Baby, You're a Firework!

In the middle of July I did something awesome... Attended a Katy Perry Concert! Yay! I headed downtown to meet my friends Elise and Danielle. (Our other friend cannot be named as he/she called in sick to come with us.)

Oh, wait... I just met up with Danielle, because Elise was lucky enough to weasel herself into a meet-n-greet with Katy! She's apparently super cute with a tiny figure, and is very nice in person.

We were in row 1, by where centre ice would be (not on the floor) and the seats were great. As you'd assume the concert was a lot of fun. They followed a storyline of Katy working for a nasty butcher and ends up in a crazy candyland with a cute boy. It bugs me to this day that I can't place the male they had in the videos. Anyone out there knows please let me know! I'm guessing it was like some show on the CW.

There were lots of colourful costume changes ... and at one point Katy even hovered by us on a cotton-candy cloud. And speaking of cotton candy... the entire stadium smelled like it!

At one point she yelled that her husband was coming out... and then he didn't. I felt kind of gipped. There was a special guest though: Kitty Purry!!!

The best part of the concert was when she performed one of my favourite songs of all time: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." I screamed like a school girl!

Cancer Fundraiser 2011

If you've been a reader of my blog for a while (aka my sister) you know that my friends Chris and Jamie put on a huge cancer fundraiser every year, and this year was no exception. We typically do it in their dad's backyard, but considering this was the first fundraiser after our friend Shaun lost his life to cancer, we decided to go a little bigger this time... and have a beach party in the sand of the volleyball courts behind the Langley Events Centre!

Along with the tickets for the party, cash is raised in a huge raffle. I was pretty proud of myself for getting a shitload of raffle prizes donated. Big thanks to those who came through for me :)

The day of the party was sunny and warm... there were hammocks, palm trees, baby pools and lots and lots of alcohol. They were only lacking in one department: Port-O-Potties. At one point before more were shipped in, the line for the bathroom was about a half hour long. Luckily I'm known for making friends in bathroom lines.

There were a few special guests too... Default, The Boombox Saints and the Tito Deville band. Dre Morel DJ'd... and Flipout was there too, even though he didn't do much! Sorry dude, you're not famous enough to just "make an appearance." Maybe if you were Kim Kardasian... or even Snooki.

I spent the relaxin' day on a beach blanket with some of my besties... and being in Langley you couldn't walk 2 steps without bumping into someone you know. Even my friends in other towns were like "Oh, you're at that cancer party? I heard about that!"

Once the sun went down it got really cold, really fast (Worst summer weather in the history of my life this year!)... so after a quick trip home to throw on some jeans and a hoodie (and to my friends to feed her new kittens... sooo cute) I was ready to go for round 2.

The next morning I got up early and went to the field to help out... mmm picking gum and cigarette butts out of the sand... tasty! I also then volunteered myself to be on bottle-depot-duty. I literally stood at the depot for over an hour throwing bag after bag of sticky cans and bottles onto the table... even having to wait for my friend Chris to get a third truckful of bags. All together we raised over $400 in empties, though!

At the end of the day the fundraiser was super successful... $105,940 raised with a hundred percent proceeds to the Canadian Cancer Society! We did good, kids. We did good.

Special Karma aside: I won a raffle prize! Canucks tickets and a night at the Westin! :) And no, it was not fixed!

Poems by Dani

I came across some poems I'd been forced to write at school Grade 3. I remember this because I used the word "lust" and the teacher put a question mark beside it like she didn't think I knew what it meant. Well, I'll have her know I was already watching the original 90210 at that age. Maybe SHE didn't know what lust was... but Kelly and Dylan sure did.

Without further ado... here are my brain nuggets:

Haiku

Ding-a-ling-a-ling
The ice cream man is coming
Children run and scream

Tanka

Night is approaching
Daffodils are closing up
Roses close their eyes
Lilies lay down in their beds
Bedtime for little blossoms

Cinquain

LOVE
happy and warm
hugging and kissing
the best feeling in the world
Lust

Leah's Baptism

As I'd basically behaved myself the night before, I wasn't too hungover for church the day after the wedding.

