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

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

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

Gone Baby Gone

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

a) a fantastic view of the lake

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

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

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

So going back to two weeks ago...

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

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

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

I'm coughing so much, it took three clicks just to open a new editor - the cursor kept jumping around the screen.
Anyway, yes I'm sick. The worst virus I've had in years (I say that every time) and it has to hit me when the BEST weather finally arrives. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a run-of-the-mill cold but this thing took me down. I slept for 32 hours on the first day. I just got up from a fitful 8 hours and am going back to bed as soon as I have a hot drink in hand. The worst idea I had was not loading up on drugs because I "didn't want to be too groggy in the morning". I clearly believed I'd just carry on as normal but with a stuffy nose and husky voice. Wrong. There isn't anything in the house stronger than Advil, so last night when the cough/fever kept waking me up, all I could do was lie there and cough...and sweat. I'll make a drug store run later. After I catch a few more hours.

The past couple of weeks have been entertaining but I can't sort everything out at the moment with my brain fever. Suffice it to say I've been doing lots of summer-type things; barbecues in my friends' backyards, bike rides, Johnny-O's wedding at Fern Resort (it was fun and beautiful and I got to see so many paddling friends who've moved away), and of course paddling.

ugh, I'm a sweaty mess. going to bed.

Day started out gross. It was raining & cold and I didn't feel like going on the water so went for a bike ride instead. Stopped by Buday's to pick up my bracelet from Steph and drop off a birthday violet for Olga. Took a spin by Secko's new place on Pine but no one was home so I hit the shopper's at the end of their street for some drugstore therapy. I spent $96. Crazy but I was out of a lot of stuff - clearly. I tooled through JD park on my way home to check the parking sitch in case I changed my mind about paddling. Usually on the Victoria Day weekend, they have a sign at the end of the road saying LOT FULL but the rain had cleared out all but a few die-hards. Perfect.
I was beached on the couch downstairs when I noticed a strange light outside. Ohmygod, the sun! I raced around gathering gear, changed into surf shorts and tank and drove back to JD. Surprisingly, there were still a few open parking spots. I put in a quick 10K - half of which was in a heavy fog that rolled in when I was 4K out. It cleared briefly and I considered unloading my board for a few more kilometers but then the second bank of fog rolled in - much thicker than the last so I paddled in to shore.
The park is packed now and I loaded my gear quickly and left. I feel like I really scored - hitting the water for that brief period of good conditions. Word is that we'll have thunderstorms tomorrow.
It was almost 6 when I got home. I rode my bike over to Metro to get some groceries.
The fog horn at the Suncor pier went off at regular intervals throughout the evening. The fog was an opaque wall when I was out there. I guess that hadn't changed 
 
In competition results, the Canadian team did okay at world cup. I didn't keep close track but saw Mark won gold in C1 1000m & 5000m, Gab & Andrew silver in the 1000m, Adam was 4th in the 1000 but says he was trying a new race plan so he's really stoked about the results and to watch him in Duisburg. He also won silver in the 5k. Tom Hall won silver in C1 500m and bronze in 5000m, Laurence and Nicole were 1, 2 in the C1 200m, Rich won silver in C1 200m (Aaron was 8th), KC & Genny were 5th in K2 200m (although they were 4th when I first checked results so I guess photo finish with Russia).

Larry was at a SUP race in Clearwater and was 4th.

When I woke up Saturday morning it was cold, foggy, drizzly. Ugh, besides a sushi hangover, I was completely unmotivated to paddle. So I didn't. Instead, I hooked up an old external hard drive I'd discovered and went through the folders. TONS of old photos. I sifted through a bunch from db worlds in 2005 and our trip to Greece afterwards, posting some on FB. Such great memories. Crazy that it was almost 6 years ago.
I didn't enjoy the trip at the time. Two weeks before, we'd found out my dad had cancer. He was starting chemo while I was away. I was going to cancel but my sister and his doctors assured me that he would absolutely NOT die in the few weeks I was gone. As logical as that is, I could not convince myself it was true - so the entire time away I was anxious, weepy, cranky and completely disconnected from events. I even hooked up with my favourite f-w-b and it was not nearly as fun as it should have/could have been. What a waste! (I should msg him - I haven't seen him in years).
Anyway, the point is that viewing these photos allowed me to process the trip in a different way. I can remember it now for the experiences instead of the anxiety.

After cruising down that memory trail, I needed to get out of the house. Time to take care of some long overdue business. I went to a furniture store - the Fuze has been in the living room for too long. I need furniture. I picked up a glossy catalogue and fabric swatches - as if that's actually accomplishing something! I'd already looked at the catalogue online but at least now I had prices. Then I did the rounds of car dealerships. What a chore. I don't know what I want. No, I know what I want - a convertible. But what I need is an SUV or truck to carry my gear. God I hate dealing with salesmen.

TFC were playing in the evening. K.C., Matt, Chris & I were supposed to be going but K.C. had to bail because she's heading to Europe for the world cup tour on Sunday. It would be senseless for her to stand out in the cold rain for 2 hours and get sick. We decided to get together and watch a movie instead so I gave Matt the 2 extra tickets. I think he gave them to Dana and Mel.
K.C. and Marianne came over and we watched The Kings Speech, discussed how we would load boats if cars had never replaced horses and caught up on all the gossip (the more things change, the more they stay the same).

I am SO kicking myself for not taking advantage of the good weather last Friday. All week, they were calling for thunderstorms on Friday afternoon so I decided to go see Mike. It turned out to be a beautiful, hot and sunny afternoon. Damn. It's been rainy and cold ever since.
As it turns out, it was better that I went for the massage. I've had a knot in my shoulder for the past 2 weeks and finally decided to get professional care. I used to have regular massages - every 6 weeks or so during 2005-2007, when I was still racing. As he checked out my upper back Mike said the knot in my shoulder was the least of my worries since my entire back was in spasm. As soon as he said it I realized what a doof I'd been to ignore the signs. What a relief to know that the pain and increasing inflexibility of the past 2 YEARS can be treated. I just thought it was related to age and weight gain - that I'd have to live with it.
He spent an hour working on it until his next appointment arrived. Although I was sore, it felt like he'd lifted a 25 pound backpack off of my shoulders! I was that hunched up and tight.
As soon as we were done, I had to run to Momiji to meet friends for dinner: Alyson, Carrie, Chanda, Eve and Marisha. I haven't seen Alyson in a long time although we've chatted on the phone. She looks great as always, all of them do! Carrie has her pre-baby body back and she was pleased to be wearing her regular jeans. Marisha is excited about the new apartment she and Carm have rented in Peterborough (although she's keeping the lakefront condo, Chanda had just picked up her new stand up board and is looking forward to getting out on the water as soon as weather conditions improve. She  got a Competitor too - the new one which is lighter. Alyson and Chanda are doing a half marathon in a couple of weeks. They decided not to do the 'Sauga Marathon because of some training interruptions, injury and the crummy weather. Eve had just come back from doing the Tour of the Scioto River Valley in Ohio with her dad - 210 miles! Amazing. I love these dinners and that we live close enough to meet up.

Ryan & Sylvie took me out for a Mother's Day dinner yesterday so I enjoyed an early morning paddle today. I was out there for a couple of hours and it was so beautiful, I only came in because I was hungry.  As I was paddling back to the beach I saw what I thought was a hot-dog stand setting up. Seemed a little early in the day for street meat. I couldn't believe it when I saw the sign - Tasty Crepes!! After I loaded my boat and changed, I sat on my kikoi on the beach, enjoying a Nutella & banana crepe with coffee. Short of having babies at home, I can't imagine a better Mother's day.

It's time. I'm ready to commit to training and racing again so, since the canoe club isn't an option, I've joined the local OC club. I went to my first practice with them on Saturday morning and it was great! Peter was coaching. It was supposed to be singles and doubles but they ended up having to go out in the sixes. Some people don't have boats because they're still in the repair shop (due to trailer flip on way to Florida) but others, for some reason, just didn't bother to bring their boats to practice. So weird.
Anyway, Pete, me and one other woman had our singles and then the rest formed 2 crews of 5. It's amazing what a difference having a coach makes. In a very short period of time, Pete pinpointed the problems in my stroke and it immediately felt much better. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we were out there for a couple of hours. I was so happy when I came off the water!
Del was there when we got back, dropping off someone's new pegasus. We chatted briefly and I offered him the spare ticket for TFC. Pete also invited us to go out with them after the game. His friend Kenneth, who works with greenpeace international is leaving for some operation. It's in a trench so they use those small, 4-person subs - Kenneth's a licensed pilot (driver? captain?).

Finally, the weather is improving and I'm able to get out on the water every day. The past few days we've had an offshore wind that gives a great ride back to the beach. The beauty of my home beach is the bowl shape of the shoreline there. With an offshore wind, there's a centre point right around Richards Memorial Park. If you're on one side it gives a push east, on the other, west. Once you're past Saddington it's just straight offshore.
Actually, last night I had to coach but it was so amazing out that I cartopped my boat to Sunnyside and put in an hour down there before my crews got there. I haven't been out on the Humber in years so I took a cruise up there. Either the water is really high or they've remodeled the shoreline since there are a couple new 'islands'. I didn't go all the way up though. As I turned back,  a C1 came around the corner - some silver-haired guy. I got back to my car with lots of time to de-rig my boat and load it back up. As I was tieing down the back, I heard a sick crunching sound. I loosened off the tie and could see a dent just back of where the rear iako goes into the boat. bugger. I guess the foam on that rail has gotten too thin to protect the boat. I'm not sure how i would fix this but at least it's in a spot that doesn't let water in.

