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driveindrivingschoolca · 2 months ago

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How Drive In Driving School Ltd Helps You Pass Your Driving Test on the First Try

Passing your driving test on the first attempt is the dream of many new drivers, but without the right guidance and practice, it can feel like a daunting task. At Drive In Driving School Ltd, we focus on providing quality driving lessons that give you the skills and confidence to succeed in your test on the very first try. With professional instructors, flexible learning schedules, and affordable prices, our goal is to make your journey to becoming a licensed driver smooth and stress-free.

Driving Classes Vancouver BC: Tailored Lessons to Suit Your Needs

Whether you're a beginner or someone looking to polish your driving skills, Drive In Driving School Ltd offers customized driving classes in Vancouver BC to meet your needs. Our instructors take the time to understand your strengths and weaknesses, creating a learning plan that ensures steady progress. With a patient, supportive approach, we help nervous learners feel at ease and focus on building their confidence behind the wheel.

Why Choose Drive In Driving School Ltd for Driving Lessons Vancouver?

When it comes to driving lessons in Vancouver, Drive In Driving School Ltd stands out for our commitment to student success. Here’s how we ensure you are well-prepared for your driving test:

Experienced Instructors: Our team is made up of skilled professionals with years of experience in teaching safe driving techniques.

Personalized Instruction: We adjust our teaching methods based on each learner's comfort and pace, ensuring they gain the required driving skills efficiently.

Test Preparation: We focus on key areas of the driving test to ensure our students are fully prepared, from parking maneuvers to defensive driving techniques.

The Best Driving Lessons Burnaby Has to Offer

Looking for driving lessons in Burnaby? At Drive In Driving School Ltd, we provide comprehensive driving lessons that cover everything from basic road rules to complex driving situations. Our lessons include real-world practice, giving you the chance to experience various road conditions and traffic scenarios. This hands-on learning prepares you for not only passing the driving test but also becoming a safe and responsible driver.

Our instructors in Burnaby have a deep understanding of the driving test routes and ensure you’re ready to handle the challenges that may come your way during the exam.

Driving School in Burnaby: Learn from the Best

As a leading driving school in Burnaby, Drive In Driving School Ltd is known for its dedication to student success. We believe that passing your driving test is not just about memorizing rules—it's about applying what you’ve learned confidently in real-life situations. That’s why our driving school focuses on providing learners with ample practice and constructive feedback. Our structured lesson plans are designed to help you master driving techniques at your own pace, without any pressure.

We understand that taking a driving test can be nerve-wracking, but with our expert instructors by your side, you’ll feel fully prepared and confident.

Cheap Driving Lessons Burnaby: Affordable and Effective

We believe that quality driving lessons should be accessible to everyone. That’s why we offer cheap driving lessons in Burnaby without compromising on the quality of instruction. At Drive In Driving School Ltd, we make sure that every lesson is packed with valuable insights, tips, and practice to get you test-ready as quickly as possible. Our affordable rates allow learners to take the time they need to feel confident and capable without breaking the bank.

Why Passing on the First Try Matters

Passing your driving test on the first try saves you both time and money. At Drive In Driving School Ltd, we take pride in our high success rate and focus on teaching the exact skills examiners look for. Our instructors don’t just prepare you for the test, they prepare you for a lifetime of safe driving. We emphasize defensive driving, road safety, and practical test strategies that help you excel.

Additionally, passing on your first attempt brings a sense of accomplishment and confidence that stays with you as you begin driving independently.

A Learning Experience Like No Other

Choosing Drive In Driving School Ltd is more than just signing up for driving lessons—it's about being part of a supportive learning environment. We believe that learning to drive should be an enjoyable experience, and our friendly instructors ensure that every lesson is productive yet stress-free.

Our goal is to empower you with the skills and knowledge needed to pass your driving test confidently and drive safely for life. With flexible scheduling, affordable pricing, and personalized attention, Drive In Driving School Ltd is the smart choice for anyone aiming to pass their driving test on the first try.

