3 Things.

Wow. I went home (to good ol’ Victoria) this weekend for a visit/ortho appointment. I made three important observations while I was there, the first of which was kind of sad: my old room doesn’t feel like home to me anymore… I felt a little bit out of place in the house I’ve lived in for 6 years. And I’m not used to residence yet either. Don’t get me wrong – I love it here, and I’m having the time of my life meeting people and getting to know different cultures and ideas. But I feel in between homes – I can’t give either place that title at the moment.

The second observation was more useful. And it just so happens to be -drumroll–

The Tip of the Post!

Unless you have incredible luck with BC Transportation Services (like me), an uncanny ability to get all shiny-eyed at ticket booth operators (like me), and a mother who is willing to drive like a bat out of hell just because she loves you (like me), don’t expect to make the 9:00 am ferry if you leave downtown Victoria at 8:15 am. It’s just not gonna work out for ya. That aside, if you’re ever lost in Vancouver and need to get back to UBC, look for a 98 B-Line. They come ALL the time and will likely get you to a stop that comes straight here.

The last observation was one of those discoveries you make after three hours of traveling in solitude, when you start thinking about the human condition and all that fluffy stuff.

Anyways. It all started when I was waiting for a bus…

I had been standing up for about 45 minutes so far, all the while having being angrily jostled from side to side by people who hated the size of my backpack (hey, I had calc to do on the weekend). I was relieved to finally get off the bus and have a chance to sit down. I noticed a couple of empty seats next to an elderly lady, so I took one, smiling at her as I sat down. And guess what? She just stared right back at me and immediately stood and, grabbing all her groceries, marched over to the nearest lamppost.

She stood there for 10 minutes until the next bus came. Instead of sitting next to me.

I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t hurt my feelings. But then I realized I almost acted the same way.

When I was on the ferry, I decided to sit outside and listen to music for awhile. I love ocean air. Anyways, a scruffy-looking guy with a lot of gray hair came and sat next to me.

“I can’t let you have this bench ALL to yourself, you know,” he said. “Is that your natural hair color? It’s lovely.”

I was creeped out. I’ll admit it.

“Hey you know if I’m bugging you, you can just tell me to shut up.”

“Oh… you’re not. I’m just tired.” And I was, but it wasn’t really the whole story.

“Yeah. That’s what the last person said.”

And then it hit me. This poor guy had already been rejected based only on his appearance (because since when do you shaft someone just for saying hello?). And I was about to do the same, even though just a couple hours earlier I had felt so hurt that someone had done it to me. It was broad daylight, with tons of people on deck. I could get up and leave if he turned out to be creepy.

So I took out my headphones and just talked to him. I found out that he works in marine construction and that he was heading to Pender Island to help his daughter build a house. I told him about my dog, Caly, who I was really excited to see. Then we talked about Australian Shepards, the ocean, biology, and trades vs university degrees. And you know what?

It was nice. He wasn’t creepy at all. I’m really glad that I broke out of the whole “beware-of-everyone” thing that plagues North America. I think we should all take more time to consider the situation when someone we’ve never met approaches us. If you’re in a safe place, give them a chance: you never know what you might learn. Think about how it feels when someone judges you unfairly. Lame, right?

That is all,

Lindsay