Friday Nights!

If you ever watched CODCO in the 80s you'll know "Friday Night Girls." I think Rita and Mathilda were the two characters who wore their flannel nighties and dreamed of falling in love with RCMP officers ("course, the next thing you know, he's gettin' transferred up to Moncton, New Brunswick"). It was Rita and Mathilda's attitude towards Friday nights that seems relevant to me now, like you know it's Friday (in Rita and Mathilda's case) when you're home in you p.j's pretending to be somewhere you're not. In my case I know it's Friday night when I'm standing in someone's Rosedale foyer with a stack of coats weighing my arm down and someone else has the nerve to pile another coat onto me without asking, and I hand out a coat check tag with a phoney smile. "Friday Nights" (btw you should say this in a Newfoundland accent and kind of harmonize, but off key).

Teenagers, already with a sense of entitlement, pass off a coat check tag to me while still in mid conversation. The hand hovers waiting for me to take the tag without ever really acknowledging my presence, my existence. Sigh. Friday night. The teenage girls in their Holt Renfrew dresses, teetering in heels, not quite grown into or comfortable in their fully adult female outfits. The boys, awkward in their jackets and pressed shirts, shift nervously from foot to foot answering the questions coming at them from a parent's acquaintances also at the party.

A 40 something woman with a sparkling wrist, fishnet stockings and a 50's cocktail party dress, brings a cigarette to her lips and I feel like I've timewarped to one of my grandparents parties. This is what they must have been like, I think.

Oh the fur, oh the fur, oh the fur! Too many full length fur coats worn by the 40 something women. Even the caterer, who was also a guest, showed up in a full length fur, complete with hood (what's that an extra 15 animals on your head?). The complete disregard. Even if they know that coat contains fifty pelts, fifty lives, do they know the suffering and pain that animal may have experienced? I want to weep with each fur coat piled onto my arm. Then they head to the buffet table and load the rare roast beef onto their plates because they don't eat bread. Hasn't Atkins gone away yet?

Friday nights.

The good thing about all of this is that I did get to see some of my favorite people I work with. I know that I might not see many of these people for months. Estevan is going back to New Zealand forever. I haven't worked with Andy in months and I got to be on coat check with Ian and that made everything okay.

When Andy saw me he said, "oh it's that damn vegan" in a nice way, really. I said "yes, the damn vegan is back and nothing can stop her now." Ayla chimed in "vegans are saving the planet." I thought that was a great quote and told her I'd put it on my blog. She also said to say hello to redjane and wishes her a Merry Christmas.

So there's my night...coats, staff and a mild winter night. I walked home without a hat and felt the warm weather that reminded me of the B.C. coast...almost...almost.

D's parents arrived today and we're ready to celebrate Christmas together. I'm glad to have my sister here for it. did I mention that already? It's late. It's Friday night and it's a Merry Christmas from me to you.

Peace.