Sy a

.

;

 

—

  

Monique
Lamminga muses
about the freakish

prevalence of
pretty folk
roaming Robson

Street...Dave Tam

 
  
 

as pictures of

e phenomenon

May 1998 Page 8

 

 

o, I’m sitting outside the Robson
S=« Starbucks looking across at

the other Starbucks, sipping on my
double caramel macchiato, polluting the
freshly brewed air with my almost extinct
cigarette habit and thinking there is
something very wrong with the scene in
front of me. This is not the first time I’ve
thought it either, it just seems on this
warm April afternoon that I’ve confirmed
what I've thought all along.

I'm here at this Starbucks to people
watch because that’s what I do. I’m fasci-
nated with the idea that each person who
walks past me is walking with a destina-

tion and thoughts beyond anything I could |

ever make up. I love.trying to guess what
kind of person they are, what strange
habits they have. It’s fun to think that
someone is probably watching me too, try-
ing to figure out the thoughts in my head.
But here on Robson Street the people
carry a certain characteristic beyond any-
thing I can understand—they are all gor-
geous. They have a certain Gattaca quality

) EAUTIUL
PEOPLE

that astonishes me. (Gattaca is a futuristic
movie about an earth where everyone is
genetically bred to be flawless, starring
Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.
Ironically, Uma Thurman and Ethan
Hawke were said to be having a Starbucks
coffee in two of these very seats just a few
weeks ago.)

Beyond a few tacky American tourists,
Robson is full of beautiful people. I see
this guy who walks with strides of perfect
length and doesn’t slouch. He looks to be
in his late twenties with perfect lips, con-
toured face, perfect skin, Calvin Klein
model brown hair, dress shirt ironed just
so, brand new jeans that fall on his
hmmm, you get the drift. Anyways, the
point is he is truly flawless, all the way
down to his perfect shoes. The awe in all
this is there are about twenty of him all
around this street, the only difference
being they are either older or a little
younger. The women wear outfits that
must cost at least $1000, black pant and
skirt suits commanding a certain amount