"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

- Mahatama Gandhi

Weekend Fun Vancouver, BC

This last weekend I took the last of my planned mini-vacations. This time, the destination was Vancouver, BC. My friend Fred joined me for the trip.

Friday
We both took Friday off from work and made the drive up from Seattle. Surprisingly, there was little traffic, even at the border; it took us "only" 45 minutes to get through.

We stayed at the Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard Street. I actually like this hotel since it’s centrally located and easy to get to. In addition, the rooms are well kept and the staff is friendly. My only complaint is that their gym is stocked with older equipment that is not very good.

After checking into the hotel, we walked to H&M since Fred wanted to get some jeans. Well, he found a pair he liked but they didn't have his size. On a whim, I tried them on and they fit so I ended up buying them. I felt rather bad about getting the same pair he wanted but I was assured that it was not a problem (we’ll see if he “accidentally” spills red wine all over them next time I wear them). After that, we checked out a couple of other shops but didn’t find any jeans Fred liked so we went back to the hotel.

That evening we met up with Derek and Doug for dinner; yup, the same Vancouver friends I met while in Portland (I think they are stalking me). As always, it's great to visit with them. After dinner, Derek had to run to a meeting so Doug, Fred, and I walked the “loop” from Davie to Denman, then on to Robson St where we continued to look for Fred’s elusive jeans. He ended up getting a pair at American Eagle Outfitters that he was OK with; he still wanted to look later for a better pair.

After the stores closed, we looped onto Burrard and stopped by the hotel so we could change into bar clothes (yeah, we’re gay). Doug still had some time before meeting back up with Derek so the three of us ended up back at the place we had dinner; only this time for drinks. After Doug left, Fred and I ended up staying there for the rest of the evening just talking and drinking. It was actually very nice.

Saturday
The next morning, Fred and I walked down to Milestone’s on Denman for breakfast. Nice place and pretty good mimosas; food’s not bad either.

It’s a State of Mind… I guess
So the night before, while walking back to the hotel on Davie St, we saw an interesting shirt in the window display of this little hole-in-the-wall shop. After breakfast, we headed back up the street to that shop. Some lady was fussing with the carpet and a step ladder in the entry way. When she saw us… correction, when she saw Fred looking, she quickly ushered us inside. This is where the fun began.

She introduced herself as Linda K, the proprietor of the establishment (named State of Mind), and continued talking the entire time we were there. I’ll hand it to her; she has an eye for sizes (she guessed Fred’s waist and inseam). Without missing a beat, she grabbed some jeans and told Fred to go put them on, all the while complimenting him on his model body (which he has) and that she doesn’t get very many people looking that good. Of course, her trademark complaint about Vancouver having no fashion sense made it into the mix as well; apparently, she has quite the following (complaints) on the internet. My favorite comment on that thread is, “Sounds like the clothing equivalent of the Soup Nazi. The Clothes Nazi of Davie Street......LOL!”

In the 45 minutes that she would not let us get a word in edgewise, she slammed Vancouverites (no fashion sense), gays (too stuck up to buy from her... oh, and no fashion sense), two groups of people who tried to enter the store (she shoed them away saying she was already booked up), mass produced clothes (as if everyone is rich enough to afford hand stitched clothing from Europe), the chain clothing stores on Robson Street (they sell crap), and most importantly, me (she said I had an “athletic” shape, which is code for too bulky ← just kidding, I took no offence).

She had some nice stuff that she dressed Fred in; he looked fabulous. Her mistake came in her last attempt which was this nasty pink and purple, white striped, preppy long sleeved pullover; not good at all for Fred’s personality. Yuck!

So she ends the “session” by laying out all the clothes she made Fred put on, points to each saying what they cost, then looking at Fred asking which ones he was going to buy. I had noticed earlier there were no price tags on anything so that usually indicates it’s too pricy and I was right. Fred was nice about it and said he needed time to thing about it. This got an immediate reaction from Linda ‘cause she actually did the stereotypical, “You come back tomorrow, I can’t guarantee it’ll still be here.”

If she had actually stopped talking for one second when she pulled us into the store, we would have been able to tell her our limits and that would have saved her a lot of “wasted” time.

As we walked back to Robson Street, we joked, “thanks for the free fashion advice Linda, now let’s go look for the same style but cheaper at those chain stores you mentioned.”

Shopping the Day Away
After Linda, no sales associate could live up to our expectations… ha ha. We checked out most of the stores along Robson Street as well as in the mall; still no jeans for Fred. However, I came to the conclusion that since I wore my one and only t-shirt fit for the bars the previous night, I could not wear it again this night; that would have been tacky. Also, we were scheduled to attend a fireworks party so I wanted to dress a little for it.

