A Sunday Afternoon Moment

I rode the skytrain to Burnaby to have lunch with my brother and his girlfriend yesterday afternoon. It was a clear Sunday, and from the train you could see the mountains in the distance.

I had woken up from a good night’s sleep. I dreamt about my cousin and her one-year-old daughter in New York, and how other relatives whom I haven’t seen in years surprise-visited the same time we did! It was heart-warming and …nice.

I thought about my lunch engagement. I looked forward to the delicious foods I was going to consume, as well as the wonderful company I had with the meal. Then I thought about the success of a friend’s surprise birthday party Saturday night and the people I’m happy to call friends in my life. I thought that I am really lucky to have been working at SFU for six years now doing a job that I love. And that was illuminated by the fact that I was working backstage for a Robert LePage show! I felt grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and all the 2nd chances that were given to me when I didn’t deserve them.

My thoughts drifted over to the charming woman I’ve been seeing for the past month. Her zest for life, adorable smile, and an indescribable amount of “nerdiness” captivated me and filled my head.

Looking into the distance at the snow-capped mountains as the train pulled away, I was in awe of mother nature and count myself lucky that I got to reside in this beautiful city on the West Coast. For a lingering moment during that train ride Sunday afternoon, I was satisfied with my life. Happiness overwhelmed my soul and I was completely content.

Un Duex Trois

It’s been a week and two days since I’ve started my trip and there’s been a lot of firsts and discoveries.

This was the first time I’ve ever travelled for work with a company and taken a show across the country (okay I’ve done Fringe in Victoria and the ships but those don’t count). This was different because I worked with the same 3 people for 2 weeks in Vancouver first, had 3 shows at the Dance Centre, packed all the props in 4 suitcases, flew with the lot to Montreal, loaded in our props and toys at the Montreal Arts Interculturels, set-up and did another 2 shows. The theatre in Montreal had set us up in an apartment that was two blocks away and we each had our own suite! I even had a balcony with a 11th floor view. Needless to say I was ecstatic to be working and touring in a city that I’ve never visited. Because we only had 2 shows, I had a lot of time to play tourist.

Montreal is also the furthest east I’ve been in Canada now. Before that was Regina, Saskatchewan, for a regatta. (I used to be a competitive kayaker!) This was the first time I’ve been in a part of Canada where French is the primary language instead of English. It was fun trying and pretending that I could speak the language and communicate with the locals while ordering or buying stuff. I was able to learn the numbers and count to ten in French!

After 2 days in Montreal our lighting designer and my good friend Mark also made his way over. So this was another first: travelling and working with a pal! Mark has easily become one of my close friends in Vancouver since we started working together at SFU and the Dance Centre. We hang out quite a bit outside of work and has always talked about doing more trips together. We’ve had an adventure exploring Montreal on foot, walking almost everywhere and anywhere we wanted to go.

There was one night where we visited FIVE establishments in 6 hours. We had dinner at the famous smoked meat sandwich shop Schwartz’s, then went scouring for more meat -specifically Portugese Grilled chicken- and had a 2nd dinner. Then we met up with the artistic director of the dance company for a drink at Casa del Popolo. After the drink we followed my friend’s list of suggestions and made a stop at Le Cagibi, where we caught a small concert in a space behind their coffee bar. We weren’t quite done for the night so we decided to take the metro to the Village and stopped in at Cabaret Mado where 11 (or more?) drag queens took to the stage!

Another night we tried to go to an after-hours club to get some dance moves in, but the line-ups was long and only moved 3 feet in half an hour! The funnest thing we did that night though, was the 3am bike ride to the club. Mark and I decided to give the city rental bikes a try and we were both really excited from start to finish. There was just something about seeing something all over the city and finally trying it out for ourselves!

After Montreal we visited Ottawa, where Mark’s university roommate Micah and his wife now live. This was the first time I’ve seen and visited the nation’s capital; the first time I’ve been to the Parliament buildings and toured the House of Commons, House of Senates, the Supreme Court of Canada, and lots of government-related buildings. It was very educational, informative and impressive!

During the last week and day, I was able to meet up with four of my friends who I had all met in Vancouver and now resides in different cities. That was another first: seeing friends I made at home in different cities!

Now I’m on the train ride from Ottawa to Toronto – first time I’ve ever ridden the train in Canada! But I’m tired and ready to go home… exploring city after city has tired me out! Strange, though, because I’ve always loved travelling and can’t fathom why now a trip that’s 10 days longs is exhausting for me. Perhaps I just can’t wait to get to my other destination when I get home – Tofino, I’m ready!