#Driving Classes Vancouver BC #Driving Lessons Vancouver #Driving Lessons Burnaby #Driving School in Burnaby #Cheap Driving Lessons Burnaby

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nugnthopkns · 3 years ago

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put my name at the top of your list

word count: 3.3k

warnings: explicit!fem reader, cursing, alcohol consumption, slight suggestive content (not 18+ but please be mindful and aware)

recommended listening: the last time | taylor swift (ft. gary lightbody)

a/n: i love nuge so much that there's a framed photo of him in my dining room – it was only a matter of time before this happened. alternately titled four times ryan doesn't notice your feelings and one time he does. this is kind of an au?? nuge stills plays hockey but isn't in the nhl (plus he goes to college)

The best love stories take the longest to develop.

Though love is valid in any and all forms, you were never satisfied with the platonic love you received from Ryan. It took decades for him to realize how you truly felt, resulting in him grappling with his own romantic feelings for you and making the move. Things might not be straight out of a fairytale, but your love is real and Ryan is everything you could have ever wanted in a partner.

Some things really are well worth the wait.

one

Moving to a new country the week before school starts is tough, especially when you’re entering second grade. The kids are mean and already have fully fledged cliques – no one wants to be friends with the new kid. You’re awkward: too tall for your age, all elbows and knees, and have a Midwestern accent your cousins tease you relentlessly for. Although your mom assures you it will be easy to make friends, that you’re a wonderful child with a great sense of humor and anyone would be lucky to know you, you’re not so sure.

There isn’t much time to think about school though. You’re too busy driving twenty-seven hours from Minneapolis to Burnaby and settling into your new house. It’s tiring and you want to complain, but even at seven years old you think better of it. You know this is the perfect opportunity for your dad, an art historian, to further his career – not just anyone can say they were personally chosen to oversee the archives at the Vancouver Art Gallery. So you grin and bear it, silently letting the anxiety eat you alive the night before school begins.

“What’s wrong, buggy?” your father asks as he tucks you into bed, using the nickname you earned as a toddler when it was the only word you could say.

You shake your head furiously. “Nothing’s wrong, dad. I promise.” The words come out as little more than a squeak and you receive a concerned look. “Fine,” you relent. “I’m worried that no one will want to be friends with me because I’m new and talk funny.”

“There’s nothing to be worried about sweetheart,” your dad coos, smoothing your hair as you sink further into his chest. “Maybe not everyone will love you, but I guarantee you’ll come home tomorrow with at least one friend. Ask the other kids if they want to know a fact about home.” A bedtime story is then read, and you feel a bit better about what’s to come.

Armed with your father’s advice and a determination to prove him right, you’re surprisingly confident when you introduce yourself to your new classmates. Only one boy with incredibly tame brown hair seems interested in what you have to say, and your brain latches onto his face. He’s cute, listening to everything you have to say intently, and you’re at the age where you no longer find boys repulsive. You develop a small crush on him then and there like children so often do. There’s no time to act upon it even if you knew how to, as your teacher leads you to your seat and begins the math lesson.

He finds you at recess, sitting alone on the edge of the soccer field. It’s been harder than you thought to approach kids, and they don’t seem to care about you. Contrary to your dad’s belief, no one wanted to hear facts about Minnesota. “Hey,” the boy says, “I’m Ryan.” He flashes you a toothy grin and plops on the grass beside you.

Shocked he’s speaking to you, you mumble your name before finding the rest of your voice. “I just moved here from Minneapolis last week,” you finish strong. You’re slowly warming up to the boy, but you still don’t let your guard down completely. He’s even cuter up close, and you don’t understand why you’re having a hard time focusing.

“That’s in Minnesota right?”

“Uh, yeah.” You stumble, not knowing if that was enough of an answer.

It must have been, because Ryan starts talking again. “Cool! My dad took me to Minnesota this summer to go fishing or something, but I ended up just playing road hockey by myself. Did you know the Mississippi River starts there?”

You shake your head no, and he launches into a monologue about the world’s third largest river, which you don’t care for, but you let him talk. It’s nice to have a friend, even if you think he’s cute.

two

There are two days before your junior prom and you still don’t have a date. You’ve resigned to the fact you’ll be going stag, but it’s safe to say you’re disappointed. This isn’t what you’d pictured – being the only one in your friend group flying solo. You had been holding out hope that Ryan would ask you, and failed to hide your distaste when he asked Rachel Matthews, the most popular girl in school, instead. To your surprise she said yes.

