So that I don't have a freak out Sunday night after 12 hours of travel, I decided to get serious and get some work done: prepped all my classes for the week and graded all papers submitted (they were due at noon Flint time). I still have mountains (yes, MOUNTAINS) of work to do since we are nearing the end of the semester and it's time to put the thumb screws on those knuckle heads so that is what I will be doing tonight and much of tomorrow. (Fortunately, as per usual, I become an insomniac when I change time zones and only need 3 or 4 hours of restless sleep. Strange, but true. This started in Prague many years ago and is still the case. I am half thinking of taking a flight a few time zones away and knocking out a best-selling novel in the course of a few days. I only have to earn enough to cover the flight and a week's worth of hotel time and food. It's totally do-able.)
All right, enough of that. Time for my afternoon walkies. Today we got the real Vancouver weather: gray, cold and wet--though nothing like what is waiting for me at home, I am sure. I walked around the Bay Shore Point yesterday so, before doing that again today, I wanted to head the other way first to see what is there.
I think that little house is supposed to be art.
Ooh--a building with grass growing on the roof. What's not to like about that?
Ok, let's get a close up.
Wait--where are we again? For a second I thought I was still in the U.S.
Not that there is enough money in the world to get me to get on one of these things BUT were I to consider it for a minute, yesterday there was an endless stream of news breaks telling all who could see a tv screen that a sea plane had to make an emergency landing and missed the landing strip and instead plowed into the pier. Well, if they lived those vacationers have a great story to take home with them.
Wait--where am I again?
Ever since I got here I have been asked by Canadians eager to improve me, "Have you seen the Olympic torch?" Now, blessedly, I can say, "Yes! I have seen the @&^* torch!"
I was more excited about seeing this, a statue our shuttle driver yesterday referred to as The Lego Orca. Imagine my disappointment when I got up close and personal and could see that it isn't made out of Legos at all! It's just a bunch of plastic cubes fused together. Apparently the artist (whose name I won't mention to spare his feelings) wants us all to realize that we, as part of nature, are becoming increasingly "pixelated" by modern life. And this statue tells us that. Apparently.
This place really goes in for parks. This is a "meditation" park. We passed an underground skate park on the way to whaling yesterday, as well as a dedicated "plane watchers" park over by the airport. ("So that people who like to watch planes can do so from a comfortable--and safe!--vantage point!" Levi (pronounced Levee), our Chinese-Canadian shuttle driver announced. Factoids from Levi: Chinese-Canadians make up just over 50% of the Vancouver population; Chinese-Canadians are very "house proud" and only drive brand new cars and keep their houses in perfect order because they want to hang on to the title "model minority"; Chinese-Canadians in Richmond have the longest life expectancy of any people in the world.)
Wait--where am I again??
All right, enough of that. Time for my afternoon walkies. Today we got the real Vancouver weather: gray, cold and wet--though nothing like what is waiting for me at home, I am sure. I walked around the Bay Shore Point yesterday so, before doing that again today, I wanted to head the other way first to see what is there.
I think that little house is supposed to be art.
Ooh--a building with grass growing on the roof. What's not to like about that?
Ok, let's get a close up.
Wait--where are we again? For a second I thought I was still in the U.S.
Not that there is enough money in the world to get me to get on one of these things BUT were I to consider it for a minute, yesterday there was an endless stream of news breaks telling all who could see a tv screen that a sea plane had to make an emergency landing and missed the landing strip and instead plowed into the pier. Well, if they lived those vacationers have a great story to take home with them.
Wait--where am I again?
Ever since I got here I have been asked by Canadians eager to improve me, "Have you seen the Olympic torch?" Now, blessedly, I can say, "Yes! I have seen the @&^* torch!"
I was more excited about seeing this, a statue our shuttle driver yesterday referred to as The Lego Orca. Imagine my disappointment when I got up close and personal and could see that it isn't made out of Legos at all! It's just a bunch of plastic cubes fused together. Apparently the artist (whose name I won't mention to spare his feelings) wants us all to realize that we, as part of nature, are becoming increasingly "pixelated" by modern life. And this statue tells us that. Apparently.
This place really goes in for parks. This is a "meditation" park. We passed an underground skate park on the way to whaling yesterday, as well as a dedicated "plane watchers" park over by the airport. ("So that people who like to watch planes can do so from a comfortable--and safe!--vantage point!" Levi (pronounced Levee), our Chinese-Canadian shuttle driver announced. Factoids from Levi: Chinese-Canadians make up just over 50% of the Vancouver population; Chinese-Canadians are very "house proud" and only drive brand new cars and keep their houses in perfect order because they want to hang on to the title "model minority"; Chinese-Canadians in Richmond have the longest life expectancy of any people in the world.)
Wait--where am I again??
No comments:
Post a Comment