Hello!
According to the stats, it is time for my first post in approximately 6 months. What can I say? I have not been near a ‘puter when drinking (or when Beth is not nearby, stealing wireless internets).
Ahh – la fete (I have no circonflex) nationale du Canada. This is my first Canada Day here as a resident of Our Nation’s Capitol. We just finished watching fireworks while drinking…mmm…though we were up on the 3rd floor of our place, where we had a great view of them. Laziness – beer + view of fireworks ten steps from home. Rock!
For posterity, and because Dave said I wouldn’t be able to remember (he should know better by now – I have a crazy stalker memory), I am going to detail where he and I were for the past 10 Canada Days. Humour me, please:
2007- rocking the O-town.
2006 – back in London, England after puttering around the Baltic. We were forced to watch England lose to Portugal in a HEARTBREAKING World Cup quaterfinal (and suffer the 35 degree plus heat).
2005 – We drove to Charlevoix (pronounced char-le-voy), Michigan. We headed to Ben and Erin’s rehearsal dinner prior to their July 2nd wedding.
2004 – It was a Thursday; I had no vacation day and had to work on Friday. We headed over to Jen and Greg’s appartment in Hyde Park to watch the Symphony of Fire. Jen and I crashed; Dave and crew went to a bar. Dave drank WAAAAY too much before heading to the bar and proceeded to do tequila shots. He smushed dead flowers in Leanne’s face (‘preeeeety’, he kept imploring) on the way back while nearly being hit by cars. His hangover the next day = legendary.
2003 – I went to Leanne’s cottage with Dawn. We celebrated her 25th b-day and the end of her 3-year relationship. Dave sat at home with an engagement ring, having planned to pop the question prior to Leanne’s plea to come and spend the weekend with her. Both Dave and I concur – Leanne was (and continues to be) totally worth it.
2002 – Sarah has just returned home from a trip to the Domincian Republic with Di and Dawn, after having finished writing her MSc. thesis. She spends the day racked with gastro-intertinal illness. Dave, on the other hand, is shitting on a box in the woods.
2001 – Sarah and Leanne head up to the Kennett cottage in a rental car, having spent the night before chilling with Dave watching AI: Artificial Intelligence. It is unlikely (though not impossible) that a movie has made Sarah SO INCREDIBLY ANGRY since. Man – that movie F’n sucked.
2000 – Sarah is visiting G-town; Dave has just moved home. Sarah spends the day (and the weekend) writing a capstone paper to a graduate-level study abroad course (International Food Laws – Asia) which has allowed her to visit Thailand, Korea and Japan (the same course having allowed her to visit the EU the year before). The highlight of the weekend? Sarah and her parents discover that, over the course of the day, they can put away 14 + pots of tea without blinking. Even Dr. Bombshell’s mom would be impressed.
1999 – Sarah spends the weekend with Rich and Mike (and Janet and Skates) in Ottawa. Canada Day evening full of rain, but we hide out in the National Gallery lobby and wait for the sky to clear and we see the fireworks. Dave cannot remember what he was up to, as this was year 2 of the “Sarah and Dave break up for 2 years” period.
1998 – Sarah and Dave are broken up, but that doesn’t stop Dave from being a mensch. Sarah is home for the summer; her last full summer at home during University. Sarah has her 4, impacted wisdom teeth taken out on the 30th of June. On July 1st, Dave comes by with popsicles and movies that he does NOT want to see, but Sarah does.
When he leaves, Sarah’s mom gives her a guilt trip as to why they aren’t dating. Subsequent guilt trip – Xmas 1999 (they’re still broken up). Sarah is in bent over a toilet with food poisoning, engaging in her LEAST favourite thing on earth. In between moments of retching, her Mom — so impressed by Dave coming by to cheer Sarah up and keep her company on Xmas day prior to a family party that Sarah has had to miss due to illness — keeps telling Sarah “you are taking him for granted. He is wonderful.”
Guilt trips about Dave from her Mom — given while Sarah is in excruciating pain, then while puking. It is a wonder that Sarah wasn’t conditioned to hate the boy. Happily – Dave and Saraj got back together 2 weeks after the puking incident. My parents (and she) could not be happier.
And on that (drunken, rambly note): I wish you all and AMAZING 140th anniversary of the inception of our fair land.