“Come on, sweet pea, it isn’t that big of a deal,” Ryan sighs. “You know I promised to go with you next year, and that’s the most important one.” The use of the nickname makes you blush, but you refuse to set your anger aside.

“I’m not mad that you aren’t going with me,” you lie. “I just think you could do better than Rachel. You how much she made fun of me for my accent.”

He laughs and pulls you into a tight hug that you can’t escape no matter how hard you try. “Pea, that was in elementary school. I was never supposed to tell you this, but everyone made fun of your accent. You sounded so cute and funny.”

“Fuck you Nugent-Hopkins,” you shriek, jabbing him in the side. He lets you go, but not before ruffling your hair. Your heart flutters slightly, and you curse yourself for never growing out of your grade school crush. In fact, it’s only gotten worse as you aged – Ryan is too endearing for his own good. He’s never looked at you as anything more, so you’re simply friends. Best friends.

Your mom drops you off outside the convention centre the night of prom, and your eyes immediately scan the crowd for Ryan. You spot him at the punch bowl, shaggy locks disheveled from running his hands through them too many times. Rachel is nowhere to be found. You expected her to be hanging from his arm the way she enthusiastically accepted Ryan’s invitation. As you weave through the crowd to get closer, you can feel the melancholia radiating from his direction. Ryan turns around with his refill to see you walking towards him, and he smiles sadly before reaching for a second cup.

“What’s the matter Ry?”

He deflects, instead complimenting you. “Look at you! You’re hotter than a thousand suns.” His heart isn’t in the joke, however, and it comes out a little deflated.

You take his hand and lead him through the gym’s side entrance. It’s colder than you expected, despite arriving only a few minutes ago. Ryan sees you shivering and doesn’t hesitate to place his suit jacket around your shoulders. It’s silent for a bit – you don’t pressure him to speak because you know everything will come out when he’s ready.

“Rachel didn’t show.”

In that moment, your hatred for Rachel Matthews tripled. How dare she stand up your best friend? You thought you’d feel like telling Ryan ‘told you so’, but all you want to do is take his pain away. He was really looking forward to this. “I’m really sorry Ryan,” you say, resting your head on his shoulder to comfort him. He wraps his arm around you, and you force the lump in your throat back down. Now wasn’t the time to think about him romantically – he needed you.

“It’s okay. I have you. Dance with me?”

You giggle, but let him pull you back inside. You spend the rest of the night on the dance floor, even through the slow songs, and pray Ryan can’t feel how fast your heart beats when he leans down to run a hand overtop of your hair before guiding your head to rest on his chest.

three

You hear the music blaring from around the corner. Alpha Beta Gamma is throwing a party to kick off the school year, and as their president Ryan has to be in attendance. It’s your senior year of college, and he insists you come to all the frat’s social events.

“You’re always studying! It’s about time you live a little,” he said when he called you in the afternoon to let you know the dress code. You let him convince you to attend, saying you can stick to his side and help him win the beer pong tournament.

The bouncers, who in reality are pledges hoping to make it past the final stages of recruitment, see you and immediately wave you in. You’re around the house frequently so they recognize you. “Hey Josh,” you smile, “Have you seen Ryan?”

“Nuge?” he asks, and you nod. You forgot there were multiple Ryans in the frat, so they went by their last names to avoid confusion. “Last I heard he was in the kitchen,” he says, and turns away from you to entertain the incoming group of girls.

You beeline for the kitchen, and manage to make it through the house without getting stopped. People are much more sociable at parties, and for some reason kids you share classes always approach you. Oftentimes they ask you to send notes from a lecture they’ve missed, but some are genuinely interested in how you’re doing. Ryan has his back to the door, so you take the opportunity to sneak up and wrap your arms around him from behind. He tenses for a second, but sees the worn out leather bracelet on your wrist and relaxes immediately.

“Damn it! I thought I could really get you this time,” you chuckle, hoisting yourself up on the counter before grabbing the Solo cup from his hand and taking a sip.

“Not a chance sweet pea,” he replies. “This thing is a dead giveaway.” Ryan points to his wrist, where an identical bracelet to yours sits. You begin to ask him about his classes, but you hear your names called over the music.

