SCARY JAPANESE GHOST

So Adrienne came back from cow town and I was supposed to pick her up from the airport, but alas, instead I had to be on set as a SCARY JAPANESE GHOST. A la movies like The Grudge, I was painted white with black circles around my eyes and every single hair product invented stuck in my hair. I had to wear this victorian-esque nighty (don't ask) and walk very slow, so the film could be sped up to produce the "scary jerky ghost effect" you often see in such movies. It was a hoot. The best part was walking around the block to have lunch. People definitely looked twice.

salmon festival sans the posse

So, my dad rides the top of the shrine at the Salmon Festival every year.
This means him and his cronies all get up on Canada Day at around 6am, and drive out to Richmond to converge in this park where they proceed to get very drunk on Sake. Then they get a whole bunch of younger kids to carry this 1000 lb shrine on their shoulders while everyone screams and people throw buckets of water on you. It's supposed to bring good luck. And you feel better for it, you do...even if your shoulder is massively bruised and you lose your voice.

But my dad loves it. He believes in it, he's so passionate about it. So even if I sound a little disenchanted, it's an amazing thing to witness.

This year, I braved it alone. Other siblings either living out of town or escaping to Seattle. Can you imagine, leaving Canada on Canada Day to go to the States? It's a bit unheard of... And friends who usually gather with either went to Seattle or carried it last year and thought: Not worth the pain. So for the most part, I was alone. However, I must say it was delightful to see my old pal Christopher there...his mom was in the parade too, so we sat on the bleachers by the mayors booth and clapped and were very civilized as the parade went by.

I felt lonely. I missed my sisters, I missed my friends.
I went home after and watched dvd's.