Category Archives: Marilyn Anderson

Thoughts on a train

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…well, actually, that should read “thoughts on a Canada Line train”, because that’s what I was riding yesterday.  I live in Vancouver, Canada, where we will soon host the world for next year’s Winter Games.  In preparation for that event, one of the new and exciting advantages our Greater Metropolitan Area now boasts is a world-class addition to our Skytrain system (our legacy from hosting Expo 86), running from our downtown harbour core to the Vancouver International Airport (YVR).  That has been named the ‘Canada Line’ (sorry – I don’t know either….).

Now, for those of you who live outside our city, you should know that most of this transit rail line runs underground, so ‘taking the train’ is also a bit like spending some time in a time capsule.  It is its own little microcosm, a sort of ‘thin slice’ of our city and the people in it, and every ride has a flavour all its own.

Yesterday, I rode and sat and listened to my fellow riders.  It was dinner time, my car filled with people going home from work or however they spent their day.  Some travelled alone in thought, some nodded silent greetings to others, many were occupied in some sort of electronic exchange – iPods, cell phones – and a few were engaged in actual conversations.  What struck me most was that it was not until I had exited my train that I heard a single word in my own language.

A young couple with their baby in a stroller were talking to the baby, each other, and – in passing – to me.  I love that about this city: every day I can be exposed to so many different cultures and cuisines, languages and histories.  It made me wonder about other people’s experiences travelling today.

Did you take a bus in Surrey, ride the SeaBus to North Van, cycle in White Rock, park your car in Langley, walk around Deep Cove, take a ferry from Horseshoe Bay, rollerblade around Stanley Park?  What did YOU see and hear?

Where else did YOU go?  Did you take the subway in New York, ride the Marta in Altanta or take the train from the airport into downtown Athens, Greece?  Maybe you walked in Picadilly Circus or took a stroll in Beijing.  I hope you had a pleasant time and shared a smile along the way.  Please take a moment to share YOUR experience with me; write a comment and give us a ‘thin slice’ of your world today.

Vancouver rentals a la 2010

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We live in a cosmopolitan city – a place marketed around the world in ordinary times and furiously exposed in the run-up to the large-scale international athletic competition headed our way in 2010.  All this attention brings excitement, people, and the promise of cash.  It also creates scarcity of things like affordable accommodation.  Here are three stories about rent and space that I heard today:

1. some friends of mine live in a very upscale highrise condo – fabulous views and a great downtown location.  They were recently approached by phone (someone with a heavy Eastern European accent, calling himself Yuri) with an extravagant offer – we’re talking 5 figures a week here – for 12 weeks occupancy.  They (respectfully) declined, thinking Yuri and his friends might do more party damage than the generous offer was worth…….turns out Yuri was a busy boy, calling all their neighbours, too.  I said it was a desirable location, didn’t I?

2.  SFU lost a very desirable tennat for their Morris Wosk Centre for Diaglogue, when the Brits pulled out of their UK House plan.  It seems that one of the businesses involved had to beg off for financial reasons.  The Centre was lucky: they were able to find another tennant, though their staff had to pull out the stops to get things in place.

3. overheard at The Buzz, 901 Homer Street, today.  One North Shore family is taking a February holiday someplace warm and all-inclusive…thanks to an offer from some friends-of-a-friend.  This offer was legit, for $1000 per day for their home for 14 days.  One family comes in to enjoy the Vancouver Games experience, and the other family enjoys a fabulous vacation away from the madding crowd.  That’s what I call win-win-win!  Neat.