Getting out

Day four; for some reason this day is important. I seems to be a turning point. Though depression started to crescendo at around midday, the night was ashine and with it the first glimmer of hope for me here. I started off early, as jet lag is working pretty well for me so far (even though I still haven't managed to get to work before 10). Being a bit nostalgic of my previous life-style, I went out at 7:30 for a morning cigaret, on the beach as I had the previous nights. I don't think that I'll be doing that again though. There I was, cigaret in one hand, bottle of degassed coke from the previous night in the other, amidst the hoards of the Vancouver health-concient elite. Jogging, cycling, dog walking and yoga is all one sees at 7:30 am on these Pacific beaches.

The fervor and devotion with which people here work out is remarkable. Rain, sleet or snow, the joggers armed with white headphones and Sympatex are pushing forward undaunted, while the assortment of gym multiplexes downtown are packed any time of day that I've passed by. It started to make me wonder; can it be that sushi is just really caloric? Later on that day I was told that Vancouver has the highest consumption of organics, the highest density of veggan restaurants and the lowest smoking rate in all of Canada (which, frankly, sounds like in all the world to me).

And there it happened. I started feeling shame for my ruthlessly disrespectful and self-destructive lifestyle. I rushed back for refuge in my depressing little house by the beach; "quiet and exclusive west-side neighborhood... free-range eggs and organics... non-smokers only, please!" read the internet ad... which should have been warning enough! The landlady is honestly scary and as for the other tenants drawn here by this inviting announcement, one would best describe them as... well... senile. One thing was obvious, it was time to be getting out of this place.

It had been the day before that, just out of curiosity, I had searched accommodations in Vancouver using the "smoker tolerant" filter and only one hit came up (actually that was one hit more than expected). "Shangrelah": everything about this place seemed a bit bizarre; the sketched-over image of the building, the description of the rooms being like boat cabins (though clearly this was a downtown high-rise), the very low prices (almost half of what I have currently booked) and last but not least the "smoking rooms available" part! The whole thing seemed a bit dodgy and, dejected as I was, I didn't look into it further. It was only the eerie coincidence later that day that made me think again...