Very Minor Details

As I come to the end of my time living on campus at UBC in Vancouver, I become wistful, longing and thoughtful. But I can’t help it. I’m a sap.

Last night I did my second double-header in two days; first a show at Yuk Yuk’s, then I cut out early to get over to Kino, where I went up almost right away. Both shows were packed.

I caught the last 99 home to UBC, and walked over to The Gallery where they were just finishing up karaoke.

On the short walk home, for some reason I started thinking about how the outdoor pool on campus, with the ridiculously high 10 meter diving platform, was protected rather minimally by a miserable little fence, and how easy it would be to sneak in there and jump away. Foreshadowing. As I walked up the stairs by the pool, I saw a couple guys relieving themselves into the bushes with their friends chatting away nearby.

As I walked by, one nervous tough guy asked me “Are you security?” I don’t know what made him think that. Maybe because I look over 25.

“No, but thanks for asking.” I kept walking. Realizing they were in the clear, they began to execute on their makeshift plan. Intrigued, figuring I was about to witness a fairly memorable event in someone else’s life, I stopped to watch in morbid fascination.

The four or five guys climbed the fence, and at the encouragement of the three or four gals, stripped down to their underwear (and in one case, all the way to nothing), climbed the intimidating 10 meter tower, and one by one, jumped the horrendous heights to the pool below.

After the last fellow jumped and it was clear the show was over, I moseyed on into the late, quiet night.

Then I saw a couple raccoons crossing the street and had a quick conversation with a French exchange student who was trying to think of the English word for these beasts (indigenous to North America, although now escaped to Europe, if Wikipedia is credible on this).

In summary, I’m fascinated by trivial stuff, especially when sentimental.