picky street people (only in Vancouver)

In Vancouver, it seems, the old adage misses the mark:
Beggars CAN be choosers.

Leaving the office this afternoon a middle-aged woman approached me and in her most pathetic drug-induced baby voice informed me that she was hungry.

Like most of you, I'm sure, I struggle to find the balance between wanting to help the poor but not wanting to just dole out an answer to the next fix. Conveniently, today I hadn't finished my lunch!

I smiled, reaching for my bag, and said, "I have an orange!"

The woman made a face of disgust, shook her head and walked away.

hmf!

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We're just in from an evening with Keane at the Orpheum. By far my favourite venue and a brilliant band to see live, with dear friends. It occured to me midway through, that the last time i saw Keane was about a week before my first date with Dean... so, though the company was grand, you can only imagine who was on my mind throughout. The time before that, Rach scored me a free ticket because Doubting Paris was opening—shortly before she and Zaac finally got together. hmmm. Perhaps I should have brought mytwin sis tonight? ;)

what goes around...

So this morning I picked up a moral compass (I have lifetime supply, courtesy of my mother) and opted out of a second interview for a proofreader position—on principle—since we are moving back to Scotland in six months (yes, six, so you better get your fill of us now).

I tossed most of the night debating the decision—a bi-weekly paycheque and benefits would be swell. But I've also come to like the flexibility of temping. If I had any second thoughts they were obliterated an hour after I made my decision when I was given a month-long placement: downtown, on a convenient bus route, for a rate equal to what I would have been making in said proofreader role. So that's pretty swell too.

and about Scotland... though we've been happy at home, Aberdeen still has such a warm spot in my heart. It seems like at least once a week I see someone who resembles some Aberdeen acquaintance. Because we have so few friends in Scotland, those relationships we did make seem extra special. There are obvious things to miss, like cheap trendy clothes at Top Shop and dirt cheap books & CDs at Fopp. But there are the other things, like running into friends in town, weekend markets, random adventures, the insanely comfortable seats at the Vue Cinema, British yoghurt (it's way better), and a really loving church community. so for all my talk about Vancouver being the best place on earth... well, it's true, BUT there are a few things we just don't have here and suddenly leaving is starting to feel okay.

post-gorge report

a summary of the weekend: gratuitous consumption... in the form of food that is.

My in-laws come from a small town, so trips to the city mean eating out at much as possible, preferably in the company of their kids (us!).

For me this meant two three-course Dine Out Vancouver meals, plus a salmon dinner I made to return the love.

But add to that a Sunny Start breakfast at White Spot with another Sask. visitor, Jenn, and add to THAT another meal in with Sheree and Chris and well, it's all the foodie in me I can handle.

looking forward to getting back to a good steady diet of sushi this week :)

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work is rolling along.

Something I love about being a writer is the education I get each day.

Last week I delved into the world of deep ocean treasure hunting, and this week I'm immersed in uranium mining. I can tell you all about the three dominant methods of ore extraction and quote the number of deaths as a result of nuclear power plants since the 70s (zero). So I may also be receiving a thorough brainwashing. Big deal! There's still a pay cheque at the end of the day ;)

pouring

you know how it goes: when it rains...

it's sunny in Vancouver (finally), but I'm enjoying a sudden deluge of work.

hence, a quick post between tasks

+ I had the most amazing matcha lattea at Muzi during a morning meeting. From now on I say coffee shmoffee.

+ We've been house shopping! okay, so buying is still a ways off (post PhD), but we're having fun looking.

+ Today marks seven whole months of marriage! Celebrating by cleaning the house and picking up the in-laws from YVR. Yhey are in town this week to find the perfect grad dress for Jillian.

+ Speaking of family, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that mine is awesome. Just to show you, here they are :)

ode to canada

Today I chuckled through my morning coffee while reading this in Maisonneuve: a letter to Montreal on behalf of Calgary.

It made me appreciate my country... that it's massive and yet still small enough that anyone who's been to Calgary knows about Pete's Drive-In and men wearing Wranglers though their closest contact with cowboy-life is gopher shooting; every one knows that Ottawa, in spite of its lovely setting and political hubbub, is really the nation's most boring city; they know that Montreal is where the party's at and the place to update your wardrobe; they know Toronto has a superiority complex but confess that TO is entitled to its claim on multiculturalism; and of course, every one knows that we walk slower here in Vancouver, but also that we'll stop to talk, you'll have your windshield squeegeed whether you like it or not, and someone will offer you weed whether you like it or not.

