I was invited on to this press trip - the one that I'm currently on that took me from Seattle to Vancouver - about two months ago or so. When I noticed it coincided with my spirit mom's birthday, I asked if it was okay if I extended my ticket so I could stay a day or two longer. The company that sent me said, "No problem!" And then I realized I could visit with Shar and extended it further. And then I reconnected with Dayna, and then my dad made plans to drive in, and next thing I know I'm in the middle of a full-scale This Is Your Life-style reunion.
First up, Dayna. So a bit of background for those who haven't followed from the beginning... back when I first got on Facebook I did a hunt for people I know, as we all do when we get sucked into social networking nonsense, and I decided to hunt out my best friend from elementary school. We were pretty much inseparable in our early years, so much so that I think we shared a brain. A perfect example of this is when our respective moms took us back-to-school shopping (separately, though. We may have wanted to do everything together, but that doesn't mean that we could.) Anyway, first day of school rolls around and we both show up to school wearing the same green striped mini-skirts. Like, exactly the same. We also had the same Strawberry Shortcake bikes. It was the stuff that counted, you know?
So before I knew it we were chatting on the phone like nothing happened, no time had passed... but it had been about 20 years. So when I told her I was coming to Van we started a countdown - how many sleeps until we reunited? The answer was zero come Sunday evening. My dinner on Sunday was incredible. I forget how many courses it was, but by the time it ended it was something like 11:30, and Dayna was waiting in the lobby for me. I ran out from the dining room and we hugged, squealing and "Oh my godding,' and then we started scrutinizing each other.
Me: Oh my god.
Her: I know! Can I tell you that you look like your mom?
Me: Only if I can tell you that.
Her: Oh, fine.
Me: I know it's true, so it's fine. But look at your hair! It's red!
Her: I know!
(silence)
Her: Okay, this is weird.
Me: Yes.
Her: Can we go outside so I can pollute my lungs?
Me: I can't believe that you're grown up enough to smoke.
We sat up talking until about 2am, which sucked for both of us the next day, what with having to work and all. But luckily we will have time at the end of my trip to hang out again. That, and she's coming to L.A. sometime soon. But it's so odd to me that someone I was so close with back in the day is someone I'm still close with now, despite the time. That, and in ways we led parallel lives. Odd, but oddly comforting. This was most definitely a welcome blast from the past.
Monday was my last day on the press trip, which took me from the Fairmont Waterfront to the Vancouver Aquarium to learn about their new partnership with local restaurants to help them serve sustainable seafood options. We then headed to a halibut fishery - where I refrained from singing the fish heads song, but only barely - and then it was off to Granville Market to pick out dinner for that evening's meal. The entire time we were accompanied by Patrick, the executive sous chef from the Airport Fairmont. Naturally my meal restrictions gave him a challenge, but he rose to the occasion and created a multiple-course meal that knocked my socks off. Certainly the halibut and braised vegetables were fabulous, but I had the pleasure of ingesting the most delectably tender scallop I've ever tasted, paired with roasted quinoa and edamame atop a butter and bean sauce... puree... whatever, it was bliss.
After desserts were served and we all said our goodbyes, I met Sharolyn in the lounge. We drove home listening to Madonna, of course, and proceeded to sit up until 1am yapping our mouths off about everything from my brainwaves to her pregnancy. As an aside, hers is the first pregnant belly I've ever touched... and it was fascinating. I've been getting a play-by-play of junior's every move over the last 24 hours. Selfishly, I'm glad she's going through it before I am so I can pick her brain when it's my turn. As her friend Nicole put it, "Thanks for paving the way, I'll let you know when I'm ready to follow."
I spent this morning working, and then Shar and I took a small road trip to pick up some chocolate treats for my reading at The Art of Loving on Thursday night. Out to Abbotsford we went - switching off between Madonna and the Buffy Musical soundtrack - where I was given a tour through Shar's childhood homes and schools. At one point I cracked a joke that when she comes to L.A. we see where Sunnydale High was and scout out Madonna's house, when I see her she takes me through rural Canada... but technically that's the Hellmouth and we listened to Madonna while we drove, so it all evens out in the end.
Tomorrow I get to see my mommy, Thursday is the reading, Friday is more time with Dayna, Saturday I see my dad... and then it's home again. Whirlwind, but so worth it.
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