I LIKE THE SUMMER

I like the summer. More importantly, I like this summer. It’s probably the most fun summer I’ve had in a long time… ok, ever.

I make this statement not because of one fun weekend or one great night. I make it because of the collective fun I’ve had over the last few weeks. I like my job, I like where I’m living, and most importantly, I’m surrounded by people I like. I’m not telling you this because I’m being boastful, but because I’ve never been able to say those things before. Maybe one of those things were true, but never were they true together. A landmark point in my life. Heh.

The summer will end before I realize it. Let’s hope the fun continues.

On Saturday, Miriam and Rhonda had a huge joint birthday party on the SJC patio. It was probably the most well-attended SJC party I’ve ever seen. I have photos from the party and I’ll be making a gallery shortly. The planning for the party started in earnest while we at the pub about a week ago. At the time, I think I was bugging Rhonda about her disproportionately large big toe, so she wrote on a piece of paper the words HATS and BALLOONS, and told me I was in charge of those things. Then she turned away to the real party planning. Ha ha ha…

So the afternoon before the party, I went to London Drugs and the Dollar Store on a mission to get the best hats and balloons I could get with eleven dollars and forty-two cents. When I got to the Dollar Store I immediately knew that I had to buy more than just balloons and hats if I was going to kick this party up a notch. I bought sixteen party hats which had this cartoon of various animals celebrating a birthday. I also got ten sparkler sticks. Add to that, I bought eight of those blow thingies that roll out when you blow on them. Someone told me they’re called “blow-ticklers” but I think they just like saying “blow-ticklers”. My most extravagant purchase was two confetti “mortars”. They were basically two short cardboard tubes with a knob on the end. When you turn the knob, I guess it releases a spring or some small charge and confetti comes shooting out the either end. I got two, one for each birthday girl. My only purchase from London Drugs was a bag of balloons which were described as “wormy balloons”. When I saw them, I instantly knew these were the balloons for the party. While the balloon designers might have envisioned their balloons to be “worm-shaped”, I can only describe them as “ribbed” and “long”.

When I got to the party, I had my bag of goodies with me. I decided that I should let the people have the stuff in small increments, to draw out the fun. I handed out the hats first and they were a real hit. A birthday party isn’t a birthday party without stupid pointy hats. Then came the “wormy” balloons. Those got an interesting response. One comment was, “Oh, balloons ribbed for everyone’s pleasure”. Next came the “blow-ticklers” which people had fun blowing in each other’s faces. I think I gave Rhonda her confetti “mortar” next. It was surprisingly impressive. Then came the sparkler sticks. It was here that I made a critical purchasing error. The ones I bought did not last very long, to which Rebecca said to me, “They were too short and it didn’t last long enough”. Make up your own jokes because everyone else sure did. Last but not least, I gave Miriam her shot at the confetti and she showered the patio with it.

I must admit, I had a lot of fun buying that stuff and seeing people use it. At the next party, I hope I’m in charge of buying the party accessories!