Saying goodbye to Dave at Steam Works tonight

I've decided to update this thing occasionally.. don't necessarily expect me to comment to any replies I get, though. The commenting situation's still screwed up, unfortunately. :|


Tonight, I went to see Dave one last time before he goes to Toronto on Thursday. My brother said I had to take the bus there, so I gave in and did that. On the bus, there was this guy that made me feel a bit uncomfortable.. he was talking to a couple of girls he apparently knew, but I was glad it wasn't me! He kinda reminded me of a dirty old man, really.. I was very happy when the ride was over, and I didn't have to listen to his blathering!

While trying to find the Gastown area of Vancouver, I accidentally wandered into the Downtown Eastside. This is THE most ghetto area of town, and even of the country.. I've heard it called "Canada's poorest zip code." I knew I'd gone a little TOO far down Hastings when I saw all these junkies and extremely dodgy-looking people in two blocks.. a couple of them said hello to me, and one of them even offered me crank / weed / hash! When I finally got to the relative safety of Gastown (with the help of two normal-looking people) and found my brother at Steam Works restaurant, he asked what I'd said to that dude. I said that I'd told him no.. my brother said that I could have said nothing, and was surprised that the guy left me alone. In that part of town, you never know... yikes! ("You could have said yes, but I don't think you have the money to maintain such an expensive habit!" would also be true)

Jen, Jon, Dave, Vivian, Dawn, and I met up at the restaurant.. Eric was going to come, but decided to hang out with a Victoria buddy of his (Korey) instead. We saw beer soup on the menu, and decided that we were disappointed that Jen didn't order it.. I did for laughs, and it tasted okay. Jen gave Jon and Dave recommendations for good affordable Chinese restaurants / churches in the Toronto area.. even though their meals are all covered, and they might go to my sister's church a few times. (it's a 40-minute subway ride from their residence, which used to be a former hotel / Holiday Inn)

In tribute to Dave, we joked about ordering the cheapest thing on the menu. Besides the soup for $4.95, it was a side of three-mushroom / peppercorn sauce for $1.50. The alcohol was pricey: martinis went for at least $7.50, a small pint of beer was $5.25 (although it was a bit cheaper on the final bill), and there were wines which cost $100 or $125 a bottle. (and $20 a glass) We decided that the service was bad when we noticed that it was 8:45 and we hadn't gotten our food yet, while others who had come in after us were eating already. (the food came before 9, and we made short work of it.. even Jon, who'd had dim sum earlier)

We also talked about Wednesday prayer meeting, structure, spontaneity, Friday's fellowship plans, Dawn's book which she's lending to everyone (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time), Sean's cheapness when it comes to paying the bill at places (though he's gotten better at not just leaving enough to cover the bill.. never mind the tip and tax), the resumption of the Valentine's Day discussion on organic stuff / animal testing / carcinogens, and our all taking transit to get to the restaurant.. go, us! :)

Outside the restaurant, we learned that Jen smokes occasionally.. let's just say that her Trinity friend turned her on to it last year, and she only smokes after a meal at times. (nice examples you find in the Christian university setting!) Of course, the people at Trinity know about it.. just don't light up on campus, and keep it to the wooded trail in back. She smokes these long Benson & Hedges 100's, and we told her not to put one in her mouth after she dropped it on the ground. We discussed whether or not it was a great sin to smoke and call yourself a Christian.. it's not the best thing to do to yourself, but we eventually figured that it wasn't a deal-breaker. (we know of some other Christians who do smoke.. she can still control it and not crave it every day, or smoke a pack a day or even three packs a week like her cousin does)

Jon wanted to go to Virgin Megastore afterwards to look for a few CDs.. Dave and Vivian just wanted to go home, so we hugged Dave goodbye outside the Waterfront Skytrain station. We'll all miss him, even if Jon and I will see him in Toronto sometime. Jen, Jon, Dawn, and I walked to Virgin.. Dawn thought that my parents would want me to go to their place more often now, and I agreed. (not much I can do, and maybe I'll grow closer to them?) Jon bought a couple of CDs, and I bought a book entitled mental_floss magazine presents Condensed Knowledge: A Deliciously Irreverent Guide to Feeling Smart Again. (I didn't get any Merzbow, however.. Jon and I were listening to this Japanese noise artist yesterday on the way home!) Jen and Dawn want that book after I finish it, and I want Dawn's after Vivian finishes it. (Jon read most of it today!) As Jon said, I like books with random facts in them.. I might as well buy it, since I almost never go there! :P

After that, we went our own separate ways: Jen and Dawn bussed home, while Jon and I bussed / walked it to Edwin's to retrieve his viola.. he'd had a quartet rehearsal there earlier, and didn't want to bring the instrument downtown for obvious reasons. (for some reason, we ended up discussing plastic spring rolls.. weird :P) He wasn't home, but his sister Karen was. She, Erin, Margaret, and Jessica were baking a cake for her boyfriend Ryan's upcoming birthday when we got there. We talked about what we'd done today, plans, bubble tea, the other girls Dave's close to (Cindy definitely would have come if she wasn't in Chicago), Jon not having to call people this time around for a dinner, future plans, and the Olympic swimmers on TV. On the way home, Jon and I listened to some Scandinavian jazz.. good times, indeed. :D

What Disney show should you star in? Cory in the White House

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