a wet November

It is very much a typical late autumn on the West Coast, also known as the Wet Coast at this time of year. It has rained every day over the past week and it is forecast to rain every day in the coming week.

Here in my warm, dry condo, overlooking an unbroken wall of taller office buildings across Hornby St, the grey day looks much worse than it is because my building, formerly an office building itself, has tinted windows that make the sky look darker than it is.

So I took a stroll outside into the West End (also known as the Wet End this time of year) to have breakfast, do a little shopping and post a book to a friend in Colorado. The rain didn't let up. Sometimes it was just spitting and then it was heavy again. I don't do umbrellas, as I find it harder to walk with them. I always leave them behind or forget to bring them with me anyway. I have waterproofed my cap and wear my Gortex jacket instead.

I have to push myself not to give into my low-grade depression I often struggle with at this time of year. Getting outside helps, but not enough. I rested a bit after coming back, then pushed myself outside the door again, this time to go to Kitsilano to buy two "Settlers of Catan" games for my nieces and nephews for Christmas (they can share). I went to Drexoll Games, a store where board game nerds gather to play complicated games. Even the proprietor was caught up in a game so I waited for him. A cute, post-twink customer noticed I had chosen the wrong set and saved me from making a return trip. He was immersed in looking through a box of special $1 playing cards on the counter, part of a type of wizard game that he had been playing since puberty. Some of the cards, he told me, go for $20-$30 each. Yes, Scarlett, we either have too much spending money on this continent or we don't know how to use it properly.

On the way home the sky started to break in the west and took on the look of a Dutch masters painting. Half an hour later the setting sun, broke through under the clouds still over the city, trapped by the mountains, lighting their underbellies and painting the buildings in a brilliant honey gold. For a few minutes it was stunning.

It's 5:30 and completely dark now. It has been for half an hour. I am leaving in an hour to visit Rich and Luis at their new place in Burnaby, bringing my Settlers of Catan game and a batch of fresh baked pumpkin cookies for us to munch on. I dread going to places in the dark that I am unaccustomed to, but they'll be picking me up at Edmonds Stn so at least I won't need to look for house numbers.