a treasure hunt

on tuesday of this week i met my friend from college to hit up the thrift stores. she had a specific mission "a juicer", but not just any juicer, for this juicer must conform to a stringent set of rules set forth by the hunter. "having nubs" was one such requirement in reference to the previous failed missions. also, "the ability to strain", assumed to mean no pulp or seeds needed or required. there was a thrift store near my house, in which we would find such a treasure. "dude, it has a basement! haven't you been?" i was sure everyone had been there before, their "name your price" bargain basement was, i thought, legendary. "nope", i nearly fell of my bike. truly, it is my favourite thrift in the city!

tuesday did not disappoint, a quick wander upstairs revealed the same over priced "luxury" goods that make the store its real money. TVs, stereo receivers, turntables, DVDs, an electronic smorgasbord. we were headed for the stairs, let the digging begin. descending past the never used gum-ball machines, a hand drawn sign asked the visitor to leave their bag upstairs, a rule that is not adhered to in any way. rounding the corner, my friend's face carried that joyous look as if she were a child and santa had left her exactly what she wanted. "wow!, i had no idea!" Indeed.

i always start in the kids section to check out the board games. there are a few that I am looking for, and I know I will find them eventually. like an old "clue" or "sorry". they are hard to get complete, and counting them in the store takes some time. today though, game shelves had been ravaged. no dice! then the usual route rolled me into housewares, with the pots, pans, racks, and sheets. I am not really looking for a particular house-ware at present (though a crock-pot is on my wish-list) so the i burn through that section. my friend found many things she thought i would like and started off the find with a box of drinking glasses. inside the box were not normal glass but rather kitschy, pop-culture mcdonald's promotional glasses from the 60s - the 80s

a set of four walt disney glasses(1980s)
a pair of camp snoopy glasses (1960s)
and one coke promotional glass (1970s)

"oooh", my friend laughed "thought they would be something you'd like". she was right, they were amazing!

a wander through the picture frame section garnered an original lithograph from vancouver artist john koehner called "pacific gateway (107)" the inscription on the back revealed its life and ultimate fate. "to ALCAN: thank you from the students of the arts umbrella, 2000". i can imagine it this way: a retirement party, and office cleaning, a trip to the thrift. or maybe it sat neglected leaning in amongst the winter michelins bought for last years snow, in a garage. it now hangs on my wall next to my desk, it makes me smile to look at it.


my friend spotted the pack next, while i was flipping through the records. i had seen this pack on two previous visits to this thrift and wondered what made it linger so long. burnt orange in colour, i am rapidly dressing it in patches of far away places, past lives, and former glories. a fine reminder of the places i've been and the sights i have seen. its retro stylings fit the times perfectly. i put the pack next to the glasses and my lithograph, and threw myself back into the records. by this point my friend was enjoying a break in a rubber chair reading a children's book about bears.

i picked out seven albums in total, four as wall art and three to put on the stereo. stereo worthy recordings include "flashdance: original soundtrack", corey hart's "boy in the box", and seals and croft's "summer breeze". artwork presently adorning the walls include "2001: a space odyssey" and three disneyland recordings "goldilocks", "little engine that could", and "cinderella". indeed the thrift had been kind!

unfortunately my friend never found her juicer in this bargain treasure palace, and the hunt continued, after a quick stop by the house to unload my presents.

... remember the time ...

ah, went through a bit of a spell there didn't i? oh, back to our regularily scheduled programming now. so these days life is pretty good. i am riding my bike lots, talking films, enjoying cultural education, connecting with people. very nice indeed! it's a sunday night and i am curled up on the couch, burning through a marathon session of deadwood (season 2), whilst cruising around on the "www."

this was an interesting week, one of the first times since i've been home that i have had a kinda blah feeling. when i got back from my trip i felt amazing. i had spent a lot of time healing a broken heart, learning to be confident and strong. the trip was good for me on so many levels but particularly an emotional one. time and distance really was the difference between recovering and continuing to wallow. one thing i have definitely learned is that i am finally over my ex! That alone was a really freeing experience.

The support of my friends was quite simply amazing. true friends who went above and beyond the call of charm, wit, and congeniality, played excellent host to this couch surfing canadian. we chatted, drank beers, ate wonderful food (even the beans, lentils, barley, and rice), as if we had been living next door to each other for ages. it had been three years or so since we parted ways from korea to return to our "real" lives in north america. over the course of six-weeks, i slept in their beds, on their floors, their couches, used their soap (and maybe i stole a razor), ate their food, probably helped them spend more money than they normally would. they were generously kind, wonderful, entertaining and gracious. i probably didn't thank them enough when i was there, and i really, really want to thank them now. you guys rule!


the elevator to my friends place in the richmond district of San Francisco

oakland city centre BART station, home base!

and then it happened!
Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely.

the plan: out with fab gay friend to the castro, after wild bay to breakers run, for window shopping, eye candy and bar stool hopping.

the result: sitting single in the mission district's les watering hole The Lexington, staring into a glass of PBR, texting like a fiend, and grunting about my lame friends.

accidental discovery: a girl

NICE!

a random conversation, while watching each other's bags for smoke breaks, led to a really entertaining evening out (on a sunday), an amazing dinner the following evening, and a late night beer and appies fix, with ride on cable car (to cap off the mini weekend). a lovely end to my vacation to be sure. i had no idea at this point that i would be, only 3 days later, on a plane to las vegas to continue the adventure. Rat Packers beware... a couple of lucky, high on life, ladies just rolled into town. it's roughly been a month that i've been home and when i think about her i smile. she taught me a valuable lesson: it is possible to love someone for who they are, and you should accept nothing less for yourself! we agreed to be honest and communicate - be kind - she has earned my respect for her honesty, and continues to surprise me at every turn. so thank you rad girl, for re-teaching me some of the things i had long forgotten about myself :)




it's now almost midnight, and i wanted to leave this little shot because it made me chuckle!



i figured this happened, but i didn't expect someone to make a profit. pretty funny, dummy looks like he's headed to school in the 90s.

word!