“Nugent-Hopkins and company, let’s go! I have the pong table reserved,” Gabe shouts. You hop down and follow Ryan out to the patio. Melissa, Gabe’s girlfriend, is already setting up the cups when you arrive. She stops what she’s doing immediately to crush you in a hug. Pleasantries are exchanged before the game faces come on. You and Ryan lose rather quickly because you’re not very good at beer pong and he’s too busy eyeing a girl across the backyard.

At some point Ryan slips from your side, and before you know it he’s making the mystery woman laugh. She grips his bicep and leans into him, and you see green. You know it’s stupid to get jealous, that you have no claim over him, but you can’t help it. The crush has gotten worse, and you’re pretty sure you’re in full blown love.

“Green is simply not your colour darling,” Melissa says, handing you another drink. You grunt in thanks, tilting your head back and downing the entire cup in one go. When your head returns to normal, you catch sight of Ryan with his tongue down the blonde’s throat. You turn away in disgust, and your friend laughs. “You have to tell him how you feel. I can’t stand seeing you get so upset every time you attend a party.”

“I’ve gone this long without saying anything Mel, think I’ll survive,” you sigh. You know you need to do something about your feelings for Ryan before they consume you, but you can’t bear the thought of losing your best friend.

It’s Mel’s turn to sigh, this time at your childish attitude. She knows better than to continue the conversation, so it shifts to school and making plans to go for brunch the next morning. You get so wrapped up in explaining the topic of your honours thesis you forget Ryan never returned to your side. Against your better judgement you look around for him – spirits crushed when you look up and see the outline of him and the girl passionately making out through his bedroom window. The blinds quickly shut, but not before you hear their giddy laughter, and you feel nauseous at the thought of the illicit acts about to happen.

“I don’t even know why I come to these fucking parties,” you fume. “He knows I hate parties and only come to spend time with him, but every fucking time he leaves me to bang a random sorority sister.” Mel shakes her head, but doesn’t apologize on his behalf. Once again she knows better, and leads you through the grass so you can exit out the side. With a sad smile, you wave goodbye and start the journey home, heart breaking a little more with every step.

four

You haven’t seen Ryan in eight months. He’s in Sweden for another season, and you’re stuck in Vancouver. It’s starting to wear on you – this is the longest you’ve been apart your entire friendship. Ryan has played internationally before, but you’ve always been able to get time off and visit him at least twice a season. Work has been relentless recently, and with everyone struggling to stay afloat you feel bad requesting a vacation. So you persist, settling for brief phone calls and facetime sessions. Ryan doesn’t seem to mind, filling his time by hanging with teammates and enjoying everything the wonderful country has to offer. You miss him terribly.

It’s pathetic that at twenty-eight you’re still pining after your best friend like a lovesick teenager. There have been others, sure, but nothing serious because you can’t help but compare them to Ryan. Your other friends nag you relentlessly, but at this point you refuse to let your feelings be known. After twenty-one years of studying him intently, you know him well enough to know he never has been interested in you and never will be. You’re slowly working to accept this, and have started going to more dates, hoping something will stick. Nothing’s worked yet, but you haven’t lost hope.

On the bus ride home you dial Ryan’s number. He picks up on the second ring. “Hi sweet pea, how are you?” The nickname still gives you butterflies after all this time, and you curse yourself for falling in love with Ryan.

“I’m alright, tired from work. Miss you more than you know,” you whisper, not wanting to wake the baby parked in the stroller beside you. “How are you?”

“Absolutely fantastic. Want to know why?” he sing-songs.

You laugh gently, “Of course.”

“I’m coming home tomorrow.”

“For a visit?”

It’s Ryan’s turn to laugh. “If you can call it that.” He pauses, and you feel a pout grace your features. You were really hoping he’d be around for a few days and you could grab lunch together at the very least. In your own head, you barely comprehend his next sentence. “They bought out my contract, something about me no longer being a franchise player, so I’ll be in Vancouver for the foreseeable future.”

You let out an audible gasp, and then shoot the young mother beside you an apologetic look when the baby stirs. Luckily it doesn’t wake up. “You’re kidding,” you breathe, hoping this isn’t some practical joke.

