Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day. I went to the Whistler ceremony that was held near the firehall.

It was much more well attended than I thought. I figured there would be only few people there, but was surprised to see a few hundred. I got there on time, so I got a good place to stand. Many people trickled in later, and had to stand very far away.



There was a program that we followed, including readings of Flander's Fields in both English and French, and some songs by a Whistler Children's Choir. At 11am there was a very loud cannon, and then two helicopters did a low flyby. There was an American veteran from Vietnam there, but nobody from WWII.



Many wreaths were placed at the cenotaph, and it was touching to see people place their poppies at its base once the ceremony was over. There were misty eyes and a few tears in the crowd.

In the last year I have watched many documentaries about WWII, and have read a number of books that deal with the subject of war. This Remembrance Day was the most significant for me, since I now have a greater understanding of what it represents. I was happy to be part of today's ceremony.

Library Deception II

I've had a lot of fun thinking about my trickery and fraudulent activities at the library, and had planned on keeping the details to myself and my faithful readers.

This morning though, I just couldn't keep it in. I was at a pancake breakfast for Jack, a friend who's running for council. The purpose of this breakfast was to give the public a chance to meet Jack and talk municipal politics. Dennis picked me up, and we arrived when things were in full swing.

We sat at a table populated by people we knew, so the conversation was lively. My friend Renae brought up the library, so I began to explain my rather exciting covert operations there.

When I finished the story, I'm pretty sure I heard crickets chirping and I definitely saw a prairie ball rolling by the table.

After a few long seconds of silence, the conversation turned to my boring and humdrum library activities, and then into who wanted to canvass door-to-door with Jack later? I answered that because I'm a bit burned out of canvassing, I wasn't interested. Renae countered with "Well, hanging out at the library all day, or canvassing. Tough choice..."

So, maybe I'll make another foray into politics, but I'm holding out at the moment because Project Library is meeting with so much success! Today, less than twenty-four hours after my initial three selections were shelved, they've all been borrowed!

I had to replenish the shelf, and I did so with John Irving's The World According to Garp (Owen Meany wasn't available), Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe, and The Wildfire Season by Stratford's own Andrew Pyper.

I think I need to lay low for awhile, and wait until any potential heat cools off before I spike the shelves again. It will give me some time to think of, and possibly read, new titles worthy of my risk.

With great power comes great responsibility! The people of Whistler will read what I slyly shelve, so it must be good!

Library Deception

I spend a lot of time at the library. I am usually there soon after it opens in the morning, to reserve some computer time in this busy season of resumes and research. Once the mountain opens, I figure the library won't be as busy as people will likely have jobs and want to spend time on the hill.

The library is about a year old, and when I left town two years ago, it was just a hole in the ground and a drawing posted nearby. It's nice to see and use the new facility.

The library was supposed to cost $9 million, but ended up costing $15 million. That's quite a lot! It's caused some dissent in the village, but it's worth it because libraries are great and this one is too.

It was built to be environmentally friendly, and among other green features, has a grass roof that insulates the building. There's also lots of stone work and wood work, making the library fit in with the rest of the village's ski-town architecture.

I'm quite familiar with the library now, and can recognize other people that, like me, spend most of every day there. Another thing I recognize are the books on the first shelf you see when you walk in.



This shelf contains Staff Picks on the top, and New Fiction on the lower levels. New Non-Fiction is found on the opposite side.

You'll notice that on the Staff Picks section, staff members choose books that they enjoy, and put their removable nametag on the jacket. If someone wants to borrow that particular book, they take the nametag off the book, putting the tag in the small, handy box in the middle of the shelf, and take the book to the desk.

I've noticed in my numerous trips past this shelf that there is a high turnover of these recommended books. I've often thought about what I would put on the Staff Picks shelf if I worked at the library.

Then today, look what I found!



Three of my favourite books, all on the Staff Picks shelf! How excellent...three library staff have unknowingly chosen to promote my favourite books!

Either that, or a stealth library patron has scoured the library for good book under the guise of an interested reader, and craftily inserted them among the other Staff Picks. This wily fox would have affixed random names to the chosen books, making them look like legitimate recommendations.

It should be noted that less than two hours after the above picture was taken, Douglas Coupland's Girlfriend in a Coma was absent from the shelf, presumably borrowed.

