Lifestyle: Adventuring into the City –

A finite film on the windows of the car, we depart at 17:30 from Squamish – it is three women and myself, heading to Vancouver. Naturally as a member of this type of party I hear some gossip, attempt to resolve some issues they are facing with men, and generally attempt humor whenever it is necessary with careful wording.

There are goals of seeing Wilco perform for free in Yaletown. Other than that it is an excuse to get out of little Squamish and into the big city – to learn its streets, geography and flavor.

I’m wearing a misleading “OBS/Host Broadcasting Service” jacket as we stand in line having finally found a free, close (but slightly leery) place to park – right next to the impound lot and behind a tow-truck. On the way we stopped in a ramp that was demanding $34.50 for six hours of parking – not happening – so we too off down Richards Street, past the Hudson Bay Company (at one point earlier in the day protestors had broken a window or two and glass repair was in progress) and the red and white – no blue – of the Canadian hockey jerseys in the street, filing out after a women’s lopsided 18-0 victory over Slovakia, or maybe Slovenia.

Definitely Slovakia, the notes say. All sorts of people near David Lam Park – a girl from Greece (Kalamata), young people, the line moves forward, we go through metal detectors, the C21 bus goes by…

Observations for those afar, mostly.

Once inside, as it rains on those gathered to watch the medal’s presentation on the giant Panasonic screens to the right and left of the LiveCity stage, we (they) grab food from “Taste of India” (instead of “ Canada/Jamaica/China/Italy/Greece), all I ask for is a copy of their menus but they look at me funny.

Wilco goes on promptly at 21:00; I’m losing interest by 21:50 so I wander to the Panasonic, Acer, and Samsung tents – a few of the Worldwide Olympic Partners. Panasonic does the television aspect, Samsung has the phones, Acer – the computers. All three are a step into a techno-music-bumping futuristic world of what the latest technology is, and what will be, I guess, but phrases like “Your tomorrow – delivered today” make me a bit ill.

Wilco wraps up their performance, no encore.

The fireworks rock, and make up for the Wilco songs I don’t know, and for those few that I did.