My Day Off

So, Thursday, July 3rd was the first real day I have had off in like three weeks. This meant that I had to celebrate, of course. One of my closest friends was on vacation this week (he got eight days off while I was jumping up and down over one...), so I told him three weeks ago that Thursday was my day. Then, I pretty much reminded him everyday after that... So, I was pretty excited on Wednesday. I was counting down the hours until I got off work and my 'vacation' started. The hour arrives and my charming friend is not home, so I played with my computer for two hours and then I get a text message that says 'good night'. Yeah, that did not fly with me. I did not care if it was the middle of the night, it was my day and I was planning on enjoying every bit of it. So, I made him stay awake. I am evil, I know. We are watching the television Soap because he has it on DVD and I have to say it is quite enjoyable so far.

Anyways, after that it was actually bedtime and then in the morning we both had necessary things to do, so it was a bit after lunch before the day actually started, but that's okay. I was up bright and early, so I actually got a lot accomplished. He was up early too, which I think we both ended up regretting considering how late the day went in the end. Anyways, first up was lunch. There is this awesome restaurant about 30 mins from here that serves home-cooked meals. With gas prices the way that they are, though, I have hardly been there lately. So, anyways, that is where we had lunch. It was really good! My major plan for the day was a trip to the 'city', meaning Halifax, so that is where we headed to. I have to admit, one of the main reasons for the trip up there was for me to locate some new sneakers. I am picky about my shoes because I have bad feet and because I tend to wear my shoes out quickly, so I was having a hard time finding what I had in mind.

On to the city. The first thing we did in the city was a bit of shopping. I went to the store where they normally have the type of shoes I was looking for, but I was out of luck. Then, my friend had to go pay his parking ticket, and by some strange coincidence I ran into one of my other friends. Apparently she works in the same building, so it was nice to see her. I cannot remember the last time our paths have crossed, normally we just call once in a while to check for life. In the meantime, the parking ticket was supposed to be getting paid, but what really happened was he discovered he actually needed the ticket in order to pay it (duh), so we had to go back to my car to get the ticket and then go back again. I have no idea why he did not do this in the first place, but in any case, the ticket got paid and we were off to meet up with another one of my friends at the mall where I was very lucky to find a pair of shoes. The best part of it was that since my feet are so small... they were kids shoes! That means cheaper... So, my mission was successful.

Should I point out that I have been up since noon yesterday and it is currently six in the morning? I was getting sleepy so this is my 'stay awake' method. If it doesn't make any sense at all just remember that I am half-asleep. After finishing the shopping portion of the trip, we went on a little roadtrip and then met up with another friend. The four of us went out for supper at Steak & Stein. I got made fun of because I order pasta with chicken and then hardly eat the chicken... My friend usually does, though, so it all works out. The pasta was good, but not the best I have had by any means. After the meal the two city people went one way, and me and my fellow valley person went for a walk. I took him to my favourite second-hand bookstore (which I am sure thrilled him), but surprisingly didn't buy anything!

The conclusion of the night was spent at a sports bar. There was five of us there and it was pretty fun. My friend that travelled up there with me sings karaoke and he sang 'Freewill' by Rush. It was awesome! If anyone has heard that song they will know that there is a really high part... The four of us at the table were blown away by it. Rush doesn't go over very well, though, and he is not comfortable with that song, so I imagine that will be the last time I hear it. It was very worth it, though! I wanted to hear Rush, but didn't actually imagine he would sing it. Until the song started I had no idea, so I thought it was a nice present for me on my day off. After the bar closed, it closes pretty early I think, we split up again. We ended up at another singing place, but there was only an hour left. It was just me and my friend from down here and both of us were getting pretty tired! I was regretting that early morning wake-up when I had to drive an hour to get home. My friend kept drifting off and I had to keep poking them for life because I was sleepy too and wanted them to keep me awake. Gas prices also went up while we were on the road, so that was depressing to come back to.

I had most of Friday off, too, so 'my day' sort of extended into it. We went to the same town with the restaurant again, this time we had already ate, so we went for a walk by the waterfront and my friend told me some of the history. I am not from this area so I don't really know all the history. It was very interesting. Then, we went to another person's house where I got to go for a ride on a motorcycle. I have a motorcycle thing. Ever since I read the two Neil Peart books I really wanted to go on one, so I finally got my wish. It's been forever since I was last on one. It was really great! For some reason my friend thought I would be scared, but I wasn't. It was just a little weird because the person I was riding with I hardly know at all, but other than that, it was great. Now I want to learn how to ride one, but that is likely a very distant future goal at this point.

Well, this is a long post... It is now 6:45 in the morning. I am really tired! I have done worse, though. Sometimes when I get off this shift I am up for 24 hours or so. Today it will only be 20 or 21. This post likely makes no sense at all, but I am tired and mostly just doing whatever I can to stay awake. I was reading but I felt my eyes were having a hard time staying open so I had to give it up. I have moved on to another Neil Peart book, but I also have a couple other books on the go. The Neil Peart book just arrived in the mail yesterday so it sort of rearranged my reading order. Anyways, I should shut up now because this is a boring post. I do know I need to figure out if I am going to give real names on here or come up with nicknames because this post would be a lot less confusing with a system. I will have to give it some thought.