Names are awkward here. I don't want to talk with full names since all my friends are on the internet and maybe they don't want to be talked about in a place where strangers (or worse, non-strangers!) could google their names. On the other hand, initials or an elaborate pseudonym system makes me crack up when I read it in other diaries. I am too lazy to password protect my diary. Maybe I should just make up superhero names for everyone. I am thinking about this because I almost started a sentence with "Boy's brother and his girlfriend.." and paused, because (a) how awkward is that; (b) it's kind of bizarre that I frame everyone in terms of their relationship to me THROUGH MY BOYFRIEND, ACK; (c) boy's brother's girlfriend is my friend completely independent of her relationship with boy's brother. Actually and (d), I met boy's brother before I met boy, so maybe I should do this in reverse: call boy "friend Q's brother." Except for how that would be RETARDED.

Oh, I'm thinking about this too hard.

So! Super Ben (oh THERE'S a subtle pseudonym. ha ha.) and Inspector Exposition are off on a camping trip. I am struck with jealous itchy feet. Ew, that's a bad mental image. Anyway. I totally want to go camping or on a road trip now. The last time I went camping with The Fruitfly Avenger

hahaha, okay, I totally can't use superhero names for boy. I'll have to stop to crack up for 5 minutes every time I try to type The Fruitfly Avenger. When he wakes up I'm just going to ask permission to say Joe. "Oops."

Anyway, the last time I went camping with Joe it was kind of a disaster. The campsite was next to train tracks where freight trains went by all night. I forgot our foamies - crossed 'em off my list and left them in the hallway at home. Sleeping on bare gravel was very uncomfortable. Also I spent all my time reading and ignoring him. Uh. Anyway, we went home a day early. (We got to flag down a train! That was cool.) I thought that ruled out camping forever until last night we were talking and he said dude! road trips are fun. camping is cool. Well he didn't say "dude!" but I like to pretend.

So anyway the only problem is driving. There is not much camping to be done without driving somewheres and I don't drive and he doesn't want to do all the driving on a hypothetical roadtrip. I had some half-cocked scheme whereby I get a learner's license and drive on the highways out of town - I don't mind highways, man, it's just the city that makes me mental. Only since on top of everything we would be renting a car this is not very feasible.

So great is my camping desire I actually spent an hour this morning reading about graduated licensing and driving lessons and la la la. Maybe it is about time I learned to drive, but huh, maybe not. We don't have a car; I'd never get enough practice. Maybe one day if we get a car. But why would we get a car if only joe can drive. La la la. They'd probably take away my transitgirl license anyway.

Well anyway! Maybe we could take the bus to manning park and wander around. Or rent a car, drive less than one day to a trailhead - garibaldi? diamond head? - and then hike around for a few days. If I could get over the nervousness of leaving a rental car in our name alone for days at a trailhead. Well maybe we could borrow the lundervan. No one sane would steal the lundervan.

I almost went off this morning to get my cartilage pierced again. I've about decided that I'm not going back to canadian blood services - 4 times in a row being rejected for low iron or having to stop the donation short because of some small vein issue, I can take a goddamn hint - and anyway that would remove the reason for my prohibition on piercings/tattoos, worrying about blood donation eligibility.

Almost did. Then I remembered that uh, my pharmacy interview is in a week. This is the WRONG time to get a new prominent piercing and have a stud I can't remove in my ear. This is instead the time to think boring, professional thoughts and dryclean things.

Leah Abramson is still so awesome. Sleepwalking zombies! Blah blah blah! I want to learn how to play her songs. Man, I wish I could buy guitar part books for all the local indie bands I heart, like that they would automagically appear in stores as soon as the album was released, even if it was an album released by burning copies at home and photocopying liner notes. Ward music tragically still does not have sheet music for any Evaporators tunes. Although it would probably be like "play these two power chords over and over and over again for 5 minutes" judging by the one evaporators tune I know how to play.

So playing in our fake band is awesome! After mastering the art of wearing scratchy yellow earplugs I have come to the conclusion that my amp needs to be louder. Bwahaha. Well, it's a very good practice amp and good for playing with acoustic guitars. But maybe I'll start using the huge freaking twin for band practice in order to properly stunt the growth of houseplants.

We can play one song pretty creditably! And two songs uh.. kind of sort of. Our drummer has suggested we make superhero capes mandatory for practices, which may have a racing-stripe effect and make us magically a lot better. I think we need to recruit another guitar player, since my novice guitar playing can't quite simulate 2 or 3 pro guitar players. Ha ha. I wish I could play 2 guitars at once: I really like all the guitar parts in these songs.

SLEEPWALKING ZOMBIES WITH SOME FUEL AND A FLAME / LIKE TO GO DRINKING WITH A CAN OF PROPANE! So need to learn that song.