The day that was not perfect

Okay, if you haven't read the post before this one, please do, because I should have posted that one yesterday but I was on vacation and I didn't get a chance to. Done? Okay, continue.

So today I arrived in Winnipeg. I have never visited the city before, but the flight was just so cheap I couldn't resist. My family is here and my best friend, so I figured I could have a good time even though it wasn't an exciting destination like Toronto or San Francisco.

While I was in the area of the airport, I decided to register Mac with Customs. I plan to take him with me to the States next week and figured it would be a good idea. I phoned my dad in the morning to ask him what the process entailed.

"Well they'll give you a green card," he said.

"A Green Card? For Mac? Aw, so that he can legally work in the country?"

In a way, that is exactly what it does. You take your laptop or camera or whatever in and they write the serial number down on a green card. The card says "Identification of Articles for Temporary Exportation", and it just validates that your item was produced or lawfully imported into Canada so that on the way home they can't say you got it on your trip and charge you duty on it. There's no cost and not really any hassle. The card is good as long as it is legible.

With that little chore taken care of, the next activity on the itinerary was meeting Lisa for lunch and shopping on swanky Academy Road.

I met her at Fusion Grill. I paid with gift certificates I had received from my real estate agent. We had a lovely meal and split half a litre of white wine. It was enough, for lightweights like us, to feel a little buzzy. We clinked glasses to that. Lisa always likes to remind me, "we're getting paid for doing this right now".

We walked Academy Road (a bit of a swanky shopping area) and made a few purchases.
We stopped in at the Bernard Callebaut chocolate shop and I bought a very touristy chocolate airplane. The package was even sealed with a label that said "Winnipeg".

One of the last stops was a ladies shop that had just acquired a new shoe collection. The assortment of mostly boots were just piled into two cardboard boxes. I found one particularly delicious pair of butter-soft, chestnut brown, knee high homewreckers. There was no price on any of the items but the saleswoman assured me everything was heavily discounted. They were hot and fit like a dream.

"I'd have to look up the price for you, but they would normally retail for about $1200," she said. I don't know what made me think that any kind of "heavy" discount on $1200 would bring the boots into an affordable range for me, but I dared to ask anyway.

"$435" she quoted me.

I quickly pulled them off and tried to forget the whole love affair ever happened. Once outside the store I lamented to Lisa, "that's more than one bi-weekly mortgage payment. Only slightly less than one Truck payment." I sighed. "We really do need those rich husbands." Reality had hit and the fantasy day was coming to a close. We were not the ladies of leisure we were pretending to be. We were still Lisa and Jill, single girls with a passion for fancy shoes, yet a sobering sense of practicality.

As I walked back to where I had parked Truck I took out my chocolate airplane and noticed with some dismay that one of the wings had melted a bit in the heat of the day. Then I looked up at Truck and gasped.

There was only one person I could call who could tell me it would be okay and what I should do next, and it was not husband or even a boyfriend. I pulled out my cell phoned and dialed frantically.

"Daddy, a tree fell on Truck! It hit the box and dented the rail!"

"Where are you?"

I had no idea the name of the cursed street where the horrible horrible accident had happened, but I gave him the best directions I could.

"Do you have your camera? Take a bunch of pictures. Can you move it? I can come with my saw if you need my help."

"Well it wasn't really a tree, just a limb, I was being dramatic." (which he must have known, yet understood.) "Lisa's here, I think we can manage."

Stupid tree!

We agreed that maybe I wouldn't have to pay a deductible, that the accident would be considered an act of God or something. (Dear God, why did you have to hurt Truck?!) As I think about it now, I'm not so sure. Do you pay a deductible on damage from hail? And then won't my premiums go up? Oh geeze this is getting depressing.

I ran my hand over the injury. The dent would be easy to push out, I figured, but I wasn't sure what it would mean for the spray in liner. "I'm sorry, Baby," I said and stopped short of shedding tears. Truck would not want me to fuss.

Despite the blemish on the day, Lisa and I were determined to finish it off on a good note. We went back to my place and watched Sex & The City before heading out for ice cream. Home once again, I phoned my mom. I hadn't yet told her my ghost story from Monday.

"Maybe it was a mouse," she said.

My stomach dropped. I had never even considered mice. In my house. Ohhhh.

"Well, it's better than a ghost, isn't it?"

I really didn't know the answer to that question.

I had told Lisa on the way home from ice cream that the perfect ending to the night would include some time spent blogging and talking to friends far and away. After talking to Mom I turned on Mac, changed my online status to "I'm so sorry Baby!" and got to work.

