Saturday, July 29, 2006

What else don't I know?

This afternoon, dear reader, my illusions were shattered. My House of Cards crumpled, as I confronted a picture of a smiling, cherub little face I'd never seen before, and learned the sordid details of the lie I'd unwittingly been living for the past 25 years...

I've been to Las Vegas.

Please! I had no way of knowing this! I was under the impression that my first decade's travels in the United States were restricted solely to California, I had no way of knowing! It's not like it came up very often, the trip to the State(s) I took with Mummy when I was but a wee cherub of two and a half!

The Picture in question is a giant black and white picture of me grinning in that cute, blindly trusting way two year olds do. I swear, I've never seen that picture at any time in my conscious memory, but there is was on Mummy's Webcam. Then the news that left me wondering just what about my life I don't know...the picture had been taken in front of Circus Circus. My heart raced as I asked Mum to confirm to me what Circus Circus was, and she breezily did so, blithely sending me into a tailspin I will never recover from. I've been to Vegas.

And so all of my illusions of the grandeur of sweeping into Las Vegas for my elopement, and gazing on it's breathtaking hedonism for the first time before getting very drunk and letting a man in a drive-thru window pronouce Rod and I husband and wife, have all been washed away and I'm left with the bittersweet memory of what was to have been...my first time in Vegas.

Please people, for the love of yourselves and all you hold dear...find out who you really are, where you've really been. Don't end up like me, a broken shell of my former self.

It's like I don't even know me.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Wow! I can Wear Clothes!

Yes!

I'm super excited to tell every that the residents of our apartment are back from our trip to the 11th level of hell (where I was staking out property for my inevitable residence there, being a proud sinner and atheist and all), and for the first time in days, I am skulking around the internet FULLY CLOTHED! Some of you may shudder at that thought, others will not care, still others will be reaching for the kleenex box and shamefully locking the door for a few minutes of *privacy*, but whatever your reaction, you can rest assured that I am still a fan of the hot, hot, HOT weather, just would like time off to enjoy it more. And Air Conditioning in the car...you haven't experienced thoroughly deserved pissiness until you've had to drive home during the hottest hour of the day in a car up to 50 degree hot (coinciding with Rush Hour).

I took advantage of the weather to drag Rod to the Mall on Saturday. We went for the air conditioning, and stayed for the shopping :) I died of giddiness when I learned that a Rip Curl Store has opened in my Mall *shivers with delight* and I took full advantage of it's presense to spend more money of summer clothes. But of course, everyone else started to have the same idea of going to the Air Conditioned mall, and by 3:30, the sheer amount of body heat had virtually cancelled out the AC. Sux0r. The Movie Theatres were able to maintain their cool though, and I was relaxed and comfortable while watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2. We've been to the pool deck frequently this past week, and I'm happy to say that I'm slowly developing a tan, but being moderately sensible about it, and not just burning for the sake of tanning. It's lovely.

What's not lovely is the Pain in my back. Periodically, I wake up with the most horrendous stiff, shooting pains in the space between my spine and my left shoulder blade that really limit my range of motion. And so it was on Saturday. It was a moderate episode until Sunday, when I fell up a tiny set of stairs and jarred the hell out of my back. I ended up having to find a doctor (a whole other disgust-worthy blog unto itself, which I haven't decided to write yet) on Monday, and missing the day of work. The diagnosis: An old Muscle Tear.

A couple of summers ago I was on a dragonboat team as the drummer, and I guess at that point I had torn a muscle between my left shoulder blade and my spine, and I didn't realize it. I knew I had done a little damage to the Rotator cuff because the masseuse I went to told me he felt a difference in the tissue, but I never saw a doctor, and it seemed to go away shortly. Fast forward two years, to yesterday, and the Doctor told me that my back/neck problem of shooting pain localized in that area sounded like I had an old muscle tear that never healed properly, and I thought the guy was a frickin Loony, cause I would've remembered being told I'd done that. He gave me Anti-inflammatories and a referral to a physiotherapist, and I went home, still thinking he's off his nutter. But last night I was just sitting there in bed, dying from heat, and it hit me...Awww, crap, a couple of years ago, I really took my left shoulder for a ride doing Dragonboating...which means the doctor may have been legit, not crazy.

Now, I'm going to go enjoy my moderately climated apartment and my back-from-the-dead kitties. So, signing off, fully clothed,

Me.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Dammit, and I just caught up!!

Today, I finally completed the 8th set of Peek-a-poohs, and for anyone who knows me, they know how much time, money and painful determination it took to collect each and every single one of those little treasures...all...eight...sets.

