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Cool huh? Like the reflections off a swimming pool, except there's no water... or pool. Just parked cars. Click the images to enlarge.

I have heard binners here in Vancouver, B.C., particularly the  old-school variety, speak of  "tips," and "appointments," by which they mean special access to returnable beverage containers -- a home-owner saving their bottles for a particular binner, or an apartment or condo giving a binner first access to recycling toter bins which only come out once per week for city pick-up. In the later case it may be the building manager or custodian who gives the access.

So it was for me, with one particular multi-unit building in the Fairview neighbourhood. A custodian had told me what time in the afternoon he always pulled the toters out into the part of the underground [see also parkade] accessible from the alley, for next-morning pickup. I wasn't the only one who knew, but for nearly two years, I got them first nearly every week.

About five weeks ago I was in the underground, on schedule, doing my binning thing, when a resident came to put stuff in the bins; this was not uncommon, lots of the residents knew me on sight. I moved away from the bins to give her room, and apologized for being in her way.

She proceeded to rant at me, about how I shouldn't be there -- how it it was private property -- how there had been break-ins -- she was sick-and-tired of all the noise at two in the morning -- she had a good mind to call the cops.

I weakly defended myself, saying the custodian said I could. "Well that makes it okay, I guess!" she retorted, with a good bit of sarcasm. "This is private property. I'm going to call the cops. You don't have a leg to stand on bub!"

She was right. Residents, like customers, always are. So I haven't gone back. Others will, but I won't. I've been told.

I currently sleep blissfully well in a parkade. I'm sure people in many parts of the world will understand the term, but parkade is recognized the world-over as a Canadianism, a uniquely Canadian term, for a parking garage, especially in Western Canada. (*). At some earlier point of my life I was given to believe the word, a portmanteau, or blend, of parking and arcade, was coined by The Hudson's Bay Company to refer to covered parking garages connected with the HBC department stores. It seems to have been the out-of-print Gage Canadian Dictionary which strongly suggested this. (*) These days it is said to have likely originated with either the HBC or Woodwards (*), a now defunct family-owned department store chain on the West Coast of Canada.