Success!

My room, and snow.

The office snow-pools have wrapped up, and I wager that very few people thought the snow would fall this early.

We've got snow in the Village, and it stayed around all day. In the past I've participated in snow pools, where you put money in the pot and guess what day the first snow will fall in the Village, and stays all day. That day would have been today.

I woke up and looked out my window, as I heard some people making noise. I sure was surprised to see snow blanketing the parking lot! It continued to snow all day, and snowplows have been busy clearing various parking lots, sidewalks, and roads in town.

Here are some pictures I've taken recently.



This is my front door. I live in a collection of old condos that were built in the 70s I'd guess. That's my window you can see, on the second floor. There are about 50 condos in the project, and mine is the middle one in a line of five. We share walls with people to our left and our right.

I live very close to Creekside. I'll be walking to the Creekside lifts when winter comes. I estimate it'll take me about ten minutes or so.



Here's what I found when I looked out the window this morning.







Here are some shots of my room. I'm the only one in it now, and someone else will move in on Dec 1st. I'll have to share my room at that point, but it'll be worth saving $300 in rent.

I will get my duvet from Stratford, and some proper bedding. Right now I'm sleeping in my sleeping bag, and using a black t-shirt as a pillow case.



The house came with couches, and my housemate Kevin brought this dog. Her name is Ani (after the singer Ani DeFranco) and she's old and out of shape. I had to dive after her this morning so she didn't get off the porch. She had lunged out the door when I left, but I was able to force her back inside.

Kevin brought a lot of electronics to the house, and the house came with dishes and pans, so there's nothing I need.

Things are good here, but I'm looking forward to becoming gainfully employed!

Nobody cares about the important things anymore.

It's unfortunate really.

I saw this sign in two Budget Car Rental windows, one in downtown Vancouver, and one in Richmond just past the airport.

I bet there are thousands more all over Canada, telling everyone that Mr. Hybrid is available. Is he available for a meeting or lunch? Or is he recently single after a messy divorce?

My new phone

I bought a new phone in Whistler, because my old phone, which was working well enough in China, no longer connects to networks. I blame it on China's government.

I had to buy a new phone. When I turned my new phone on, I found a number of text messages that were not addressed to me, but sent to my number anyway. They were likely sent to the last owner of the number, and he never received them until I hooked the number back up. Here they are.

Dion. Please call Dean about my wellness. Miss you luv.

Hi. I am really sad. The world is so ugly right now. Be back in 10 days with a new outlook on life. I hope we can hug when I get home. C U soon. I really miss u!

Talk in 10 days :). Boarding my flight soon.

I'm sorry. I never call you again. Thank you talk to me last time. My English is not good for everyone. Thank you for everything. Have great life.

I think there a couple different authors in there. I don't think the last text is related to the first three, but it would be interesting if it was.

I think the last owner of my cell number was some sort of lay social worker.

Whistler

I'm in Whistler at the moment, figuring out my next move. I walked around and enjoyed my old stomping grounds, taking some pictures. Remember, click on them to make them bigger.



This is at a park called Wayside. In the summer, this is one of the places where you could rent paddle-boats and canoes. I love the little hut on the right, which gives the picture an anti-Whistler feel. There are still some mountain shacks left in town!



I went for a walk in the woods. I love this spot because you have to follow some hard-to-find trails to find it, so there is nobody there, ever. There is moss covering the forest floor, and since there's nobody else around it will likely stay that way. Even though it's not too far from some houses, you cannot hear anything but the wildlife. It's beautiful.



I found some mushrooms sprouting, and thought they looked nice in their bed of loam.

There used to be a cool, ultra-secret bike trail in the area. Nobody knew where it was, and you had to hike up the trail from the bottom to ride it. When I went to the trail this time, it had been torn down. I rode the trail for the first time two years ago, and then again last year a few days before I flew to China. Since I rode it, it's been dismantled.

First, I'll post a picture of me riding the trail two years ago. Then, I'll post a shot of what the spot looks like now.





It's too bad the trail is gone, but I guess it keeps people out of the pristine forest. I could tell the trail had been ridden a lot in the last year, as it was more visable in the woods than it used to be. I think fewer people will find this area now that there is no secret trail there anymore, and I don't mind that.

That's the news from Whistler.