I Totally Forgot … wait what was I doing here?

Awesome Weekend

So this last weekend I took Thursday and Friday off so I could drive down to Vancouver to see Rush perform. I'll have to mark this as one of my favorite weekends on record.

I left for Vancouver at around 11AM on Thursday... and promptly had to turn back to get my concert ticket, which I had left on the counter. So I left again at noon. I got in at about 5, parked at my Uncle's place, and took transit up to GM place.
The doors weren't going to open for another hour, so I went and took a walk over to Science World, to see what I could see. Took a bunch of pictures.
Went back to watch the concert, and had my mind blown. Took a bunch more pictures. I really haven't been to a ton of live shows, but out of the ones I have been to, this one is by far the best in just about every single way. Aside from the amazing musicianship, which you don't need to see live to appreciate, I was most amazed by how flawless they sounded. Their live show sounds almost exactly like their studio recordings, at least in quality, and I barely had to have my earplugs in. The production was amazing as well; lights, lasers, floating UFO-looking spotlights, fire, and rotisserie chicken.
I have also come to the conclusion that Neil Peart is not a human. He has to either be a robot, or a vampire. I can't think of anything else which could simultaneously move so quickly, and have such high endurance.

After the concert I went back to my Uncle's place for the night. I feel kinda bad, seeing as it was a weekday, and everyone else was asleep when I got there, with a note attached to the door. So I didn't get to visit or anything. Also both my aunt and uncle left in the morning before I got up at 8 or so, but I did give my two nieces a ride to school. I found out the older of the two has awesome music taste. She was listening to the Beatles in her room in the morning, she commented on an Alexisonfire CD she saw in my car, and she's going to see Radiohead when they come to Vancouver. ( I am SO jealous.)

The rest of that day I had absolutely nothing to do, so I decided to check out Metrotown mall. Unfortunately, the stores don't open until 9:30, so I went to the Tim Horton's to get breakfast, and hung out in some comfy chairs until everything opened. I ended up spending most of the day in Chapters, reading comics and "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism", which I ended up buying. I also almost went to Science World, as in I took the Skytrain up to where Science World is, but found out that it was only going to be open for another couple hours. I decided against it, and went back to the mall. ( Ooh I am exciting! )

After the mall closed at 9:30, I got an idea. I went to Superstore, bought a notebook and a pen, then I hopped on the Skytrain. I rode it as far as it would go, and then back, writing about the things I saw, and things that I heard. I also took a few more pictures around the Skytrain stations. An interesting conversation I heard was a gay man trying to instruct a girl, who was crossdressing, on how to be more masculine.

The Skytrain got back to the mall, where my car was, about 11:30. I didn't want to impose on my Uncle for a second night, so I found a quiet residential area to park in. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a blanket, and I had to wake up every couple hours to warm the car up. At about 4 I figured it wasn't worth it any more, and went for a drive. Found a McDonald's and got some "breakfast" (They weren't serving breakfast yet, but they were serving food which was good enough for me). I figured since I was up so early, I would try to watch the sunrise... as I can't ever remember doing this. Finding any "higher ground" in Vancouver at which to see the horizon is kinda tough, but I managed to find an upper parking area at Brentwood mall which served the purpose well enough. I got a few pictures of the sunset (as my camera's battery died), then dozed off in my car for a while, warm in the sunlight.

So now it was Saturday. To top off this fantastic weekend, I got to go drive up to Kamloops to see Shauna. We went for a walk in the park, scoped out Winner's, drank, cooked, talked about gross things, watched a movie, and had a great time in general.

Old stuff from my real journal

Be reasonable. Never expect something from someone else that you would not do yourself.

Be humble. Do not see yourself as better than anyone else.

Be honest. It is impossible to go through life telling the truth all of the time, but please do it whenever you can. Especially when it truly matters.

Be grateful. Do not take generosity for granted. Not everyone will treat you with the same respect you give them, so cherish the ones who do.

Old stuff from my real journal

Do what you like. This can be two-fold. Firstly, don't do things just because someone else wants you to. If you don't want to do it, then don't. You are in charge of your own life and are responsible for your own happiness. Secondly, don't hold back from the things you do want to do. As long as you do not interfere with the rights of anyone else, there is no reason to keep yourself from the things you enjoy.

Be kind. And do it not for reward or gain, but to make yourself and everything around better. Do kindness for the sake of kindness. The gratitude from the people around you will be reward enough.

Be humble. People don't like to hear you ramble on about yourself; give them a chance to talk, and it will be for the better. Just keep your ego in check. Compliments from others are so much more satisfactory. Just make sure they have a reason to give you praise and you shall receive it.

Old stuff from my real journal

Be yourself. There is no one else for you to be. Don't spend time trying to be someone who you are not, especially to impress someone or to fit in. It just isn't worth it. Your will be much happier being around people who like you for who you are naturally.

Enjoy who you are. Because really, you're stuck with you for the rest of your life. Don't waste it hating yourself; find joy in who you are, and embrace the things you like about yourself rather than picking out the things you don't.

Embellish everything you do, just a little bit. Put a little swagger in your step as you walk down the hall, or flourish open a door as you enter the room. It will make you fell like you are in a movie, or at least make some of the more mundane things in life far more enjoyable.

Be sincere. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. There is no point in leading people around with false information, especially if you are going to be upset later when they believe you. Just let the people who matter to you know what is on your mind, and things should just go much more smoothly in general. In order to live around any people in any setting, there must be honest communication, or else things are bound to go awry.

Events of the weekend past

So, the weekend was a blast.
Ate good food.  Home made pancakes, picnic on a mountain, barbecue chicken, stuffed french toast at IHOP, and sushi at Ginza.
Saw good sights.  Hiked up (most of) Mount Boucherie, walked around City Park and through the bird sanctuary, and took a stroll along some trails at Mission Creek Park.
Watched good movies.  Click, Big Fish, Pay it Forward, Radio.
Learned good lessons. Shauna does not enjoy heights (Ie: Mountaintop views), bananas do not travel well in backpacks, there is a difference between a hike and a mountain climb, less sweaters, less pants, more runners, more shorts.