notes from everywhere

On Monday morning, I dragged myself out of bed early to get to campus for a guest lecture. Normally I only have classes from Tuesday to Friday, but the topic was Time Management and Organization for Journalists- one that I was sure I could use some brushing up on.

The lecture turned out to be one of the most informative 80 minutes so far this semester. Chris Cannon, the guest lecturer, is a freelance journalist and former US Marine Corps officer. Contrary to my expectations, he doesn't wake up at 4:30 a.m. every morning for exercises- he said he wakes up at 10 on most mornings, in fact.

The "life as a freelancer" part was actually much more interesting than the "how I organize my life as a journalist" part, although both were equally informative and entertaining.

This morning, I wrote the Media Law midterm exam. It didn't go as badly as I thought. All that anxiety, for naught!

In other news, my current mot de jour is "dread"- a rather shallow tribute to Joan Didion, who has captivated my imagination of late.

I've been reading The Year of Magical Thinking, which I almost dismissed after the first chapter as rather dull. It was missing the usual lyricism and flow of her other works (such as her essays in Slouching Toward Bethlehem)- but it's slowly grown on me.

Speaking of growing affections- I went downtown today, and found this store on West Pender and Carrall St:

Everything you need to be a spy. How awesome is that?

scenes of gentrification

After a thoroughly unproductive weekend as a journalist, I took a long walk through my beat today. I walked through Chinatown for the first time in two years, and got caught up in its post-Olympic charm.

Perhaps I never paid too much attention back then, but Chinatown seemed quite different from what I remembered it- the bright red paint, kitschy wall murals, and even the lamp posts seemed so welcoming.



Of course, the gorgeous blue skies and sun also had a hand in affecting my mood and perceptions today.

I then did a general walkabout the Eastside, stopping at the Vancouver Women's Health Collective, and the Carnegie Community Centre, where I ate my lunch. For $3.10, I got: a yam and coconut soup ($0.85), and a veggie burger with potato salad ($2.25). It was delicious and very filling. I couldn't even finish my soup and veggie burger bun.

Then I walked around some more, and bought quite possibly the worst hot chocolate that $3.30 can buy, at Bean Around the World Coffees. Having previously worked at a coffee shop, I like to think that I am knowledgeable on matters of overpriced steamed beverages. So before I even sipped it, I knew that this hot chocolate was bad news. As I suspected, it was a powder based, watery liquid with perhaps the most unappetizing, thin foam layer. And it was lukewarm. I guess it serves me right to expect a "hot" chocolate of reasonable quality that cost less than $4.00 in this city.

As I wandered around, I could not help but notice the visible transformation of the neighborhood in various stages.


An empty, overgrown lot next to the Woodward's building on West Hastings.


Newly renovated office space for lease, on the same street as a Salvation Army shelter and right across the street from the monolithic Woodwards building.


One of my personal favorites on West Hastings street: the Regal Place...


...and right across from it, the brand new Simon Fraser University Centre for Contemporary Arts. As you can see, it is still undergoing final touches.


The remaining vestiges of old West Hastings street. These buildings are survivors, but not for long.

the water in vancouver

Just over a little bridge in the Downtown Eastside is Crab Park, a small beach.

Since the last time I went to a beach in Vancouver was on a rainy day, I walked there with Jason on Saturday. It was gloriously sunny.


Crossing the bridge.


Great big cranes at the Port of Vancouver.


A memorial to missing and murdered women in the Downtown Eastside.


An interesting view.


The water.

comings and goings

This is a mural overlooking a parking lot next to the First United Church on East Hastings and Gore Street. The inscription at the top left corner reads:

It takes knowledge to understand others, but it takes a clear mind to know oneself. It takes strength to surpass others, but it requires a strong will to surpass oneself. - Lao Tsu

It reminded me of someone in Montreal.

I recently made a new friend who works at a shelter in the Downtown Eastside. As with many of my friends, Jason is one of those people who tends to help others to the point where he forgets his own needs.

After an underwhelming lunch at Britannia Sushi on Commercial Drive, Jason drove me down to Stanley Park. I think it's already been two years since I was last there. We hung out at Prospect Point for a little bit, chatting.









































There were so many people and things, coming and going. It made me wonder which way I would be going this summer.

scenes from the city

Have you ever heard of "beat blogging"?

Me neither. Not until I came to journalism school, anyway.

My first assignment is to write about a neighborhood in the Metro Vancouver area (my "beat") on a designated blog, called the Thunderblogs. I chose the Downtown Eastside, an area of Vancouver that you may or may not have heard about. In brief, it is the poorest urban postal code in Canada. Most of the poverty and drug abuse goes on at East Hastings street.

There are five blog entries due by September 26. So far, I've done one, about an Aboriginal hip-hop/media showcase called Beat Nation.

[As a sidenote, If I had $5 for every link in those last few sentences, I would have enough to pay for my lunch date next week with my mother at this swanky place downtown. If you counted the one I posted just now, I could treat myself to a beverage involving steamed milk and espresso at one of the numerous Corporate Coffee chains in this city, as well. Conclusion: having no money breeds whimsical yet pointless sidenotes in blog entries.]

Last week, I walked around the Eastside to orient myself with the neighbourhood. Keep in mind that all of these photos were taken on my LG phone circa 2008.














The back of an apartment building, from East Hastings street.














A beautiful mural overlooking a community garden.














A run down housing unit.


















In addition to its ironic name, the Regal Place is located right across from the street from the Woodwards Building, a historic landmark that was long abandoned- that is, until Vancouver was announced the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Then came the face lift from real-estate developers. I wish I had taken a photo, but it was too dark outside. Needless to say, it is no longer the decrepit, old-fashioned building I remember. It took me a few minutes to realize while walking past its gleaming glass facade that it was, in fact, the old Woodwards building.

So there you have it- right on West Hastings Street. The spatial and physical embodiment of the stark contrasts you can find all around this city. One one side of the street, the Regal Place. On the other, a newly renovated condominium and commercial complex where squatters used to huddle to shelter themselves from the relentless rain.

Now there's one thing that hasn't changed since I left.