Purple and Gold...

This weekend that just past was an extremely interesting weekend fo shizzle...

I know I've blogged about the LIONS convention before in the past...and here I am...gonna do it again...

I didn't get right drunk on the Friday night like I normally would have and like most of the LIONS do...I was drinking a sugar free sparkling water as I strolled around the hospitality suites and munched on veggies and meat, chicken wings and pulled pork...wasn't exactly the best dinner..but meh...at least I stayed away from the finger sandwiches, pizza and crackers...I was a really good girl when it came to eating only what I should be eating...

Friday I checked into the hotel and went down to registration...anyone who really knows me...knows that I'm non longer a Lion and haven't been for nearly two and a half years...so when people came  up to me and asked what I was going to be selling (they had my name on a table to reserve it for me) I told them I was selling my vest and pins (aka Lions stuff), they seemed shocked and asked why...I laughed at their shocked expressions and told them because I hadn't been a lion for nearly two years and that I thought it was time to get rid of my stuff...but instead of just taking a loss on it I decided to sell it instead...

Well as soon as that got around I had 3 different clubs asking me to come out for dinner, or out to a meeting...one of which is in Niagara Falls...who for the last 90 years they've refused to go co-ed..apparently since they're celebrating their 90th anniversary they've decided to finally go with the times and take women into the club  now...their current president (whom I used to work with at the call centre - oh and he could barely ever remember my name) invited me out 3 times over the weekend and when he left on Sunday had given me another hug, kissed me on the head and said 'I'm serious you give me a call when you want to come out for dinner' ... Another was the Thorold club...see when I first joined LIONS I was sponsored and brought into a Thorold club...then because of politics and bullshit it closed down after 60 some odd years and within two years the district founded another club there and it's been up and running for nearly two years...and one of my favourite people is a member there and she was trying to get me to come out to their meeting...she thought I still lived in Thorold...
What I thought was funny was the fact that the club that I had left...not one of their members stopped to have a conversation with me...one of them stopped to tell me that she thought I was doing good by the Manchild being in the LEOS and that she was glad I was still affiliated that way...but didn't really seem to care what I've been up to...lol

Got a few nice compliments from a few friends...standing at the registration table waiting for my name badge for the weekend, my Lion Crush gave me a hug and told me that I was looking good and that I looked as though I had lost quite a bit of weight...and then got a sly smirk on his face and said 'So...you're a roller derby girl now eh?'....lol we hung out with him and his wife a bit throughout the course of Friday night like we normally do...instead of him getting drunk off his face, his wife did this year... Saturday morning is always fun...

You can tell those who partied just a little too hardy...and for once..I wasn't one of them...The three of us went out for breakfast and then we split ways...Sis and Manchild went to all the business meetings and I set up my table, where throughout the day I answered the question of why I was selling my stuff over and over again...

I didn't do too bad for myself with my table but didn't really do great either...

Saturday night the Manchild and I came home for some supper with The Man and The Boychild...then we went back to the hotel to hang out before going to bed...(we had another early morning brekkie in the morning at the hotel so decided it best to just stay) ...while I was waiting for Sis to get out from the Governor's dinner I hear a 'psst' come from behind me...turn about and there's my dad...

Colour me a little surprised...he works next door to the hotel, came out for his smoke break and saw me walking around just outside the ballroom...so went outside had a smoke with him and were talking about LIONS (he used to be one too) and another lion walked out to have a smoke and the three of us were talking about some changes going on and so forth...

after dad went back to work I stayed outside talking to the other lion (he is from the Niagara Falls club that the other guy was inviting me to) it was nice...so yeah after the dinner we hung out a bit with the International Director and the Governor...and then it seemed like everyone had gone to bed...so we followed suit...

Sunday morning is when I got to be my proud Mama self...lol
They have a Youth Breakfast on the Sunday morning for the last few years...aand it's just showing the lions, lioness and guests all the youth programs that the district has and has been working on...one of which is establishing Leos clubs...(a club for kids ages 12 to 18) and the Manchild is in a LEO club by his dads house...and the Leos were rockstars all weekend...the Lions and Lioness are happy to see the kids getting involved as well...so they gush all over the kids and ask them all sorts of questions and say how proud they are of them for doing a good ob and volunteering to help out the community...so needless to say the Manchild was loving the attention and was on his best behaviour...

They have a memorial service for all the Lions and Lioness in the district who have passed on over the last year since the last convention...and I nearly cried as I found out that one of my favs passed away and I wasn't told...why would I be really I'm no longer a Lion ... but it still made me really sad...he was an awesome man...

So I've decided that we're going to host a youth exchange student this year....I picked up a girl from Hungary's information while we were at  the breakfast...the Manchild wanted me to take the girl from Brazil's info...just because he seemed to want it so bad I said no...lol

He said he wants to go to Brazil when he goes on his youth exchange...I told him I'd prefer he went to Switzerland...lol when he asked why I responded with 'because at least I know someone who lives there so that if anything happened to you...'  - he doesn't understand just how nerve racking it is to be a parent...let alone the thought of your child crossing an ocean without you....

When at the conventions I always get that warm fuzzy feeling about Lionism...which makes ya smile and think these people are great and what they do for their communities is fantastic...which makes me want to be a Lion again...but then I remember all the meetings where there's arguments and talking behind other people's backs, the after meetings (which are those coffee's that people go out for and talk about the meeting and decide what they'll do at the next meeting...) and just some negative shit....my ideas being unsupported or outright ignored...

there's one club I'd love to join but they're on the other side of the district from me...*shrugs*

And a lot of the clubs need to get into this century...like if someone can't make the meetings for some reason, such as needing to stay home with a sick child, maybe being able to use the wide number of things available to us for tele-conferencing... hell there's lions out there who don't know what Facebook is, doesn't have email...there so much that we could utilize but they're so stuck in the stone age that they just won't get with this century...I'd love to start a club for people more my age...which was one of things I was trying to do before...a branch club of sorts and my other club was just really against it...

but alas...

the long and short of it is... I don't have the money for dues, dinners, raffles... I wouldn't mind volunteering my time for the community...but I can't afford the monetary side of it...