Remember when I was all did you know they come in electric?

That wasn't an electric.

This, my friends is an electric.^{1 2}











And btw, so is this:








---

¹ Not a stock photo because this is the only one. This baby has been customized for maximum awesome.

² Now I get to learn to play with a pick. Those be steel strings.

.



My neighbourhood never ceases to surprise and delight me.

There were about a bazillion things going on on Solstice on Sunday. I was still not feeling that great but really didn't want to miss everything.

In the end, I:

• Went to the Secret Lantern Society (not so secret, imho, when they announce themselves on CBC)
  
  
• Made a lantern

• Was part of a processional walk from the lantern-making to the Britannia Centre, complete with Pagan chants
  
  
• Waited in line about 40 minutes to walk the giant labyrinth of candles. Was worth it. On the spiral-like way in, the intention is to cleanse from the last year, and on the way out, to create the new year. I left it all shiny and new.

• Went to Julie's Beerstice party in the pub of an army base.
  
  
• Had an adventure getting there. Showed up wet, cold, and grumpier than most common folk have seen me be.
  
  
• Warmed up to great Creaking Planks music and good company. Drunken army folk are funny. Then again, so were the drunken artsy folk.
  
  
• faust_mckenzie taught me how to play shuffleboard.

It was a good Solstice.

This was the first of the 2 superhero/supervillain parties last weekend.



The caption, taken from the party invite:

It is time to put an end to the continued conflict between supers, both good and evil. It has been decided that we should all don our respective super costumes and meet at an appointed place to do battle so we can decide once and for all who will rule the earth. It just so happens that the chosen day is the same day as the party to celebrate the birthdays of Ray and Lori. Yay, multi-tasking!


Let's play guess the heroes/villains! Almost all are "real". Only one or two were invented. :)





More photos, esp of my slightly altered costume the next night, once they become available.

Take a picture of yourself right now.
Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair. Just take a picture.
Post that picture with NO editing.
Post these instructions with your picture.

It's been a long, long time since I've posted any Critical Mass adventures, because it's been a long, long time since I've went. After I came back from SLC in 2006, I was broken for the next few months. Then winter laziness. Then my headspace being all about my move.

Since coming to Vancouver, I've been mostly in so much transition headspace, or other plans conflicts, or sick, or whateverwhatever.

ANYWAY.

Yesterday I went. (I could talk about how I did go one other time since moving to Van, but that distracts from my story. :P )


There were probably about 1000 people out. No joke. Looking up the Lions' Gate Bridge, it was a beautiful sea of smiling faces and glinting metal ahead and behind us.

Cars waited an hour for us to pass.

Starting at the Art Gallery downtown, first we tooled around downtown, then went up towards Kits. I thought we were going to go to a beach, which would have been glorious, but we turned around and headed North. Back through downtown, then up to Lions' Gate.

We'd barely touched the bridge when we were all directed to turn around and come back, making the tail the head.

shannons_words and I decided that we weren't going to bike all that way and not keep going North. We knew there was some free Jazzfest up by the Capilano Bridge. Which was, what, another 45 minute bike ride going uphill?

I don't think I've ever biked out in nature. I'm solely a city commuter bike type person. It was still all roads, but it was climbing up hills and it was trees and it was fresh air fresher than babies. My little folding bike was a trooper. It did so well, I forgot it's not a full bike.

Nice soft jazz surrounded by trees, mountains, and a flowing river. Yes. This is the stuff we dream of.

It was 11:30pm before we had food back in town with Signe visiting from T-dot. Gah was so hungry! Gas station snacks could only hold us for so long.

My god am I ever sore today.

But happy. So happy.



By thelastminute on flickr
http://flickr.com/groups/vancriticalmass/

Who needs men! We have alcohol, chocolate, and little sticks! (Pocky, even!)

Also, I have a great hat.