Grouse Grind #3.

The sunlight streaming in through the windows woke me up and as soon as Eunice heard my sofa bed squeak as I sat up, she popped out of her room and said “Good morning” to me. After a cup of Ceylon tea while watching BBC World, we were off to Joe’s cafe on Davie to meet up with Leslie, Jay, and Jamie for breakfast before heading up for the Grouse Grind.

Despite my bad left knee from the bike trip i went on the day before, I had a goal to beat my old personal best (PB) of 59 minutes and attain a new PB of under 50 minutes. And the result? 56 minutes. I shaved off 3 minutes! The feeling of confidence in myself overwhelmed me from the moment I saw the peak in the distance and continues to linger in me as I write this entry. I’m so awesome! Just imagine what I could have come in at when I’m in optimal health...

Kathy arranged a quick party at her place for Rosa’s birthday anniversary party for this evening. Many of us who were with us yesterday were back together again today, with new faces from our fractured CORE social group.

I got wind of the changing dynamics and politics in CORE Vancouver when Jamie, Fiona, and Lana picked me up from the airport. I heard an earful more after spending the night over at J&J’s and was saddened by what I’ve heard. “The Boh Lo Yao Bike Trip” yesterday was the first time I heard stories from the other side of the turn of events over the course of the summer when I was still in Beijing. It turned for the worse when members got banned from accessing the CORE Vancouver website (and effectively from the group itself) without so much of a warning or an explanation as to why. For this reason, a social group called “The Black Sheep” was born on the FaceBook community. I find myself caught in the middle: friends from both camps who can’t seem to reconcile differences or establish a clear line of communication.

I could only hope that the problems that exist now will be solved and unity be established before long. “United we stand, divided we fall”.