My Surrey touchstone in the blog world, Paul, sent along a Facebook invite to the following event that made me (almost) get up and do the chicken dance.
“Bring your friends and kick it old style as we bring back Stardust Roller Skating! Battle of the Bands, vote for your favorite! Dance demonstrations, roller skating, contests and more! For youth grades 8-12, $7 admission, $2 skate rental. No Drinking. No Drugs. No Jerks.”
When: Saturday May 3rd, 7:00pm – midnight
Where: North Surrey Rec Centre
More info: The Surrey Youth Council or the Facebook Event.
After carefully looking over the “who should come” section of the flyer I realized I’m about 10 years too old to participate. Honestly though I think it’s a case of ageism. Do these kids even remember Stardust in all its glory? I think they’re just co-opting the memory of our psychedelic hang out cause retro is *in* right now.
I kid. In all honesty it sounds like a pretty good time… I can pass for an 11th grader… right?
What is there to write about when you’re momentarily uninspired? You write about the weather (and in this town, transit and construction too).
Influenced by Keira’s lust for Jugo Juice as of late, I headed over to my nearby location to pick up a Berry Blast and a wrap for lunch. Along the way I cruised on by the gigantic pit known as the tail end of Davie Street, where it meets Pacific.
For several years now it’s been changing into what will become the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station along the Canada Line. Every day I hear calls from the pit, the whir of a crane, and what sounds like a metal door being opened and shut for hours. The dusty cement tickling my nose and mud on my shoes has become a staple of working in this area of town.
My walk across the bridge was bold as I ignored the “no pedestrians” sign and took my chances along the one-way street suspended above the massive hole in the ground.
The rain is pretty killer today, thinking back to Saturday when it was bright, sunny and 12 degrees, my exposed hands sent a shiver all the way up to my neck that was wrapped in a scarf made by my grandmother.
Folks on Twitter suggest a light sleet was cascading down on the city, meanwhile out in PoCo I heard it might even be snowing.
Back to the construction – this is something my husband deals with every day and it seems like his route to work changes as often as I do when we’re late to a dinner party. He’ll get to work in 20 minutes one day, and 90 the next due to bus routes, bus stops and roads that appear out of nowhere.
Big news yesterday was that boring for the second tunnel below the downtown core is now complete. I honestly don’t think that the line will assist me in everyday life, except perhaps with the flow of traffic downtown… and yeah, it will be nice once it’s all complete when we can ride the train out to the airport to meet my in-laws when the visit.
Honestly though, I do get excited when a construction project is completed. It means no more scaffolding with leaking fluid (that you’re not sure is water or not), no more route detours, shoes stuck in potholes or closed sidewalks – and maybe, just maybe a new Starbucks appears.
We did a podcast, it’s true. Remember when we asked for some input and audience participation like a month ago [Keira-Anne][Miss604]? Well I just now got around to editing and publishing the audio and we now have RadioZoom Episode #144 online for your listening pleasure.
Thanks to Keira for taking me to her island to snowboard, and for allowing this to be distributed under the RadioZoom banner – and yes huge thanks for John for that very same reason. We had a great weekend and it was fun to revisit our saucy banter while preparing the audio tonight. It’s a slight departure from what regular RadioZoom listeners are used to, but we hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
Listen online, download the mp3, subscribe in iTunes – run time is 38:07.
For the first time in a while we spent the day focused on ourselves and since John was down and out with strep throat on our actual anniversary we just did what we wanted and had no further commitments all day.
After brunch in English Bay we strolled over to the False Creek Ferry and were shuttled over the water to Granville Island where we spent several hours just walking around, shopping and enjoying the amazingly sunny day.
John and I rarely get over to the Granville Island Market. Usually when guests are in town, then we take them down there on the tourist route however it is a valuable asset to us locals.
When we first got off the ferry a street performer in front of the french bakery caught our attention. He ended up keeping it for the next 40 minutes while he juggled with fire and escaped from being chained up in a straight jacket. It’s not the sort of thing that would usually suck us in, but this guy was hilarious and even made a “special connection” with John. “You there with the camera, where are you from?”, asked the performer known as Byron from England. “Vancouver,” John replied. “Oh so you’re one of those local people that just walk around all day taking pictures (looking up) going ‘I can’t believe I live HERE.” I think he hit the nail on the head with that one.
Posing for John, “Is that digital? Good, put this on the internet.”
Photo Credit:
John Bollwitt in Flickr
“Byron from England” talking to passers-by, “Hello kiddies, you see these children sitting here enjoying the show? That’s because their parents love them.”
In the market we picked up some feta stuffed peppers, bocconcini and cherry tomato salad and some chicken breasts for tonight, and even some mini cheesecakes and tarts from Stuart’s for dessert. We also found a few things in the Kids Market for my niece’s upcoming birthday.
John is getting really handy with his camera (yay me for getting him the perfect Christmas gift) so you can find the rest of today’s photos in his Flickr set.
We still have an evening of delicious food and decadent desserts ahead of us so I didn’t want spend too much time on the computer today, when I could be in John’s arms enjoying a glass of wine and a stunning sunset.
I was a fan of the Amber Ale, while Keira leaned more toward the Lager. NatureLand Organic Beer is Canada’s first organic beer, pumping out two lovely samples of their 5% brew at the Green Living Show this weekend.
This Gold winning Ale has been recently introduced to the British Columbia market. This unique beer is certified organic by the OCIA – Organic Crop Improvement Association. NatureLand Organic Ale is brewed with 100% organic two row malt, 100% organic Hallertau Hops and the pure spring water from the pristine Caribou Spring. All ingredients are certified organic including the water which is sourced through a certified organic process. [Natureland Organic – Amber Ale]
A division of Pacific Western Brewing, responsible for the likes of Pacific Pilsner and Canterbury, NatureLand is pretty darn tasty.
We exchanged some banter with the booth dude about the naming of the brand and it as suggested that it may not be the most “macho” pint to ask for at the sports bar, but that’s probably the only minor deterrent we could spot. They are selling the Lager and Amber Ale in the food court region of the event as well as the free supply of samples on tap on the showroom floor.
This post is also available on the happyfrog Frogblog
