I met Ryan at the club at 6:45 this morning to go for a paddle. It was humid but sunny. Lots of debris in the harbour from the heavy rainstorms. We did about 4 km on the lake, came in to see if Chris' group was there yet, then did 2km more on the river.



Afterwards, we went to Helen's for breakfast. Ran into Eve on her way to Starbucks - so pleased to see her wearing the Stonehookers t-shirt I made! It looks really great. She's writing a paper for a course she's taking so couldn't sit with us for very long.

Since Jared's coming by to install a NEW GARAGE DOOR OPENER (hooray!) we're just hanging out at my place going through some photos I found in that closet I cleaned out yesterday. So fun since most of them date from when Ryan was born. I also struck geek gold when I opened up a box containing original Star Wars figures plus a G.I. Joe plus E.T. with extendable neck. I tried to hold them hostage for cash but it was too cruel teasing the nerd my son instantly turned into when he saw them.

We definitely got the best of the day by hitting the water early! From then on it was fractured by rolling thunderstorms. Jared arrived during a break in one. He said that those light blinking on the back of the motor wasn't a reliable diagnostic tool so he wanted to take a look inside before replacing the unit. He opened it up and pulled out the plastic gear. It was split in half. I wouldn't be needing a new motor after all. On the one hand, I would be saving a couple hundred dollars but on the other, a new motor would have meant a keypad outside of the garage. That would've been handy for running or biking - I wouldn't have to take house keys.

Jared had the unit apart and repaired in minutes. And the door mechanism is so quiet now, I can't believe it! If you ever need an automatic garage door opener or repairs, let me know and I'll give you Jared's number.

I took the boys out to the Pump for lunch and then they both headed home (Jared with a pair of TFC tix in his pocket and Ryan with a carload of furniture, photos and action figures). I carried on with "operation clean-sweep" - my plan to remove anything from my house that I no longer need/use. I've decided to tackle it one floor at a time. Once everything's perfect on the top floor, I'll move to the main one. All that really needs doing there is hanging some pictures and maybe getting some more plants. Oh, and cleaning out the dreaded Tupperware cupboard - containers without lids, lids without containers, old margarine tubs and empty Classico sauce jars. I just need one or two containers and have hundreds! I'm looking forward to that!

The basement is the real nightmare. The spare bedroom down there is filled with old furniture, both mine, Adele's and my parent's. Actually, more space is taken up by boxes of photos than anything - several generations of Currys obsessed with cameras and photography! There are even Daguerreotypes in there. Exciting!

That's one of the reasons I don't want to just arbitrarily throw out these boxes. There's some pretty interesting stuff. I found an 1800-something deed to some land in Apsley, Ontario in one box and some really old photos of Mooneys Bay in Ottawa. You never know - there may be more with some canoeing going on.

Anyway, there's that room and then the laundry room. I want to set that area up as a silk screen studio so will need to get rid of the dismembered kitchen cabinets that the last owner installed and create a darkroom in the cold storage at the back. Those have been my hiding places for all kinds of junk, "out of sight...". Oh and then there's the crawl space. I completely forgot about that. It's full of boxes. Ugh. That floor is a whole winter project!

Good point. Look at what I found in Now Magazine's Letters section;

Rethinking garbage

I ride my bike back and forth to work in Toronto and pass two of the temporary garbage sites. At first, the smell of the garbage made me angry with striking city staff. Their labour action directly affected my bike ride along the lakeshore. My focus shifted to the garbage when I saw the piles growing higher.
The temporary dumps present the most visible evidence of our “use once and dispose” culture and, more importantly, of our “out of sight, out of mind” perception of garbage. The temporary dumping sites are an opportunity to educate people about how quickly we accumulate garbage.
We need to rethink what we do with our garbage and what viable alternatives exist. Education and action could be the good that come from having garbage dumps in our city parks.

Marisha Roman
Toronto

Marisha says they edited it some but was pleased it made print. She also received a personally signed letter in response from Dr. David Suzuki! Who says they don't listen to the little people?

A couple of videos I meant to post. Big fan of the Beastie Boys, big fan of the Tour (and Lance).



I had to remove the Lance video because I couldn't disable the autoplay feature. sorry about that.

mmmlah. My mouth is frozen. I've had some gradually increasing pain in a bottom right molar so called up the dentist and luckily got an appointment for first thing this morning. Love Harley! I was worried I'd need a root canal but it turns out a 20+ year old filling needed to be replaced. He did a fantastic, painless, job of removing the old metal filling and putting in a new white one. In at 8:00am, out by 9:30. And he's convinced me to go to Crossfit in Mississauga with him some Sunday.
The freezing is all in the back of my mouth so my tongue feels all swollen up. I imagine this is how someone with a peanut allergy feels when initially exposed. I don't mind this as much as freezing in the front where your whole face feels rubbery and coffee dribbles down your chin when you drink.
yeesh, the freezings starting to come out and it really hurts.

So, I found the online manual for my garage door opener. The LED error code on my unit indicates a logic board failure. I was hoping that reprogramming the remotes would do it but no...I actually have to purchase the part and climb a ladder. Stupid house falling apart! Anyway, at least it's something I can fix. Love the internet. I want to marry it so it can fix everything in my life.
It started pouring rain just as I left work tonight and there was a massive backup on the ramp from the 427 onto the QEW westbound. It took awhile to work my way down to and across the Lakeshore, plus it was still raining as I went by the club so I went home instead. Since I have Doug's practice at 8:00 I went early and did 8km on the lake. There was basically a line running south off the end of the Ridgetown - east side of the line, in the rain - west side of the line out of the rain. Weird.
When I came into the dock, Chris was just going out in the motorboat to coach masters, carrying a deli tray of finger sandwiches, like he'd just come from a conference or something. I didn't care, I was doing back-to-back practices without dinner - I took two and they were delicious (buttery!).
Blake came to practice tonight so both crews were on the water at the same time. Ours is starting to come together even though we were missing a few people. After practice I gave Eve the Stonehookers t-shirt and asked Chris to give Matt the Cleese. When I came out of the changeroom, Chris had Matt's shirt on and said he was keeping it. By the time I got home Matt had posted a protest on FB so I told him I'd print him a new one. If anyone's a fan of silly walks or stonehookers, let me know.

I got out on the water a couple of times today - late morning and afternoon. In the afternoon, I ran into Mike out in the harbour on his SUP. There was a lot of chop but he's rock solid on the board. We paddled in together but he went back out to try and catch a ride on boat wash as the fishermen and sailors packed it in for the day.

News item that granite counter tops may have come from contaminated sites. "The cancer comes from within". yeah the fear-mongerers were calling the item something like that.

Went up to Chapters for a semi-annual book-buying blowout. I think I'm set for the rest of the summer.

Garage door is not working. Can't figure out why. To the internet!

I spent the day at Model Citizen with Julian making screens and printing shirts. The weather wasn't outstanding so I don't feel like I missed anything. Besides, we were in the basement most of the time and never knew what was going on out of doors.

I did my usual thing of forgetting I needed 2 designs laser printed on paper until yesterday afternoon but I was going to the TFC game and couldn't do anything about it at the time. I always do this, ignore jobs I have to do until the last minute and then rush around trying to cobble something together. Somehow I always seem to get away with it. I'm starting to think I do it on purpose because I enjoy the challenge of proving I can pull it off.


So this morning at 9:30 I called a Kinkos on Hurontario to see if they could do a couple acetates on short notice. The girl who answered the phone wasn't sure but said to email the images and someone would call me back. Great! Now I just need to come up with some art.

Okay, keep it simple....simmmmmpulllll...simple. Simple, plain graphics that are eye catching. Got it - one I've always liked is the adaptor you put in a 45 record to play it on a regular turntable. Easy! One down, one to go. I had already started working on one of a stonehooker so cleaned that up and added some text. But then I came across some images of John Cleese doing his silly walk. I thought it would look amazing all strung together so did that too and sent them all off to Kinkos asking them to let me know if I could pick them up in half an hour.
I had to leave the house at 11:00 to get to Kensington Market in time but I still hadn't heard from Kinkos when I stepped out of the shower at 10:50. I was starting to stress a little - I couldn't just show up empty handed.

As I was heading out the door, Kinkos called. They'd received my images and could have them for me anytime. I asked them to increase the size to fill 8.5 x 11 sheets and print 2 acetates and 2 plain paper of each. This was actually going to work out! Yeah, I would be a little late but I would have something to work with.

