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For many, this weekend was the weekend of sex… Sex and the City, that is.
I actually am not one of those gals who have loyally followed SATC four years as they negotiated the waters of life and love (and yes, that ‘s’ word too). It’s not for lack of interest—I’ve fully enjoyed the few random episodes I’ve caught here and there but I could never really figure out when it was on and on what channel and it just seemed like a really big commitment I wasn’t ready for at the time.
But I get why SATC is more an obsession than a hobby for some.
For those people, having another chance to gorge themselves on the exploits, riotous conversation and drool-worthy Manolos of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte after they (the fans, that is) had been forced to say their tearful goodbyes for—what they thought would be—ever at the series finale, it must have been too exquisitely joyful for words.
At least, that’s the kind of reaction I was expecting from the hard-core SATC fans in the audience on Friday night.
As we lined up outside the theatre doors I had my misgivings.
The theatre we ended up at (Cavendish in Montreal… hey, tickets were really hard to come by and Katie and Jenna—or was it Mark?—were desperate) was pretty ghetto and didn’t exactly attract, ahem, girls for whom SATC was a style bible, ifyouknowwhatimean.
But once the lights went down and the first few notes of the SATC theme song came bouncing out of the speakers, I got the reaction I was looking for. The theatre heaved with a collective gasp and a few girls couldn’t hold back their squeals. The true appreciation of these fans was obvious.
I must admit, it was quite cute. Heart-warming, almost.
As the movie rolled along, it was punctuated with our reactions—bursts of laughter (that Charlotte scene is forever etched in my mind), groans of despair (don’t worry, I won’t ruin it for you) and—I couldn’t see but could FEEL it—tears of anguish and of joy.
It was a great movie, even for a non-SATC addict; maybe especially for a non-SATC addict. Since I didn’t have any preconceived notions as to what should happen or expectations as to its fidelity to the TV series, I could enjoy it for what it was: a fun story with endearing characters who delivered witty lines with panache, both metaphorically and physically (some of those clothes really were to die for)… and who made a lot of girls very, very happy this past weekend.
I totally envied them.
Now can someone please magically unearth a ninth book in the Anne of Green Gables series so I can experience the same delicious thrill?
Sigh. It finally feels like summer! (Well, it did a couple days ago, anyway.)
Rob and I escaped Vancouver last weekend for the twins’ birthday party on the Island (Vancouver Island, that is) for a glorious sun-soaking, bbq-eating, popcan-shooting, pond-paddling, frog-catching, cake-munching day.
Ahhh….
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better… it did!
BC Ferries is currently having a sale on trips between Vancouver-Victoria, and Vancouver-Nanaimo/Duke Point.
Which means that for what would normally have been $69 (2 adults + a vehicle) for a one-way trip to the island, we paid only $30!!
That’s $60 instead of $138 for a fun-filled weekend, just a ferry trip away.
This promotion (if we can call it that) seems to be a bit confusing. We didn’t even know about it until we visited the website as there’s no advertising around for it. And while the website calls it a 
fare, the BC Ferries employee who took our money at the booth told us it was a ‘Customer Appreciation’ event.
Whatever the case, we love saving moola.
If you’re thinking of getting out of dodge for a few days, the CoastSaver sale fares are available until the end of June.
Just make sure you check the CoastSaver calendar online before you go–you may have to go from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay on the way there but leave from Duke Point to get back to Tsawwassen to get the CoastSaver both ways. That’s what we did. It wasn’t far at all, and well worth it.
Even if I didn’t have an excellent excuse to go back to Victoria soon (which I do… miss you Kym!!), I’d go. You should, too!
I’m trying to keep my mind off the wedding since things aren’t going quite as smoothly as I had hoped. <sigh>
So instead, I’m trying to think of all the things I’m grateful for lately. One of them is my weekend away in Whistler weekend before last.
Ah, Whistler.
When most people think of Whistler, they think of pristine mountains, the exhilarating feeling of being at the very top of the run, the swoosh-swoosh of their skies as they cut through the crisp white hill.