We sat through the regular sermon before the pastor got to the baptism part. I didn't really pay attention, not really my thing. Normally, I'd people watch, but couldn't because they sat us in the VIP section aka the front row. Luckily the pastor wasn't a spitty talker, or we'd have been in the splash zone.

They brought all the kids in the congregation up the the front to sit around Leah while they prayed and shit. The best part was that one little boy was hamming it up to the audience... first he'd give a thumbs up and see how they reacted, then a thumbs down, then hovered between... like he was the pharoh deciding whether the gladiator got to live or die.

After that they played a slide show of Leah pictures. She is one cute kid.

Then they holy moley'd her (I'm assuming that's what they call it when she gets holy water dumped on her head. If they don't, they should.) She didn't even cry. That water must be "No More Tears®"

After that we got to leave and have lunch at my brother-in-law's parent's house. There was dessert. Delightful.

Ron and Robyn's Wedding

Ron and Robyn got married July 2nd. There's a reason these two are my friends. They're smart enough to start their wedding at 5pm instead of 2pm the day after they know their friends are going to be out drinking the night before. After arriving home that morning from downtown I had time to take a long nap, and still get cute for the wedding.

I got my mom to drop me off at Redwoods (there IS an advantage to living at home) and mingled inside with my friends. A few minutes later they ushered us out to the chapel area. They have a really nice set-up there between the trees, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. The only problem was it was too damn hot. In the short time we sat waiting (20 minutes, maybe) I was sweating my ass off. It was bad enough that when we stood up for the bride to walk down the aisle I had to sit back down into a pool of my own sweat. Urg. I really felt for the dudes.

They kept the ceremony short and sweet, took some group pics, and it was time to relax and drink until dinner. I sat on the patio chatting most of the time with my friend's new girlfriend.

For dinner I was seated with my good friend Nick and his girlfriend, and Eric and Mary, a really fun couple friend of the bride and groom's. The speeches were kept short and sweet and actually amusing, and then it was time to eat.

I can't remember what the food was like, which is kind of a change for me. Sort of disturbing actually. Someone should take my temperature.

We danced and drank the night away... to a reasonable hour. SOMEONE had planned my niece's baptims for the next morning. Blast!

Canada Day 2011

I celebrated Canada Day by heading downtown to hang out with a girlfriend. I met her at her place, and we took the Seabus across to Granville Island. My other friend was working down there so we went for a visit. Unluckily for her the man she was working with smelled to the high heavens. You know when you accidentally leave your laundry in the washing machine for too long? That smell. I felt for her.

We grabbed some lunch on the patio at The Sandbar. We had a nice little girl-talk chat, but I could tell she was hiding something from me. Our plan had been after lunch to chill at her place for a bit, then head to a mutual friend's for a BBQ dinner. I called her out because I knew she was keeping a secret, and it turned out she was actually sort of dating the mutual friend. Surprise!

We grabbed some groceries, headed over and proceeded to start drinking. I had planned on only having 1 or 2 and driving home, since I had a wedding to attend the next day, but that's not exactly how it went. A few hours later my friend had lost her nose ring, so we went to the drug store to grab a new one. I dropped some ice cream and we drunkenly chatted up the entire staff. This is what I love about my friends. It doesn't matter where we are, or what we're doing, we can have fun.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner on the patio with a few friends, and decided to stay up there to watch the fireworks. After freezing our asses off for 20 minutes we thought to ourselves: fuck the fireworks, lets go in the hot tub!

After getting dressed again we had an ottoman party. For those of you who have never tried this, it's where you get drunk and dance on an ottoman. It's a lot more fun than it sounds. Quite enjoyable, really.

At the beginning of the night I'd told my friend to hook me up with his cute buddy... and at this point in the night he finally arrived. I was pretty sloshed at this point already and he kept harassing me to keep drinking. It was like high school. No matter how old boys are they, or how much you try to refrain... they keep pushing the booze. The boy and I had a little cuddle on the couch, and my friends headed to bed. I ended up crashing there, and having a little makeout session, too. (Unlike my date in June I was on my A-game this time!)

