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.

overwhelmed in october

As I stumble into October, it's getting harder to keep my head above water.

I am juggling an increasing load of assignment deadlines, menial (yet necessary) errands, and my ever-shrinking bank account balance. Oh, and making up for the four year hiatus from recreational reading.

I am currently reading:

A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtmenche
Life Stories: Profiles from the New Yorker edited by David Remnick

And I have about 10 others, literally lined up on my desk.

Bus rides are not so unbearable, now that I always have a book in tow. But the motion sickness can be overwhelming, and I have to put the book down on my lap and look out of the window for awhile.

I wish I could do the same with my life right now- just put everything down, and look out the window to think.

finally, a ray of sun

It's finally sunny outside!














The view from my kitchen window, this evening at around 6pm.

I didn't realize how starved I was for sun until today. As soon as I got home, I literally jumped out of my typical attire (jeans, long sleeved shirt, sneakers) and into a sundress that I wore all the time in Montreal during the summer. I smiled all the way to and from the grocery store. My apologies to all of the sullen people I passed by, who probably thought that I was a bit unhinged. Sunlight tends to make me a little more exuberant and giddy.

Another sunny day is forecast for tomorrow- I am going to try going to try venturing out to Wreck Beach.

snapshots from vancouver

Epic battles on the dining table.







































The aftermath.













Coffee, books, and newspapers.













The Jem Gallery on East Cordova Street.
















































Lunch with my mother.

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.

daily rituals

Every morning after breakfast, I sit down at my desk and check my email on my laptop. Then, I load my news for the day on my iPod touch. It struck me that before coming to Vancouver, reading mobile news was never a part of my daily life. The big difference between my lifestyle in Montreal and here is the amount of time I spend on public transit- namely, the bus. During the 20 minute commute to the UBC campus, I find myself no longer listening mindlessly to music, as I did in the first few days of classes. Instead, I read about wars in distant places, housing problems in Canada, and North Korea's latest provocation- all on a screen the size of my hand.

I can't say that I am completely seduced by this paperless trend, though. The evidence: a pile of books on my desk, lined up and ready to be read:













I've only begun to read Anthony Lane's Nobody's Perfect. Lane has been a film reviewer for the New Yorker since 1993, and the book is a collection of his reviews. While that may sound rather unappealing to read, Lane's wit and sincere (for lack of a better term) approach to writing about films continues to pull me through this book.

What's on your bookshelf?