Now we had Fred looking for that elusive pair of jeans and me looking for some sort of shirt that was not too casual but not to dressy either; I felt like Goldie Locks. God I am so gay needing a new outfit at every turn. Well, once again, Fred to the rescue, he found a nice little polo style from Guess for me; it fit well too. Of all places, we were in Sears, can you believe it (yeah I know, how “down market” and I’m sure it sent a shiver up Linda’s back when we walk inside as well). I’m still waiting for the bill from Fred for being my fashion advisor; somehow, I don’t think I can afford his rates since he’s got a good eye.

Celebration of Light; a party!
As I have done every year for over a decade, the real reason for visiting Vancouver this fine weekend was to attend the fireworks competition. This year, a friend of Doug and Derek’s was hosting a fireworks party and did an extended invitation for Fred and myself to join. This guy is a hoot and knows how to throw a party; had tones of great food as well. Much to my disappointment (and used as the butt of many jokes), the show sucked. This night, it was the U.S.A. who was performing. Even though it was their first time in the competition, they still botched the whole thing; someone forgot to tell then that they needed to synchronize their fireworks with the music. At one point during the show, someone asked the host if he was sure he had the right radio station tuned into for the simulcast. Of course, that opened a round of laughter.

The night was a lot of fun; yes, even that crappy excuse for an attempted fireworks show by the US was fun (on a humorous side). It was nice to talk to everyone there. Finally, it got late enough that we left and headed back to the hotel to bed.

Sunday
Sunday brought no jeans search. Fred and I got up rather late, showered, packed, and grabbed breakfast at Joe’s Grill on Davie Street.

We left town early afternoon heading back to Seattle. Surprisingly, the border crossing only took about 45 minutes again. We did hit a bit of traffic around Everett but overall, the drive was pretty quick.

Conclusion
As always, I love going up for a visit to Vancouver. It’s such a friendly city. Of course, Doug and Derek are always great to visit with as well.

Overall, it was a nice relaxing trip.

Wake Up!

Wow, I don't know if it's because I had a busy weekend, the change in weather, or if I'm fighting a bug. I have had little energy the last couple of days. This all came to a head this morning when I overslept (I don't even remember turning off my alarm clock); so much for working out today. Unfortunately, tomorrow I will be on the road again so no workout there as well.

While my weight is pretty consistent at around 194 lbs these days, my body fat is still on the higher side (for my taste). I had hoped to have it down by 5% by the time this coming trip happened but instead, it's only down by about 3%; so much for those washboards.

Oh well, I still have a little over 6 months left in order to rectify that problem. I have half a mind to start bodybuilding for a competition; standing in front of a crowd in just a little posing trunk would be a great motivator (oh, the embarrassment).

Weekend Fates Portland, Oregon

Well my trip to Portland actually turned out quite well even as the fates conspired against me.

Friday Afternoon
It all started Friday afternoon; well, 1:00 pm to be exact. As indicated earlier, I took half a day off from work so that I could drive down to Portland and make it in time for dinner. So I left work and proceeded to go to the bus tunnel for my commute home. However, the gates into the tunnel were all locked. I tried another entrance a block away and it was closed up tight as well. Now I'm sweating bullets because I had less than a minute to get into the tunnel before my bus was scheduled to arrive. I found a listing that showed the street the bus would run on if the tunnel was closed and so on a whim I went to that stop instead. Even though I was late getting there, the bus was even later. I turns out that the tunnel had been evacuated and all the busses were running aboveground on their weekend routes. This put me only 10 minutes behind schedule so I was relieved.

So, I'm sitting on the bus playing around with my JasJar and one of the kids (college students) facing me from across the aisle asks about it. We all (there were three in his group) end up chatting the entire trip to the University District about the PDA as well as college classes in general. Very nice kids actually (kind of blows the stereotype that they are all punks doesn't it). It was looking to be a good weekend.

Interstate 5
I finally get home, finish packing, load up the car, stop at Starbucks for a coffee to go, and hit the freeway. No sooner do I get on the onramp then everything comes to a screeching halt. The freeway was a parking lot; it took me over 30 minutes just to get from Green Lake to downtown Seattle. Ack! It turns out there was an accident right past downtown that had backed up traffic for miles.

Traffic finally got up to speed after that but came to a halt not much farther south; another accident. Again, we crawl along until we all passed that one, got back up to speed again only to come to a halt again. This seemed to be repeated in ad nauseam. My normal 45 minute drive to Tacoma took me over 2 hours... by that time I should have been past Centralia. All the while, my mood never went south for which I am eternally grateful.

We all finally blow past the last accident and every single one of us sped along at 90 mph for most of the distance between Olympia and Kelso/Longview. Unfortunately, a state trooper entered the freeway just in front of us just before Kelso so everyone slowed down to the obligatory 70 mph. Still, even as the fates conspired against me during that drive, I didn't loose my cool.

