Day two of Olympic Trials:

Okay, ignore Padtrac. It shows Tommy & Attila as first in the C2 1000m but they're second. The DSQ was due to a foul-up by boat control. Gab & Andrew use a flip-flop in their boat to secure the block. One of the boat control people removed the flop before weighing it so the boat was underweight. The flip-flop was securely in place and didn't fall out on it's own so they're appealing the DQ. The Budays are supporting their appeal because it clearly wasn't their fault. Word from the tower is that the appeal is accepted. Gab & A-Russ in 1st (3:43.913), Attila & Tamas in 2nd, Kyle and Morty in 3rd.

Bogus results:

Actual (almost) results:

Olympic trials - Day One (click to enlarge image);

I'm not writing much these days because my father's in the hospital. I don't want to remember this time later so instead I'm going to post about other things.

I went to the TFC home opener last Saturday with Marisha, Sonya (this
was her birthday present) and Ryan. So much fun. It was a great day: friends, beer, sunburn, 1-0 for us. I told Ryan to remind me of that day whenever season's ticket renewal time came around. It is so worth it. For some reason the 7 seats to my left remained empty the entire game. I swear they were the only empty seats in the stadium! I hope it just meant they had found a really good spot along the rail in the beer tent because it would suck to have empty seats beside me the entire season. My new seats are as close as you can get to the fan section. I loved our old section - lots of spirit - but it's way rowdier (= fun) in 109!

After the game, we walked along King Street past Rob's restaurant. Rob's gf, Esther, was outside the Bungalow putting up planters. Even though the bar was closed she invited us in for a drink. Big mistake! She opened the french doors onto King and we sat at the window table. That's all it took for other TFC fans wander in and order drinks. Esther handled it like a pro - calling in Rob and a bartender to pick up the slack. We apologized a million times but she said not to - that it was an unexpected windfall. They're going to get the TFC schedule and make sure they're open after every game!

Afterward, Ryan went off to some bbq, Sonya went home to feed and walk her 18 month old "golden doodle" Fin while Marisha and I hit Burrito Boyz and then went on to Hot Docs. We saw Talking Guitars, about Flip Scipio, the dutch guitar restorer. The film was not fantastic but it was interesting to have Flip at the Q & A afterward. He is a very funny man.

On the training side of things, I've been paddling outrigger for the past month. I still have my C-1 but don't see myself paying a fortune to go to Dartmouth for just one or two races. Pete has been great about loaning me one of his Hody OC-1s. He's been keeping it in an empty slot at the club and it's worked out really well, allowing me to paddle until my new boat arrives this weekend. The weather these past few weeks has been phenomenal. I'm so glad I've been able to take advantage of it. Thanks Pete!

Hmm, there's clearly a dutch theme happening here today. If you're a fan of Rube Goldberg, check out this commercial for a dutch department store. Just click here, let the page load, don't try to select anything, give it a minute and watch what happens.

Click here for a good article on Adam's training leading up to Beijing. Rob Longley did a great job of describing life at the Pines. Reading it immediately put me back there and made me smile. The grey cubicle with the grimey window overlooking the 427 actually disappeared for a few minutes.

Most of you know that I've been thinking about moving to a downtown condo in a year or two but I may have to rethink that plan. There's a lot to be said about living in a great community like Port Credit. Aside from the obvious benefits of being close to the lake and trail system so many of our friends are still living here. Yesterday, after a discouraging weekend of clearing out my parents' house, I couldn't stand to be stuck inside anymore. I headed toward Clarkson with a vague intention of hitting Shoppers and Starbucks, avoiding the tempting shelves of red wine at the liquor store and then swinging back home through the marsh.
Instead, I ran into Carrie and Charlie on their way to the bank! We had a coffee at Tim Horton's and Carrie invited me back to their's for a bit. Charlie is a sweetheart - she's so happy and SO active! Running into them was just what I needed after such a dismal day.

