Day 38: making friends since 1981

Stressful morning. Rain caused major panic but thankfully it passed. Frenchies got pissed off because J, via Kat, said the city wouldn't allow them to put their signs on the benches like they'd been doing all week. The oldest guy (who seems a bit hot tempered anyway) was literally yelling in my face, in french. I just kept repeating "I know its not good but its the city, not me." I don't have the authority to make a compromise. Finally J showed up & got to play the hero by telling them they could use one of the benches. Sigh. Yelled at for nothing. But at least they were happy after that.

Once the mornings drama got resolved, the day was pretty uneventful. After work, I met the girls & all the Dutch guys in the office. AB put on a mix CD she made that reminded me so much of uni & it provided the soundtrack for the guys jabbering their oh-so-foreign-to-my-ears language and for the hilarity & disgust that ensued as the girls cleaned the fridge. Silliness.

AB, Lauren, Tegan & I needed to get off our feet for a bit before the big artist & staff BBQ at 6, so we went to ABs gym (so posh!) to sit in the steam room & de-stress. Ahhh... It was nice & relaxing until we noticed the lady next to us was bleeding all over the place & just rinsing it (spreading it) with her waterbottle! She made no effort to find a band aid or anything!! GA-ROSS!! We decided then that maybe the sauna or the pool would be a bit more relaxing.

via we heart it.com

We showered & got all purtied up at the gym, then headed to Kings Park for the picnic. It was so fun! Just about everyone was there & I got to talk to quite a few people I hadn't before. I spent some time talking with two of the people from Holiday about theater & art & creativity. I'm just so impressed with all these artists, many of whom are in their 20s, who've created these shows & are touring them & making it happen.

Once the eating was done, most of the older people & families had left, and the drinking was rightly underway, it was a full on party, complete with spontaneous musical combustions. Two of the Pips:Lab boys are musicians & they started drumming on overturned chip bowls & before you knew it, people were beatboxing & blowing into bottles & whistling & one of the frenchies was singing along in this weird high-pitched voice. It was awesome & hilarious & of course I got it on video.

at least our party didn't get THIS out of hand!  (via we heart it)

At some point (it wasn't even very late) the park lights went out on us & we decided to migrate to the Holiday gangs apartment. I'm not sure who started it, I think it was Kase from Pips:Lab, but suddenly everyone was climbing up the side of the building onto the balcony! Frenchie Alan did it even tho he walks with a cane & Lauren did it in a dress! I was already inside or else I probably would've caved to peer pressure & done it too. :) Ah but the craziness didn't stop there...

TK from Holiday was impersonating Kermit the frog & offering kareoke massages (Sarah, you should steal that idea!), I got into a deep conversation with Dan from Crash about the existence of God (which he then grilled everyone else about - sorry!) and the difference between a girlfriend & a wife (Dutch use them interchangebly apparently), Lauren was bleeding from being hoisted up the wall onto the balcony, Kase was totally flirting with me, Alan barked like a dog, Vincent from Crash filmed everything & showed off pictures of his adorable yet devious-looking son, Dan pushed me over the back of the couch & my shoes went flying, and apparently two somebodies were making out but I didn't see it. It was hell fun (that's a good thing). :)

this was NOT our party, but it sure is a neat picture! (via we heart it)

AB & I caught an office-funded cab home (it was a company party, after all) and called it a night.

Today I'm so happy & grateful for:
~ fun with new friends
~ crazy artists
~ things that are walking distance & free cabs
~ BBQ picnics

Xo! n.