Books to Read on a Long Voyage

People have different concepts or ideas about moving to a new place. Some like to do exactly they were doing at home, preferring the security of familiar people and things, shying away from anything new. Others like to start all over again, and this can mean completely reinventing themselves with new friends, a new wardrobe, a new accent, and a new haircolor. And there are those sentimental and nolstalgic types that like to bring their memories and a piece of home with them in their suitcase.

Zexiv learned many years ago when moving back to the home country after a 3 year absence abroad that it is really difficult to recreate your little piece of say a first world cosmopolitan city in your room in a third world tropical country. No matter how many things you can think of to bring to make for an easier adjustment in new place - old albums, new electronics, an instrument, souvenirs - eventually, you realize that this is not New York, or Boracay, or whereever it was you were previously where life seemed to be happier, and you have to go out and deal with whatever is out there. The sooner you learn to accept that the easier it will be to adjust. Still, that is a lot easier said than done.

So about 3 years ago, when Zexiv was about to make another move, he thought again of what he could bring with him. He had recently started started playing accoustic guitar again, due to the interest of a good friend and fellow gym rat, so he had to bring the guitar. And then there was the diving equipment (little did he know that while there is diving in British Columbia, it is definitely not as laid back as in the tropics, where one can lounge around in board shorts and have a beer afterwards; here the first thing you want to do afterwards is put a jacket on) , the photo equipment, a few old albums, gym shorts, shoes, and CDs. And of course, Zexiv's books.

Zexiv wishes he could have brought his whole collection, which took him a number of years to accumulate from frequent trips to Powerbooks, and to Barnes and Noble whenever he managed to make a trip abroad. While Puff cannot do without a television, Zexiv would be perfectly happy in an island somewhere with a couple of good books to read. By the time Zexiv and Puff left the home country, their books had outgrown the tall narrow bookcase and were piled one on top of another in towering heaps, on ledges and on the floor, starting to crowd them out of their small apartment. Unfortunately space on a sub is extremely limited, and so Zexiv decided to limit himself to about ten books, old friends which he hoped would keep him company, and hopefully make adjustment in their new home a lot easier. Here are the books he brought along:

1. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

2. Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

3. Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume 2 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

4. Boy by Roald Dahl

5. Going Solo by Roald Dahl

6. Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood

7. The Collected Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer

8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling

9. Medium and Large Format Photography by Roger Hicks and Frances Schultz

10. Reminiscences by Douglas MacArthur

I hope to review each of these books in detail sometime in the future.

Of course there were other choices; books by Charles Schultz, Hemingway, Enid Blyton, Herge, Erich Marie Remarque, and many others. Zexiv says he just grabbed the first books that came to mind, books of short stories that he was reading and would take him a while to finish, books he liked to read over and over again, books that transported him to exotic places and times.

So there you are, the 10 books that accompanied Zexiv on his and Puff's long voyage here and covering a wide variety of topics, from classics to adventure to mystery to magic to photography. Take note no boring business or self-help books here. Great companions, all of them.

Someday Zexiv hopes to bring the rest of his sizeable collection over ...

P.S. Actually there is a well stocked library close by, and Zexiv has gone there a number of times but the idea of reading books other people have read before him and which he can never own has never really appealed to him - seems like a very socialist concept, in his opinion. And there is nothing like the smell of a brand new book, which is like the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. After all, there are many very reasonably priced excellent books out there such as Dover Thrift Editions.

A Walk Down Robson Street

Zexiv was downtown today with some fellow photographers. His assignment was to capture the sights and energy of Robson Street, which is known for its wide selection of brand name stores, tourist shops, restaurants, and bars. It also contains the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Vancouver Public Library. It is also where our gym is located so as you can see we are here pretty often. The main commercial area extends for many blocks and is quite popular with locals, tourists, and ESL students. I remember reading once in a travel book that on any given day you can hear more than a dozen languages spoken here; it is kind of like a mini United Nations. It is a very good place to be if you like to people watch.

Robson Street is where Zexiv and Puff spent the first day of their honeymoon seven years ago, when they arrived in Vancouver on their way to take the Alaskan cruise. Zexiv remembers one of the things they were looking for the first day they arrived was warm clothes for the cruise. Most of their winter clothing had been stored in New York and they had been so busy with wedding preparations that they came pretty much unprepared. He recalls buying a jacket, two sweaters, and a photographer's vest (which he in fact used today) from Banana Republic and an issue of Outside magazine from Chapters. For some reason they couldn't make up their minds what to eat that day and passed by so many restaurants before finally having a very late lunch at around 5 pm.

