I could never have predicted I'd ever be typing the following words;


Ke$ha has released a cover of Bob Dylan's, 'Don't Think Twice, It's Alright'. 


See what I mean? Using Ke$ha and Dylan in the same sentence sounds crazy, right? Anyway, the thing is...I don't actually hate this cover. I mean, I hate the idea in principal but this version is not completely heinous.
Musically, she favours the Sylvester Stallone school of expression but it works. And if I'm going to be completely honest, I think it's closer to the true emotion behind the words than Dylan's freewheeling, hobo-inspired original. (at first I thought it was just the difference between male-female reaction to a break-up but on closer inspection, they actually seem to be offering opposing sides - the heartbroken vs the heartbreaker - using the same words. Hmmm, interesting). 
I've listened to it a couple of times now and it reminds me a lot of Sinead's, "Nothing Compares to You". I'm positive that's intentional, especially considering the use of a single cello for accompaniment. Ke$ha may have just created the heartbreak anthem for her generation.

I can't believe how productive I was this weekend. I finally got my two stand up boards out of the living room and hung on the wall of my garage. It's so much better having them out there and I can't say why it seemed to be such a big task all summer. Although, every time I went out there to assess the situation I was confronted with a wall full of garden tools - both manual and electric, shelves, random nails and bolts in the studs, a ladder, chains, ropes. Really it was just a mess and I couldn't figure out a spot where it could all be rehung or stored.  In the end, I moved it to any available spot - planning to organize it properly a bit at a time. 
One of the reasons for the clean up was because I was stuck at home for a big part of the weekend - I sold a bunch of furniture and had to be here for people to come and pick it up. So not only did I make a few hundred dollars, I gained back another 6 feet of garage space! 
That inspired me to get rid of a bunch of stuff that I've been keeping around for no reason (other than thinking someone would pay cash for my garbage). The donation bin by HomeSense now has a basketball backboard, hoop and mounting hinge, 2 pairs of skis with boots, poles and bindings (circa 1989), a box of Ryan's books from his childhood (mostly Calvin & Hobbes and horror stories - Clive Barker & the like) and a 6x6 piece of mint green, never used carpet, left by the previous owners of my house. It was stowed up in the garage rafters so I didn't know it was there for the longest time. 
Now I just have to get rid of that couch, ottoman and wing chairs. They're going cheap if you know anyone who needs a place to sit -  $200 for the lot!

Love LOVE LOVE Russell Brand. I went to see him last night and he was brilliant. Lovely, as always. My face hurt so much from laughing. The show was at Casino Rama at 8pm so we had to leave the city as soon as everyone was finished work - we got there with just 15 minutes to spare. After the show he did his usual meet & greet. It was an insane mob. Our section's exit was on the opposite side of the theatre from where they were set up, we were all tired, had a 90 minute drive ahead of us so we pulled the chute. 
We ended up stuck in the Casino exit traffic for almost an hour anyway so maybe we should have stayed. Anyway, I got home around 2am and I'm wrecked at work today.
SO worth it. I can't wait for him to come back - hopefully to a venue in Toronto the next time!

Our fall/winter training group is working out really well! Last weekend wasn't really organized - I just posted an FB status the night before, saying where and when. Four of us went to Hilton Falls, had a great run, beautiful weather and then hit up a local hobby farm for breakfast afterwards. They just happened to have corn mazes, slides, hay bail playground and a country store.
The benefits of a training group can't be overstated. My running this week has improved - I'm more motivated and my workouts are focused on getting better instead of just maintenance. I'm not the only one. I've received emails from everyone saying how good it felt to get together and break out of our routines.
.

This week, I'm doing it right. I sent an email out to 15 or so people with a proposed outline for the winter, indicating they should let me know if they want off the list. Only one person asked to be removed because their kids have too many weekend activities, they'll never be free (at least for this winter). I'm curious to see who shows up this weekend!

ps Rachel, let me know when you're home so I can keep you in the loop!

There's nothing like a great playlist or podcast to make a tedious drive (flight, waiting room visit, etc.) go by quickly. A couple of years ago, the soundtrack for my loner-drive to Florida was the Russell Brand radio show. I burned through those so many times I can practically recite them. This week, the guys at work suggested alternatives so I've added This American Life and The Adam Carolla Show to my iPhone. I can't say how good the ACS is because I can't stop listening to This American Life. Think TED Talk meets George Strombolopoulos or 60 Minutes (when it was good). The drive home is suddenly way more interesting and way less stressful.

Pete, Matt and I started back with our early morning workouts at PTC. It felt a little strange because I'm still on the water -  was out as recently as last night. Usually there's a bigger stretch of no paddling between the end of summer and start of winter training.
We decided that October was the November of 2011. It was mostly horrible, cold weather. I had actually started to put my boat away - no, that's not true. I was thinking about how I'm going to store boats and boards for the winter. The boards are still in my living room but I've got a tarp and sawhorses in the garage. That's something isn't it?
Anyway, just as well I hadn't packed everything away because I had a great paddle on the lake last night before meeting Katy and Eve at Katy's condo. We grabbed a couple bottles of wine and headed to Dr. Generosity for dinner.

So I got a flu shot for the first time. I was at the doctor's for a call back on some tests and she mentioned I could get one while I was there. I've always resisted but in the past 4 years I've caught really bad viruses that knocked me flat for weeks and then lingered on for months. The most recent was 6 weeks ago and that was the final straw for me. Still, I asked her opinion and she said that since it has a reported 56% effectiveness it offered better odds than not getting one. The clincher was when she said she gave all her children the shots. She did ask me an odd question - was I allergic to eggs. Apparently the vaccine contains egg protein so that's a concern (but not for me). Done. I'll let you know how it goes.

