pica_pica

Ok, so my birthday.

I was, and I also wasnt -- looking forward to it. I certainly WAS looking forward to it because coolheart set up that surprise birthday event at Tafs, and I will not be able to find the words to explain how good that made me feel.
My birthday has always been really really special to me, and for the last 12 years it became a bit of a custom with a certain person and my best friend from Calgary.
Him, his wife, R and I, would basically rotate our little foursome group year after year for our birthday events. R would more often than not take me out for dinner someplace nice that we hadnt been before, and more often than not my friend and his wife would be there. It was always important to her that my Bday was special. So, in that way, I wasnt looking forward to this one.

I got a big spot in my heart for birthdays. I dont know why, maybe its because of that whole adopted thing? My birthday being the only tangible thing that ties me to the reality of my bloodlines? Dunno. All I know is that birthdays are huger than Christmas, new years and valentines day all put together. Other peoples birthdays are also incredibly important to me, which is why I had such a hard time back in July when it was she-who-used-to-be-referred-to-as-her birthday. I totally didnt know what to do. I really wanted to send a card or call her or email her or SOMETHING just to let her know I was thinking about it, but then I thought
No, you just broke up with this woman, maybe the last thing she wants on her birthday is a reminder of you in her life. Leave this day to her, Say nothing, you could very well fuck up her very important and special day by popping your head up. It was terribly difficult to let it slide, but I thought of her all day that day.

So I was silently dreading my quiet little day coming up because absolutely everybody that I used to know back then is out of my life now. There was a potential for that day to be a bit bleak for me.
Then I tripped across the pica_pica's birthday thread in the SGBC group, and saw all the names of the people that were so in and it so totally brought a warm glow to me.

(sidestep the sappyness, but seriously thank you guys. The very fact that so many people responded to that idea still means so much to me.)

Saturday night, Trish wanted to hook up with me, we made plans to meet down at the Morrisey and she got there first. I was so hoping to get there before her to get a picture of her coming into the pub, but alas. I did get a pic of her new tattoo work on her arm, but damn I want a full body shot. I think shes getting quite covered in ink, and its all beautiful work. Flesh Tapestry.



Saturday was a loving and quiet night. As usual, we got heavy into conversation about things I dont ever seem to talk to anybody else aboutbut I walked her to the bus stop at 10:30, gave her that saddish hug goodbye (cuz I know its going to be a couple months again before I see her) and took my bepresented butt over to Bosmans for a pint before I went back home.

I had the presents she had given me, so it was bit strange walking in to find it so crowded with gifts under my arm. I sat alone, and eventually the empty chair in front of me combined with the enigma of my gifts prompted conversation from a small group of people. They invited me to join them, so I did. I dont even remember their names.



There was a crew of about 30 people on the other side of the bar celebrating some other guys birthday, but thinking about my own eventual celebration kept my spirits up.
I hung out with these strangers for a pint or three, but eventually, I just went home to my clean apartment. I was so looking forward to waking up in that new bedroom on my birthday.

So Sunday it is. Doesnt feel like a birthday yet, but hotbonbon and I have plans to walk along Jericho beach that afternoon, I am supposed to meet her at 2:00.
Change of plans though, I am totally craving sushi.

That sushi place on Davie st where The Umalina Incident went down back in November. I havent been back since, and damn I want it on my birthday.
I call hotbonbon and she agrees to meet me down there. Shes packing up her 16 month old son, and will meet me there.

I walked up and was astounded at how beautiful the day had become:




I wanted to get a pic of hotbonbon while we were there, but she didnt seem to open to the idea, so alas hotbonbon remains facially anonymous.
Holy shit that kid is cute though. A squirmy handful, but so cute.

It seemed so strange to be sitting here in a restaurant in Vancouver with a woman who also shared times with me on the day of my Grade 2 birthday party in the suburbs of Calgary. I probably would have cried back then when I was 6 if I could have seen a futuristic clip of her and sitting over sushi there 31 years later.

I really enjoyed the conversation, her and her husband seem to be in to so many amazing things, and they are all up my alley. When we left, I was actually quite afraid of a repeat scenario where I would run smack into R just outside the door. Im sure the sight of me pushing a baby carriage would have been just great. If the sight of me with Umalina caused such a shit storm, I cant imagine how bad it would have been with her seeing me with a baby on my hip.

Well anyways, Sunday was beautiful. We drove out to the west side where she and her husband are currently living, dropped off the car and picked up the SUV style baby carriage, and we hit the beach, the sun was starting to go down and there were people everywhere.

