OBLIGATORY FILLER MATERIAL – Just take a hard left at Daeseong-dong…5
Continuing “Hey, Viv!”, I say, as we’re all being shuttled onto the bus which will take us to our hotel, “Toss me one of those miniatures, if you please. Yeah. Of course, Vodka’ll do. It’s bloody dusty round these parts.” Viv chuckles and asks if anyone else wants anything. He’s a consummate scrounger and somehow sweet-talked a demure and pulchritudinous female Air China cabin attendant out of her phone number, Email address, and a case of 100 airline liquor miniatures. That he looks like a marginally graying version of Robert Mitchum in his heyday and speaks fluent Dutch, French, and Italian might explain his success. I mean, a guy with four ex-wives can’t be all wrong, right? He’s a definite outlier in this crowd. We could be characterized as a batch of aging natural geoscientists who collectively, sans Viv, add up to an approximate eight on the “Looker” scale. Besides the years, the mileage, the climatic, and industrial ravages, it’s a good thing we all have expansive personalities, as most of us are dreadful enough to make a buzzard barf. But, save for Viv, no one presently here is on the make. Oh, sure; we’ll all sweet talk some fair nubile into a free drink or a double when we really ordered a regular drink, but we’re all married, most terminally, that is, over 35 years and counting. The odd thing is that save and except for Viv, none of us married folk had ever been divorced. That is strange, considering that the global divorce rate hovers around 50%, and we are often called to be apart from kith and kin for prolonged periods. However, we are always faithful and committed to our marital units and those vows we spoke all those many long decades ago. But, hey, we’re all seriously male and not anywhere near dead; and there’s no penalty for just looking, right? Continuing. We’re all loaded on a pre-war, not certain which war, by the way, bus which stank of fish, kimchee, and diesel fuel. We really don’t care even a tiny, iotic amount. It’s free transport, we’re tired of traveling, and not keen on walking any further than we absolutely have to. Viv has been passing out boozy little liquor miniatures, and I’ve been handing out cigars since I bought a metric shitload back in Dubai Duty-Free and somehow got them all through customs. We didn’t light up, as there was neither a driver nor handler present. So, we figured we’d all just wait on the cigars, and concentrate on having a little ground-level “Welcome to Best Korea” party until the powers that be got their collective shit together and provided drivers, herders, and handlers. We sat there for 15 long minutes. Being the international ambassadors of amity and insobriety, we started making noises like “Hey! Where’s our fucking driver?” and “I am Doctor Academician! Of All State Russian Geological Survey! How dare you make me wait? ” Suddenly, a couple of characters in ill-fitting gray suits and fake Rays Bans are outside the bus having a collective meltdown. Somehow, someone fucked up and put us on a ‘regular’ bus and not the ‘VIP’ bus. In other words, we got to see what the locals really got to ride around Pyongyang on instead of our supposed to be impressed by the bus that wasn’t there; but was now just arriving. A spanking new purple-and-chrome Mercedes long-haul bus shows up. It even has our group name emblazoned above the placard that normally tells where the bus is headed or who it is for: “’국제 석유 지질 과학 연합’ [Gugje Seog-yu Jijil Gwahag Yeonhab] or ‘International Union of Petroleum Geological Sciences’”. We are brusquely ordered off our present bus and into the opulent, obviously bespoke, bright yellow faux-leather interior Mercedes-Benz Tourismo RH M. It’s so new and so obviously a ploy to get us to think that all things here are so new and opulent, it even smells of that new car, ah, bus, aroma. “Well, we’ll take care of that soon enough”, I muse, as the bus is equipped with ashtrays and we’re going on the scenic route to our hotel, which is only 25 or so kilometers from the airport. However, it was announced that it’ll take us about 2 hours to get to our hotel since we need to see the city in its best light and get a feeling for the town if we should ever find ourselves lost and alone. We all know what’s going on. They’re getting our rooms ‘ready’ for our arrival and need some extra time to make sure everything’s all wired in and transmitting properly. “Guys”, I muse to our new handlers, “I’ve been to the Soviet Union, pre-wall fall. I stayed in places where I was definitely among the first westerners ever to grace their porticos. We’re a busload of natural scientists, of eight different nationalities, covering the economic spectrum from staunch capitalism to sociable socialism to hard-core communism. You even think for a second we’re going to spill any beans about anything you’d find interesting or useful? Think again.” In fact, it would become a running joke between us all to see what sort of fake bombshells we could drop into the normal conversation what would give the listener’s the greatest case of the jibblies. But for now, our bags were all loaded into the cargo compartment of this very, very nice, I must admit, mode of conveyance. Our handlers: ‘Yuk’, ‘No’, ‘Man’, and ‘Kong’, are all seated upfront and please with their latest tally of bodies. We have a couple of shady fellow travelers with the knock-off Ray-Bans and shiny gray suits that just appeared out of the woodwork in the back, seated by the loo, watching over all of us, and we’re going on a fucking city tour, whether we like it or not. We’re all present and accounted for. Let’s keep our camera in our bags for the time being as the drinking and smoking lights had just been lit as the bus fired up its new German-engineered and machined precision diesel engine. The bus rumbled to life and after a moment or two of checking that all dials, gauges, and indicators were where they were supposed to be; without so much as a cursory glance, we pulled out into traffic. Except there was none. Not another bus, pushbike, tap-tap, scooter, car, truck, hover-board, or motorcycle in sight. Nothing. Seems we were a big deal. They shut down the main drag so we wouldn’t be encumbered by such proletariat things like traffic jams or people-things cluttering the roadway, clambering for a look at the Western scientific cadre. So, away we whizzed, sans traffic and into the very belly of the beast, and onward; eventually, towards our hotel. Our handlers were very kind to point out passing scenes of interest. “Look, look! There’s the Potong River. Notice all the lovely birds, ‘eh what? See the Norwegian Blue? Beautiful plumage!” “See here, look. Here’s the Taedong River. Many forms of fish in the river. Maybe we’ll see some fishermen. If you like, we can stop, and ask them about today’s catch.” We all declined, as we were certain that the fish the ‘random fisherman’ we’d talk to was flown in fresh from elsewhere earlier in the day. Besides, we were comfortable. We had our drinks, our cigars, and we were leaving the driving to someone else. After being driven around the city and seeing all the wonderful monuments, like the faux Arch of Triumph, which looks exactly unlike its namesake Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris. The Arch of Reunification, a monument to the goal of a reunified Korea, which, by necessity, is unfinished. Then there’s the Tomb of King Tongmyŏng, where people are lining up, just dying’ to get in. Finally, we all called for our hotel, the Yanggakdo, after yet another mausoleum, the Kumsusan Memorial Palace of the Sun. Arches or tombs. Such a stunning array of monuments and places of less than moderate interest. We were interested in Mirae Scientists street (Future Scientists street). It is a street in a newly developed area in Pyongyang to house scientific institutions of the Kim Chaek University of