My sister called last night but because my phone was buried somewhere in my purse, I didn't know until this morning. I'd been waiting for a call from her because my Dad has experienced some unexplained bruises and scrapes at the nursing home so she was going to talk to the director of care. Laurel suspects the night psw is not careful when moving him around and is demanding they replace them. I pointed out that complaining about a staff member, having them disciplined and reassigned is similar to sending food back at a restaurant. You're just inviting the chef to spit in your soup (or worse). Don't put your parents in nursing homes if you can help it. It's horrible.

Anyway, she left a message but it was basically her saying "Hi it's me, (laughing) I'm at a friend's birthday party" and then just loud music. I figured she had stuck the phone in her pocket, thinking she'd disconnected. I texted her to find out what's up - she texted back that she left the line open intentionally so I could hear Sting who was performing for her friend at the party. I was just like "oh. durr, that's awesome." Like I didn't know how great her life is already. Her husband purchased a 2012 Aston Martin Virage while he was in Europe earlier this year and had it shipped to Toronto. Currently the only one in Canada. I'll just go back to my shitty government job now.

Hey, 7 billion people on earth today. The U.N. recognized a number of "symbolic" 7 billionth babies born around the world. As I noted on fb, according to a world population calculator on the BBC website, my birth order puts me at number 2,978,458,194.

Results from Pan Ams for Canoe-Kayak;

WK4 500m - GOLD - Alexa Irvin, KC Fraser, Una Lounder, Kristin Gautier

MK4 1000m - SILVER - Connor Taras, Philippe Duchesneau, Richard Dober, Steve Jorens

MK1 1000m - BRONZE - Philippe Duchesneau

MK2 1000m - GOLD - Steve Jorens, Richard Dober

MKW 500m - SILVER - Emilie Fournel
Saturday's results ; KC & Kristin were 5th,  Connor was 6th ). Rich Dalton GOLD, Emilie Fournel 4th and Hugue Fournel & Ryan Cochrane GOLD

They've taken the word 'cassette tape' out of the Oxford English Dictionary. Sign of the times? I'm not sure. Have cassettes really disappeared from our culture? There's bound to be a renaissance just as there's been for vinyl records and film cameras. And guaranteed there's a hipster or two out there, rocking retro walkmans on their skinny jean belts. 
A few years ago, I found two cases of old cassette tapes in the garage. I'd put them together over a couple of decades and I still love listening to them. Well, as long as I'm in my 2002 Pathfinder, that is. That's the only cassette player around my house. Seriously though, mix tapes are part of our fabric, our cultural history. Isn't this a futile attempt to remove it from our lexicon? Tapes are referenced in lots of current books & movies.
“The times you lived through, the people you shared those times with — nothing brings it all to life like an old mix tape. It does a better job of storing up memories than actual brain tissue can do. Every mix tape tells a story. Put them together, and they can add up to the story of a life.”
-Rob Sheffield, Love is a Mix Tape
The mix tape (and therefore read/write cds) might never have evolved if not for the cassette tape. All of a sudden we could record our fav songs from the radio or vinyl, even other cassettes, and then blow off Can-con and payola-driven playlists for our own mix. Even better, we could make a mix tape for someone else, usually someone we're crushing on. A gift that's cheap and heartfelt.
"The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. First of all you're using someone else's poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing."
-Nick Hornby, High Fidelity
Obviously you can still put together your own mixes using the new technologies but you don't have to work for it; selecting the songs, getting the equipment connected, pressing the play*record buttons at exactly the right moment, stop-rewind-start-stop-play*record....everything to put together a seamless, perfect expression of you - the you existing in that exact moment in time.
P.S. iTunes Genius is the Anti-mix tape. iDeath to creativity.
Anyway if you, like the OED, are done with cassette tapes forever, check out the recycling options available...
BTW, the words added to the dictionary while they were removing cultural icons are sexting, retweet and mankini. psshhtt whatever. 

Fall has arrived. Dammit. 
I was hoping for an extended summer but resistance is futile - from now on it's neoprene or nothing. My feet are pretty cold when I come off the water without socks or booties. Last night was flat, the water clear  & green all the way out. A big difference from the past week or so. We've had high winds and waves. The sand has been scraped up off the bottom and dumped at the beach edge so that stepping into the water,  you immediately sink ankle-deep into sand. And you can see the bottom all the way out - exposed rock and weeds.
The lake temperature today is 63f and a gale warning is in effect (source Environment Cananda). I have a hair appointment (with Seb's dad!) right after work so I don't even need to make the decision. No paddling tonight.

Fun night last night. We'd been planning a downwinder all week - conditions are perversely ideal during work hours so all we could do was shoot for 4:30 and hope for the best. I knew it'd be tough for me to get to the start point in time but I booted it over there as soon as I got off work and picked up my gear. I could see them, about 1000m off shore, heading east. I jumped back in the car and belted over to a beach about 2 km east and was able to slap my board down on the water just as they passed. I had to get around a kite surfer who had his kite and rigging strung across the little bay there.

What a great time - conditions weren't ideal but they weren't terrible either -  9 of us. I think that's probably the biggest group so far. Just as we finished the 8-9km, the SW wind spun around completely and started blasting from the north. If we'd waited about 10 minutes, we could've easily done a downwinder back to our start point! We were all getting cold though so we loaded all of the boards onto 2 trucks and headed back to cars and then on to our local for dinner and drinks. A few others came by and met us - like old times we ended up closing the place.

At the end of the night, one of the guys had forgotten his blackberry on the table but none of the guys would take responsibility for it (just one of the ways guys are smarter than girls).. I found out why when, at 6AM, I heard this bizarre and LOUD series of tones coming from my kitchen. I'd had a lot of pinot and didn't even remember saying I'd take the BB so I really couldn't make sense of what I heard. My iphone has been malfunctioning lately so assuming it was more of that, I grabbed it from where it was charging in the kitchen. I was heading back to bed when I heard the tones again. SO LOUD! INSANE! In that state of Still Drunk, About to Get a Hangover, I sat on the stairs to clear my head and considered how some new kind of technology could have gotten into my house while I slept. And then the lightbulb went on - foreign blackberry in my purse.
Unfortunately, I've never used a BB so 2 more phone calls rang through before I figured out how to silence the thing. I recognized one of the callers and knew he was meeting up with the phone's owner so I called him back and he passed on the info..

I tried to get back to sleep but by then a couple people were texting me so I got up. The north wind is whipping the trees around. I decided to stay upright for now and get all my errands done. I wandered out to look at my truck. After the downwinder, before we went to the bar, I'd dropped the truck off at home. I was in a rush to change out of my wet clothes and get some dinner so I didn't bother to put my board away. I'd left it sticking out of the open back hatch, opting instead to back the truck right up to the garage so the board couldn't be pulled out that way. It didn't look any worse for wear so I decided to leave it 'til later. I took the VW, picked up some birthday flowers for a friend, some goodies at the bakery, dropped the blackberry at the owners home, dropped the flowers off for the birthday girl and then went to the vegetable market on Southdown to load up on fruit + veg for the week.
When I went out to move the truck so I could unload the board, it was clear that a squirrel had found the open hatch and gone in looking for food. He must have bounced around a bit because the glove box was open and all kinds of stuff was pulled up/tossed around from under the seat. He got at least one granola bar, possibly more - I keep a box in there for days when I end up at the beach for hours - so he's set for the winter! Anyway, I think right now I'm just going to watch some pvr'd tv shows and then nap for awhile. TFC match tonight with the girls!
Sometimes I can't decide if my life is disorganized and sad or AWESOME.

Do I want to got to the Leafs opening game against Montreal?
Yes please!

Yay, Laura married Mark on the weekend! I'm sure the wedding was as amazing as they are... engagement photos are here . Wedding pics are up now too. You can view them here.

During last year's Molokai, there was a horrible accident during the first water change. I posted some (graphic) photos and a brief description at the time.
As they prepared for this years Na Wahine and Moloka'i Hoe, the paddler involved posted this essay to his company's website.

This is why I stop writing in my blog for long stretches...I'm so bored of me. Anyway...

Slept in this morning (thanks NyQuil) and then went for a 2 hour paddle. It's hot & humid and the fog on the lake is holding down the smog which means there's a yellowish-grey, web-like veil over everything just off shore. There's enough of a breeze on the lake to make it nice though. It was about 11:30 when I hit the water and there were tons of boats coming out of the Credit and heading towards the city. It was the paddle equivalent of going for a nice, long walk. The entire time, it was difficult not to think that I'd gambled on the wrong day to be sunny for the next beach party but that's how it goes. Oh well, I was out on the water and it was nicer than dealing with the stack of pictures that need hanging and housework at home! I had a quick shower and changed at the sailing club. As I was leaving, I could hear an alarm going up the stairs. I was thinking I had set it off but my code wouldn't let me disarm anything. As I went outside, I ran into one of the sailing guys and mentioned that maybe he could turn off the alarm I couldn't. He went charging up the stairs, saying that's not the system. I just this second realized that it must have been a smoke alarm or similar (but didn't sound like one). 

I stopped at Starbucks for an iced coffee on my way home and that's where I saw the first indication that the heat was getting to people. A woman pushing a stroller was in the long lineup and a man behind her made some comment about her not moving forward quickly enough, or the stroller taking up too much space or something equally ridiculous and she kind of went off on him. She was a big girl too and he was a thin, pinched and pale-faced euro-type - she wasn't about to back down. They started a nasty back and forth and I was happy to get out of there before it escalated.

I didn't get home until almost three, made a snack, then decided I couldn't stand to be inside even though I was starting to run a fever. I went into Port Credit, parked across from Helen's and went for a walk around town, back along the trail and out onto the pier to the Ridgetown. On the way back, crossing the bridge over the river, I saw a C1 paddling out towards the first buoy (by Snug). The boat was reflecting sunlight so the colour was blazed out. I stopped to see if I could identify them by paddling style. I haven't been around the club for awhile but really, there's only so many people who'd have access to the club during off hours, it should be easy. They were a little shake and I could tell it was an older boat, first generation Hody. I was thinking it must be a midget whose mom was on the board or something but, you know how it is, it becomes a kind of game. So I waited until they were close enough for a visual. Yup, old Hody - blue deck, white hull. No wonder I couldn't figure it out, it was Brock! We chatted for a bit - he's been in China teaching English and giving guitar concerts. I told him I wanted to hear all about it but not when he's up on his knee in obvious pain. He laughed and said yeah, his back and knee were hurting quite a bit but it felt good to be out in his boat again.

Having that brief chat with Brock really made my day (and I realized how much time I actually spend alone. I hadn't spoken to anyone but strangers all day).

I was planning to order in sushi but wasn't hungry so I went to the self serve car wash at the corner of Royal Windsor & Winston Churchill and killed another hour washing my car.

Now I'm going to make myself a buffalo salad (I found real buffalo milk mozarella at Battaglia's!), pour a glass of wine and find a movie to watch. Right after I write a cheque to pay Dav for my new mudpuppy board!

whoa, I went for a walk at lunch and this flew over me...

I looked it up when I got back to my desk - MV-22 Osprey and, although it's been around for a few years, it's making it's first appearance at the CNE air show this weekend. I have to say, it was pretty awesome.

