june 29, 2001. I'm tremendously happy right now. I have the day off work in honour of Stan Fest, so I've been puttering happily around the house for hours now, getting all of our camping gear together and organized. It's funny - I only slept on extra hour, but it made a world of difference to my outlook. I mean, that and the leisure. And the sunshine pouring down outside. And the happy anticipation of a 3-day vacation from proper life. And, well, we can't forget the Stevie Wonder CD chugging away in the living room. You'd have to be made of stone to remain sulky during 'Big Brother.' This has been a very interesting period of preparation. We had originally anticipated buying a tent and camping properly, but somewhere along the line, we decided that we had to buy so much camping gear to begin with that a tent was out of the budget this trip. I'm still hoping to pick up something cool from an army surplus outfit (yes, this is one of my sudden odd fixations. pay no heed.) We're able to forgo the tent this weekend because (drumroll) we have access to a van. We are going van camping, like so many carpetbaggers and Deadheads. I think it's fantastic; I can't wait. I only wish that Jerry & Kerri were around to advise us on the best way of living in a van. We're pitifully short of role-models right now, our families being so respectable and all. Hell, my mom doesn't even like cottages - I suspect that there's a trauma there that I have yet to discover, but like so many of my mother's sudden dislikes, it currently remains a mystery. Do do do do do... I can't think of a single thing left to say, so I'll stop saying it. See you in July! Happy Canada Day! this time 3 years ago: an even less demanding entry