Until that weekend, for me Whistler meant a change of scenery, a relaxing getaway hanging out at coffee shops, strolling through the village and shopping, and watching the truly cool people who have the authentic-looking lift passes dangling from their zippers.
But now I TOO HAVE SEEN THE VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.
What’s more, I have lived to tell about it!
As many of you know, me and skiing go together like a paper cut and lemon juice. I made a feeble attempt at it last year to disastrous, whiplashy results.
But this time, I had help…
The highlight of my lovely weekend had to do with snow… a tall order considering I had so much fun already hanging out in Whistler village with my homie Azi (lattes and shopping and martinis, oh my!). Oh and did I mention that I spent a considerable amount of time getting pruney in the hot tub on the balcony of our kick-a$$ suite at the Sundial boutique hotel? Um, yeah. So that should give you an idea of exactly how much fun we had…
… riding the Sno-Limo!
That’s right, people. LIMO. Cause even when I’m making a fool of myself, I do it in style.
So what’s Sno-Limo? Basically it’s a tour you can rent where they strap you into a chair on skis and a hot Danish guy (in my case, anyways) steers you down Whistler mountain, pausing here and there to allow you to soak in the majestic beauty you’d have never otherwise been able to see. Yes yes, it’s true… I also got the feeling that the majority of their customers were old people and those who did not have the use of their legs. But Azi and I consider ourselves part of that latter category… and our hilarious guides were clearly thrilled to tease us about our youthful non-skiing status the whole way down.
But it was phenomenal.
It almost made me want to ski!! Almost. ‘Cause how do you go from sitting like a sultan, all cosy and warm and being chauffeured around the mountain, to getting all sweaty and tired doing it yourself on your own two feet??
Exactly.
Here’s just a taste of it for you. (I hope you appreciate it… my hand almost froze off holding that dang camera. It’s cooooold up there!!)
Sno-Limo offers tours at Whistler, Big White, Sun Peaks and Grouse Mountain, BC for about $90 per person for an hour. Call 1-888-568-5466 or visit www.sno-limo.com.
Rob left for Whistler today (for work but yes I’m sure he’ll fit a little fun in there) and so while I was cooking dinner tonight, instead of the usual pish-boom-bah video game noises or Law & Order grotessity for background noise, I flipped to one of my all-time fave shows, Pilot Guides. And lookee here! It was a special on Madagascar.
Ah, Madagascar.
Do you ever have one of those moments where you remember a memory you had all but forgotten? And it resurfaces like a deep-sea diver, slowly, carefully, until it reaches the surface and then, it’s so strange and other-worldly that you hardly believe it’s a memory at all? It seems like something that you perhaps imagined, after too much daydreaming… (or too many episodes of Pilot Guides and Don’t Forget Your Passport).
Watching this show, murky memories of my own visit to this mysterious land resurfaced. And all of a sudden I remembered…
…waking up at the crack of dawn to follow our guide into the jungle to gaze in wonder at wild lemurs…
…lounging on utterly pristine, deserted beaches bordered with water the color of topaz and knowing we were probably among a dozen white people to have visited Ile Sainte Marie that year…
… driving along red, red roads with potholes that came almost to my knees…
… driving by people trudging along roads in the middle of nowhere, carrying poles with stacks of bananas at each end…
… being accosted by the sight of corrugated metal shacks juxtaposed with gigantic billboards advertising L’Oreal mascara in Antananarivo…
… sleeping swathed in mosquito nets and waking up in the night and reaching for a bottle of water only to realize just in time that a HUMONGOUS cockroach had claimed it as his resting place for the night…
…being toted around a once-grand-but-now-crumbly town (was it Toamasina?) in a pousse-pousse…
…renting bicycles from some semi-shady character (he said it was his friend’s bike?) and being followed by intensely curious yet intensely shy Malagasy kids who didn’t understand the concept of chewing the gum we gave them (I hope they didn’t have stomach aches because of us)…
… seeing vanilla growing on the vine…
… accidentally coming across a funeral procession (Malagasy remove ancestors from their tombs, dress them in fresh shrouds and party with them all night long once every few years)…
…following some entrepreneurial kids who gave us a guided tour of authentic pirate graves adorned with faded cross n’bones tombstones…
…trying to shoo semi-tame lemurs away from the jam pot as we tried to eat breakfast on the beach at a super-luxurious resort on the east coast…
Was it really me who saw all these things? It seems so long ago. I guess six years, when they’re packed with adventures and memories, can seem like sixty.
