A Week of VJM – Wednesday September 23rd, 2009

On Wednesday September 23rd, 2009 I woke up later than usual. I took a shower, skipped breakfast, and caught the ten-ten bus. When I got to the Canada Line, I was happy to see my ‘700’ from the night before still there.

My class line up on Wednesday is the same as Monday: an hour of Geography, an hour break, then two hours of Philosophy.

Today’s Philosophy class began with a hypothetical question, like they mostly did. Today’s question was that ‘if there were some sort of tub or pod you could plug yourself into that would make you dream that you were happy and you didn’t know it was a dream, would you do it?’

However, the other people in the class, instead of addressing the question, would just add stuff to the question and break it. They would answer with things like “Oh, what if it’s a trick?” or “What if it breaks and everyone dies?”

I tried to steer the conversation back to the point of the question: “Well, a theoretical use for this fictional, fake… magic tub, would be for a disabled person. Someone in a wheelchair, for example, could go into the tub and imagine themselves running and jumping or whatever.”

One of the other students put up her hand. “But if they could come up with the tech to build the magic tubs, why can’t they fix their legs?”

My response would have been “Yes, they did… it’s the magic tub.” However, I didn’t come up with it in time, and the conversation moved on.

After our discussion about the magic dream tubs, we moved onto a story titled ‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas’. It is a very well written story, and I recommend that everyone read it (Megan, this was the one I tried to get you to read on Friday).

The story can be read here:
http://harelbarzilai.org/words/omelas.txt

Walking. Canada Line. Newspaper. Canada Line. Newspaper. Bus. Home.

When my bus arrived at the Canada Line stop, the potential passengers all slowly shuffled their way to the door as usual. However, when I reached the middle of the crowd, the bus door in front of me a few people away and the path behind me closing up as people filled in the space, my iPod began to play “Mad World” by Garry Jules. The song, combined with the slight overcast and the slow monotonous shuffling seemed to fit perfectly. I smiled and stepped onto the bus.

After arriving home, I decided to go down to the pier again, and went and grabbed my camera. As I was walking out the door, my grandma asked me to walk the dog. I put my camera on the counter and took the leash.

When I got back, I unleashed the dog and got the camera. I once again took the road less traveled and once again walked under the house-shaped frame of metal.

When I got to the main store-ish area, I noticed that there was significantly more filming equipment set up. I also recognized the camo truck that I had seen on Monday. I took a picture of the Charthouse Restaurant as it reflected in the water. I noticed that the Canadian and ‘fish’ flags above the Fishermans Wharf sign had been replaced with American and Washington State flags. I took a picture. I noticed that all the boats still had their Canadian flags up and smiled. A seagull landed on top of a truck and tilted it head while looking at me. I took a picture.

I continued to take pictures until the sun set. Then I took a picture of that.

When night fell, the crew began filming a scene. They had caution tape and cones cordoning of the central rectangle of the wharf. In a nearby parking lot, they had set up a tall light on a cherry picker type device, with the light pointed at the rectangle. This was hoe they filmed night scenes without it looking completely pitch black.

I decided to stay a while longer and take pictures of the filming. While in the crowd, I ran into an ex-classmate who goes to the same high school as I did, along with her friend. The three of us went into the ice cream shop and talked for a bit while the crowd grew outside. After their mom arived and they went to find better spots, I had an interesting conversation with the elderly gentleman who had kicked me out of my seat. When filming actually began, my post in the ice cream shop gave me a very good angle to take pictures from. And, considering it was night, cold, and people kept getting in my way, I would say that the pictures turned out pretty well.

The crew took a break at about nine and I decided to go home to eat dinner, charge my camera, and grab warmer clothes and then go back to catch the rest of the filming, take more pictures, and generally watch famous people walk up and down my town.

But, when I got home at about nine fifteen, my grandma yelled at me for staying out after dark. She then told me that there were kidnappers and killers on the streets between the house and the pier, and then handed me my dinner. I told her that I wanted to go back and watch the rest of the filming, and then went to eat my dinner. She told me to call my mom and tell her I got home safely.

While eating, I called my mom. She told me to always keep my phone charged, (it being out of battery had been my reason for not calling while I was out as it sounded better than me just flat out not bringing it), and something along the lines of me being allowed to go on walks as long as my phone was with me ‘in case there was an emergency’.

I quickly ate my dinner and changed from shorts and a t-shirt to jeans and a sweater. As I was about to walk out the door, my grandma handed me a bowl of soup with “So, you’re not going to go out, right?”

I replied that, yes, I still wanted to go out, but agreed to finish the soup first.

After downing the soup, I went to tell grandma that I was about to leave. She told me to call and ask my mom first. Now, I didn’t want to assume that my moms ‘you can go out as long as you have your phone’ applied in this situation, so I called her phone.

Ironically, after the speech about keeping my phone on me and available, her phone was off. I told my grandma and she told me to ask my grandpa instead. Grandpa told me to ask grandma and, neither wanting to make the actual decision, both ended up ‘suggesting’ that I stay home.

Annoyed, I walked up to my room to eat a bag of chips and watch tv. On my way my grandma told me to call my aunt. Apparently they had assumed that I had gone on some sort of adventure or something with her, because she had called earlier in the day before I got home.

I called my aunt and, through the course of our conversation, she offered to pick me up and go take a look at the filming. She insisted on doing so, and managed to convince my grandparents. Apparently what changed their minds was the suggestion that would turn out like my uncle if I stayed at home all day.

When we reached the pier, it was already nearing midnight and the film crew had moved onto an interior scene. Disappointed and dejected, I go back home and go to sleep.

The pictures I DID manage to take are available on Facebook.