Technology and its employees. But we were told that it was too late, there was not much there to see, we needed to express written permission to visit, and we’d be going there tomorrow or next week. We wheel into the parking lot of the Yanggakdo Hotel and are immediately unimpressed by the pseudo-Baroque concrete fiasco that appears to stand, wobbly, before us. It’s a page right out of the Soviet Construction-For-The-Masses Handbook. A cold, gray concrete edifice with multitudes of seemingly little, tiny windows. A perfect metaphor for our travels thus far; look at the expansiveness of Best Korean wonders, through this pinhole. However, we judged too soon. We were told to go inside and check-in, whilst our luggage would be de-bussed for us and handled by the expertly efficient hotel staff. The lobby was opulent, tastefully laid out in earth tones of facades of veneers of marble, granite, some garnet-mica schist, if my hand lens doesn’t lie, some Prepaleozoic anatectic migmatite, displaying intricate and intense plication, xenoliths, and graphic delineation of minerals by segregation through melting points. There was a gigantic well-appointed and well kept up aquarium, complete with snuffling sharks and nuclear-submarine sized groupers. Very handsome indeed. Impressions increasing slightly. Then we see that there’s a bloody casino on the bottom floor of the hotel, several bars interspersed throughout the hotel, and karaoke, of which I’m not terribly fond, but some of my European counterparts almost swooned at the prospect. There are a large pool and weight rooms/gymnasia, saunas and places to relax outside of one’s room, but still under the watchful eye of the thousands of ill-concealed video cameras at every turn. “Covert surveillance” may be a thing in Best Korea, but it’s a practice still leaves a lot to be desired. The Eastern Siberian Russians back before the wall fell were more covert with their obvious button audio microphones woven into the fabric covering the headboard of your Intourist bed than the Best Koreans here. Their cameras were ‘disguised’ as flower arrangements, overhead lights, and speakers inexplicably placed into things like standing ashtrays, refuse bins, and randomly placed holes in the wall. The floors were all covered with exquisite what looked to be hand-woven rugs of most vibrant crimson and gold; the usual Communistic colors. Always with some sort of floral pattern or pattern that’s supposed to be reflective of nature, as I was told. Evidently, for workers to remember what nature was as they don’t get out much with 14 to 16 hours workdays here in the Worker’s Paradise. Enough of the travelogue; we all wander up to the front desk, and each with their own passport in hand, request our reserved rooms. We supposed that we would all have rooms on different floors as the reservations were made, expired, re-made, juggled, rebooked, allowed to expire, re-jiggered, and finally formalized a scant week before we left the UK. Nope. No such luck. We were all on the 39th floor. The place boasts 47 floors, of which, the top floor is a revolving restaurant. Evidently, food tastes better when you’re rotating. However, it won’t spin unless you first buy a drink. We had that thing whirling like a NASA centrifuge after its discovery the second night. Yeah, all 12 of us are bivouacked on the 39th floor. A floor with approximately 30 rooms. I guess we could have played “Room Roulette” and see who got which room and who’s luggage. Or we could switch every day or two to drive our handlers nuts. Or, we could just take our assigned rooms, which were conveniently located one empty room apart. Meaning, no one had adjoining rooms. Why? Fuck if I know. We didn’t spend much time in our rooms, and that time was either sleeping or showering. We’d all meet at the bar, casino, restaurant, karaoke, bowling alley (all three lanes) or actual meeting rooms every once in a while when we thought we should get together and compare notes. It was the most inexplicable situation. Plus, we spent an inordinate amount of time waiting on the fucking elevators to take us to our room. These elevators, and if you think you’re going to get a batch of aging senior scientists to schlep it up 39 floor’s worth of stairs, think again; are the slowest elevators in the civilized world. And that was the consensus of scientists representing not only Europe and North America, but Russia as well. 15-25 minutes added to each journey, up or down; stopping on every floor, except 5, on the way down.. Jesus Q. Fuck, dudes. If you can’t construct a bleedin’ elevator that works better than those at the Sozvezdie Medveditsy Guest House in Lesosibirsk, Eastern Siberia; then I suggest you seriously rethink your plans for world domination and new world order. Grako and Erwin once, while waiting for the fucking elevator, figured out that we were earning some US$25 each just to wait for the lift to arrive and take us to our rooms. Every day. Sometimes several times per day. With that, we all agreed to toss our “waiting time” funds into a kitty and on our last day of captivity here, blow it all in the hotel casino. Whatever became of that would be donated to the Koreans we thought most deserving of our largesse. Would it be our handlers? How about the Korean Scientists we’d be meeting? The affable and most accommodating concierge? Or that plucky little Korean charwoman who was always on our floor and kept everything spotless, right down to our freshly laundered and pressed field clothes and newly polished field boots; done without our requesting or knowledge? Only time would tell. It could be a fortune or it could be bupkiss. Just like our expectations of the Heavenly Kingdom where we were currently sequestered. As it was, with our official protestations, they kept only photocopies of our passports as we roundly refused and threatened a full-scale karaoke battle right here in the lobby if they didn’t relinquish our passports immediately. I had broken out my nastiest cigar and was primed to offend. With that, we all had our keys and trooped over to the elevators for our first, of many, inexplicable waits. We made many uncharitable and potentially nasty remarks about the Anti-Western posters that made up some of the wall décor. Once we finally made it to our floor, we all fanned out to find our rooms. Viv found his first and was quite pleased to report to the rest of us that there was a “Welcome” basket in his room. We all hoped that we would be receiving one a well. I was in room 3914; which I considered a close call, but later only wondered as there was no 3913. Upon entering, I saw it was 1980s Hotel 6 opulent, but with an excellent over-city view. True it was late, dark, and the city was only somewhat lit up; I was looking forward to the view of the town in full daylight. The room had a ‘king’ bed; that is if the king in question was Tutankhamen, the stubby, Egyptian boy king. The bed had no mattress pad and no box spring but it was hard enough for my liking. Many of my compatriots didn’t agree and complained bitterly. They eventually received thin mattress pads for all their kvetching. There was an ancient Japanese color television, which only had 2 English language channels - Al Jazeera and the BBC, which was on a dated news loop. Watching the local channel is amusing though; the ads for ‘personal enhancements’ were hilarious, even without understanding a word of the language. There were a couple of chairs and a low table, built-in dresser drawers for our clothes, a rusty and probably unusable room safe with corroded batteries, a small table built out of the wall that would serve as my travel office, and would-you-believe, a rotary telephone; how’s that for nostalgia? There was an old-model radio built into the nightstand next to the bed. I was very surprised to find it not only received AM, FM but shortwave as well. I had brought along a pair