So here's a dumb Puzzle Fighter story. When I was 18, many years ago now, my girlfriend at the time, my best friend and his girlfriend at the time went camping near a little lakeside resort town.
It was the last day of our trip, we'd been extremely frugal and so we all still had some spending money left. The girls wanted to go clothes shopping, my buddy and I weren't as interested in that but we're trying to be cool so we tagged along. Except, on a covered section of boardwalk we passed a 2-player Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo machine. The girls just left us behind, laughing that the boardwalk was a straight line and we could catch up.
3 hours later, we were both broke and my buddy had to borrow gas money from his girlfriend to get us home. The girls had ducked into a little cafรฉ and also lost track of time. That was a 50 cent machine and we must have put over 50 bucks a piece into it. We just stood there, getting better and better in perfect lockstep, trading wins and getting more competitive for an entire afternoon, oblivious to the whole world.
That was a great trip. God, nostalgia like that makes me feel old.
A BBQ with friends, after sleeping in late - the good life. Happy Canada Day.
Patriotism is a tricky thing in the modern world. Swirling nationalism and co-opted symbols abound. Always remember that loving your country is about knowing she can be more than she is, more than she was, but also appreciating her today.
There's all kinds of bad news, and worse people, out there. Tough times for a lot of our neighbours. But we're free. To worship as we choose, be who we are, love who we choose, go where we want and say what we like. It's a rarer and rarer thing today. So let's celebrate. Raise a glass, a fist or your voice and cheer on this great nation. Go Canada!