It’s a new week, and I finally feel like myself again. The only time I have an unstable mind is when I wake up between two and four every night. All the thoughts I push to the back of my mind come flooding back, and I have trouble falling asleep for another hour or two. Other than that, I’m okay, more or less. All it took was a housewarming party and a weekend of no worries.

Trolley and I started preparations on Friday. We were expecting 14 people (with three not drinking) and we got that exactly — Pat, Jen, Jeff, Pita, Mike, Iain, Aaron, Karen, Kat, Sebastien, Eric, Jen, Trolley, and I. In all, we had four bottles of Keith’s (left over from poker night last week), three bottles of wine, a 12 of Corona, and two 5-Liter Kegs of Grolsch. In addition to this, Aaron ended up bringing six more Keith’s, while Mike gave me a mickey of Smirnoff, and Pita supplied a 12 of Blueu (the distinguished Quebec variant of Blue). A few major drinkers powered through the alcohol, and while we initially believed ourselves to be overstocked, we ended up with only a few Blue and the wine.

It was a pretty good mix of people. While I was grilling burgers on the new barbeque, people were mingling, hanging out on the couches, catching up on hockey on TV. Some were even soaking up the sun in my little back yard/patio, which has an accommodating set of stairs and a few lawn chairs. There wasn’t as much segregation, and I think that Aaron, Trolley, and Pat helped blend the two (and a half) groups a bit. For a successful party, I’m always sure to have all three in attendance. To my surprise, we all ended up playing some four-player Gamecube games towards the end of the night, something I wasn’t sure that everyone was interested in.

All-in-all, it was a good party, even if I was too busy running around, making sure everyone was well fed and thoroughly drunk, to hang out with my guests. I even got a few housewarming gifts. Trolley and I built the barbeque Pat gave us in time for the party, and Iain got me a nice set of crystal low balls (which have a nice weight to them, but need to be hand washed). Aaron gave me a set of six solar-charged patio lanterns that really make my yard stand out from the rest. I couldn’t ask for more.

Pita crashed that night, but not before I got him burned for the first time. I think his mind was a little too rigid, and he was analyzing things a little too much to be able to relax and enjoy it. He stayed for the rest of Sunday, and we played the old Gamecube games we used to enjoy back when we were still living together. I had such a good time, that I was able to really forget about everything else that’s going on right now. It was like a little gettaway in my own house.

I needed this weekend.

And so, the weekend had to come to an end. It was great to get away, and refreshing to hang out with some decent people. Adam most of all, who renews my ever waning faith in humanity every time I see him. I had a few songs in mind for the video, but the first song I thought of, and the one I eventually used, is by The Postal Service. Before I started editing, I could only recall the first few bars, but I knew that those notes would be able to perfectly define the feeling I wanted. Funny that it happens to be named There’s Never Enough Time. There are so many things I could say, but the videos say it all.

One of the best things about the farm is that it’s a farm. There are the two large and loyal dogs, Willow and Atka. There’s the chirpy housecat, Femo, who likes to twist and turn her body for one to scratch. There are cows, who can jump really high if frightened.

Aside from the animals, there are all other sorts of little things that make the farm rustic and differentiate it from the city life I’m so used to living. It’s not every place that I’ll find random 12-guage shotgun shells on a cabinet, or piles of firewood that are bigger than my house. It really makes me feel like I’m away; away from computers, school, work, or traffic.

I’ll end off with a shot of the inscription on Eric’s flask.

Here’s to them.

Euchre has become universal for our group now. We must have played nearly a dozen games that night, and I managed not to lose a single one, with the help of Aaron as my partner. For the last four points of one game (as seen in the video), I was dealt one of the best hands I’ve ever had: both bauers, an ace/jack trump, and an off king. I was lucky enough to make the trump suit too, since Aaron flipped over a red bauer. I seem to have tremendous luck when I’m on the farm. Last year, when I was partnered up with Nick at the hunting cabin, we had an undefeated winning streak. It’s generally never a good idea to play against Trolley’s cousins, though. They grew up playing together, so it’s impossible to track the number of signals they use.

I’ll admit that this is me. Good times because of good people. One of the best nights of my life.

There were three main crews vacationing at the farm that weekend. The Ottawa crew consisted of Trolley, Aaron, and I. In the Toronto crew was Adam, Efrem, Lyda, and Jim. The main group, the ones originally from Bancroft, were Tyler with Meryl, Eric, Sarah, Matt, and Kate, although Trolley and Adam would also be considered members, and brought their respective crews. Of course, even Trolley’s cousins showed up, as they always do, since they’re only a short snowmobile ride away.

It took a few hours for everyone to arrive, since people were up to five hours away, so time was spent The Streets listening, card playing, and alcohol inducing while waiting. When Eric walked in and said, “WOAH”, Aaron and I completely stopped what we were doing and looked at each other. It was obvious that Eric was loaded already, because he’s rarely so boisterous.

And Sarah’s brown cow filled the snifter when she started.

Left the party after an hour. Some fucking guy, as well as other stuff. Aaron, Karen, Drew and I all bailed at the same time.

It’s too bad, I was hoping to hang out with Christine more, or even talk to Sheri, Emily, Eric, or Katrina a bit. I was expecting to be home past two, but instead I was home before midnight.

I didn’t even bring any alcohol because I didn’t feel like drinking, but after five minutes I was stealing Aaron’s wine.