We don't mean to make you jealous but...: This week, in Vancouver

Is it me, or is the building swaying? Has my vertigo come back? It feels strange for a few seconds, and then it might still be moving but probably is just the memory before equilibrium is reached. It lasted perhaps 20 seconds, with the feeling of a big sway in two directions, back and forth, and then a feeling of uneven wobbling. A colleague comes in, I pose a cautious question, ‘Did you feel that too?’ A positive answer confirms that I haven’t lost my marbles in the wobble. A few minutes later, and he says that there’s nothing on the web about it yet. A few minutes after that, and it is a 6.7 earthquake, 80km down in the Pacific, west of Vancouver Island. Mystery solved. Of course, I keep feeling phantom wobbles! It doesn’t help that I can’t see out of a window to accurately compare with the other buildings nearby. (Still haven’t got a window with a view, though the float plane terminal is nearby.)

People on the ground didn’t feel it at all. Apparently they strike all the time around here. That’ll be why there’s an information poster about it in the kitchen here… I’m at a new temp role in one of the tall buildings downtown. In the words of Bjork, it’s oh so quiet. Until the scary giant phone rings with the force of my morning alarm clock! Plenty of time to write letters, download new things to and read on the kindle. (3 Dickens novels downloaded yesterday, along with a Granta anthology and North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell.) I heartily recommend The Summer without Men by Siri Hustvedt. I finished it very quickly and really enjoyed it. Just literary enough to stretch my brain cells, but not so stretching as to leave lasting damage. Had to dust off my comprehension skills from my degree, but it was worth it. With the long commute, I'm finishing off books with alarming speed. Thanks to lovely staff at BRB for furnishing me with plenty of spends to download more! (I used up half the voucher the day before we left on about 20 books!)

Adam spent today being a totally rad cool dude man. He longboarded his way round the seawall at Stanley Park. He's now at work, selling stuff to other rad dudes. Atmosphere is quite a posh outdoors shop, a bit like snow and rock in that it sells mostly very good stuff, but is really quite spic and span. With quite the largest selection of outdoorsy shoes I think I've ever seen. And tremendously skilled and pleasant staff ;) We went out for dinner with some of them last saturday night - a literal passing of the torch from old to new manager. (Tiki torch hidden from serving staff...)

We were the first to arrive at this dinner, in a private room downstairs in a restaurant on W. 4th Ave. They called it the vault, and it had wallpaper which was old safe deposit boxes in a gold colour. More than a little intimidating to our heroic duo. Staff eventually started to file in, and most said hello and were very welcoming. Typically, we talked most with the people who no longer work in the store. Goes to show that they get on well though. It took us a long time to get back to North Van though, 1.5 hours, and we had to wait for one of our buses in a quite busy street, with all the clubbers on their way between bars. My mojito had worn off by then, so it was just annoying when we were trying to get home to bed!

Not sure what the plan is for this weekend. Adam's working and on sunday evening *say it quietly so as not to jinx it* we're looking at a flat to stay in during October. Very good price, much better location-transport wise, and suits our current plans. Wait and see.

Before signing off, I will comment on the souvenir shop. A matching pillow for our smallest, canoe-riding friend was found. Beaver or Bear? Or would another fox be sufficient? The curious shop was owned, and mostly patronised by Chinese people, but does that explain the bizarre displays of 'seal oil' and 'salmon collagen' beauty products I saw? Turned me right off buying anything, until I saw the display of nightlights. Glass blown night lights. Electric, glass nightlights. Nightlights in the shape of eggs, with maple leaves on. And teddybears. And tea cups. And in the shape of tiny lamp covers. Well, not so tiny. Quite the naffest display of trinketry I've seen so far.

In order to counteract it, some pictures from the UBC Anthropology Museum: