Oh, strange lady in the 7-11! All I want is ice, Diet Coke and my Chupa-Chup (with surprise!) – why are you telling me the following things:

• You hate not being allowed to smoke wherever you want
• You’re not hurting anyone
• Instead of punishing you, why don’t they go after the 15-year-old girl who taught you to smoke when you were 12
• She was really cool and you wanted to be just like her
• Britney Spears just wanted someone to inseminate her and give her babies, so now she’s done with K-Fed and they’re both better off
• Britney was a government experiment made in a lab somewhere, because her sister looks exactly like her
• You forgot to get gum

I am so glad I was in line ahead of her and therefore able to escape to the safety of the space station before she told me more things I did not want to know.

My surprise, by the way, is a humping turtle pencil topper. It is bizarre, and really actually fits in with the entire trip to 7-11.

Last night we scared a wee Japanese waitress. I would feel bad, except it was hilarious and we (the North Shore Hipster Squad plus special guest stars Miranda and Reilly) made a lot of people question our sanity. We went for dinner at the yummy Asian restaurant at the Quay – I can never remember the name, but it’s the place we went to with Bobbie and her crew – and as we were digesting and swapping stories of our misguided youth, a thunderstorm rolled in. Well, everyone at the table spent a goodly amount of time in Alberta before relocating to BC, and the one thing we can universally agree upon missing is the frequent stormy weather. The six of us let out a whoop of joy and RAN to the register to pay so we could go play in the rain. We didn’t even bother trying to figure out who ate what, we just split it in three and ran outside. The thunder and lightning didn’t last very long, but the torrential downpour soaked five of us to the skin – Ed, being less hip than the rest of us, opted to stay under the awning and watch the fun. He’s no stranger to my rain dancing; many times I’ve gone outside to get utterly soaked and then he complains that I get the car seats all wet. Hey, some people enjoy sticks up their bums; others enjoy running around in a monsoon and having to wring out their underwear when it’s all over. GOOD TIMES!

Today is Thursday, and about the time when I start figuring out what I’m doing this weekend. It’s supposed to be nice again, so a bike ride is definitely in order – but other than that, I’m open. We spent a lot of last night trying to plan Fun Things around everyone’s busy schedules – the birthday season is starting, and there are a lot of things on Operation: Fun that have yet to be done. I wanted to drag people out to Castle Fun Park again for my birthday, but we may need to reschedule because M&R won’t be in town that weekend – booooo. The Richmond Night Market starts up again on May 18th, there are parks and museums to visit, and before you know it it’ll be Road Trip season and then the Big Anniversary. So, there are things to look forward to. This pleases me.

Also, I am inordinately excited about this. Portable internet thrills me to no end.