Best Day Ever Part II & III

Where did we leave off?

Ah, right!

We definitely ransacked the romance shelves at the World's Biggest Bookstore and the check out was funny because Ames wanted to know how much everyone saved. I like looking at that too and I often feel the need to point out my savings to Bob. His reply is normally 'yeah, but how much did you have to spend to save that?' And my reply is 'I was going to buy it all anyways so no matter what, I saved money!' I saved 28.06 on a purchase of 96.07 so I remember telling Bob that I saved up to 25% cause I'm all fast with the head math. (In case you are also doing the head math, Bob bought a book on Sheds for 20 bucks so that means I bought 8 books and a tradeback for 76 bucks.)

Nath had the the slowest cashier so even though she was served first she was still checking out while we waited. (It's Saturday and they had 3 cashiers on (possibly 4) and it's a major frickin' city!! I have 3 cashiers at my store and yeah, we have lines but I figure that's to be expected but in a - okay, this is why my posts get so long!)

Right next door to the WBB was BMV which I have no clue what it means but it is a used bookstore. Sweet! We go in and they have one measly area of romance maybe 3 ft wide and 8 ft tall and fuck the alphabetical - we no need no stinkin' alphabet! So there's the four of us peering over each other's shoulders and moving crap out of the way. I really should have taken a picture but I was in full shopping mode. I bought a book there that Ames saw and said was funny and since I'm all about the funny I grabbed it - turns out there is a DVD section and Bob decided to hand me a bunch of John Wayne movies for my dad. At this point I was in line (one person ringing people out) and the guy behind me started this heavy sigh thing when Bob leaped over aisles to hand me the DVDs (it wasn't my turn yet!). I guess Bob then found another and handed it over people's head and I swear the guy behind me sighed so hard the back of my hair parted. (Still not my turn dumbass)

Then, and I swear I partially did it because I'm a bitch, there are mountains of DVDs of TV series on the wall behind the cashier and I see Season 1 of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List (okay, I had no clue what season it was because my eye sight isn't that good but I was all 'gotta have it!') I think Kristie may have still been checking out and Ames was in front of me and I yell up to the guy 'OMG, I have to have that DVD!'

The guy behind me not only sighed on me but this time the fucker leaned right in so I felt his hot breath on my scalp. Poor Ames must have wondered how affectionate a person I am because I swear I was practically hugging her to keep 'heavy breathing guy' from actually touching me. All the same I bought my friggin' DVD and the guy was very close to meeting C-Rex but luckily C-Rex can be logical and the guy had a point.

OMG!! Totally off topic but what is with grown ass men running around without their shirts on!? Okay, it was Gay Pride and I understood the gay men but they have all waxed or shaved themselves to a polished sheen and were strutting their stuff. It was men that I'm sure were straight walking around with their chest hair all out in the open (and I do love me some chest hair) but DUDE you're in public and you're not mowing your lawn or lifting heavy stuff! Then there was the pot bellied man whose hair was grey all over (on his belly!) - these guys were in various degrees of dress. I mean, if you have a button down shirt on and decide it's just too hot, why is the shirt still on their back with their bellies hanging out!?

Okay, back on track.

We decided that the current book haul was too heavy to lug around the city and so we head back to the hotel Ames, Nath and Kristie were staying at. Did I mention niiiiiice. We dropped off our stash of books, told a few stories and headed back out to find us some used bookstores.

Nath had a handy-dandy list of all the UBS in Toronto and I had a map with some of them and most were on Younge St. so we decided that was where to start. Oh and Nath and Ames had already scouted a few bookstores while walking around on Friday.

Ahem.

You may all recall that I'm lazy and having been to the big city I know that a city block is not nearly as small as it sounds. I came prepared though, I had on my sneaks and was ready to march to wherever we were heading.

Too bad we walked the wrong way. To be fair, there was supposed to be a bookstore there but we were busy gabbing and walking and hey, where is this bookstore? It was gone. Okay, regroup.

We start hoofing it up the other way now.

And we're hoofing.

And hoofing.

I think the first bookstore we came to was the one that was closing in a week. Speakers were blaring 'super deals cause we're closing in seven days' on a wicked ass repeat. Bob still mocks me with the 'super deals to be had'.

