Today was awesome because I ran into a friend.
After I completed my job hunting for the day I rewarded myself with a big, three-hour walk by the sea. Down at Ogden Point I decided to wander out to the lighthouse across the big, stone blocks where I spotted a starfish the last time I was here. About half-way down I looked up and noticed my friend Mike coming towards me with his friend Kaylie. Happy to bump into each other, we exchanged pleasantries and they even joined me on my walk for a bit (or I joined them on theirs).
I've lived in Victoria for about a month now and my circle of friends is starting to grow. This was the first time I've randomly bumped into a friend since moving here. It's little moments like this that really make a place start to feel like home.
(What made your day awesome? Tell me in the comments section below. Reading it will be another awesome part of my day!)
Showing posts with label walk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label walk. Show all posts
29 March 2011
24 March 2011
23 March 2011
Today was awesome because of dogs.
I live with a dog. A beautiful, old girl named Ruka. Today, my housemate Lacey and I took Ruka for a long walk down the beach. There's a path that runs alongside Dallas Road beach where everyone goes to walk their pets off-leash. It's a wonderful place. Everywhere you look dogs are sniffing each other's asses while their humans are shaking hands. The grassy fields are a little bit like a playful battlefield where the only things being launched are sticks and balls, and you might have to avoid a landmine or two. Dogs are amazing intermediaries: Take two people that would normally walk past each other without a word, add a couple of dogs to the mix and you've got a friendly conversation!
Young pups zipping around wildly with more energy than their little bodies can contain. Old veterans wandering from bush to bench to pole, checking out every scent along the way. People, engaging in little conversations about their companions, the weather, or anything at all. After a few minutes most people wish each other a pleasant day and continue on their walks, but I like to believe that every so often little connections are discovered and new friendships, maybe even new romances, are formed.
And we have dogs to thank for breaking the ice.
(What made your day awesome? Tell me in the comments section below. Reading it will be another awesome part of my day!)
I live with a dog. A beautiful, old girl named Ruka. Today, my housemate Lacey and I took Ruka for a long walk down the beach. There's a path that runs alongside Dallas Road beach where everyone goes to walk their pets off-leash. It's a wonderful place. Everywhere you look dogs are sniffing each other's asses while their humans are shaking hands. The grassy fields are a little bit like a playful battlefield where the only things being launched are sticks and balls, and you might have to avoid a landmine or two. Dogs are amazing intermediaries: Take two people that would normally walk past each other without a word, add a couple of dogs to the mix and you've got a friendly conversation!
Young pups zipping around wildly with more energy than their little bodies can contain. Old veterans wandering from bush to bench to pole, checking out every scent along the way. People, engaging in little conversations about their companions, the weather, or anything at all. After a few minutes most people wish each other a pleasant day and continue on their walks, but I like to believe that every so often little connections are discovered and new friendships, maybe even new romances, are formed.
And we have dogs to thank for breaking the ice.
 |
| Ruka, laying down in the sea. |
(What made your day awesome? Tell me in the comments section below. Reading it will be another awesome part of my day!)
15 March 2011
14 March 2011
Today was awesome because it was meant to be.
It was Coleby's last day in Victoria. We didn't have any set plans, but knew that all we had to do was venture out into the city with open eyes and minds. Walking south on Pandora, as we approached another young guy walking the other way he started to slow down, leaned into our field of view and said, "Heyyyyyyy."
Coleby recognized him right away and introduced me to Dave, whom he had just met on the train a few days ago. Dave didn't have any plans either. I told him we were going to swing by my favourite record shop, in an alley, and probably a used book store too. He said that sounded perfect and asked if he could join, so we were now three. I led the boys into Canada's oldest Chinatown and down Fan Tan Alley. Inside The Turntable we each selected a different row to start with and started flipping through the sleeves.
That shop is full of treasures and I fantasized about one day owning the records I was examining. Original pressings of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Imagine, Harvest, Something Else by The Kinks... rare, Japanese imports, EPs I never knew existed. On our way out Dave asked if we had happened to see anything by The Zombies. "No," I said, "but ask the guy behind the counter. He knows everything and he knows where everything in his shop is."
Dave waited for the shop owner to finish up another conversation, Coleby and I waited outside. When he re-joined us in the alley, he was thrilled! "Get this! I asked him if he had Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies... I've been looking for it for so long, it's impossible to find an original pressing, and this guy said he just got one YESTERDAY! and his buddy is just cleaning it up and he'll have it in the shop by tomorrow. He said it's in the best condition he's ever seen and he won't sell it until I come back and take a look. He said he's probably looking for about a hundred for it, but in Toronto you'd be looking at two-fifty!"
Coleby met Dave on the train. Dave ran in to us on the street in Victoria. He was heading in the opposite direction we were but decided to join us. We took him to a shop he never would have known about, hidden away in an alley, and within a day the store owner had come into possession of the record Dave had long been searching for. So many little moments lined up perfectly, it felt like more than random coincidence.
Dave spent most of the day with me and Coleby, and between the three of us there were many more serendipitous discoveries.
When things really feel like they were meant to happen, it's such an awesome feeling.
(What made your day awesome? Tell me in the comments section below. I'd love to hear about it!)
It was Coleby's last day in Victoria. We didn't have any set plans, but knew that all we had to do was venture out into the city with open eyes and minds. Walking south on Pandora, as we approached another young guy walking the other way he started to slow down, leaned into our field of view and said, "Heyyyyyyy."