“I’m one hundred percent serious. I have to go, the good-bye party is in full swing, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You say your goodbyes, and before you realize it the words are tumbling from your mouth. “I love you.” You recoil in shock, but the dial tone ringing in your eyes signals the call has ended. Thankfully Ryan didn’t hear your confession – you don’t know what you would do if he had.

+ one

It’s been a terrible day. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong has: you left your umbrella at home and it started pouring on your walk to the bus station, you fell asleep during a meeting, and your heel snapped on your way home. By the time you enter your apartment, you’re exhausted. All you want to do is curl up with your cat and sleep for the next seventy-three hours. You’re so busy discarding your jacket you don’t hear the music playing softly from the kitchen.

There’s a figure in front of your stove when you go to grab yourself a glass of wine and you jump. Ryan is there, dressed in sweats, stirring what you assume to be pasta. “Jesus Christ Ryan, you scared the shit out of me. You couldn’t let me know you were coming?”

He sticks his tongue out at you. “That would’ve ruined the surprise. Now, go take a shower and change into comfier clothes. Dinner will be ready in thirty.” You’re too tired to protest so you give a mock salute and head to the bathroom. The nearly scalding water clears your brain of all negativity, and you return to the kitchen feeling refreshed and at peace. Ryan extends a full glass to you, and you sip the wine with gratitude.

“Thank you for doing this,” you say as he plates the food.

“It’s the least I could do,” he smiles. You eat and clean in silence, enjoying each other’s company. Thoughts of how domestic the scene is swirl in your head, but you imagine Ryan is doing nothing more than reviewing hockey statistics. At some point you migrate to the couch and play a random TV show in the background. You really just don’t want him to leave.

Eventually his voice rings out through your apartment. “I’ve finally figured it out,” he declares.

“Figured out what Ry? That the Canucks aren’t going to win the Stanley Cup this year?”

Ryan feigns pain and clutches his hands over his heart. “You wound me so, my dearest, but that’s not it. I’ve figured out why you’ve never had a relationship last longer than a year.”

You pale slightly, and hope he doesn’t catch on to how rigid your muscles have become. “Enlighten me?” you ask, lips tight together so your voice doesn’t falter.

“You’re in love with me.”

It seems you can no longer outrun the truth. Ryan hass finally cracked the code, and he’s here to chastise you before discarding you. You couldn’t form words even if you wanted to – your throat is so dry you aren’t sure if you’ll ever recover. He takes your silence as agreement to his statement and continues talking. “It took a lot of reflection to figure it out but I’m glad I did.”

“Why?” you sputter.

“Because, it so happens that after seventeen years I’ve finally come to my senses and realized I’m in love with you too.”

You can’t believe it. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, your best friend, loves you back. It feels like something out of a fairytale – something regular people like you don’t get to experience. Your lips are on his before you can process your actions, and Ryan immediately wraps himself around you. He’s everywhere and everything, and you’re sure you’ll never need anything more. The kiss is tender, conveying decades of want. It’s also urgent, as if you’re not sure you’ll ever get the opportunity to kiss him again. You kiss until your lips are numb and all you think of is Ryan. When you finally pull away, your best friend is wearing a dopey grin, similar to the one on his face all those years ago on the playground.

“So, how about it sweet pea? Are you willing to see this through?”

You’ve never liked the sound of his voice more.

#ryan nugent-hopkins imagine #ryan nugent-hopkins x reader #edmontion oilers imagine #nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic #cwrites

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ezdrivingschool-blog · 6 years ago

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How to Become a Professional Driving Instructor

Driving is your passion and you also think that this is a perfect as well as the right field in which you should pursue your career. Before anything else, the best thing about becoming a driving instructor is that you will be self-employed and will also be able to enjoy flexible working hours.

You must have seen a number of glossy television advertisements where they promise aspirants of a huge amount of money, meeting celebrities and so on. In other words, you can find these type of advertisements in local newspapers too about the best as well as about the most effective Driving School Surrey.

Before you reach at some deceptive conclusion, it must be noted that taking Driving Lessons Surrey to become a driving instructor is a big business and you may need to pay huge amount before you reach at your destination. While you are searching for the right choice of Class 1 Driving School Surrey, there will be numerous companies offering lucrative training packages as they will tell you just what you want to hear. There are companies and Driving School Surrey BC that keep their fee this much that it lures aspirants, but once you qualify for the training, you are tied into a franchise and most of the times you end up paying more in overall.

Most common method adopted to become a driving instructor at Driving School Burnaby, consists three exams and you must know that these exams are not easy. These are:

Exam 1: It is a computer based theoretical exam and hazard perception exam. Required passing percentage is 50% but you can try as many number times until you get success.

Exam 2: This exam is to test the driving ability of the aspirant. To pass this exam, you need to secure at least 50%.

Exam 3: This Icbc Knowledge Test In Punjabi is to test your ability as instructor. It is considered as the toughest exam as only few people make to pass through it. However, practice and determination never fails!

For exam two and three, the number of attempts given is three. Also, remember that you have to qualify these two exams within two years of passing the first exam. Failing this, you will have to start with exam one.

The best option would be not to pay lump sum as most of the training packages do not pay back in case you do not qualify. The best option is to negotiate with a reputed driving school near you and the chances are you will get better deal.

You must know that already a number of instructors that are offering the Driving Lessons Vancouver is doubled than actually what is required, this is not to discourage but a fact so that you are able to make a wise decision considering other risks factors involved such as uncertainty of self-employed and absence of regular income. After considering these points only you should move ahead.

#Icbc Certified Driving Schools

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theseadagiodays · 5 years ago

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April 27, 2020

Art Became the Oxygen

It is true that artists, many of whom rely on public gatherings for their livelihood, are some of the hardest hit during this crisis. Yet, it’s musicians who are toiling away in basements to serenade us through isolated days. It’s comedic actors who are offering us essential nighttime laughs. And it’s visual artists who make meaning from this madness with images that inspire, console and provoke. The individuals of the creative community are like the unsung frontline workers of this pandemic, only without any salary to support their craft, or a 7 pm cheer to motivate them. Yet still, they make things because they must, just as artists have done since the beginning of history, particularly in times of strife. (SEE: https://usdac.us/news-long/2017/8/9/art-became-the-oxygen-free-artistic-response-guide-available-now)

In previous periods of economic hardship, the US government responded with forward-thinking programs like the WPA (Works Progress Administration) of Roosevelt’s New Deal (1935 to 1943). It was designed not only to fund huge infrastructure projects, but also to employ thousands of artists, musicians, writers, and theatre performers to stimulate the economy. Legacies of this program include Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God; Jackson Pollack’s Composition with Pouring; and Mark Rothko’s earlier urban studies like Entrance to Subway, where you can see the seeds of his famous color studies from later work.

After natural disasters, senseless violence or war, artist activists have also rushed to the front lines, time and again, to help rebuild communities by activating their social imaginations and stimulating their civic agency with creative collaborations.

Philippe Thiese gathered digital stories of Hurricane Sandy volunteers in this short film: https://www.sandystoryline.com/stories/sandy-volunteers-remember-the-storm-and-explain-how-they-got-involved/.

The siblings of Eric Garner, a young African-American man killed by unjust police violence in 2014, came together in grief to write the song, I Can’t Breathe,based on his harrowing last words. Their music served as a rallying cry to a community berieved and betrayed by their law enforcement: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/eric-garners-family-drops-moving-new-song-i-cant-breathe-192574/

And when a 2011 tornado took 161 lives in the small town of Joplin, Missouri, mural artist Dave Loewenstein asked kids about their dreams for the future of their town, resulting in this stunning piece, The Butterfly Effect.

So, in the great hope that we’ll kick this virus’ butt, and we will be left with a glut of ventilators, how about we use them to revive our society’s artists, since they are the vital oxygen that feed our souls.

In Vancouver, we are already lucky enough to have our City government responding with funding for the Murals for Hope project (#makeartwhileapart), which is transforming solemn, boarded-up shops and restaurants into colorful and encouraging messages that can help sustain us until their doors reopen again.

Geoff and I are also trying to do our small part to stimulate the creative economy, while beautifying our home in the process. We are very excited to have just commissioned a mural artist to spruce up our tiny backyard space, which we’re transforming from a gravel parking spot into our own tropical oasis. Here are some inspirational images as well as a shot of the yard in its current state. And hopefully, I can post the finished product, which will be painted onto the rotting fence, in a couple of weeks.

