The Rest Of My Life.
Aug. 8th, 2004 03:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greenstormSo, yeah, I saw the Juggler the other day, obviously, thus the info. But what else has happened?
Mom and my brother are still back. My brother's dating a girl who is acceptable (his first girlfriend). She talks to people, isn't pretentious, and wears enough clothing. She's also pretty. :)
Mom and I hung out and did laundry today, and also went to the Burnaby Potter's Guild sale. Neat, neat neat... these people are just people, and they make cool stuff.
When I got back, I gave the floor a (very quick) wash. I like doing housecleaning stuff once in awhile. It makes me feel good.
Last night I slept on mom's boat after going to the fireworks. Actually, I was going to meet mom for the fireworks, but she's been jetlagged lately. This resulted in me going with my brothers (all of them!) and some of their friends. Long story short, my brothers weren't into the crowds and Joe and I ended up watching the tail end of the fireworks from the twentieth-story apartment of one of my brothers' friends, while the rest of them watched the whole thing from there.
This means that I spent more time watching the people than the fireworks proper. Wow, wow, wow. They had helicopters with spotlights, and I really hope someone was filming. You can't imagine how beautiful it is to see that many people, I don't know how many million it was this year. The beach was solid with people right back to the barriers (and solid means standing room with no breathing from the spot I tried to go into). Behind the barriers, up to the buildings and down the roads in the sightlines, people were massed, standing and sitting, on the roads and the sidewalks and even the rooftops around. Someone was spinning poi nder a blacklight on one rooftop.
The beach where I was curves all the way around in an arc, and when the spotlights went by it lit all the people on my side, and all the people on the other side along the whole curve of the beach. Then, inside the curve of people, there was a double curve of tight-packed boats, all lit dimly, bracketing the fireworkd barge proper and the clear water around it.
I wasn't watching to see how many people stood for the national anthem, but where I was there weren't so many people singing -- maybe a third of the crowd, but a third of multiple million people spontaneously singing is spine-tingling.
I think this is probably the only fireworks performance where the guys lighting off the fireworks can hear the applause, but maybe not.
When it was over, the crowd cheered, of course. Then they began to disperse, and at first it was quiet. As they decompressed from the beaches there was a solid stream of them pouring down the main street, Denman, sidewalk to sidewalk across the street for half an hour. When they'd decompressed enough to breathe, the noise level started rising. You could hear that crowd murmur -- from the twentieth floor -- which rose as the time went by until it was full of happy screaming and shouting and cheering, and then trailed off again.
Man, am I glad I went.
I got a chance to talk to Joe, too, and that was good. He was glad to have someone who stuck with him and helped him avoid crowds, which made him nervous.
Before that I... well, you can't really call it a date, but I hung out with the Juggler, half-fixed my bike, bought shelving material, and made plans for later during the week. That's when I learnt that I was veto'd. On the phone before that, and again then, he told me that the veto didn't include an active friendship where we get together sometimes. That was pretty important to me, and I didn't know it beforehand.
And that takes me right back to when I left the house Saturday morning, so I believe I've caught up.
Now for the future:
_greenwitch_ is coming back tonight, yay! I have shelving to do, and my birthday's coming up. I work a fair amount this week, but I want to try to get to Wreck Beach on Thursday, my birthday. The betta club meets on August 29th, and I'm going to that meeting to join. The Stormy, a long offroad run, is on the 14th. I may end up at that.
I'd like to do some cooking, maybe -- Estry tends to appreciate my cooking, chili and the like. I'd like to get some tomatoes off the Juggler and maybe some of those zucchinis, and make something less chili-ish with them, maybe. I'd like to spend a bit of time with _greenwitch_ when she's done decompressing, and I should call her Guy and wish him Happy Birthday. I'd like to get the rest of my stuff from Kynnin's place. I've been talking with echo2oak a bit, it'd be cool to maintain that.
I want to get a baseball bat and play a bit with my brother. I want to borrow the Juggler's anvil and make jewelery out of beaten copper wire when our craft table is set up.
So, look: this is my life. It happens around me, many things which create the whole picture. It's a strong thing, and already it's recovering from the massive hack-job where my routine was removed, before. It's filling back up with people and things, enthusiasms and beauties and joys. It doesn't always make me happy, but it makes me unbreakable.
Look, ma! I'm unbreakable. :)
Mom and my brother are still back. My brother's dating a girl who is acceptable (his first girlfriend). She talks to people, isn't pretentious, and wears enough clothing. She's also pretty. :)
Mom and I hung out and did laundry today, and also went to the Burnaby Potter's Guild sale. Neat, neat neat... these people are just people, and they make cool stuff.
When I got back, I gave the floor a (very quick) wash. I like doing housecleaning stuff once in awhile. It makes me feel good.
Last night I slept on mom's boat after going to the fireworks. Actually, I was going to meet mom for the fireworks, but she's been jetlagged lately. This resulted in me going with my brothers (all of them!) and some of their friends. Long story short, my brothers weren't into the crowds and Joe and I ended up watching the tail end of the fireworks from the twentieth-story apartment of one of my brothers' friends, while the rest of them watched the whole thing from there.
