Say cheese

It's the official end of my birthday celebrations -- an entire week of them! It was awesome, but it's over just in time. I head to Ottawa tomorrow for Christmas with the entire family, Aussies included.

The last time the entire family was together was in March 2001 for my oldest sister's 40th birthday (oh, do I see the parallels there!!), but that was before my nephew was born. And the last time the entire fam was together at Christmas was in 1991, which was looooong before any marriages and/or grandkids entered the picture.

Needless to say, this kind of gathering doesn't happen every decade day. You just know there will be family portraits taken at some point!

Rethinking the 18th floor

So my fabulous new apartment is on the 18th floor, with a stellar view of English Bay (and so much more). It's fantastic, to be honest. And I thought I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

I'm rethinking it.

Since returning to Vancouver at the end of October, Vancouver has endured record-breaking rain and flooding (including a week-long boil-water advisory), record-breaking snowfall (which is completely abnormal for Vancouver), and record-breaking windstorms. And last night was probably the worst of it.

My apartment building is a huge, concrete behemoth sructure that, I wouldn't think, is vulnerable to the elements. Well, maybe an earthquake could do some serious damage, but some measley windstorm?! Come on! But I have to think again, because my building was shaking during last night's storm. Sure it was subtle, but there was definitely some shaking happening.

Then again, maybe the shaking was me lying in my bed, scared shit-less : ) Cuz I kinda was!

This was one helluva storm. Hurricaine-force winds battering our lovely city by the sea, taking with it anything that wasn't secured. I kept hearing items (garbage cans, lawn furniture, small vehicles) blowing down the back alley as the winds garnered more and more strength. And, yes, the shaking continued -- but it really was the building and not me! Still, I felt pretty vulnerable and started worrying about whether someone's balcony furniture would be blown down into my balcony window, shattering it and then sucking me out into the storm with it.

I survived, but not without a few anxious moments. And in reality, I'm not really rethinking my 18th floor locale. But I'm going to keep repeating my mantra of the past six weeks: surely the weather can't get any worse than this!

Can it?

The gal can party!

Monday was a tough day, I'll tell ya. After enjoying a fabulous party on Sunday night, I had to get up early to drive my Aunt to the doctor's office, and then to get her prescription filled. Four hours later, I was operating on fumes. Oy, how I earned my nephew points that day!

But the previous evening's festivities were well worth it. A terrific venue, plenty of friends from in and out of town, walls plastered (kinda like me) with the most embarrassing pictures of my youth, and a great time had by all. And there was even a surprise appearance by a very special guest from New York!

Yup, Liza showed up to help usher me into my 40's! And unlike the last time I saw her, she was plastered and stumbling drunk. The gal can party!

Still, someone trusted Liza enough to hold their 7-month old. That baby is gonna be scarred for life!

And then it was Liza's turn to pay attention to me. And did she ever! It all ended up with Liza sitting on my lap, using my legs in an impromptu can-can to end all can-cans!

What a great evening -- one that continued until the wee hours of the morning for the hearty few of us who lasted until the end. A great way to usher in a new decade, but with none of the wisdom and maturity that I had promised would be a hallmark of this new era of middle age.

Oh well, you can't always be wise and mature when the cocktails are appearing unannounced in your hands throughout the course of the entire evening! Bottoms up, everyone!

40 and fab

Let the weekend festivities begin. 40 and fabulous.

I hope.

F(urniture) Day

My furniture is being delivered today. Yippee! Now I'll have somewhere to sit while I eat breakfast and watch TV and post blog entries.

This weekend is shaping up to be fun. I've got my more or less weekly sushi dinner with Suzie and Wilma, and I've been told by Suzie to keep Friday night and Saturday night open. Why? I'm not sure, but am somewhat apprehensive. And I believe something is happening Sunday evening, but details are a bit sketchy. Everyone has done a fine job of keeping everything under wraps, so I'm in the dark. But, truth be told, I'm lovin' it.

Here's to a fantastic weekend!

Update: the furniture is here, it's gorgeous, and I feel like an adult with real furnishings instead of IKEA merchandise for the first time ever. Not that there's anything at all wrong with IKEA, but I'm just excited to have stuff that I don't have to assemble myself : )

Past and future

So I'm absolutely loving the new bed. Suffice to say that I've enjoyed a couple of nights of uninterrupted slep for the first time in a loooooong while. And I played with the placement of my bed within the bedroom so that I can actually watch my TV, perfectly positioned in the living room to allow me to enjoy The View from the comfort of my super plush pillows. Needless to say, I see a lot of lazy bed time in my immediate future.

I've been unpacking all my trunks and boxes as I continue to settle into the new digs. And it's absolutely awesome, as I continually discover keepsakes and junk from my past. From treasures like framed pictures that used to hang on my walls, to crap like my 1983 driver's license test -- why the hell did I keep that?! -- it's been an invigorating, and somewhat exhausting, stroll down memory lane. But how stoked am I to find all this stuff and relive the memories from nearly 40 years of living?!

Yup, I feel like I'm in a pretty cool place right now. I'm looking at my past at the same time my future beckons. It's coincidental that I'm starting over, starting from scratch, at 40. Or is it? I think that maybe it was meant to be this way.

After all, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. Ev. Ree. Thing.

Like a log

The move to my new apartment went very quickly yesterday. From go to woe, it took only 75 minutes. That's what happens when the sum total of your worldly goods has been reduced to a meaningful few keepsakes and plenty of clothes that probably don't even fit anymore is negligible.

I love my new place. It's actually a bit smaller than I remember, but cozy and cute and bright. The view is even better than I remembered and, as I started to unpack yesterday, I kept gazing at the completely snow-covered North Shore mountains. Never before have I seen them so perfectly white and fresh and untouched. Thank all the freakin' snow for that, but whatever the reason, it was the most appropriate picture-perfect postcard greeting for the first afternoon chez moi.

After spending a pretty penny on furniture in the last few days, I went out and picked up a new TV yesterday, raising my haul of new stuff to the "crazy expenditure" level. But really, like I can live without a TV? What kind of simpleton do you take me for?! The View beckons!

Good grief, I'm such a girl.

Today I get cable and internet hooked up, plus my brand new gorgeous bed will be delivered. And that has to be the most exciting news of all. After 19 months of sleeping in different beds in different cities, after a month of sleeping on Suzie's couch, after too long without a mattress to call my own, I will finally have a resting place for my old, aching bones. And I hope to sleep like a log tonight!

Sweet dreams, everyone!