Breathless in Vancouver (Highlights of 3 weeks without joy)

That's what it feels like.  I feel like I can't BREATHE in this city.  The NOISE, the ANNOYANCE....

Yeah, I know. Many people can't understand why I HATE Vancouver.  For those, who would like to remain in Dream- or Lala-Land, here is an article for you:  Why Vancouver is the Greatest City on Earth.   That should tell me something about reading the Telegraph, LOL

I'm sitting at Denny's and there is a POLICE car sitting outside.  Talking to Eda & Melissa I find out WHY the pigs are here.
An Australian couple THINK that they lost their cell phone while dining at Denny's TWO DAYS AGO.  They have been hounding the staff whether they have found it.  No one has found it.  Maybe the Aussies lost it somewhere else? 
The Aussie conclusion:  Someone STOLE their cell phone. 
So they call the police TWO DAYS after the incidence.  And the police actually shows up at Denny's.
And I thought Canadians were strange, LOL.

After sputtering like a mortally wounded deer for the last two weeks, the hotel internet has finally DIED completely.  I've quickly used up my allowance of high-speed internet through my cell phone and now I'm sitting here in the friggin 3rd world that thinks it's the 1st world and I just want to SCREAM

new shoes !

Time to get a hair-cut.  My appointment in East-Vancouver is at 2 pm. It's great to see Fiona again, but the drive there is painful.   The sky is dark, the air is visible, and traffic is ferocious.  Doesn't anyone work anymore in this city?

So I'm already exhausted when I deliver flowers and groceries to Grandma.  When I leave 30 minutes later I'm not only exhausted but undecided whether I want to scream or cry.  No wonder my mother has refused to talk to that woman for more than 8 years.  
There are truly evil people in this world.  No, I'm not talking about mass murderers, polluters of the planet, or recent US presidents.  
There is another kind.  And it's much more common.  It is a kind of person who kills your hope, joy, and spirit. If you can't have control over a person by other means, there is still that fucked-up plan to destroy their joy of life in the hope of them coming to you for 'support'.  But there is a catch. People who keep telling others that they are worthless with the conscious or unconscious objective of making those others dependent on them often find themselves utterly alone as time goes by.  

Anthony Bourdain hanged himself today. 
He was an inspiration to me.  An inspiration in travelling and an inspiration in being oneself.  The title of this blog would have never included the words toi la toi without him.




It's raining, dark, and 15 degrees. I have to get to Kitsilano to buy that chain ring for my bike.  Right away I get stuck on the on-ramp of Lions Gate Bridge.  At 11:15 am !  

I'll skip through the rest of the journey; it doesn't get any better than the beginning and I'm glad when I'm back in my room.

There is a loud beeping noise coming from close to my room.  Like one of those warning sounds when a truck backs up.  It keeps going on for hours so I leave for downtown early. 

At 4 pm, it's raining, dark, and the bus is PACKED.  The windows are fogged up so the only way to figure out where I am is constantly checking the digital display inside the bus.

Dinner at Cafe Crepe with Eda is a nice respite from the nonsense of this city.  Finally food with flavour in good company.  WHY is that so hard to find these days ????

The bus ride back is short and painless but reality kicks in back at the hotel.  People screaming at the tops of their lungs in the parking lot at 11:30 pm ?  People slamming the doors to their rooms for hours after that (this is a wood-frame building!).  The people in the room next to me noisily opening and constantly closing the drawers of the room furniture until 2 am?  

No wonder I always start HATING human beings after being in this city for 2 weeks.  And that's not a healthy thing to do. I don't want to become like them.  The only cure is to Leave this hell hole of a city.

Monday morning.  Why am I freezing in my room?  It's 12 degrees outside.  Gentle reminder:  it is June 11 !

It's time to take Le Velo Bleu on the bus again.  The Chainsuck renders it completely unrideable.  Let's just HOPE that the part I bought across town is the proper part and let's hope that Obsession Bikes will take in & fix the bike today.   I admit that I have my doubts on both fronts.

The bus ride is quick & painless and they take in the bike.  FINALLY something that works in this city.  My mood picks up immediately.  The bike is fixed 3 hours later and rides like a DREAM ;-)

Yeah, it's pretty, but the wind is COLD

FUCK TRUMP !

What else happened today?   
OK, I will stoop that low. 
Let's put Robert DeNiro's words at the Tony Awards into Justin Trudeau's mouth.  
After all, Trump just called him meek, mild, and dishonest and according to members of the US government, "there is a special place in hell" for Trudeau.