Category Archives: Recreation

There is nothing quite like beating bananas to a pulp to make me feel better.

When I’m sad, angry or frustrated, I turn to the kitchen to relieve my feelings. I’m not very good at punching a pillow because I feel guilty for hitting the poor, innocent (albeit inanimate) object that serves me so well in my sleep. Creaming butter and sugar, on the other hand, is completely productive and tastes delicious. As for the smells!

The aroma of banana cupcakes is currently wafting lazily through our house, sliding under door cracks and around the walls. I can’t wait for the last batch to be done and to fall asleep to the comfort of this particular fragrance.

Once again, I’ve made more than I intended, but that’s okay because it just means I have more to give away. I think this, more than anything, is why I prefer kneading dough to kneading cushions: I can make other people a little bit happier and protect my pillow while I’m at it.

On a vaguely related note, UBC’s Live Well, Learn Well website has a well-being assessment tool that’s worth taking before school starts to get a good idea of what you need to work on in the upcoming year. Take the quiz and/or read up on some ideas on how to take care of yourself this year.

So for those of you who read the Blog Squad aggregate page, you are probably as annoyed as I am embarrassed to discover that it’s been replicating my most recent post, oh, only about a few dozen times.

After diving about twenty pages in, it seems that the aggregate is having some problems with a couple of WordPress.com-based blogs (though not all), and is cloning away to its heart’s content. I don’t know why it happened, but I did email someone who will hopefully forward the problem to someone who can do a bit of a clean-up.

Except, of course, this post may backfire and reload some 109472 times before then, in which case you can have my apologies 109472 times over.

FreshAirCinema is once again bringing movies to the great outdoors for free this summer. I was in Stanley Park last Tuesday to watch their first offering, Jurassic Park. Having never watched a movie outdoors before, I realised there were a few things I would have liked to know beforehand.

1. If going with a large group, you will probably need to stake out a spot. Plan dinner accordingly.
Since I was only going with one other person, we decided to eat downtown before we headed to Stanley Park; when we arrived, the place was seething with people. It’s much easier for two to find a small space to squeeze in than five, though, so it may be a better idea to bring food with you if you’re going as a group.

2. The movie doesn’t start when they say it will.
The movie was meant to start at 9:00 pm but was pushed to 9:30 pm because of the late sunset, which is fine, but at 9:30 pm we got half an hour of promotions before the movie itself started playing at 10:00 pm. If I’d known it would be that late, I might not have gone as it was difficult for me to get home afterwards.

3. Bring a thick blanket or towel and warm clothing. If you might get hungry, bring snacks and a warm drink.
Although I did bring a towel, I forgot that Vancouver nights are chilly, especially if you’re outdoors, and it’s a good idea to bring a warm jacket or hoodie to pull over your head. A warm drink in a flask is also a good idea if you’re prone to feel cold like I am.

4. People will smoke weed. Be prepared to counter the smell if you don’t like it.
My favourite item in cases like these (when I can find it) is scented tissue; barring that, anything that smells remotely pretty goes a long way, e.g. scented hand sanitizer, perfume sprayed on a paper strip, etc. Of course, if you do like the smell, you won’t need to bring anything at all.

5. A torch is a very handy tool.
Stanley Park is dark at night and it’s hard to pick your way through if you haven’t got a bright light to shine the way ahead for you. In a pinch, an iPod or a mobile phone light will do, but a torch is definitely the best item and is relatively inexpensive to pick up at a dollar store.

Although I’m not going to watch any more for a while, I do plan on catching another two before the end of the summer and will be much more ready next time around.

(For a full list of shows, check out FreshAirCinema’s Facebook events page. Happy viewing!)