30.08.10
    Got a call pretty late last night, I picked it up, "Hello?.... Hello?...." No answer, so I put it down.
    It rang again. "Hello?" I said, and waited.
    "Hi," said my sister, who last I heard was in Kolkata on the first stage of their epic global journey home. Turns out she was in an internet cafe in Darjeeling calling over the computer. The reception was better than when she was on a phone in London. She'd miscalculated the time and it was an hour later than when she thought it would be. We chatted, contrasting my efforts to acquire property with her living out of a 40L backpack for a year. So while I'll spend quality time the Central American jungle and happily wander around rural Malaysia alone, I've got a long way to go to be the adventurous one. Live vicariously: longwaytovancouver.com

19.08.10
    I got the blue screen of death again on this computer yesterday. Usually it will reboot after (though I suppose it's never a good sign), but this time it said it wasn't able to find a boot drive or something, and took me to a setup menu that got me nowhere. I backed up the files a while ago, but I realized I really need some of the programs on here. Today I turned it on not expecting much, but everything seems to work fine. It's rather alarming to know how dependent you are on a delicate and rather fickle piece of technology.

14.08.10

12.08.10
    Ground floor, direct access to alley, one closet. Studio with built-in Murphy bed, which is a euphemism for "you're sleeping in the wall". Awkward kitchen; there was a cabinet in a corner so inaccessible that I could barely open it, much less access any hypothetical contents.

    Nice location, studio with Murphy bed (see previous). Two eight inch square windows in the bathroom, which was a plus. Decent kitchen. Patio doors open onto balcony 4 inches deep, directly facing major road.

    Common hallway with peeling wallpaper, or in some places cut off at odd angles. Part-time residence for elderly foreign woman, immaculately kept early 80s vintage, everything original and only succumbing to age, not wear. Improvised wooden platform in front of sink, dishware on only the lowest shelf of each cupboard. Dishwasher never been used. Toilet modified into elaborate contraption with multiple buttons and tubes, but could be removed upon request. Elevator so slow we gave up and took the stairs.

    "Six units went up for sale, but the building is solid. The carpets are being replaced in the hallways, are you allergic to cats?" was our greeting. The building was of the vintage where long airless hallways pass through innumerable fire doors before reaching your anonymous destination. The unit was small, but laid out well and with decent storage. Bathroom reno to upgrade to tiny waterfall sink. Kitchen reno to counters and cupboards. The backsplash had been re-done in a highly textured mini-subway tile and at irregular depths, creating the world's hardest-to-clean surface imaginable, short of shag carpeting. Tiny fridge, sink, and stove. Bedroom featuring bed which went wall-to-wall with a large painting as headboard. Large mirror at the base of which stood a rack of free weights. Directly opposite mirror; desk with laptop and webcam.

    I was informed last month's footage made its way onto TV. That was not what we understood the intent to be. Dang.

    He was wearing what appeared to be a blue sailor suit with white trimming. White guy, maybe in his 30s, glasses, bit of a pale and doughy look about him. The outfit was complemented by knee-high boots with fur cuffs and a large wooden (replica, I hope) rifle. I assumed he was connected with some form of cosplay in the anime convention that surprises campus every year, however he was walking away from the large lineup of bafflingly attired people, towards the buses. The slowly meandering group of young Asian students (that I was using as camouflage) muttered quietly among itself. An elderly couple passed in the opposite direction, and the husband asked, "Was that a Laplander?"

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