So after dinner at Denny’s (an “Ultimate Omelette” which doesn’t quite live up to it’s name) I decided to go on a little bike stroll through the West End when I lost my footing and WHAM! The right pedal took a nice rectangular chunk out of my leg. Normally I would have pedaled it off but it seems so perfectly rectangular that I though it looked a little strange so I came home, bandaged it up, and succumbed to my daily internet binge. So before the whole rectangular divot fiasco I was having a pretty good biking day through the English Bay beaches stopping occasionally to draw where I could find some shade (all this biking has given me an mild, unfamiliar tan). It was a nice leisurely scenic day. I wrapped around UBC (University of a Billion Chinese, so I’ve heard). and headed back toward the city. Normally I’d be inclined to skip all the birthday stuff but I somehow felt the desire to at least do the candle thingy so I stopped by Safeway and bought a slice of apple pie, some vanilla ice cream, a pack of candles, and a lighter.

At orientation, they told us that we wouldn’t have much of a life outside class during the next year so we should try to “party” as much as we can this week, before classes start. If by “partying” they mean spending the last hour or so before bedtime at a web cafe surfing the web then I should be all ready for studies on Monday. Anyway the last few days have been filled with lots of drawing, some biking, some eating, some reading and not much else. And that’s pretty much it. Ok time to get this party started!

• No one seems to jaywalk here. Which totally goes against my pedestrian instincts and makes me feel like a punk. I suppose I’ll eventually conform to the ways of these street and start holding up those crazy L-shaped arms everytime I want to make a left hand turn on my bike.
• People are generally right about Vancouver: It is picturesque. There are a lot of asians. People say “eh” a lot. And the food is great. However if you have a taste for burritos, I suggest you make a run for the other border before heading for your local Canadian TacoTime Bleah!
• Hockey Sticks (reg. CAN$29.99) are 20% off at the local sports mart.
• My Everything Is On Sale At 33% Off theory has a few holes in it. Of course a lot of things here are cheaper than the states (food, for instance), but it seems like there are some people who actually figured out canadian money is not worth as much and have the nerve to charge more for the same items ($18 bucks for drugstore sunglasses! What’up with dat!), putting my economic model to sham.

Argh! So my mom and I were planning on heading up to Vancouver this morning at around 8 or so. At around 5 she comes into my room and tells me to wake up. I was pretty dozy so it took me a few minutes but I finally regained consciousness wondering why she woke me up so early. Can you believe it: it was a dream! The whole thing was a dream! Even my dreams are telling me to wake up! It’s a sad world when your dreams don’t even want you in them.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with friends recently trying to squeeze as much friendship out of them to last me a good while before I leave for Vancouver. So this weekend, I’ve managed to take in two buffet dinners a trip to the NJ shore with a group of church people, some time splashing around in the ocean with Ed, a few rounds of Halo with Kevin, Don, Ed, Sun, Doug, and Tim, and some time with Kevin surfing around on the internet looking up Indiana Jones trivia. It’s really been one great big fun tiring weekend and I felt really thankful for my friends. When I came home late yesterday I had this nagging feeling in my gut that I’m leaving something really valuable for something that may not be as valuable.

Yesterday I said my last goodbyes to Maude, who originally hired me and gave me a nerve wracking interview. It was an awkward goodbye – the kind of exchange which, for a second or two, switched off between a handshake and a hug because we didn’t know what to give. At the end of the exchange we decided on a hug, which felt good even though neither one of us were the hug kind of people.

I got up at six, checked my email, went back to bed, and prayed to god that I could go back to sleep. Well my prayers were answered; I slept until 9:20. Although I wasn’t spotted by the rifle clad guards I was spotted by a friendly janitor and one of my supervisors, (whose footsteps I distinctly heard coming down the hall but I was too drowsy to do anything). I don’t quite know what they thought but their face read more of surprise than disapproval. So at least they only think of me as a wierdo. I had this dream where my jaw came out and my mom was taking me to the hospital to get it fixed. There were a few teeth left in my mouth loosely attached to the gumline and I could actually feel them with my tongue. Strange.

Well it’s Sunday (almost Monday) and I’m back here at work preparing myself for my third night on the sleeping bag/table setup. I spent last night at home and I decided this place is much better. I just hope the guards don’t see me. (Hmm, that sounds like I’m in some sort of 1st person shooter; good thing they don’t carry submachine guns because I don’t think I’d last long armed with my pillow)

I went to bed at around 11ish and by 1:30 realized I wasn’t going to get much sleep and decided to grab a wawa hoagie and trek it all the way to the office with sleeping bag in tow. It’s now 2:00am and I’m basking in cool air. Ahhhh! This is infinitely better than roasting at home on my futon while getting up to baste myself with water every so often.

I’m taking the day off to do some final packing and like most days off, I’ve managed to slip into work to add another blog entry of no importance. In the last 24 hours I have managed to sell my A.C., become $50 richer, mail my bike, go to a birthday dinner, sweat myself to sleep, do laundry, finish a book, and shop for a phone. I’m hoping I’ll be done with this packing/moving thing by the end of the day tomorrow. By then, all my stuff will have been shipped, sold, or given away and I’ll have plenty of time to sit alone in my barren apartment and bake in my apartment-converted sauna. Now if I only had a jacuzzi.