By now, I had called my friend Frank (the one I was visiting) to let him know I was not going to make it for dinner. However, he said he'd wait until I got there and we'd still go eat. We were also going to meet up with some friends (Doug and Derek) who were down from Vancouver, BC. When I got a hold of them, they too said it was no problem waiting until I got there even though I suggested just meeting for drinks when I got into town. It was nice that they all still wanted to meet for dinner even though it was going to be 2 hours later than originally planned.

Portland
I pull up to Frank’s place around 7:00 pm (originally was to be 5:30 pm). It turns out that this was the weekend of the Portland International Beerfest so there was no street parking. We ended up squeezing my car in next to his in the parking garage (the spots seemed to be built only for Volkswagen Bugs I think). At one point, the driver's side of my car was less than half an inch from the column. Pretty funny actually. What is not showing in this picture is the fact that there is a concrete wall just behind where I was standing to take the shot; made it impossible to get a straight-in angle.

Friday Night
So the four of us meet up for dinner at the nice little Greek place and then went out to see some boys strip at one of the clubs. The only thing negative about the clubs in Portland is that they still smoke there. I got used to having smoke-free clubs in Seattle and Vancouver so this was an interesting experience.

Saturday
After a late night, Frank and I woke up late Saturday morning; so much for grabbing breakfast. We just walked up to Starbucks (now there’s a surprise). It turns out that Doug and Derek were sitting there drinking their coffee (my, what a small world). After a nice chat, I had to run so I could make it out to the family picnic in time.

The picnic was actually very nice. I got to talk with some cousins that I have not seen in quite awhile as well as some relatives who had come out from Montana. Normally I am not much of a “family” man but I guess as I get older, I am slowly beginning to understand the importance of family. I had originally intended to spend only 3 hours there but ended up staying past 4.

Saturday Night
That evening, all four of us met up again for dinner. This time we went to the Deschutes Brewery & Public House. The place just opened in May and is already a hit in Portland. I do have to say that of all the pubs I’ve been to, this one actually had awesome food… even their basic “pub food” was above par. It turned out to be a cliché night of great food, great company.

After dinner, we all took a walk along the riverfront. The night was warm and the stars were out. Finally, the moon rose above the horizon just as we were going to head back into downtown. By chance, I glanced up and noticed a bright light heading northeast. No flashing light on it so it was not a plane and it was too bright to be a satellite; I concluded it was the International Space Station.

Ironically, the week before I had looked up sighting possibilities in Seattle for the ISS because I wanted to take a look while the weather held out. Little did I know that by accident I would get to see it without having to stay up late or get up early. Very cool!

So after we all debated its identity and after it flew out of sight, we walked through downtown back to the clubs. More drinks and a little bit of dancing later, we parted ways.

I always enjoy spending time with Frank as well as Doug and Derek so the weekend was awesome with all of them in the same city.

Sunday
Sunday, Frank and I grabbed a late breakfast and then went up to his favorite weekend Starbucks. We sat for some time talking over coffee and the newspaper. A nice relaxing day.

I finally got on the road for the drive back to Seattle in the afternoon. The sun was out; traffic was flowing… uh, until Centralia where there were two accidents back to back. I hit more traffic just north of Olympia which lasted all the way through Tacoma. Again, my drive took more than 4 hours (it’s usually a 3 hour drive maximum).

What is up with those travel times? I’d have thought that with gas prices the way they are, there would be less people on the road; obviously not. My next trip to Portland will definitely be on the train.

What A (Nice) Difference A Day Makes

Well, today is better… yay! I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I had a last minute date last night that allowed me to move on and not stew on the past.

The date went well enough… uh, ok, better than that but I will not go into details since there are children present. Anyway, we’ll see if this continues or not.

I’m doing a half day at work today and then getting the hell out of Dodge. Other than hitting rush hour traffic in Portland this afternoon, this weekend should be pretty fun; I’m looking forward to seeing my friends down there.

One side note, I do have to attend a family picnic down there midday Saturday, but I’m sure that will be a decent gathering so it shouldn’t be a downer.

What A (Lousy) Difference A Day Makes

Yesterday I was on cloud nine coming off the climb the night before. Not any more. Today has turned out to be one big downer.

Last night I joined two friends for beer and food. Things didn’t go very well. First off, the conversation was mostly on topics I knew nothing about so I just drank in an effort to “liven” up. The only thing I ended up doing was getting sick to my stomach.

The three of us went for a walk after dinner but that faired no better. The sidewalks in that area are not build for three to walk abreast so, as usual, I was the third man out and had to walk behind. Other than the fact that it pretty much leaves me out of any conversation, trying to hear and understand what is being said from the back takes way too much concentration; all that trying to piece together the words I do hear into coherent sentences and stuff.