Okay, I get it - I'm not just tired, I'm full out sick. I've caught some badass virus/sinus infection. It might have been from CCA - kissing and hugging everyone and their kids at nationals but most likely I picked it up in my doctor's office during my appointment last week. When I got home from Welland, I immediately fell asleep for 3 hours. Should have been a sign. On Monday morning I was feeling, I don't know, just off - not myself. It was like having a migraine without the skull crushing headache. I took the day off work. Late in the afternoon I ran into Carrie with Noah at the grocery store and she had a migraine. We decided we were suffering from weather-induced sickness brought on by the proximity of hurricane Irene. I kept forcing myself to get out on the water and do workouts - trying to flush out whatever it is but this morning I woke up with a really sore throat. Dammit!

Nationals were awesome, by the way. I picked KC up around 7am. She's just home from Worlds in Szeged. Results for Canada were mmm well, Adam did great as did the women canoers but the rest of the team? Meh. However. KC and Mylanie got thrown into a K2 for the 200m and they won the B final! Not bad considering they had never paddled together before. The did the heat with one setup and then switched around for the final...
Anyway, it was great to see everyone and hang out at Welland. Not racing is not bad! I thought it would bother me more but not at all.We arrived just in time to see the Jr Mens war cross the finish line. Blake had entered a crew of dbers - with Ian stroking and Conor steering. Blake was in the boat too.They were way behind - 30+seconds - Conor was just reefing on the steering blade trying to keep the boat in their lane but since 4 crews (including Missy) were DQed, NDC was 5th!

I picked up a new Scorpion outrigger paddle at Budays last night. Joked with Olga and Daddio that I only go there to give their kids money (I often drop by there with cash for Stephanie when I've purchased some of her jewellery).  They asked me to stay for dinner but I wasn't feeling great. This was about the time I realized I was actually sick and not just out of sorts. I'd also just finished an 8km paddle. I declined and took my new, carbon fibre-balsa wood paddle with me. 53" - Pete thinks it's way too long but the one I'm using now is just shy of 52" and it feels too short. I'll most likely end up asking him to cut it down another half inch to end up around 52.5. I'm looking forward to using it.

California Dreamin'

This photo of Larry came up in my news feed today. He's been in Cali, finally training in the right place with the right people.

When I first viewed the photo it was, you know, business as usual - Larry hanging from a chin-up bar. But then I recognized the other guy in the photo - a guy I've only ever seen in surf magazines and videos! Dave Kalama!! cool.

Now if he could just get Dave and his buddy Laird to come back to PC....

Boat Carnage - now with rescue video goodness

The canoe club's Force 5 was trashed on the rocks last Wednesday night.

We've had some epic conditions on the lake this past week - it's the start of the August storm season when heavy weather in the south translates into increased wind and waves on the Great Lakes. You can't really see how big it was in the video below but conditions were challenging on Wednesday night. I was supposed to go sailing out of PCYC that evening. We were all set to go when all the other boats came back, returning to their slips. The race had been cancelled because of the waves and 29 knot (54 km/hr) winds. We decided to wait and see if it calmed down but when even the most experienced crews came limping back in, Paul called it a bust and we all went to Wild Wings.

Around the time we were sitting on the boat waiting for the wind to settle, a group of juvi athletes took the 6-man out onto the harbour for fun in the waves. The wind was from the east so there were fairly big rollers coming off the Ridgetown. The kids were having fun, riding the waves in the mouth of the harbour. At some point though, they went out a little too far and hulied. They were able to get the boat righted but by then it was full of water and the wind had pushed them into the bay by Sadddington Park. They had to be rescued by the harbour patrol. The abandoned boat got tossed around and then sank.

Everyone in our area loves the Peel Marine Unit - they're fantastic officers who do their job with a smile. The halton crew hassle paddlers endlessly but our guys are always pleasant. It's lucky they were on hand and that the kids are all fit athletes. The first time I saw this video, it was upsetting to see them having to be rescued. The next time I could see how composed they were - they'd even collected all the paddles.



We were so pleased when Derek got the boat for the club's disabled paddler program. A group of us - Eve, Carrie, Chanda, Chrissy, Liz and I - volunteered to bring it from the Cawthra compound to the club.

We were all in withdrawal from not paddling together, Eve was just recovering from chemo and none of us were sure if we were going to continue at the club. We were allowed to use the boat when the other program wasn't. Being able to train in the OC-6 meant we could keep paddling together, invested in a training group and the club, until we figured out what we wanted to do. We were out together in db once a week with Doug but paddled OC three or four times a week throughout the summer & fall.

When Louise came home for a visit from Singapore, she was able to join us for a leisure paddle - something you can't do in a sprint boat. No one says, hey let's take the war canoe for a spin & catch up on our lives. Anyway, for that season, the boat meant a lot to us!

I didn't think the club was even using it this year. I'd seen Chris E. out with some of his sr db ladies but that's about it. The kids told me though that athletes would randomly take it out. Just a couple of weeks ago Chrissy and Eve jumped in with Chris A. and a few of the guys. They had just pushed off the dock when some joker yelled, "Everyone lean right". All these club paddlers, used to doing what they're told, leaned right and they hulied right at the dock. Comical.

Anyway, back to the wreckage - The next day, Karl had a hard time finding the swamped boat. It was still fairly wavy and eventually the bow bobbed to the surface. Then it was 3 hours of heavy lifting to get it from the bottom. It's just a fiberglass shell now - only the ama is still in one piece.

(I didn't take this photo. A guy who is a complete tool posted it on the oc fb page with nasty comments about incompetence. I'd like to punch this guy in the gob on a regular day so this just makes me want to do it more.)

War Canoe Booty Call

Its that time of year again - CCA is coming up and clubs are remembering they need to fill their war canoes. A few of us have gotten calls about joining the club to race this event - some are actually going through with it. We were laughing about it last week and realized it's exactly like the poison-ex giving you a booty call at 2AM.
Lets do a comparison...

