The clock has just ticked past noon. It is Tuesday. I am in Vancouver at Don and Linda's place -- featuring a commanding view of Vancouver from their 6th and Main condo. I'll get some images up later. First, a bit of a brain dump.
I finally finished the final revisions to the final version of the short (600 word) piece on cartography. It'll be in print and online this Thursday (Aug 25, 2005). The next piece, Roadtrip Across Albania, is still mostly bouncing around my synapses... but will be out the first week of September.
A preview:
"Bandits!" my Czech friend told me.
"Robbers!" the External Affiars website warned.
"Why can't go you to a 'normal' place like Disneyland?" my mother sighed, for the umpteenth time.
It's not difficult to see why I was more than a little concerned about my plan to embark on a road-trip across the entire nation of Albania. Which, owing to its relatively small size, is not as lengthy as a journey from Vancouver to, say, Cape Breton.
But what I experienced completely changed my preconceived notions of this Balkan country. Albania was – well, amazing.
---
Heh: you'll have to wait for the rest.
Let's see. Today is the first day off since last week and the first of three ahead. Notice that I call a day off a day off even when I spent the morning working on work.
Anyway...
It's kinda coolish outside, and despite my best intentions, I am still sitting in the livingroom, my gaze alternating between the Vancouver skyline and my laptop. My intention today had been to get outside mid-morning. Well, THAT didn't happen. My feet (or ass) seem glued in place. I feel like just being.
However, I do need to get some nosh, as Mother Pennington's cubboards are bare. There's a fancy IGA just 10 blocks up Main. And lots of coffee joints and bookstores to grab my attention as I stroll uphill, wheezing as we 40-something year old's do.
There's not much news on the documentary. Still waiting for the key agreement to be signed. Once that happens, things will drop into place rather quickly. I envision stomping around Poland in 8-10 weeks.
I don't know if I mentioned that I bought another (!) XM Satellite Radio. XM is amazing, and perhaps a big reason why my ass is glued in place.
My original XM radio is an old version, and quite noisy because it has an internal fan. It's first generation and I got it for a song. It's a tad cumbersome to move around as it's really meant to be installed permanently in a car.
So I bought a new one -- that is in the form of a boom box. It plays CDs, MP3s, has AM, FM AND XM! There is a built in satellite antenna, and a remote antenna as well. Works like a charm. Cost? About $75 including shipping. Monthly fee? US$6.99. Worth it? Absoutely. Sounds great too. So now, I can take my XM with me to the beach, the pool, or even in the car.
No news coming out of the CBC lock-out. I intend to pop by this week to walk the line a bit. But right now, I am being selfish and taking time for me.
Aaaaah.
I see a bottle of 23-year-old Guatemalan rum not too far away. Would that be wrong?
Yeah, probably, he says to himself.
With that, I will don some pants and hit the hill. I'll endeavour to post some images of the view here, and of the photoshoot I did on Sunday.
More to come...
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment