Mexanese Mumbo Jumbo

Volleyball season has started, albeit UrbanRec's version of vball season - outdoors in April, kinda cold. In previous years I've played on 2 vball teams on back to back nights and found it to be a little too much. Summer in Vancouver means an increase in social life which leaves little time for home and basic errands like grocery shopping, TP replacing and the always crucially important, cat litter changing. So when Justin asked if I would play on a 4's team with him, I was initially hesitant. History tells me I get annoyed and cranky when playing back to back vball nights. But has a scar from a previous relationship ever stopped anyone from entering a new one? So I agreed to play - just for one season. An old scar wouldn't stop me, but it did make me approach things with caution.

Justin, who seems to know everyone and is playing on two vball teams, decided to set up a meat & greet with his two teams. This would help that very annoying need of "finding a sub" for the delinquents. I rolled up to the Frog & Firkin on Broadway. I'm not a fan of the place, even on the drunkest of occasions when I don't even remember going there, and this was no exception. I found the vball crews at the very back by the washrooms, clearly positioned for optimum beer consumption time. I only knew a couple of people thanks to snowboarding up at Baker & Cypress, so I kept quiet for the most part and just listened to the stories. As the evening progressed I began feeling a little more comfortable and chatted with a couple of people. One topic of conversation that inevitably arises when you get a group of Aussies/Eastern canadians/Brits/etc together is the rarity of anyone being born and raised in Vancouver. I am one of those rarities. So after the "oh that's cool" type comments, one of the lads I'd never met before leans over and says to me "You look very odd for being born and raised here". Being short, and with a 3 syllable name, I've become accustomed to the various nick names and terms used to describe me (although I'll never agreed to the "midget" name) but "odd" has never been one of them. I understand he was just asking what my ethnic background was, but seriously - are you really that guy who couldn't come up with a better, less insulting word to use than "odd"? I feel sorry for the rest of the ladies you unleash those 'mad skillz' on.