowa in the fall but that's very tentative. Anyway, it was nice but now I have to get back to figuring out how to move to Vancouver.

Crossword Puzzles

Finally, my name was an answer! Sunday, July 5, Philadelphia Inquirer.

7 letters: Anderson of "The X-Files"