up and down
so, I went to Vancouver on Monday for the meeting at the Van Dusen.
here's some hints for all you artists out there:
regardless of the fact that the law doesn't require a passport for entry into Canada, bring a passport (or birth certificate) anyway. border guards are lords of their tiny fiefdoms, and if you luck out and get the surly one (like I did)...
next tip, don't drive up in a van filled with your stock. I only have the one car now, and it's my van, which I use for art shows. I had to convince the border guard, the customs and the commercial customs people I wasn't selling anything in Canada (yet).
anyway, finally did get in, and on my way. made it to Vancouver early, so I went to the UBC Botanical Gardens to shoot. the weather was cooperating for an hour or so, and I did shoot some nice apple blossoms, cherry blossoms, pear blossoms, and maybe even a nice primrose (not one of my favorite flowers, but it was a good shot).
then the phone rang.
Hiro, driving back from Ellensburg with a load of luggage, hit a slick spot on I-90, east of Issaquah. he hydroplaned into the median, thankfully with seatbelt on. he was fine, but our 88 Honda Accord... totalled. man.
because the car is so old, I don't have collision coverage. total loss. thankfully, there's a company in Kent that salvages old cars. the good news: they don't charge to take your car away. the bad news: they don't give you money for salvage, either.
(I drove out to the lot to drop off the title this morning and see first hand the damage... poor little car... I thanked it for sparing Hiro's life, too.)
the meeting at the Van Dusen, by the way, was a waste of time, for me. the organizers of the show wanted the chance to show exhibitors how much things have changed since last year, but this is my first year... sigh...
they had a great packet of information available, which also went online the next day, so...
I stayed with my friends Klaus and Mikie in Vancouver. they have two wonderful children: Shoma and Maya, 4 and 2 years old. the kids were excited to have a visitor. my ear drums are still ringing! :)
Shoma's big thing is either pretending he's a Japanese superhero or else Dash, of the Incredibles. lots of jumps and action poses. Maya likes to dance and exercise her lungs. they have a dog, Buddy, and they play a lot with him as well.
Klaus and Mikie helped me to stay calm when I was worried sick about Hiro. I left early on Tuesday to try and deal with insurance issues before going to work. here's another hint:
the US border guards are as friendly as the Canadians. bring that passport. and even if the stuff in your car wasn't for sale in Canada, if it is commercial, use the commercial lane.
oh, and by the way, use the Abbotsford/Lynden crossing. between the construction on 15 (the route that leads away from the Blaine truck crossing) and the construction on I-5, using Abbotsford, and then driving up to Route 1 is much better.
stress levels have been on high since then, though, and I had to take some time off work today to deal.
I did get some good news, though. I'll be back at the Bellevue Arts & Crafts Fair in July. hurray!
some people asked if I had any pictures of me to do a before and after comparison, now that I'm almost at the 100 pounds lost mark. here's a before picture.
I'll do an after picture next week.
here's some hints for all you artists out there:
regardless of the fact that the law doesn't require a passport for entry into Canada, bring a passport (or birth certificate) anyway. border guards are lords of their tiny fiefdoms, and if you luck out and get the surly one (like I did)...
next tip, don't drive up in a van filled with your stock. I only have the one car now, and it's my van, which I use for art shows. I had to convince the border guard, the customs and the commercial customs people I wasn't selling anything in Canada (yet).
anyway, finally did get in, and on my way. made it to Vancouver early, so I went to the UBC Botanical Gardens to shoot. the weather was cooperating for an hour or so, and I did shoot some nice apple blossoms, cherry blossoms, pear blossoms, and maybe even a nice primrose (not one of my favorite flowers, but it was a good shot).
then the phone rang.
Hiro, driving back from Ellensburg with a load of luggage, hit a slick spot on I-90, east of Issaquah. he hydroplaned into the median, thankfully with seatbelt on. he was fine, but our 88 Honda Accord... totalled. man.
because the car is so old, I don't have collision coverage. total loss. thankfully, there's a company in Kent that salvages old cars. the good news: they don't charge to take your car away. the bad news: they don't give you money for salvage, either.
(I drove out to the lot to drop off the title this morning and see first hand the damage... poor little car... I thanked it for sparing Hiro's life, too.)
the meeting at the Van Dusen, by the way, was a waste of time, for me. the organizers of the show wanted the chance to show exhibitors how much things have changed since last year, but this is my first year... sigh...
they had a great packet of information available, which also went online the next day, so...
I stayed with my friends Klaus and Mikie in Vancouver. they have two wonderful children: Shoma and Maya, 4 and 2 years old. the kids were excited to have a visitor. my ear drums are still ringing! :)
Shoma's big thing is either pretending he's a Japanese superhero or else Dash, of the Incredibles. lots of jumps and action poses. Maya likes to dance and exercise her lungs. they have a dog, Buddy, and they play a lot with him as well.
Klaus and Mikie helped me to stay calm when I was worried sick about Hiro. I left early on Tuesday to try and deal with insurance issues before going to work. here's another hint:
the US border guards are as friendly as the Canadians. bring that passport. and even if the stuff in your car wasn't for sale in Canada, if it is commercial, use the commercial lane.
oh, and by the way, use the Abbotsford/Lynden crossing. between the construction on 15 (the route that leads away from the Blaine truck crossing) and the construction on I-5, using Abbotsford, and then driving up to Route 1 is much better.
stress levels have been on high since then, though, and I had to take some time off work today to deal.
I did get some good news, though. I'll be back at the Bellevue Arts & Crafts Fair in July. hurray!
some people asked if I had any pictures of me to do a before and after comparison, now that I'm almost at the 100 pounds lost mark. here's a before picture.
I'll do an after picture next week.
1 Comments:
At 10:48, ben said…
Mr. B - you and H-san must have personally kicked a karma god in the nuts, given 'em a tittie twister and said something vile about it's mother ... I've never heard of such a bad luck spell!
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