We were lucky enough to have an extended weekend visit from some friends who live in Singapore this weekend. I’ve known Lala for a long time, we’ve worked together, lived together, travelled together, but mostly laughed together. She is one of my closest friends, and I have missed her since she moved from Ottawa about five years ago. I have planned on visiting her since she moved, but the lil people have made that tricky, so I have had to make due with her annual-ish visits home. Now that we are only a four hour flight apart, I knew that it was a matter of time before we saw each other.

She and Bug beat us to the punch, and arrived late on friday night. They were too late to do any catching up, but we made up for that the rest of the weekend. We played cards, goofed around with the lils, ate way to much yummy food, drank gallons of wine, talked about anything and everything, and we laughed. We laughed so much that my belly hurt, and that I snorted some chilies into my lungs. Then I cried and laughed some more. The weekend made me realize how serious we have been since we moved here, and how that is not how we want to be. We need to laugh more, and I think that this weekend has helped to make me see that. It’s not hard when you have props like this:

I took Lala and Bug on a limited tour of Bangalore today, which included a wander down one of the very busy commercial streets. we weren’t really shopping, just soaking in all the chaos and clamor. As I wandered along the street, completely overwhelmed by the people, the noise, and the colours, an older gentleman walked in front of me and put his hand out. Without thinking, I did what I do about a thousand times a day when the lils stick their hands out, because it is jsut reactionary now. I gave him five and kept walking. Then I heard the hysterical laughter from Bug and Lala behind me, and realized what I had done. He wasn’t looking for a high five, he was looking for money. Without realizing that I had done it, I’d high fived a beggar. The look of disgust on his face was pretty fast apparently, and he withdrew his hand before he reached my friends. I was a little shocked at first that I had just done that, but then all I could do was join in their laughter.