April 28, 2020

Art of Relationship

This period is not just requiring us to get creative with keyboards and canvases and cameras. It is forcing us to re-examine the very patterns that make up our daily lives and fit them all inside the same four walls with the same self, spouse, and/or kids, 24/7. Suffice it to say, this is no small task. But, if any of you are like me, the grand solutions have sometimes involved tiny changes.

Personally, my greatest challenge has been to find ways to carve out slivers of shared pleasure amidst my partner’s insanely stressful, often 13-hour work day, now that the pandemic has his team at our local transit authority in serious crisis mode. Of course, I’m a firm believer in hard-work. The pursuit of a classical musician requires many years of 5+ hours-a-day of practice. But I’m also a fun-lover, and a huge proponent of life/work balance, particularly having had to learn this the hard way, thru a chronic overuse injury. So, for me, Geoff’s manic schedule during the first month of isolation seemed far from optimal. And while this was especially difficult for him, it compromised joy for both of us.

Seeking guidance as we adapted to the new normal, we found a great online series by Esther Perel, whose regular podcast, Where Should We Begin? always leaves us with sound, simple dance steps that we can apply to the Art of Relationship. Here, she has created a 4-part series that specifically addresses problems which co-habitators might face in our current reality. https://events.estherperel.com/april-2020-webinar-resources/?fbclid=IwAR0kRHkuQvEGxcpNuHvPKmmExamZ2Jj_EMZzR-zGp8eDejCR94hE-ZvGYjY

Inspired by her wisdom, we decided that the 7:30 am meetings, which had been occupying our kitchen and bleeding into our morning coffees, every day, could be skipped for a 15-minute walk thru our neighborhood park. And, let me tell you, what a difference a quarter of an hour can make!

April 29, 2020

Finding Variety in Repetition

It occurred to me, the other morning, that this experience feels a bit like fasting. Since college, I’ve routinely devoted a week, every spring, to some kind of dietary shift, for my general health, and as a general mindfulness exercise. While I’ve tried versions of the Wild Rose and other popular cleanses with some benefit, the method recommended in Staying Healthy with the Seasons has always suited me best. It requires you to slowly wean off many foods (meat/fish, then sugar/alcohol/coffee, then dairy), gradually move to only liquids, eventually evolve to a middle day of just water, and then similarly reintroduce each food gradually. What I’ve loved about this approach is how much more aware of my cravings I become, how much I notice the “manufacturing of consent” that happens all around me to inspire my “wants”, and finally how various symptoms are suddenly absent once I’ve eliminated certain foods. Consequently, the slow reintroduction of foods allows me to notice, in much more specific detail, which foods stimulate which responses in my body (IE. huge bursts of energy from fruit; afternoon crashes from sugar; indigestion from soy; sustenance from bread and pasta - NOTE: Contrary to the wheat-vilifying trends that currently prevail, I typically thrive on an anti-Atkins diet, as someone who reaps tremendous fuel from carbs).

The parallels we are experiencing now relate to the stimuli that we’ve been “denied” by our self-isolating reality. Speaking for myself, instead of travelling frequently, as I often do, or eating at different restaurants every week, or working at a different café every day to switch up the creative energy around me, I have had, like everyone else, to learn to find sustenance and interest in a much less diverse set of circumstances. I am eating at Chez Me three meals a day. We are grinding our own beans and whipping up our own daily lattes. And most all of our daily walks and bike rides now start from our home.

But even within the boundaries that we can reach from the nexus of our own address, we have been able to slowly expand our radius of exploration to corners of our city that we had never seen before. This has felt a bit like switching to a vegetarian diet and gaining new appreciation for the crunchiness of a snap pea, or the filling nature of a portabello mushroom.

In these explorations, we have discovered infinite surprises which include a cliffside view of the Fraser River from Everett Crowley Park (top image), an old landfill-turned-lush green space in Vancouver’s southeastern-most quadrant. We’ve seen old growth forest that we had no idea existed so many kilometres from the shore, in Burnaby’s Central Park on our city’s eastern border. I’ve spotted my first-ever fisher (weasel) sneaking around beachside boulders on the northern edge of the city. And closer to home, I’ve noticed the whimsy of our neighbors’ gardens in far greater detail than I had ever looked before (as in the Gaudiesque, smiley-face hedge pictured above). Our ventures from home have been guided by little more than our edict to “follow the pink”, as in the most blossoming streets. And to document these journeys, I’ve been mapping the various routes we’ve taken. Interestingly, the trajectory somewhat resembles a many-petaled flower.

