Prince George is a kickass, kizmet, karmic place - I had a ball here. Even though it occasionally smells terrible (giant plants dump toxins into the air illegally and the city is almost always under a cloud) and everyone says it's ugly, I like PG plenty.
Drove through pitch blackness, fog and snow past many moose & avalanche signs and past giant trucks intent on running my little VW bug over... but finally made it to Tammy's house. Tammy's the owner of the Kizmet Cafe, where I'm playing, and one of the nicest folks I've met. I get fed Shepherd's Pie and meet her 3 very cool daughters and Sera, her 2nd in command at the Cafe. After 10 hours of avalance-truck-mooses I'm sure I was a brilliant conversationalist and sacked out early.
Next day, Yoshi the dog, Theo the cat, and I hang out. Then I head out with Tammy to the Cafe - a warm 'n cozy spot 3 blocks away. The Kizmet is a perfect venue - nice and intimate but beautiful - and filled with AMAZING food. I suggest the Chicken Currey which I have for lunch. Terry from Prince George's rent-a-wreck joins us - Terry wants to buy my VW bug from the Napanee franchise but I convince him to let me keep it for a bit more.
The next day, we head to the art gallery, but most of it is closed - still, we make the most of it, seeing some nice painted drums and some pieces upstairs - I learn about first nation rights to chinese history to beetlekill wood (Prince George has recently had to cut down thousands of trees due to beetles. Normally, the bugs wouldn't have spread so far because of forest fires, but humans have been stopping forest fires, which leaves vast stretches of healthy trees to kill. In the gift shop, there are beautiful pieces carved from beetlekill wood - with small beetle lines and all stained blue by beetle poison.
No to be deterred by a half-closed art gallery, we head over the museum... which is completely closed. Instead we stand in the middle of a snow-covered park and look at First Nation burial grounds, frozen rivers, and old forts.
Finally, we head back to UNBC and check out its beautiful campus - made of just as much wood and plants as concrete - a rarity next to my York days. Next door is the Forest for the World, a vast forest filled with moose, bears, wolves, etc. - VERY different from my York days.
I rush a bunch of errands - hitting the UNBC radio station, doing a CBC interview, and hooking up with Terry again for some pictures with my bug, which he keeps eyeing.
I head back to Tammy's for dinner - amazing enchiladas the size of my head. Everyone else eats half, but I am clearly half-starved or stupid and eat a whole one - so good. We head back to the cafe and set up. A local music student, brilliant keys player and nice guy, Mark, opens up playing everything from Simon & Garfunkle to Christina.
Folks start to trickle in and eventually we get started. Tammy gives me a sweet intro. Right before I go on, a nice woman is talking to Mark, telling him how good he was, and then says she may leave if I'm "too rock and roll" - something, I don't think I've ever been told. Still, I start off slow with Subway Sparrow and slowly work in the rock. I play Karma Police for the Kizmet Cafe staff.
What a nice crowd! Everyone claps and sings along - except of the folks from the UNBC paper, who play Scrabble throughout, occasionally giving me thumbs up for Green Day and Christina covers. The "too rock and roll" lady buys the first CD of the night - followed my many others. I sign a CD "to the fertility goddesses" - 3 women who have all just gotten pregant - Congrats!
Finally folks go home and a couple of us hang out. Sera reads some of her cool poetry. I'm fed carrot cake the size of my head and I end up playing brown eyed girl, amazing grace, and guilt trip song to them.
Back home I pass out and wake up WAY too early for another 12 hour drive. I'd like to say goodbye but it's too early, so I say goodbye to Theo the cat quietly and slip out the door.