The Six Sixes

The Six Sixes is the latest way for women to judge a man's boyfriend potential. Reading down the page, it pretty much rules out every man except Hugh Jackman or Gerard Butler but the theory is simple - you don't have to have all of the sixes but the more you have, the higher your value.
So here they are - The Six Sixes

• At least SIX feet tall. Sorry Brad Pitt, Jason Statham.
• A SIX figure salary
• A SIX pack
• SIX months or more since your last relationship (to gauge if you're really over them)
• SIX hundred horsepower under the hood

and of course

• At least SIX inches

When I was young we just referred to it as the list...no caps or quotes...just the list, my list, your list... we added things to the list or removed things from the list, usually so the current boyfriend/love interest fell within our declared parameters.

I don't remember everything on my list but it included things like;

• a good sense of humour
• able to play guitar, bass, keyboard or drums -any instrument found in our favourite bands. Flute was acceptable ONLY if you could play like Jethro Tull
• athletic. Biceps seemed more important in those days but maybe it's because guys didn't wander around shirtless as much as they do now.
• a car - preferably one that wasn't held together by bondo
• decent teeth. This was from my mother but once she mentioned it, I couldn't stop noticing a guy's teeth. Bad teeth became a deal breaker.  Some are just nasty - like there's moss growing on them. Guys, seriously just brush your teeth.
• a watch
• at least one pair of good shoes (these were the days when runners were gym shoes and only gym shoes)

Of course, my list was modified over the years based on age and/or circumstances but The Six Sixes have caused me to reconsider my process. I'll post my personal sixes after I've given it some thought.

That Bieber won't stop staring at me.

I'm in Shoppers, texting Chrissy, when I get that creepy feeling someone is staring at me. Head down, I catch a figure just on my periphery in a wide-legged, confrontational stance. Is it someone I know? This is going on a little too long to be natural. It takes a few breaths to realize it's a cardboard cutout of Justin Bieber - an advert for the Bieb's new perfume. Chin resting on thumb, it's no wonder the intense gaze made the hair on my arms stand up.They're in every Shoppers, sometimes staring out the window at the sidewalk or peeking into the store from behind shelving. Whatever, it seems effective since ggle tells me he made perfume-launch history with sales topping $3mil in just 4 weeks.

Anyway, I was at the drugstore after going for a paddle with Doug. He has a couple of the 404s that Danny Ching is selling. I loved the board! It's narrower so your feel for the water is greater than on the super-stable Barks. The 12'6" I took out had some delamination on the bottom that apparently happened because the board was rushed through production to get it up to canada in time for a sup race. It wasn't allowed to cure for the requisite amount of time so a little too long in the sun caused it to ripple like a lays potato chip. I checked online forums, blogs and review sites and can't find any incidence or statements of a delaminition issue with 404s so accept that explanation.

I would love to own one of these boards - they're light, smooth running and expensive ($2500-$2600). Realistically, if I'm going to get anything it'll be at the opposite end of the sprectrum from the competitor, a little more like a surfboard. I've seen a couple around and, bonus, they're fairly inexpensive - around $1000. Dav is dropping by to take at look at the leak in my outrigger so he'll bring one of his boards for me to try. In the meantime, I'm happy with the competitor in spite of it's rigid bottom that makes it difficult for me to grab a wave. Thank goodness I surfed before I SUPped, otherwise I'd never know that the board makes a difference and it's not just me.

I paddled oc-2 with the oakville group last night - (8,1,6,1,4,1,2,1) 1 minutes were sprints with 1 minute rest between. Perfect workout after our 35km race around Cape Ann last weekend.

Chanda and I met for a paddle this morning. A beautiful flat day on the lake with a little wind and swell from the S-E pushing us back in.

So really, I don't mind having company. I was just thrown because I didn't initiate it and he was bringing his kid. I thought it over and decided to go ahead. I booked a couple of days off work, brought in some groceries, picked them up at the airport. Within minutes of getting to my house, I found the 9 year old in my room, going through my jewellry boxes. She thought my diamond earrings were really pretty. I think they're pretty too - so, after I'd ushered her out of my room, I put them in a drawer where they'd be safe.

 

We visited the CN Tower, spent the weekend at the race and then I took them to Niagara Falls on Tuesday. Things were good until then, when the 9 year old had a meltdown. After that, I'd had enough.

 

Brad had made plans to have dinner with friends in the beaches on their last night. I really wanted some time to myself so kept saying they could visit their friends without me. Brad seemed to think I was just being polite and kept insisting I join them. The day of, I insisted that I really didn't want to go and Brad said they weren't going either. Great. My quiet night at home was a bust. Even when I went downstairs to watch a show I'd pvred , Brad was sitting there watching sports. I decided to just go to my room and read. They'd be gone in 12 hours and I'd have as much time to myself as I wanted.

 

Such a relief to drop them at the airport! Brad texted me later that they almost missed their flight and when he got home they found the drunk ex-girlfriend changing the locks on the house. crazytown.

 

Lesson learned. Brad and I would have had a really good time if he'd come on his own so I have a new rule - visitors okay but no kids!

What is it they say about houseguests and fish?

Oh right, after 3 days they start to smell.
This past week I've been entertaining american houseguests...that I didn't invite...one of whom is a 9 year old girl... so please understand if it seems nasty to say that the old saw holds true.

As near as I can tell, here's how it came about.

On a recent trip to the states I rented a room in "Brad's" house . A mutual friend set it up when I couldn't find a hotel room in the area. Brad's a very nice guy; invited me out with his friends, provided copious amounts of good wine, let me use his oc-2 so a friend and I could paddle. On the other hand, the rental wasn't exactly as it had been described - a spacious house with only one person living there, private bed + bath. Instead it came with his crazy, dipsomaniacal girlfriend who sat at a stack of papers in the dining room all day "working" (drinking), an aging Rhodesian Ridgeback who drooled and farted continuously, the local drunk who arrived early every morning and sat in the kitchen (right outside my bedroom door) drinking cheap white wine and yelling into his cell phone, a cute-but-shifty guy from "here and there", Sherry & Dan, married, Toronto-area dbers attending the kwokker camp (she wanted to discuss their "technique" all day/every day) and Brad's daughter Christina who alternated one week at her dad's house, one week at her mom's. Brad had moved her out of her bedroom so I could sleep there and she made it clear that she was not impressed by going through all my stuff and tossing it onto the floor.