I'm a big collector of music. Tv is a great source - commercials, themes from shows, credits - especially since the stigma of "selling out" has been removed. If I hear a song I like, I hunt it down on youtube or google - great resources when you don't know the name of the artist. Today, I went looking for the song "New Soul" from the most recent Macbook "Air" commercial. A search of Feist's listing came up empty. I just assumed it was Feist - it sounds like Feist, they used 1-2-3-4 in the iPOD commercial. Anyway, as it turns out, it's an artist named Yael Naim. Love the song, love the video! Maybe girls can relate more to this but this reminds me of every new start I've made in my life - my first apartment, holding my son for the first time, first home of my own, first time in a new country...all great memories. Anyway, it's worth a watch if you have the time...

Some great news from Jenn & Trent!

They became engaged on

March 27, 2008

(don't worry, I had Jenn's OK to post it here!)

Congrats to Team Delfaxouverville for coming third in the Cold Foot Classic - 12 hours 41 minutes!

Louise and Mia celebrated their birthdays along with Easter this past weekend. Alison and Ron flew over from Toronto and Linzee from Bali.

Adam randomly pops up on tv during a Raptors away-game. He's training at the Pines so was able to catch the game in Orlando where Rod Black found him. Here's the "Pressure, I eat it for breakfast" interview in case you missed it...

Secret training for the 2008 Olympic K4?

Not really. The guys had an AYF paddle on the schedule and decided to do it in this boat.

I've just checked Jenn's blog and Trent has started the Rock and Ice Ultra marathon in Yellowknife. Temperatures are in the -20 to -30 c range (apparently ideal for the racers). You can check race reports at Sleep Monsters. Trent and teammate Shaun are competing as Team Delfaxouverville in the Cold Foot Classic relay - a 71.5 km, continuous foot and snowshoe or XC ski race. The website states that "...runners must carry snowshoes and skiers must use classic or backcountry skis on an ungroomed trail. The Cold Foot Classic is a fully supported race. There are 4 road accessible check points along a well marked trail and racers are encouraged to cache food, gear and have a support crew on stand by."

Team Delfaxouverville

(Trent's on the right - with the giant snotcicle)

I was late for work this morning ... stupid cows. That's right, cows. A trailer overturned coming off the 427 ramp onto the westbound QEW and four cows took a little tour down the highway and around the Dixie Rd neighbourhood. Apparently they had to call in a rodeo expert to round them up. Just when you think the daily commute is repetitive and tedious, there's livestock blocking your route.


Really, I should have expected it. I woke up abruptly at 5am with the feeling that someone was staring at me. It was just the moon shining straight into my eyes through that skylight window at the top of the stairs. It was incredibly bright and although the weather network says it's a "waxing gibbous", it looked full. And circumstances prove that we're still in full moon effect. I hope it wears off by lunch because the guys in the office are acting like 11 year olds (providing a continuous stream of fart and booby jokes).

I'll write more about training camp later. I just have time to post this update on Chrissy in Australia. She's been taking her bronze medallion to become a lifesaver at Bondi Beach. Of the workouts, she writes;



"...we have to practice this run/swim/run a couple times a week. It's only 200m, if that, of swimming and a total of 100m of running, but let's just say I'm third in the water and not even close to third coming out???!!! These darn Ausies! How do they do it? I can't even begin to explain how heavy my legs feel trying to run out of the water after swimming... seems so easy on Baywatch?! (not even going to mention how hard it is to run on soft sand - that's another story and skill to be learned later) The good news, I've been practicing my swimming so was heaps better today - mind you, the surf was pretty calm ... Above is a pic of our Bronzy Group. Our theory and practical tests are coming up. If I pass that - no more goofy orange hat... it's straight to the cool red and yellow one!"

Hmm, that gives me an idea for a photoshop... Check back in a couple of days.

We've been really lucky with the weather (I know, not so much at home). It's been beautiful! We're doing lots of paddling but yesterday was our day off. I drove down to Dunedin thinking I'd get a ticket to the afternoon Jays game after doing some shopping. Once I got there though, I didn't feel like shopping and the game was about 6 hours away. After briefly considering the rental bikes available along the Pinellas trail, I decided to drive to Clearwater. Best idea yet! I got there early so there was no backup on the causeway, easy parking and lots of prime beach real estate. Ahhhhhhh. After a couple of hours, I went for a walk along the main drag. There's a lot of construction going on - mostly condos replacing outdated hotels. Nothing much to see - the same sorry surf shop chains that you see at Cocoa, selling the same cheap sweatshop, self-promoting t-shirts. I headed back.