Looking for minute changes in what seem to be patterns of sameness is also the secret to one of my favorite movements in music and design: Minimalism. Perhaps this is why Max Richter and Steve Reich have become the soundtrack I’ve turned to most during the pandemic. Because their music trains our brains to find beauty in repetition while seeking excitement from the subtlest nuanced shifts.

Meanwhile, I know that many of us would love for there to be a magic wand that could lift all of our restrictions over night and allow us to return to exactly “the way it was before”, in the same way that I long for a mocha frappuccino when I fast. However, what we have been hearing from our leaders is that the more likely and safe choice will be to move into a gradual re-opening of our cities - a slow reintroduction of certain freedoms. So, the lessons we can learn from fasting and Phillip Glass ought to prove very useful as we try to be patient and appreciative of this prudent approach. Then, once we begin to shop and drive and socialize more, perhaps this perspective can allow us to also more clearly notice how we respond to each stimuli as we re-engage with it, And hopefully it will inform a new normal that can be more sensible and moderate and in harmony with this planet that we call home.

And, in case you’re curious to listen to a little minimalist fare...

Notice how welcomed the first chord change is in Max Richter’s Catalogue of Afternoons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubjylmxrj9o

Or drape yourself in his hypnotic music like a warm duvet with his 8-hour lullaby, Sleep: https://open.spotify.com/album/0JLN7JryQ2T7lBEYIrSQF1

And for a mind trip of the eyes and ears, try Steve Reich’s Piano Phase on marimbas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3QoM7dgs_0

April 30, 2020

Film Festivals for free

Pahokee, at this year’s live-streamed Vancouver International Film Festival

Done wondering if Carol Baskin killed her husband? Couldn’t care less if Giannini and Damian actually ever get married? Well, for those who’ve exhausted the Netflix catalogue, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy film from your home. Lots of festivals have generously uploaded their content online. So, whether it’s mountain adventure, short films, foreign movies, or arthouse you’re looking for, here are some easy ways to link to those that are totally free:

Banff Mountain Film Festival - https://www.banffcentre.ca/film-fest-at-home

Cannes, Sundance, Tribeca, Toronto, Venice, Berlin and others have collaborated to bring an awesome line-up of livestream videos to the world in their 10-day We Are One Festival, starting on May 29th. While the festival will stream for free, viewers will be asked to donate to the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 solidarity response fund.

If you happen to remain gainfully employed, and it’s important to you to keep supporting independent film making, Vancouver International Film Festival has created a rental-fee structure for a number of films that they’ve now made available for streaming, too: https://viff.org/Online/default.asp

And Sedona Film Festival has done the same - https://sedonafilmfestival.com/mdfhome/

May 1, 2020

Boredom Killers: Ping-pong, birthday song, and Magritte gong wrong

Combing the internet for creative inspiration that I can share with readers has truly been a joy. It’s also got our own creative jucies flowing. So today, I thought I’d post just a few of the ways we’ve staved off boredom over these past weeks.

Tennis is one of our true passions. It’s actually sort of how Geoff and my relationship began. Given that we didn’t want our paddle skills to get too rusty, we didn’t let the fact that our little laneway house couldn’t fit a ping pong table stop us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kait-zCV94s

Coming from a huge birthday-celebrating family, I’ve tried to make sure that friends with birthdays during quarantine could still feel pampered on their special day. So, 6 of us put together this silly ditty for our good friend Roger: https://youtu.be/EZKyrdOlvPk

And, we’ve jumped on the art replication bandwagon too. The Met & the Getty Museum have both followed the lead of the Dutch gallery that first initiated the Instagram art challenge which asks people to recreate famous pieces of art with only 3 objects from their home. https://www.instagram.com/tussenkunstenquarantaine/

Here’s Geoff and my attempt with Magritte’s Lovers. The challenge also asks for participants to create new titles, so this is ours, Kissing Strategy for Stay-at-home Lazy Toothbrushers.

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