How to cover so much that has happened since my last post? As is often the case, I hold off on new entries when I’m about to upgrade WordPress, and then put off doing the upgrade, which makes the gap wider, which makes me put off the upgrade, making this a vicious cycle. Well, cycle broken. Now, on to what went on during the gap:
A Wedding
Our friends Matt and Oana got married. We feel particularly privileged to have known both of them through all of the stages of courtship, engagement, and now getting hitched (they are on their honeymoon as I write this). The Romanian Orthodox ceremony was unlike anything either of us had ever seen, complete with chanting, incense, tin crowns, and all sorts of other ethnic touches that one doesn’t encounter in most marriage ceremonies. We were both a little thrown off by the absence of any music for the processional or recessional, the talking, passing out of candy, and other eccentricities during the ceremony by many of the relatives, and a chorus of women women singing a repeated refrain to the priest (which I later found out was roughly the equivalent of the Latin ‘Kyrie Eleison’ ). As I also found out later, we could have also been treated to magic tricks, stories, and bear training, so in retrospect, it was a pretty restrained event. But get those Romanians dancing at the reception! That was another thing entirely. The reception was a blast. Matt and Oana had chartered a boat that circled in and around the Vancouver area, including points as far north and west as Lighthouse Point, as far east as the Ironworker’s Bridge, into False Creek and all the way down to the Science Centre and out again. Despite a little drizzle, it was quite smooth and comfortable, and we all enjoyed an absolutely spectacular dinner including salmon (of course), chicken, vegetables and a piece of an enormous wedding cake provided by one of Oana’s relatives. We all had a great time and were glad we could be with them for the event, which I’m sure will be remembered fondly by all who attended for a long time.
The Blogger Meetup
This monthly event been covered by many others, including Jan and John, so I’ll keep this brief. We congregated at Cuppa Joe on Broadway and Main, who provided coffee, pastries and free wifi. At one point it almost seemed as if we would outgrow the room but we moved chairs around and some of us adapted. It’s nice to be a part of a group of so many clever people and we often find the conversations moving from one topic to the next at furious speed: the state of James Doohan’s (Scotty from Star Trek) ashes to videoconferencing to ‘The Secret’. A few new attendees also livened things up, and cameras caught a lot of us in mid-sentence (or laugh!) I regret that I’ll have to miss next month’s meeting, as I’ll be back East visiting friends and family then.
Eat! Vancouver
We made it for the second time to the food show that takes over BC Place (the air-supported dome that had a bit of a deflation problem this last winter). Once again we tasted, sipped and nibbled on all sorts of free samples and got tons of recipes and coupons. I noticed a big growth in the number and type of beverages, including not only teas and soft drinks, but vitamin-waters, juices, concentrates, smoothies, and coffees. I wonder if the fast pace of people’s lives is favoring liquids as they are easier to take with you in a bottle or can, and hence, a growing market in that sector.
We managed to make the demo by Rob Feenie, Vancouver’s most famous chef, who is actually quite a local celebrity. He demoed a recipe for miniature hamburgers made from shredded short rib meat, which I have to say was not a very unusual dish, at least in terms of ingredients and cooking method; Pam was shocked as I consistently knew what he was going to say or do next (‘now he’s going to add some mirepoix — chopped onions, celery and carrots…now he’s going to deglaze the pan with some wine or broth’…etc.)
My New Strategist
After my troubles with my Career Management company didn’t improve (and in fact, they seemed to me to get worse), I told them that things weren’t working, and that I needed a different strategist. They agreed, and tomorrow I meet with the new strategist. Here’s hoping they can help me and can work with me a bit better. So far I’ve been hitting a series of brick walls, and I’m trying really hard not to get discouraged during this period.
Coming Up
Besides my meeting with my new strategist tomorrow, that evening I’m planning on attending the big multimedia concert and Contemporary Shadow Play, ‘Semar’s Journey’ by the Gamelan I used to play in, Madu Sari. Since I’m still on their mailing list, I’ve been seeing the amount of rehearsals they’ve been scheduling and frankly I don’t know how I could have done it. I hope it goes well; they certainly have worked hard to prepare for it.
The weather continues to be gorgeous, and the sunshine stays until just after 9:00 at night. Vancouver summer is just about upon us, and it’s always worth the wait.
Hey, I hope the new career strategist is a better fit for you, David.
Good luck on that!
hey, great to see the wedding post!