This very popular street is also one of the places Zexiv and Puff bring many of their friends and relatives who come to visit, in aside from the other "must see" tourist spots like Granville Island, Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge, and Grouse Mountain. When his New York based very good friend Walrus visited about a year ago, Zexiv finally had an opportunity to explore some of the bars in the area. He and Walrus had a real blast, doing the rounds of tourist spots during the day and pubs at night before heading home. They even found a bar serving San Miguel Beer from the home country.

Today's experience, according to Zexiv, was quite interesting. Mainly because Zexiv and I are not really people photographers. We're more comfortable shooting pictures of things that don't move, landscapes, or nature. On occasion he does get to practice his portrait skills on his nephews and nieces, but that is so much easier than taking photos of strangers. I tell him that even if he doesn't become a Henri Cartier Bresson, at least he is getting useful espionage and reconnaisance experience.

It would be interesting to do this another time in black and white ...

The End of Summer and the Rose Garden Revisited

Fall is a bit of a depressing time to be in Vancouver. This is when the rain comes and if it's not raining we have those gray, dreary and cold days when the sun never seems to come out. And then the leaves start changing color, which is actually nice to see at first, although it does not look pretty at all when all the leaves are gone. I am reminded of this tale from this book of stories edited by Roald Dahl (highly recommended, by the way; the title is Roald Dahl's Ghost Stories) where this woman would always look forward to this particular season with dread because every year would bring a ghostly street sweeper closer and closer to her doorstep. Years ago she had turned away an old beggar at her doorstep telling him if he wanted to eat he had to earn his keep by sweeping her long drive. The old beggar was weak with hunger and had no choice but to sweep and this he did until he collapsed from exhaustion. Before he died he swore to come for the woman and so every fall she would hear him sweeping, with the sound becoming closer and closer as the years passed. A bit of a morbid digression though but I guess in a way fall can be compared to the twilight of one's life, just as spring is youth, summer is a man's prime, and winter is ... well you get the point.

Somehow even after experiencing a few winters in New York, it always seems colder here, even though Vancouver is known for its mild winters. No matter how many layers I wear under my M-65 jacket, the cold seems to seep in, perhaps because it is a damp kind of cold. There are some good things about this time of year though. There is no shortage of coffee houses in the city, and if you are a coffee lover like Zexiv, Puff and I are, it's a great way to warm your bones. Also one good thing about all the rain we get in the fall, winter and spring is that it makes the place very lush and green and is partly the reason you find such gigantic trees growing in this part of the country.

Another great thing is that that as we head towards winter, the sun gradually gets lower in the horizon and this makes for much better pictures. The other week, Zexiv and I paid another visit to the Rose Garden in Stanley Park. It is one of our favorite places in Stanley Park, aside from the seawall, the Aquarium, and maybe Beaver Pond and never seems to attract too much people unlike other parts of the park. There were no roses to see at this time of the year but the place was ablaze with color. When we last visited in early summer there seemed to be bees humming everywhere and this made for great macro photography. During this visit the bees seemed to be gone but the lighting was still a bit harsh - not too good for picture taking. It was a very pleasant visit nevertheless.

Zexiv, Puff and I agree summer is really the best time of the year to be in Vancouver. The long days and usually mild weather provide lots of opportunites for long leisurely walks and picnics, window shopping, iced tea, and gelato ice cream. It is a nice to be able to walk around in just a t-shirt and jeans (and not a gore tex and fleece jacket for a change) and be able to do so much while the sun is still up. The many beaches around the area are always swarming with people soaking up the sun. If we were to pick our favorite times of the year to be in certain favorite cities, it would be Vancouver in summer, New York in fall, Manila in winter, and Washington, DC in spring.

Yes the "brr" months, as they like to say in the home country (i.e., September, October, November, etc.) are definitely here and by this time you can bet they have already started playing Christmas carols over the radio in Manila. In a few weeks we will be heading for a short trip to New York where I hope to see some old comrades, go on another photo expedition with Zexiv, and explore some of our favorite haunts - Central Park, Fifth Avenue, FAO Schwarz, American Museum of Natural History, B&H, La Caridad, and Barnes and Noble. And then just a few months after that - Christmas! That is definitely something to look forward to ...