of Bose headphones and during some rainy down days, spent many fun-filled, and I mean that sincerely, hours DXing from the comfort of my ‘enormous’ king bed. Beyond that, the room was very nondescript. Like any other of the millions of rooms in hotels around the world that unlike here, aren’t claiming a 5-star rating. I mean, it was clean, if not a little long in the tooth. But didn’t smell too terrible, even after I took care of that with my Camacho offerings. It was utilitarian, everything worked, even the water pressure, which surprisingly could strip off layers of one’s skin if you weren’t careful. The bathroom, though no Jacuzzi, had a large enough bathtub for the occasional soaking period. Western accouterments in the bathroom were also welcome additions. My knees can’t handle the traditional squat-holes any longer. There were an electric teapot and several brands of tea, but no coffee. A quick “Gee! I sure wish I had some coffee!” to the four walls and damned if 30 minutes later, a porter didn’t arrive to replenish my tea and courtesy in-room coffee… There was a small Japanese brand in-room refrigerator which I thought might house a mini-bar. Oh, no! It was actually a complimentary larder stocked with all sorts of Best Korean goodies. Multiple cans of Taedonggang beer. Several bottles of Pyongyang Soju, in various flavors ranging anywhere from 16.8 to 53 percent alcohol by volume. My fridge was skewed towards the right-hand side of the bell curve; the more heavy-duty boozy side. Evidently, my reputation had preceded me again. There was a selection of German-style wheat beers from the Taedonggang Brewery and the more familiar ales, steam beers, and lagers. There were some imported beers like Heineken, Bavaria, Pils, a couple of Japanese brands: Asahi and Kirin, and something called ‘Hello Beer’ from Singapore. There were also ‘sampler’ bottles of Apricot Pit wine, and a couple of high-alcohol fruity liquors made from constituents such as apple or pear, and mushrooms. There were also special medicinal liquors like ‘Rason’s Seal Penis Liquor’. That is going home with me unopened. There were a couple of bottles of local sake, called Chonju. Finally, there was a couple ‘samplers’ of homemade alcohol known as Makkoli. Plus there was something called ‘Corn Grotto’, which for the life of me, looks and tastes much like a very passable Kentucky Sippin’ Bourbon. I put our concierge on instant danger money the very next day. He’s yet to source me more than a fifth of the stuff so far. I found that there is a popular drink here which mirrors the Yorsch of Mother Russia. Beer and soju can be mixed to create *somaek’; a foamy, frothy, funky drink of many flavors, depending on the soju chosen. Is ethnoimbibology at thing? The science of how different cultures drink and the effects of drinking culture on different societies. If not, now I have another Ph.D. to pursue after I endow a chair at some likely Asian university. Anyways, in everyone’s room was a “welcome” basket, just chock full of Best Korean goodies. Postcards, stamps, ads for coin sets, stamp proofs and other goodies that could be purchased at the hotel. There was a field notebook, which I thought was a very nice addition, newspapers, cookies, crackers, biscuits, candies, fruit drinks, and some fresh fruit; although tamarind chewies and durian chips aren’t on my list of personal favorites. There were a couple of tour books, just chock full of staged photos. These were very nice as well, as so far, we haven’t had much time for shopping outside of government stores or smaller family-run shops in town or out in the boonies. A few of us were hungry and decided to see what the hotel had to offer room service-wise. Bupkiss. But, they did have a selection of restaurants. There is a Chinese restaurant, a European restaurant, and a Korean restaurant on site but they all serve the same food...a Best Korean attempt at western food. And it was weird being the only ones in the restaurant even though it was fully staffed. We grazed lightly and decided to do some late-night perambulations around our hotel. Our handlers admonished us to stay within the confines of the hotel, or see them if it was absolutely necessary to go walkabout. In the hotel, we were on our own. We found that there were tunnels in the hotel’s basement. The basement tunnels were a real bonus. There’s a bar with pool tables, a karaoke room, bowling, and a massage parlor, where I was beaten and pummeled into submission by tiny, diminutive, little Korean lassies fully 1/5th my size. It was wonderful. There was a hairdresser’s, who were completely befuddled by my shoulder-length silver-gray locks and full gray Grizzly Adams beard. They did provide a lovely shampoo/cranial massage though for the equivalent of US$2. There were a couple of shops selling Chinese goods rather than local stuff, which was sort of disappointing, a cold noodle bar, and another casino. No shops selling Korean Communist propaganda posters, as I wanted to augment my Soviet-era collection. Perhaps I’ll find something in-country later on. We were shocked to find that the casino had WiFi that was uncensored and we were able to access; after a fee of liquor miniatures and a cigar or two. We were supposed to have access to the global internet, not local intranet, from the universities that we would be visiting. However, all of that was under the heavily squinting eyes of handlers and guys in shiny suits wearing fake Ray-Bans. I still had my secret satellite internet lash-up available, but that was iffy, a pain in the ass to set up, and ridiculously expensive. However, it did work on the 39th floor and the times I used it instead of wandering down to the tunnels, no one appeared to be the wiser. Thus far. So typically, we’d just head to the basement casino with our laptops, iPads, and phones. Bam! Robert’s your Sister’s Husband, we could connect more-or-less free with the outside world; hence how you are reading this now. Herro! “Yes, I’d sure like another beer. This time a porter, if you please.” The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain. Or the more they put into locks, the easier they are to pick. Besides, we were told we’d have access to unfettered and free internet. OK, so we just found it for ourselves. Whaddya expect? We’re scientists, motherfucker, back off. Ahem. Back to reality. The breakfast buffet the next morning had a wide choice of Asian and Western food, although the choices seemed to be the same every day. The main event was to beat the Chinese tourists to the egg station every morning. Breakfast always included fried eggs, a limited selection of pork, kippered fish, potatoes, rice, fruit, and a very Titanium-dioxide-white white bread After a while, I took to going to the small market behind the lobby, buying some imported Chinese or Japanese nibbly bits and heading to the tunnels for a few breakfast beers before the long hard day’s work. It took almost a week, but I gained the trust of some of the workers in the tunnels and they showed me the on-site microbrewery at the hotel. It produced very passable, and very, very cheap beers of several varieties. Liquid bread. Beer. Is there nothing it can’t do? After breakfast our first day at the hotel, we were told to meet in the Conference Room “Il-sung” as we were going to have a ‘Welcome foreign imperialist scientists’ introduction and indoctrination. Besides our handlers and the shiny-suit squad, there were several Korean folks we didn’t recognize. These were students, scientists, and scholars from the Kim Chaek University of Technology, Kim Il-sung University, the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology; all hailing from Pyongyang, and the University of Geology from North Hwanghae Province. “Oh, marvelous”, Erlen remarked, “It’s going to be a bloody Chautauqua. We’ll be here all day.” “Well”, I replied, “It could be worse. We could