The Best Time in Vancouver

Things to do this Summer (My Checklist):


-Launch the hockey site (July 15th: after 5 months of work)
-Close on the Surrey condo (July 8th: after 1 year of planning)
-Rent out the Surrey condo (July 12th)
-Run the Underwear Affair Marathon (July 11th)
-Find a Burnaby condo (Prior to August 15th)
-Pack up my stuff and move to Burnaby (August 15th- September 1st)
-Fix up and paint the Downtown condo (August sometime)
-Rent out the Downtown condo (August 15th- September 1st)
-Party w Shin and Chucky before they leave (September)
-Plan a camping trip to Bamfield (August sometime)
-Plan a family BBQ (August sometime)
-Plan a riding trip out to either the Island or to Mt. Baker (August sometime)
-Do something on July 29



Spend every sunny day doing something out in the sun, nothing wasted (no regrets come rain season)
-Run the seawall
-Run false creek/English bay
-Rollerblade anywhere
-Rooftop patio Sunday wet lunches
-Ride
-Saturday afternoon sleeps on the beach
-Bicycle
-Tennis
-Frisbee at Sunset Beach
-Beach BBQ's
-18 holes of golf/Driving range
-Outdoor pool

Quick Story #1: Happy Canada Day

Quick Story: I went to safeway today to get stuff for the bbq tomorrow and needed a cart. I didn't have a quarter though, and I really didn't want to lug around 30 chicken wings, 2 boxes of burger patties and 40 pounds of other stuff for an hour. I waited at the customer service lady to finish up with the person in front of me and handed her a $5.

"Can I get change please, quarters for the cart." I said.

"Oh no that's ok, I'll lend you a quarter..." (as she opens the cash register and hands me a quarter) "...just return it here when you're finished with it."

I thought how cool it was that she would just 'lend' me a quarter from the Safeway till on promise from a stranger to return a quarter. It was a long ways down to my car and it would mean walking all the way back upstairs (Safeway on Robson), returning the quarter, and looping around to the exit and going back downstairs to the parkade, it was a good 2 minute trip to return a quarter. I took it, thanked her and shopped away.

I was picking out an apple when I thought about how lucky we were, to live in a community (and society) as trusting as ours. Recently back from China, you couldn't trust your wallet in your pocket. A friend of ours told us that he had his $2000 SLR Canon camera in a case behind him walking through Beijing. When he got home to take out his camera, he found a bag full of stones instead. They'd lifted his camera and counter weighed it. He never even felt anything. It's definitely something we take for granted at home.



After I loaded the watermelon and ice cream and the rest of the bags in my car, I did the 2 minute trip and returned the quarter. Happy Canada Day!