"I forgive you," Vince joked.

"Did Truck tell you to say that?" I asked before telling the whole awful story.

And coming in a minute late, Adam popped up to say, "Quickly", at 12:01.

And now, I bid you all a good night.

I looked at the clock on the microwave, it was five a.m.

I was going to leave for my vacation to Winnipeg on Monday, but with getting home from the cottage on Sunday I really needed a day to do home stuff, so I delayed my departure by a day.

I wasn't sure on Sunday night if I would sleep in on Monday, or get up early to pack as much as I could into my day off. Not entirely by choice, I ended up taking the early option. I was having a decent sleep, dreaming away, when I awoke suddenly to the sound of glass bottles toppling over somewhere in my house. I lay there perfectly still, waiting for footsteps to follow. There was nothing. Sometimes I leave my cell phone on my nightstand, usually on Friday nights in case of lazy Saturday mornings spent mostly in bed with a book or Mac. On this particular morning, it was sitting uselessly in my purse by the back door.

I turned on the light by my bedside, but then realized it illuminated my bedroom and made the hallway impossible to see into. I switched it off again. Now, had there been someone sleeping soundly next to me, you can bet your Manolos I'd have woken him up. But no, it was just me, and these are the kinds of things that a young, fiercely independent woman must face on her own. I was pretty sure there was nothing out there waiting to jump me by this point, so I didn't bother grabbing any kind of weapon. (And what would I have grabbed anyway? I have some 2 1/2" heel boots under my bed and a hammer in my closet. How the hammer ended up there I have no clue, but I think I'll leave it there.)

I walked into the kitchen and flipped on the light. By the stove, on the floor, I saw the source of the noise--three empty beer bottles and a wine bottle, toppled over. No apparent explanation though. I looked at the clock on the microwave, it was five a.m. Well at least the ghost was kind enough to haunt me at a decent hour of the morning. I went back to bed and some how managed to get a few more hours of sleep. I haven't been scared like that since Christmas Eve 2001. I'll have to tell you that story some other time.

Haunting aside, Monday was a productive day. I decided to start a "learn to run" program and went for my first exercise in the park. I definitely need new shoes for that. I came home, cut the grass, and did some laundry. Then I suffered a few hours of boredom before I had to get ready to have my sister over for dinner. After a rough and early start, day one was a mild success!

Hello, Vacation

I am on vacation.

I was preparing all week at work for my two-week absence. I didn't get done all the things I had aimed to. With only 30 minutes left in the day, I was feeling pretty anxious trying to get together all my files to leave for Head Two to look after while I was gone. The work just kept coming in, I couldn't keep up. This was why I desperately needed a vacation. Frankly, I'm scared about what I might come back to.

I was late getting out and missed my bus home. Boo. But I did eventually get out of there. When I swung open the door to my house I smiled and said, "hello, Vacation."

There was work to do.

I threw some things into my overnight bag in preparation for my weekend with the girls at the family cottage. Then I swung over to my parents' place to pick up a cooler and some things from my mom's garden.

I got the rest of the food together and had about an hour to go before Lisa would arrive to pick me up. Lauren had invited me and Gus over for drinks to celebrate her last day at IG. It was our last day taking the bus together. I'm going to miss her.

I had started to relax once I left the office, but as Lisa and I hit the road to the lake, I could feel the anxiety levels creeping up again. I love spending time at the cottage, and I love having other people up there, but I was worried I was forgetting something, or that my keys wouldn't work, or that Judy and Tonia would get lost, or that there wouldn't be any toilet paper out there.

"We have food and vodka in the car," Lisa pointed out. "If worse comes to worse, we can live off of that."

The keys worked, Tonia and Judy found the place okay, but believe it or not, there was a toilet paper shortage. Luckily, the corner store only charges $.89 per roll.

That may have been my last trip up to the cottage. My grandma keeps talking about selling the place. It was supposed to go this year, and now it's supposed to go next spring (but my mom says she's waffling again). I tried to take it all in, just in case. So much has changed though.

For one thing, technology has moved in. When I went to turn the power on at the panel, it was too dark to see which breakers were on and which ones were off. There used to be this big, old flashlight by the door, but it wasn't there. So I improvised and grabbed my cell phone. Together with Lisa's we managed to figure out which switches needed flipping. (It wouldn't have been so dangerous if it were not for the fact that the hot water heaters are electrical and can't be turned on until they have been filled with water.)

