My good deed for the weekend was spending time with Alice. Saturday, I
attended the birthday party for her 2-year-old daughter and managed to
blend in despite being nowhere near stressed enough to fit among the
parents there and nowhere near short enough to fit under the table
with the kids. Yes, I _can_ actually be taller than someone. It may
come as a surprise to some, but there are actually people (okay, kids)
who look up to me—physically, if nothing else. I think I will enjoy
the few years I have before they outstrip me.

I had an animated conversation with Ken, my research supervisor's
6-month old son. This conversation mainly consisted of Ken going
“Baaaa… Baaaa” at me, and my exercising my superior listening skills
and going “Mmm hmmm” at the right moments. I tried getting him to say
“Blog”, but I don't think he's quite ready for it yet.

It was certainly an unusual experience for me. For the most part I
felt very much like my 22 years of age, although I'm somewhat proud of
the way I managed to quell the urge to run to the nearest library. ;)
Kidding. It wasn't bad. It was just unusual.

I stayed afterwards to help clean up. I was glad to have the
opportunity to chat with Alice over the dishes.

I took her out for a much-needed girl day on Sunday. We wandered along
Yonge looking for a place to get an inexpensive massage, and spotted
this tiny one called New Moon Spa at 678 Yonge Street. It's open from
11 AM to 9 PM, and you can get a basic shiatsu massage for CAD 10.
There was only one table and one masseuse, and Alice insisted I go
first. Totally small-time operation that's only been there for two
months. I tipped the masseuse almost 100% for good service and for
encouragement, and I probably made her day too. =)

I remember massages as a simple luxury my mom also enjoyed. I'd like
to learn how to help people relax, and one way to do that is to
experience it myself. <laugh> It was nice spoiling a friend.
I'll take her out next month, or maybe even sooner.

Then we went to Second Cup and had large cups of hot chocolate. It was
very much a hot chocolate day for Alice, and I'm glad to have shared
it with her. I wish I had answers, but I don't. I'm just here to
listen and maybe help people gain a little bit more clarity.

Ayayayayay… If only a hug could make the world all right!