They had a massive 'Adult fiction' area (porn straight up) with books I had never seen or heard of before. The romance books were scattered in amongst the fiction but there was no A/C and I was getting hot and did I mention the blaring speakers playing on a loop? I went and stood outside with Bob cause there was a breeze but I know Kristie scored for sure. It was also at this time that I did some people watching, hence the reference to men without shirts.

We crossed the street at some point and were now in the sun - seriously with those tall buildings I just didn't think we would be in the sun!

Did you know your lips can get sunburned?

I do now!

We mosied through a little craft fair area where I bought some essential oils. I have a thing about those kind of markets. A family friend of ours used to work weekends at something like that and it was all they could do to earn their rent and they did it for years! So whenever I see something that I would buy normally I try to buy it at these kind of fairs. (Sweet Orange (for sleeping - put it on an old face cloth beside your pillow) and Lavender) I didn't ask how much the oils were and was hit up for 20 bucks. Eagle eye Bob saw the twenty leave my hands and thought to remind us the kiosks were not bookstores.

Men.

I believe it was at this point that I noticed the street was bare. Huh. Is that the Gay Pride Parade!!?? Nah. That's on Sunday. I mean, that's what I heard on the news! (Bob told me tonight that I was right, the GPP was on Sunday but that we experienced the Lesbian Parade - seeing as how I couldn't see past the crowd I didn't notice)

Now, you all know I'm all about the love and really so is Bob but there is something in the heterosexual male that will be forever threatened by gay men. Bob turned to me at one point and said, 'you better hope I don't end up on the news or you'll never live it down'. I'm thinking 'honey, you ain't all that.'

From the picture above you'll see a white truck and that was where the parade made a right turn. We get down there and the music is on and the song was awesome but Bob's being Mr. Negative and all, 'we're never going to get past the parade' but the women are so not listening to him which I think is fabulous and I burst out 'you're not the boss today' (Aries like to control their enviroment) Just to help Bob understand I flag down a policeman (I'd like to call him HottyMcServe and Protect Pants - yum - don't tell Bob!) and he tells us we should be fine on the left side of the street and that the parade was only going to last another half hour.

We bob and weave and Ames spots a trio of women with three adorable puppies in carry sacks and Ames wants a pic (painfully missing Max) so we take pics and I ask the ladies for their e-mail so I can send them the picture. Super nice women.

Next up, an actual book shop!!

Even though there was a romance section there were plenty of romance books intermixed with the fiction. Oh. My brain. I can barely remember what I have and don't have when I'm in a romance book section. Put me in a bookstore and say 'go fetch' and I'm a goner. I found Linda Howard's Inferno and decided to take a chance.

Get this! The parade ends while we are in the store and I notice these odd little cars on the street.

The city street cleaners are vacuuming up and cleaning the street! I've never seen anything so efficient in my life. So I ended up watching the clean up because I'm easily amused.

The next bookstore wasn't even a block away and was three levels but I ain't playing by now. I want romance books pronto so I walk up to the counter and ask the guy if he has a romance section. I get the negative head wag and am pointed to the fiction section. Ames, Nath and Kristie head on over but again, I don't have the brain power to sift through (I have a list of titles and authors and even with that, I'm usually up and down the alphabet like a ladder monkey - I was all over the place at WBB!)

While Bob and I are loitering Bob notices an old Life magazine with John Wayne on the cover and says something about my dad. The man behind the counter asks if we would like to see it and we figure sure. Let's just say my dad is going to have a Duke of a Christmas because we bought it - 22 bucks!

It was as we moved outside that I realized my legs, feet and body had had the biscuit. Ames had Nath's list and was looking up other UBS and I realized I wasn't going to be able to keep up. I really wanted to stay but I know my limit.

(Bob later said if I had just kept going we could have hailed a cab back. Bob and his gems of wisdom that come too late.)

Hugs all around and one last picture.

From left to right, me, Nath, Ames and Kristie (you'll notice I took off the long sleeve shirt I was wearing so maybe I shouldn't be casting stones at the men with their bellies hanging out).

It took Bob and I twenty minutes of speed walking to get back to the van (and I mean we were moving because I knew if I stopped I wasn't going to get started again)

It was on our way out of the city that I got the best picture of the CN Tower and the Roger Center (once upon a time called the Skydome and yes, I still refer to it as that)

Crap. I just looked at my CN Tower picture and I managed to get a street light in there. I'm just not destined to get a great picture!

All right, break time.

Smoke 'em if you get 'em.