I started calling it Crazy Town about 5 minutes after I arrived and the happenings over the course of the month just confirmed that I'd nailed it.

In spite of it all, I had a really good time while I was there and Brad continued to send fb messages after I left, keeping me up to date on the most recent 'craziness (there was plenty) and sending info about races in the Gulf area he thought I should attend.

I wasn't about to make the trip back to Fla. so I told him we were doing the Blackburn race in Boston and suggested he find a crew to paddle with up there. He was interested so I sent him the weblink. Conversationally, he asked what other races our club was doing and I sent him the details of a couple, one of which is our local one that circles the Island.

So one night about a month ago, I'm paddling with Karen & Nancy and Karen says,

"I hear Brad is coming up to T.O. to do the ATI race".

Oh that's nice, I say, where did you hear that? 

"From Sherry & Dan. I guess they invited him to stay with them."

Oh, that'll be fun, I say, It's strange that he didn't mention it. I'll have them all over for dinner while he's here.

I forgot about it until I recevied another message from Brad detailing his on-going battle with the dipso- now ex- gf. I responded with a "Hey, I hear you're making a trip to Toronto! Are you coming to race? You should do the ATI and then stay for Schro's SUP race".  His response was a little vague, not sure if I can make it, supposed to have Christina that week, time off work, etc...I forgot about it.

The next thing I know there's a message from Brad saying, "Great news, I'm coming to Toronto! I'm getting Christina's passport fast-tracked. We can only stay for a week, hope you've got room for both of us!

Okay. Wait. WHAT??? No, seriously! WTF???

more later...

Getting into a routine, sort of, especially now that db is over. No more Thursday night interruptus. Back to doing what I want, when I want.

The long weekend was awesome and the weather held up. I was at JD beach at 7:30am friday (Canada Day) morning. There were already lots of people there, all asian/indian, setting up party sites, saving parking spots. It's a strange phenomenon that white people abandon the park on weekends. I was sending a friend the link for the park's website and on the home page they take note of this fact; "It is a very multicultural place, at times a stranger couldn't tell that the park is in Canada.". Completely true.

Anyway, I paddled about 10 kms, came into the beach for some coffee and granola bar, back for more paddling, some more beach time, rinse, repeat. The early morning light hits the water at an angle that makes it clear straight to the bottom. I paddled towards the P-Can plant and then turned back towards the Ridgetown. I was about 1500m from shore and looked down to see a giant school of fish - HUNDREDS, maybe THOUSANDS of them, no lie. I can tell you what they weren't - carp or salmon - but I couldn't tell you what they were. All I know is it's very hard to paddle standing up when you're watching the action on the bottom of the lake. I just kept paddling and the fish just kept on coming - it was pretty awesome!  I do see the occasional salmon, usually in the late evening, but it's rare to see more than 5 or 6 fish scooting across the bottom at a time. I guess the boats with fish finders are more aware of how many are actually down there. I should talk to Drake and see what they might have been..

It was a beautiful morning and I was surprised that 4 hours had passed by the time I loaded the car and headed home.

I was pretty energized so I set about taking down that sick tree/shrub on the north side of my driveway. It sticks out and now that I have to park 2 cars in the driveway, it's in the way. I was just going to prune it back but noticed that it's being eaten by bugs. I still have all this furniture in the garage (for sale - cheap - if you know anyone who likes pine and needs living room stuff) so I couldn't get to where I keep the hand saws. Didn't matter. Didn't need one. I grabbed one of the branches and it was so chewed up and rotten that it came away in my hand! I was able to take it down to a ragged stump which I'll cut down soon. Soonish.

It's a good time to do the work since the house next door is empty. Actually, it just sold for $600K! which is great news for me since it's smaller than mine with fewer amenities.

After cleaning up the garden some more, I crashed with a book for a couple of hours. Later in the evening, I dropped into Port Credit to check out some of the celebrations but didn't stay long.

Island db festival was this past weekend. My crews had a great time and did really well and it reminds me why I continue to coach. Still, getting up at 5am to be on the 6:30 ferry will always be a challenge. I love catching up with all the former-paddlers-who-coach. Ian, Blake, Conor, Kevin, Del to name a few. And of course Chrissy, Eve and Jess who I see fairly regularly.

One team asked me and the cox to wear a head-cam during races.

Their corporate head office said they'd buy the crew paddles for next year if they put something together to show the teambuilding aspects of the sport so here's the end result. Seriously, turn down the volume for the race segments. It's just me or Brian yelling and it's sooo annoying.

Gone Baby Gone

I've been loving all the paddling time I'm getting! Last week there was tons of lake action - wind, waves - fun all round.

On Monday, I got to the parking lot around 5:30am and found it packed with Ministry and City pick-ups, a transport truck, a couple motor boats and a ton of workers. Looks like it's Canada Goose round-up time again!

They had snow fence and a blue tarp set up like a cattle shute to the back of the transport (one of the livestock type of trailers). I just got my boat together and went for a paddle. It was exceptional out there. Lots of waves and wind from the SE. I was able to put in a solid hour before work.

