silva rerum

hold infinity in the palm of your hands

After getting plenty of sleep and spending the day fixing my laptop, I am pleased to finally blog about The Best Day Ever™.

I started by rolling out of bed (literally rolling off my bed and onto the floor) at around 9:30. Groggy and bleary-eyed, I turned on my laptop (doesn’t this tell you a lot about me?) and then I ate a quick, small breakfast. A then phoned me and informed me that we (A, N and me) would be meeting at Burrard Station at 11:30 to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (of which I have only re-read 50%). Quite happily, I set off (wearing appropriate attire for the assuredly hot day) and arrived exactly at 11:30. Of course, this meant that I was awkwardly on time. A and N arrived shortly thereafter, gently reminding me of how I have a tendency to induce guilt in others by being precisely on time. I must remember that for the future – I will earnestly endeavour to arrive fashionably late, sauntering into the room with a grand entrance.

It was decided to purchase the tickets first at the Scotiabank theatre and off we went. I felt slightly crestfallen when I noticed that A’s ticket actually printed her name on it while mine was nameless. Curse my cashier for not knowing advanced functions made to impress friends and foe alike. Curse her.

After first visiting the Burrard location (at which we were turned away due to full capacity), we arrived at the Robson location of the Cactus Club Cafe and sat down for lunch. We had much deliberation over the menu and I got the J.D. BBQ burger (which was juicy and yummy! but not really my style, to be honest). We noticed the sheer number of staff our location seemed to possess; at every turn, a new staff member strolled by dutifully. N sardonically remarked about the recession and labour wages. I concurred.

After lunch, we headed to watch the movie. After reading the book in preparation for the movie, there were certainly some things I liked and disliked about the cinematic experience.

I was generally unimpressed with the movie but felt like it did the job. It was adequate but not much more… As much as I adore the movies and the books, I can’t say that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be a particularly memorable cinematic experience. It’s a shame because I had had high hopes for David Yates’ directorial vision.

After the movie, we ventured around downtown and ended up in Sears at Pacific Centre. Excitedly, I skimmed through the stationery section, glowingly appraising the Montblanc pens and Moleskine notebooks.

We then heard the announcement of a lifetime. "Attention shoppers. We will be having a free giveaway on the fourth floor today, for shoppers only in the store right now." I paused and looked to N and A, who were listening with rapt attention withal. I gingerly replaced the Moleskine notebook I had been thoughtfully caressing and we set off towards the fourth floor.

Needless to say, it was a disappointment. We got a dinky orange little fruit juicer (the efficacy of which I sincerely doubt) and waited the whole presentation to learn that we could have a free filet knife…with purchase of 29.99. We left.

As such, A and I were horrendously late for dinner with C and D at Thai Spice. I ordered Tom Yum which, admittedly, is a weakness of mine but I was rather disappointed with the lack of flavour. A’s pineapple rice was only passable. Happily, though, we played Sorry during dinner which (albeit displays a thorough lack of table manners) enlivened our dinner much more than the food would have done.

The crown jewel of the evening was really watching Les Miserables. It was spectacular. If you haven’t watched it yet, I assure you that you are missing out. The casting was wonderful; perennial favourites Jonathan Winsby and John Mann gave breathtaking performances while newcomers didn’t slacken at all.

Here’s what I thought:

• Murphy (Valjean) displayed masterful skill at singing with a particularly strong voice and diverse range; he was a little wooden at times but his singing was spot-on flawless
• Cournoyer (Javert) was a personal favourite; Javert doesn’t get much variety in song but Cournoyer did a commendable job at conveying Javert’s character
• Hosie (Fantine) was a strong presence but her wig was very offputting; I’m usually a big fan of Arts Club costume design but here is one case where I was rather distracted
• Lipman (Mme. Thenardier) and Mann (Mr. Thenardier) offered wonderful — wonderful — comic relief but Lipman’s vocal strength was not what I would have expected
• Winsby (Enjolras) was, of course, incredible and powerful; his performance is almost so strong that it is overwhelming, actually, threatening to overshadow the performances of others
• Victor (Marius) had a perfectly respectable performance though he was really overshadowed by Winsby at times
• Talbot (Eponine) was a surprise star; I was really impressed with her performance and vocal strength!
• Harwood (Cosette) gave a good performance throughout but I can’t recall any moments where I was floored by her
• Ballard (Gavroche), Matchette (Young Cosette) and Withers (Young Eponine) gave great performances, particularly at their ages! I bet I’ll be seeing them at the Arts Club when I’m much older

I particularly enjoyed “I Dreamed a Dream,” “Master of the House,” “Stars”and “Drink with Me to Times Gone By.” Unfortunately, “One Day More” was nowhere near as strong as what I would have liked but ç’est la vie!

All in all, a marvelous day. I just hope A doesn’t tire of my company!