today was my best friend and future roommate's
19th birthday, and i was to busy to call her. and this is why.
i started the day early, getting my
two-year-old charge dressed, changed, cleaned and fed...then hiking towards the
bus stop, all the while
pushing a stroller. the fold-up kind.
we get on the bus...she gets very excited. she likes busses. that is a good thing, we'll be doing a lot of bussing today. a transfer of busses and soon we find ourselves in white rock. while waiting for my bus-buddy, we stop and purchase a large box of doughnuts
which i eat the bulk of all by myself.
my chum arrives and we proceed to bus hop, picking busses and busstops completely at random, discovering yucky parts of surrey we never knew existed, smelling various kinds of vomit and being very careful that the twoyearold did noteat anything off the ground.
somehow we find ourselves in vancouver. we take a break from bussing to get water, and somehow manage to scurry around the city, complete with a wailing baby. (she wanted to ride a bus). she cheered up a little when we taught her to wade in the fountain at pacific centre and retrieve pennies. we finally find (bottled) water, and return to the skytrain.
dear sweet insanity, the skytrain is a busy place. we wait four trains until we finally get on, the stroller folded nicely and at the end of an unseen arm.. the baby in my arms, very uncomfortable, very cranky, very wet. the train is crammed fuller than on hockey night. we make it to surrey. alive.
so we get back to my place, return the baby, and wander off in search of entertainment. we find a concert in the park - some foursome of teenagers. pretty good. we lie on the grass, staring at the sky until the music ends, at which point we wander further, coming upon a fountain in the centre of the city of langley.
we go swimming. not wading, swimming. we get ourselves completely soaking wet and sing loudly along with the anti-loitering music. having made ourselves suitably wet, we wring out our clothes and walk, in the way of the soaking-wet underwear, to value village.
no one even looks at us funny as we spend an hour in value village, soaking wet and leaving puddles whereever we go. i buy a dress, my friend buys new shorts and new tshirt. value village kicks us out when it's time to close. we leave, and get changed in the parking lot.
walking back home in the hot night, i get my car. driving to white rock, we have the windows down and the music blaring. we get to her house, she changes yet again into a more formal outfit, and we pack up our tableclothes, flatware, candles and pet penguins, and have a very nice, very formal dinner with a few other friends at macdonalds.