Got back from Calgary-Kelowna last week, and I've been sort of twiddling my thumbs since then. Kelowna was great; a lot more arid than I expected, but just what I needed, I think.
The Greyhound bus dropped me off hours before I could check in at the hostel, so I had to roam the streets for a bit. It was all very hobo-lite: napping in the park, pondering by the lake, writing at a Starbucks. Then my iPod died, and I decided to trek back to the hostel to see if they could possibly get me my room earlier (unwashed and disoriented as I was), but no luck. Fortunately, a group of travelers from Quebec took pity on me, and I hung out at their room for about an hour or so. It was kind of awkward (I was smelly and hardly up for human interaction), but they were nice, I was exhausted, and it just made sense. Once I got my room and went through the necessary ablutions, I headed to the beach to take a nap. (Exciting stuff.) Ran into the Québécois folk again at the hostel, and ended up having dinner with the lot of them. They invited me to go clubbing, but the idea of clubbing with virtual strangers held little appeal, so I ended up walking around with this guy who seemed to be of the same hermit mindset.
I've missed rambling conversations. The kind that takes you places, but goes absolutely nowhere. It cleared up a few things for me. More so than the conversation I had with the moon while I was sleepily peering out of the window in that hellish bus ride from Calgary to Kelowna. I guess it did qualify as a "long walk by the beach," sans the romance or potential thereof - oddly enough, the basis of its appeal.
The rest of my stay involved finishing The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. It was absolutely stunning; Chabon easily earns a spot in my short-list of writers I'd give up my left nut (if I had one, that is) to emulate. (For the curious: Aldous Huxley, Margaret Atwood, Alice Hoffman, Eric Gamalinda, Kelly Link... and these are only the English-language writers, I'm not sure how to categorize writers whose work I can only access through the filter of translators.) Currently working on Yellow Dog (Amis), and The Ice Queen (Hoffman).
In other news: I really do have to wash my dishes. This is ridiculous, I have a dishwasher. But, there's nothing like a pile of disgusting dishes and pots and pans to make me lazy. Also, watched The Dark Knight for the second time on IMAX. I had more bones to pick with the film the second time around, like little things I didn't pick up on the first time because I was too dazzled, etc. Seriously though, the scenes specifically shot for IMAX were incredible.
The Half-Blood Prince trailer (teaser?) is total fail. Just like Mamma Mia!, which was just ridiculous. I don't care if it was intentional. No one needs to see Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth rip off their clothes and dance like deranged lunatics to ABBA. Although, I think it was mostly appalling because I had to experience that glut of sublime campiness mere minutes after watching The Dark Knight for the first time. It was very disorienting.
Off to the Atlantic coast (Nova Scotia and Newfoundland) in a week or so. I'll be sure to take pictures of a lighthouse or two (or twenty).
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