They were well into the goose-drive by the time I got back and there were lots of local spectators. I didn't want to get caught up in a discussion about the process with anyone so cleared my gear up fairly fast. I'm a fence sitter when it comes to the Canada Goose harvest. I agree with the opinion raised in this debate many times, give the goose carcasses to  local food banks, homeless shelters, animal shelters or whoever wants them. No natural predators means we either have to introduce one to their environment or become one ourselves. I see a couple of coyotes in the area but they can't even keep the rabbit population under control. And does anyone really want more wild dogs roaming around the neighbourhood?

Now, there are NO geese in the area. None. I haven't been up the river or in the greenspace but as far as the lake, it's just swans, cormorants and seagulls. But of course in a year they'll be back and  pooping everywhere again.



continuing...
My next checkpoint was in the York Region Forest. Even though I lived right beside it in Musselman's and then in Markham for a decade, I've never been in the there before. I had a great run - all trail with lots of loose sand, weedy parts, horses, stuff I've never encountered on a run before. There's a complex trail system in there so having to watch for trail markers is a new experience too. My run time wasn't stellar but it wasn't terrible either. In fact it was slightly faster than I predicted. I felt awesome when I finished and may have knocked whatever remained of that virus out of my lungs.

There were just 2 legs left, a bike and a run, which were covered by Larry and Lee, so all I had to do was get changed and head to the finish line at Seneca's King City campus. The hardcore teams were there to meet their final runners so I knew we must be top 10. When we heard what time Lee left the last checkpoint, and saw how hard he was going as he rounded the last corner, I was pretty sure we were top 5.

We didn't stay long after that. Lee invited everyone back to his place in Aurora for a swim but it was already 8pm and I still had some things to do around PC. Overall a fun, fun day!

Results have finally been posted and we were 5th - so awesome - now the guys are all hype to actually TRAIN for next year! I love it!

So about 3 weeks ago a guy at work asked if I'd like to do an adventure race with a couple other board employees. It was a timely request since I'd just decided (again) to start training properly and get back in shape. They thought I could do the paddling and some running legs. Even though I don't run regularly, I figured a dedicated program for 3 weeks would put me in a comfortable place. Too bad I caught that terrible virus that knocked me flat for about 10 days! The week before the event, I was back on my feet so I did one 5km run that hurt in a way that made me decide to forget about 'training'. Better to just go out and do it on the day. I could go hard and deal with the residual pain at my leisure.

The paddling leg was 8km on Rice Lake so I got up at 5AM on race day and was there by 7:30. I'd only met my paddling partner once when he dropped by the office to deliver maps and waivers but we had the whole 8km to get acquainted. There were more than a few marathoners doing the event, and it was no surprise to run into Don S. who told me he's getting married in 2 weeks. He's always given off a bit of a gay vibe so I was never sure of his orientation - and honestly, I'm still not. I told him I'd been saving mysefl for him but obviously it was time for me to get on with my life.

It was a staggered start - 3 groups, 5 minutes apart. We were in the last group to go. The paddle was fun but fairly uncomfortable since we had to wear lifejackets, it was a rec canoe and my partner was strictly a cottage paddler & j-stroked the whole route. He thought we were smashing course records when it felt to me like maybe he was facing the back of the boat, paddling in the opposite direction. At one point I mentioned that maybe we could try to find a comfortable way to stroke together but it didn't seem to make sense to him. I didn't mind though. I was having a great time on new water and it was a beautiful day.

We chatted while we paddled and through the usual twists and turns we found out that we had both cottaged on the same lake in the Kawarthas! In fact, our cottages were side-by-side. We really only went up in the winter and they only went up in the summer so we never crossed paths.

I didn't have another leg for a bit so I headed back to the city. Not knowing the people on the team, I was a little worried that I might be the least fit but they had stressed many times that we are strictly a FUN team.

Everything changes so suddenly! It's great. This past winter, lots of evenings were spent lounging in front of the tv. Now I'm so busy, I'm never home. Besides my fabulous social life, I've entered a bunch of paddling events, an adventure race (my first) and planning another trip, possibly late fall, possibly Hawaii. I'm not just aimlessly paddling or running around the neighbourhood anymore, my training has a focus.

I've got a new fin for my sup board (thanks Mike!) and am still crazy about stand up! I'll be buying a new, lighter board before the fall although I'm also looking for a new OC-1. Gah, too many toys.

Last Sunday I was on the beach at 8:30am. I was only planning a short paddle but after doing 5k, I sat on the beach with my coffee, looking out at the lake. The wind was coming up and it wasn't long before I wanted to go back out again. I did 4km more, sat in the sun and wind for a bit, then decided it still wasn't enough fun. It had picked up even more by this time. By the time I was done, I'd clocked 12km total so I felt pretty happy.
When I got back to the beach, the crepe cart was there. I asked her to do me up a banana-nutella crepe while I put my gear away. The water is so high right now that the beach where I park has narrowed to a 2 foot strip. I could walk down to the larger beach but didn't see any reason. Besides, walking along the beach with a plate of crepes just attracts seagulls. I learned my lesson in Florida - seagulls will snatch food right out of your hand! And even though I don't think JD gulls  are as smart as the ones on the Gulf coast, I settled on a kikoi with my breakfast. You don't always need a long stretch of beach. As long as my butt and toes are in the sand, I'm content. Although I'd be lying if I said I don't miss this Costa Rican beach...

I just found out why the plants by my desk get wilty every few weeks. One of the guys in the office is dumping the dregs of his coke cans in the planters whenever he doesn't feel like walking to the staffroom sink! He is a sugar junky and drinks 5 or 6 cans of coke a day - 3 of them, along with half a bag of Chips Ahoy, before 8:30 in the morning. Surprisingly, he only weighs about 145lbs. Not so surprising, he has a multitude of health issues. If anyone in the office has a headache, they dig into the Costco-sized baggie of pills in his top drawer.

