Bob, Brian, Tyler, Julie, Kevin, Jen, Hui Chin and I caught a Ducks-Hurricanes bout at The Pond. The Carolina Hurricanes used to be the Hartford Whalers, hence the trip by former Conneticutan’s Bob, Kev and Brian. Anyway, the game went into overtime and ended in a 2-2 tie. This was my first NHL game as the only other hockey game I had caught to date were the San Diego Gulls, a second tier team.

Saturday night was pretty intense for Bob, who was hugged by Aurora, a go-go dancer at the Knitting Factory, a pretty full woman who he claimed to be the woman of his dreams.

Breakfasted on the outdoor patio at Jinkys the next morning. We were graced with the presence of drummer Brad Wilks of Rage Against the Machine; unshaven, dishevelled and pissed-off looking, seated indoors about 2 feet away from us on the other side of the glass, like a snake in a 30 gallon fish tank.

It was a little awkward when the warehouse guy walked into the gents some five minutes ago. I stopped what I was doing and looked at him, explaining to him with my smile that this was normal practice where I come from. Even so, the situation got more awkward as the miliseconds ticked away, so I stopped drying my face under the hand dryer and adamantly walked out.

I knew before hand that there were no paper towels in the restroom but I persisted on splashing water on my face. I’ve not been clocking in enough hours of sleep for the past few days and the rejuvenative power of cold water was absolutely essential for me to staaay awake.

After drenching my face I jutted my lower lip out and blew air upwards in the direction of my face. The cooling effect of air dancing on the wet surface of my skin was really enjoyable but it then sank in that I could not wait in there all day to wait for my face to dry. I thought of using toilet paper but I didn’t know if I’d have little stray pieces of pulp smeared all over my face after I was done. A shirt sleeve is always an option but I decided to be civilized today and stick my face under the hand dryer.

The main cause of my lethargy had to do with my camping trip the day before.

Tip to working professionals: Don’t go camping in the middle of a work week.

So why this crazy act.? Well, Bob was in town with his eight friends; Muriel, Lucas, Valerie, Josee, Victor, Patrick, Snow White and some other guy… Steven I think.

Well here’s how the story goes. Muriel owns an agency that specializes in Language Learning for Foreign students. This time round, almost all the participants in her program are from Quebec, with exception to Lucas who is from France. Well, after meeting up with the gang at Venice Beach, we headed for a campground up in Valencia.

Camping LA Style
This is what the Valencia Travel village Campground was like. Three swimming pools, a jacuzzi, a huge gas-fired campfire, a massive laundry room, a video rental store, street lamps, children’s playground, combination-locked restrooms, soda machines and the distant hum of the Golden State Freeway.

Why I’ll be zonked tomorrow
Well the Quebec bunch will be spending tonight at my place.Including Hui Chin, there’ll be a total of 11 people sleeping in my apartment tonight.

And the day after
Because Thoms’ coming into town.

And the day after the day after
Because Thom will still be in town.