The traffic around Dunedin was crazy and I had kind of bonked from not eating so decided to pass on the game. Too bad - they won. I took a short walk through Tarpon Springs and then hit the Lime in the Coconut (shake-it-all-up) for a conch salad and to hang for the rest of the afternoon. Around 5 I dropped by the bayou to go for an AYF paddle but there were no boats available. Ended up watching the other group doing their 2K time controls.
Eve, Chanda & I had dinner at the Lime in the Coconut. We watched the Cincy and Pittsburgh college ball game. The bar cat kept coming in and trying to junp up on the chairs at the next table. The server apologized each time she came to collect him and explained he wanted to go sleep there since it was so cold outside. Keep in mind we were wearing tanks and jeans. We had team boats in the morning so called it a night as soon as we got home.

Congratulations to Larry's other championship girls...

St. Mildred's Hockey

This is what I saw when I woke up this morning...

Time, as they say, flies....

Tutts turns 40

(appropriately shown here with The Black in 1997. Doug is the record holder for number of times winning this trophy)

Steph King (Haldane), due July 12th.

Here she is showing off her baby bump at a Raptors game.

Chrissy having fun on the rope climb at Bondi.

I finally got to see my father today. He woke up for a bit and he definitely recognized me. He's better but they still haven't determined the source of the infection that put him in there. Thankfully, he doesn't have pneumonia and there's nothing wrong with his heart, no sign of a stroke. They finally got him out of the ICU and into a private room so it's quiet and he's more comfortable. We're hoping tomorrow to hear that he'll be moved into the long-term care wing until we can find him a bed at a more permanent facility.

Last night I got one of those calls I've been dreading. My Dad's been taken to the hospital. He's in the ICU but I can't go see him because I'm sick. The word palliative has become part of my vocabulary.

I'm so sick. The kind where I can't imagine ever feeling better again. I went to bed delirious with a fever around 4:00pm on Friday afternoon and, except for a trip to the walk-in clinic, haven't gotten up for more than a few minutes to take medicine or make a cup of tea. Ugh. I can't even care that I'm missing our three day weekend - the first ever family day holiday.

Even though I've been a little...umm...lazy this weekend, I did get out a bit. I was really grateful to Alyson who shook me out of my inertia to go for a run on Saturday night. It was warm enough for there to be melt water but cold enough to form black ice on the roads . We decided to run on the sidewalks for traction but since half of our route was low ground, we got massive soakers. And you couldn't see the puddles coming in the dark! It was great though to just run and talk. We used to run together a lot when Alyson was still paddling and I didn't realize how much I miss talking to her. Lately, we're rarely together unless we're doing a workout at the gym.

On Sunday, as mentioned, it was ridiculously cold for this area. I bundled up and went for a walk in the marsh and didn't run into one other person the whole time. While most of my body was swathed in wool, goosedown and sheepskin, my poor thighs were only covered by a layer of denim. They were BURNING about 10 minutes in and by the 40 minute mark, felt like they had swelled to twice their size!

Unlike the last time I took a hike during a storm (when I couldn't hear anything over the sound of crashing waves), this time the wind was howling and the lake was quiet. It was almost shocking to stand on the beach, protected from the wind, listening to small waves lap as they climbed the beach.

Am I the only one who's tired of Kanye West and his, "my momma's a saint" posturing? I'm guessing that I've got lots of company after last night's Grammy performances (both the singing and the acceptance speech).
I have to admit, they did seem to start the music a little sooner than normal on his speech but for him to pretend that mentioning his mamma means the world should stop so he can finish thanking her properly is a bit OTT. Do it on your own time, jack. It was also a little weird, the whole, "last night you came to me in my dreams and now I can't wait to go to sleep." thing. I mean, I'm a mom but I would be really worried if my kid was saying stuff like that. The guys at work tell me that he's a tiny guy, 5'3" or something so maybe that has something to do with it. Whatever, it still spells i.s.s.u.e.s....

So not surprising, today I'm stupidly restless. Worse, restless but indecisive. I want to do something outside but the 70km/hr winds and minus 24 temps are making me think twice. I should just throw the snowshoes in the truck and go but the single inch of skin that was exposed while I pumped gas an hour ago still hasn't thawed. I think it might be frostbite.

