Summer Stupids

I have no empirical evidence to back this up but I’m fairly certain that summer weather turns people stupid when driving. It’s probably the combination of the heat and the extra traffic on the roads trying to get to sunny locations, like the beach or the ocean, that pushes the normally borderline moron into full-grade jackass. Lately I’ve seen people drift across lanes rather than signal and change lanes completely; a car double-parallel-parked with its emergency flashers on - as though the flashing lights somehow make parking in a traffic lane ‘alright’; countless bumper-chasers; people changing lanes in intersections; cyclists that ride on the road, expecting to be treated like vehicles, only to blow through 4-way stops; the list goes on with every sunny day. It makes me glad I don’t have to commute in a car to work, and my ladyfriend doesn’t have more than a 10 minute commute either. I think back to the days of driving between Pitt Meadows and central Burnaby every day, and I’m honestly surprised I didn’t go completely mad from the traffic hijinks.

Social Networks

Well, I’m three weeks into my self-imposed Facebook exile, and I’m coping just fine without it. There’s been a couple of instances where I’ve peered over my ladyfriend’s shoulder while she’s on the Facebook, and a few friends have posted photos that I’ll need to check out at the end of the month, but I’m confident that shortly after the start of August I’ll leave it behind. I’m still not sure if I’ll be deleting my profile altogether or just disabling it.

Of course I’m also prepared to become a hypocrite and sign up for Twitter after quitting Facebook. I railed against the uselessness of the Tweets recently, and if I do end up doing the Twitter-chatter, I’m fully aware of being branded a liar and a turncoat. But I blabbed about the uselessness of Facebook, too, before caving in and joining it three years ago.

Best weekend in … well, a long time

This past weekend was probably the best on record in quite a while. Saturday I wandered around Ambleside with my cousin before heading to the Lions game at Empire Field. The Lions lost (prediction for the 2010 season: 10 wins, 8 losses) in a show of almost total ineptitude, but as I’ve said to anyone who will listen, the ‘temporary’ field is fantastic. It’s such a shame that they’ll only use it for a season, or season and a half at most. It cost a fraction of the half-billion dollars that’ll be spent putting a new roof on the concrete monstrosity of BC Place, and is a far better sport-watching venue than the dome. Granted it might not be as fantastic once it’s rainy and chilly in late October, but for the next three months, it’s going to be great.

Sunday the ladyfriend, me, and a couple of friends went to Buntzen Lake equipped with barbecue, tubular meat products, and innertubes. Despite some temporary barbecue problems, we had a pretty relaxing time (I was the only one to float in the lake for an extended period of time). That evening we all visited the Richmond Night Market, one of the dozen or so things that Vancouverites are expected to have done that we hadn’t yet. It too was a fun time, seeing all sorts of hats, handbags, socks, cellphone cases, sunglasses, and other assorted straight-from-China knicknacks. No one was brave enough to try some curry fish balls or fried whole squid - the ‘double whammy’ of street vendors, plus food no white person’s body is used to consuming, was a gastrointestinal experiment we weren’t willing to try. No sense ending a good weekend with explosive diarrhea!

Suspicious Minds

You know that saying about vacations and work - it goes something along the lines of ‘when you get back from vacation you’ll feel refreshed and invigorated and re-energized about work’? I’m calling bullhonkey on that. I don’t think I’ve ever got back from somewhere peaceful, tranquil, relaxing, and sunny and thought gosh, I sure am glad I’m back at work instead of hiking through a forest or sitting on a beach. I chalk this lie up to workplace propaganda. The same faceless force that tells me that stock options are good, that my opinions are valued, or that the lunch room coffee isn’t just Folgers Crystals. When I get back from vacation, all I can think about is how much happier I’d be if I could stay in the forest or on the beach for a long, long time. Now I know why people end up traveling to Costa Rica and open up a surf motel and stay there.

A Whistlery Canada Day

Canada Day isn’t normally something the ladyfriend and I celebrate in any special way, but I was in need of a vacation, so I booked us a night in Whistler for July 1. We strolled around the village, bought some candy, people-watched, took photos of gold medallist and my pretend girlfriend Ashleigh Mcivor, walked through the forest to Lost Lake, ate fresh pasta for dinner, watched fireworks (and met briefly with a couple of friends), window shopped, and burned a fire log in our suite’s fireplace. In all it was a very nice getaway from the big city. Of course, any trip into the forest and mountains just makes me pine for a life among the trees and rivers, away from the hustle of city life. Someday. I bought some PNE Prize Home tickets, so when that comes through for us, maybe I’ll be able to transform into mountain man. You know, one of those house-dwelling mountain men.