andiamo

The following entry is the introduction to RW in italia: my new blog home for the next 2 months. Please add it to your bookmarks :)

I finally felt like my preparations were under control. Months of work, weeks of planning, and a good number of days searching, buying, packing, forgetting, and remembering, led to this day. Not the day of departure, but the day of relaxation. The day of enjoying Vancouver one last time before I leave for 2 entire months. Summer, late to arrive, was in full swing, and the sun was setting. In good company, I walked the sea wall, watching crowds of fellow beachgoers lounge and laugh and watch the beach performers. The water perfectly reflected the glowing clouds above, edges brushed a vibrant pink, setting them apart from the saturated blue sky and lush green trees. I couldn’t remember the last time the world was so colourful, and I could barely make time to blink.

strawberry oeufs

When I walk, I often walk very quietly. It's not fully on purpose - likely the result of my slim stature, proper foot placements before taking the next step, and quiet clothing. However at times I find this can create potentially uncomfortable situations for people. For example, I have found that quite regularly, when walking in public, I'll intentionally drag a few steps when I'm getting close to overtaking someone on the sidewalk. I also walk very fast. If they attempt to walk faster to escape the odd shadow behind them (ie. me) that just doesn't work cause I'll simply increase the stride... and add a few more foot slurs until they hear me and move to the side. Is this odd? Mom says I need a bell (ie. a cat, or i suppose cow) so I don't startle her at home. Am I the only one who thinks this much about the sounds of walking?

guardian angel

I stepped out of the elevator and through the door into P4. Ahead, the Escape, loaded with belongings that had sustained me over the past 3 months. Behind, the life I quickly grew to love. Though my heart fully disagreed, money and time required that it come to an end. My original plan was to load the car and enjoy a quiet dinner alone, to be followed by a walk to English Bay to soak up my final downtown sunset. Luckily the clouds didn't seem to agree, and a dinner invitation was given by roomie and his boy. At the time, I knew this to be a better plan, so we hit one of the local Yaletown eateries and enjoyed each other's company and conversation. By 9pm it was obvious the sun decided to silently make its exit below the horizon.