Julian called just as I crossed Bathurst & Dundas. He was getting things setup so we were cool. (See what I mean? I should be more organized and definitely shouldn't get away with this stuff.) Julian had already made the frames so we just had to stretch the fabric screen, coat it with emulsion and set it in the darkroom to dry. By then it was 2:00 so we took a lunch break... at Big Fat Burritos, my favourite!

When we got back around 3:00, we positioned the artwork, exposed it on the light table for 11 minutes and then rinsed the screen, blasting out the image.

I'm really pleased with how my stuff turned out - especially considering how last minute it was. I never did print the 45 spindle but will save that for another time. Maybe for cushions or something.

One of the guys at work found a two-way radio on the road outside our office. He brought it in and now we're listening to the various conversations going on. This is better than reality tv. We suspect it might belong to one of the striking union members picketing at the Etobicoke Civic Centre across the road so they're trying to come up with a dialogue guaranteed to piss them off. Dorks.

Aw, Danielle's so sweet. I shot photos at her "before prom" party - no big deal - and tonight I find a thank you card in my locker with two really generous gift cards - for Starbucks and Pier 1. So not necessary (but I love both)!

Had a great day which disintegrated at the end when I got an email from a friend who'd received bad news. But tomorrow - sun is shining.

Arrived in Toronto around midnight last night. I had a nice little trip to Halifax for Jenn & Trent's wedding - what a great time we had!! - and now I'm hunched over my third bowl of coffee, filtering through the photos so I can get them up on fb for Jenn. I'm still in my housecoat and haven't even unpacked my bag except to get my camera.
There must have been a power outage over the weekend because all of my clocks are flashing 12...12...12... And even though it's only an hour's time difference, I had no idea what time it was when I woke up. By the time I found my phone and saw it was 7:35am, it was too late - I couldn't go back to sleep. Way too early for a day off!

Is Judith Hill the new Yoko Ono? Okay the comparison isn't exact (although closer than I realized - a quick google indicates she's also of Japanese decent) but it came to mind because of an old joke "What do crows and Yoko Ono have in common? They both make a horrible noise and live off dead beatles ."
Judith, if you don't know, is the backup singer turned featured artist who sang "Heal the World" at Jackson's memorial. While her singing isn't nearly as awful as Yoko's during the Plastic Ono Band days, it is not outstanding. And that's why I looked her up - how did such a mediocre vocalist come to such prominence at this epic event when she'd barely make the final 12 on American Idol? Good publicist? Clever agent? Some kind of family connection? Time will tell. Still, no good can come of launching your career off a dead icon's coffin.

Note: This doesn't reflect my opinion of Yoko Ono, just my generations. I was too young to have an opinion on her relationship with John Lennon and its effect on the Beatles but after seeing her exhibit at the AGO, I'm actually a fan of her art and the impact it had at the time. Definitely not a fan of her music. Here's a sample from their gig in Toronto in 1969;



It's so weird to see this in colour. They showed part of the concert on the news but we just had a black & white tv back then.

You know, I could swear there is stuff they only teach guys. Like today. I have a day off and decided to tackle those household jobs I've been putting off. There's a particular pile of laundry which I've moved from one spot to another just to avoid sorting and folding it. That needs doing. Also, I should hang the pictures that have been lounging around the house for years, leaning against walls at potential points of suspension, their little faces tilted up as I pass by, deliberately ignoring them. And I really need to attend to the rehabilitation of my lingerie drawer (okay, that job I don't really mind as it involves shopping and pretty things).
Anyway, the main job I set for myself today is replacing the washers on the leaking faucets in the two upstairs bathtubs. The one in my bedroom leaks so badly that I started using the main bathroom exclusively as soon as Kyle and Gavin moved out. Unfortunately, the main one has started leaking and I can't keep ignoring the fact that the washers need to be replaced.
It's not that it's a difficult job. In theory it's pretty simple; turn off the water at the main valve, remove the knob cover, unscrew the valve stem, remove the screw that holds the washer in place, flip over or replace the washer and return all to their original state. I've done it before in my old house (circa 1935) with no trouble. In this house though (built in 1984), the problem is that I can't loosen the valve stems. I've actually attacked the faucets a couple of times but I'm just not strong enough to budge the buggars. It's very frustrating knowing I'm just not strong enough to do something. And in the process I'm chewing up the fitting with the wrench.
Today I was determined to fix this once and for all. I'll spare you the details but after about an hour spent searching for tools and struggling with various parts of the fixtures, I successfully removed the valve stems in the bedroom faucets. As the screws holding the washers wouldn't budge, I wasted another 15 minutes trying to locate a vice grip before deciding to take the whole valve stem up to the Clarkson Home Hardware. Those guys are great and I thought they might be able to give me a hand getting the various pieces apart.
Did you know that for $5.99 you can just buy a whole new valve stem complete with washers that you can then just screw into place? I didn't. But I bet that guys know this. That little bit of knowledge would not only have saved me about an hour of work but I probably would have fixed the issue ages ago!

Results from 2009 Pan Ams in Rio. Canada finished with 23 medals (11 gold, 10 silver and two bronze).

1000m

K1 - 3rd Neil Lang
C1 - 3rd Cory Rublee
WK1 - 5th Marie-Pier Langlois
WC1 - 1st Mallorie Nicholson
K2 - 1st Neil Lang / Wesley Hammer
C2 - 5th Antoine Meunier / Dustin Shaw
WK2 - 2nd Hanna Vaughn / Tierra McLeod
K4 - 2nd Geoff Clarke / Hugues Fournel / Chris Mehak/ Phillipe Duschesneau
C2 - 1st Maria Vera Halavrezos / Jenna Marks

500m

K1 - 4th Wes Hammer
C1 - 2nd Cory Rublee
WK1 - 2nd Tiera Mcleod
WC1 - 1st Mallorie Nicholson
K2 - 1st Hugues Fournel / Chris Mehak
C2 - 2nd Dustin Shaw / Antoine Meunier
WK2 - 1st Nicole Brown / Marie-Pier Langlois
WC2 - 1st Jenna Marks / Maria Vera Halavrezos
WK4 - 2nd Erika Taras / Nicole Brown / Tiera Mcleod / Hannah Vaughan



200m

K1- 2nd Hugues Fournel
C1- 2nd Cory Rublee
WK1 - 1st Erika Taras
WC1 - 1st Mallorie Nicholson
C2 - 2nd Dustin Shaw / Antoine Meunier
WK2 - 1st Marie-Pier Langlois / Hannah Vaughan
WC2 - 1st Jenna Marks / Maria Vera Halavrezos
WK4 - 2nd Erika Taras / Nicole Brown / Tiera Mcleod / Hannah Vaughan

Whole lotta crazy...

Do you recognize this celebrity??

The massive purse was the giveaway for me because I just saw her itemizing it’s contents on TMZ like some 14 year old. I would never have believed this is Courtney Love if it hadn't been confirmed by Dlisted.
"You can never be too rich or too thin", my ass. This is what the ol' drugs will do to you kids.

Canada day.

Huh, I forgot it was coming and my only plan is to meet Doug and Stringer for a downwinder at 3:00pm. Don't know what to do with myself.
Coffee? check. Book? check.
To the couch!


I couldn't really lay on the couch for too long. I actually fell asleep for a bit but when I woke up, was desperate to get out of the house. I didn't feel like waiting until 3:00pm to paddle. I headed down to the club not knowing if it would be open or not. They have the Dominion Day regatta today - 125th anniversary, I believe. Anyway, with the city workers on strike, there are no ferries to Toronto Island so they moved the event to Welland.
I was in luck! Not only was the club open, it was busy. Jess and Del were just loading their boats onto the car, Pete had some clients, some dbers had set something on fire between us and the rowing club (okay it was a bbq). I put my car keys in my dry bag and headed out onto the lake - straight into a perfect south-west wind. Paddled out for 4km, rode waves back in for 2km, turn, repeat, turn, repeat. It was great. I came off the water, put my boat away, grabbed a Starbucks and then wandered over to the park where the annual PC CD festivities were happening.
After a walkaround town, I realized I was starving. Normally, that meant a stop at Burrito Boyz but I wasn't feeling it so stopped by the crazy-guy hot dog stand by the totem pole. As usual he was ranting on to no one (or possibly his dog) about politics, specifically the Quebec referendum. I just ignored him and tried not to make eye contact while I waited for my sausi-dog.
Walking back to my car, Chris pulled up. There was no parking anywhere near the club but since there were pylons put out for the club trailer, I just moved one enough to fit his van in. There was still a ton of room for both truck and trailer but Chris figured he'd be back in before they returned anyway.
I left those guys unloading their boats - I wasn't quite ready to go back on the water. I left my car there though and walked home. I'll probably head back around 6:00 for a leisurely evening paddle and don't want to fight for parking (I need my car since I can't carry my ama and iakos on my bike). Hopefully there'll be fireworks.

Around 5:30, I rode my bike back to the club. Chris Abbott was just leaving but there were still paddlers on the water so the club was open. Forgot to pack my GPS, watch and ipod but this was just going to be an easy paddle anyway. The lake had flattened out considerable since this afternoon but the wind was still from the south-south-west. I had checked the weather network and NOA websites but all they could tell me was that there would be thunderstorms sometime today. I could see thunderheads waaaay off in the distance - probably Chatham area but we all know how quickly a storm can move in. A much better gauge was the sailing regatta going on just off Lakeshore Promenade. I knew they'd head for the marina if there was any radio indication of an incoming squall. I just did a few km on the lake before the clouds moved in - I must be getting better at reading them, the rain hit just as I got to the dock.
There was a really good Neil Young cover band at the park so I took my time putting my boat away. As I stood up on the dock, I looked up the river and was presented with one of the most stunning scenes I've encountered - the sun and rain combined to create what looked like a trail of diamonds meandering up the river. Of course my first thought was "where's my camera" but I knew I could never capture this phenomenon. So I just stood there staring, creating a mental image. It was spectacular!

Rory, Darryl and Tamlyn were just leaving the club. Tamlyn was making fun of Rory for wearing maternity pants when she doesn't look at all pregnant yet. They were very stylish jeans, but she lifted her shirt and, yep, there was that ugly spandex panel. Too bad, because I was about to aske her where she got them. Anyway, I totally get why she's wearing them. The people around us are never aware of how "thick" a pregnant woman's waist gets before she gets the baby bump. I give her 2 weeks.

Now I'm at home listening to the neighbourhood fireworks and remembering how my dog used to tremble on any Victoria or Canada Day. Someone should create earplugs or headphones for dogs to protect them for the fireworks terrors - they'd make a fortune!

I'm always playing catch-up these days. And it's too bad because the day to day is the whole point of a journal.

So the summer has officially started, the weather was fantastic for our home regatta and db festival. Love the home regatta because it's a chance to catch up with everyone after a long winter. Plus, the distance is limited so races are a low-stress 180m or so. No one gets freaked out about this event. Well, no one but the starter apparently.

From all reports, she was an absolute cow - you probably know her, name rhymes with Dandy Hell, did db in the past and mom of a girl who used to kayak at our club. If you've figured out who it is, I know you're shaking your head thinking, "That figures. Why did they let her become an official?"

All of us accept bitchiness from a starter if conditions suck and the regatta's running way behind schedule but there was none of that on this day. In fact I think they were a few minutes ahead. But for whatever reason, many paddlers found themselves watching their race start without them - either as they paddled to the line or just as they turned to line up.
I was talking to a friend the next day - kayaker - and she told me that as she paddled up to the line in a K-4 with 3 midgets, she yelled, "we're coming, we were waiting for one of the kids to finish their last race." and Dandy Hell snarled back, "You're too late" and started the race. My (very vocal) friend who insists they were actually on time, yelled, "What are you doing? Do you think this is the fucking Olympics?" She cursed under her breath all the way back to the dock with the silent, quivering midgets. As they were getting out of the boat, she heard "Would the head coach of (rhymes with) Quest Mouge please report to the judge's station." over the speaker system.

They just gave them a warning but you can't help but marvel at how adults (especially a couple of alpha-females) can really mess up a good time for kids.

Other than that, it was a great regatta. The sun shone all day. I left early to go to see Jenn but you can see photos from the early part of the day here.
(sorry for all the pseudonyms, just don't want to expose my blog to random googlers)

The db festival was actually more fun and laid-back. I rode my bike over later in the day and wandered around socializing and taking photos.

I love this line from the Metronews Halifax article about Adam's injured ankle,

"Although van Koeverden won’t be available for the trials, Lake Banook will be crawling with Olympians on Saturday and Sunday..."

get the lowdown on what happened from the man himself at http://www.vankayak.com/

Michael Jackson in a coma in a Los Angeles hospital after suffering from cardiac arrest.

"Pop star Michael Jackson is in a coma after being rushed by ambulance to a Los Angeles-area hospital Thursday afternoon after suffering from cardiac arrest, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
Capt. Steve Ruda, an official with the Los Angeles Fire Department, told the Times that Jackson was not breathing when paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m.
The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper."

So, obviously when I posted that he was already dead. It was so shocking at first and then I thought, "What, did you think he'd live forever?" Really though, it's because we're the same age. And don't judge, I bet every one of you knows a celebrity who has the same zodiac sign or birth year as you. I'm about the same age as Madonna adn Michael Jackson. Imagine aspiring (or expiring) to those benchmarks!
Anyway, tonight at practice there were only 5 paddlers from Unbwogable so we decided to go to the bar. They figured the other paddlers didn't show up because;

A: in mourning for MJ
B: random thunderstorms across the GTA (but strangely, blue sky at Sunnyside)
C: they just couldn't be bothered. The 5 are convinced it's the end of Unbwogable.

We had a couple of drinks at Sunnyside, then I headed over to Marisha's (very, very late) and we immediately booted over to Hollywood on Queensway for Cori's "gatehouse" fundraiser. I bought the first round by way of apology.

Every year when school ends, there's a massive party at the end of my street in Rattray Marsh. It's held in this big clearing the kids call "The Cathedral". Generally, I don't hear any noise from the party, I just know it's happening because of the increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic on my dead-end street as soon as it gets dark. The police just busted up this year's bash and there are hundreds of teenagers crowding up my street. It's like a concert just let out!

Can't wait! Sam Roberts is playing at the waterfront festival. I'm just going to grab a burrito for dinner and stay at the club after my paddle. Also playing this weekend are 54-40 and Bruce Cockburn.
I have to go to Toronto Island this weekend (coaching a crew) but should be home by around noon on Saturday. Lots of time to wander around Port Credit and enjoy one of our biggest parties of the summer!

Danielle was out in the coach boat tonight and when the bantam K-4 tipped, she couldn't get there fast enough because the motorboat was filling up with water. They pulled it out onto the trailer where you could see that someone had punched a hole in the side, near the back. Kyle pointed out that it looks like an ice pick or awl and I have to agree. They'd taken shots all along the side of the boat - only punctured it through in one spot though. Maybe it's the same person who trashed my boat last year!? I'd love it if they figured out who that was.

blog-neglect.
Here's a quick overview of the past weekend (with photos pilfered from other people).

Jenn was home for a super-quick visit and wedding spa/tea/lounge party. I didn't realize how much I've missed her until I heard her voice! Why did we ever let her leave Toronto? I actually encouraged her! I think they should just skip Deline and move back to Toronto. At least I'll be in Halifax to see her and Trent get married!
(I'm hiding in the back of this pic because I was heading to the soccer game and had already changed out of my party clothes, into jeans and TFC t-shirt. It offended my sense of photo-symmetry - until I saw this. It's like the crazy lady next door stuck her face in at the last minute).


A new puppy has taken on the job of training Larry. Meet Finley: 14 weeks and very laid back by all reports. I'm envious but not enough to go out and get a dog.

Louise and Jonathon are returning to America. They'll be here for a visit during July. In these photos, they're taking a break from packing...remind me why you're leaving Repulse Bay? I know this is right outside your front door!

I've secured my tickets for the Real Madrid game here in Toronto in August.

Excellent.

Step one of plan to seduce Cristiano Rinaldo initiated.

Thanks for the comments and support from my last post. I know you completely understand what it's about.

I'm trying out all kinds of new things. Nothing has really clicked the way paddling did but it's an interesting social experiment. There's an unexpected negative side to being single past a certain age. I love the tennis and salsa lessons but there comes a time when it's difficult to progress without a regular partner. Rock climbing is also on the agenda but once I get past the initial instruction, I can't just show up at Rattlesnake Point with my gear and a warm smile... that would have worked 15 years ago but not anymore.

Okay, now I'm just making excuses. There are all kinds of groups looking for people to join them on excursions - rock-climbing, cycling, running, adventure racing. The irony is, I'm too busy at the moment to take up anything new. That'll all change in the next month as my language & dance classes plus one of my coaching commitments end.

