POST #421
Today is the eleventh day of my fourteen day mandatory quarantine. So far, so good.
I certainly didn't expect that I would have a room with a window, and also have the ability to go out and buy groceries every now and again. Simple things have become way more precious than before.
Normally, I may want to complain that I don't have a proper keyboard to write these words, and instead I'm forced to use my opposing thumbs, but now I am just grateful to have this Kindle device, and an internet connection. When I watch the younger generations type on their smartphones, I am amazed at just how fast they go. I'll never be that good.
Room 211 has everything I could want including a shower and toilet, a sink that also serves as my "laundromat", a firm bed, a fan to keep me cool, and of course, that wonderful window. I am very content here.
In one respect, I feel like I'm back in India, as the majority of people staying at this hotel, are students from India. Apparently they are stuck here until their classes resume, and who knows when/if that will ever happen?
I have stayed here at the Hotel Patricia, on other occasions in the past. It has been here since 1913. The staff are very friendly and helpful. One of the people at the front desk is an Aussie from Melbourne, so we can relate on that front. We both agree that we are happy to be here at the moment, instead of Melbourne.
This is the older part of Vancouver, and the years have taken their toll, on both the landscape and the poor souls who live here. Literally hundreds of people spend every night out on the street, and yet just one block from my hotel there is a huge abandoned building, that could be fixed up and used as a shelter. As a visitor, I sit here and wonder why that hasn't happened?
If there is anyone out there who might be feeling hard done by, in light of our current world situation, they would only need to spend some time here in East Vancouver, to come to the realization that they don't have much to complain about, and neither do I.
I will continue to appreciate just how fortunate I am, here in room 211, even though I occasionally feel like this poor goat, that I came across while riding my bicycle back to Auckland, on a very rainy morning, decades ago.
grateful for every breath,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
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