I got up as early as my hangover would allow, and headed back to Langley... I had a wedding to get ready for!

Ladies' Night... Family Style

In June my mom, sister and I headed down to Tulalip for a little shopping and gambling.

On the way down we stopped in Bellingham for breakfast... which included mimosas. We were on vacation, ok!

We're way too cheap to stay at the actual Tulalip Resort so we stayed at the Holiday Inn (I think.) We did get free cookies upon check-in. You can't beat that.

After a little shopping we headed out for dinner and decided on a Mexican place. The food was good, but the drinks left a little to be desired. I ordered a mojito, but it came sort of half-blended, like they'd used the ice from the bottom of the barrel. I asked the waitress to take it back and strain it, or get some bigger ice cubes... but she didn't really speak English that well. (I don't get how there are basically no Latin people in BC, but you go 30 mins across the border and they only speak Spanish.)

Next stop... the shuttle to the Casino! We were packed onto the shuttle with a girls' volleyball team and their parents. One of the girls managed to get onto the shuttle without shoes, and while she was waiting for her dad to fetch her shoes from the room the bus left. I have no idea if she got into the casino like that.

It took a while, but some seats opened up at the 3-Card Poker table. My sister was out of cash almost immediately, my mom not long after, but I was on a roll! I kept hitting 3 of a kinds and straights.

The guy next to me, in his mid-30's to 40's, was chatting me up much to the amusement of my sister. At one point I asked her to grab me a drink and passed her my purse. "I can't find your wallet with all these comdoms in here!" She yelled. I guess that's what sisters are for.

Eventually they got tired of waiting and made me leave. The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel. They had the coolest machine ever. Maybe I'm behind on the times if I think this is awesome... but it's a machine where you press the button and it makes a fresh pancake for you! Delish! Then we did a little more shopping and headed home. It was a nice way to spend a weekend.

Borderline

The day after Wicked I went on a first date with a new boy. (Yes, obviously he's new if it's a first date. Thanks for coming out, me.)

He seemed promising... good job (he works at the border crossing), nice condo in South Surrey, stable family, and cute ... but a little short.

I drove out to his place where we had a glass of wine and watched the Canucks game. This was during the playoffs, but after we got scored on the 3rd time in a row we gave up and headed to the White Rock strip for some dinner.

Dinner went well and the conversation was flowing. He kept telling me I was pretty and complimented my dress. While we walked back to the car he put his arm around me to steer me clear of the crowds.

We got back to his place and chatted for a bit before I headed home. It wasn't that late, but I had to work the next day.

He walked me to my car, where we chatted a little bit more. As we were down there a limo full of drunk guys drove by. His neighbour and his friends had gone to the game and were now getting dropped off.

"So," border guy said to me, "Do you want to give them a show?"

I laughed. "Um... ok?"

He leaned in and kissed me. I have to admit, it wasn't my best work. I'm not scared of PDA, but first kisses are always a little nerve-wracking anyways, and I'm pretty sure the limo dudes were fully watching. I might even have had one eye open.

I drove home... and never heard from border guy again.

Wicked

In June I went to see the musical Wicked with some family. Yes, I'm a big nerd and I love musicals. (Except the Mamma Mia DVD... UGH kill me).

You may recall I went to see The Lion King last year with my friend Nick, so I was stoked to see this one.

My parents had seen it previously in New York, and my cousin has seen it 3 times, so I figured I wouldn't be dissapointed, and I wasn't.

The storyline is about the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz... but it focuses on her gorwing up and how she became how she is. It really gives you a different perspective on the whole thing. (Not that you'd thought so hard about the subject before.)

I won't give it all away, but I definitely recommend it. Next stop... Beauty and the Beast if anyone wants to go!

Teddy's Wedding

At the end of May my friend Teddy from dental hygiene school got married. Yes, a male hygienist. And who did he marry? Not only a dentist, but our teacher from school, Ann! (To give them some credit they DID wait until we were finished school to start dating.)

