A nice sunny saturday out

I went to a weavers and spinners meeting in Burnaby today and it was really good.  I had to leave early due to yapping overload.  I never have done that before but yet probably should have.  I either am learning to recognize the need or getting more autistic.  Or both.

Anyway, I got downtown and realized I couldn't find my phone so turned around and drove all the way back only to miss the end of the meeting. The traffic was intense and I hit every red light, being at the back of the pack over and over.  I don't even know how I kept being at the back when I kept leaving the light at the front? Well anyway, I was frantic on the way out so didn't enjoy the driving, plus I had to pee. but on the way out both times I actually was happy to take wrong turns and learn the lay of the city more. I didn't take the same route twice and yet I didn't resort to a map once.  Yay!  Getting the hang of this.  I still can't find the freeway reliably from downtown, LOL, but I prefer the slower lions gate route. I don't like freeways unless they're actually fast.  If I have to sit in stop and go traffic, let me learn the streets and ogle the buildings and views while I do. As I drove back, terrified, I realized how screwed I would be if something happened to this. I need to make a hard copy of the important data. Maybe I can afford to get ink for my printer and export the contacts list to a txt file or something, for instance.  Or it might be cheaper to pay staples to print it.  Some things can be hand transcribed, possibly all of it. I do need to get stationery for it. Address book would probably suit for the whole shebang, actually.  Betcha they still sell them.

I went to see my house and they moved her back from the shore a leg of the dock to a much nicer spot with a grand view from the bank. I could see her whole.  I'm so scared she can't wait, but it was good to stop and see her. Now she could see me too.  I can't do it too often, it's hard to always have this on my mind.  It's promised by magic, and that is a thing I find hard to trust because it is a thing most ephemeral.   So part of me believes, and part of me quakes and quivers.  But she's there looking beautiful.

I must say, I'm finding vancouver traffic absolutely comfortable.  Fast or slow, crowded or crazy, I find that the good habits of following distance, minding my windows and speed, offering courtesy, and paying attention have made it pretty comfortable most of the time.  Some drivers will test anyone's patience.  One guy was honking at me as if I was doing something wrong as I drove behind the whole damn line, then pulled over to a turning lane on the right to speed up and cut back three cars ahead.  

I always feel relief to see the tail of them. But I do seem pretty unflappable these days. I navigate around now pretty good too and I keept recognizing places I'd been ages ago.  Like the PNE parking lot. I remember walking across it but not when. I do not remember how I got out there, if I had no bike to pedal, and was not going to a vehicle and I never used the bus, why was I out there?  It was an afternoon, a bit late, mid to late summer. It was cool in the evenings so probably september. I was female and still slender with long hair, and very poor. That i remember. I do not remember if it's when Ilived there or a visit one of the times. 

Huh, it'll bug me till I fill out the rest, LOL

Darren, hmmm, the blue van, was he off doing something and coming back? 

Ah, it's fine.  I'm glad to be starting to learn my way around.  One of my tricks is if I see a whole lot of people who have been going the same way as me are all turning the same place, or it has excess turn lanes for the intersection, I may take that to see if it gets me closer to the through way.  

I know now I"m trying to get to georgia and that west pender feeds onto her, and that it's the one off the bridge which includes the turn for Main street, and also clark, a faster alternate for commercial, one block over.  that feeds to broadway which feeds to grandview which takes you to boundary or the freeway.

East hastings can also take me to the freeway, especially if I am using iron worker's bridge to cross.

The lion's gate bridge is much nicer  Both are plugged with traffic and if you can move at speed it's a good day Lion's gate is more scenic.  You can't even see out from the other one due to the high suicide barriers and the lower arc besides.  I think it's lower, also it has too many lanes. Really all you see is the bridge and on either side, freeway ramps or bridges or embankments or trees. Maybe a cluster of box buildings.   

So then, too, the lions gate is half as far away from me as the other one, or less. Like it's right over there, I can see it from my window. The other requires a long freeway drive to get to. So for burnaby it certainly makes sense as a direct route, for downtown, kitsilano, pointswest of there, it actually is better to gothrough downtown  I believe there are 3 bridge options too. Not sure, maybe two.  I prefer the slower pace, it's nice and relaxing in spite of the crazy people around me.  I just hardly have to use my brakes because I give such a healthy space up front. I let other people shift in, and that relieves their lane, and because I rarely stop fully, the lane behind me smooths out too.  A seattle guy did a year of observing the result of adequate spacing and discovered that a single driver using courtesy and adequate spacing could clear up miles of traffic behind him on the freeway. Talk about a butterfly effect!  I find it works out for me too, traffic around me smooths out because I give it some buffer. Imagine if everyone did.  Or even just more of us. At least enough space for one other carr to sneak in, and always maintain it, so ease off till it's open again. you feel like you're going to the back of a line but you get home faster.

Oh, the phone fell under my seat in a spot I didn't check which I couldn't see from the other angles.

Oooh, dude is vacating my parking spot behind me finally!