PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS... it's all in a nickname

There really is a lot of "MADNESS" going on in the area, city, and country to say nothing of the World.  So, figured it's time to celebrate the joys we have going on to help me stay grounded -- come on along and let's all keep our feet planted.

Sometimes the crazy madness of the life makes me want to just fly away, like it would be better somewhere else (hahaha) I don't know why Tahiti always comes to mind.  I'm sure I''m not the only one who has this fantasy "go to" place.  Rather than escape, abandoning things and others who depend on me I think of things to be thankful for.  In this hood there are a lot.

For instance, this week great news came my way hearing  an amazing neighbour was nominated for "Woman of Distinction"!  Yeah!!-- I am grateful for this friend and that I could write a letter of support for the nomination.  There are such happy  supporters of project 851 (from the beginning stages) and I'm so grateful for that when I'm approached me and can genuinely tell they are interested in how things are going.  I especially love it when I feel this positive energy coming from people who  have lived here a long time.  How lucky am I to know they like the way it looks, the time and energy going into ,  building a quality build to our community and not a "developer project ready for flipping".  It's true, as I plan on living and dying in the Big House and want to be surrounded by like minded people.

It's important to keep these people in mind and not get sucked into the vortex of the day to day stresses of costs, budgets, decisions, changes etc... The generosity of others helps keep things light and... speaking of light I find it's always more fun to play around with the game of nicknames.  So here are a few of my favourites, hmmmm, wonder if they'll recognize themselves: 

Thank you to Mrs. Kravitz, Mr. Fixit, Mrs. Activist, The Nudi Neighbour Club, Caneman, Diego Rivera of Vancouver, The unofficial Mayor of Strathcona (actually there's a few people who get that nickname hahaha self-labelled), Mr. and Mrs. Burns (Simpsons),  The Coffee Seducer, Jerry Seinfeld, Will and Grace, The Queen of Strathcona,  The One who Prays for me,  Grace (from Grace and Frankie),  Walter White, Go ask Saul, Pinkman, Sooooo Eastern European Dude,  The Quiet Pickpocket, Down to the Detail, Mr. Chill, Baby Brain, Parents of the Feral, Little Miss Curious, Community Man, Sam Malone (from Cheers), The Banksy's, Motown and the cast of characters grows daily.

..There are so many wonderful amazing people,  that are appreciated but, please keep repeating your names, because as I get older everyone becomes sweetie dahlin!!(easier to remember).  Most grateful to all the sweetie dahlin's in my life as I try to keep my feet on the ground.

COMMUNITY -- bring on a roof!

Ok, so maybe it's not a roof, but the Octopus has an amazing geometry that's come together and is under cover.  Let's take a look, starting with this short video. (credit for video Reece Terris of Terris Lightfoot Contracting ltd.)

Here are some photo's leading up to what you've just seen in the video -- learning all about parallel trusses.  The lines of this weeks post are so sexy and exciting; you may think to say that my life must be pretty boring right? hahaha actually it's not.  

But wait, there's more!  Maynard comes to explore the site and take a look at (moi, the concrete hag stair appreciation) a few different angles leading up to the shot of lines coming together! Omg, these lines are sooooo beautiful!

So how many guys on the ground does it take to pull this off?  They are not all in the photos but if you look closely you'll see at least 4 and don't forget to count the guy who actually went up on the Octopus to take the video and roof lines coming together.  Going to the site everyday is pretty cool as I watch things take form there's a part of me that would love to be the dude with the tools.  I can only imagine what that result would look like, Octopus goes surreal alien.

Having a dream is energizing and no one knows that better than a surrealist,  and speaking of surrealism I'v recently been reminded that pushing a surreal envelop can result in something very real.

My neighbour Ewan, the awesome guy who's let me set up the time lapse camera at his place told me about "Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable".   OMG what a great  "really? really?" experience in the adventure through art.  I've never been a fan of Damien Hirst, the artist who is behind this film.  Now however, I do have to admit this work of  Damien Hirst has caused me to reconsider him as a pretty brilliant artist.

 If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend you add it to your list. It's a mockumentary that chronicles the fictional story behind Damien Hirst’s two-venue exhibition in Venice last year.  It took a community to make that art happen and unlike the historic reference to Cif Amotan II (an anagram, it turns out, for “I am fiction”) Project 851 is real and too takes a community/team to make it happen.

It's the cheekiness of Hirst's work,  that I appreciate and also the lengths he goes to to make that exhibition become a reality; a brilliantly layered work of art.  Often I find myself  feeling it takes a lot of chutzpah to make a dream become reality when building in Vancouver;  "treasures from the wreck of the unbelievable" makes me chuckle.  God knows anyone taking on a project like this needs those chuckles.

PROGRESS... (is the pole done yet?)

Moving on from last weeks post or not...  Because maybe 2 years just isn't really long enough to deal with a pole and so perhaps it deserves more attention.  This week I say, "long live the pole dance and all it can offer!"