I haven't mentioned yet that we went out for Marisha's birthday on Friday night. She hosted a dinner at The Bungalow Cafe, owned by talented Toronto restaurateur (and ex-boyfriend), Rob P.
A handful of friends were there to celebrate - Glenn (Marisha's bf), Sharon, Karen, Gavin, Laila, Blake & Jackie and Birdie. Sharon's sister Nicki and her bf Dino just happened to come in and joined our loud, good-natured group. (And let me tell you, except for me and Laila, everyone was over 5'8". It looked like a convention for TALL people ).
It was so great to see everyone and, as you would expect, wine and conversation flowed. Glenn and I discussed the unnecessary guilt of 2nd and 3rd generation german-canadians while I tried to convince Dino that he HAD to take piano lessons since his hands could easily span two octaves on a keyboard. I'd had a few glasses of wine and kept saying things like, "Dino, piano is EASY. It's mathematical! Glenn, you understand that, TELL HIM." (Glenn is an engineer but to my knowledge, doesn't play the piano or any other musical instrument).
Blake was running a "who will get married first" pool - Gavin or the Birdman. Odds were running 3-1 in Gavin's favour but, based on the high standards of both, I said chances are I'll get married again before either of them. This prompted Birdie to jump up and hit on the three 20-something women at the next table. Three sets of manga-eyes and perky breasts were immediately pointed in his direction and we just looked on in awe as he was invited to join them.
It was a perfect night and the food was unbelievable with our choice of appetizer; pear and parsnip soup or bacon wrapped scallop (Sharon and I ordered each and shared) and an entree of roast pork with scalloped potatoes (served brick-style, something I've never seen before but, with the pork draped on the side, made for great presentation). An assortment of chocolates and chocolate dipped strawberries were on offer for dessert but I think we were all too stuffed by that time. It was a perfect celebration and it looked like Marisha enjoyed herself.

Mmmm. Lazy day. I'm just drifting from one lounge-point to another; stay in bed and read. yawn. Need coffee, breakfast at Helen's, so good. A Starbuck's misto while I read the paper. Perfect. Back home to the big, deep couch in front of the fireplace, the new Jack Johnson cd on the player (coincidentally entitled "Sleep through the Static" or some such. I'm too lazy to check the name) and a recently purchased copy of "Eat Pray Love" opened across my lap.
I was just on the phone with a friend who has known me since my single-parenting days and we decided this is payback for days, no years, when I didn't have a solitary minute to myself. Well, I'm taking it and not even feeling guilty. Nothing could make today any better...umm, maybe one thing ...

... Let's face it, everything's better with George.

Ugh. I just got home from a 2.5 hour dentist's appointment (Dr. H is replacing old fillings). I'm frozen up to my eyeballs which is making my sinus cold almost unbearable. However, last night I had a Crown Royal hot toddy and I do believe it relieved many cold symptoms. May have to have another tonight.

Nathan posted an interesting item on FB - a Senegalese paddler who has been training with him in Chula Vista for the past year had to go to Kenya for Africa's Olympic trials. Facing radically different conditions from his American and European counterparts, Assane Fall was met with this scene;

"Flanking kayakers as they paddled down the course
in the African Olympic trials at Kenya's Masinga Dam earlier this month were two boats. In each was a man armed with a machine gun, scanning the horizon for potential trouble.

Not because Kenya has plunged into chaos following a disputed presidential election in December, with reports of nearly 1,000 deaths from ethnic violence across the country.
Because of the crocodiles and hippos.

Crocs, you know about. Hippos are even more feared in Africa, where they are known to suddenly rise up in a lake, flip small boats, drag their occupants to the bottom, drown them and bite off their heads; on land they are said to run up to 30 mph. "

Makes our training camp run-ins with manatees and dolphins seem like a day at..well a day at the Pines.
It's great that Nathan's program is doing so well and I'm sure his amazing attitude has had a positive effect on his athletes, "Fall returned to San Diego last week. Members of the U.S. team greeted him at the airport, holding up signs with the Senegalese flag drawn on them. Fall teared up and hugged Luce for a good 30 seconds."
You know I'll be cheering for all of Nathan's athletes at the Olympics along with ours.

Another brutal snowstorm is supposed to hit tonight. It was semi-bad all day - OPP reporting 2 accidents every minute during the morning rush hour - but the worst (reportedly) is yet to come. I have to go out and get some groceries. I wish this freezing would wear off faster. Ugh. I look like Quasimodo. I'll just have to wrap a scarf around my head.
Okay, it's 7:30 pm and it is CRAZY out there. At least on friday the storm started in the morning. The steady run of traffic kept the roads reasonably beaten down. This storm started around 4:00pm - the roads are covered in giant snow ruts and cars are all over the place. As I was getting out of my car at the store there was a flash of light. At first I thought it was the beginnings of a migraine but then decided it seemed more like a camera flashbut then it happened again about 10 minutes later when I was driving along Lakeshore. Turns out this winter storm comes with lightning.
Alyson called to let me know that the gym is open but classes are cancelled (this is the night we do a core class). I was already planning to cancel so that let's me off the hook because the freezing is starting to wear off and my mouth really, really hurts. That along with this cold is making me miserable. It's times like these I wish I had a mife (man-wife) so I could just go to bed and he could bring me Advil and a hot toddy and tell me I look beautiful in spite of the swollen face, runny nose, red-rimmed eyes and paralytic mouth drag.
On second thought, maybe it's better there's no one here tonight.

Chrissy update: She's finally settled in Bondi but had a great time travelling around New Zealand. Highpoints include;

The Canyon Swing, a 60m free fall followed by a 200m swing at 150kph. Chrissy did it once and then decided she wanted to do it again, starting from a handstand position....

She also did some skydiving, body boarding, hiking on a glacier, cow milking (??), cliff jumping, jet boarding and boarding down a slide. I think she's having a goood time.

Great to see the blue knee socks are holding up...

This is a vertical obstacle course. Chrissy came close to breaking the record.

Miss you Wessman!

My new favourite artist...Duffy

Click here for a really great article about Andrew Willows' Olympic journey from The Chronicle in Montreal…

Jane Roos has been named to the 2007 CAAWS list of Most Influential Women in Sport! I ran into jane up in Collingwood this past weekend and she reminded me about the cocktail party she's hosting this weekend. It will be an amazing (women's only) event so let me know if you'd like to go.

In celebration of amazing women and in support of our FEMALE
ATHLETES the Canadian Athletes Now Fund is presenting
"Tell Me About Yourself" Cocktail Party on
Saturday Feb. 2nd, 2008...an evening of exceptional conversations.

Venue: Soma Restaurant & Lounge, 703 Queen Street East
Date: Saturday Feb. 2nd 2008
Time: 7:30
Dress: Be Fabulous!!

Join us to hear two POWERFUL OLYMPIC athletes share
their Amazing Formula, their Passion!

~ Networking Board,
~ Mingle with over 50 Olympic Female Athletes
~ Silent Auction,
~Tasty Food Stations
~Giveaways
~Entertainment

YOU ARE IMPACTING our female athlete's who are powerful, strong,
dedicated, courageous, determined, strive to be the best no matter how many
obstacles, wear the maple and represent all of us! They inspire us and our daughters.

To Order TICKETS ($50.00) & Event Details
Call Us: 416-487-4442
* This is a women only event

Looking forward to an incredible night...please pass this email on to
other Diva's in your network.

We went to see The Orphanage (El Orfanato) at the Carleton last night. This latest contribution by writer/director Guillermo del Toro is full of creepy-goodness! The last film I saw by him was Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) and I was blown away by the richness of the images and stories. Both are fantastic and eerie but Labyrinth (imho) is incomparable.

Huh. Talk about life imitating art...I just caught the last three skaters in the US Figure Skating Nationals and the top two were, well...I'll let you be the judge. For your consideration;

Johnny Weir...

and Evan Lysacek ...

Johnny Weir...

and Evan Lysacek...

Johnny Weir...

and Evan Lysacek...

Oh btw, they were tied for points but Lysacek won because of some figure skating rule - he won the free skate or something.

I love that I see so many hawks on my drive home from work.



So after weights last night, I went to an in-store event at the Lululemon in Oakville: a free life coach session on kick-starting 2008. I have to say that I was pretty tired and dragging my butt by the time I got there but it was worth it.

You know how I'm all about the little signs. Well, at Sunday brunch we had a brief conversation about potential trip destinations for this summer. Someone brought up India. Two people thought India would NOT be a good destination and two of us (Marisha and I) thought it would be worth it. The two negatories presented all kinds of arguments against and all we could say were things like, the Dalai Lama lives there, how bad could it be? What about the Taj Mahal? Maybe we could get visas to travel in Tibet. And so on. Really though - isn't anywhere different worth seeing?
So, back to Monday night where the speaker, Leslie, offered up this example for goal-setting ... "so, let's say your goal is to take a trip to ummm...India. This is how you would keep yourself on track."

Okay. India. Check.

We're supposed to be in Malaysia in late June/early August so it is clearly an option.

The rest of the session was about setting a goal and defining the ways to bring it about. My goal is to get a new career, preferably in the outdoor adventure/travel industry. After we laid out our plans we grouped up and discussed; I was grouped with an obviously well-cared for Oakville-ite I'll call Mindy and Jess, one of the 20-something clerks from Lulu. Mindy went first and said her goal was to meditate for at least an hour every day. And she would accomplish it by setting aside the time (??). I went next with a plan to start an outdoor-something business which could be anything from an adventure racers training camp up north somewhere to a surf hostel in Tofino. My execution included taking some entrepreneurial and travel & leisure courses and getting building quotes and projections on land cost from my friend Karen the carpenter. Jess, wants to effect change in our world by volunteering in a developing country. She would be would be researching and contacting the multitude of organizations involved in facilitating it and earning the money to underwrite the trip.

As I was leaving the session, Jess called me over and gave me the name of a friend's company in Toronto that organizes wilderness tours in Northern Ontario. She said at the very least I could talk to them about what's involved in this kind of business and at best, maybe apply for a job! It doesn't even matter if anything comes of it - I loved being reminded of the network of coincidences. My time these past few years has been so defined by the training, the team, nationals and worlds that I'd closed the doors on everything else and hadn't even realized it. Plus, it was an enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours. And it definitely gave me a kick in the ass to quit whining about how much I hate my job and take control of things.

I was so motivated about grabbing back the reins of my life that I even stepped on the scales this morning. I've been avoiding it but discovered I've lost 6 of the 10 pounds I gained after Australia.

Moving on.

Just glanced at the countdown clock and it's 200 more days until the Olympics!!

Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park

I cannot put down the book I'm reading. I woke up at 6:30am, made a pot of tea and have been sitting in front of the fire reading for over 3 hours. I kind of feel like I'm being dragged around Britain (past and present) by an extremely entertaining friend who keeps saying, "Oh. My. God! Just wait until you see what's over here!!" It reminds me of how I felt the first time I read Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume. Not to say her style is similar to his because it's not. It's just so .... so original.

Whoa, I just went onto Google Earth to map a paddling route in Florida and discovered they've added a new feature. I was selecting the various layers and clicked on Gallery. Suddenly there were little youtube icons everywhere...You can now look at any youtube video specifically associated with that location. So amazing!

So. I've retired from the women's team. I started to type that it wasn't a difficult decision due to my age but I'm going to amend that - it's not an unexpected decision.
It was a difficult decision.

Difficult because being on the team has added so much to my life; the people, the goals, the trips, the competition (and of course the winning). Difficult too because it's easy to stay involved with a team like this. They always need people to fill the boat or organize something, drive the coach boat or hold the video camera. However I realized that if I'm not racing, it's not where I want to be. And hopefully I'll be too busy with other endeavours.

I think it was slightly less difficult because I'd faced the possibility of leaving the team before. Just before we left for Berlin in 2005, my Mom, who has advanced Parkinson's, finally got a spot in a nursing home. A day later my Dad was diagnosed with cancer (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma). Their care became the dominant focus for my siblings and me so it seemed time to quit paddling. Since we were so close to leaving I was torn between the two committments. It's not difficult for another paddler to step into stroke just before a major event but it's not an ideal situation. My sister was great and assured me that my parents' health would not decline drastically in the couple of weeks I would be away.

The whole time we were in Germany I felt terrible, afraid that one of my parents would disappear before I came home. It was too hard and I decided this would be my last worlds. We made history in Berlin by sweeping the event with 3 gold medals. I was glad I went but barely remember anything other than an overwhelming sense of worry and guilt.

Our coaches always say that the end of the season is never the time to make decisions about next year so I chose to enjoy the break and let things be. As my parents lives settled into a "new normal", I continued to paddle.

Just before winter training started up in 2006 Jackie, and then Blake, announced that they would be retiring from the crew. It sounded like a good idea. And why not leave while we're on top? In the end I stayed on because I love the team and the training - it wouldn't hurt to do some extra pool paddling and weights and to see my friends regularly. Underlying everything though, was the concern that I wouldn't make the cut. For the past 18 months my training had taken a back seat and there were a number of times I kicked myself for not leaving before the season started. Then I made the short list and forgot all about that. I was going to Australia!

I am so glad I decided to stay this last year because I can retire and be content with it. We swept the 2007 Worlds (this time winning a fourth gold medal in an add-on event we never raced before - the 2k) and I got to travel with the tightest group of friends since Poland.

It also helps that the next Worlds are back in Poznan, Poland where this crew made it's debut. Serendipitous actually, since the 2009 Worlds were supposed to be held in Moscow. This way I can leave feeling things have come full-circle.

Oh George! I'm watching The Hour, ready to re-commit myself to Strombo but I'm torn...his guests are Peter Mansbridge and Les Stroud. If any men can pull me away from GS, these are the two....

Happy Birthday, Larry!

For your viewing pleasure...A very good (albeit dark) CG animation.

As always, the universe has a way of balancing the good & bad. My day did improve yesterday.

A) I received a really great voicemail from last saturday night's date (I'm not sure if it's going anywhere...maybe one more date before I say something).

B) I got a call from a former hook-up and we had a really nice conversation that was ... just nice. Nice when things end and you're still friends, nice that he still wants to know how I'm doing (and it's not 2:00am), nice to have coffee & a convo to look forward to...

C) did heavy weights at the gym and nothing hurt even though I'd upped the load.

D) the mail-lady brought;
i) a refund cheque from Enersource because I've cut down on my electrical consumption so much. Really it's just because past roommates who were home for most of the day have moved out but a refund is a refund! Am I right? This also translates into a 10% reduction of my regular bill.
ii) a notice that the credit limit has been raised on one of my credit cards! I realize that's a double-edged sword but yay for good credit!
iii) an accounting of my Aeroplan miles and a list of the cruises and vacations I could take for next to nothing!

E) my gmail brought;
i) an invitation to a free Lululemon session with a life coach. I would never hire one on my own but it's always great to have a positive outside force provide motivation for the new year.
ii) notice of a 50% off sale at Ninewest (so I can proudly walk the second floor at work!)
ii) an invitation to a friend's condo in Collingwood for the weekend. Should I snowboard? X-country? Snowshoe? Lounge eating bon-bons? Decisions...

I'm a whiney bitch today so don't read any further. This post is mostly for venting. It's also to remind me that there will occasionally be days like this and we do get through them.

The list of grievances so far;

A) I had to do a bingo last night. For anyone masochistic enough to still be reading, canoe club members have to work at a bingo hall a couple of nights because they reciprocate with funding for the club which in turn saves us a lot on our membership fees. It's a good thing but it's still annoying to be stuck in a bingo hall on a sunday night for 3 and a half hours when you're not a bingo type of person.

B) We had paddle pool this morning (7 x 7', 1'R)and since my S.I. is still jammed, my back hurts more than usual. I'm fine with pieces shorter than 4' but right now we're doing a lot of technique which means longer pieces and I suck. Every part of the stroke hurts and it's got to be frustrating for the coach who says the same things over and over and thinks he's not getting through. Sorry Larry - you are, I'm just a whiney bitch..

C) in the "Waaah, I have to do my jaawwwwb" category, it's the first Monday where everyone's back at work (our clients in the academic sector have been off for 2 weeks) so we're really busy and they're all pissy and bitchy too.

D) and finally, somebody left a DQ swirl of poop on the seat of the only working women's toilet on the first floor. This is an office, dammit, adults only. WTF?? I had to go up to the second floor which always depresses me because they can afford nicer shoes.

Keep in mind it's only 8:00am.

Matt Frewer turns 50 today. If you're asking, "Matt who??", here's a reminder;