Canada's Most Wanted: Julia Freeman and Lydia Maskiell
We walked downstairs of our Condo (Canadian term for apartment), to be inundated with a trail of leaves which started from the front door, making there way through to the kitchen floor and finally the living room. The floor downstairs was completely covered in needles from a tree, which led right to a massive Christmas tree that stood in the middle of the living room, shoved against the fire place- it stuck out like a sore thumb! (We could almost hear the Ajax theme song, right before the Ajax Spray & Wipe appears to miraculously clean up the mess). We were both bewildered by the mere fact of how the hell did we got this seriously gigantic Christmas tree into our living room, and further to that how the hell did we carry this gigantic tree up to our condo, keeping in mind that we live on top of n icy hill, and when I say we, I mean me (Lydia). Our roommate was less than impressed, to be woken at 3 in the morning, to the sound of us banging around an over sized xmas tree, giggling our heads off, as when you're in that state, everything is the funniest thing in the world. We did however considerately leave a note for him saying, "Hi Shain, sorry about the mess but on the bright side at least we have a xmas tree!" Julia had written underneath, "We love Xmas Trees!"
If my message wasn't enough to saviour the situation, Julz came through with a "We love Xmas Trees!" to calm the beast. We did get a love note in return from our roommate the next morning saying:
"Ya you were really drunk, yo woke me up!! There is no room for this tree and you don't even have a stand or decorations!"
I honestly would have thought the lack of decorations was the least of all our concerns here, but he does make a compelling argument!
It turns out the power of recollection turns to shit after a mix of cider and beer. As Julia and I both woke up the next morning, talking about the night's antics, however both failed to mention anything about a tree. Only after walking downstairs to the sight of an over sized Christmas tree, did we remember that we had stolen a xmas tree which had been sitting outside a supermarket- this is not an admission by all means!! We as in me, hauled the xmas tree all through the car park at Creekside, all the way up an icy hill and into our condo- I know, you can expect that kind of behaviour when you're 15 but at 23, the effort is not nearly as impressive- such crazy kids!
In the morning, we just stared at the size of the tree for a solid 20 mins, debating the best approach of taking the tree back outside. With great struggle, we carried the tree back outside- I distinctively remember the tree being half the size when we'd brought it in. As judging by the "love note" that our roommate left us, I think it's safe to assume that we weren't allowed to keep the tree- damn Grinch! I can't begin to explain the pain I have endured, and not to even mention the neck muscle I've pulled out, in the midst of pulling the tree up the hill -it's certainly the most physical activity that I have participated in. It's amazing the strength you draw from nowhere when you're drunk- we're still scratching our heads as to how we've managed it. We ended up dumping the tree in our backyard - B grade burglary right there! So despite our best efforts, and Julia's "We love Xmas Trees!" I doubt we'll have a Christmas tree this year.
Note: You can view the latest Christmas tree antics on our latest photo uploads, including a special feature of the love note our roommate left us on facebook.
After our little incident with a "borrowed" Christmas tree, we are now potentially one of Canada's Most Wanted. Reflecting back, it's probably not the best decision we've ever made but why break a trend of poor decision making now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! I think that will be our motto for ending the year 2010.
It will be a very quiet Christmas this year, as both Julia and I are working on Christmas Day, and very busy with work all week, leading up to Christmas. It doesn't feel like Christmas this year, we don't even have a tree - and not through lack of trying might I add. We will probably get a few of us together and cook a roast whenever we all have a spare day.
We clearly haven't mastered the best approach for walking down the hill, which is conveniently situated outside our condo and by far the quickest route to the bus stop, hence the persistence to tackle the hill. This time around, the accident prone duo that we are, instead of Julia skiing down the hill, the hill took the feet from under me, leaving me breathless on the footpath, a little winded and a little concussed. Neither of us have been battered and bruised as much as we have been the past couple of weeks, and we haven't even been on the mountain yet!
A random guy at the bus stop confessed his love for Julia, and felt he could better express his feelings through song, it went something like this: "I see your true colours, and that's why I love you" (sung in monotone) If only she could look beyond tone deaf and drunk- such an appealing quality, a quality I too share. We may even award him with Song of the Week. And P.S Canadians clearly don't understand the concept of personal space on a bus, as I really appreciate a local coughing and spluttering in my hair- manners people!
On another one of our bus exhibitions, I sat with a German guy, where I took it upon myself to try and communicate with him in his native language, and draw on my Grade 6 German. My introductory sentence was, "Ich bin eine Nuse, Im eine buse!" For those of you who don't know German, translated that means, "I'm a nut, on a bus At least this is what I think it means- I knew this sentence would come in handy one day- Thank you, Mrs Healey! don't let his pity laughs fool you, I could tell he was rather impressed, as a few nights later, he approached me on the dance floor saying"Ich bin eine Nuse, Im eine buse!"
Speaking of different languages, we hear so many different accents here, we admittedly have come home on the odd occasion with a British accent. We do have to remind one and other that No, we are not British nor do we have a French accent- the accent robbery is common. Just giving you the heads up, that there is a high chance of us coming home with an accent or two.
We had our three Swedish friends for dinner the other night for Tacos, which they were appreciative of, as they have been living off plain pasta all week. Wages are so low here, people can't even afford to eat, and any spare penny is put away for the infamous cider. Give it a few more weeks and we could be on the poverty line, we too could be serenading random strangers for pennies at a bus stop to fund our new love of cider.
We all went out after dinner, where we ended up at Moe Joe's AGAIN, it's getting a little embarrassing. They have a pool table there, which I cannot seem to drag myself away from. As you know, we are on a lot lower wages here, therefore are forced to be money conscious, so hustling guys on the pool table has been a necessity. I have decided that "the ability to play pool" is a prerequisite for my "ideal man". There is nothing more unattractive about a man that cannot play pool. Mind you, it's possibly the worst place for me to pick up, as I'm oblivious to what's going on around me when there is a pool table in sight, I get so fixated on the actual game. I could very well miss out on my Prince Charming, as I may write him off if he can't differentiate between the "Little's" and "Big's."
Julia has been doing most of the driving in our van "the green monster" over here, which she has picked up really well- I know, I'm just as baffled as you. As you may or may not be aware I admittedly don't have the best driving skills at the best of times, so trying to adjust to driving on the other side of the road has been an experience and a half, it's like being on my learners all over again- and that took me 7 goes the first time to get it!! I'm a bit like Nemo, I think I can do these things but I just can't. Oh, and you can drive through red lights here- bizarre. Nevertheless, the plans are underway for our road trip to Seattle soon.
We are still loving it over here, I don't think either of us have laughed as much as we have over here. It's been such a fun experience.
We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and an absolute awesome New Years!
Love
Lydia and Julia x
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