This round is about "the pole" as a symbol of wood and the dance of progress around it.  Could a million dollars  be  enough to pay for a pole and all it offers?  After trying to deal with BC Hydro and TELUS I'd have to say "no", as in you couldn't pay me a million dollars to go through this again. 

The frustration of not being able to get a straight answer has been an adventure.  "What am I paying for?  Please break this down for me so I can understand how this could be remotely reasonable.",  actually flips to "Oh you, you're the crazy one to ask such questions?" Comic, right?

 To boot, you can be treated in a threatening manner (ie. pay or you get nothing), or condescending (ie. you are not going to get that information) or polite dismissal (ie. it's expensive to build in vancouver) -- like any of these are acceptable.  Ahhhh, the questions that continue to float in my head but I fear to verbalize because of response.  I think I'm going to watch a lot more David Chappelle and Comedians in Cars getting Coffee just to stay sane.

So get your coffee and let's celebrate some photos and time lapse videos showing things going on with the Octopus. Look closely you'll see some Big House changes as well as "the pole that will never make sense to me move, or not move, moving it here or moving it there ...." dance pole dance!!!    ( hoping you'll ending up in the right place and not with a neck injury -- that's happened to me before).

Here's where the awesome things happens for the Octopus...

Love the progress and these few photos that support the time lapse.  

Art -- to be boring?...or otherwise? that is the ?

All about a POLE -- yes a Hydro/Telus pole has taken 2 years (and continues) to address.  It's a situation created during the planning process requiring it be moved.  WWwwhhhhhaaaattt ?????  True my friend there is a story that goes with poles, or it least it does in Vancouver, BC (mind you heard I've heard it's not limited to this municipality).  I like to think of this situation as more of a gallery preparing for an exhibition (usually 2 years out in the planning) than a raising of a pole (aboriginal soulful process). 

I didn't even  know poles are jointly owned by BCH (BC Hydro) and Telus?  Ya I know right???  I've learnt way more about this than anyone should ever need to know.  Here's a question for your next dinner party conversation -- are BCH the top wires or bottom ones on the poles? ... is Telus a bottom or top?  hmmmm.  Don't worry we'll get there and you will be able to answer that after the carpaccio and before the tiramisu.

Here's another really good question.  Why does it take 2 years to get a pole moved 2 feet?  Keep in mind the Architect and Contractor did think WAY WAY ahead of the game let's get this ball rolling so we don't get stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare. Hahahaha so this is the expedited version? -- you gotta ask yourself right?  

Silly me thought the pole needed to be moved because it was obstructing the view.  The person(s) living in that unit would be looking directly into a pole was the thought and although I wasn't excited about the cost believed it to be a very considerate observation on somebody's part; that kind of thoughtfulness was not the case and I'm thinking now  "just a keep laughing until your head falls ".  The actual reason was because it would be too close to the garage and effected the required parking access.  Okay I think, swallow your silliness, that makes sense.  

This is the pole.

Nice pole right?  Nothing wrong with this pole but it has to move, so should be a no brainer right? O,h move a pole 2 feet = ok np.  Oh no, no, no ........ we don't want to make it too easy.  There must be designers involved; yes you heard it correctly these are corporate employees beyond the architect and the engineers that you, the property owner, have already paid!  But wait there's more!  It get's better,  the solution comes in with moving the pole to a completely illogical location.  The re-location decision is to move the pole to the other side of the garage and block the other parking spot that's required.  Perhaps, we have a situation of "too many cooks"???

This is what happens while you deal with the powers that be to come to a conclusion... (keep your eye on the pole -- this is what happens while the decision is being made.)

All the construction keeps going while the dance of a decision on the pole takes place.  It became very evident these players don't like to actually talk while dancing.

First we go to the left, then we go to the right, then we go from blocking one side of the garage, to blocking the other side of the garage and the dosey doe continues.  By the way, you don't even want to ask what these dudes are asking you to pay for the privilege of dancing with them. It's something stupid like a million dollars.  I just kept saying WHAT? (you know the way old people do when they can't hear).  I also kept asking and who are the neurosurgeons being paid to do this work?  (like a yenta hoping to match up a single niece). 

Reluctantly I'll admit, BCH came around (the jury is still out on Telus) and here's what came a few days ago.  Meanwhile the clock's still ticking for the cost of this dance.  Daily I'm growing to appreciate the saying "the road to hell was paved with good intentions".

note: where the Hydro lines go and who's on top and who's the bottom -- we're getting closer to the tiramisu now.

One of those neurosurgeons was smoking a doobie, slif, or whatever today's word is,  so just couldn't help altering the state of 4 of the shots to reflect the surrealist element of this dance. 

So, what do you think of the "new" pole?  The one that came full circle and finally ended up where it should have been in the first place? Ya, that one!!  True dat, I agree it kind of does look older than the old pole, but  "Power to the new".