Looking back

It's my last night in Vancouver and I am sitting in my room trying not to sweat all over the freshly washed linen on the bed I've called mine for the last month. I am grateful that there wasn't any recored breaking heat waves while I was pounding the pavement, trying to search for the mystery person. What I am most grateful for is Robin giving me the opportunity to participate in "The only thing I know for sure is that while I am looking for you, you are looking for me." I have really enjoyed getting to know this fantastic metropolis, and am pleased to have met all the interesting people to happened to cross my path. The month was full of unexpected and improbable experiences.

This project was truely a unique assignment. How does one go into something like this with expectaions? I guess we all had some sort of romanticized idea about how it might play out. Although how Matthew and I found eachother over the internet wasn't terribly sexy, that is how it happened and that makes the project a success. I was upset for awhile about Matthew's effort (or lack thereof?) but really he was just going about it a different way. He was playing the hunter role, while I was trying to be found. There are a few things I would do differently, but overall, I am proud of my efforts and see them as being relevant and obvious.

An aspect of Robin's work that I really admire is how he gives up control of his art and puts it into the hands of strangers. That's where the art happens. It's all about the social interactions and other's interpretations of his ideas. During my post-searching interview with Robin, he asked me how I thought what I was doing was considered art. I guess it was kind of like a performance. Even trying to be as real as possible, I always felt a bit like people where watching. Like I was playing the role of how I thought I should be. Kind of like reality TV, but without the cameras. The cameras were following me in my head because I was so aware of my actions and intentions, I felt like I was in some sort of spotlight. Which isn't always a comfortable position to be in.

In the end, I am going home satisfied with my time spent here. I am ready to go home.

Keep an eye out for "...looking for you..." exhibits coming soon-ish.

Thanks to:
Jason for the comfortable company, and exciting conversations. Science is cool!
Annie, Zoe and Matt for thinking of me
Scott for the drama and music sharing

And to Robin for the ice cream, conceptual contracts, stress-related sharing, tea-sipping support and FUN!!

parting tunes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG3r6pEIPKc&feature=related

The only thing I know for sure is that I am looking for you.

I was so excited that mystery person had gotten in touch with me that I could hardly sleep!! I was up with the early birds again. I got a phone call from Matthew a little later in the morning and we made plans to finally meet face to face at the giant Inukshuk down on English Bay. We greeted eachother with a big hug and some sighs of relief. We had done it! Robin had given each of us a small envelope to exchange once we met in person. Inside we found a handmade "The only thing I know..." button from Robin and a note telling us to contact him right away. I called him, Matt texted. While we were waiting, we decided to go celebrate with a beer. Somehow Robin didn't get our messages, and arrived with the photographer, Kara, 2 hours and a couple of beers later. We spent the next few hours getting pictures of us meeting, my house and my random stuff, as well as Matthews place and his set up.

Our places are very different. I have been living in a bright, 9th floor, one bedroom aptartment with a great mountain view (and a little ocean if you look really hard!) Davie St. is really busy and vibrant with lots of restaurants, cafes, fresh produce, bookstores, beaches, and gay nightclubs. Everything one needs, really... :)

Matthew, on the otherhand, is living in a big old 1920's house in a lovely, quiet, tree lined neighbourhood near Cambie St. in the east end. The house is getting ready for renos, so there isn't much in it besides a couch and an old upright piano. It's going to be really beautiful once it is fixed up.

Near the end of our photo shoot at Matthew's place, we are chatting about whatever, and I bring up the question: "What were you doing to leave clues for me?"

Matthew looks at the floor.

Robin says, " I was wondering when that question was going to come up."

To make a long two week story short, He hadn't done anything. Nothing. Diddly squat.

Are you freaking kidding me???

I was searching and stressing and racking my brain, and he didn't do anything to help me find him. We compared our GPS info over beers and found out that we had pretty much gone the same distance (me: 169 miles him: 167 miles) and had been in a lot of the same areas. So while I was trying to leave a trail, he was just going on a walkabout. He's been working on some sort of other project with some friends that kind of overshadowed the whole thing. I think he wanted to incorporate this project into his other one somehow. He apparently had posters in the works. They never materilaized since he found me of craigslist anyways. I kind of feel like I went to all this effort for nothing. Two weeks into it, he looked at craigstlist once and found my ad. I've put out newspaper ads, online ads, posters, chalk signs all over the city and close to 200 stickers that I made by hand. And he did nothing. I'm a weeeee bit ticked about this. I feel like I've treated this project like a job, out of respect for Robin, and all the effort and though he's put into it. I don't know much about the other side of the story, but Matthew missed the point.

At least we didn't find eachother right away. It made for a few interesting stories!

Robin is still in the process of making arrangements for the show and the book he going to put out. In the meantime, please check out Robin's website and Kara's lovely photographs!

Robin's blog http://robinlambert.ca/index.php?/projects/blog/

Kara's pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/olivelife/

Thanks for reading!

Song for today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmbzU6DGeno&feature=related

The video is random, but the song is appropriate, maybe? Happy searching everyone!

Ground control, we have made contact.