Urgh...in terms of motivation and self-regard, I've hit, if not the bottom, the shelf before the bottom. The garden is all weedy, the garage and basement are stacked with furniture waiting to be put on Craigslist, car needs service, the showers in 2 bathrooms spray water everywhere because I never get around to replacing the washers, piles of laundry to fold... The doctor called, my last set of tests showed 'something' but I have put off making an appointment to run the tests again. okay, obviously those are all symptoms and not the real issue.
Anyway, tonight I have the flu so after an indifferent paddle, I skipped my Spanish class. I put on some sweats from 2001 (that barely fit anymore) and was pulling a Homer in front of the tv when I remembered that my car has been threatening to throw a rod for the past 1000km. If I don't put some oil in it, you're going to see me standing on the side of the highway with black smoke pouring out of the engine.
I pulled on a hoody, my black Canada one from 2004. Yep, I've resorted to wearing old, oversized sports clothes. And worse, it was black on black. The dreaded (almost) matching sweatsuit. Might as well just book my ride to Casino Rama now. I pulled my greasy hair into a ponytail and drove to the PetroCan in Clarkson. Tugging the hood up over my head, I pumped some gas before grabbing 3 quarts of 10w-30 from the rack. I tossed in a Reeses Peanut butter cup as I cashed out. What the hell? How is that going to help?
When I got home, I tried to figure out where the self-sabotage is coming from. The only conclusion is that my life has stagnated. I've got lots going on but at the end of the day it's just treading water. It's like I just left this room that was my life of training and racing and everything that entails and now I'm standing in the corridor - do I go forward, or back into that room. Neither option is completely heinous but I've become far too comfortable in the hallway... decision time... re-decorate or find a new room.

World Cup 3
200m & 500m finals

The K1 500m results haven't been posted so someone must be disputing them. They've even taken down the start list so I can't see who was in lane 4. They've forgotten to take down the finish line photo thogh and I can see why lane 4 might dispute this - it's really close. If you click on this for the bigger image, it still looks like Adam took silver though.

postscript note: Adam claimed silver




One report indicates that strong headwinds added about 10 seconds to everyone's times (which I haven't takent the time to post here - maybe later).

K1 200m
5th Richard Dober

W K1 200m
3rd Karen Furneaux

K2 200m
3rd Andrew Willows & Richard Dober

C2 200m
4th Paul Bryant & Pierre-luc Laliberte

K4 200m
7th Lyall, Connor, Shaun & Corey
8th Brady, Rhys, Angus & Chris

W K4 200m
3rd Kristin, Mylanie, Genny & Emilie
4th Trisa, Jillian, Una & Kia

C4 200m
3rd Gab, Andrew, Mark & Mark

C1 500m
1st Attila Vajda
6th Mark

C2 500m
2nd Gab & Andrew

W K4 500m
2nd Kristin, Genny, Emilie & Kia

A Finals

Women's K4 500m
Silver Kristen, Genny, Emilie & Kia

K1 1000m
1st SWE Anders
2nd AUS Ken
3rd ITA Max
4th CAN Adam

C1 1000m
1st HUN Attila
2nd UZB Vadim
3rd ROM Florin
4th CAN Mark
5th CAN Tom

C2 1000m
9th CAN Andrew & Gab

World cup # 3 Szeged, Hungary
Adam was sick earlier in this series and is now having some issues with his ribs.


In the heats, Adam was 1st (1000m, 500m) , Angus 1st (500m), Karen 1st (200m) & 5th (500m), Mark 4th (1000m) & 3rd (500m), Tom Hall 3rd (1000m) & 4th (500m) and, look at that, Duke was 3rd (1000m) & 5th (500m).

K1 200m Shaun 4th (heat 1)
Richard 3rd (heat 2)

K2 1000m Conor and Lyall 4th

K2 200m Andrew & Richard 1st

K4 1000m Rhys, Chris, Angus & Brady 3rd

K4 200m Brady, Rhys, Angus & Chris 5th (heat 1)
Lyall, Connor, Shaun & Corey 4th (heat 2)

K1 200m Una 6th
K1 500m Emilie 4th

K2 Tory & Trista 4th

K2 (200m) Tory & Emily 5th

K4 500m, both boats (Mylanie, Jill, Una and Emily) (heat 1)
(Kristin, Genny, Emilie & Kia) were 4th (heat 2)

C2 200m Paul and Pierre-Luc

World cup # 2 in Poznan, Poland

Adam won silver in the 500m and bronze in the 1000
Mark won silver in the 1000m

Mark and Gabriel were 1 & 2 in the C-1 5,000-metre race on Sunday

1st CAN Oldershaw 21:4.06
2nd CAN Beauchesne-Sevigny 21:07.94
3rd ROM Sergiu Cracium 21:30.07.

''I was happy to have Gabriel with me because we've been training partners almost all year,'' Oldershaw said. ''Everything went as planned. We got ahead together quickly and we were able to ride each other's wash and save energy. We had both been in races earlier in the day so that was important for us.''

''It was nice to come back from a messy 500-metre race (on Saturday).''
''My focus has been mainly on the 1,000 because it's early in the season and my speed isn't quite there yet. I got off to a great start and felt comfortable right up until the finish.''

I started dance classes last night - salsa to start. It's fun! This part is good because you don't need a partner. Since I don't have a guy, I'd have to pair up with a stranger or worse, a woman.
I'm not comfortable touching people, so that would make me very tense for dancing. I guess I'll have to do it at some point if I plan on going any further. The whole two women pairing up at dance class is a sad image, spinsters at holiday camps like the one in Dirty Dancing, the headgear girls dancing in Sixteen Candles. I'd prefer Long Duc Dong over that!

The class is a fair size - about 14 people - and there's only one couple. The rest are singles - pairs of girlfriends and random single guys. The instructor is pretty funny and pretty pregnant.

It's interesting, the women are fairly quick at picking up the steps but the guys are brutal. Seriously, it sounds mean but I give them full credit for signing up because this is so clearly a challenge for them. We only did a basic step last night - rock forward, tap right, rock back, tap left. Then we mixed it up by step left, tap together, step right, tap together. Trust me when I say it's as basic as it gets.


I think it's because women do step classes, aerobics, those kinds of workouts that help us with body-brain coordination. The guys were all over the map. And once she turned on the music? They lost it!
Anyway, totally fun - I wish I'd started up with these last winter when I wasn't doing anything at all. Right now I'm going downtown for the classes - right at Yonge and Bloor - but I think come the fall, I'll look for a studio closer to home.

I was up at the hospital again this morning. This is the first time Dad hasn't been sleeping when I've been there. I would normally just type "Dad was awake" but it's not really like that. His eyes are mostly open but there's no focus or recognition or response to my voice. He did respond to a cup of juice being put up to his lips but wouldn't open his mouth for some food - a spoonful of yogurt.
The doctor says he has two bacterial infections and indicates that his organs are shutting down. He has a collapsed lung, his skin breakdown is continuous anywhere there's an ulcer (several places) and, since they believe he's in almost continuous pain, are providing some relief from that. The doctor at one point suggested we stop providing him with food to allow him to "give up the ghost" but we declined on that for the most obvious reasons; we have no interest in starving our parent to death and also because taste seems to be the only sense left to him. Two weeks was the timeframe given last Wednesday. We've been hearing these sorts of proclamations for the past 3 or 4 years but this time, I think they may be right.

I was able to move a bookcase to the basement, the stacking shelves with glass covers, and start filling it up with books and my antique camera collection. I might finally be starting to get a handle on the overflow of furniture in my house. My problem is I'm too sentimental. I have boxes of old photos, my grandmother's rocking chair, assorted antique dressers and mirrors, not to mention my own furniture discarded and relegated to the garage in favour of newer stuff. Anyway, I hope some day to get over these attachments (why do I keep buying books and why do I have to keep every book ever read?), put it all up on Craig's list and make a fortune!

I cut the grass in the backyard. Okay, I say I cut the grass but it was mostly dandelions and wild rhubarb. anyway, from the second floor it looks like a nicely manicured lawn and that's the best I can expect for now.

I'm so glad I have my outrigger. It's a beautiful sunny day out there, just 15 degrees but that's nice for a paddle. I headed down to the club and ran into Eric Sziraki who was just putting his boat on the car. He's been visiting from his new home in Brisbane for the past month. Actually, I recognized the boat first as Kris' old one before realizing the guy using it was his brother. We chatted for a bit, their mom is doing pretty well. She recently had a couple of procedures to remove fluid from her lungs but things sounded very positive.