be on a bus headed off on another unscheduled road trip.” As we found our seats, our Korean counterparts were busily setting up portable screens, like the ones your grandfather had for showing his 2.1 Googleplex worth of travel slides every Christmas or Thanksgiving get-together. They had a couple of ancient Chinese brand laptops that could have doubled for body armor, they were so thick and heavy. While they fiddled with running cords for the overhead projectors and 16mm film projector; yes, it was going to be movie time as well, the hotel’s restaurant folks wheeled in carts laden with scones, cupcakes, and other sweet sorts of bakery. Another cart was wheeled in with pump-pots of hot water, tea, and coffee. Usual scientific meeting fare. There was one final cart that made the day bearable. It held a pony keg of hotel micro-brewed beer on ice, with several dozen frosty mugs available for all who wanted to partake. There were instantly 12 mugs that were spoken for. I grabbed a cold beer and wandered around the conference room, sipping beer, chewing on an unlit cigar, and just trying to be pleasant to our hosts and their scientific guests. I was surprised when one North Korean professor, who spoke amazingly British-tinged English, offered me a light for my cigar. “Is smoking allowed here?” I asked. “Allowed?” he laughed heartily, “My good man, it’s practically a prerequisite.” “Here then”, I said, offering him a nice, unctuous Camacho, “Try one of mine.” Dr. P'ung Kwang-Seon of the North Korean University of Geology became my instant and lifelong friend at that moment. We had a very nice chat, much to the chagrin of the gray suit cadre, who could hear what we were talking about, but probably didn’t understand anything beyond every 8th word. After a while, we were asked to take our seats, after refreshing our drinks, and introduced to the group of Korean geoscientists we’d be interacting with during our stay here in Best Korea. I tried to record every name, but between the students, other scholars, and professors from the various universities, I decided I’d ask for a list of participants once the day had worn on. After all, they had all our names, references, and resumes if the thick folio they kept referring to was any indication. There were a couple of hours of introductions, as every one of the Korean geoscientists there introduced themselves, mostly through translators, told of their personal area of specialty, and their latest work. Most were what would be considered geoscientists, but oddly enough, not one that you would consider a petroleum geoscientist, however tangentially. There were geomorphologists, structural geologists, petrologists, mineralogists, marine geologists, engineering geologists, and seismologists. However, there were no stratigraphers, sedimentologists, paleontologists, or geochemists. We were all geoscientists, but apart from the obvious Korean:English disparity, it was as if we spoke different scientific languages as well. That would be our first hurdle to overcome. They had no oil industry here; none whatsoever, therefore why one would bother with the geosciences that fed directly into petroleum? That, in and of itself, would make it difficult to explore for oil in the country. Couple that with the fact that they’re so insular, think their version of ‘science’ is the best, at least that’s the official line, and think all other’s ‘science’ is capitalistic, substandard, and inferior doesn’t bode well for your country discovering anything either oily or gassy. We were having another conclave around the beer keg, ack, err…a ‘coffee break’ and I mentioned this fact to my scientific colleagues. “Guys”, I need input here, “We’re going to get precisely nowhere if they won’t even acknowledge that they have major problems from the start.” Ivan replies, “Very true. I’ve seen this before back home. You get a group so entrenched in their own little corner of science, they can’t even accept or acknowledge that others exist. Not only exist but actually know more about a certain problem than do you.” Dax joins the fray, “Sure, that’s very true, but who’s going to tell them this unfortunate fact? They could take that as a personal, national, and global insult. Imagine you’re at an international conference and a bunch of foreigners walk in just to tell you you’ve been doing it all wrong for the last 75 years.” I add, “Remember, though. These characters are scientists as well. I think it’ll be a good measure of seeing what sort of science and scientist we’re dealing with here. If they are truly researchers, they’ll listen to and evaluate what we say as for veracity and accuracy. If they’re just a bunch of Commie goons; no offense, Comrade Academician Ivan, they’ll get all pissed off, kick us out, and we get to go home and enjoy our triple Force Majeure pay.” Ivan walks over and deliberately steps on the toes of my newly polished field boots. “In Soviet Russia, field boots walk on YOU.” He laughs in his heavily inflected, and scary, Soviet-era speech… “Yes, I agree”, Joon adds, “But who is going to address this issue with our hosts? Perhaps one of our Russian comrades, as they are, or were, more politically aligned with our Korean friends and perhaps best understand the issue?” Ack speaks up, grinning maniacally, “No, I disagree. We should have the one person here who so encapsulates the ideologies and political leanings that they love to hate here so much. You know; the quiet, diminutive, and soft-spoken North American…” Dax recoils, “Oh, no! I’m not going out in front of this mob of ornery Orientals…” I smile wanly and tell Dax to cool out. “Relax, Dax. They’re talking about me.” “Oh, yes”, a collective group of voices replies, “Yes. Let out fearless Team Leader break the bad news to our Eastern Colleagues. That way we can gauge their reactions to being bounced around scientifically by a member of the Evil Capitalist Cartel.” “OK”, I reply, “I’ll do it. But be forewarned, my fine feathered fiends. I get stuck on a topic that’s not precisely my bailiwick, I’m going to throw your ass to the wolves. Remember, we’re all in this together.” Whoops, and catcalls were reduced to mumbles and ‘Aw, fucks.’. Chautauqua resumption was called and I asked for the floor. It was a bit off the agenda, but since they’ve been chewing the air for the last several hours, they understood it would be appropriate for us to at least try and get a word in edgewise. I downed my beer, and grabbed a fresh one as what I was going to say was going to be harsh, cut-and-dried, and rather pointed. But delivered in a pleasant manner. I hoped. This all had to be filtered through a series of translators, one for general conversational Korean and another for the more technical and scientific transliterations. I realized I was going to be up here for a while. So, I brought a cigar. One way or another, I was going to deliver our pronouncements and hell, I may as well be comfortable while doing it. . “Greetings and felicitations, my Eastern Colleagues. Let me first say how nice it is to be here in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as part of the ….” I’m going to fast-forward through all the flowery bullshit and introductory happiness; I’ll going to just cut to the guts of the matter. “…Now, you do know why there has been virtually no oil, gas nor any other hydrocarbon related deposit discovered here in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea?” I asked by way of a rhetorical question. I sipped my beer and lit my cigar. In for a chon, in for a won. I let the buzzing subside on the side of our eastern counterparts. “Because, and please do not take this as insulting or derogatory, but as a statement of irrefutable fact, no one with the proper training nor experience has been looking. You’re historically guilty of applying the science incorrectly and letting dogma and politics guide your search, instead