I asked earlier: What awe and mystery will the day yet hold? I answer the question now, as we all know a day would not be complete without something bizarre and strange occuring here in Vancouver.

With only a little more than two hours until I fly, I was checking over my bags for one last inspection. Some might call it paranoid, but when diligence discovers a hoard of ants roaming around the floor bside my bag, it pays to be picky. Following the trail of formica I discovered a long known truth: where there is one ant, there are a dozen ants, and where there are a dozen ants there are a hundred ants (and so on and so forth…) The story gets stranger as I peak behind my desk to discover a new colony/infestation/Ant-stock 2002.

I also find my lost pen. And reaching behind to retreive it from the creeping mass, I manage to ram a chunk of cactus into my armpit. The explanation is simple: my desk companion - nurtured, watered, and tended for months - betrayed me and attacked the delicate tissues of my underarm, latching onto the fabric of my shirt and repeatedly poking. It was not pleasant.

Maintenance came and checked things out: (with the bugs, not the cactus) and he squished all the critters saying that if there are more on Monday he would call pest control. Reassuring, as I will not be here next week. And now you know the REST of the the story…