This means that I spent more time watching the people than the fireworks proper. Wow, wow, wow. They had helicopters with spotlights, and I really hope someone was filming. You can't imagine how beautiful it is to see that many people, I don't know how many million it was this year. The beach was solid with people right back to the barriers (and solid means standing room with no breathing from the spot I tried to go into). Behind the barriers, up to the buildings and down the roads in the sightlines, people were massed, standing and sitting, on the roads and the sidewalks and even the rooftops around. Someone was spinning poi nder a blacklight on one rooftop.
The beach where I was curves all the way around in an arc, and when the spotlights went by it lit all the people on my side, and all the people on the other side along the whole curve of the beach. Then, inside the curve of people, there was a double curve of tight-packed boats, all lit dimly, bracketing the fireworkd barge proper and the clear water around it.
I wasn't watching to see how many people stood for the national anthem, but where I was there weren't so many people singing -- maybe a third of the crowd, but a third of multiple million people spontaneously singing is spine-tingling.
I think this is probably the only fireworks performance where the guys lighting off the fireworks can hear the applause, but maybe not.
When it was over, the crowd cheered, of course. Then they began to disperse, and at first it was quiet. As they decompressed from the beaches there was a solid stream of them pouring down the main street, Denman, sidewalk to sidewalk across the street for half an hour. When they'd decompressed enough to breathe, the noise level started rising. You could hear that crowd murmur -- from the twentieth floor -- which rose as the time went by until it was full of happy screaming and shouting and cheering, and then trailed off again.
Man, am I glad I went.
I got a chance to talk to Joe, too, and that was good. He was glad to have someone who stuck with him and helped him avoid crowds, which made him nervous.
Before that I... well, you can't really call it a date, but I hung out with the Juggler, half-fixed my bike, bought shelving material, and made plans for later during the week. That's when I learnt that I was veto'd. On the phone before that, and again then, he told me that the veto didn't include an active friendship where we get together sometimes. That was pretty important to me, and I didn't know it beforehand.
And that takes me right back to when I left the house Saturday morning, so I believe I've caught up.
Now for the future:
_greenwitch_ is coming back tonight, yay! I have shelving to do, and my birthday's coming up. I work a fair amount this week, but I want to try to get to Wreck Beach on Thursday, my birthday. The betta club meets on August 29th, and I'm going to that meeting to join. The Stormy, a long offroad run, is on the 14th. I may end up at that.
I'd like to do some cooking, maybe -- Estry tends to appreciate my cooking, chili and the like. I'd like to get some tomatoes off the Juggler and maybe some of those zucchinis, and make something less chili-ish with them, maybe. I'd like to spend a bit of time with _greenwitch_ when she's done decompressing, and I should call her Guy and wish him Happy Birthday. I'd like to get the rest of my stuff from Kynnin's place. I've been talking with echo2oak a bit, it'd be cool to maintain that.
I want to get a baseball bat and play a bit with my brother. I want to borrow the Juggler's anvil and make jewelery out of beaten copper wire when our craft table is set up.
So, look: this is my life. It happens around me, many things which create the whole picture. It's a strong thing, and already it's recovering from the massive hack-job where my routine was removed, before. It's filling back up with people and things, enthusiasms and beauties and joys. It doesn't always make me happy, but it makes me unbreakable.
Look, ma! I'm unbreakable. :)
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no subject
Date: 2004-08-08 06:40 pm (UTC)Over 1.4 million people saw them over the four days (estimated). The crowd in English Bay and surrounding areas can number as high as 150000! That is one crapload of people.
We were RIGHT down front, just short of having our feet in the water. Some of our friends who came last minute had a hell of a time fighting their way down to the beach to sit with us.
I love the mass of people! Mostly when they are behaving themselves.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-09 07:19 am (UTC)I'll need to head out earlier next year.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-08 07:35 pm (UTC)(actually, this used to be my self-image)
Yesh, more living room set up will be good. Hopefully my new job will allow this...
no subject
Date: 2004-08-08 08:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-09 12:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-09 07:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-08 08:52 pm (UTC)It's always nice to see a more full picture of a person's life - it's very affirming to know someone else takes the time to just look around and say, Hey, this isn't /all/ bad, in fact, it's moving along pretty well.
Anyway, you're B-day is coming up? Mine too! I hope you have a terrific day!
August birthdays
Date: 2004-08-08 09:07 pm (UTC)Re: August birthdays
Date: 2004-08-09 07:22 am (UTC)Re: August birthdays
Date: 2004-08-10 07:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-09 07:22 am (UTC)ie: no holiday.
Hee! Happy birthday!
HSBC
Date: 2004-08-09 10:27 pm (UTC)Shows how much any of us actually watch TV...
Re: HSBC
Date: 2004-08-10 07:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-10 07:10 am (UTC)August Birthdays and Such
Date: 2004-08-10 12:40 pm (UTC)RE Birthdays - I would /love/ to come up and celebrate with all the Leos up there. Now if I could just get that derned multidimensional, bilocation spell thingy going...
Seriously, if folk might be getting together on Sunday, I may be able to convince my family to go up for the day (Princess and Pumpkin are both Leos too, heaven help our trusty Taurus Hubby/Dad). Maybe Stanley Park for a picnic?
I'm baaaack ;)
Date: 2004-08-09 01:24 pm (UTC)Lemme know
L
Re: I'm baaaack ;)
Date: 2004-08-10 07:07 am (UTC)I don't know that talking it out helps. I mean, there's not much to the situation in the end, is there?