So combine that with a sick stomach and you get a not-so-fast walk. I kept falling behind but their pace did not slow. I only caught up when one of them would stop to look at plants along the way (which luckily he did several times). By then I was definitely feeling like a third wheel. We parted ways when they wanted to go for dessert.

Enter today. My whole mood is down now. I’ve been spending way too much time in introspection trying to figure out what I could have done differently. Obviously, my first mistake was to drink too much with the type of food I was eating. However, how does one enter a conversation they have nothing to add to? How does one take part in a conversation that they only hear bits and pieces of? It’s not in my nature to fight to be at the front of the line so I always end up in the back. Oh well, I'm sure it's all my fault (it always is).

The bottom line, though, is that I’m pissed with myself for letting all this bother me. This was a great week and was going to be a great weekend (I’m going out of town to visit some friends). I need to get my shit together so it doesn’t ruin anymore days this week. I'm hoping that by writing about it I can work through it; we'll see.

"Behold the turtle. He makes progress
only when he sticks his neck out."

- James Bryant Conant

Exit 38 - Gritscone

Fantastic! Cool! Unreal!

These are just a couple of words to express my experience last night. As mentioned earlier, a couple of us from the climbing class went up Snoqualmie to do some outdoor climbing.

One of the guys has been climbing for a year now and is really into it. He is in the Reserves and is up from Oregon doing his duty at McChord. Anyway, he took us up to Gritscone off Exit 38. This is a pretty easy rock but one has to start someplace.

One of my concerns was that my grip would not hold out but much to my surprise, my hands hardened to the task pretty quickly. That's not to say that I'm not feeling aches and pains today. Actually, my forearms are quite beside themselves at the moment.

The only downside to all of this is that I had to cut my workout down a bit today. Chest and arms were on the schedule but my forearms had a different plan. Ouch! Tomorrow will be no better since shoulders and back are on the schedule; more use of those forearms. I’ll just lower the weight like I did today and see where it goes.

I still have a hard time believing that I have come so far in a short amount of time. Usually when I pick up a new sport or hobby, it takes awhile to get up to speed. This time I attended two climbing classes, met new friends, and the got some real world experience in the mountains all within a week and one day. How unreal is that?

Climbing 201

Well, the second climbing class at REI is finished. This was an extremely fun experience though I am definitely sore today. The 201 class covered climbing techniques so we didn’t belay, we just bouldered. Belaying is when you climb up the face while tied in to a belayer; bouldering is when you climb sideways without gaining much height and not being tied in. Bouldering allows you to practice moves in such a way that you don’t have to worry about falling very far.

I have to say that this was a nice workout; I used muscles that are not generally hit in the gym. However, I was glad that I had been working out because the extra strength definitely paid off. My weak point is my grip; I can barely type this post on my keyboard right now.

Of all the things we worked on, I’d say my favorite was the Hip Roll. This is where you use your body in such a way (by rotating your hip) to make climbing through overhangs easier. It takes a little to get used to having your body parallel to the ground while hanging off an overhang with nothing but air beneath you. My grip was the first to give out so I only made it to the first hold on the vertical face past the overhang… besides, the footing on that transition was tricky… oh, and considering the fact that this was the first time I tried it, I think I did quite well.

So, where do I go from here? First off, by attending the classes, they gave us a coupon (one per class) for a free climb on the Pinnacle. I’ll definitely redeem those in the coming weeks. Also, a couple of us from the class are heading up Snoqualmie Pass this afternoon to do some outdoor climbing on real rocks (one of the guys has the equipment). I hope I can get a little strength back in my grip before we get there though.

Next order of business is to get some climbing shoes. Damn, there’s those shoes again; what is it with me and shoes!!!!

Climbing Up in The World

I think I have a new interest! No, not that kind; I’m still single. This one is rock climbing. Ever since REI’s flagship store was built in Seattle, their climbing Pinnacle has intrigued me. Friends who were interested as well have come and gone yet no one ever actually followed through with their promise that “we should go try it out.”

Well, enough on waiting for someone to do it with. I ventured out on my own and registered for the beginners class they offer; Climbing 101. This was Monday. What a fun activity. We learned how to tie the required knots, belaying, and other procedures as well.

Belaying is rather hard on the neck but pretty fun in and of itself. We paired off into groups of two and then one would climb while the other would belay. To give us “practice” and a feel for all aspects of belaying, the instructors had the climber intentionally fall so that the belayer could catch them. It was rather fun jumping without warning out into space halfway up the Pinnacle.

I was curious whether I’d have a problem with the height but I didn’t. While out on a mountain, I have no problem walking right up to the edge of a cliff and sitting down with my feet dangling over. However, when in the city, I would never be able to do that in a high rise… even floor to ceiling windows give me fits sometimes; very strange.

The next class is this coming Monday and will be Climbing 201. This will work on technique. I’m looking forward to it.