Parents, birthdays, and seedy lounges

It was a fun-filled long weekend, made even nicer by the fact I stayed in town instead of spending half of it driving to and from Toronto. It all started off Friday with a boozy bar hopping expedition with DJ Kelly, culminating with me waking up next morning lying sideways on my bed still in the clothes from the night before.

I then drove to the airport, very hungover I might add, to pick up my parents who were visiting me for the weekend. Dad hadn't slept well the night before either, so after we all went for a walk along the Ottawa river, Dad and I each took turns napping that afternoon. I prepared barbecued filet mignon and steamed asparagus for dinner, and we ended up watching a well done Kevin Spacey movie about the life of performer Bobby Darin, called "Beyond the Sea".

The next day, I took my folks down to the Market, where I introduced them to my favourite pub, Chez Lucien's. The place has great atmosphere and several tasty micro brewed beers. Later that afternoon, I dropped Mom and Dad off at the airport. It was great having them visit, but as I mentioned to them after listening to a lengthy discussion on where Dad might have misplaced his sunglasses, there are times I'm reminded why I left home.

Sunday night, I was off for the birthday celebration of The Princess at Griffin's. The Princess did not disappoint, as she wore a tiara. A good crowd showed up for the festivities, and there was dinner, drinks and dancing. We ended up at The Aloha Lounge, which is definitely an interesting place to people watch. On a previous excursion to the Aloha, I pointed out the there was a sort of damp, musty smell emanating from the couches. One of the Princess' friends started to laugh and gleefully exclaimed, "It smells like despair!". There was no despair in the Aloha this Sunday night, though. Everyone at the Princess' soirée went home tired, buzzed and happy.