Please check out my link to Blonde dot com, the Internet's latest addition, written by the soon-to-be-famous-for-blogging blonde friend of mine who shall remain nameless for the time being. But who's name you should be able to figure out by referring to her blog. She's so funny she makes me pee.

A very good friend of mine recently moved to another rock. It's a rock I've spent some time on and I know she's enjoying it so far, but this Rock hasn't been the same since she left.

I'm debating a possible mini trip over our upcoming 4 day long weekend to meet her in Miami for a couple of days of mayhem with a side of shopping. The airfare is pretty high right now, so I'm hoping I can find a deal online in the next couple of days and if I can...I'm so there. It's a quick flight for her and we would finally be able to experience Dolphin Mall (pretty much the greatest place on Earth) together.

I think I blogged about Dolphin Mall before, after the weekend where I stumbled upon the entire mall having the biggest sale imaginable. People were walking out of the Coach store with gigantic sacks of purchases...it was quite a scene. Anyways, amidst the chaos I was able to do some fairly serious shopping of my own in a fairly short time frame and I have been dying to go back ever since.

Fingers crossed for a seat sale! A shopping trip in Miami with one of my favorite people? Just what I need.

This is Shan's first week at home with L'il J. I'm happy for them. What a great set-up. I miss her e-mails during the days...my work inbox is decidedly less interesting since she left...but I hope her and her little lady are enjoying their days together.

Sometimes, living on the Rock is extra-challenging when I'm feeling like hanging out with my girls. Or, just girls, in general. Kurt doesn't "get" how fun it is to paint nails and watch a shitty movie while gossiping and drinking wine of a rosé variety and eating crap. He just can't get into it. Believe me, I've tried. So, over the past few months I've made a real effort to squeeze in some girls time, where these types of activites can happen on a semi-regular basis and I'm happy to say that my mission has been successful.

A few weeks ago, two of my girlfriends here on the Rock found themselves celebrating their birthdays on the same day. Actually, I'm fairly certain that they find this to be the case every year, but this year was special, being a "landmark" birthday for one of them. And for the other, her first birthday on the Rock. What's not to celebrate? We used this as an excuse to sign up for a swank "girl's weekend" at a local five-star hotel, one which I would probably never stay at otherwise because 1) I live here and 2) the rooms range between $450 and $1,200 a night. Ummmm...no. But on a special offer, four of us signed up to go spend a weekend there together, doing girly things like drinking mimosas, wandering around in fluffy robes, ogling the hot "chaperone" we were assigned to, and teetering around in heels after a few too many of the aforementioned girly drinks. It was awesome. Observe:

I left with a hundred photos, freshly painted nails, some golf drills to try out on my own time (right), and some great stories. Some of which we still talk about daily. The room was amazing too. I had thought that they might put us somewhere in the back, away from the tourists who might not actually enjoy us singing about apple-bottom jeans on our balcony at 3:00 a.m. but guess what? We were front and center. This was the view off our balcony:

The room was totally luxurious...I wanted to move in. The best part of the night? When I won the grand prize...a free night's stay at the hotel, including lunch and the spa. Yes. Please. I never win anything...but all that waiting paid off that night. I think I'll save the free night until the fall, after the wedding, when we'll just feel like sleeping and wandering around in fluffy robes. I might squeeze the spa in before that though...I do love the spa. So, that weekend was fairly fabulous.

And THEN...my best friend Izabela and her husband, Kris landed on the Rock for a week of fun, sun and rum. We had a blast with them. Even though we have to work (usually), it always feels like a bit of a vacation when people come to visit. We tend to eat at home less, try new restaurants, and get to see the Island through a new set of eyes. It's refreshing...we always find things we didn't know about before, and it's nice to mix it up and make the effort to go to parts of the Island that we wouldn't normally spend a lot of time. We finally tried an amazing little pizzeria that we've been hearing about for...oh...since we arrived, and had one of the best meals we've had since we moved here.

Also, Izabela was fortunate (?!) enough to attend my second bachelorette party, hosted by my good friend Ashleigh, who's leaving the Rock soon and wanted to do it before she left. It was...messy. I'm not a good drinker in the best of circumstances, but add Jell-O shooters and malibu (UGH) to the mix and bad things happen. I was SICK. Very sick. Most of the night has been pieced together by unflattering photographs and eyewitness accounts and let's just say...I know that every girl has to go through it once (or twice, in my case), but once (twice) is more than enough. Wow. But I survived...and from what I can remember, it was a fun night! Here is the before shot...and the after...and then the final shot of the evening: Kurt and Iza, propping me up on the way to a taxi. Yes, Kurt was in attendance for (part of) the festivities...which just made it that much more interesting, really. For him. I don't remember it.

We spent the rest of the weekend taking it easy, working on tans, golfing and BBQing with other friends. Very, very relaxing. And then they left...which sucked. I hate goodbyes. Though, I'll be seeing them in 3 months, so it wasn't too teary this time around.

All in all...good times around these parts, lately.

Apparently, when you live on a tropical island, the party just don't stop. Just when we were starting to get a little homesick for our dry land-based friends, it turns out that we won't be feeling sorry for ourselves for long. After toying with a variety of tropical and exotic locales, Laila and Dallas chose the Rock/US to spend their vacation with! We are honoured...and very, very excited. They'll be here for both of their birthdays AND Canada Day (celebrated on June 28th with champagne on the beach), so it's shaping up to be a pretty awesome couple of weeks.

We feel so popular right now.

I've been here for just over 2 months now. Sometimes it seems like I just got off the plane, and sometimes it seems like I've been here for ages. Maybe that's because the second coming of Christ is moving quicker than the average grocery line.

I digress.

After the newness wore off and I got more settled, I started to notice certain things missing...or, not where they're supposed to be. My good friend Shannen fits into this category.

I met Shan not long after I moved to Ottawa and we've been friends ever since. I've had the privilege of seeing her fall in love, get engaged and then married, and most recently become an absolutely amazing mom to Jaia.

For a lot of this time, we've also been MSN buddies. Day after day, week after week, we'd keep each other company during mundane work days, discussing topics infinitely more interesting than anything we were being paid to think about at the time. Every day, at some point, we'd catch up quickly online. Sometimes just a hello, most of the time substantially more than that. Even though I didn't actually see her as much as I would have liked to, I talked to her more than most of my other friends. Including my co-workers. Actually, she kind of was one, in that nine to five kind of way.

During the period we refer to as "the gray area", where Kurt and I were essentially homeless and not sure whether we were coming or going, Shan and I managed to squeeze in some pho at phive, followed by snacks and embarassing TV, with some Jaia time. We thought it would be a one-time thing, but as the Rock continued to make paper airplanes out of my work permit, we ended up with a whole bunch of extra nights to hang out. It was awesome. I was reminded (not that I needed to be) of what a great friend she is, and how much I wished we had started our weekly dates sooner. Pho at phive....peanut butter pie...whatever. Just more time.

Now, thousands of kilometres and a segment of ocean away, I miss her. My work computer is not MSN-equipped (it does, however, have Lotus Notes) and my internet connection at home is shoddy to say the least. At least I have her blog to keep me updated and give me my daily dose of Jaia, but it's still not the same.

I hope you have an amazing birthday, Shan. A virtual piece of scandalously good pie and a frosty drink (with an umbrella) is on its way to you, courtesy of moi. Wish I were there to share a real one with you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I hope it's as fun as this: