Tag: Stanley Park

The Daily EO: February 15th, 2013

If you’ve ever walked the perimeter of Stanley Park, you will have seen the cannon there.  It’s called the 9 o’clock cannon in our house because, well, it goes off at 9 pm.  But I think that is what is it called, anyways.  It’s been firing off for more than 100 years.

My husband has an alarm on his iPhone (a revving car if you must know) that is set for 8:59 so he can watch the cannon go off.  There really isn’t much to see, but there is a pattern:  first the light turns on (from our angle it is just about the third sail on Canada Place), then it goes out, then you see the muzzle flash and then – 10 seconds later- you heard the rumble.

It’s become a “thing” in our house to watch the cannon go off.  And although I tease my husband for being a dork, I am glad that we take the 1 minute to watch the cannon together.  But when we have guests, they too seem to enjoy pausing and watching the cannon go off.  Inevitably, they comment on how amazing it is that it is so long before we actually hear the cannon compared to seeing it.

The other interesting thing is the fluctuation in sound.  We speculate that it is based upon the weather and pressure, but I can’t say that I am a sound engineer.  Some nights it seems to ring through the rafters, other nights it is just part of sounds of downtown.

February 15th, 2013 Extra-Ordinary:  Constancy in cannon firings.

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The Daily EO: January 1st, 2013

In my industry of Natural Health Products, I have been able to see first hand the ramp up to support the “New Year, New You” phenomenon.  I’ve written before about how I’ve always seen September as a new start, not January, so it seems a little silly to me.

I hate the gyms during January – classes suddenly full, never can get a treadmill, sigh… all these people clogging up the place.   Please hurry up and lose your commitment, people!

And yet, after 4 months crammed full with stressful and fattening things, I find myself knowing and having to engage in the ritual as so many others will do in North America.  My only solace is in that I can tell myself that I am just getting back into the routine that Emile and I started in Fit April – just trying to figure out how to do it here in Vancouver.  I am certainly not one of the crowd.

Alas, the ordinariness of it, I hate to fit in and yet I need to be able to fit in my pants, so we’ve launched Cliche January.

I’m too embarrassed to tell you the starting stats – maybe after some progress I’ll let you know.

January 1st, 2013 Extra-Ordinary:  Wiping off the remnants of an entire box of Ferraro Rocher from our lips (before the calendar turned over), 17.7 km walk around Vancouver’s downtown and Stanley Park completed.

Will anyone ever see this post, lost in the “resolution” tag?  Sigh.

The Daily EO: November 25th, 2012

The sun shone brightly and for those uninitiated, you would be led to believe that the day was warm and fair.  It was not, but it was a beautiful day.  And we live 3.5 kms from Stanley Park – Vancouver’s glorious 1000 acre park almost in the heart of the city.

I arose at 7:30, changed into weather thoughtful exercise clothes and waited impatiently for Emile to drag himself out of bed.  At 10, I announced with a flourish it was time to go – outside and the sunshine awaited us.  He too wore his warm clothes and we set-out.  We stuck to the North sides of the street that seemed to have a little more sun and kept our pace quick and brisk.

I was excited to visit the park, though I haven’t been there in probably 20 years.  But vague memories crept upon me as I viewed familiar landscapes and the totem poles.  We walked quickly, and then as we got to the seawall in Stanley Park, we ran.  And we talked and we ran some more.  We caught about Emile’s work, and my worries about my department at work, and Christmas and our plans for December and our upcoming vacation.

It was only by noon that I told Emile I was at the hungry stage and moving towards starving that we decided to make our way home.  Emile knows that this is where the danger zone begins.

Breakfast was at “The Chef and the Baker” just around the corner from our place – casual enough to accept unshowered people in workout gear, but also nice enough to serve loose chai tea.

Aaaah.

November 25th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  A visit to Lord Stanley’s Park and a feeling of contentment and well being.