Anyways Teddy is Chinese and Ann is Indian, so it was quite a mix.

It was smaller than your average Indian wedding... and it was really nice of them to email us crackers some info about what was going on beforehand so we weren't totally lost. They kept the ceremony short and sweet (compared to the typical over and hour) and actually started on time. After the ceremony we headed into the basement of the temple for some lunch. The best part is getting served prison-style on divided metal trays and water glasses. The food is all vegetarian and delicious.

After that we had a bunch of time to kill, so I went with a couple of the girls to go see a movie. Then we headed back to one of their houses to get dressed in our sarees for the reception.

The reception was amazing. Free (top shelf) booze, and delicious Indian appies. They had the typical ones, as well as these little things that looked like cream puffs, but you put this flavoured water in it and eat it in one bite... interesting. The buffet was good too. All Indian except one dish... chow mein. They also did a chinese tea ceremony.

After eating we danced the night away. It was a mix of Indian music and hip hop. They played Neyo's "Tonight" about 4 times. I can never hear it without thinking of the wedding. Most people headed home early; It was a Sunday... but a few of us shut the place down.

I spent the night at a hotel. Alone. Which was a first, and sort of strange. But kind of fun. Thanks to my friend for getting me a deal... you know who you are :)

It's a Miracle!

I never thought I'd see the day that I read Maclean's magazine on a regular basis, but it's happened. My grade 10-11 social studies teacher would be so proud. Shout out Ms Kawaguchi! (aka "the Gooch")

And no, that is not the miracle. Read on.

At lunch today I read that a scientist at UBC is developing a wine that doesn't cause headaches! I guess I'm part of the 30% of the population that's allergic to something in white/light red wines, becaue sometimes I have a glass and can't drink more becaues my head hurts. But, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel!

Read more here at the Maclean's website.

Mexico - The Last Day

The day after the wedding I felt much better, and was glad, because my friend Abraham was coming to visit me at the resort! I'd met him back in 2005, when he was the sports/entertainment guy at our hotel. (Read more about that vacay here.)

He met us at our room and then we walked down to the pool. In the room he mentioned that he'd read my blog about him and that it was very... interesting. I pretended I didn't remember what I'd written. I mean who knew people in Mexico read my blog?!

Even though it was sort of awkward to see Abraham at first since it had been like 6 years, we got back into the swing of things and it was nice to catch up. Anytime he left to grab a drink etc the girls were harassing me: "Are you dating? Is that your boyfriend?"

It was a lovely day. We drank, tanned, splashed in the pool and played volleyball. And when I say we played volleyball I mean everyone else played while I watched.

Everyone was also asking Abraham random questions about being Mexican. One of the comments was "But you don't look Mexican." I think he was sort of offended, but really he DOESN'T look Mexican. He's not short and his head isn't that round and his hair isn't black. It's just the truth. Sorry.

This was also the day my nose started peeling. It was gross.

After chilling in the pool all day we had dinner at Don Pablos, one of the nice restaurants. It was a great day to end a great week.

We woke up early and headed home. Time to start planning my next trip!

Mexican Wedding Day!

The day that we came on the trip for had arrived: It was the wedding day! Unfortunately, I woke up with a bit of a cold. It wasn't really a surprise; I have the worst immune system in the world and when I've been up drinking all night for a few in a row my body will show me who's boss.

We lounged by the pool most of the day. The bride and groom had no problem seeing each other. I guess the rules are a little different when you're on location. The bridal party left early to get their hair done, and I did a bit of tanning. Maybe a bit too much... I was a little more lobsteresque than golden goddess.

We got ready for the wedding and headed to the beach. The ceremony was short and sweet, and made even better by the observers in speedos. One of them was even crying.

After that we headed to the pool area which had been roped off for the reception. They had a BBQ buffet... definitely better than the buffet we'd eaten most nights. We ate and drank and the speeches were really sweet.

The combination of sunstroke and my head cold were getting to me, though. The reception shut down pretty early and most guests headed to the hacienda to keep the party going. I headed to our room to lie in my bed and watch TV.

