it snowed (and rained) last night
Scribbled down on April 5th, 2008 by she
Posted in Random Burbling, Where No Flan Has Gone Before
I haven’t managed to take any pictures while I was here. There hasn’t seemed a reason to bother. My sister is a great one for taking pictures. She’s always snapping moments in time. Usually capturing people as opposed to places.
I didn’t really pay much attention to the city when I was here in 2006. Who sightsees in their hometown? I noticed some development projects, new roads, silly things like that.
Driving around in the backseat of the car with my mum and sister a few days ago gave me time to look out windows and see what has become of my hometown. I always knew it was more of a small town, blue collar, working class city but I don’t think I ever really noticed just how dank and dirty it seems. Seedy in sections. It’s like an old grand dame who’s let herself go and doesn’t even realize it.
Now I sit in a hotel and stare out windows at broken pavement, broken cars and furniture in messy backyards, boarded windows and peeling roofing tiles. I wonder if the hotel planning team had taken a good look at the neighbourhood they were building in? Actually, from the front end the view is much different. I guess you can’t expect much separation between the glitter and the rough when you’re living in a small city. I wonder if it’s always been this way or if it’s simply my black mood that encourages my vision of this side of the city?
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 7th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
You raise a really valid point: does mood influence how we feel about a place, especially one that’s already seemingly down on its luck?
As luck would have it, I put your theory to the test this past weekend. Our 7-year-old son was invited to a birthday party at a laser tag place in the city’s downtown core. This part of town has had a rough couple of decades, and is now, for lack of a better word, a dump. But it was a sunny day, and wanting to be eco-friendly, I didn’t want to drive all the way home, only to drive all the way back 2 hours later.
So I parked the car and walked around the desolate blocks around the main drag, camera in hand. I mentally challenged myself to find beauty, not expecting that I would.
Yet I surprised myself, for on this gloriously sunny day, there was life in this crumbled neighborhood and beauty in its weathered surfaces. I look forward to sharing the results on my blog in the days to come.
April 7th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Carmi – I am certain there is correlation between mood and perception. How else can I possibly explain the love I have for the neighbourhood I live in as opposed to how I feel about my current surroundings?
According the a gov’t study, those who live in my neighbourhood in Edm have 0% quality of life. It’s often considered “inner city”. And many Edmontonions would easily write of the neighbourhood as unsafe. Some houses in the area are in similar states (thought not the ones on my street).
However, I’ve always thought that the area we live in has “character”. We have amazing neighbours. We watch out for each other, socialize together, help each other whenever needed.
0% quality of life? Hardly.