Well folks, summer has officially shone its pretty little face on my fair city and we are not supposed to be getting any rain until August. At least, that's what someone told me and I've been telling everyone I know and I know it will probably rain tomorrow and I will have a bunch of angry Vancouverites after me, but...meh.
Anyhoo, it's been a busy week but a most excellent, dancing on the clouds-type of one. And a week of...firsts...as well.
1) Most importantly...I have SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED MY DEGREE! This is AMAZING news since I never, EVER thought I would get there. Honestly, I shouldn't have.
You will all remember that back in May, I completed my whole Early Modern European History course in 5 days and walked away with an A.
This time I feared I would not be so lucky. Case in point: I had three classes remaining. Three Fourth-year level literature classes: Brit, American and Canadian. Each class has required reading of about 6 books each class. I had a month to read ...6 x 3 books (thank GOD I didn't take a math class). And write about 4 X 3 essays on those books. And write 3 exams.
I did it. Except I was certain I failed the British Lit class. For one, there were three books I never read - one of the books, The French Leutenant's Woman, was the essay question on the exam. Three freakin' questions and they were ALL about that bloody book. So I made up some crap about WW2, the French and Adultery.
Turns out the book is set in the Victorian age and doesn't really involve any of the above. Whoops.
So then I figured, all right, I failed the exam BUT I can make it up if I tried really hard on the essay assigments (YES, I did it backwards, I wrote the exam first and then did the assignments...again, bad choice).
So I did my best, only I left it to the last minute so I ended up scratching together all three essays in one day, handing it in only minutes from the due date and not even proof-reading my work - another no-no, considering that my freakin keyboard's "A" key fell off so it feels like I am pinching someone's nipple everytime I use the "A." It makes for many missed letters and for me getting slightly turned on.
Anyhoo, I should also add that one of the assignments involved two mini esssays on TWO books I had NOT read either. Shite. So I bullshited. Thank YOU Sparknotes!
And then with my Canadian Lit course, I actually forgot to hand in one Assignment. Whoops again!
But God was smiling down on me once again (I have NO idea why this time) and I got my marks back. On the courses, I got two C+'s and one B. I successfully and foolishly completely my final courses.
Gee, they let anyone graduate from University these days!
2) My freedom - Though I miss him dearly, Josh has moved out. My place is too small for two and it is a testament to Josh's character that I never killed him. I couldn't have asked for a better roomate - that said, I am happy to be dancing in my underwear to Lily Allen and Faceless again and can play Massive Attack's Teardrop without him going "AGAIN?" I am happy to eat my wee frozen meals and not feel like I have to feed him too. I am happy to go to bed at 10 if I want to, to wake up early and go jogging. Happy to have naps after work and to CLEAN THE CRAP outta my apartment.
Luckily, Josh just lives ONE BLOCK away now so my withdrawal from having him around isn't that bad. Plus he got a job at Romano's Macaroni Grill, which I'm sure I'll go to every week so we can get a SWEET discount. That restaurant is SO good.
3) Jessica Simpson - and I are friends on Facebook. I tagged her in a photo with me, she then assumes she knows me and suddenly I am in her Top Friends with Nicole Richie and the Duffster. I know it's probably not her but - it just may be. Either way, I'm finding it fucking hilarious.
4) Bard on the Beach - I had never been to this before, but every summer in Vancouver, tents are set up across the water from my apartment and Shakepeare plays run. This year it was Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, Julius Ceaser and Timon of Athens. Josh and I went to R&J and we were SOOOO impressed. Bloody brilliant, the actors were incredible and having the whole thing in the open air, with the REAL sunset setting behind Juliet's balcony and a REAL ocean breeze ruffling her hair. Plus it was slightly emo with Romeo and his boys in skinny black jeans and white shirts - and what CUTE boys they were. There was even partial nudity (Romeo's emo bum) which was totally worth admission alone.
(hey you can see my apartment in this photo!)
If you are in Vancouver, go see it!
5) Wedding fun - My childhood friend Amanda, got married the other day. We've known each other for twenty years so it was mucho exciting to be invited to her wedding. If you can believe it, this was the first wedding I had been to in 12 years.
Even more exciting is when I volunteered to do her makup and she said yes.
Excitement soon turned to nausea when someone pointed out that I, a non-makeup artist (who, yes, went to school for it...seven years ago!), was going to do her makeup. On the most.important.day.of.her.life.
So I kinda freaked. Especially since I was up until 5 AM the night before.
But anyhoo, I showed up at her house and did the best I could. I think it turned all right - I mean, she looked glowing and beautiful and that's what counts!
The ceremony was short and sweet, with her two little girls acting up and being generally adorable. I'll admit, I thought that perhaps I would get depressed because apparently non-married women do at weddings. But honestly, I was soooo happy for her that I was crying as she walked down the aisle. But so was everyone else, so that was OK. Sigh.
At one point, I showed a gorgeous picture of Amanda to her husband (see above) and said, "Look how beautiful she looks." He looked up at me and said whole heartedly, "I know. I am the luckiest man on Earth." How amazing that was to hear, considering that they already have been together for years, have two kids, have a house...that he still knows her worth.
Best part of the wedding? When the couple walked into reception to the tune of Darth Vader. It was fucken awesome...when I get married I'm gonna have the whole Star Wars theme. That, or Indian Jones and I'm gonna have the groom sweep down on a rope with a statue in his hand. How cool would that be???? Then a big boulder could roll down the hall...oh man.
Well, that's it for now...I will have to fill you in on my week of hell (of a few weeks back) later just because it involves me breaking into the CEO's house with a troupe of Portuguese housecleaners.