Note to self: Save the hardcore tanning until AFTER the main event next time!

Mexico - Day Cinco

Day five was like this blog posting. Short and sweet:

1. Pool all day
2. Dinner at the Italian restaurant. It was delicious.
3. Make wedding favours for the next day (aka tying ribbon around maracas.)

It was a good day.

Mexico - Playa del Carmen

On the fourth day we decided to actually venture off the resort grounds. When I had been on an Alaskan Cruise in 2009 I had met a girl from Mexico, who was on the boat visiting some friends who worked on it. Valeria lives in Cancun, but she met us halfway in Playa del Carmen for a visit.

My friend and I took a bus/shuttle into town. It's the same ones that the locals take; you basically stand by the side of the road until they pull over and pack in with everyone. There are lots of stops at the different resorts, but it's only 3 dollars or something crazy like that.

Before we even left the resort I'd noticed that I had little black bits of something all over me... turned out my cheap "pleather" purse was coming off on my arms. I bought a new purse stat and threw the old one in the garbage.

The ride took about an hour and we arrived in town. THIS was what I was expecting when I came to Mexico. Whitesand beaches with pristine blue/green water. We were a little early, so we grabbed a drink at the swing bar directly on the beach. Cross that one off the bucket list!

We met my friend at Senor Frog's and had some large, slushy drinks, then decided to grab some lunch. I wanted to go somewhere authentic, so Valeria chatted up a guy in a store. He sent us to a restaurant called Restaurant Maquech. They didn't speak any English, and the food was the best I had all trip. We started with chicken and rice soup, then had chicken enchiladas with mole sauce. We asked for a beer and they brought it in a clay tea cup - apparently they don't have a liquor license!

That night we had dinner at the resort, then watched the Canucks play again (we won 7-3 btw.) I enjoyed sitting outside at the hacienda... but I was being eaten alive by mosquitos! Myself and one other girl in our party were just covered. My legs had huge welts all over them. I was chewing Benadryl like it was going out of style!

We also enjoyed some mojitos that night. Note to anyone traveling to Mexico: If they run out of rum they'll substitute any other liquor hoping you won't notice (In my case it was Tequila.) And when you're using your mojito as a chaser for a tequila shot it's a rude awakening!

Mexico - Day 2 and 3 Highlights

The first couple days we basically slept in and lounged around the pool. We were on the caribbean side of the country, but were so far away from Cancun that the beach wasn't very nice. It was rocky with bits of hard coral, and there was a little seawall that blocked people from entering the water in most areas. Not to mention red flags (meaning no swimming) half the time. So, various pools it was.

The swim-up bar was awesome. I even got a new delicious drink... A Michelada. Sort of like a Caesar, but no Clamato. It was a really nice way to break up all the fruity drinks.

I did a little light reading (Schindler's List) and a bit of heavy tanning.

A few nights we hit up the disco at the resort. It's weird being at a club and not paying for drinks.

A couple of us gals also decided at one point that skinny dipping in the ocean was a good idea. Seriously, it was fun, but I managed to scrape my knee on some coral... then we thought we saw a security guard, so we were scrambling to get dressed, and my friend lost her hair clip. Drunk as she was, finding that clip submerged in sand in the pitch-blackness seemed like the most important thing ever. Needless to say we didn't find it. The next day I had 4 vertical scrapes on my knee from the coral. It looked like I got scratched by a baby tiger.

We also had dinner one of the nights at the teppanyaki restaurant. By a stroke of luck a few people didn't show for their reservation, so we got to sit at the "show table." Those Mexicans gave the Japanese a run for their money. The show and dinner were both impressive!

Needless to say we drank... a lot. Enough for me to have to put my friend to bed. She was lying, fully clothed on her bed. I started with her shoes. Then asked her if she wanted pajamas. She said yes, so I asked where they were. She didn't know. I decided to tuck her in anyways. I was trying to explain to her if she wanted under the covers she had to roll in one direction, then back, but that was not computing... so I did what I could and wrapped her up like a little burrito. Very fitting.