Bard on the beach-

On Thursday night, friends of ours took B* and I to see "As you like it" at Bard on the Beach. "Bard on the beach" is the collection of Shakespeare plays performed in Vancouver each year. It was a really good performance. I've actually seen "As you like it" several times, since I used to volunteer every year at "Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan" and they've done it a couple of times. This version had some excellent gothic costumes which any rennie would adore.

If you ever attend Bard on the Beach, go VERY early as there is rush seating and people begin to line up an hour and a half before the show for seats. Also, it gets quite cold in the tent when the sun goes down, so make sure you have warm clothing. DO NOT wear a tank top and shorts.

Unfortunately, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead" is sold out for the rest of the season.

Weekend update

This weekend, I got to meet the lovely [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] and Johnny Trash, as they braved the wilds of Downtown Canada. We met for a very quick sushi lunch where we discussed their upcoming move to Vietnam (so exciting), book allergies, and rubber bracelets, among other things. It was great to meet both of them, but it was MUCH too short, as I had to rush to work.

I also got to check out the Islamic Cultural fair at the Art gallery. There were some great display booths, and I ate a shrimp fritter which reminded me of Indonesian food. I've been missing Indonesia a lot lately.

(Near) celebrity encounters

This weekend was a hot weekend for celebrity activity at Chapters. On Saturday, I missed Patrick Stewart, who was doing some early morning shopping. X Men 3 is in town, so if I'm lucky, I might spot Ian McKellan or Hugh Jackman (crosses fingers).

Chuck Klosterman came into the store to do a reading, which was fairly well attended. If you want to read more about it, you should read Hanson's blog since he actually got to attend the reading, and I had to stay on the second floor.

On Sunday night I embarassed myself by having the following encounter with a very good looking gentleman who happened to be shopping in the store.

Me- Excuse, are you on a television show? You look somewhat familiar.
Him- Yes, I play Dean on Gilmore girls.
Me- Oh, I don't watch that show. What's your real name?

Turns out that it was Jared Padalecki. I'm sure he enjoyed watching me devour my foot. I have no idea what he was doing in town.

I also learned that Ashlee Simpson was in the Starbucks beside our store when she was in town. She didn't venture into Chapters, probably for fear that the books would give her cooties.

Young writers club

I recently got an email from the Editors Association of Canada about a new writing club for youth starting up in the Vancouver area. I owe a lot of early training as a writer to the Saskatchewan Writers Guild youth programs, and the excellent camps and workshops I attended as a youth at the Saskatoon Public Library. Without this, I doubt that I would have been so serious about writing at such an early age. This morning, I contacted the organizer of the club to see if I could offer my services to the club. I'm aware that I would be volunteering, but I think it would be a good way to use my skills, learn more about teaching writing classes and hang out with teens and pre-teens who like writing and books. I told her that I would be interested in running a workshop to teach the kids some fun writing games or skills.

I'm pretty excited about the idea and hope that I get a chance to lead a workshop.