Random Thoughts

Today it snowed at the lower elevations. Vancouver was a spotty white winter wonderland. It looked so pretty and bright. Until you step out and get pelted by the cold water falling out of the sky. Transit was a little on the slippery side, my bus kept lurching to the side every time it came to a complete stop. And it was cold to walk while it snowed. Made me feel very bad for the bums on the street. I saw one fellow with one leg sitting under a traffic lamp begging for money. He was right next to a begging meter as well. On Robson and Burrard. Outside the Roots store, a stone's throw away from the Lacoste store. It is sad that he has to be here. Of course, on the other corner is the fellow with HIV sitting out there in the bitter (by Vancouver standards) cold. Asking for help. Or choosing a lifestyle. But is he really? Are any of them? People tell me that people who are bums choose to do so. I am no so sure they choose such a lifestyle in this kind of weather. You may be a bit on t...

This weekend was a damaging one for the pocket. I have learned the art of shopping. I had to cut up my credit card on account of some funny business on part of my managers at work (I still don't get what they were trying to achieve by annoying me that much). I went downtown on Saturday on Grey Cup weekend. That was a fun time. The streets were packed with drunk people. There was even a 3 man pipe band. Anyway, I have this Christmas thing at work and as such, I like to go to that looking half decent. Its not every day that you see many of your co-workers and other people in a social situation without computers. And, allegedly, I have a date. With a real-live girl no less! Anyway, I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon walking in and out of stores on Robson Street and Pacific Centre. I saw way too many things and came home with all sorts of things I can't justify needing. I had also gone to this place called Caban . They were having some kind of sale and the place looked...

I have been bar hopping. Lots of it. I went to a co-worker's birthday thing Wednesday night, went to 3 bars (including Nelson's Cafe ) and then some, drove them home and then walked home after that (I live close by). Got 2 and a ½ hours of sleep, went to work. Then I went to the bar with another co-worker that evening for "one" drink. A few pitchers later, having had enough fun for the night, I decided to walk home around 1am. Walked for 2 hours. Slept for 2 hours. Went to work. Learned some really neat stuff on my walk home. I learned that electric sub-stations hum very loudly. I learned that wires going out of electric sub-stations make a different but equally interesting noise. Learned that other people are awake at that time of the night. Saw many cars on the streets. Learned that one drink does not necessarily mean one drink. Why did I walk when I could have taken a taxi? Well, I wanted to prove a point to myself. I wanted to see if I could make it home on nothin...

I went to this establishment on Nelson street last Saturday called Nelson's cafe. How did we end up there? Well, after walking through some of the less than savoury neighbourhoods of Vancouver, a group of friends and I ended up in Gastown, allegedly heading for an establishment called the Shine. That was however, not to be. The names were not on the guest list and the night was a cold one. So, off we headed back to Granville Street, looking for a suitable place with a not so long line-up. We saw some spectacular lines at the Caprice , presumably waiting to see the "Rock", saw some sort of line-up outside the Commodore (looked like a Reggae concert) and so on. No luck getting into any place around 11pm on a Saturday night. So, we went to the pizza place next to Stone Temple and then decided to go to Nelson's cafe. Nelson's cafe is this little place on Nelson Street between Granville and Seymour. It is a rather small and comfy place. They have Guiness on tap which ...