another vancouver saturday

today i saw more of vancouver than i have in a long time. this morning i took the skytrain back from new westminster after having stayed the night with friends out there, and though it was kind of cloudy had a good view of some of the lower mainland. i was surprised once again at how beautiful ALL of this area is, not just the mountains and the ocean on the westside. it was great coming back from my night 'away' and as i was riding along, felt like i was seeing this place through the eyes of a tourist; it reminded me a lot of visiting england and taking the train there.

lunch (originally was breakfast, but got delayed) consisted of me hosting my sister megs, her friend rebecca and rebecca's dad ross (or russ, he had an accent so i couldn't tell which it was) for eggs benedict. rebecca and i have been talking for months about her giving me a couch that was sitting in her garage, and this weekend it finally happened. to express my thanks, i attempted to cook them a delicious breakfast. this mostly succeeded. the hollandaise sauce gets an 'E' for effort; it was nice and creamy until they arrived, but unfortunately with the distraction it went all curdly when i stopped whisking it. :( the asparagus was also a little overcooked, but all aside, it went well. this is mostly because they were VERY gracious, and because their company was FANTASTIC. Ross (russ?) is a doctor and the head of something big in the world of medicine in BC, and is a hilarious and down to earth man -- very personable. Rebecca (whose first impression did not endear her to me) takes after her dad, and we had some great discussions about her passion - environmental conservation. And I love being able to hang out with Megs too. It was definitely the lunch that I've had at in my apartment in current memory.

in the afternoon i took a trip to the downtown east side, where i met a bunch of the UBC Navs who were participating in a workday at a community house down there. i haven't really spent any time down there since our LQ 'plunge' last may (see earlier posts), but as i walked down the familiar streets, 'colorful' for more than just the many posters and shopfronts, i realized that i really missed it. there is a certain rawness to the place which i absolutely love. i think its because i can feel God there more than i can in most other places in this city. down there i can see Life Unashamed, life in all its ugliness and its glory.

the evening was beer and hockey at a neigbourhood pub with a friend from high school and a couple of his buddies. All in all i guess that makes for a pretty full (and good) day.

sorry for the long post (again). must put 'brevity' on my todo list. :)