Joggers, bikers, hackeysackers, and just walker/talkers like the two of us were everywhere that day. I looked across the inlet at the downtown core, and realized how long it had been since I actually got my ass out of the west end for anything other than work. I so much wanted to just be on a mountain bike on that path all of a sudden.

Well anyways, thanks hotbonbon that was a totally different day for me, and I am still thinking about it. I have finally unburied my mountain bike, and due to you, I will have pics up from the ride I am going to take back out to Jericho beach.


Well, I left their place just in time to get downtown for the SG crew meeting up at Tafs. (Ok, actually, I was about a half hour late, but hey its my birthday and Ill be fashionably late.)

Man I love Tafs its so comfy up there and those medieval shield things are the bomb, theyve been up there since like.. forever. I would be so sad if Tafs ever closed It is such a tie in to my early 20s when I first moved to Vancouver. That place was like my living room to me and the group of friends I hung with.



coolheart and his girlfriend were already there, as was fenris23, wottan, 5lave and 400lbgorilla. Sadly, angelvanilla couldn't make it due to a big project she had. I join them at the round table.
Eventually, we all scored the long table because the group of strangers that were originally sitting there wanted to watch the simpsons to find out who was outted as gay.
I sat at the very end of the long table, thinking that was appropriate, and very shortly thereafter, lavinia, freakqueen, Megan and olas show up. We have a full table and more beers are on their way.

Me sitting at the "head" of the table resulted in me being able to hear everybodys conversation, but they couldnt hear me. It was some strange audio Bermuda triangle thing. I get begifted with my very first SG shirt, and oh my god, a birthday cake!



We hung out there for another 45 minutes or so, and...

..

Enough of the story telling thing. I am only able to end this in the fast forward replay that exists in my memory of that evening.

When we all started to get ready to go somewhere else, some discussion was held about where to go next and it sounded like we were going to go to the Number Five, which is a strip club here in town. I didnt have any preconceived notions about where to go or what to do, I was just looking forward to whatever it ended up being.
lavinia grabbed a yellow pages to start looking up limo companies, as there were too many of us to grab a cab and it would end up costing us about the same amount to take a limo.

Thats when coolheart and his lovely date Cat took their leave. They said they had an early day on Monday and had to go. I was sorry to see them go as I felt the evening had just begun.
We went downstairs, payed the bill, and the discussion began about where we were going to go and what we were going to do. When it became obvious that the Number Five was indeed the next destination, freakqueen and Megan said they were going to go to The Cellar, as a band was playing there that theyd promised theyd come see. They werent down with the whole stripper thing.

Ok wait a minute I thought
We were rapidly splitting up and it was most likely due to the next destination.
I spoke up saying that I really didnt care WHAT we did, as long as we stuck together, so why dont we all go down to the Cellar to see this band? I totally didn't want this group to split up all over.

We were certainly a confusing group, the next 10 minutes would have made for the most comical episode of The Apprentice ever as nobody wanted to remain the leader and certainly none of us could make a solid decision as to what to do.
We found ourselves standing outside of the Cellar, still trying to figure out what we were doing. I was chuckling quite a bit by this point, it was all rather comical.


Thankfully, due to freakqueens contacts, we all got passes to get into the Cellar.
Except for Megan. Damn! No ID.

400lbgorilla does the incredibly cool thing of jumping into his jeep with her to rush her back home to south van to grab ID, and the rest of us head on downstairs.

We end up scoring our little VIP corner again, and settle in for drinks while the first band plays. Very soon thereafter, 400lb and Megan return. YAY.


I liked the band.


But I dont know if everybody else was so impressed:


Eventually, we made our way back to our little VIP corner,


5lave kept buying me drinks, dammit, and the next thing we knew it was midnight. The place was closing. I ran off to the washroom one last time before leaving and HEY!
Have we been here before?



We decide to run up to that little hole in the wall I like to frequent for SURE it would still be open!

We sadly lose freakqueen and head on up to Bosmans.

Oh the disappointment upon arriving though, our little crowd stumbles around the corner only to find this:


Foiled again.

What is UP with this city? Is NOTHING open past midnight on a Sunday?
Finally, after much deliberation, lavinia mentions that Sonar is open until 2:00 for Goth night.
We all instantly jump on her,
Why didnt you say something earlier?? we asked, poking her in the ribs.

She, apparently, was afraid that R would be there, and didnt want to chance that on my birthday. Any other day would be uncomfortable for sure, but on my birthday of all days it would not be pleasant running into her.

She wont be there I say. She probably has to work on Monday, and the R I knew would NOT be out at a club the night before having to go to work.

Lavinia is still quite sure she would be down there, but I am quite sure she wont be. We jump in a cab and head down for goth night.


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