6:00am June 23th, 2008
The Redden's residence, Vancouver, Canada

I was deep into the Lego Indiana Jones game when Scott brought Jordy into the living room this morning. He was only half-dressed (Jordy was) and he was all happy and bouncy (Jordy was). Scott practically dumped his son in my arms before I had time to react. Next thing I knew, I had Jordy in my arms drooling like a leaking faucet and studying my face like I was a creature from Mars. "It's the glasses," Scott offered an explanation for the mixture of horror and fascination on his son's face, "He's never seen anyone with glasses on." I felt this sudden rush of affection and my mouth moved, "And da straight hair 'n it'sth BLaaACK! Bet you've never seen a lady with black hair. Different eyez 'n nosth 'n a different faceth 'n…." Oh my! I Came to my senses and heard myself speaking with a put-on lisp in a high-pitched voice. I was dooin' da baaby talk.
Lisa and I spent the whole day catching up. That girl was so devoted to the baby and so sleep-deprived that she fell off her train of thoughts every couple of minutes. Jordy was fast asleep in the carrier. Everything was perfect. It was sunny and breezy. Lots of kids were playing in and around the lake, and people were sunbathing or jogging.
I took a nap in the afternoon and had very adventurous dreams (the NDS game of Lego Indy I've been playing definitely had some influence). After Scott got home, we had dinner and headed out to a beach. It's their family tradition to read Dr. Seuss on the beach on the longest day of the summer. We had wine and cheese, and Scott read "You're Only Old Once, A Book for Obsolete Children". On the way home, I asked how they started this tradition. They only remembered that it started in 2002.

At 7 months, Jordy is already an adrenaline junky. He loves height, speed, and rough play.








12:00pm June 24th
Kitslano, Vancouver, Canada

The owner of the corner store near Lisa's place is an older East Indian dude who moves and talks very slowly. From behind the counter, he answered, "No, we don't sell bus tickets here." (silence) I prompted, "Can you tell me where I can get a book of tickets around here, sir?" (silence) "Shoppers on Broadway," he replied lazily.
I couldn't remember if I was supposed to put the ticket into the machine when I got on the bus or if I should wait till I got off. It was a #99 B-line to UBC, which only stops at major intersections along Broadway. I waited to see what other passengers did and ended up taking a free ride. Oh well, I spent 12 bucks on the book of tickets, so technically I paid.
On my walk down to the beach, various passersby smiled and greeted me. It reminded me of how I felt during the first few days after my very first arrival in Vancouver in 1994. I remember being impressed with how friendly people were here. Some things never change and, as far as I'm concerned, it's good that they stay the same. Got a grande iced hazelnut latte from the Starbucks at Kits Beach, and it tasted different from the ones in Taiwan -- I could actually taste the coffee in it.










The Kits area has and will always have a great significance in my Vancouver for many reasons. The foremost and most important reason is that it was the first area I lived in, which in turn shaped my first impressions of this wonderful city. It is also one of my favorite spots in the city because it's absolutely beautiful and always has a positive vibe. People in Kits are healthy and happy. Over the years, it has attracted a lot of organic food lovers and young buffed university kids. What I noticed on this visit was that there seemed to be a lot more couples jogging or taking a walk while pushing a stroller. Nonetheless, the fact that people in Kits were beautiful and fit totally inspired me to get off my butt and start working on my body.