OMG, that is one hell of a hangover ....
Coffee doesn't help.... how about the Hair-of-the-dog method ?
I feel STRANGE.... last night's conversations are still running around my mind..... I am very fortunate to have friends like that ;-)
.... another dozing nap...
6:00
Might as well GET UP and be productive...
AHA! The inner-tube BLEW in the heat of my room after I had inflated it to 55 PSI in the cold outside..... mental note NOT to do that again ;-)
Probably a good thing that hotel management does NOT know that I'm fixing my bike on their hardwood floor.
9:50
I'm leaving the hotel with the wheel in my hand.... Obsession Bikes is only 2 blocks away and I should have a functioning wheel soon.....
I'm back in my hotel room with the inflated wheel with a new inner-tube installed on the bike again at 10:10.
Obsession Bikes RULES !
I'm MOBILE again and can easily complete my first planned errand of the day:
 |
| SeaBus: A smile-free zone ;-( |
WHAT am I doing on Commercial Drive? I'm buying Deodorant, LOL. I've been buying it at Sweet Cherubim for about 15 years...... the stuff WORKS and every stick actually lasts half a year......
I used to live on Commercial Drive until 7 years ago.... but the area has changed along with the whole city. It has a DESPERATE look to it now... and I don't mean the pan-handlers in wheelchairs.
Grey buildings lining grey streets filled with grey cars under grey skies !
I am HUNGRY...... Broadway Station Sushi.... I have good memories of the place.... not only of the location, which more than 10 years ago housed my first encounter with a Vietnamese restaurant (I remember getting huffy-puffy because I thought they brought me pork instead of chicken, because I had never seen a Viet-style flattened chicken before ;-), but also because of the previous restaurant of the same name (very good and decently-priced Sushi once it had become that).
The name is the same.... but everything else changed.... table arrangement (better), staff, food (smaller portions), prices (WAY higher!). I leave disappointed but at least not hungry anymore.
Back at the SeaBus terminal:
It's a funny thing about Westerners...... If they see cramped living conditions like the ones below...
.....but then it's the same Westerners, who pay PREMIUM DOLLAR to get one of those chicken cages for a week (AND pay OUTRAGEOUS prices for alcohol and internet access) as soon as the two words ALASKA and CRUISE are added to the sales pitch.....
The visit at Grandma's is short..... I still remember yesterday too well... I don't want to get STOMPED on again.... NEVER surrender your dignity!
Another alternative to ordering a taxi in order to have more charity money: Nurse J gives me a lift to the nearest bus stop.....OF COURSE I have to wait 20 friggin minutes for the next bus, but at least it brings me right to my hotel ;-)
15:30
MORE Grey
21:00
I woke up too late too be able to procure ANY food at Lonsdale Quay Market.... and all I have left in the room is something like 6 Kalamata olives.... I'm not starving now but I know that I will be at 4 am....so I kick myself in the butt to head over to Anatoli Souvlaki for a late-night snack......
Again, I am in for disappointment.... the Calamari appetizer used to come with Calamari (Duh!), pita bread, and a tiny Greek salad.
NOW, one ONLY gets a small bowl of Calamari.....
Insane town!
BUT, I get to talk to the waitress. Early to mid 20s, blonde hair but she ain't your typical Blonde, LOL. And I get to hear a young person's perspective on this INSANELY EXPENSIVE city...... and this city and society could be forgiven for seriously annoying older people with sufficient means, but it can NEVER EVER find absolution for ruining the dreams of the young people who live here!
FUNNY additional thing.... this waitress... her parents came from Vietnam (NO, she looks 100% Caucasian).... but her Grandmother was half French/half Vietnamese..... LOVE it ;-)
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