Tomorrow will suck.
That’s not the weather forecast, although I’m sure meteorologist will be one of the many alternate career paths that enter my head this week. I’m referring to the fact that I never ever should take vacations because they really point out the contrast between the work and the not-work (also known as “fun”). It’s similar logic that once had me resisting most forms of social interaction – it’s easier to put up with stuff if you don’t consider alternatives. Anyway, the subject of “why don’t I just quit” can be discussed another day, but for now you can rest assured that the camping weekend was great fun. A few highlights:
On the first day, we went hiking. We were told by our fearless leader that it would be “about 45 minutes” (*cough* 3 hours *cough*) and we wouldn’t need to change our shoes. They gave us a map, but it was in French. After some experimentation I figured out that “nous vous recommandons de porter des bottes de randonnée ou des chaussures de course” means “dude, you really shouldn’t be wearing sandals” and “À certains endroits, le terrain est très accidenté et les sentiers suivent les parois des falaise. Le prudence est de rigueur” means something like “ok, you’re walking on a beach made of jagged rock, and if you stub your naked toe you’ll bleed all over the place and it will be more likely that you’ll fall face first and bruise your finger badly enough that you’ll only be able to hold one drink at a time”. If you didn’t have lunch, add “moreso” to that.
Thankfully, my many mishaps got me out of any activities the following day, and while I missed out on seeing a really uncomfortable looking thong, I finally had a chance to read “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair. Somehow I manged to become the main character in my mind and without giving too much away, when something big happened to that guy, my mood was as if it happened to me. This was all well and good when he was wandering around sleeping in the fields, but the rest of the time it really sucked. I was kinda glad when everyone came back. Still worth reading though.
I missed out on two smog days, apparently. I was so sad… Oddly, my allergies didn’t kick in at all, which is a first, and I was breathing easier than I have in years. I wasn’t the only one who noticed the sky’s gradual transition from blue to grey as we got closer to home.
Vegan chili is much lighter, safer, faster and easier to cook than barbecued chicken breast. The ease factor shifted the following day when everyone just went to town and bought groceries, but I’m having trouble seeing how anyone can go camping as an omnivore for more than a day or two with only the contents of their pack to sustain them. Yeeha.
I didn’t get sunburned until the ride home, and similarly, I didn’t find out about how to avoid mosquitoes until the subway home when I saw a poster about West Nile virus. Helpful tip: dark colours are a bad thing.
All I know about bears is that there are black ones and brown ones, and the technique for escaping is 100% different for each type. I also know that I didn’t see any bears, so that worked out pretty well. We did see a snake eat a frog though, and it was probably for the best that it happened as we were packing up to leave. That was a big snake.
Finally, those 2 way FRS radios are great on a long trip with two cars. I pity anyone who was tuned into the same channel. Hint: my code name was “slutty”.
So yeah, great fun, and well worth the impending agony of the day job.
Today’s secret puzzle letter is B.