After getting together with Siggy for coffee on Saturday afternoon to catch up on life, we waltzed down to English Bay to meet some more of our mutual friends volunteering for the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada's Light the Night walk. Siggy registered herself as a volunteer as well and I thought it would be nice to meet my friends and keep them company, if only for a short while. There was a cool and gentle breeze in the air and the evening sun was beginning to set over the bay. Fresh fallen leaves of autumnal colours was the ground cover and the trees, though not completely naked yet, began to show signs of the change in season.
Upon arrival, I met Amy and Kathy working the booths and Norm and his girlfriend patrolling the VIP parking spaces. Even Leslie was there decked out in full cycling gear! Like myself, Leslie only came to say hello and had not intended to sick around. As we were socialising away in the thick of it, Kathy came out of her booth in desperation as she needed more volunteers to help out. And that's when Leslie and I got roped in, albeit, without much hesitation.
We were sent to assist other volunteers at the registration tent, and before long, donning a swanky red t-shirt with VOLUNTEER printed on our backs, we were thrown right into the pit collecting donations, giving away t-shirts, and registering people. It was actually quite exhilarating! I can't remember the last time I volunteered for anything, so this was a nice experience to break my poor track record as well. Did I mention the free t-shirt?
The sun had set leaving just enough light to highlight the cirrus clouds in the navy sky. Light the Night was in full swing by 1900h with hundreds of people of all ages and their dogs participating, holding up red, white, and gold helium balloons signifying in support of, survivor of, and in memory of, respectively. And just as a live band started performing on stage, the walk around Stanley Park began. The lead singer commented: "This must be the first time we have people walking out on us in droves!"
I stuck to the end helping out with the cleanup crew taking down folding tables and chairs and collecting litter. Kathy was having wings night at her place right after the cleanup and everyone in our immediate circle of volunteering friends were invited! I had decided right there and then that I wasn't going back home that night.
After spending the night on Kathy's KLIPPAN couch, we went out to Pastis for breakfast where I had a decadent serving of ham and cheese omelette, followed by a screening of The Duchess at Fifth Avenue Cinemas. Soaking in another day of sun, Siggy and I took her Mac mini to the new Apple Store at Pacific Centre to speak with a Genius at the bar about an audio issue she was experiencing. Of course, it worked flawlessly at the store, and fortunately, it remained that way when we brought it back to her place. To end a perfect Sunday, it was dinner at Trattoria Italian Kitchen on West 4th.
Just the weekend vacation I needed to rejuvenate.
No comments:
Post a Comment