of the scientific method and the facts. Geology, like all natural science, is just as truth based on the facts for a capitalist as it is for a communist. Reality is not influenced by your beliefs, be they scientific or political, secular or spiritual, ‘trusted’ rather than ‘thought’; any more than by your wish that it wouldn’t rain today during a raging thunderstorm.” Little Boy over Hiroshima was dropped with less effect. Our Democratic People's Republic of Korea colleagues erupted into a chaotic mixture of stuttering, internecine yelling, accusations, and sputtering. Calling for decorum, I figured that since I was this far gone, I may as well push the plunger all the way to the bottom. “Gentlemen, I do not denigrate the science of geology as taught and practiced here in Best Korea.” I actually said that, sort of a slip of the tongue. Continuing, “However, one would not fish for Bluefin tuna from a rowboat in a pond with a fly rod. One does not hunt bear in the city with a slingshot. Just as one doesn’t search for oil and gas with mining engineers, geomorphologists, and seismologists.” I let that sink in and after the translation, they calmed a bit and wanted to hear the rest of what I had to say. I could sense a couple was less than thrilled with what I had to say, but forging onward… “One fishes for Bluefin tuna in the deep ocean with huge rods, reels and a specialist boat captained by someone with deep experience in hunting the elusive fish. One hunts bear in the proper environment, the taiga or forest, with the proper tools and guided by one with the education, learnedness, and experience to know how to make the hunt come out successful.” Hit them with some analogies they can relate to and digest. Now, go for the carotid. “Just like one does not hunt oil and gas without stratigraphers, sedimentologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists, and other oil and gas experts who have the education, experience, and knowledge to know where to look. Knowing which environment looks most conductive to hide your quarry, if you’ll pardon the pun, and how best to find them, the guys who know how to corral and de-risk them once you find them, and the engineers and technologists who know how to bring them to the surface so they can be utilized.” They had stopped being irritated and were listening in rapt attention. “My colleagues and I have spent the last few days going over, in detail the geology of your country. There is nothing we can see that would preclude the development, entrapment, and preservation of economic quantities of oil and gas. Ture, the geology is quite complex as is the structural history of the entire peninsula. That’s one other thing you will have to accept. Geology doesn’t give the tiniest shit about political boundaries. One must look at the big picture, and that doesn’t stop at some man-made borders. Ignore that fact at your peril, because if you continue to view the geology here as not existing across political boundaries, you are preadapting yourself for failure.” Drs. Ivan, Volna, and Morse make certain that everyone sees the ex-Soviets agreeing with the bushy-bearded, cigar-chomping American capitalist. “So,” I said, hoping to bring this little spit-balling session to a fortuitous close, “If we can have an agreement; scientific agreement, on these points, then I am certain we can find a way forward with not only this discussion but the program we can devise for the best Korean (notice phase shift?) geologists to take the project forward both scientifically soundly and economically successful.” My North Korean counterpart gets up from his seat in the conference room, goes to the keg, taps a couple of beers and walks up to the podium where I was standing. “Thank you, Dr. Rocknocker, for saying what needed to be said”, he spoke in perfect English as he handed me a beer. I grinned and gratefully accepted the beer. “Why, Dr. Chang Kwang-Su”, I said, as that was his name, “You old fraud. You do speak English; and very well, I must add.” “Yes, almost all of us do”, he relayed, “But, as you said, we are most reserved. We were more or less under orders of the ‘most illustrious’, to play coy, and act as if we spoke no English.” “I see.” I said, “I’ve worked in several FSU countries as well as Russia and saw that there as well. I guess old habits die hard.” “That they do, Doctor.”, he replied, “But, we must now tell you the truth. We knew exactly what you said is true, and we agree. We are not as totally insulated from the outside world as some suspect.” “Well, I was going on what your superiors related to us. Like the police that had all their toilets stolen, I had nothing else to go on.” I replied. “Ah, ha! Quite!”, he chuckled, “We had long suspected that we were lacking in certain areas of scholarship. What you said cements that fact as it was an independent conclusion. We can now present that to our superiors with the caveat that unless we bolster work and training in these areas, the hunt of hydrocarbon resources here will be for naught.” “I am relieved”, I said, truthfully. “I was slightly concerned that some might take umbrage to being told their science is not up to specifications. I tried to be the bearer of that bad news but deliver it gently. Here, I find you need that to use that as a truncheon to smack one’s boss upside the head and tell him that an upgrade is required. And fast.” “Ah, so”, he replies, “We are in total agreement. Now that is out of the way, we would appreciate it if you’d help in designing a course of study for up and coming local geoscientists. Then, we can go forward with a great plan to search for oil and gas here in…Korea. Correct?” “Absolutely”, I remarked, “You’ve got over 400 man-years of science and exploration expertise here in this room alone. Let’s shoot for the moon, so to speak. Let’s get you up to speed on scientific journals and articles that are available out there in all of academia and industry. Let’s get you communicating on a global basis. Let’s prove that you can talk science with global scientists and still not have it affect your political or nationalistic aspirations one little bit. Let’s see if we can drag you, figuratively speaking, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century.” “Doctor”, Dr. Chang remarked, “You are the embodiment of what we were always told what Americans are. Brash, loud, confident, and evil. Except for evil, you are American as we were led to believe.” “Hey, I take that as a compliment”, I exclaim. “You think that’s bad, I’ve got a bunch of earnest Europeans, raucous Russians, and a couple of cagey Canadians on my side as well. Before we’re finished here, we’ll have you ordering hachee, dining on Caldo Verde, snacking on salmiakki, drinking Russkaya vodka with Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, eating poutine, and rooting for the Packers.” “Doctor, I don’t know what half of that means, but I hope it comes to pass. It sounds most fascinating.” Dr. Chang chuckles. The rest of the day was spent with various groups crystallizing and breaking off from the main crowd; then reforming as different groups. This was good, as it showed an interest across not only national borders but across ideologies and scientific specialties. Most everyone here spoke English with some degree of fluency, so the translators were called in only occasionally. I made certain they were included in everything that transpired that day. I want everyone to feel ‘part of the team’. How better to show the classlessness of Western science to include everyone in on both sides of every discussion and activity? To be continued…
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[US to world] Is it too early to shop for stocking stuffers? Masses of minis, incl. lots of skincare and lipsticks. TONs of shadow pans from MUG, Mac, ABH, Colourpop, Coloured Raine. The Balm palettes. ABH brow wiz. Bite agave masks.
