Days 117-124

Day lucky 117 was boxing day so there were SALES SALES SALES so we avoided the Northgate Mall, which, having been there before on Boxing Day, is NUTS. I actually would like to get a newer television, so perhaps I’ll give it a run next year. However on this day, Dad and I went up to Zellers to get some storage containers for Rhiannon and next door to Staples to pick up a memory card for my camera (which, as it turned out, doesn’t work, but I’ve resold it). The rest of Boxing Day was just cleaning up after ourselves from the day before. Of note though was that Mom and Dad sat down and watched Countdown with me, and we had a good laugh! Still can’t believe it happened.

Day 118 was a smattering of things here and there. Dad and I started off the day by heading to Demarco’s for breakfast. This is pretty much Dad’s breakfast hangout – he is one of the regulars there, just like Norm on Cheers. And I finally remembered to get a picture with Lisa and Mr. Demarco! I wonder if they’ll put it on the wall like the other famous people.

Mom and Dad were getting ready to go on a bit of a vacation, and I was busy packing up to head back home (and get a ride with them!). It was also massive celebration day as we celebrated Rhiannon’s birthday (day 108), the ‘rents anniversary (day 120) and my upcoming birthday (day 129) over dinner and cake! No complaints. I got some money towards my next journey, which pleased me ever so much! We had a rousing round of Pictionary and then everyone tucked in for the next sleep.

Day 119 – ROADTRIP!!! It started off slow, with a mad dash to find maple candies for a certain game show production staff in Manchester and to pick up sandwiches for the road at Demarco’s. I was roadtripping back with the parents to Newmarket. Except for a Timmie’s run in Huntsville, we drove straight through and my legs were cramped! Not complaining for a free ride though.

Day 120 arrived and a phone call woke me up: “We’re in the neighbourhood and were going to hit costco – do you want to come?”. Sure! My friends were visiting from away and so we hit the Costco. I had to return some luggage so it worked out well.

I meant to head back out later for a trip to a cheap movie but I blanked and took a nap otherwise!

Day 121 was low key. Was going to see a play but it didn’t work out. I had to get ready for…

Day 122 – the last day of the decade! I wasn’t feeling 100% but I figured I should still go see the play I had tickets for. I was off to Toronto to see The Toxic Avenger.

I had heard about this when I was in NYC back in September, so I lined up tickets for me and a friend. It wasn’t that bad, just marred with some technical issues. As the time of this writing, sadly, it has closed four months earlier than they expected. Hopefully it will be back at some point – but, much like Evil Dead: The Musical, it was a bit of a niche play and I had heard that they had severely cut prices to fill the seats.

Took the VIVA bus back up north. We have to major bus lines that run up to Newmarket: The GO is more direct and less frequent, while VIVA has more stops but runs every 15 minutes. As it turned out, once I got to Newmarket my connecting bus was free, as were all buses in the region for NYE. I spent NYE at home by myself, but frankly, that was ok, because I was a bit pooped.

The next day was Easy as 1-2-3. Or at least that’s the number of day that it was – hey – this means four months in! I just realized that as I was typing it.

And so 2010 was beginning.

The first thing I did when I woke up? I headed up North. There might have been 5 people on the bus, but I had a great chat with the driver and it passed like nothing.

However I got off the bus, loaded with dive gear and weight… wait… wait… something’s wrong… crap, I’ve forgotten something.

Thankfully, after a few calls I did get it right and found someone with what I needed. This further came into play at the dive site; someone actually drove home to get me a piece of gear as one of mine wasn’t working. Thank you to that person – they know who they are!

We ended up having nine divers, which was a great turn out, and by all accounts, everyone accomplished what they wanted. I was just happy to get into the water – although it was really cold (35F/2C) it was a great dive, clear as a bell… although look at how I turned out on shore!

We all headed back to Poppa D’s for some cake and cookies and of course, the nectar of life, coffee. I don’t drink it but I love the smell of freshly brewed beans. I meant to leave but I just took it easy and stayed the night.

Day 124 featured a nice surprise – I got a ride home from one of my friends in the dive club after having a coffee (for me, a muffin) in Barrie. It was nice just chatting and taking it easy on the way home.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning up… 2010 has to look nice and precious, after all!
And now, enough of these omnibus entries – 2010 will be the day of more frequent blogging!

Cheers,

Vick.