Later, we walked to the corner store, which, to my surprise, has been totally rebuilt. There's a little corner now where people can sit with a cup of coffee and surf the Internet or check their e-mail on their laptops. Yeah, the corner store at the lake where I used to buy a Ring Pop for a quarter now has WiFi and a flat screen TV.

On Saturday we walked down to the beach. It was super wavy, but the water was high and there wasn't much beach left to walk on. Hopefully it's just a bad year.

I decided that I cannot speak freely about this girls weekend here. For one thing, some of the best moments were "you had to be there" funny. I also want to respect the fact that maybe my girlfriends who also happen to be my co-workers, would rather I didn't post all the details.

Here are the anonymous highlights:

• "You have to turn up the volume with a knob?"--watching DVD movies on the ancient 25" TV.
• Look, a heart-shaped potato chip!
• and in response to the find, "if it looked like Jesus you could sell it on eBay"
  
• "This is what happens when winemakers and engineers hang out together"
  
• "Grab the dangley bits"
• And after the discussion about "dangley bits", the line, "well what did you think we'd talk about on a girls weekend? Knitting?"
• Officer Mike--"and yes, I'm single"
• Watching Knocked Up while playing a drinking game where we had to drink every time someone swore:

"Hey, Doc Howard. Ben Stone calling. Guess what the f***’s up? Alison’s going into labor and you are not f***ing here. Now, where are you? You’re at a f***ing Bar Mitzvah in San Francisco, you motherf***ing piece of sh*t! And you know I’m going to have to do now? I’m going to have to kill you. I’m going to have to pop a cap in your ass. You’re dead! You’re Tupac! You are f***ing Biggie, you piece of sh*t! I hope you f***ing die or drop the f***ing chair and kill that f***ing kid! Hope your plane crashes. Peace, f***er!"

I nearly choked.

I heart ?

Seriously, have a cow man

I'm telling you guys, a cow for my back yard.

But would I call it Dexter?

A night with the guys

On Friday night I half watched the Bomber game while doing up the dishes and talking to Vince online to figure out what we were going to do that night. By the time the game was over it would be too dark to play frisbee or volley ball in the park. Vince suggested we play Settlers of Catan and Wii, at Rob's place, which I protested against (only the Settlers part).

"You're going to have to be a guy tonight," he said.

"And what is being offered in return?"

"The satisfaction of trying something new."

Feeling that it was time for negotiations, I said, "I think while playing the game, there must be a girly movie playing."

Proving that he is much less stubborn than I am, Vince wrote back, "sure."

We ended up only playing Wii, and given my limited experience with video games, I could only hope for a personal best. Apparently I'm pretty good at circling my arms really fast. Must be from all that hand mixing I do.

* * *

On Saturday night I picked up Vince and we joined Judy, Tonia and friends on a patio at The Forks. It was the Folklorama kick off party and there were supposed to be fireworks, which I wanted to see. Either we missed them completely (we were told we wouldn't be able to see them from where we were sitting, but I never heard a single bang), or the show was a myth.

After drinks we all sort of decided we wanted to go to a bar, but the location was up in the air. I was wearing runners and a light hoodie, which just wouldn't do for any kind of dancing. When we parted, the plan was for me and Vince to go back to my house so I could change, while Judy and Tonia grabbed a drink at The Tavern. Then we'd all meet up again at Blush. In the end, Vince and I went to Blush while Judy and Tonia enjoyed the warm evening on the patio.

Now, you'd think it would be hard, or odd for a single guy and a single girl to go to a club and have a good time checking out the opposite sex. Vince and I made it work by scoping out marks for each other on the dance floor.

Vince had just grabbed a beer when he suggested we go check out the upstairs. I led the way, but when I turned around at the stairs, he was lost in the crowd.

"Hey, are you having a good time?" a tall, blond guy asked me. Funny that he was tall, because I had remarked to Vince that all the guys in the club seemed too short. Every time I looked around the floor for something a little taller than I am, all I saw was girls.

"Yeah, this is great," I nodded and replied before turning back to scan the crowd. How in the hell did I lose him in a matter of ten feet?

"My name is . . ." I honestly can't remember his name. I shook his hand and introduced myself.

"Jill? What do you do Jill? Do you go to school?"

"Work, actually." I sneaked another look behind me. Seriously, he should be at the stairs by now, or did he some how get ahead of me?

"Work? what do you do?"

"I'm in advertising,"

"Oh, do you do sales?"

"No, I'm a writer," I loved that moment. Very Carrie Bradshaw feeling. (Hush, those of you who know how little actual writing I get to do.)

"A writer? That's very cool. Very intellectual."

