Hurry Up, Fall!

This has been an odd summer. too many bad things have happened for me to count. I don't know why my weird faith in life is still unshaken, but for the sake of those I love, I want this to stop. If I'm tired, I promise you that others I care about feel worse.

Why I'm Up so Early

I'm off to retreat! Be back soon!

Scrapbooking, Anyone?

So, since I last wrote, one of the things I've been doing is scrapbooking. And I loooove it. It's one drawback is that apparently, paper is incredibly expensive. It's also a bit of a problem that I'm a perfectionist; it takes me at least two hours to do a page, and people? These are not the elaborate, professional looking pages you see in art stores. But still, I like it, and it gives me something to do.

Otherwise, it's all been work. The full-time cafe coworker left for vacation, so we're all scarmbling to cover her shifts. It's a little wearing, I have to say. But c'est la vie, n'est ce pas?

Well, while today is my first day off from the cafe in some time, I'm due to babysit in an hour, so I'd better get ready. Goodbye, coffee and muffins, hello, two-month-old twins.

Goodbye Parties, Dim Sums, Birthdays, and a Wedding

Sorry it's been so long. I honestly have not had access to a computer since I last posted, which meant my email box today? Massive. In any case, I'll get back to the Penticton saga soon, but let's recount the past few days, shall we?

Last Monday (a whole week ago!) Tessa had her goodbye party. I wasn't able to stay for long, unfortunately, but what portion I did attend was good times. Although I don't quite understand why we're celebrating Tessa's abandonment of us. Stupid Edmonton. Hmpf.

Tuesday, I went to dim sum with some friends, where we ate much food, and drank much tea. Since I've described many a dim sum in this blog, I'll leave it at that.

I then met up with a friend in Holt Renfrew. I'd never really been inside the store, and I have to say, it's very fun, in a "I will never own any of this, ever" kind of way.

The next day, I went to dim sum again! (It was an excellent week, dim sum-wise) This time, however, it was birthday dim sum. We ate a lot. It was awesome. Later that day, we went to Cardero's for a double birthday dinner, which was very nice.

On Friday night, a bunch of us went out to the Buffalo Club, which the week before, had been a lot of fun. This time, it was just too crowded. You could barely breathe, let alone move, and people kept pushing and stepping on me. Was not a huge fan.

Yesterday was the wedding day for two friends of mine. It was a really sweet wedding; the bride was radiant, the groom ecstatic, and everyone cried. I'm so happy for them both; when they look at each other, you can tell there's no one else in their world. It was a beautiful wedding, a fun reception, and in general, a good time.

And now I have work to do. Hopefully I'll see you all in less than 10 days this time!

Congratulations C&L, all the best for your lives together.

Penticton, Part 1

It feels like it's been a loooong time since I updated this. There's been lots going on, but I'm going to tell you all about my trip to Penticton, because I feel like it.

So, we (me, T, Sekke, and Peek) left at about 2:30 Friday afternoon. Getting out of Vancouver took forever. On our drive up, we encountered bad smells (hello Chilliwack), an errant Lincoln Navigator (hello drug dealers), and a whole lot of cops (hello Peek, the amazing "slow down, there'll be a cop around the corner" machine. And thank you).

Upon arrival at the home of our hostess, the lovely S, we made some dinner, and met S's cousins. Cue hilarious Sekke moment number 1:

Peek: I'm Peek, what's your name?
Cousin: [Name]
T: My brother's called [Name], it's a good name.
Peek: I have a cousin named [Name]
Me: I don't have any relations named [Name], but it is a good name.
Sekke: I once hooked up with a Mormon named [Name]. (Pause) Inappropriate?
Me: He's eight!

The next day, we bought floaty lounging devices and floated down the canal, which, if you've never experienced it before, is awesome. I had a floating lounge chair, and drifted down the canal in style and comfort. We just drifted along, talking and drinking, and getting a lot of sun (thank god for sunscreen), and it was marvelous.

And, since I'm being picked up now, there ends installment 1.

Bzzzz

The kid I've been taking care of is terrified of bugs that bzzzz; flys, bees, wasps, the whole bit. It's a little inconvenient, but also kind of fascinating how such a small child (she's two) can already have such a hugely irrational fear (she hasn't been stung or anything; I asked).

The past few days have been hectic, to say the least. I haven't really had a second to breathe, it's always from one place to another. Thankfully, that should be settling down soon; one more day to go. A day packed with threading, dentistry, and working the fireworks beat. Should be fun.

Saw the Wedding Crashers tonight. Go see it. It's hilarious. No, seriously. Go now.

Just Want You to Know

Today was a good day for me to be single. And I don't mean that I had throngs of admirers throwing themselves at my feet, because I had pretty much zero contact with anybody of the male persuasion at all. I just mean that I went the whole day having fun with friends. We drove down the street with the windows open, singing at the top of our lungs to the Backstreet Boys (sorry Tessa). We talked about random nothingness, you know the conversations that are totally enjoyable at the time, but that don't stand up to recapping at all? We walked to starbucks and sat in the sun with our drinks. We watched "VH1's Top Ten Rock Beach Bodies", which was, in addition to stupid and moronic, very, very "whoooo! SKINNY!" Naturally, we had to add our own disparaging comments. It was good times.

