I made good on my second new years’ resolution today by signing the dotted line on a one-year lease agreement with CONCERT Properties. High up on the 18th floor, my views look out to the collection of buildings in the downtown core with the backdrop of our coastal mountains all around. From Point Grey to the west to the sweeping views of SFU on Burnaby Mountain to the east, and to the dominions immediately below me, I have the envious view of the birds eye.
This unit wasn’t actually on my radar when I visited the rental office. I came to inquire about some other units in other buildings in the neighbourhood when I was informed about this corner unit at The Melbourne. I snapped up this currently unoccupied airspace in a heartbeat.
An interesting email arrived in my inbox from Groupon last week inviting me to a VIP Top Customer Appreciation Party. Apparently, I had bought enough Groupons in the past year to qualify as a magnificent customer, so I brought along Timela and Paul as my guests to what turned out to be a fabulous party on the rooftop pavilion at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
We were indulged in complementary beer, wine and appetizers while mingling with other top Groupon customers. Blank canvases on easels were set up for anyone with creative flair to dabble paint on and were later awarded as prizes for the draw. The current art gallery exhibits were all for us to explore as well; I particularly loved the WE: VANCOUVER | 12 MANIFESTOS FOR THE CITY exhibit where Vancouver was dissected, documented and displayed for her beauty as a whole. Things like Critical Mass, Vancouver Specials, and our attitudes towards freeway expansion were all laid out in a fun and captivating way.
It was also interesting to see what kind of demographics were into Grouponing. To my surprise, those who came to the party anyway were not just young college students but also Gen-Xers and baby boomers as well. And they were all so fun to be with!
Thanks for the invite, Groupon. My friends and I all had a blast! I guess it pays to be a Grouponer.
The City of Vancouver and mayor Robertson’s Green Team put on a wonderful “unconference” to engage the public in talking about green initiatives we can all do to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020.
I volunteered at Green City Camp as one of a few roving photographers for this event which was held at the SFU Centre for Dialogue. It was great to put down the camera once in a while and listen in on some of the lively debates and shared ideals people from every corner of the city contributed.
