Today I randomly went to Grand Forks with sister, brother-in-law and Fork. I spent too much money, but it was fun. Mmmmmmexican food and mmmmmmmargaritas for dinner!

Update, yesterday's barbecue DID happen and it was splendid. There was a lot of delicious food and a lot of wonderful people. It was nice to share the evening with Heather and Gareth - it would have been a bit much to have had it only be a going away party for me. Plus I still feel that the evening was even more important as a way of my parents wrapping up the nesting portion of their parenting careers. Now they will finally be emptynesters; I think they are ready for it!

This past weekend I went up to Thompson to visit my sister and brother-in-law. They've been married for about 6 months now and recently bought a house, so this was my opportunity to visit them and see how they will be living for the next while.
It was a wonderful weekend. Their house is very nice and they seem to be living quite well. It was also different from when my sister comes to Winnipeg to visit; rather than fitting back into the role of sister and daughter in the Park house, she has a new role as a wife. I was witness to a wonderful dynamic between the two of them, showing that they are both happy!
They spoiled me rotten. I did my best to clean up after myself and help around the house, but they kept on buying me things and making me food and generally being so generous - I can't wait for the day when I will be in a situation to offer them something in return.

I don't generally watch a lot of those idol-type t.v. shows, but my parents do so I am privy to watching it at dinner every now and again. I had remembered seeing episodes where the judges and guest artists gave helpful suggestions on how the competitors could improve, but I'm convinced that all usefulness has disappeared from the commentary. All that I heard from the experts were raving compliments about how great the singer was doing, or some fickle commentary on how it was disappointing and not up to the standards of the competition - void of any instructions on how to improve.
Now, I can understand this for the live commentary right after the performance: the audience probably doesn't want to hear technical stuff or well, anything other than what they currently get, but when the singer is working just with the pianist and the guest artist.... at least give us the impression that the visitor has something of value to say. Especially since these are hugely successful pop stars, they've all worked with coaches and whatnot in their own careers - show us some of that!
Perhaps, they are right; the audience might not care about HOW the singers get better, BUT if the audience is ignorant as to how the singers can improve, how can they assess the quality? Even giving one element of the performance to improve on would give the audience something to focus on and then see if the singer actually makes improvements on that.
And for fucks sake- STOP SAYING "PITCHY" AND "TUNING"!!!!!!!!! These are vague general terms that can't be used for specific incidences unless you SPECIFY! If the singer is singing out of tune, chances are that they don't know how to make the proper adjustments, if they even know where it happens. Singing sharp and flat are completely different problems requiring completely different solutions. GAH! Fucker Mumbly!

I'm totally not letting illness have any effect on my time in Thompson. I'm having a great time visiting Heather and Gareth: my sister and brother-in-law, respectively.
Today Gareth stayed home and fixed the fence while Heather and I went to Pichou falls (I'm not so certain on spelling) which is a spectacular, though small, waterfall not even an hour south of Thompson; it was breathtaking. After that we went to Paint Lake to see more of the stunning outdoors and nature that surrounds Thompson.
Barbecuing for dinner, going for drinks and playing some pool with friends at a local drinking hole, and coming home to watch a movie on a big screen TV; I submit that there is no more ideal way to spend a Friday! Well, except for the fact that the movie was interrupted by an egging and the pressure washing of windows that ensued. Nevertheless, it all fit into the wonderful charm of the evening.
Who knows what excitement tomorrow has in store! However, I shall need some refreshing sleep before that shall happen...