For Great Justice

This Too Shall Pass

Catching up (again)

Posted on July 03, 2026
Categories: General — Tags: #life, #world cup, #music, #youtube, #theatre

I’ve been failing to finish a post here for ages. Uh, what’s been going on?

World Cup

Vancouver is one of the sixteen host cities for the 2026 World Cup. After three weeks, I think I can make a few statements:

  • The vibes are great. Granville St became a pedestrian zone for people to congregate, and it’s so successful that the city is going to keep it going through the summer. There are a tonne of decorations up, like turning Science World into a football. All the visitors are so happy.
  • I haven’t checked out the FIFA Fan Festival, but it looks like a lot of fun. (Viewing without participating? That 100% describes my World Cup experience, heh.)
  • It’s not as crazy as the Olympics. Downtown’s busy, but it hasn’t been taken over.

A viewing party from above. There's a lot of stuff going, from giant decorative bubbles on the left, the screen atop astroturf stairs, and folk sitting around enjoying the sun. The viewing area at Bentall Centre.

A crowd of people, mostly wearing red, looking at a screen to the right. You can see Vancouver's Olympic Cauldron in the background, and the skyline of Coal Harbour. The crowd at Jack Poole Plaza.

The same crowd, but now facing the screen. On the left is the outdoor stage used for TSN broadcasts. In the distance are the north shore mountains. It's gorgeously sunny. The viewing experience at Jack Poole Plaza. Frankly, it wasn’t great.

Looking down Granville St. It's filled with people. Bunting crisscrosses overhead. Granville St’s packed.

Music

I bought two albums off 7digital recently.

Ninajirachi’s I Love My Computer is a mix of EDM and hyperpop, with songs about growing up online, and investing too much of yourself into computers. It’s new and fascinating and I really dig it. Plus she uploaded the entire album as a YouTube video without ad breaks1.

I also succumbed to the hype for the new Olivia Rodrigo album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. It’s growing on me, but it didn’t grab me the same way that, say, Chappell Roan’s album did2. TBH, it’s worth getting just for “The Cure”3 alone.

Critical Hit Show

I’m burning out on it. It’s still fun, but I’ve attended most of the shows over the last decade (including the streams in 2020), and I’m not as excited anymore.

People on stage. The performer out front is wearing a tricorn hat. There are two audience members on the left wearing green hats -- they're probably playing monsters.

Pub trivia @ East Side Craft House

Maybe we haven’t won, but Team Shakira Shakira brings the energy.

Hair cut

I’ve had long hair for the last several years. In 2024 I donated a pony tail to Wigs for Kids BC before travelling to Mexico. Finally, my hair was long enough to donate again.

Last time I donated a pony tail, I cut it off by myself. It didn’t go well. I was nervous about the scissors nicking the arm holding my hair, so I kept moving that arm away from the scissors, and had to increasingly angle my scissors to chase after the hair. I ended up with a lopsided hair cut, with the hair on the left side of my head several inches shorter than the right side of the head. When I went to the barber shop in Denman Centre to fix it, they charged me a senior’s rate because it was “only half a hair cut”.

This time I got a friend to do it for me. Turns out he wasn’t much more comfortable than I was, because it still ended up lopsided. He tried to clean it up, then told me that I should go see a professional. So I went back to the barber shop, after two years, and got a proper hair cut.

This time I got it buzzed on the sides and short enough to stick up on the top. It feels so freeing.

Me in front of a crowd of people in a public plaza. You can see a bit of Vancouver's Olympic Cauldron in the back. See? Hair cut! And, yes, a tonne of people at Jack Poole Plaza.

Cycling

Before the pandemic I used to cycle to the office. It took me about twenty five minutes. My route was mostly along the False Creek seawall, then onto Pacific at the end ‘til arriving at Roger’s Arena.

The new office is much closer to my apartment, and I’ve been going to the office often lately (mostly to get out of my apartment). However, I haven’t resumed cycling. My excuse was that I didn’t want to be a sweaty mess at work, which is a risk: I have to take my laptop, and riding with a backpack can quickly become disgusting. The real problem, if I’m being honest, is riding up the hill to downtown.

Well, I bought a bike rack and a pannier. I can put my backpack in there, maintain ventilation, and arrive at work only somewhat sweaty. With that excuse gone, I … actually started riding my bike to the office!

The hill is still terrible. I’ve settled on cycling up Comox for three blocks, then stopping4 for breathers at the last two intersections before finishing the hill. I thought by now I’d be able to handle it, but nope. There’s also an awkward bit around the office: the one way streets prevent me from going there directly. I tried biking down Georgia St to the office, but there isn’t even a painted bike lane, and it was terrifying. My usual route these days is riding down to the Hornby bike lane, then heading back up Melville to the office. When I go home, I make my way to the new bike lane at Bute and Robson, and then ride down the hill on Haro.

I haven’t biked to work this week. My rear brakes need to be serviced, and I’m worried about not being able to brake while riding downhill. That’s reasonable, right?

Bah. No excuses! I booked a servicing for Monday. Let’s do this thing!

An alley showing the hill. This evil hill grows steeper before the summit.

Screenshot of a route on Google Maps. My standard route to the office. You can see the two bumps on Comox

  1. Unfortunately, some of the visualizers used AI.↩
  2. In retrospect, I underrated her album. It’s good!↩
  3. Which is not the duet with Robert Smith of the Cure.↩
  4. By stopping, I mean riding on the cross streets for a minute to recover, then returning to Comox.↩