Canadian girl out and aboot

On Saturday (almost a week ago), I drove down to Calgary to spend a few times with A. Since I work from home, I thought I'd take the opportunity to work from his home, which was great. I actually ended up doing a lot of work and got to spend a lot of time with him, which was cool. We actually ended up watching Olympic hockey (a first for me) and Olympic curling (another first), as well as the closing ceremonies, which were absolutely insane until we got to the craptastic music. I actually want to see the Michael Buble dance number again, because it was so over the top. I called my mom during this segment and she was laughing so hard that she could barely speak and was almost crying.

Anyway, A and I spent a lot of time hanging out, watched Olympics, went for sushi, wandered around his neighbourhood and went to see "The Last Station." I also got to finally meet Melanie , my co-blogger, and have lunch with my friend Courtney and her daughter Maren.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I managed to become somewhat ill and was in a super crabby, sick and tired mood for my last day there and my drive home. However, I was already feeling better by Thursday.

I'm working like a fiend and trying to get a lot of stuff done. My bro and his Fiancee are coming to town for some reason. I think they have some shopping to do, so they'll be staying here. My dad was going to bring my dog next weekend, but my parents decided to send him up this weekend since it didn't make sense for two family members to drive to Edmonton in such a short time period. So I have Fergus for an extra week! I'm looking after him while my parents take their first trip to China. I love having Fergus here and it should work out well, since I'm over most of my crazy driving days. I'm excited for him to be here.

This weekend, I'm teaching a journalism workshop! My friend Mari works at a community newspaper called The Rat Creek Press . I'm going to teach some news writing techniques to their writers :) I'm a little nervous, but excited, and I'm going to spend a great deal of today planning the workshop.

I have neglected to post about the completely fun wedding that I went to in Vancouver almost two weeks ago. This is rather deplorable, so I'll make up for it now. My friends Carlos and Andrea got hitched. They wanted a very non-traditional ceremony, so they held the wedding at a hall in Kitsilano in Vancouver. The weather cooperated and it was an absolutely gorgeous day. When we got there, they were still setting up, so I was able to see the groom, which was weird to me. I don't think I've been at a wedding where I have seen the groom before the wedding.

We were also given our wedding favours immediately. The favours consisted of a small button with a drawing of Carlos and Andrea holding hand, a Count and colour colouring book that detailled their courtship and a few crayons with a ribbon around them so we could colour. This was awesome, because we could colour as we were waiting.

The justice of the peace they hired was awesome. She told us that we had to begin the wedding by shouting, "Let this wedding begin." Andrea and Carlos entered the hall to a Sarah Harmer song and walked onto the stage. The justice of the peace told us the story of their courtship, which began on OK Cupid. We got to hear the story of how they got together and some of the early things about their relationship. The justice of the peace also gave us a glass heart made by a local artisan to pass around. We were all supposed to hold the heart and think about how much we loved the couple and think good thoughts for them. Then the couple would always have the heart to remember how loved they were by their community.

Everyone at the wedding was asked if we would support the marriage and their act of marriage and we responded, "We will." I thought it was a great way to honour the couple.

The funniest part of the ceremony involved the justice of the peace asking a question about the special gift that Andrea had got for Carlos. The J of P meant the ring, of course, but Andrea responded, "I got him a button maker."
Everyone in the audience laughed, but then Andrea got it and they exchanged rings. Since Carlos is Spanish, part of the ceremony included them reciting, "With this ring, we are wed," in Spanish. There was no bridal party, but the parents came onstage to sign the registry.

Andrea had a very cool dress. It was made especially for her. It consisted of a black slip dress with pink tulle underneath. She also had a jacket to cover the dress that had small pink buttons on the sides. She had a big pink and blue flower arrangement in her hair, turquoise shoes and a black, pink and turquoise clutch. The parents and Carlos had corsages with pink or turquoise in them. It was very sweet.

After the ceremony, the immediate family went for pics and the rest of us milled around. A lot of the friends helped get the reception hall ready for the dinner. This consisted of arranging tables and putting African violets on the tables. When people were allowed back in, they were able to buy 50/50 tickets to help pay for the cost of the wedding.

The dinner consisted of Memphis bbq. The vegetarians had veggie lasagna and salad and were allowed to eat first. There were tons of different kinds of meat! (Pulled pork, ribs, lamb, chicken, beef, sausages and something else if I remember correctly.) For dessert, we were given mini cupcakes made by Andrea's sister. We were given bags of icing to decorate the cupcakes, which was a lot of fun. The wedding cake was a huge cupcake, decorated with blue icing and the wedding ducks. The couple also bottled and labelled their own wine. After the dinner, we had a number of fun speeches by various friends and family, and then we cleared out the reception for dancing. This was one of the funniest playlists ever as we played music by the Pipettes, The Postal Service, The Black Kids and Annie. It was very hipster, but lots of fun. There were about 100 people at the wedding, which I am convinced is the perfect number. It's a sizeable group, but you still get to interact with everyone!

Also, I should add that I won the 50/50, and made $250! When I was called to the mike to collect my prize, I was asked why I should win. I said I should win because I was from out of town, and I was a writer. People loved my answer.