Most of them I had to go to the toonie machines for, and it was arduous and frustrating, constantly coming up with the same ones over and over again, or missing some in the set because they changed sets on me. a large chunk of the others came from ebay, shipped to me from Italy, and including 2 that you CANNOT get in North America (bonus!). Still others were graciously donated to me (thanks Holly for my Purple Bull).

But this last month has seen me struggle to get the final 3...the Giraffe from Series 4, the squirrel from the Special Edition set, and the whale from Series 8. I have more double, triples, even quadruples then I know what to do with, so I'm considering setting them up on ebay. We'll see. Anyways, tonight, glory was mine, as after far too many toonies, I caught me a whale. No word of a lie folks! I went whale hunting and caught me my WHALE!

And then they roll out the 9th set on me. Awww crap. Seriously? I thought I had finally caught up and was going to be on top of things, ready to take on the new set...and they put them out before I was ready. Blast Piss Toss Sod the Damn Dog.

Me: More money?
Life: yup.
Me: More frustration?
Life: yup.
Me: More obsession?
Life: yup.
Me: Bring it.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Reunited...Part Two

These are the pictures from the July 2nd Grad 96 10 year Reunion Supper.....



Brenda....She was the Grad Class Prez, and the smartest girl in school. Not kidding, her 99% average and atheletic abilities were amazing. From grade 3 to Grade 8, I did everything to keep up with her, so she's to blame for the good grade I got :) Love this picture Brenda!















Gord...Dude, totally fucking hilarious! Gord and I dated for like, 10 minutes in high school, and he was the first boy I'd ever asked out, so he's unique as being 1 of 2. This guy's the same funny guy whether he's had no drinks or 8. Thanks for the cab money!














Sean...The Sunbird king. Back in the day, Sean was the fast-talking king of connections. I swore that one day I'd go back to Yk and see him pulling all the strings behind what goes down there. Thanks for all the rides in the Sunbird!














Karen...Head reuniter. Back in the day, she led the Yearbook to great glory, she was the queen of art, and she had the unique talent of clapping with one hand. Then she got out into the world and our innocent little Karen went all wild! If you're ever in cowtown, try to catch her comedy act! And thanks for putting all this together!













Suzanne...remember those greatest hits? This girl and I used to find ourselves in the funniest, strangest, weirdest situations :) Quarantine, getting busted by parents after drinking, numerous makeovers, and about 6000 newfie jokes! Congrats on the engagement and belated congrats on your daughter!














And finally, Me. We know me. Sort of. Back in the day, I was involved in all kinds of activities in order to avoid school work. I was a drama freak, in choir, cheerleading, on the yearbook, some time with Student Council, Exec of S.A.D.D., Volleyball and Soccer, Travel Club, etc. If there was a way to be distracted from classes, I found it. No wonder everyone thought I was a flake. I was! Some things never change. And that's not my beer, honest. ;)

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Reunited...Part One

St. Patrick High School Graduations Class of 1996 invites you to a reunion on July 1/2, 2006. Please Bring your registration fee, an atomic bug bomb, a new liver and a set of house keys.

Austin D. invites you to his 5th Birthday party on July 2, 2006. Please bring a camera, a lifetime's supply of patience, and a Plumber.

I arrived in Yellowknife on Thursday, in time for the last day of school for Public kids, whereas Karyne had only a half day because she's with the Catholic school system. I was entirely ready to see her family, and entirely apprehenisve about going to the reunion, but I'd payed my money, so I was in. Karyne and I ran a couple of errands which included a funny story about a little ceramic 'E' magnet, and then we went to fetch the boys. We picked up Brady from school, and he was very shy about seeing me, giving me the most prefunctory wave and "Hi." Then we went to get Austin from his last day at Day Care ever, and the little Monkey attacked me with his customary 'I'm too cute to resist' hug. Awww....

When we arrived back at Karyne's new, very big and impressive house, the plumber was there to do an inspection and replace the thermostats, and we settled in to decide who was invited to Austin's Birfday party. Brady, ever the quickwit, had us in stitches as he kept telling Austin that he should invite *points silently at the Plumber* That kid really cracks me up sometimes, but he can also beat a good joke to death :) It was a lazy night, and that was fine by me, as I needed to settle in after 2 plane rides and a slightly upset stomach. Karyne and I ended up on the couch in the TV room having a pretty serious discussion about various things impacting our family.

On Friday, Karyne and I ran some more errands, this time for Austin's party, and my day was pretty well just hanging out with the family. Again, I needed to collect myself ahead of the dreaded reunion, and it needed to be an early night because I was getting up so early to meet with Karen to help with the menu, shopping, etc. in the morning.

Come Saturday morning, I was up and out of the house before anyone was awake, and off to start reunioning. We met with the kitchen manager at the restaurant and finalized the menu (it was 9 am, so none of us were up for major discussion, so it was a short meeting full of agreement), then we went to buy the supplies and food for the BBQ later in the evening. I went back to Karyne's to chill for a bit and watch more World Cup, and we arranged for her to come get me when I was ready to leave the reunion. Karen came to get me, and off we went to set up. And sit and wait. I was not sure how to feel about the reunion, knowing that most of the people who said they'd come by were people I didn't hang out with a lot back in the day.

People started trickling in, and I relaxed a little when I saw Gord, Dave and Denise, feeling like I wasn't about to be a total outcast. As more people came by, and I'd had more to drink, it became easier to have a good time, just catching up with people's lives. My sister's ball team was hosting a tournament all weekend, and they were hosting a karaoke night at the BP's lounge, and since Dave was on the team, he, Gord and Denise were headed that way, so I decided to go with them and cut out of the BBQ early.

Now, there's almost this running joke about who I didn't date in high school, and I can't swing a dead cat around Yk without hitting an ex, but I was not prepared for what happened at BPs. There I was, partying with Gord and Dave, whom I dated briefly, but then I turned around and saw Jared in front of me, and I was visibly stunned. Three ex's, it was like one of the old bush parties all over again. But then a short time later, Gord informed me that one of the Jeffs was also there, and I seriously needed a drink. That's just my kind of karma...even though I'm friends with most of my ex's, it's just awkward having so many of them around me because wow, this just made me look like a flake back then! Did I really date that many guys?

So there's a lot of drinking, and some Chinese food after we closed the Lounge, and then I walked home. It's Yellowknife in July! Land of the...screw the Midnight Sun, it's the land of the 1, 2, 3 AND 4 AM sun, plus, it was only like 10 blocks or whatever. I got there, and the door was locked. The cars were locked. The house was a fortress. So I started calling and knocking. Nothing. I rang the doorbell, and Sully came up and barked like mad until he realized it was me, then he just wandered away. It's 3:15 in the morning, I'm tired, I stink like campfire, and I just want to go to bed. The mosquitoes were frigging awful too. For four hours I kept trying, and it was getting cold and buggy. I tried to just sit and get some sleep, but the bugs were just too awful. I was crying, and calling and everything. Seriously, one of the worst nights of my life. 4 hours later, at 7:15, a bleary-eyed Scott came up and opened the door for me, and I'm sure I looked like a monster with my crying and gross hair and wood smells. He asked how long I was out there, and I told him, and he looked like I'd just surprised him with a kick to the head.

I crawled up to bed and slept a few hours before I had to get up and get ready for Austin's birfday, and at some point in the morning, Karyne had come in to check on me and apologize, but hey, shit happens. It was not a night I'd ever like to relive, but hey, ain't that just life. Everyone left me to go to the party while I finished getting ready, and Karyne came back for me, but fuck, I felt rough. Austin's party was fun for most everyone, but I was finding That my nephew Beni has become quite difficult to deal with. The sweet, carefree kid has become so sullen and angry. It was heartbreaking.

Back to Karyne's place, where they handed me a house key, for a brief nap before the small reunion dinner. I woke up still feeling rough, and wanted to bow out, but I had helped put this together, so it would've sucked for me to duck out, so I got dressed, threw on a ton of costume jewellry and off I went. Again I was apprehensive because of past issues, but once it became clear that everything was going to be just fine again, I relaxed and had a few beer. Dinner was good, and it was good to see some more people I wasn't expecting to see (JULIE, MARRIED?!?!!? Fuck! That's awesome girl!). After supper, Gord, Karen, Sean and I decided to hit a keg party we knew of, so we hopped into a cab. The funniest thing was it turned into a gropefest with hands flying at random chests (including the cabbie, so sorry dude, but it wasn't me!) and when we got to the party, I ran into a few more faces from the old days.

I left early, knowing I was leaving to come back to Vancouver the next day, and I didn't want to be hungover while travelling, so I was a relatively good girl. Monday morning, I was up and hanging out with all the kids while I packed up for my afternoon flight, and I had the chance to reflect on the weekend. For the most part, it was all good times, and I didn't need to worry as much as I did. I know it's hard to be comfortable around me, and as long as I just try to be polite, there's not much else I can do. People just don't click.

Will I go back for 20 year? I don't know actually. It's fun, but very expensive. And since I hope to be working overseas by then, it would probably be ridiculously expensive. We'll just have to wait and see. For Pictures, see Reunited...Part Two