The first of July

July?

Already?

July means Canada Day, which I like a lot. My favourite one was when I lived in Korea. I went up to Seoul with some friends to a party hosted by the Canadian Embassy. It was held outdoors in a greenspace with a hill. Nearly all attendees were fellow ESL teachers, congregating from all corners of our tiny peninsula (which is really only a peninsula on the map; in practice it is more like an island). Lunch was barbequed burgers, brownies and Kokanee. The music was all the usual stuff that, unless you’re at a Canadian Embassy-sponsored party, you’d never hear outside of Canada. And, unless you’re at a Canadian Embassy-sponsored party, you’d never want to hear anywhere. But I felt differently in this context. In Korea, I longed for a great many things I had never before thought twice about.

I felt so happy sitting on that hill with my friends, these great people I thought I'd know forever... who knew that one day they'd be just a poke away on facebook?

OK, so maybe the depth of these friendships has deteriorated over time.

This year was similar, but not as fun. It wasn’t bad company or shit music or dull entertainment. It was me.

I have been ‘hanging out, drinking’ too much lately to really enjoy it when I do it. Do you know what I’m talking about? Sometimes fun isn’t fun unless you’ve balanced it out with some nonfun, like work. By Tuesday, I hadn’t put myself through enough nonfun to really get the most out of the fun. I was all out of balance.

On Wednesday, I was back at it: I had my interview, worked five hours and finished two books. Thursday and Friday were similar. Therefore, I sense some fun on its way at the beach this weekend.

My attitude towards fun pains B. He could happily have ten Canada Days in a row, genuinely enjoying every moment. We are fodder for one another's hilarious jokes.