I think it just became too painfully cliche when everyone started wearing it on t-shirts, but I wouldn't be too put out if someone revived the old slogan: Canada kicks ass.

p.s. sorry, I skipped over Edmonton (mall), and Winnipeg (cold, forks, art, purple city etc)

gratitude

On January 1, my friend Karen resolved that this would be a year of giving thanks. She ends each day by sharing something she's thankful for. Though I've never been one to make resolutions (since that would require resolve) I think she's onto something.

This morning, as I was writhing in pain without a stitch of Ibuprofen in the house, I felt very grateful for a husband who would walk all the way from work to the drugstore and then home in the pouring rain just so that I could get doped up on Advil. Thanks Deano!

It was a lovely weekend: made pancakes for Rach, we caught up with Nina and Jules for a go at Plenty (found the sweater Dean tore apart Edinburgh in search of —it was on sale so I came home the hero!), and in the evening we celebrated Nana's 65th birthday (AGAIN) with the Smith clan, who I just love. I think the adult Smith siblings actually made it through the evening without any sentimental crying for once ;)

Sunday was a home day. Dean was the preacher and I was the worship leader and it was a nice change from the norm. Then we hung art, ate yam fries and chipoltle mayo and devoured another episode of Grey's.

Darn-near perfect weekend.

by the by, I've uploaded a smattering of wedding photos from friends and family. If you have some to add to the collection, send em my way!

minato

I am absolutely sure I saw the waitress laugh at us as we came in. Tonight was our third visit in one week to our favourite sushi spot and by now she knows us well enough to say, "one yam roll, one dynamite roll and one order of salmon sashimi" in unison with us. I've been trying to mix it up with various pieces of ngiri on the side, but really our menu never changes.

What does change is the company. Last night we enjoyed the brilliant and diverse conversation of Dean's long-time friend Brooks Bergreen (and even a few words from his famous girlfriend Sarah via cell phone). Tonight we got to meet, for the first time, two people we feel we've known for months (after all, we've shared a bed)—the couple who rented our place while we were in Scotland, Tom and Marie. They were the token east-coasters at our table of 8, along with Nina and Jason, Julie and Kyle.

Just now after we said our final goodbyes for the night Dean remarked how surprisingly easy it was to talk with total strangers, but I wasn't the least bit surprised. Sometimes you just get a good vibe from people. We knew just from emails they M&T were just the people to trust with our stuff for four months. It's always nice to be proven right.

limits

There were countless moments of blogspiration today whilst sitting in an office with nothing to do but punch numbers and follow the meanderings of my mind (sans internet access). Now, after 7 hours of work-work, a load of laundry, stacks of dishes, a flawless mushroom risotto, and 2 hours of freelance work the colour is gone from my imagination. But still I feel the need to alert you all to my continued existence. Here I am, I'm still here!

Got home at 3:30 today and used the extra hour to finally purge our front hall of boxes and recycling and a broken microwave that've been there for 2 weeks (well, Dean took care of the microwave). I finally feel like we are prepared to entertain again but our schedules are booked up with work and other obligations (generally good ones, thankfully) for the next three weeks! So much for learning to set limits :)

still cutting

freshly cut, from the city of glass: In keeping with yesterday's post (and reiterating my total lack of "urges"), I just thought these jumpers from Small Roar were absolutely priceless.

Also, a little gem for the day: if you want to boost the number of visits to your blog, just cater to the gay scene ;) I get all kinds of random hits on my page—people looking for info on Miss Vickie's potato chips, kozyndan, Edinburgh's Hogmannay, and Paris' Les Philosophes, but today I got not one, but TWO hits from individuals (in opposite ends of Britain) searching for Aberdeen Gay Nightlife. hmmmm.

joshua gallello

Dean and I made a new friend today.


And no, beautiful as he is, meeting him did not bring on any urges, thanks for wondering.

listing slightly

Lists seem to be the thing of year ends and beginnings. Inspired by a former boss (possibly the best darn boss this girl will ever have) what follows is my reading list of 2006 (rated out of 4 stars) and my proposed list of 2007.