They’re memories I treasure. And I love dusting them off every so often – in fact, it’s necessary, to keep them alive.
And that grunting sound a lemur makes?
It’s one that buries itself in your mind, but you never really forget it.
(Click to enlarge images above)
My long-awaited, much-desired and well-deserved (at least I think so!) vacation is finally here.
YAY.
Today was the first day off I’ve had in three weeks and I maxed it out doing all the errands I’ve put off doing for awhile. It was a full day so I haven’t yet had time to fully relax but I HAVE started to get excited… finally… for our trip!
Tomorrow I’m flying to Toronto to meet up with Rob (who’s been in Montreal this past week for Neil & Lauren’s wedding) and heading up to Taboo Resort for Katie and Jordan’s wedding this Saturday, which is sure to be an absolute BLAST.
Then on Sunday we have a FANTABULOUS Kneb family reunion to look forward to, at Karolina’s place, with allllll the cousins and dearest friends which I haven’t seen for an entire YEAR. I can’t even describe how excited I am for this. I mean, there are 2 brand new little people to meet that have arrived since my last visit (Lucas and Carson) and one bun in the oven (Raf & Klaud’s). Although I get a thrill every day from this lovely city that I live in, I can’t help getting a pang of regret from time to time from not being able to see all my family out east. I can’t wait.
And THEN… just when you thought it couldn’t get more exciting… I’m headed to Prince Edward Island with Robbie for five whole days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you will remember, this was my ever-so-amazing present from Rob for my 29th birthday.
And if you know me even the slightest bit, you’ll know I am one of those gawd-awful annoying Anne Freaks.
I have all 8 books of the series (dog-eared and chewed after almost 20 years of reading and re-reading), plus almost every other tome ever published by L.M. Montgomery. I also have her published journals, and a collection of graduate essays written by Anne-of-Green-Gables “specialists” (how come the UofC didn’t offer this degree option when I was there?!). Anne of GG calendars have graced my walls. An Anne of GG jewelry box has occupied the place of honour on my dresser for ages. Anne of GG bookends have shouldered the weight of my obsession for years on my bookshelf. Three versions of the doll sit forlornly in my room at my parent’s house, awaiting my return. My second diary ever was an Anne of GG edition, the pages interspersed with inspirational quotes from the book and sketches of Anne sinking the lorry in Barry’s pond and discovering the mouse in the plum pudding that she was to serve to the minister’s wife. My best birthday ever (which may have been eclipsed this year) was when when my mom got my cousin in Chicago to track down the hard-to-find VHS videos of the Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea videos and send them to Canada in time for the party celebrating my turning 16.
I lived and breathed Anne for years. I fantasized about living in Avonlea and how the story would have went if I was there, because of course, I’d have been her best friend instead of Diana, and Gilbert would have been sorely tempted to fall in love with me instead of Anne.
And yet with all this imagination, I have a hard time imagining finally walking along those same red roads that inspired Lucy Maud to create this whole Anne-world, 100 years ago. (Next year – 2008 – will mark 100 years since its publication.)
Of course, it won’t be ALL Anne. Rob would go crazy. In fact, he may have already – I sent him a text message earlier today informing him I bought us some PREMIUM seats to see Anne & Gilbert, the musical… and I have yet to hear back from him (ha ha!). There will be lots of golfing, relaxing on the beach, going for scenic drives and eating our weight in lobsters and mussels. PEI really does have a lot to offer beyond the Anne tourist traps (which I fully intend to get caught in).
I’ll be sure to have lots to relate upon my return. Until then…
Farewell, bosom friends!
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