The bouquet and garland toss were done to the song "Single ladies". My friend Emily and I did the Single ladies dance before the bouquet was tossed off. It was super fun. After the dancing, a few people went to the casino, but I was exhausted, so I just went home.

Earlier in the day, I'd been to visit my friend Arthur and his new son, who was three weeks old. He's an absolutely beautiful baby. All in all, a fantastic and original wedding and a great day.

So I returned to Edmonton at about 5 p.m. yesterday evening. I travelled to the Richmond airport via the 98B line, which I would highly recommend. It was really fast and cheaper than the airporter. The flight was pretty non-eventful, except for a crazy dip at the end that felt like a ride on a roller coaster.

Once I arrived home, I started doing some unpacking and arranging, and then went to a party downtown. My friend Roger has a loft in a building called the Arts Hab studios. Every year, the residents of the studios throw a party. The building is part living space, part art gallery and is inhabited by a bevy of artists and musicians and has studio space and working space. The part attracted a lot of artists and musical types. It was pretty good, but then my closest friend in attendance left and I felt a little lost. After wandering around talking to various people, I finally called it a night.

My trip to Vancouver was wonderful, but it also made me realize that I'm pretty happy with my life and what I'm doing right now and where I'm living.

So I'm here! And freezing, for some weird reason. I think it might be the dampness. I took the airporter into town and could not believe all the construction. It's kind of gross, actually. I went through part of downtown and Chinatown on a whim and ended up bumping into my friend Arthur. I ate three shrimp turnovers and then headed to [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]'s. She's not here, so I am just hanging out in her very cute little apartment, waiting for her.

Yay Vancouver!

I am definitely going to need a vacation from my vacation. It's going to be 8 jam packed days of fun! I have so many people to see. I'm really looking forward to it and to be honest, it makes me feel incredibly loved. I only lived there for 2.5 years, but feel like I have a real community of people who want to see me. That makes me feel really special.

I haven't been socializing this week and have been laying low. On Wednesday night, I fell asleep at 10 at night and slept for about 10 hours, which was much needed. I've had to do two major trips for work. I drove to Caroline, which is a tiny town down South. There I went to a store called Ravenwood Farm Fresh Meats . I met the young couple who runs the store about a year ago. They started off raising Berkshire pigs and meat goats and then decided to open a butcher shop and deli. Their store has done really well. They've managed to buy food from about 20 farm families within a 100 mile radius and won a best practices in ag innovation for their efforts. They really wanted to be able to raise their kids while working, which is why they opened the store. They were really great and quite inspirational.

Last night I had to drive to Ponoka for a meeting about drought management. We've got a really bad drought in the province and nothing is growing. However, it seems that people working in the government can't say the "d" word until the minister of agriculture says it himself. Once he's declared drought, recommendations will go forward to federal bail out money. People were pretty pissed at this. One person said that the minister needs to get in his truck and go for a ride with a large soil moisture probe to check moisture levels throughout the province.

I'm shitty at goodbyes, so I'll just say, "See you later, Vancouver." I'm sad to leave and it's going to be hard, but it's going to be manageable, because I'll have a really cool job in my field. I have marked this departure by subsisting on salmon and Japanese food for the past week to stock up internally before I return to the land of Alberta beef. (Shudder)

The movers came yesterday and moved my stuff in just under an hour. I used Two small men with big hearts and so far, I'd really recommend them. They've been professional and efficient and friendly. We'll see if I can continue the recommendation when I meet up with them in Grande Prairie. I definitely hope so.

I went to see "Babel" yesterday and ran into an old classmate from journalism school at the movie theatre. He just moved here two months ago and is working for Global TV. It was damn cool to see him. I've finished up a bunch of last minute errands and cleaning and I'm ready to go. I've got a bus ride of over 20 hours ahead of me. (Ick.)

***
My packing for this move was punctuated by episodes of Grey's Anatomy, which I now love with an unabashed passion. I love the way that race is handled on the show, that people are allowed to be in interracial relationships and that the hospital is multicultural. I have also discovered that I am fascinated by medical terminology. I used to think I hated medicine, but I find that after each show, I usually end up googling the plague du jour and reading about it on the Internet. I think it's partly because of my lifelong fascination with biology and anatomy and partly because of my love for big words. Encephalitis? Cardio thoracic? Medical fascinoma? Vasoconstriction? God, I'm getting hot just typing these words.

I just sent this to my friends- thought I'd list it here-

An old Mongolian shaman once told me, "The happiest people are the nomads."
I'm definitely not the happiest person, but I do have some of that nomadic
spirit and I'm moving to the eighth place that I intend to call "home."

I've accepted a job with the Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune, where I'll
be employed as their Arts and Lifestyles feature writer. I'll have benefits
for the first time in my life! Grande Prairie is in northern Alberta and has
a booming population of 50,000. It does have an arts community, three yoga
studios and a small literary festival and even gets some concerts- the
Tragically Hip and Snoop Doggy Dog will be performing there in January.
Maybe I'll get the chance to interview Snoop and touch his bling.

