It's early morning and I'm back in Chicago after my extended long weekend. It was a good trip but not very relaxing! Still, Vancouver was lots of fun.

Friday afternoon I headed to the airport to catch my very long (4.5 hour) flight to Van City. Bernie picked me up from the airport and we went back to his new pad for a couple beers while we waited for Jae to get home. The three of us went out for some Italian and making fun of girls at the nearby Macaroni Grill. We were all pretty tired after a long day so we called it a night.

The next day both Jae and Bernie went to work so Colby and his new (HOT) woman Shannon picked me up and we went for lunch at Bojangles. Afterwards we grabbed some coffee at Starbucks and then walked up and down Robson doing some window shopping, some book buying, and gawking at the idiot protesters who for some reason had a problem with Canada's involvement in Haiti even though no one else in the international community does. Colby had to ref that night so they dropped me off at the end of the afternoon. Unfortunately, Colby and I's schedules just didn't work out this weekend so that was the last time I saw him. Thankfully, he's going to be coming to the wedding(!), so I'll see him again soon.

That night Sony (a friend of Bernie and Jae's in for the weekend from Regina) decided to follow my lead and crash in the apartment for the night. We went to a Cold Beer and Wine Store (British Columbia sucks) to pick up a bunch of booze and enjoyed some awesome "Numero Uno" pizza before hitting the town. We went to The Fountainhead (the infamous gay pub from last year) for a couple beers and some brutal service. We were planning on going to "Celebrities" (Vancouver's newest gay bar attended by mostly straight people) but we decided to head to The Odyssey instead. It quite the interesting time there, what with all the naked (male - boo!) go-go dancers and little faerie Asian boys running around, but thankfully it was a bar after all so I got to have a much-needed drink(s). Sony's attempts to find a man were the entertainment for the evening, because thanks to an asshole DJ and his brutal music, dancing was few and far between. We left pretty late and wandered down to Numero Uno for hilarious adventure buying pizza, insulting 12-year olds who claimed to be 20, and for me in particular, street-performing.

Thanks to alcohol poisoning, the next morning (well, afternoon) was brutal. We went out for brunch to a nearby Cafe Luxy (recommended) where I could barely move let alone eat, but by the time we were done I was feeling better. We grabbed some coffee and did some window shopping before heading back home. Sony left and so did I when I said my goodbyes to Jae, and then late to Bernie after he dropped me off at my hotel in time for my conference to start. Thanks for your hospitality, guys, it was much appreciated and I had a great weekend!

My conference was a jam-packed couple of days. It is an annual event held for everybody in the company (in my line of work) across Western Canada. On Sunday night the Regina folks went out for supper and then attended a reception. Afterwards, me and a subset of the group walked (and WALKED) around drinking here and there (specifically at Steamworks and Cardero's, both recommended) until past midnight, which meant Monday was a long day. It was full of education sessions and then a hypnotist for entertainment at night. I didn't end up staying out too late on Monday which was a good thing, because Tuesday was just as busy as Monday. At 4PM me and some other folks from Regina caught the bus back to the airport, except they were going home and I wasn't. I got on a plane bound for Los Angeles and caught the red-eye to Chicago so I could be back at work this morning instead of missing a bunch of work time traveling all day. I'm not sure I recommend this practice.

I am not sure exactly what my travel plans are for the next few weeks. I only have 17 more business days (am I counting?) before I am done here and then all the wedding stuff kicks into high gear. After a weekend of hard drinking and learning, I need a break :)