My experience on Skid row

I was called in to work as an assistant editor for a day in one of the worst neighborhoods in B.C. The job was for a series that was exclusively published on the web. It was an interesting enough gig...in a big warehouse type loft shared with some funky artists. It was easy to forget which part of town you were in, because when you stepped out through the back, the neighborhood was a pretty funky artsy suburbia type area and in extremely sharp contrast, when you went out the front it was grime central. I unfortunately had to leave using the latter option, because it was the most direct route home....or so I thought. It was relatively bright by the time I was done at 7 p.m. I was grateful for this and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I caught the bus almost as soon as I got to the bus stop. I was getting settled in...listening to my ipod when I noticed that the driver was turning south.

....I definitely didn't want to go south...

I assumed he was heading west all the way downtown.

No!

And right on the worst block in the whole of Canada....skid row on East Hastings. As I dejectedly got off the bus, I spotted another bus going the right way. A female passenger and myself run like crazy through moving traffic to try and catch the bus. The woman made it. I didn't. I was left alone by both buses....on Hastings and Carral...The place looked like a scene out of the movie, Thriller...except this was no movie....I was surrounded by meth-heads and people with all sorts of mental issues. Zombie like people were literally surrounding me like flies...I wanted to jump out of my skin

...another bus should be here any moment

Suddenly out of the crowd of crazies...I spotted a well dressed 'normal' looking Asian gentleman....he walked over to me with a smile and his arm out as if to shake my hand.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

I was relieved to see a sane looking person and politely shook hands with him. He made a weird gesture with his finger in my palm when we shook hands. I thought nothing of it at the moment.

"Company? "

He asked. His English was obviously not very good. I assumed he was asking where I worked.

"I work with a company called Post...." I started to respond

"Company?" He asked again.

I just smiled back confused....

What was wrong with this guy?

"Company?"

He asked one more time with his perpetual smile.
This time he added the universal hand gesture for sex...

Oh,hell no! Does he think...?!? No!

"No...not interested." I said really pissed off at this point.

But he was not taking no for an answer...he stepped closer and explicitly did the in-out gesture with his hands again, in case I missed it the first time.

"Company?" With this big shite-eating grin plastered on his face.

"Fuck off!" I blurted out angrily.

I wanted to punch his face. But that would probably be a bad idea in this neighbourhood.

Bus...where are you...?

I was probably there for about 12 minutes but it felt like forever....whilst I was there a handful of cars drove up with the owners slowing down....under the assumption that I was a street worker....they either made obsene gestures with their tongues...think Gene Simmons....or looked like they were checking me out to pick up. I was mortified. All this, while the perv kept nodding his head in the direction of what I assumed what his house or hotel and smiling at me like a cheshire cat.... I was trying to flag a taxi...but they were all full. In desperation I called a friend to find out how soon the next bus was due. Mercifully the next one was just around the corner. I leaped aboard as soon as the door was opened...The perv had the nerve to wave me goodbye as I got on.

"Shee u soon!" He added

That, my friends was one of the weirdest and most unpleasant experiences I've had in a long time. I literally undressed right at my door as soon as I got home and took a long, long shower to try and cleanse myself. I still shudder when I pass by that area.....
However, I really do feel sorry for these lost souls who are hooked on meth and various drugs. During my experience there I witnessed a grown man pee on himself and walk around like nothing had happened....It was like the people in that state are stripped of their basic dignity and what made them human.