Shipping starts at $3 & I'm happy to ship internationally if you cover shipping
F&F unless you request invoice, PP fee will apply to invoice.
Please comment on this post if you're interested in something; if you PM it's hard to keep track of who wanted what first. Once we agree on a price, we can exchange info through PM.
Wishlist
Only swapping for these items at this time, and may consider buying for good price:
Coloured Raine eyeshadow single in Queen Mother
Too faced gingerbread spice palette
Zoeva 232, Mac 329, Mac 221 or equivalents from other brands. Only really interested in white bristled brushes...weird personal preference haha.
Benefit gimme brow in #4 or #5. Prefer full sized or several minis
Minis | Bellini (luminous Creme, used 1x), radish (luminous Creme, new), palomino (amuse Bouche, new) - $4 each
More minis | high pigment pencil in glace and amuse buche in chai (new, $4 each)
Others, all minis except primer | the lip pencil in 04 (new, $3), Matte Creme lip crayon in pastille (new, $5), high pigment pencil in pomegranate (used 3x and bullet a little loose in tube, $2), Matte Creme lip crayon in blanc (new, $5), line and define lip primer (full sized & new, $5)
Liquid lipsticks: $4 each unless otherwise specified
Mostly minis: Buxom whipped in centerfold, KVD backstage bambi, Stila patina, Tartiest birthday suit, Too faced melted full size in ruby (used 2x, $5), Bare Minerals gen nude in swag, ciate voodoo, Rimmel show off in Big Bang (new, $1)
Buxom full bodied lipsticks in a pinky coral shade that I’m pretty sure is ‘mistress,’ but the label has rubbed off (used 3x) and swinger (used 2x) - $3 each
Urban Decay jilted (new, but has a lot of wax bloom) - FWP
Sephora rouge shine lipstick in Love Spell (new) - $2
Wet & Wild trio for brown & hazel eyes (see usage) - $1
Milani runway eyes in Designer browns (see usage, and bottom shade broken) - $1
Pigments, loose shadows, glitters: Bella Terra mineral shadow in Emotion (new), Bare Minerals loose shadow in Cultured Pearl (new, but labels have rubbed off from being in my purse), Ulta mineral shadow in snow (used 1x), NYX roll on shimmer in sublimateur (used 2x) - $1 each
ABH brow wiz in soft brown x2, and dark brown (new) - $14 each (I got a ton of these during one of their sales to use up my expiring Ulta points)
Single Shadow Pans
I went crazy buying various filled palettes from users here, so have a few doubles. Some are a little dusty from a shimmer bomb shadow that EXPLODED in a z-palette. Will package these in a little sleeve I make with an index card + bubble wrap. I've shipped many shadows this way and haven't had an issue. Please check swatches as my lighting isn't the best! Everything is magnetic. Makeup Geek: $4 each unless specified. A few are depots from either the Vegas Lights or Manny palette, so these dont have a sticker, but rather the name printed directly on the pan.
$5 each - Glamglow glowstarter, Cover FX illuminating primer, Glamglow glow starter, MUFE step 1
$4 each - Benefit porefessional, benefit porefessional license to blot, Peter Thomas Roth skin to die for, Smashbox photofinish radiance, MUFE Ultra HD blurring primer w/SPF 25
Glamglow dreamduo (may have used once, but probably new) - $5 for both
Sunday Riley good genes and luna sleeping oil (I have two good genes, as you can see in this pic. They are both .17ml, but the tubes look different) - $6 each
Other: Formula X “Astronomical”, Nails Inc matte top coat, Sally Hanson “Fuzz-sea”, Sally Hanson (don’t know the name, but it’s like a top coat with matte glitters) - $2 each for first 3, $1 each for last two
[SELL][US] HUGE DECLUTTER CONTINUES! TONS OF HIGH END PRODUCTS TO DRUGSTORE, NEW THINGS ADDED AND PRICES HAVE DROPPED AGAIN! EVERYTHING IS STILL NEGOTIABLE!!
The boring stuff-
Shipping to the US for right now, sorry! Shipping starts at $4 and may increase due to weight.
Everything has been cleaned, but sanitizing will be up to you!
Payments through PayPal. F&F is preferred, but G&S will be accepted at buyers expense.
No Minimum!
Time stamps will be honored, and if you change your mind about a product, please let me know!
As the title states, ALL prices are negotiable. Don't be afraid to make offers, especially on multiple items!
also- I would prefer not to swap as I need the money and need these products gone. However I am weak to temptation. If you have a list, I will more than likely be willing to take a look!
Lancome La Base Pro.90-95% Remaining. Retail $42/ yours for $21SOLD
MAC Strobe Cream in Goldlite. Used 1-2 times. Retail $34. Yours for $16 PENDING
Covergirl + Olay Primer. 85% Remaning. Yours for $3.
MUFE Step 1 Hydrating Primer DS. BN. $2
FOUNDATIONS
Becca Aqua Luminous Foundation. Shade Beige. This is SEALED. It was my backup but I did not get tan enough this summer to use it! Retail $44. Yours for $20 PENDING
It Cosmetics CC Cream. Shade Medium.60-70% Remaining. Retail $38. Yours for $14SOLD
Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer. Shade Light Medium. 90% Remaining. Retail $36. Yours for $18 PENDING
Too Faced Born This Way Foundation. Shade Pearl. 95% Remaining. Retail $39. Yours for $20
Tarte Amazonian Clay Stick Foundation. Shade Medium Neutral. 85% Remaining. Retail $39. Yours for $16
Colourpop No Filter Foundation. Shade Light 75. Swatched to see that this is definitely not my shade. Retail $12. Yours for $7
LA Girl Pro Coverage Liquid Foundation. Shade Natural. 95% Remaining. Retail $8.99. Yours for $4.