Coleby recognized him right away and introduced me to Dave, whom he had just met on the train a few days ago. Dave didn't have any plans either. I told him we were going to swing by my favourite record shop, in an alley, and probably a used book store too. He said that sounded perfect and asked if he could join, so we were now three. I led the boys into Canada's oldest Chinatown and down Fan Tan Alley. Inside The Turntable we each selected a different row to start with and started flipping through the sleeves.
That shop is full of treasures and I fantasized about one day owning the records I was examining. Original pressings of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Imagine, Harvest, Something Else by The Kinks... rare, Japanese imports, EPs I never knew existed. On our way out Dave asked if we had happened to see anything by The Zombies. "No," I said, "but ask the guy behind the counter. He knows everything and he knows where everything in his shop is."
Dave waited for the shop owner to finish up another conversation, Coleby and I waited outside. When he re-joined us in the alley, he was thrilled! "Get this! I asked him if he had Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies... I've been looking for it for so long, it's impossible to find an original pressing, and this guy said he just got one YESTERDAY! and his buddy is just cleaning it up and he'll have it in the shop by tomorrow. He said it's in the best condition he's ever seen and he won't sell it until I come back and take a look. He said he's probably looking for about a hundred for it, but in Toronto you'd be looking at two-fifty!"
Coleby met Dave on the train. Dave ran in to us on the street in Victoria. He was heading in the opposite direction we were but decided to join us. We took him to a shop he never would have known about, hidden away in an alley, and within a day the store owner had come into possession of the record Dave had long been searching for. So many little moments lined up perfectly, it felt like more than random coincidence.
Dave spent most of the day with me and Coleby, and between the three of us there were many more serendipitous discoveries.
When things really feel like they were meant to happen, it's such an awesome feeling.
(What made your day awesome? Tell me in the comments section below. I'd love to hear about it!)
06 March 2011
05 March 2011
Today was awesome because I went for a walk.
I threw my guitar on my back and headed for the beach. I decided to follow Cook Street all the way to the ocean because I had never gone that way before. It was a good choice, because I passed through a very cute, little area called Cook St. Village, where there's wonderful looking cafés, a British pub called The Beagle, and everybody smiles back. At the beach, I found my own little, private spot amongst the driftwood to strum a few tunes. I've been working on barre chords ever since I had the action on my guitar adjusted in Vancouver a few weeks back. Honestly, I was still having a bit of trouble with it just a couple of nights ago... but all of the sudden, on this beach, with the ocean as my audience, I'm throwing down F's and B minors like it's my job! It really felt great to know I'm making progress.
After a while, my hands started getting a little chilly, so I decided to walk down the beach for a bit and give them a chance to warm up in my pockets. A little ways down, I came across a couple of guys, one was putting the finishing touches on a true work of art. I introduced myself to José, the artist, and Tim, the friend, and told them how incredible I thought the installation was. José creates art using whatever he comes across in nature. Today, he had collected dozens of small pieces of driftwood and, amazingly, was able to use balance and weight distribution to weave them together in an almost basket-like sculpture. Then he balanced a big, long piece of driftwood across the top, without toppling the whole thing, and started stacking stones on either end!
It looked like this:
About 3 minutes later, it looked like this:
And you know what the best part was? After José inadvertently destroyed something he had spent over four hours on, he laughed. Wasn't bothered at all. He reminded me of Tibetan Buddhist monks, who create beautiful works of art using coloured sand called, dul-tson-kyil-khor (mandala of coloured powders). The monks spend days on their sand mandalas, only to have them swept or blown away shortly after their completion. It's a great lesson in impermanence; don't get too attached to anything!
Today, I went for a walk.
And I started to master a few new chords.
And I met an artist with Buddhist tendencies who creates art from nature.
And today was awesome.
(What made your day awesome? Tell me in the comments section below. I'd love to hear about it!)
I threw my guitar on my back and headed for the beach. I decided to follow Cook Street all the way to the ocean because I had never gone that way before. It was a good choice, because I passed through a very cute, little area called Cook St. Village, where there's wonderful looking cafés, a British pub called The Beagle, and everybody smiles back. At the beach, I found my own little, private spot amongst the driftwood to strum a few tunes. I've been working on barre chords ever since I had the action on my guitar adjusted in Vancouver a few weeks back. Honestly, I was still having a bit of trouble with it just a couple of nights ago... but all of the sudden, on this beach, with the ocean as my audience, I'm throwing down F's and B minors like it's my job! It really felt great to know I'm making progress.
After a while, my hands started getting a little chilly, so I decided to walk down the beach for a bit and give them a chance to warm up in my pockets. A little ways down, I came across a couple of guys, one was putting the finishing touches on a true work of art. I introduced myself to José, the artist, and Tim, the friend, and told them how incredible I thought the installation was. José creates art using whatever he comes across in nature. Today, he had collected dozens of small pieces of driftwood and, amazingly, was able to use balance and weight distribution to weave them together in an almost basket-like sculpture. Then he balanced a big, long piece of driftwood across the top, without toppling the whole thing, and started stacking stones on either end!
It looked like this:
About 3 minutes later, it looked like this:
And you know what the best part was? After José inadvertently destroyed something he had spent over four hours on, he laughed. Wasn't bothered at all. He reminded me of Tibetan Buddhist monks, who create beautiful works of art using coloured sand called, dul-tson-kyil-khor (mandala of coloured powders). The monks spend days on their sand mandalas, only to have them swept or blown away shortly after their completion. It's a great lesson in impermanence; don't get too attached to anything!
Today, I went for a walk.
And I started to master a few new chords.
And I met an artist with Buddhist tendencies who creates art from nature.
And today was awesome.
(What made your day awesome? Tell me in the comments section below. I'd love to hear about it!)
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