So happy I was able to fix my Garmin! It just stopped working one day for no apparent reason. I thought the battery was dead (dead-dead) but I've only had it for a year so did a quick search of the Garmin site and found a way to soft boot the unit and reconfigure the software. The first three times it worked fine as long as it was connected to the USB port but failed if I disconnected it. It just wouldn't power on. I decided to power it on while connected to the usb before I left the house so I could at least do the workout.

Fortunately, Chris A. showed up for practice or I wouldn't have gotten into the club. The lake was a little rough but mostly from boat traffic - I'd forgotten how many people get out on the lake on weekends! I stayed out for an hour and then headed back into the dock. I really didn't want to come in but frankly, I was just bored. I'd done a workout and didn't feel like just paddling around the river. My Garmin seems to be working fine now after doing a full recharge and workout.

Now I'm going to get a glass of wine and an apple and finish reading Russell Brand's autobiography. (I've a bit of a crush.)

Yesterday we got our new scarves for the TFC Lakeside Loyals. JP and Jeff had ordered them from a supplier in Poland and they were worth waiting for... don't you agree? (that's JP in the photo).

I met up with the guys at Clarkson station and we joined Toby & Brandon on the train. It started pouring rain as we walked from Exhibition to the Brazen Head but it had cleared up considerably by the time we walked back to the stadium. I met up with Ryan and Jason, a friend from UNB, in the stands.

The TFC online account manager is great - I can email my tickets to anyone before the game so we don't have to arrange to meet somewhere beforehand. I've left tix for people at the will-call before but they have to have photo ID and not everyone brings that to the game.

Anyway, we lost 2-0 to Chicago but as always, we had a good time.

Today, Karen and I had planned on doing OC-2 so I drove out to the Bay. The wind was unbelievable and when I got there told Kev there was no way we were going out. He was all disbelief and wanted to hear what Karen would say when she got back. She'd ridden the bike down to the beach to take a look at the lake. When she came in, she said exactly the same thing so we had to put up with Kevin's ridiculing us for being soft. Lucky for us, we just don't care. Instead, Karen made us a great brunch of french toast and fruit and we enjoyed just hanging around the table talking shit. We had to take another dose of ridicule when Kev saw two db paddlers out in one of the Fairport OC-2s, saying how we might have a chance of beating them - they were clearly inexperienced paddlers and barely moved in the 60km/hr headwind. Even when they turned around and had a tailwind, they were crawling along. It actually didn't seem safe for them to be out there considering the conditions and their inexperience.

This afternoon I'm home and lounging around on the couch. I feel like a beluga! Marisha called from the Q and invited me out for a beer but I passed. She had a masters swim meet this weekend and won a bronze (um, I'm a bad friend because I can't remember what it was in - the 50m backstroke maybe?) and some 4ths and 5ths. The oldest swimmer there was 100 and received a standing O during his race. Can you imagine? I could start swim training now and it would 50 years before I'd be racing in his age group! Ugh. I'll put off making a decision on that for now - I've got lots of time and may consider taking it up when I'm in my 80s.

back to the couch...I'm exhausted.

So Peter was out tooling around in his OC-1 yesterday morning when he saw something rather big perched on the trestle. He thought at first it was a pelican (one of those moments where your stored memories conflict with your geographic reality) but didn't have time for closer observation as it launched itself and plummeted straight into the water. He waited for it to surface and when it didn't, headed over to investigate.
When he got to the spot and looked into the water, he saw a head, a human head, just below the surface. He reached down and, grabbing it by the collar, hauled up a boy, unconscious and turning blue. Still holding him by the collar, he paddled to shore where two CN rail workers were scrambling down the bank to meet him.
They said they'd seen they guy behaving suspiciously and were just going to investigate when he disappeared over the side of the trestle. He'd left behind a gym bag filled with booze and a suicide note.
The guy came around quickly on shore but when he realized he was still alive, plugged his nose, closed his eyes tight and held his breath - apparently hoping to complete the suicide by self-suffocation. Comical under the circumstances. This was a better story than the usual paddler/rower finds body in river...

So wrong but still the only reason to watch SNL since the US election ended...(for now this is the only link that's showing this clip in Canada - sorry about the fat guy. You can fast forward to :30)

I have too much to do at home and decided to skip NTT this time. I got a call from someone at the course around 10:45 - make up races from saturday finals finished at 10:30 am and they were finally starting the 500s. I feel for the paddlers, officials and supporters - I hear the conditions haven't improved much.

Check out this ad for World Cup in Hungary.



Meanwhile at World Cup 1 in Račice, Czech Republic...

Adam has launched his 2009 season with a gold. In the K1 1000m, he posted the fastest time at all the splits and won the gold in three minutes 38.492 seconds. Rene Holgten-Poulsen of Denmark was second in 3:39.969 and Anders Gustavsson of Sweden was third in 3:40.355

Results for C1 1000m (keeping in mind all our guys are at NTT);

1st FRA Mathieu Goubel 4:06:159

2nd UZB Vadim Menkov 4:08:003

3rd POL Marcin Grzybowski 4:09:679

K1 500m

1st FRA Sebastien Jouve 1:36:614

2nd SWE Anders Gustavssen 1:37:448

3rd DEN René Holten-Poulsen 1:38:524

C1 500m

1st UZB Vadim Menkov 1:47.420

2nd BLR Dzianis Harazha 1:47.716

3rd LTU Jevgenij Suklin 1:47.836

Oh wow, results for the 5000m?? I am so out of the loop.

K1 5000m

1st BLR Aleh Yurenia 18:09,0

2nd CAN Adam van Koeverden 18:09,2

3rd ITA Maximilian Benassi 18:12,0

C1 5000m

1st POL Marcin Grzybowski 20:57,5

2nd RUS Pavel Petrov 20:58,0

3rd ROU Iosif Chirila 21:30,6

It sounds like conditions at Welland couldn't have been any worse! The wind blew over two porta-potties - no word if there was anyone in them. Afternoon races were cancelled so basically none of the finals have been run. They'll start running them at 7:30am tomorrow but it sounds like paddlers are in for a long day. I'll be checking the weather before I decide on going out there...
I was going to that reunion which was being held in the east end - Westney and Bayly. The weather was ridiculous as I drove across the 401 (although Port Credit was fine with just a little rain).

Good luck to everyone racing at national team trials this weekend. I have a high school reunion tomorrow afternoon but plan on being there for 500s on Sunday. My son and I had my mother's day dinner tonight so I'm good!
I'm hoping you have no rain and no wind.
Get out front, don't get tired

My dad is back in the hospital. This was a pretty long stretch - he hasn't been admitted since the first week of January so that's...3 months and a bit of good health. That's something!

Wasted.
The day, not me. I can't believe I slept until 2pm.
I didn't go to bed until 3am but still - that's no reason for an 11 hour snoozefest.

It was my brother-in-law's 50th birthday last night and my sister had a blowout party - 140 people - at their new home. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a blowout like, say, the senior party at nationals in Dartmouth. The guests were mostly affluent, middle-aged and figure prominently in business, politics and sports.

The invitation said BBQ but I knew that meant something completely different with this crowd. I struggled with my wardrobe (gaining so much weight doesn't help since most of my 'cute' clothes don't fit) so I settled on black dress pants and raspberry camisole with a wrap sweater. So glad. As I searched for a parking spot on their street, I noted the trail of people heading to their house - suits on the men and everything from cocktail dresses to pleated Burberry skirts topped by Lacoste polos on the women. At least I'd blend in. My sister looked fantastic in white linen pants and a loose, patterned shirt she had picked up in West Palm beach on their last ladies' group trip. She's slimmed down incredibly since I last saw her at Easter. She has always been able to starve herself leading up to any given event. On the one hand, I wish I had that ability but on the other, it's completely unhealthy. Either way, she looked incredible and happy!

Randall is a pretty laid-back guy with a good sense of humour. Loves the cottage, fishing, golf...so the caterer went with a cottage theme. There were massive posters of him on the living room walls - blow ups from the family albums of him waterskiing, scuba diving, driving the boat...and outside there were portable bonfire pits where you could roast marshmallows and make s'mores (with imported chocolate, of course).The hired musician was playing the grand piano in the foyer early in the night and later brought his guitar out to the bonfire where he played a lot of Dylan, Neil Young, Springsteen...(basically the music of our high school years and definitely nothing recorded after 1980).Tara's male friends loved it since that's what 17 year old boys are listening to right now.

And then there were the bass... in the hot tub. Yeah, that's right, I said bass...as in fish. The hot tub wasn't heated obviously - and I guess the idea, stay with me here, was for the pro photographer she'd hired to take shots of these people in Armani suits and cocktail dresses wearing hip waders and holding up the bass they'd "caught". Unfortunatley, the hot tub borders the chlorinated swimming pool. Three of the bass jumped the breach into the main pool. They were netted and returned to the hot tub (fresh water) where they instantly died and sank to the bottom. Am I the only one reminded of the WKRP thanksgiving media event where Les throws turkeys out of a helicopter not knowing they can't fly?

The food was pretty amazing with staff circulating an endless stream of french fries in small take-out containers - topping choice of ketchup, malt vinegar, mayonaisse or truffle mayonaisse - and trays of shrimp with coriander, mini burgers of pulled pork and a dining room buffet that featured mango salad, a variety of pasta dishes, pad thai, roast beef, etc....I didn't actually see the entire buffet. I had eaten dinner and was cursing myself for it. I wasn't at all hungry so only viewed the spread from a distance (although I did have some of the truffle mayonaisse fries). There were 3 bars going but since this wasn't really a drinking crowd, they shut down the one on the patio once the speeches started.

I left at around 11:30 and headed out to Pickering where there was a going-away party for Ryan. He's moved to Carlton Place and taken the head coaching job at the club there. He has a line on a teaching job and Julie will join him in September.

Since I was so late, lots of people had already left but Kevin & Karen, Schro & Amy, Pete & Sarah were still there. I also ran into a db paddler I haven't seen in awhile, Mike. Mike's a hardcore Salsa dancer and I've been wanting to ask him about where I can take lessons. I start an introductory class at the Spanish Centre next Saturday but if I really enjoy it, want to take classes from someone from within the (extensive) Toronto salsa community. Mike has put dancing on the backburner these past couple of years while he went back to school to add some letters to his name. He's finally finished his degree so I'll get in touch with him after this 5 week session is over.

The Clarkson contingent left with me around 1:30. The Gardner was closed and there was construction on the 401 with a massive backup from around the 409 exit. I took the detour towards the airport and swung back around to the 427 south in order to miss it. Bad news for the people in the car who desperately had to go to the bathroom.

When I got home, I wasn't tired and finished watching the movie Delirious.

So now, I'm eating a Burrito Boyz chicken burrito and watching Quantum of SOlace. Might as well make the day a complete write-off!

Nice - got my new passport yesterday. I just sent in the online form along with my old passport to Gatineau, QC and had the new one in my hands in less than 2 weeks! This is so much better than standing in line. The last time I had to renew, I left it too late and had to go to the passport office. What a zoo. Being 3rd in line at the post office in the back of Turtle Creek is way better than being number 572 in a skeevy government office.

Special bonus: I like my new photo better than the old one and they even returned my old passport. Those stamps and visas remind me of so many great trips.

While searching for a photo of a Canadian passport, I found out that Canada will be introducing a higher security, electronic passport valid for 10 years, starting in 2011. This makes so much sense, especially since Canadians are required to present a passport to enter the U.S. when arriving by air or sea and, although it's not strictly enforced, proof of identity and citizenship when entering by land. Currently, that means if you don't have a passport, you have to use a driver's license combined with an original birth certificate. Taking this into consideration, the Canadian federal government is developing an alternative secure travel document for short-term travel to the U.S.. Ottawa will spend $6-million over two years to support enhanced provincial drivers' licenses that will also list the driver's citizenship.

Having this new passport makes me want to try it out. Gah. Not good. I can see the airport from my office window and Flaco says the Bali Trip is ON...

ugh....
Today I found myself in one of those awkward situations... I was talking to someone and they said,"oh tomorrow I'm doing blah blah and then I have this with these people..." and I remembered that I was invited to this about 6 weeks ago and said, "Oh right, I forgot about this with them ..." and then let it trail off as realization sunk in that this person knew I'd been invited but there'd been no follow-up phone call or email - to me. I'd been dumped!
Stuck now, the other person said, "oh, do you want to come?" so I made up some reason for not being available. But then I thought maybe I was being over-sensitive. I mean, why invite me in the first place? So I said, "Maybe I can make it, what time?" But there was that weirdness again as they gave me the details. Now we were both really uncomfortable and I couldn't take it back and since I haven't been in this situation since high school, I didn't know how to smooth over the moment. Now it's just sort of out there and I feel like a big social duffus, with greasy hair and a skin condition.
erm...

Winnipeg is sinking....

My brother just sent this photo. Both he and his girfriend, Jo-Ann, are researchers associated with the University of Manitoba.

He wrote, "Thought I would send along a photo taken this past weekend of our research farm located about 15 km south of Winnipeg. It’s the island in the bottom right corner. The larger farm in the center of the shot is the University of Manitoba’s research farm. Jo-Ann and I are spending the night manning the pumps as there is some seepage through culverts in the dike. Not to worry...we have a boat in case the water comes up over the roadway. Oh...and a bottle of wine."

What??
You know, I don't like to miss a TFC game but I wasn't too upset when I realized I couldn't make tonight's game because of a coaching gig. De Ro is out with a groin injury and we were up against the undefeated Chivas USA. Plus it was cold and rainy (although it's always a good time in 119!).
So what do they do?? Instead of continuing their slippery skid of defeat, the Reds delivered their best home performance of the year! I got a text from my son as I was leaving Sunnyside and I thought he was just being a jerk because I couldn't be there;
1-0 for TFC
Chya right.
No, we won!! :):)
Really??
crap, I missed it.
Anyway, this is all it'll take to get the fans up for Sundays game against K.C. Can't wait!!

It's still cold and grey out there. Tonight's my first night of the year for coaching db at Sunnyside - Greg and I are co-coaching a corporate team that has an A & B crew. Should be fun (as long as I remember to take a hat and gloves). With the weather I'm guessing we'll be lucky to get one full boat, let alone two.

Gah...the wind is ridiculous! It was rainy, cold and windy all day. And of course it's the day I get two emails from the guys in C.R. telling me how great the waves are - head high - and asking if I miss the warm weather and the skinny men with big feet.
I do! I really do.
In the afternoon, there was a major accident that shut down the QEW westbound. I had a very brief window to go to the gym before heading downtown but traffic was crawling on the Lakeshore. I was talking to Pete and he wanted some computer help at the club so I ditched my plans for the gym and headed to MCC instead.
It was good to see more people back from school and Florida. I think everyone should be home within the next week or so.

So, I had been thinking about taking the subway downtown from Kipling, because the Spanish Centre is right at Yonge & Bloor but the weather changed my mind. The wind had to be over 70 km/hr a straight headwind as I drove east. The force was so strong, the wipers couldn't even clear the water. It was like having one of those indoor waterfalls on my windshield.
The Spanish Centre is a 3 storey building just east of Yonge, south of Bloor. The instructor for this beginner class, Carlos, has the most amazing, deep voice ever. I laughed because it's exactly like the guy in the video we watched the other night. Anyway, he's a Phd student at U of T, dynamic with great teaching skills. There are just 9 of us in the class which makes it easy to be speaking all the time. First class was easy, especially since Spanish is such a logical language - at least with the regular verbs. We'll see what happens next week when we start with irregular verbs.

Hey, Kris Sziraki and Sue Boruvka are doing the Spring Sprint 2009 in support of Canadians affected by a brain tumour. Please check out Team Szirak Attack - you can pledge something or join the team in London with your own pledges!

Bugger. I went out to buy a book this afternoon and ended up buying a dresser and bedside table at Interiors. Don't get me wrong, it's actually a good thing because two drawers in the antique dresser in my room broke a long time ago. I've been keeping my clothes...well, all over the place. So I really need a new dresser. I just didn't intend to spend more than $60 today. I like it though.

Oh, while I'm here, I want to address this whole Susan Boyle viral ...whatever it is. Doesn't anybody remember Paul Potts?? He was on this same show 2 years ago. It was exactly the same scenerio. So I'm just going to put it out there - this is their thing - they scour the country for a very talented, less-than-attractive performer, create the set-up, "sad-sack mobile phone salesman or 47 year-old, never-been-kissed--lives-with-cats" and it's a slam dunk. Free advertising. I guess what's really bothering me is that in all the high-profile interviews (Larry King, Oprah), they're all, "Ooooo phenomenon, what a surprise, who'd have thought?" and no one is saying, "Hey, this is just like 2007 when Paul Potts did exactly the same thing"! And not to take away from the person's talent but it just seems a little devious. Plus, there are a ton of highly-trained, talented people out there who never made it for one reason or another. Hey, they should have a program that filters throught the general population and then they could win a contract or.....
....oh...

Never mind.

Impromptu cocktail party for the girls at my house last night. Carrie, Marisha, Eve, Katy, Karen & even Chrissy (who I didn't know was home from London) dropped over. I had a bottle of pomegranate liquor that has been hanging around for ages and I wanted to try it and a couple of appetizer recipes. For some reason, my recent vacation reset my cooking gene. There were quite a few things changed by this trip but more on that later.

So I had planned to do all the prep work on Thursday night but didn't get home until late and ended up doing everything on Friday. I was still mixing up the mushroom stuffing when Marisha arrived. She brought me a beautiful serving tray as a gift for no reason. It's beautiful - I love it! She said there was a complete line so I asked where she got it. Laughing she said, "you'll never believe it, Winners!" This just confirms my belief that I need to go to Winners more.




So, my planning and organizational skills are rusty but it was a fun night and the food I'd made - guacamole, shrimp skewers and stuffed mushrooms - disappeared so the recipes were a success. I'm going to entertain more this summer, I think. I just need to get that rooftop deck built so we can do it outside!

We mostly drank wine all night but after a few glasses, I decided it was time to try the pomegranate mojito recipe. (ps new rule - friends don't let friends blender drunk). I ran up to the computer to check a website that had recipes, ran back downstairs and muddled the mint leaves in the glass as directed, forgot part of the recipe so ran back upstairs, ran back downstairs and added the rum and pomegranate, ran back upstairs to check if there was anything missing, ran back downstairs and threw everything in the blender with ice - mint leaves and all. When I poured the mix into glasses, the chopped up mint just floated on the top like a crust of mown grass. I didn't have any straws so just handed the drinks out. I'd had too much wine to have thought about straining the mint off and everyone was too polite to say anything. They sat there drinking it with green goo stuck to their lips & front teeth. Now those are good friends!

(btw, I know you're thinking,"why not just print off the recipe?" but they're those dumb flash animations that can't be printed or cut & pasted.)

On a sidenote, why do you always get the good hair day when you're not doing anything special? My hair looks fabulous right now and that's not just the hangover talking!

This afternoon Ryan came over and we walked down to the lake. It's so warm we're wearing shorts and t-shirts. There were deer in the marsh and then this crazy fish carnage on the little beach where the marsh empties into the lake. Usually, it flows out through an opening but I guess the waves this past week built up a temporary wall of rocks. It looks like the fish (we couldn't identify the species) got stuck on the marsh side and tried to swim across the rock bridge. There were dead fish everywhere and there were still a bunch of live ones thrashing around in the shallow water, apparently trying to tunnel their way to the lake.
Afterward, we walked over to the grocery store, made some dinner (not fish) and we watched a video my boss had given me on Guatemala. She's from there and told me about a town she thinks would be good for me to visit. I asked if it was a town of single men. She laughed and said no, it's supposed to be the best place to learn Spanish. It's won all these awards because that's the town's main tourism - the entire place is geared to helping the tourist-students learn the language. We decided that if Pete has to cancel the Greece trip for any reason, we'll go to Guatemala instead. Really, the video was about 20 years old - 80s-licious - but the place looks amazing!

Also, talking about learning Spanish
got me thinking I need to do something new so I signed up for Spanish lessons at the Spanish Centre in Toronto. I start on Monday so we'll see if the trip reset my learning gene too! I'm excited. They also have merengue and salsa lessons so I'll probably sign up for those as well. I saw some pretty good salsa dancing in CR and would love to be able to do even the basic moves.

We had pretty amazing weather all through the long weekend. It wasn't excessively warm but at least it was sunny. I slept in late every day and then paddled once the air warmed up a bit.

My good friend Susi drove down from Sutton for the night on Friday, a big undertaking since she had to organize the care and feeding of her 3 dogs and 1 cat. We had burritos (did I mention I make a perfect burrito now? Yep, as good - no - better than Burrito Boyz, no lie! Just ask and I'll make you one!) and drank pina coladas because I hadn't made it to the liquor store before they closed for Good Friday. We ate cheezies and gained, I mean watched, Seven Pounds. And then talked until 3 in the morning. She had to leave pretty early the next morning because her grand-daughter was going to her house to colour easter eggs. I did some gardening - which as you know means mostly ripping up weeds in my backyard - until I got tired of it. I decided to head down to meet the guys at the Brazen Head early after all since I was bored of the garden.

So, game 2 . I met the other guys from our section (Toby, Larry, Attila and a bunch of Burlington guys they know) at the Brazen Head for a pint. Harely and PJ (Dominique's husband) were also there on someone's extra tickets. So great to see everyone. The bar was packed - all TFC fans. Around 3:30 we headed back to the stadium where I met up with Blake and Greg outside Gate 1 - they were taking my other tickets.

I'm loving the new seats. I prefer standing and think it's actually easier to stay warm! Tie 1-1 but at least they played better this week. I had driven down and parked behind Medieval Times so Blake, Atti, PJ, Harley and I went out for some refreshments while we waited for the post-game traffic to lighten up. We went to a place called Jolly's just north of the Dufferin Gates. Their server is the cutest guy with the sexiest french accent ever. Definitely not from Q.C. since he was as easy on the ears as he was on the eyes. I haven't seen Blake or Harley in ages so it was great catching up. Harley, who was in Costa Rica at the same time as me, was trying to convince me to go back with him in May but since he's actually going to visit someone there and isn't offering to pay my airfair, I said "pass".

Huh. I had written the owners of GI a note about what a great time I had in Costa Rica and I just got an email from them tonight saying 10% off my next visit or for any of my friends who come on my recommendation. Pretty sweet since it took no effort to be positive about my experience. It's especially good because you don't have to take some mega-package, they also just rent boards or give one-off lessons.

Meanwhile, back at the canoe club...
They put the docks in a few weekends ago and they've added some braces to hold them out and away from shore. Really good, especially for when the river's low. Drayton checked the water temp a couple of days ago and the river was 10 degrees. The lake is also warmer than normal which is a little weird. The water level is really high right now so I'd expect the water to be colder. I'm not questioning the conditions though - too many years we've had the opposite.

Most of the canoers and kayakers are on the water. There are some really good midget-juvi paddlers coming up. And with women's canoe potentially getting an event at the next worlds, there are even a few girls out there in C-boats. The other day, Olek broke his paddle mid-stroke and fell on the broken shaft, face-first. It cut his face pretty badly but no stitches. He's pretty sure it happened because he's just too strong. Anyway, pre-season injuries aside, I think Missy will have a good year. Trials are in Welland this year. I'll probably go to take photos but haven't decided about Worlds in Dartmouth. I'll be there for a wedding a couple of weeks earlier so may not make the trip again.

Oh yeah, nice weather is always a plus. I paddled tonight in spite of a ridiculous wind coming straight down-river. I was actually surprised at the water temperature. I'm not going out on the lake yet but I was in the harbour and it was reasonable - probably about 8-10 degrees! It's also nice to be back at the club. I haven't seen any of the kids yet - they're always in paddle pool or doing weights - but I'm looking forward to the summer.
Peter and Jess were there, they just got back from Florida on Tuesday. Peter was booked for 4 full weeks of camp this year and it sounds like there are some interesting stories.
I saw Daddyo out walking on my way home. He looks good! Nice to get a visual since I haven't seen him since I got back.

Back to C.R. - Tuesday.

So there are a few things on my schedule that I kind a go "hmmm...." about. One of them is this morning's Spanish lesson. However, after 3 and a half days I've realized what a dope I am to come here thinking that similarities between French & Spanish would carry me through. I haven't gotten my 'ear" for this language yet so when people in stores and restaurants say anything, I can't even catch a word of it. I've already got a bunch of questions for J. when she meets me at the pool bar with a green blackboard.

This is the first time I've met J-3. She and her husband are the managers of the surf camp. She's the epitomy of a California girl - blond, tanned, fit and an accompished surfer. She has a degree in Latin studies which is what brought her here originally.

The stuff she gives me is so useful that I'm glad it's on their program. Thanks to our diverse coffee community in North America, I already know how to ask for coffee with milk but there is one phrase in particular I want to learn and she writes it out for me on a post-it. "Cafe con leche para llevar". It'll be no surprise to my friends that this is so I can ask for my coffee to go.

I learn more in an hour than I did from listening to "Rush Hour Spanish" for 3 weeks, the commuter Berlitz CD I picked up once I'd decided on a trip to Central America. Granted, I learned how to count to 12 and name the colours of the tie or skirt I might wear...

J. and I end up chatting more about ourselves by the end of it, how she came to be here, her surfer-life in CR with her husband and their 4 year-old daughter Alana. When I mention that I'm already comfortable in Dominical and would consider getting a residence, she makes an off-hand comment that I should just marry a Tico. This isn't the last time I'll hear this recommendation during my trip.

It's low tide by the time we drop R. and V. off at the DiuWak and head back up to Dominicalito. So this is what's under the water when we surf in this bay... Hard to believe since I have a clear memory of my face being dragged along the bottom when I got taken down by a wave this afternoon!



J. assures me that the force of the waves at high tide completely buries the rocks and crevices with sand. So obvious, but when you don't live on the ocean it's all new info.

There are a bunch of fishing boats I want to take a pic of but as I walk over, I notice that the vultures sitting on the beach have surrounded a little white dog. Really weird dynamic. None of them move as I approach so I assume the pooch is okay. I often see the dog and vultures together on subsequent visits to Dominicalito.





We visit a few other scenic points - the cliff overlooking the coast has an amazing view and there's a restaurant here which J-2 says is too expensive for the tiny portions they serve. He suggests fresh shrimp at a local restaurant on the highway. We head up there and he is so right -fresh jumbo shrimp sauted in garlic with palm salad, potatoes, a glass of wine and a cup of amazing Costa Rican coffee for about $12 and we've still got time to get back to the beach and watch the sunset!


Later, I'm having a beer at Tortilla Flats when R. & V. drop down into the seats at my table. We order ceviche and Imperials and have a really fun evening. We've all travelled quite a bit but to different places so it's really interesting to share stories and descriptions. After a couple of hours, I hit a wall. I figure it's about 11:30 and head back to my room via the beach. It's pitch black but the stars are brilliant. Fortunately I have a flashlight or I would have tripped over the various pieces of driftwood and random surfers lying on the beach on my way back up to the road. When I get to my room, I'm stunned to see it's only 8:30pm. Either way, I'm exhausted and crash.

March 9th


My schedule indicates a visit to Posa Azul in the morning and a regular (meaning 'not beginner') surf lesson in the afternoon - both with J-2 as instructor and "Rob + 1" as additional students. I feel kinda like I passed my tadpole swim test or something!

When I arrive at the GI office, I recognize the other students as a couple I noticed around town yesterday. Hard to miss because he has a ridiculously swollen ankle and is hobbling around on homemade crutches while she, exceedingly blond and fair, is burned as pink as a Rimmel retro lipstick shade. I introduce myself and ask what happened. Apparently in his beginner lesson, Rob stepped back off the board thinking he had about 2 feet of clearance before hitting bottom. He only had about an inch and came down with his full weight. His wife, Venetia, had clearly just spent too much time on the beach without adequate sunscreen.

Anyway, the 4 of us jump into the GI van. Before we head out of Dominical though, we stop at the pharmacy to see the on-call doctor who confirms that Rob's ankle is severely sprained and not fractured. We travel another 10 metres before stopping at Delicias - a bakery cafe with amazing breakfasts. It would become my Helen's and Starbuck's combined while I was down here. J-2's best friend works here and is quite adamant that I shouldn't use my breakfast ticket for only coffee and a fruit plate. It's worth 5,000 colones, which could easily buy breakfast for 3 of us, and she doesn't feel right about letting me waste it. The fact is, if she didn't say anything, she could have submitted an inflated receipt to GI and scooped the balance for herself. We agree that we'll stop by on our way back to top up with more food and coffee. This was not the first time I encountered this remarkable honesty. In fact, every server in every other restaurant in town (with the exception of the Tu Lu) did the same thing. If my breakfast/lunch/dinner didn't use the full amount, they would offer to tag on something else. I usually just had them add the drinks or appetizers of my tablemates. The guy at Tu Lu took the ticket and a tip. Once I realized it and stopped using my tickets for my 3000 colone breakfasts there, he would always ask, "Don't you want to use your GI meal ticket?". Chya right.
All the chatting about meal tickets has grabbed Rob's attention and he wants to know why I have meal tickets and they don't. Both his wife and I explain they're part of a particular package but he is ready to march back to the GI office and demand his meal vouchers. I get the idea that he doesn't like anyone getting something he's not.

Once we got our stuff (on Tico time) we head along the ocean highway for about a kilometre before turning into a dirt road with a guard stand. J-2 waves at the guard as we pass a soccer field with a practice going on and enter a small community. This is called Dominicalito (a town and beach) and J-2 lives here with his wife and 6-month-old daughter, Ciara. After driving through a shallow stream, J-2 stops at their house and brings Ciara out to the van. She is incredibly sweet natured and has no problem being plopped in my lap! She is fascinated by me and all I can think is how this poor little thing is stuck to a sweaty stranger! (I was like a sprinkler for the first two days until I got used to the heat).

J-2’s wife cares for another little girl during the day. I wish I’d gotten a photo of her but she was behind their security fence and I didn’t want to impose. She's about 3 and walking around carrying a purse with 7 thick bangles on her little arm – basically bangled from wrist to armpit. I saw her a couple of times after that and it was always the same, playing the lady. Omg, she was so cute! I tell J-2 I can’t believe he’s old enough to have a baby but he says he’s 19 (and I can’t say anything because I was only a few months older when I had Ryan).

We proceed up the road for about 500m and we’re at Posa Azul (Blue Waterfall). It’s beautiful and the freshwater pool at the bottom is so cool after the 85 degree saltwater of the ocean!

J-2 climbs up and swings off the rope while I snap photos from the water. Rob and Venetia just hang out on shore. They don’t seem too impressed. Suddenly, there’s an American voice out of the shadows on shore. Some guy has been sitting there all along but since he’s very tanned and wearing a brown speedo, we didn’t notice him. He’s an ex-pat from Boston who has retired here and is farming... something. As he comes closer, it’s obvious he’s recently smoked a joint or possibly many joints. Surprisingly, he’s very chatty and follows me as I swim all around the pool talking about his life here. I wish I could say it was interesting but it wasn’t. I mean, he was stoned and mostly just kept repeating himself.

Rob and Venetia aren’t enjoying the pool as much as we are so J-2 and I decide to do a tour on our own after the 12:30 surf lesson.


The surf lesson went well and I'm impressed that Rob still goes out and tries to get up on his gimpy ankle. Venetia and I are doing really well and getting up on almost every wave which doesn't improve Rob's mood since he's (understandably) unable to stay upright.

I'll start updating now - please be patient as it'll be disjointed. I'll probably switch tenses and insert wrong dates constantly but will get it sorted eventually.

So, to backtrack...first day in Dominical was pretty quiet. I realized early on that I was pretty much the only guest at the DiuWak hotel. There was a Japanese couple next door, Akio and Sachi, but because of the language barrier, we restricted our communication to shy smiles and waves of acknowledgement. Akio spoke enough English for me to understand that he was a shaper from Kyoto, here to deliver a new board.

I dropped by the GI office on my way to breakfast and introduced myself to the guy at the desk, Jorge.

I had a fruit plate and coffee (!!!) at the Tu Lu restaurant and then went exploring. After establishing myself as the most recently arrived tourist by exposing acres of pasty skin and taking photos of basically everything in town, I covered myself in 40 Spf sunscreen and settled at the beach until my beginner surf lesson with Junior at 2:30pm.

There's hardly anyone on the beach. In fact at the moment, there are as many lifeguards as surfers/swimmers. The waves were pretty small (it was about 2.5 hours after low tide) and, after a brief lesson about rips and how they're formed, we went out into the white water. It was great!! I got up easily and was pleasantly exhausted after 2 hours of paddling out, riding in...rinse, repeat.

After the lesson, I grabbed a cold beer and dinner at Arena y Sol - arroz con pollo which, strangely, came with a mound of french fries - before heading down to the beach to watch the sunset. (I think they threw the fries on because I'm new to town & "american". Once I start ordering in Spanish, I never see another french fry)

As I returned to my room after a glorious sunset, I wondered if I'd made a mistake by coming for so long on my own. I had expected to meet people through the surf camp but so far there was just me and another couple who I'd meet at tomorrow's regular lesson. The average age in Dominical was 25 and I am basically invisible (picture a town full of skinny 20-something girls in bikinis). With all the activities we had planned I knew I'd be busy during the day but I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of eating dinner by myself 21 times. As it turned out my concerns were groundless.