The Ordinary Coverage Foundation. Shade 2.0N.90% Remaining. Retail $6.90. Yours for $3.SOLD
Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse. Shade 20 Classic Ivory. Used once. Retail $7.99. Yours for $3.
ELF Foundation Palette. Shade Light/Medium. Swatched. Retail $6. Yours for $2.
MeMeMe Beat The Blues Liquid Highlighter. Shade Oyster Gold. Used 5 times. Retail $8. Yours for $2.
[PALETTES](https://imgur.com/a/v7ESF69) MUG SINGLES- SHADES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT. BUNDLE FOR $28. OR INDIVIDUALLY FOR $3 EACH.
VANILLA BEAN
PEACH SMOOTHIESOLD
GLAMOUROUS
ROULETTE
CUPCAKESOLD
COSMOPOLITAN
GODDESS
PROMNIGHT
BITTENSOLD
COUNTRY GIRLSOLD
CHERRY COLA.
MAC NORDSTROMS FINEST 15 PAN PALETTE. I Bought this for Cork and Soft Brown. Only used a few times. If anyone knows how to depot these, i'd love to know! But otherwise, Retail $65. Yours for $38. SMASHBOX DOUBLE EXPOSURE. Used maybe 2 times. Retail $42. Yours for $18. LORAC PRO UNZIPPED GOLD. Small Dips in a few shades. Retail $42. Yours for $21. KYLIE COSMETICS BRONZE PALETTE.Pretty light usage. Retail $42. Yours for $24.SOLD SMASHBOX COVERSHOT PALETTE. SHADE ABLAZE. Used a few times, one shade has hard pan. Retail $29. Yours for $18. TARTE TARTIEST PRO TO GO EYE PALETTE. Used 4 times. Retail $23. Yours for $14. COLOURPOP GOLDEN STATE OF MIND PALETTE.Swatched a few times. Retail $26. Yours for $12. COLOURPOP DOUBLE ENTENDRE PALETTE.Used a few times. Retail $16. Yours for $9. COLOURPOP SEMI PRECIOUS. STILL IN BOX.Swatched. Retail $26. Yours for $14.SOLD CROWN FUEGO PALETTE.Used 2 times. Retail $29.99. Yours for $8.SOLD PUR X BOXYCHARM PALETTE. Swatched 2 times. Retail $36. Yours for $8. PUR BRONZE AND BRIGHTEN FACE PALETTE.Swatched. Retail $24. Yours for $3.SOLD [EYES](https://imgur.com/a/UrCYc9a)
It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Eyeshadow Trio. Shade Pearl Luxe. Pretty light usage. Retail $24. Yours for $13.
Fiona Styles Eyeshadow Quad. Shade Topanga. Used once. Retail $22. Yours for $5.
Burberry Single Eyeshadow. Shade Mulberry. Used 4 times. Retail $29.50. Yours for $13.
Mac Single Eyeshadow. Shade Gorgeous Gold. Swatched twice. Retail $17. Yours for $8.
Smash box Always on Liquid Lipstick. 3 Shades Available- Drivers Seat, Babe Alert, and Stepping Out. THESE ARE BEGINNING TO DRY OUT. I tried to show in the photo, but they are all about at the same stage. I haven't had them very long, and I have used each shade maybe twice. If anyone wants to salvage these take all three for $10.
Tarte Tartiest Lip Paint. Shade Brownie. Swatched. Retail $20. Yours for $7.
Kylie Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lipstick. Shade Dolce K. Used 8 times. Retail $17. Yours for $9.
Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick. Shade Verona. Swatched once. Retail $20. Yours for $8.
Ofra Ipsy Unzipped Liquid Lipstick. Swatched. Yours for $6.
So Susan Liquid Lipstick. Shade Pumpkin. Swatched. Yours for $5.
Pretty Vulgar Liquid Lip. Shade My Lips are Sealed. Swatched. Retail $24. Yours for $8.
NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipstick. Shade Push Up. Used 3 times. Retail $6.99. Yours for $1.
Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip. Shade Teeny Tiny. Swatched once, however lettering is beginning to rub off. Retail $6, yours for $2.
Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip. Shade Monday. Swatched once, however lettering is beginning to rub off. Retail $6, yours for $2.
Lottie London Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick. Shade Hey Bae. Swatched once. Retail $6.49. Yours for $2.
NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream. Shade Abu Dhubai. Swatched. Yours for $2.
Jordan Sweet Cream Matte Liquid Lipstick. Shades Tiramisu, Cinnamon Toast, and Sugarberry Crumble. All shades have only been swatched. Retail $4.99. Yours for $1 each, or take all 3 for $2.
Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick. Shade Magick. Swatched twice. Retail $19. Yours for $11.
[US to world] Mostly minis, mid to high-end brands including Tarte, UD, Too Faced, KVD, Mac, Bite, ABH. The Balm Palettes. Huda desert dusk. Skincare + Haircare. 50++ eyeshadow pans from MUG, Mac, ABH, Colourpop & Coloured Raine!
Shipping starts at $3 & I'm happy to ship internationally if you cover shipping
F&F unless you request invoice, PP fee will apply to invoice.
Please comment on this post if you're interested in something; if you PM it's hard to keep track of who wanted what first. Once we agree on a price, we can exchange info through PM.
Wishlist
Only swapping for these items at this time, and may consider buying for good price:
Coloured Raine eyeshadow single in Queen Mother
Too faced gingerbread spice palette
Zoeva 232, Mac 329, Mac 221 or equivalents from other brands. Only really interested in white bristled brushes...weird personal preference haha.
