Vancouver BC.

"I do what I please, and I do it with ease." 

- Martha Stewart

It's negative one day until the deadline for Martha and Me episode 2 and I have yet to even synchronize my clips. The irony of Martha's notorious yearbook quote has seriously been kicking me in the butt these past few weeks. The combo of learning Final Cut Pro X, X not supporting multi-cam edits, my slow computer, lack of access to video equipment, and doing this all by myself is making this thing, well to put if frankly...makes me feel like I can't do it. 

So naturally in celebration of my 22nd birthday I've put my production challenges aside and joined forces with my incredibly supportive mother for a weekend of relaxation and fun in Vancouver BC. (Trip planned long-before my editing woes.) And to thank her for all the youtube hits in the form of her emailing the link to every person on the planet I've decided to pay for all our car gas.  But seriously, the episode will get done and done well, so not to fear... I think. 

In the meantime I can tell you all about what I've been up to in Canada. We stayed in historic Gastown in a hotel we found on Groupon. It was very "green" and on that note I forgive the water pressure in the bathroom even though it meant I had to flush the toilet 10 times and take twice as long showers. On the bright side every room had a recycling bin that I filled with cans of ginger ale. More on that later...

Things we did:

#1 Spent a while trying to hook up my VCR to the flat screen to no avail... Seriously, why advertise a flat screen if all I can do is order movies and games off of it?  

#2 Met up with hosteling buddy Helena for afternoon tea at the Fish House, long walks, and then even more finger food.

#3 A fundraiser at Rhizome for Owen's upcoming surgery.

#4 Dim sum at vegan Chinese restaurant 3G, most notably vegan drumsticks. 

#5 Thinking a lot about whether we'd make it to the Michaelangelo Antonioni film at Cinematheque.

#6 Continued the tradition of adding pieces to my Starfruit Lock & Lock tupperware collection upon each Vancouver visit.

#7 After the long wait since November, finally getting those Goretex shoes, my first pair!

#8 Reminded myself of the value of an oreo cheesecake crust. 

Lessons learned:

#1 There is vegan poutine and the vegan gravy doesn't even taste so bad if you use real cheese curds.

#2 Vegan food can still give you a stomach ache.

#3 Even if you go to Canada for the weekend it doesn't mean that for half the weekend you won't be thinking about that thing you wanted to get away from in the first place.

#4 You can wear goretex without a pair of Carharts but you should probably buy yourself some Carharts the next time...