Also good times? So You Think You Can Dance?, a ridiculous American-Idol style show, but for dance instead of song. There are some horrible dancers out there. Like really, really awful. It's a little upsetting, and yet...strangely amusing. That being said, there are also some very good dancers. I have to say though, I find the "judging" part of the show excruciating to watch; I kept changing the channel. But all in all, an entertaining show. Of course, it was no match for the show right after; my beloved Queer Eye. Sigh. I love you.

Zoomin' With Vroom

Vroom! is a soft drink that tastes like liquid fuzzy peaches. I had it at the beach today, with Tessa and Anna. The beach was nice (it was finally pretty out on a day off for me!), I mostly slept, and lay in the sun. I managed to get a little rosy on my (left) shoulder and (left) hip, which means that next time I go, I'll have to finnagle it so that my right side is getting more sun, because otherwise I'll end up resembling a "many colors of tan" palette.

Seeing Tessa and Anna again was lovely, especially since it'd been quite some time since I'd last seen them. We discussed the "We are young" song from the Telus ad, Anna's hair (layers sound hot, but the current hair is also hot, so I'd say it's a win-win, although for the love of god woman, go to a professional hairdresser, the stories you hear makes it like going to an interactive version of the funniest comedy you've ever seen), Harry Potter, sunburns, loud children, and the pros and cons of salty hair. I'd say I learned things, which means it was a productive afternoon, don't you think?

And I got to zoom with Vroom. So that makes it even more productive.

Home!

Montreal was amazing; I got to see a new city, see Girly, and go shopping, all at once. It was also ludicrously hot, plotting a convincing campaign against me ever living in the east. Humidity is not my friend. But I'll tell more about that another day, because I'm exhausted, and still haven't unpacked. So glad to have gone, but still happy to be home. I missed this city, even the rain.

One Sleep!

In one sleep, I'll be leaving for Montreal. And in what I hope will be two sleeps (depending on whether or not I can sleep on the plane), I'll arrive in Montreal!

Haven't been up to much lately, at least on paper. I've felt busy, though. Been hanging out with friends and working, basically.

Last night, with J and Tdot, I went to Granville Island to buy groceries. We then went back to Tdot's place, and mae the most amazing salad, with grilled peppers, goat cheese and stir-fried chicken. It was really, really good. Then for dessert, we had granola, yogurt and berry parfaits, granola and yogurt courtesy of the cafe. So. Good.

Anyway, I'm leaving tomorrow, after work, and I have yet to pack, so I've got to get going!

I'm going to Montreaaaaaallll!

Whoooo!

In SIX SLEEPS I will be on my way to Montreal! Whooo! And even better, another friend of mine is also going on the same day! Not on the same flight, since she doesn't have to work on Sunday, and therefore doesn't have to take the red-eye. Bitch. Totally kidding. But whooooo!

I don't have much else to say. Went out on Thursday night, had a great time, worked the weekend away, as usual.Not so much as usual, Evi and Amanda came and visited me at work, always nice. Stayed with a friend last night, and found that I am violently allergic to wither her cat, or her house as a whole, and am now completely and utterly exhausted, with a headache. Ugh. Other than that, nothing exciting. But whooooo! Six sleeps!

MEXICO!

Here, finally, are some pictures from my lovely trip to Mazatlan. Enjoy!

Costa De Oro

Costa De Oro, originally uploaded by Never Reason.

My hotel. Not bad, huh?

Insano-Kamikaze Dude

Diver, originally uploaded by Never Reason.

Seriously, this was the scariest thing I've seen anyone do on purpose. You'll be happy to know (I know I was) that he cme out unscathed, and promptly returned to land to ask for money, which, I have to say, was well earned. If the panhandlers around here were doing crazy stunts live, maybe people would be more willing to pay them.

Some Architecture...

Ceiling, originally uploaded by Never Reason.

This is the goregous ceiling of the Cathedral we visited in Mazatlan. The whole place was incredible, the way it was lit and laid out.

La Puntilla

sign, originally uploaded by Never Reason.

Where me, T and Mon shared a flaming boat of seafood, the legend of which will live on forever. Seriously, though, if you're in Mazatlan, check it out.

Before

boatbefore, originally uploaded by Never Reason.

The flaming boat of seafood. You can't tell right now, but the boat shot flame out of its sides. So. Cool.

After

boatafter, originally uploaded by Never Reason.

This is what the flaming boat of seafood looked like about 20 minutes later.

Puff! PUUUFFFF!

puff, originally uploaded by Never Reason.

This is a puffer fish, quite like the one in Finding Nemo. Granted, probably not the most exciting exhibit at the Mazatlan Aquarium, but I can't explain how long I stood there, trying to get any of the puffer fish to puff, simply by yelling "puff!" at increasing levels. Mon didn't help, but she didn't tell me to stop, either, so you know she wanted it to happen too.

Advertisement Analysis

Has anyone seen the new Kotex ads? They have nothing at all to do with the product. They seem to exist for the sole purpose of letting us, the consumers, know that the packaging has changed. You know, in case you walk into the store to pick some of your favorite feminine products (tm Girly's dad), and find yourself at a loss because...you can't read? Seriously.

Also, has anyone noticed one of the symbolic "flowers" on the new package that they're touting is an orchid? Isn't that a little...dirty, somehow?