Paula's Choice BHA 2% liquid (will buy for ~$20 shipped)
L'Occitaine almond shower oil (prefer full sized or several minis)
Minis | Bellini (luminous Creme, used 1x), radish (luminous Creme, new), palomino (amuse Bouche, new) - $4 each
More minis | high pigment pencil in glace and amuse buche in chai (new, $4 each)
Others, all minis except primer | the lip pencil in 04 (new, $3), Matte Creme lip crayon in pastille (new, $5), high pigment pencil in pomegranate (used 3x and bullet a little loose in tube, $2), Matte Creme lip crayon in blanc (new, $5), line and define lip primer (full sized & new, $5)
Liquid lipsticks: $4 each unless otherwise specified
Mostly minis: Buxom whipped in centerfold, KVD backstage bambi, Stila patina, Tartiest birthday suit, Too faced melted full size in ruby (used 2x, $5), Bare Minerals gen nude in swag, ciate voodoo, Rimmel show off in Big Bang (new, $1)
Buxom full bodied lipsticks in a pinky coral shade that I’m pretty sure is ‘mistress,’ but the label has rubbed off (used 3x) and swinger (used 2x) - $3 each
Urban Decay jilted (new, but has a lot of wax bloom) - FWP
Sephora rouge shine lipstick in Love Spell (new) - $2
Wet & Wild trio for brown & hazel eyes (see usage) - $1
Milani runway eyes in Designer browns (see usage, and bottom shade broken) - $1
Pigments, loose shadows, glitters: Bella Terra mineral shadow in Emotion (new), Bare Minerals loose shadow in Cultured Pearl (new, but labels have rubbed off from being in my purse), Ulta mineral shadow in snow (used 1x), NYX roll on shimmer in sublimateur (used 2x) - $1 each
I went crazy buying various filled palettes from users here, so have a few doubles. Some are a little dusty from a shimmer bomb shadow that EXPLODED in a z-palette. Will package these in a little sleeve I make with an index card + bubble wrap. I've shipped many shadows this way and haven't had an issue. Please check swatches as my lighting isn't the best! Everything is magnetic. Makeup Geek: $4 each unless specified. A few are depots from either the Vegas Lights or Manny palette, so these dont have a sticker, but rather the name printed directly on the pan.
$5 each - Glamglow glowstarter, Cover FX illuminating primer, Glamglow glow starter, MUFE step 1
$4 each - Benefit porefessional, benefit porefessional license to blot, Peter Thomas Roth skin to die for, Smashbox photofinish radiance, MUFE Ultra HD blurring primer w/SPF 25
Other: Formula X “Astronomical”, Nails Inc matte top coat, Sally Hanson “Fuzz-sea”, Sally Hanson (don’t know the name, but it’s like a top coat with matte glitters) - $2 each for first 3, $1 each for last two
Hey /Vancouver, Here are some events going on for Canada Day. Some may’ve been found in my other threads like “Bands in Town” and “Food Event Threads”, but here it’s all mashed into one and hopefully easily digestible thread. Normally I separate these type of threads by day, but because there is only one Canada Day I’ve separated it by city. Please note if I left out any city (Aldergrove, Abbotsford, Langley, Maple Ridge, and Pitt Meadows) it’s because I’ve deemed you too far away and urge you to come back to civilization. I know there are events happening all around July 1st and spilling into the 2nd/3rd but… this is only for July 1st. Burnaby Canada Day Celebration @ Edmonds Community Centre – FREE
Ideal for the whole family. Activities, face painting, music, arts, and crafts. This runs from 11am-4pm, enough time to check out Swangard.
Starting at 5pm join people at Swangard stadium for a concert featuring Will Stroet (CBC KIDS), Kokoma, and Side One. It’ll be hosted by Barenaked Ladies member, Steven Page.
From 1:30pm to 4:30pm come to Coquitlam and skate! Normally they’re closed for the Holiday but today they’re open. I suck at skating and was made fun of by my last date for trying it, so I’ll never put on skates again.
From 10am to 1pm enjoy by donation Hot Dogs, Birthday cake, and drinks. There will be live entertainment, streetside community kitchen and face painting.
From 12pm to 4pm enjoy the music stylings of Delta Police Pipe Band. Featured attractions are rides, games, races, and whatever a silk zoo is. Also TRACTORS! TRACTORS! TRACTORS!
From 5:30pm to 10:45pm gather around for Food Vendors, Live music, and fireworks! For some reason it says to bring blankets but it’ll be hot out…. Oh, to lay on them.
From 11:30am to 3:30pm enjoy celebrations at Queens Park. Including arts and heritage workshops, community group presentations, and diverse performances.
Celebrate Canada day at a unique location. Be part of a Guinness world record, take selfies, temporary tattoos, yoga, good, and axe throwing. From opening to closing, enjoy your time at Grouse Mountain.
From noon to dusk enjoy children activities, paint a tile for the Canada 150 Mosaic, Talent Showcase, Food Vendors, and community market place. Oh and fireworks.
Full day street party from 10am to 10:30pm. Musical performances, Steveston Salmon Festival, Shopping, and Fireworks. Performances from bands like Wintersleep, Youngblood, and DJ Seko.
Make maple shaped cookies, win prizes, face painting, sample food truck offerings, play board games, rides, and zipline. Headline by… Hedly and Magic! Fireworks at 10:30pm.
Take a ride on BCER 1225, a restored interurban railcar. The 1225 leaves from Cloverdale Station travelling through the farm lands to Sullivan Station, passing across Highway 10. Each ride is approximately 55 minutes round trip, and includes commentary along the way.
Highlighted in my other events this is a huge event with music with Sam Roberts, Hey Ocean! Dragonette, and FEFE over two days. Food trucks will be there, citizenship swearing in, and much much more.
Trying to break a Guinness world record for largest drumming circle! Join in on Canada Day. It’ll be from 10am to 12:30pm with drumming starting at 11pm.
Celebrate Canada Day between 10am – 5:30pm and get the new 1-dollar coin and strike their own Canada 150 themed token. The limit is 5 1-dollar coins and two free token strikes per guest.
The Robson Street Business Association is doing a huge street party filled with entertainment, music, treats, giveaways, and sales from local businesses. Noteworthy things: Cupcakes @ 2pm, ball hockey tourney at 4pm, and festive jar of bacon @ Earls for 1.50!
Free guest list with EMAIL RSVP. Get a free Monarch burger poutine and complimentary duffin donuts at the bar! Then dance and dance and dance the night away.
[Sell][US] Back Again! Prices cut! All NYX BOGO 50% off! Tons of Colourpop, Bite, ABH, Kat Von D, wet n wild and so much more! Make me offers! Motivated to sell!
Not sure if anyone would be interested in this, but I have an old vintage perfume bottle for sale, openedclosed Skin *Dr. Brandt Pore Dermabrasion DS- $4 *Scary Pretty Face Mask BN $1 each *Pumpkin Spice x2 *Sugar Cookie
Stratia Liquid Gold Decants!! $3 for every 5ml- Cheaper than the other guys ;) Stratia Liquid Gold| 5ml-$3 | Every 5ml| N
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