2006

NOVELS
Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer
The Great Gastby, F.Scott Fitzgerald ****
Eleanor Rigby, Douglas Coupland **
The Captain and the Enemy, Graham Greene **
One for My Baby, Tony Parsons ****
Stories We Could Tell, Tony Parsons ***
A Widow for One Year, John Irving ****
the Continuity Girl, Leah McLaren **
Emma, Jane Austen ***
Pride & Predjudice, Jane Austen ****
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl ****
The Devil Wears Prada, Lauren Weisberger ***
Everyone Worth Knowing, Lauren Weisberger ***
The Autograph Man, Zadie Smith ***

SHORT STORIES
A Diamond as Big as the Ritz, F.Scott Fitzgerald ***
Otherwise Pandemonium, Nick Hornby ***

NON-FICTION
The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli ***
The Second Treatise of Government, John Locke (snoozeriffic)
Purple Cow, Seth Godin **
The Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom ***
[Re]Understanding Prayer, Kyle Lake ****
The Mystery of Marriage, Mike Mason **
Sheet Music, Dr. Kevin Lehman ***
Lonely Planet Scotland *
Let's Go Paris ****


2007 (books purchased, waiting to be read)

NOVELS
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
Pygmalion, Bernard Shaw
Thirty-nine Steps, John Buchan
Women in Love, D.H. Lawrenced
Of Mice & Men, John Steinbeck
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Oryx & Crake, Margaret Atwood
The Family Way, Tony Parsons

SHORT STORIES
Wild Ducks Flying Backward, (collection) Tom Robbins
The Complete Short Stories , Flannery O'Connor

NON-FICTION
Plan B, Anne Lammott
Through Painted Deserts, Donald Miller
31 Songs, Nick Hornby
Lost for Words, John Humphries
Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman

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on a different note, I posted a bunch of photos of the month leading up to the wedding. Since many of you were involved in the fun, I think they might be of interest!

a wee update

Today I went back to my roots—the painful ones from university when i spent days on end entering numbers into a screen. Today I brought Mordor back from the dead. Today I started temping.

Freelancing has been pleasantly consistent just recently, but it's still not a steady income. i decided it needed a supplement. Never mind that my hourly temp rate is almost a quarter of my hourly writing rate, there is actually some minor satisfaction in the simplicity of having a job to do and getting it done OR not getting it done but still turning off your brain at the end of the day. Writing doesn't afford that luxury. But it's about 100% more fulfilling.

My supervisor today is a former editor who started temping, got offered a full-time gig, and ultimately sold out to the man in exchange for a regular paycheque. That's not true actually, she still does the Jazz Festival materials which is a sweet gig. And yet, I pray that i don't end up in her shoes.

Speaking of shoes, I think I may have cancer of the toe. Either that or I caught something from Dean when I wore his runners to take out the garbage last week.

This post is really just a filler before a longer post: my reading lists for last year and this one respectively. stay tuned.

whatnot

/ the perfect job has emerged. here's prayin' something comes of it.

/ we miss the music and friends at our church in Scotland, but I confess, it was refreshing to sit in church today and listen to fresh insight from the Bible. (i love this: we are our most human—ie. most evidently created in the image of God—when we are serving others and making ourselves nothing. Time to get my ass in gear and do more of that.)

/ $250 at linens'n'things and $150 at IKEA and I'm finally feeling settled into our place again

/ one of my nearest and dearest became a mommy last week. How awesome is that?

/ vancouver weather is just as confounding as aberdeen's

/ I get an embarrassing amount of pleasure from shopping and organizing

/ sick husbands might be cute, but they sure do whine alot

on the hunt

what could be more mind-numbing than job hunting?

to be honest, I haven't had to look for a job in about seven years. They've always sort of landed in my lap. So this is new terrain and though I have no idea how well sassy cover letters go over with employers, I'm unprepared to write anything else.

The good news is freelance jobs keep coming this way. We may own a home in this decade afterall.

gutted & linked

GUTTED
this morning we got some very bad news:

the OC = cancelled.

LINKED
my stuff is showing up here and there on the web!
on visiting Kildrummy Castle - thetravelnet.org
my goat story (yet another person who seems to have missed the point).

oh six, oh seven

hi.

it's been a while. We've been away... boating, flying, driving. Vancouver to Parksville, Comox to Regina, Swift Current to Calgary and back to Vancouver again.

I'll be happy to spend the first seven months of 2007 NOT living out of a suitcase.

My first Christmas with Deano was amazing (even in spite of a pukey Christmas eve) and replete with love and hugs, adorable neices and nephews, catch-ups with extended families, turkey dinners (three), and fairy lights. It also included one tiffany's box and one brand new Honda CRV with a giant red bow on top.
Island Christmas photos are uploaded here.

the year ended happily in the company of eight lovely friends and about as many bottles of wine. Likewise it will start out pleasantly as today we celebrate the engagement of my best friend and the love of her life (2007 is set to be a year of weddings).

Also, in the spirit of new beginnings, I've made the switch to the "new" blogger which comes with all kinds of fancy features like private blogs, accessible only to family and friends which is nice because, though flattering, sometimes it's disconcerting knowing anyone can google "amanda regier" and track our goings on. I'll let y'all know more about it when needed.

with that, happy new year.