My job starts January 8, and I just found out today. I'm leaving for
Saskatoon on Thursday, so I won't get a chance to see a lot of you before I
go. I'm admittedly rather shitty at goodbyes and don't like them too much,
because I tend to get too emotional and then try to hide it by acting really
wooden and coming off as insensitive. I'm not though- I'm actually crying as
I write this. Anyway, it's not a good scene.

So I'm recommending a big party in May, when I come into town for my book
launch during Asian Heritage Month. My book will be available in April, and
you'll be able to buy it at Amazon, possibly Chapters or online from
www.frontenachouse.com

I want to thank all of you for your friendship and for making Vancouver
truly "home" for the past 2.5 years, which is the longest I've lived
anywhere. I especially want to thank everyone who has been there for me
during the past six months, as I attempted to claw my way out of the black
pit of one of the worst depressions I've ever had in my life. Your support
helped me get my life back and I will be forever grateful.

I may be back someday; I think I could call Vancouver home once again.

With love and gratitude,

Alexis

I haven't been doing as much public blogging lately, partly because there's a lot going on in my head, partly because I'm trying to share a bit less of myself online and partly because I'm working on my nano novel and most of my writing energy goes there now. I don't think I'll finish in November, but I'm loving the process and the story that I'm creating.

This morning, I noticed that the Sky train I happened to be riding was marked "The spirit of Osoyoos", just like a plane or a ship.

I neglected to mention the incident I had on the Sky train last month. While coming home from a shift at the Videotech, I found out that I'd forgotten my wallet and therefore didn't have my transit pass. I decided to chance it and get on the train anyway. Of course, a sky train cop happened to be on board and asked to see my pass. I told him the story, and was completely pleasant with him. He asked me where I'd be getting off the train, and I told him. He told me that I'd have to meet him on the platform, and he'd write me up a ticket.

All I could think was, "Fuck, fuck, fuck," but I got off like a good citizen and gave him the necessary information.

Did you know that Sky train cops ask for an INSANE amount of information when you get stopped for a ticket?
He asked me my middle name and I spelled it out. "It's D.E.R," I said. He paused and look at me.
"It's Chinese," I answered.

I had to tell him my weight, my height, where I was born and my mother's maiden name. These questions just blew my mind. All for a lousy ticket?! Come on now!

Finall he asked, "Nationality?"
I answered, "Eurasian."

He gave me a blank look.
"Er, Caucasian and Chinese," I said.

He wrote that down on the paper. I had to mail in my ticket and may have to go to court along with the pass that I'd left at home. It looks like I probably won't have to pay the $143. The cop was nice enough, but I thought the questioning was WAY over the top. Sheesh.

I watched three more films in the Videotech this week. I've been rather busy, so I actually didn't get to see that many films this year.

1. Milarepa- I REALLY wanted to see this one because it was directed by the lama director who created "The Cup", a brilliant film about monks and soccer. This movie depicts the life of Milarepa, an important saint in Tibetan Buddhism. It was a slow moving, but extremely beautiful film. However, it's the first half in a two-parter. I really wanted to see Milarepa's life with Marpa, the spiritual teacher who molded him into a saint. That part would entail lots of intense battles and completion of strange and wonderful tasks. However, I won't get to see that until 2009, when Milarepa part 2 will be released.

2. The Cats of Mirikitani- This film won an award at VIFF. It's a sweet little documentary about Jimmy Mirikitani, a homeless artist who lives in New York City, and draws beautiful pictures which merge Eastern and Western styles together. After 9-11, the filmmaker takes him into her home, and they begin trying to get him on social assistance. Through the process, they discover the story of his past, his citizenship, and his history with the Japanese internment in the States. The film is poignant and touching because of the relationship that develops between Jimmy and the filmmaker. Jimmy is a character and is likeable and amusing, which makes this deceptively simple film a sweet treat to watch.

3. Have you heard from Johannesberg?-
This won the award for best documentary at VIFF. It's the story of the American movement of civil disobedience against apartheid in South Africa. The movement was originally started by Black Congressman, who went to the South African embassy and got arrested for weeks. Eventually, celebrities started storming it and getting arrested too. These small actions then spurred nation wide protests, motivated public opinion and eventually forced the United States and Reagan's government to put economic sanctions on South Africa, which assisted with the fall of the apartheid regime. This film was inspiritional, especially if you're fascinated by civil disobedience the way that I am.


****
I also finished watching the first season of "Dead like Me." I think it's a well written, well acted show, and I love that it examines life, death, loneliness and relationships with such a wry eye and I love that I recognize so many of the locations since it's shot here in Vancouver. ( vancouver based comment/spoiler )

His Holiness the Dalai Lama was downtown yesterday to give a speech. There was a ton of traffic and loads of security. The building where he was speaking is only a few blocks away from my work, so I walked by and surveyed the scene twice.

Last night, on the way home from attending a friend's birthday drink fest, I happened to walk by the theatre and see that the marquis was advertising "Dalai Lama", "Margaret Cho", at that particular moment.

Best combination ever.

***
And yes, I'm off to see his Holiness this afternoon. I'm stoked.