so i'm back from out east, and just finishing getting over a cold (could i perhaps have been overworked lately? me?!). not sure my brain is all there again yet, but eh, it happens. my one remaining job has been hectic, but i'm getting used to it. within four hours of stepping off the plane last wednesday i was already back at work for a staff meeting! but hell, i had too good of a vacation to really complain.

 

i guess i should apologise to mike for dragging him off to toronto to visit all *my* friends, but i'm hoping he got drunk enough that it wasn't that bad... and yes, he even survived shopping with me. mostly cause i shop like a man, but hey, since when was that a bad thing?! in and out, right? anyways, i was super happy to see all my old friends. went to dinner with my best friend from high school and then out to the bar after to see another friend's band play their first gig ever. all things considered, it was a good show! and i got to see people, so that made me happy.

 

thanksgiving dinner was the whole meet the family shebang... i think i passed inspection, although i'm sure mike's too nice to tell me if i didn't! we also drove up north for a night, and i will have to admit that ontario does have its own beauty... just not in its cities. it would've been nice to spend more time up there.

 

the flight home was horrible. they've put in those no-liquid rules for carryons, and so, of course, everyone was trying to take liquids on their carryons. the lineup for security was gigantic, and growing fast, and this was at 7AM. even from my space in line it took 45 minutes to get to the door. by the time i got to my gate there was no one else in the waiting area... but i wasn't the last one on the plane by any means. we delayed takeoff for another 30 minutes while we waited for passengers to make it through security. then we waited another 15 minutes while they took 5 bags off the plane that belonged to the 5 people who hadn't made it through security. and then we had another half hour wait while a lightning storm raged above us. when we finally took off, an hour and fifteen minutes late, i was pissed. and not in the good way. the stopover time i was allowed in vancouver was a grand total of one hour, zero minutes. so by the time we got there, technically, my flight would have already landed in victoria. great.

 

now, i dont know what our pilot did while in the air, but he managed to get us touched down on the runway in vancouver only fifty minutes late. ten minutes before my connecting flight to victoria was supposed to take off. and of course, just my luck, my departure gate was at the exact opposite end of the damn airport. running through the airport while you have a cold and are dehydrated because they wouldn't let you bring your own bottle of water on board the airplane... sucks. it sucks. thankfully i made it in time and all is well. i guess i should look on the bright side and say "hey! at least i didn't have to have a long stopover in vancouver!"

 

 

 

 

this past friday, i went to visit my grandparents on saltspring island. my grandmother had a hip replacement surgery two weeks ago, and i am happy to report that she's doing wonderfully. she's up and moving about with the help of a walker, and really looks well. it was my grandpa's birthday on friday too, so we got to have cake and cookies. the weather was awesome, everything cooperated so well! it was a nice little break for me, and it was really sweet watching my grandpa help my gran out and getting frustrated with her when she tried to do something for herself! all in all it was a great day.