Beautiful British Columbia

I had a good weekend.

On Friday I met up with Kat for coffee then met Abby and went over to Ian, Nick, and Micaele's house for dinner (yumm!) Afterward we went over to see "Laramie Project" at Capilano. It was a really good, but sad play. It's about the death of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming; here's a brief synopsis:

For a group of young actors and writers from a New York City theater company, these are the questions that have led them to this unassuming town, where they seek out Laramie residents — shopkeepers, teachers, students, bartenders, social workers — whose lives were forever changed on October 6, 1998. That was the night when a gay college student named Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten, tied up and left for dead on a fence off a rural road... and when Laramie, Wyoming became the Hate Crime Capital of America. Five members of the theater company — Moises, Greg, Leigh, Steve and Amanda — have arrived here to research a play they are writing about how the Shepard assault has changed this town. The details of the case are clear-cut and well-known. On October 6, Matthew Shepard met two men at the Fireside Bar in Laramie. Eighteen hours later, a cyclist found Shepard unconscious, severely beaten and tied to a fence. He never regained consciousness, and died five days later. Two Laramie residents, aged 20 and 21, were apprehended for the crime, which became front-page news around the country. But as Moises explains as the company assembles at a local diner, "This is not about the case. This is about the town: why did this happen here, what are people saying, how do they feel and think about what happened."

The Cap kids played over 70 characters and did a fantastic job. It was really moving and I'll admit I cried. Seeing them makes me want to do some serious straight plays instead of just the musicals.

Saturday I went over to Kevin and Laura's new condo for dinner. They just moved in in August and I am now living in their old place - the basement suite. Their place is really nice and spacious and well decorated (thanks to Laura I think) although the HUGE entertainment system is Kevin's doing. You can't even sit far back enough in the room to see the entire screen, haha. I'm jealous since the TV I have has to be watched through the VCR if you want to see any channels about #13. Ah well, I didn't have to pay for it though so I can't complain.

After dinner I got dressed up in my Dirndl from Oktoberfest and headed out to Langley to meet my cousin and her husband at a bar/restaurant for a Halloween party. It was a blast and I met some fun people. Spent the night over there and woke up at 10:30 this morning (gotta live the time change) and watched "Ghostbusters II" with them over a Pumpkin Spiced Latte and a great scone from a bakery by their place. Stopped off at my Aunts place and played with their new puppy - so cute!!! - then hit up T&T on my way back home.

Ok, how blessed are we to live in such a beautiful city?? I was driving home back over the Port Mann and looking at the sunset over the mountains and Fraser River was absolutely breathtaking!! It made me so proud that after everything I've seen over the past few months I could still be in awe of B.C.. I feel so happy that at any time I can wander out my door and take a look at such a beautiful country. I'll try to keep this feeling as long as possible as I know I used to take it for granted. I also want tog et out there and do more of the "touristy" things so that I can actually say I've done some exploring in this neck of the woods when someone from another country asks me what it's like here.

Well that's all I have to say for now. I'm looking to get a job within the next few weeks, so if anyone knows of a position that's available, please let me know!

xoxo
Kim