Month: July 2019

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Walking around Kitsilano In The Morning

Feeling poorly and failing recently with my attempts to make an appointment with a doctor, they are not taking any new patients I looked up a nearby Walk In Clinic and strolled over being sure, since it was Saturday morning to get there at 09:00 when they open. 
When I arrived the young receptionist assured me that there was an open slot at 14:30and as I don’t yet have a government Medical Services Card, if a fee of C$125 was acceptable then I could walk back in at that time.

Currently the government sponsored medical insurance scheme costs C$37.75 a month. Next year there is no charge to users.




I opted to walk back on a quite street and encountered 5 young men who greeted me with good morning sir. Well I said I can tell by your accents that you are Irish, where are you from. Dublin they said, and I told them I am from Belfast and we chatted for a bit. I asked if they were moving here permanently but they said no they first had to return home to finish their university studies but they might move here as it is a beautiful city.

Saying goodbye I commended them for getting an early start to their day. 
Oh no they said we are walking home from last nights outing. 
So that merited a picture.

Made me feel cheerful about Ireland and maybe the world 



The main obligation is to amuse yourself. S. J Perelman
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Life Is What You Make It

He is frequently seated outside the Kitsilano Community Centre in a Vancouver suburb around noon. 

When passing I inquired as to how he had succeeded in life to the point where most mornings he was sitting in a comfortable chair in the sun having a cold beer while most other people are rushing past prisoners of their mobile phones.

After a minutes reflection he allowed it hadn’t always been easy, there had been some rough patches but he stuck with it and here he is.

He agreed that if I stop by again he will share some history on his accomplishment. 




Want what you have. 
Do what you can. 
Be who you are.
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Books

After my last dead end foray into serious reading I have opted to switch to something lighter and more fun. With that in mind I have emailed my second hand bookshop PulpFiction and asked if they have copies of 5 of the mystery authors you suggested.
 
My task for today is to find a copy of the Financial Times Weekend edition, they have some excellent writers and since the money wants to know what is really happening in the world their articles are well sourced and thoughtfully written. Sort of an Economist but only for the weekend, so a less labor intensive read. Every time I recycle a copy of the Economist I feel guilty because I know I only read a few of the articles and scanned the rest.
 
One of the great advantages of being here is you can walk to nearly everywhere, the butcher, fish monger, hardware store, bakery, grocery store, I try to walk past Whole Foods. The beach is 10 minutes on foot and by the end of the day you have often walked 5 Kms without setting out intentionally to get some exercise.
 
And being very (too) talkative I speak with lots of people, compliment the owner on a nice looking dog and you have a brief conversation, ask a new mom if you can peek at the baby and you have another one. The bus driver from England with his splendid bow tie was OK with my taking his picture. 

After a walk yesterday looking for apartments for lease or rent, there are none, I rewarded myself ordering a gin and tonic on the outside patio of a restaurant near my place. Two guys came in and took the table next to mine, and the last one available, introduced themselves Cameron and Rob and said we hope you don’t mind but we have some friends showing up with their kids and we would like to spill over onto your table. No problem I said I only came in for a quick drink. The waitress appeared with my G&T and the guys insisted on putting it on their tab and after some conversation asked me to join them for the evening. I thanked them and declined, those days are gone. Their friends arrived, one family in a car waiting to turn right at a red light next to the patio and much to the surprise of me and the 20 folks sitting on the patio, they allowed their small dog to jump out of the car window, run across the sidewalk, under the railing and into the patio where it was grabbed up by one of my new found friends.  

On my way out I stopped and found the waitress dealing with my table and paid for the first drinks of my two new acquaintances. Recognizing her accent I inquired which part of Cork are you from, to which she answered with a big grin I am from Limerick but I am going to university in Cork but how did you know.

I asked and those 8 young men sitting opposite us at the big table across from the staff cash registers, inhaling burgers and drinking large beers they are also Irish. A one eyed person could have picked them out of a police line up as being Irish, plus it was Happy Hour. She looked even more surprised so I tapped my card on her reader, gave her a smile and left. I only have a trace of my old Northern Irish accent and it would have been impossible for her to recognize it is a noisy restaurant.   

That or a variation of it is how I spend my days wandering around Kitsilano.  

PS A cynical ? friend says the Amazon educational announcement for their staff is a long term, tax deductible PR success and you will not get much in the way of degree for the amounts announced.