He was tall, he was blond, not bad looking and trying to have a respectful conversation with me. Boy, silver platter, hello. I couldn't do it. "Um, I'm really sorry, I'm looking for my friend, I have to go, but I will catch you later," I said, touching his shoulder and retracing my steps to where Vince and I had parted.

"I gave a piggyback ride to a bunny!" Vince said proudly when we bumped into each other again. I followed his gaze toward what had to be a stagette party of girls wearing bunny or cat ears.

"Nice job," I said and clapped. Vince later explained the girls had a list of "to dos" for the evening and he was happy to help them check one off. Sadly, his bunny left shortly after.

Later in the evening we were on the dance floor when I spotted the only other acceptable height guy in the club. We made eye contact, I smiled, and we danced. We couldn't really find a rhythm though. When he started licking his lips I turned around, and thank the Lord, Vince was right there.

Just before closing, Vince pointed out to me a guy in an orange shirt.

"What about him?"

I had spotted him earlier and kept finding my eyes wandering over in his direction. He looked like this guy I know. The only problem was, he was definitely with someone.

"Yeah, he's very nice," I nodded. "Too bad he comes with a girlfriend though." Then I laughed. "Actually, he's just my type."

I stole a few more glances. They were so lost in each other, and as much as it kind of killed me, it looked beautiful. I want something beautiful. Some day.

The Happy report

Day one of the August Long Weekend. It's raining off and on. I'm in one of those moods where I want to do something as much as I want to do absolutely nothing. I started working on Mac in my room and got to thinking about how much I love this space. That reminded me of Duane's latest post on Things That Make Me Happy. The challenge is to take pictures of 10 things that make you happy. Here's my list (in no particular order).

My Room

Yeah, I didn't make the bed this morning. Now, I know my house is small to begin with, but my absolute favourite space is this particular corner of it. Maybe it's because it's the only room I painted with colour, or maybe it's just all the stuff in it that I love (which will also be featured on this list). This is my space where I like to clear my mind, dump my thoughts into my journal, daydream, make wishes, listen to music, and oh yeah, sleep.

Music

Washing dishes, getting dressed, working on the computer, hanging out, cleaning, driving, walking in the park--there is a soundtrack to everything I do. Mostly I'm just listening to the radio, constantly flipping stations to find something that works. I like old stuff, new stuff, pop, rock, classical, big band, top 40, indie (apparently, it's a new thing I'm trying out). Before I turn out my light for the night I almost always turn on the radio and try to find a good song to end the day with. I like the radio just because I like the randomness of it. There are certain songs I associate with particular people or memories, so it's always interesting to see what comes up when I don't have a say in the play list.

Penguins

My love for penguins all started with this guy. My love for penguins all started with this guy...It's kind of a long story for here, but ask me and I'll tell you sometime if you haven't heard it. The last line of it goes, "I wish I could see him again, if only to tell him that I got the penguin". Since discovering my appreciation for this funny little bird I've been lucky enough to real ones at the San Francisco Zoo. I'd love to have the chance to get up close with one. And I'd name him Pete.

Shoes

I have been a shoe girl since I was a kid. And I've always been especially attracted to the red ones. I don't really care about labels, and I have never really spent an obscene amount of cash on one pair. They just make me happy.

Mac and Friends

I have great friends. Duh, that's why they're my friends. A few of them live in far away places so I keep in touch with them through the web--chatting, blogging, e-mails. Because I pretty much always have Mac on at home (and I am terrible with a cell phone) you can pretty much always reach me online. I love that I live in the era where geography is becoming irrelevant and my friends can pop up any time, from anywhere.

Pen and Paper

I always put this on my list of things I can't live without. Although I do a lot more electronic documenting of my thoughts in the past three years, I still like to go back to the traditional method. I have a particular preference for blue pens, but when the need strikes I'm sure I'd resort to charcoal and birch bark if I had to.

Ice cream

I wish I had the picture of me with my first ice cream cone to put up here, but this postcard also does the job. Ice cream is just a simple joy that makes me happy.

Truck

Truck was a dream of mine that I made come true, and he plays music. Another easy one, Truck makes me happy.

Elmo

He still gets excited whenever I come to the house. He is just a furry little package of pure love.

Sunshine

Bright, warm sunshine. Winnipeg may be cold in the winter, but we are one of the sunniest places. I can't imagine living life under a cloud.

Family

This is my bonus entry. I don't even have a picture for this one. Of course the family makes me happy, and they drive me nuts too. I do my fair share of driving that bus though. I have to say here don't think I ever realized what it meant to have parents until I moved out.