The last two weeks I have been wanting to go to Commercial Drive to do some looking, and mostly because it is awesome. It is one of the farthest neighbourhoods from me so I've been putting it off and putting it off. Until today that is. So I got up early, checked my email and had some breakfast. I was so proud of myself for getting out of the house earlier than usual, which was about 11am. I walked and walked and walked and walked, until I finally got to Commercial Drive. Then I walked some more and put up stickers and chalked up the sidewalks like a mad woman. It was the longest day I've had since I've been here. I figured out the Skytrain and took that home. Walking was out of the question. I got back to my searching head quarters, exhausted, around 6:30pm. Collapsing on to my bed, I checked my email. And there it was. The magical, mystical email I've been waiting for. It's Matthew. My long lost stranger friend. He confirmed it by telling Robin's full name and the day we got here.

(insert chorus of angelic singing here)

I checked craigslist and there (finally!!!) was a posting from him, posted at 9:45am. He must have looked through the older posts and found mine (along with all the nasty ones) because I got an email in my inbox at 10:14am saying it was him and all that jazz.
So, my friends, I would like to point out that this is a case where the early bird does NOT get the worm. Had I been lazy like every other morning and taken my time to lay in bed longer, I would have found the email 8 hours earlier and saved myself from a 20 mile mega city hike.

On that note, WE FOUND EACHOTHER!!!! Woot woot!!!

I have emailed him and am waiting to hear back. Hopefully we will get a hold of eachother tomorrow and meet face to face. Watch for the grand momentous meeting coming soon to a blog near you!

Thank you Gramps for the company!

My happiness expressed through song is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1FHIP4mLxQ

Cyber Stalker? Moi?

I'm getting cyber bullied!!! I checked my Craiglist posting this morning to find not one, not two, but three responses posted blasting me for being a "f**king stalker" and the like. WOW!! The fact that people are actually taking the time to write these long-winded, expletive filled retorts to my posts tells me 3 things:

1. It's working! People are reading it!
2. People have waaaay to much time on their hands if they feel the need to be angry, annoyed and aggressive about something that doesn't concern them and that they have no idea about.
3. I still haven't found the mystery person yet! AHH!!

I really like the comment from someone who says I'm not going to meet anyone online and that I should "get out in the real world, not cyberspace" Yes, true. But then why the hell are you searching through the Craigslist personals? What are you looking for? Why do you care what the hell I do?
Social experiment indeed! It's funny beacuse I have also had some people email me their phone numbers without even knowing if I am woman or a man! I haven't put a single detail about myself on any of the postings. Ahh, the craziness.

Speaking of craziness, I took a couple of walks along East Hastings.... wow...

Today's soundtrack is dedicated to all the crazies out there. You know who you are. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mEfDSP4g_U&feature=related

And the search goes on!

Moderate success!! I've been sidewalk chalking up dust storm, and it is taking affect! That's right, the folk of metro Vancouver are standing up and asking: "Who ARE you searching for?!"

OK, so I've only gotten a few responses, but I think it's a good start. I've been scribbling my project email address in random yet important places around the city (seawall, Robson St, the central library and so on and so forth) Now all Mr/Ms Looking-for-Me has to do is look down at his/her feet and let the light bulb go off.

DING! seriously, person. Is that so hard?

I am really surprised my news paper personal ads haven't caught much attention. But I have a good feeling about my chalking attempts. I guess the only thing to do is keep on keepin' on, and hope for the best.

P.S. I went to the aquarium today and saw the baby beluga!! Yay! I also saw the king and queen of Japan. But not at the aquarium.

I can't stop (won't stop) listening to these guys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjecYugTbIQ in honour of my remaining time in Van-city and this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxinSS5KJNg&feature=related because it's my floats my boat. Shamo.

Marco!..... Polo?

Well, week one has come and gone, and still no sign of mystery person. WHERE ARE YOU MYSTERY PERSON? I met Robin for tea yesterday, and he said that we've been looking in the same areas (according to trusty GPS) What is this other person doing?? Checking under rocks? Yelling from roof tops? I feel like my attempts have been obvious (craigslist, kijiji, ect...) but maybe this person doesn't use the interweb machine. Or maybe they haven't thought to check the poster-posting poles on almost every street corner. But what am I not thinking of? What are the clues that I am not finding?

The new free papers come out today or tomorrow, so hopfully they will have a clue.

I've been posting so many stickers that I've started re-stickering the same posts! I've been staying consistant with sticker placement. My posters get covered so quickly it's hardly worth the paper. My new plan is to be armed with sidewalk chalk. It has stopped raining (for now) and hopfully is will stay away for a few days while I paint the town chalky.

soundtrack o' the day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXl870NoF4E

swf seeking whatever she can get...

I've been finding it highly amusing to watch the faces of the people I've been talking to, as they react in complete and utter confusion, twisting their eyebrows and tilting their heads to one side.

"So... you're looking for date?" they ask.

Not quite.

I have been starting to get some responses from my online ads. I asked for the name of our "mutual friend" in order to weed out the creepies. So far my favorite has been "the Paul inator" and no, we are not "on the same page."


It's been suggested to me that my postering and stickering is trying to do the opposite of what most posters are meant to do: advertize to a large audience. I, on the other hand, have a much smaller target demographic. One person. One really specific, completely unrecognizible person.

I am really curious to find out what the other person has been doing to look for me. We are clearly not on the same page either. It's hard to know what to look for. I do have some newspaper ads coming out his week. We'll see.

I really hope I am found because of my bag.

"The minute I heard my first love story
I started looking for you,
not knowing how blind that was.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,
They're in each other all along." -Rumi

Thanks, Richard.

Today's soundtrack is brought to you by Bean Around the World. (Oooo... It's a good one!!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNFwQmZvnuw