Sewing gene: activated
On Friday I watched Pom Poko (so cute! I love Studio Ghibli and I love tanuki) and then Adam and I went to Josh and Monica's for Josh's birthday. Really good people, fun times. We smoked hookah and ate food and drank alcohol. It was mostly Burning Man hippies. As a joke, they sang a second birthday song for Josh, the lyrics of which were "Vagina, oh vagina, blessed be the vagina that you were evicted from." Okay, hippies may be silly and flaky, but at least they're not jaded and ironic about everything all the time. That gets old. I like it when people are positive and creative and friendly.

On Saturday afternoon I took the bus out to Coquitlam. I hung out with my mom in her sewing room and she showed me all her cool stuff. My mom has been into sewing since she was young, and I found out she took sewing in high school for 5 years. For her Grade 12 final project she made a tailored suit. She used to make clothes for me and my brother when we were little, until we got old enough that we only wanted store-bought clothes. She started getting into sewing again when we were both out of high school -- this time quilting. My grandma has also been an avid quilter since I was a little kid. My mom got a new sewing machine for quilting a couple years ago, with a computer in it that does all kinds of fancy stitches.

Before my parents had me, one Christmas my dad bought my mom the cadillac of sewing machines (at the time), with a custom sewing table (wood veneer, holla). Apparently my aunt worked at the Pfaff store back then, too. So on Saturday my mom and I dragged it out and she showed me how to thread it and all its basic functions. It will need a servicing at the Pfaff store because it hasn't been used in years, but it's still pretty much in perfect shape. I'm allowed to borrow it for as long as I want. I don't have it yet, but my dad will probably bring it over some time this week.

My mom also had drawers full of old patterns, mostly stuff for kids or stuff her size from the 70s. She did have a couple things in my size that I liked, though -- two blouse patterns: one the classic button-up office blouse, and another 70s looking one with puffy sleeves; and two skirt patterns: one A-line skirt, and one high-waisted skirt with a pattern for pants in there too (I totally want to make a high-waisted wide-leg pant). She even had fabric she'd bought for a skirt she had intended to make me several years ago. She also gave me a bag with a lot of clear compartments with zippers (like a make-up bag) to hold all my notions. For a few days around Christmas, we're going to do a couple sewing days together. It's gonna be good!

On Saturday evening it was my brother's girlfriend's birthday dinner at The Keg. I dragged them out to eat vegan food at Radha for my birthday, so I was happy to tough it out for her birthday. I had salad and bread, and sat with her scary biker dad (who was shocked when I only drank one beer -- "I'm tellin' my buddies, I've never seen anybody drink just one beer!"). Her sister brought a 4-month-old baby, so he entertained everyone for most of the evening. When I came back to Vancouver, Adam and I watched Planet B-Boy, which I really liked, especially because it showed a lot about the dancers' culture and family background. Interesting to think what it would be like to be a champion break-dancer in Korea.

Yesterday I relaxed. The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to just walk around the neighbourhood running errands. In the evening Adam and I made stew and played two games of Settlers of Cattan with his roommates.

In all, a very good weekend! I think tonight I might go to the gym with Adam. Apparently membership at Spartacus (in my 'hood) is pretty cheap- about 1/3 of the price of yoga classes. So I'm gonna try it out.