Adventures of B.C. & Outlaw Treat

Ever since my sister moved to Vancouver, I have been hoping Kristin (a.k.a. B.C.) would find a way to get Canucks tickets... and this weekend she did.

I decided to leave straight from my office in Bothell on Thursday night since I was already 30 miles closer to Vancouver than I would be from my condo. When I reached the U.S.-Canada border at about 9 PM there were less than 10 cars waiting for the four open lanes. After a couple minutes I was the next in line and noticed all four of the border patrol officers converging on my lane. That seemed a little odd but I didn't think too much of it since I had noted all of the other cars had Canadian license plates. My lane cleared, so I pulled forward and handed the officer my passport and drivers' license. She asked me all of the standard questions like where I live, where I was going, and whether or not I had any drugs or weapons. But then she threw me a curve and told me to pull to the left because they needed to "verify the accuracy of my statements". So I drove over to the left where another officer took my identification and the keys to my truck. He told me to go wait in their office and as I was walking toward it, he drove away in my truck! Inside the office there were six other civilians. Three were guys in their late 20s who were being interrogated over their arrest history, drug possession, and gang affiliation. The other three were Asian and didn't appear to speak English but they were being called up to the counter one-at-a-time to pay money for something. Thirty uncomfortable minutes passed and the officer who took my truck returned and told me I was free to go. Needless to say I was totally frazzled by the whole experience, and pissed that they didn't have the decency to at least say they were sorry for inconveniencing me.

Kristin had been at a business function that night and in an odd coincidence I arrived at her apartment building at exactly the same time. She poured me a glass of wine to help calm my nerves and then I went to sleep on an inflatable mattress in her living room. Unfortunately it wasn't a very restful evening. It got bitterly cold and I didn't have enough blankets so I had to get up in the middle of the night to put my coat on :(

On Friday, I assembled a new file cabinet from IKEA while Kristin was at yoga. Then we met her friend Gary for lunch (Kristin had her favorite, "fish dicks") and afterward I got a brief tour of her office and then followed her around while she did a little shopping on Robson street. We met Gary again for a drink before driving to West Vancouver to meet up with her friend Nancy for dinner at the Beach House restaurant.

Kristin did yoga again on Saturday morning and I did some work on my laptop. When she returned, we walked to the nearby Tartine bakery for some lunch. On the way back we checked out the Vancouver International Boat Show but kept walking when we learned it wasn't free as Kristin had thought. The afternoon passed and it was time to walk about a mile to GM Place. This was my fourth Canucks game but Kristin's first. Turns out she landed a lot better seats than I had ever had before. They were in the lower level about half way up behind one of the goals.

There is something about hockey in Canada that feels so much different than anything I've experienced in the United States. Take for example the singing of O Canada!; after singing the first verse the singer lowered his microphone and let the crowd loudly and enthusiastically belt out the second verse. We kind of saw that in the U.S. for a short time after 9/11 but this is how it has been at every Canucks game I've been to spanning many years. The game was a fun one with the Canucks beating the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3. The first two goals were scored very quickly and we had a great view of both. I enjoyed things so much that I decided to buy a jersey and officially commit to the Canucks as my favorite hockey team.

Despite what you might think, Kristin's self chosen nickname, "B.C.", doesn't stand for British Columbia. It stands for Butter Chicken which is apparently an Indian dish that she enjoyed with our mom last weekend. That of course makes me the "Outlaw" which we derived from the soundtrack for our adventure—Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream album, specifically the first track—and the fun time I had getting into Canada.

Thanks for another fun and eventful weekend, B.C.
—Outlaw Treat