soggy slice

Just in case you imagine that it’s stopped raining, it hasn’t. Spent yesterday working at home to the delightful crooning of the backhoe on the construction site outside my window, while in front of the house the city is tearing up the road to replace the water mains or some such. Thank goodness for the email from Monika containing the essay she wrote on the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre which we visited together in New Denver last summer. Some really interesting thinking on the relation of the memorial garden to trauma. I like the ideas of a “living archive” and “tender research.” It was a day of good email, actually. (Good machine, good machine.) My friend Jay sent along a link, and two songs from Pacifica. I think he said he’s friends with one or some of them. Lovely elusive Ivana dropped a note also. She is on her way to Mexico tomorrow.

In the evening, more gastronomical adventures at the old Daimo (I think it’s called Kwong Chow now. “Kwong Chow” I said to Rita, in a flat toneless accent because I think the transliteration is funny. Which set her off an a rant about why CBC announcers can’t say “Gung Hei Fat Choy” properly.) Stewed beef muscle and tendon with daikon, bitter melon and eggs, soup noodles with gailan– I was happy. Then off on the Wong rounds– to see the Janets perform at Emily Carr. They are very cool, interesting zine girls. They take their name from the Janet of Three’s Company. First issue is a John Ritter memorial. Hilarious. It was pub night at ECIAD. We got our Tarot cards read (for $2.50!) by a smart young student running a Tarot table. Then off on the hunt for ma ku li, a kind of Korean rice wine we drank with Ashok at a downtown restaurant last week. I told Rita, I told her. It’s illegal for them to sell it to take away. But she wouldn’t believe me. So down to the West End we went on this (of course) unsuccessful mission. Stubborn girls on a rampage. 😉 Then to London Drugs to see about buying a sunlamp. It isn’t just me. Rita is also having a hard time staying awake in the rain and dark.