I'm home. Sweet, wonderful, slightly musty smelling home. Hal was so lonely that he actually let me pick up up (purring yet) and cuddle him for several minutes. This has never happened before. It's apparently below zero but really after minus 28 or whatever it was in the Peg this weather is like a warm spring day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the mountains look amazing today (especially on the descent into Van). I have rotting veggies in the fridge (don't tell my Mom because I said I had food & milk, etc. - lies!), cat hair all over everything, things tipped over but nothing visibly broken so overall not too bad. I've already partially dusted and lint brushed things, the sheets are even in the washing machine. I had a shower because I was quite smelly already (why will come later) and the plants are watered too. I still need to unpack the rest of my stuff but I wanted to go online as soon as possible and get all this sh$% down before I forget anything.
So, first of all, THE TRIP. I kind of feel like I've been away a few months but it's only been 2 1/2 weeks. The Toronto/Hamilton trip was nice. It was pleasant, fun, a bit on the cool side downstairs due to the 1920s windows I think, but tolerable. There were Zoo animals, wine drinking, Harry Potter, recycling, sleeping in, relaxing, Carcassonne - so a good solid mini-vac with my dear friends Tracey & Andy. So Monday I head to Winnipeg and I've already been a bit antsy to get going and just be 'home' so I was relieved to get there and all is well. My Mom's ecstatic to see me, I get chili and there's Gailies in the fridge so I am content. But, then why my Mom and I cannot live together starts to manifest. It was about 10:00 or 11:00 on Tuesday (so almost 1 full day there) and my Mom starting nagging me about reading too much. I'm not doing crack or beating up kids, I'm reading but somehow this is a major issue. Everything goes in the garbage including cardboard and drink cans. It makes me frickin' crazy. Anyways, after some friend-time and much deep breathing I manage to control my anger and not act like I'm 14. Though really I feel 14 there - zitty, red and blotchy, fat, ugly, a bad daughter, no boyfriend. The only thing that's really changed is that I have stretch marks and my hair is much more manageable thanks to curly/frizzy friendly hair products. It really kind of sucks. I guess the other thing is that my Mom & I don't yell at each other anymore either. We're both too mature so it just does not escalate to that point, but the tension is sure still there.
So I make it till all the holiday events are through and get some more friend-time in. There are some difficulties with not having Internet access though so I am not able to fully plan things & miss out on seeing certain people. It's also difficult after spending about 4 months on Twitter to suddenly go cold-turkey. Very very difficult, though I think I'm stronger for it. So, there's the traditional Dim Sum, breakfasts, lunches, dogs (lots actually, and lots of cats too - Milo, Zach, Zoya, Max, another Max, Tabitha, Marley & Bella), etc., and it's really fun and I feel happy to catch up and spend time with people I care about. I have a few more days to cram everything I can in and then I get some wacky flu. The frickin' flu. Like I have time for sickness. It was total garbage. Basically I woke up feeling unwell and I managed about half a piece of toast and then there was diarrhea and I almost puked while I was on the toilet. Now, I don't remember if I've ever gone on about how much I despise puking but I honestly would rather die than voluntarily puke. I absolutely despise everything about puking and I will not allow myself to puke. There are times when I cannot stop myself and that's maybe why I hate it so much but really it's the most revolting thing. So as I'm gagging and fighting to keep it down the plan for the next couple of days sort of unravels and I slowly come to the realization that I am not going to be able to do all this stuff. I had to cancel a few things and leave my mother's basement in disarray. I did go out for a beer that afternoon since there were previous plans just to meet my friend Warren (from Abby) downtown and I couldn't just bail. However, I could barely sit up and almost fell asleep (in the Kings Head) and I couldn't make it through even half the beer. I got a cab back home and slept the rest of the day.
By Friday afternoon I just had a headache mostly so thanks to the bully that is Cousin Mikie I drank up a storm on New Years Eve and actually pulled a 'nighter'. After the snacking, PS3 connect games, laughing, and very unpleasant shooter development project (though apparently I'm the only one that had any issues with the taste, just to be fair) I thought there may be a chance for a nap but then there were Cousin Mikie's neighbours. So from about 3:40 till 5:20 I met the cute male neighbour. Really, Mikie went on and on about how cute his neighbour was, which was unsettling in and of itself since he's usually only like that about tits & other bimbo parts. But, really his neighbour or neighbours, since there was an almost twin or maybe actually twin brother, are cute. I entered and did a jagger bomb and met more dogs (Rudy? I think, and Bella or Candy? these are the most recent names, yes, but, I have also had a long day as you can see!) and then we tried to counsel their drunk friend about drunk texting his girlfriend. This somehow took almost 2 hours. Then we went back to Cousin Mikie just in time for the car to pull up so I grabbed all my stuff and went out. I realized half-way to the Airport that I left my pillow, my wonderful amazing side-sleeper pillow, at Mikie's which depressed me and really should have been a sign.
There was a huge line-up at the Airport so I ducked into the washroom, changed my shirt & undies in the stall, and headed to the check-in thing. Luckily I got pulled into the shorter line and made it through security relatively okay (though there was a very thorough search through the carry-on - we found the other energy drink Mikie but nothing else luckily!). Here's the clincher. So, the plan was to meet up with Warren and his girl-friend on their way home since we were on the same flight. But, they were not on my flight. In fact as it turned out there were 2 separate 7:00 flights leaving from Winnipeg to Vancouver. I happened to be on the Air Canada one and they were on the Westjet one. So, I was about 20-30 minutes later than them, and therefore missed them at the Vancouver end since they could not find me on the flight they thought I would be on.
I had realized this possibility but had this visual of us all meeting up at the baggage area happy & laughing and then me going home...So, as the reality hit and all the people from their flight were leaving from the baggage area I calmly got my luggage and went and asked an Info person to direct me to some info about the Greyhound bus or West Coast Express since those had been my other options. But, it turns out the West Coast Express never runs on a Saturday (I guess that was just for the Olympics) and she wasn't sure about the Greyhound schedule. Since I'm not so great with travel issues I proceeded to tear-up and start crying like a big baby. So I tried to calm myself and went to use the phone to try to see if my White Rock friend was home. If she didn't answer then I would just find my way to the sky-train station and try not to fall over at the bus station due to the excess Christmas chocolate and cabbage buns in my luggage. Luckily she answered and she picked me up. I have to say I cried the entire time I waited though. I occasionally broke out of my self-pity and would think about funny or pleasant times from the trip but my mind always ended up back at the here & now & how lame I am. This has sealed the deal on owning a cell phone. With a cell phone none of that would have happened - at the very least there would have been contact, perhaps actual confirmation of airlines maybe and less crying at the very least. The highlight is I got Borscht (good Ukrainian borscht - not weird Menno-borscht which is really just soup with beets in it, no offense but it should just be called 'soup' then, that's all I'm saying) and I was able to totally bitch and have a pity party on the drive back which was therapeutic.
On the home front, I have discovered that Hal now goes on top of the kitchen cabinets. This is what will happen with approximately 2 weeks of boredom. Pics of my adventures to follow!
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