Anyway, the plants are not mine. I just inherited them because my desk has the only window but I do take care of them. I was horrified when he came over with pop can in hand one day and said "Your plants look thirsty". He tried to convince me that coke is good for them, provides needed nutrients or whatever. At first, his argument was that he'd been doing it for years and the plants were still alive. I pointed to the one plant - it's leaves brown and twisted and shrivelled. I asked him, "didn't you ever do that experiment in high school where you leave a tooth in a jar of coke?" (it rots away within 3 weeks). And then I noticed his teeth which are brownish yellow and kind of furry-looking. Discussion over. I made a joke about it, asked him to please not "refresh" the plants anymore and turned back to my desk. Man, I thought I was bad with plants. I'm a botonist compared to this guy.

May 28th - Johnny-O's wedding day!
We're staying at Fern Resort so I had considered driving up to Couchiching on Friday night and taking my boat or board. However, Dad developed aspirational pneumonia so I stayed in town.
Saturday around noon, after running a bunch of errands, I headed up the 400. Traffic was amazingly good which probably has a lot to do with our crummy weather. Nobody's making the trip to the cottage.
It's been quite a while since I've gone north and it's funny how quickly the retail turns from city to cottage. Of course there's the Cookstown outlet mall but pretty soon you're into the Bass Pro Shop, Confederation Log Homes and the one that made me laugh out loud, Dock in a Box.
I'd forgotten how close Orillia is to Toronto. It's almost the 'burbs - or will be soon. The smell of car exhaust is in the air until you're right up at the lake. Then you finally get the smell of pine and fresh-water lake breeze.
I had just checked in and was unloading my car when I see John & Emily going by in a golf cart, doing the royal (unscrewing a lightbulb) wave! They were on their way to do group photos. Smart to get it done before the ceremony!

My room was on the end, right by the banquet hall and the first things I saw when I opened the door were

a) a fantastic view of the lake

b) 2 bottles of wine, 1 red, 1 white with a "thank you for being part of our special day" card from John & Emily

c) a jacuzzi tub situated perfectly for looking out at the fantastic view without anyone seeing in

I grabbed my camera and wandered outside to check things out. I immediately ran into Gero and his wife, Mike Mcdermott + wife, Jessie and Chris, Bliss & Jaime, Dave Fav, Liz Price & husband, Chris plus assorted Osborne/Stewart relatives. The wedding party were over on the beach having photos done so I took some creeper shots (all on FB). They came over to where we were sitting as soon as they were done. I was so happy to see Courtney and Laura! Both living in B.C. and obviously thriving. Laura & Mark are in Kitsilano and Courtney is in Kelowna.
Court was on crutches - a temporary measure. She'd bruised her heel a couple of weeks earlier, when she was camping. She wanted to spare it until the actual ceremony when she would stand on her own 2 pins.
It wasn't long before it was time to get ready for the ceremony. It was held on the beach with stadium-style seating - rows of patio chairs set up on the pool deck and working down the side. Everyone got a great view of the couple with the lake behind them. I was sitting with Sarge & Marie. Johnny's close family friend (and boss) Julian Wise, was master of ceremonies and was spoke for most of the time. He's very engaging and entertaining. An actual "official" official took over for the legal portion.
From there we moved to the banquet hall and found our seats. Unfortunately none of us were sitting together. I'm not sure why but we decided afterwards that maybe Emily did the seating chart and didn't realize we all knew each other?
As soon as the wedding party entered (each with the de rigueur choreography), John and Emily got things going on the dance floor with Sweet Caroline. It was fantastic - everyone was singing along and dancing - a great way to involve all the guests in the event! It was followed up by a few other songs, wrapping up with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" which had everyone up on their feet and some up on their chairs!
I knew that the best man was supposed to be Sean and wondered what had kept him from being there. We found out at dinner that he'd gotten married in January of this year and is in the middle of getting his US citizenship. He just wasn't allowed to leave the country at this time. Obviously he and John didn't realize that would happen. He sent his speech via gluetube and we watched on the big screen.

So going back to two weeks ago...

Greg had listed a house on Mona Ave and I asked for a viewing. We met there on Friday around 5pm. I loved it in spite of the fact that it's about 250m from the GO station. And even though I'm not prepared to put my house up for sale right now, it's good to start thinking about getting EXACTLY what I want if I'm going to continue living in the area. This was an older house in a great neighbourhood, large yard and finished basement. The purchase price was around what I could sell mine for but I knew it would be gone before the weekend was over - probably in a bidding war. I'm content in my current house but will now start to get it ready in case THE PERFECT property comes up.

After that we headed over to Blake's for a barbecue with the Hara, Phelon & Secko families. I haven't been around that many kids in a long time and it was really fun. The layout of Jackie and Blake's is perfect  - the kids were in the basement or bedrooms most of the time and there was very little controversy. Everyone's doing great. Have I said this before? I love that everyone's back in the same neighbourhood! Amy dropped by for an hour a little later in the evening, after Derek had picked up the boys.

After a couple of drinks Blake started asking me about my dating life and when I complained about the lack of eligible men with no baggage, he started wondering, Stringer-style, if I had considered women. Do you remember Chris' theory that 73% of women have lesbian tendencies? When we were in Poland, he kept asking women on the team if they'd "do another woman" and then telling them they were liars when they said no. Anyway, as much as I reassured Blake that I'm a confirmed heterosexual and being 52 means I know that's for sure, he was really digging in. At first it was funny (typical Blake) - Amy and Jackie were just shaking their heads and no help in redirecting him - but it went on for so long that I transitioned from entertained, to uncomfortable, then bored, to wondering if people actually thought that. Seriously, I wasn't so upset that he might think I was a lesbian (not that there's anything wrong with that) as I was that he believes I'm striking out with THE ENTIRE OVER-40 POPULATION, not just men. Driving home I decided not to read too much into it - it was an alcohol fuelled convo that had spun off in an odd direction from which it couldn't recover.