cinderella moments, chicken coops, cell phones, cold medication, and coffee shops.I've now read in two different blog comment threads and one blog that people are wondering what's become of me today. I didn't realize I posted so often that a 21-hour gap would cause anyone to worry!
Let me assuage your fears.
My mom-made dress -- the much-vaunted garment I haven't stopped babbling about for weeks -- fit like a dream and my hair worked out (oh, joy!) and I wore a ridiculously large green stone ring that made me grin every time I looked down at my hand. I really don't have any pictures of the whole ensemble, but I think someone took some at the event, so I'll see what I can do. But let me say -- I felt great and got more compliments than I expected, which leads me to believe that I must ordinarily look like a slob when these folks see me at the office.
We had the soiree at the Vancouver Aquarium, which was a brilliant and exotic venue: picture white-cloth-covered tables bathed in the blue light of the tanks. If you love the ocean and marine life as much as I do, you'd have enjoyed the ambience. We spent some friendly hours watching the fish and sharks swim by as we ate... fish.
Okay, that part was a little odd.
Like digging into a bucket of KFC while sitting around in a chicken coop.
But the salmon was nice.
All my RSVP duties worked out brilliantly in the end; there was enough food for everyone and no one got the vegetarian option that didn't request it. I could breathe a sigh of relief at long last. And it only took 500+ emails to make it happen!
Dancing commenced shortly after the meal, and it was right about then that my cold chose to resurface with a vengeance. And when I say vengeance, I mean that it took a valiant effort to maintain any enthusiasm out on the floor, which is not a hallmark of my behaviour at parties.
I still felt jovial and pleased at how things were going and flush with the spirit of the event (and a mild fever); I just felt as though I were swimming with the sea creatures -- only for me, it was an ocean of... nasal fluid.
Ahem.
Eventually I ended up leaning weakly on a glass partition that overlooked a large tank full of flounder -- which, as it turns out, was a fitting description of what was happening to my body at the time.
I closed my eyes and realized that I should probably head home. I mean, I felt clammy (ha! again!), I felt dazed, and I couldn't stop coughing.
Then I couldn't get a cab. Everyone must have been trying to get home from various parts of Vancouver, or perhaps they were hopping around the city in a charmingly metropolitan fashion. Whatever the case, I couldn't get anything more than a hold message or a busy signal from any number I called.
One of my coworkers found me slumped and sneezy on the payphone and used his cell to call an "industry" cab line that got me a real, live person right away -- a person who cheerfully promised me a car in only moments. Bless you, Ric. Bless you.
Mr. Operator? Damn you.
I stood outside shivering for about 25 minutes. You can't see the road from the front doors of the aquarium, so I knew I'd have to wait there, but oh! the chill!
Upon my arrival home, I took off my dress carefully, dosed up with a huge amount of NyQuil, and fell into bed (I don't remember the last time I went to sleep without blogging first... apparently, neither do you!)
I slept on and off for the next eleven hours until I crawled out of bed with raccoon eyes and giant hair full of errant bobby pins.
I hung my dress up properly, admiring it again, pulled my mane back into an elastic, took all the stuff out of my evening bag (absolutely chock-full of unused drink tickets slipped in there by managers last night who wanted to thank me for my role in organizing the party), and went to find myself some daytime cold meds and an Emergen-C packet.
After chatting with Kerry for a bit, I headed out to where I sit now, in the coffee shop, snuffling into napkins, sipping a latte, writing this entry, and wearing giant sunglasses to be able to see my screen through the blissful glare of an unusually bright, clear Saturday in Vancouver.
I look silly.
I'm okay with that.
So, to close this entry, allow me to recap:
I love my mom and how talented she is at things most moms don't take the time to do for their 31 yr. old daughters. I am thankful for the Social Committee and all the hard work they put into the party. Eating fish in front of fish feels weird. Dancing to Golddigger and blowing your nose at the same time results in a less-than-alluring party image. NyQuil is the bomb. My roommate is a lovely person. I love coffee. Go Canucks! I really need to shake this cold. I have absolutely nothing of fascination to blog about. I probably wouldn't even have written this entry if not for the fact that people actually wondered where I was. And that felt good. I love you guys! I am going home to my pjs and a quilt. And maybe a pizza.
Ahhhh.
4:09:21 PM 
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