I haven't been on my board since I got home but that'll change as soon as the sun comes out regularly. There's no pleasure sweating through a workout in 3mm neoprene on relatively flat water. Of course, taking a swim in 6 degree water is no party either.

National team trials are this coming weekend. They were supposed to be in Montreal. I'd even considered going for day one because it's not far and there are some exciting races. Then I noticed a few athletes fb posts in the past couple of days saying they had to go to Dartmouth.
CKC's website just says "because of the situation in Montreal...etc" without further details. One coach said that there is a faulty wire related to the Grand Prix timing system and they have to lower the water level in the basin to get at the electrical access point. I ran into Ryan and Hayley at the mouth of the river last night and he said an electrical fire precipitated them having to lower the water level. Whatever the cause, they couldn't raise the water level back up in time for trials and they failed to notify CKC in a timely manner. It's really too bad for the athletes who had finalized their travel and accommodation arrangements. Hayley said she can't go now and I'm sure there are others in the same position.

Here's part of the email sent out by the CKC commodore to canoe clubs;

"please note that this emergency relocation was made necessary by the actions and neglect of the City of Montreal. Our Director General Lorraine Lafreniere has been in direct conversation with the city of Montreal to try and resolve the issue but was informed that they cannot remedy the electrical issue in time for the trials. Lorraine was also in touch with the mayor's office to indicate the situation and our displeasure with this outcome and received no support. We will be taking action to attempt to recover expenses incurred by CKC and you – our members - as a result of the city's breach in commitment. We will also need to carefully consider whether we can support future use of the Olympic Basin as a competition venue. Own the Podium and the Sport Centre Montreal (CNMM) have been informed of this situation. I hope that we will be able to return for future events. To decide otherwise would have an undeserved impact on our long standing partners at CanoeKayak Quebec. However, we must have certainty that we will not be let down again by the municipal authorities in Montreal."

Props to Atlantic Canada division for jumping in and making the course at Lake Banook & volunteers available on such short notice!

A friend's Facebook status today;

1. Osama bin Laden 2. Waldo 3. Carmen Sandiego

Just as I was about to go to bed, CNN reported that President Obama was about to make a statement. Sources indicated that it had something to do with national security but nothing to do with Libya. They first said it would be at 10:30 but kept pushing it forward by 15 minutes at a time so I finally turned off the tv and turned to the twitter-verse. Rumour is that he'll announce that Osama bin Laden is dead and the US has his body.

Whatever your bent, this weekend has big news for everyone; the royal wedding, the president's birth certificate, Moammar Gadhafi's son killed in a US airstrike, the beatification of Pope John Paul II...

I finally got out for a paddle on Friday evening. Nothing special - it was cool and overcast and I just paddled 9-10km. I went up the river a bit and only saw a lonely scull out there. I was drifting under the bridge not really paying attention (ipod on) when I realized the rower was talking to me. It was Eve's dad! I can't remember the last time I saw him out there rowing. He looks FAST!
After a brief hello, I paddled back to the beach, changed into some warm clothes, picked up a bottle of wine and some groceries. I was pleasantly tired.

Saturday morning turned out to be beautiful and warm. Well, warm in the sun. There was still a chill in the air. I was meeting Chrissy and Eve at 9:30 to ride down to Sunnyside. Apparently the site is a mess so we're going to help Blake & Ian clean up. I was sorry to miss out on such primo time on the water but figured I'd get out there in the afternoon.

I was meeting Chrissy by the lighthouse at 9:30 so I went a half hour early to grab a Starbucks. Marisha, Frits and some of the rowers were there post-workout. I hung with them until we saw Chrissy across the street. She has one sweet 70s era 12-speed bike. She picked it up on C-list. It has those great 70s graphics - so awesome! Eve didn't think she'd be able to come with us but, after a few texts and a phone call, she joined us. Her dad decided to come too and went home to get his bike. That gave us time to catch up with Marisha. Eventually (10:45) we were on our way. It's a fairly quick ride to Sunnyside - about 40 minutes. When we got there, Drew and Billy K. were already on-site and had moved a bunch of stuff into piles. The city will come next week to haul away the tree trunks and larger debris. The Dock was a mess. We grabbed shovels, brooms and rakes and started into moving the carnage around.
I was surprised that Footie-guy was down there. He's a mentally handicapped guy who shows up with a soccer ball, sets up some goal posts and acts as player, commentator, coach and fans of his own one-man beautiful game. I've seen him there in the evening, it just hadn't occured to me that he's there most of the day too. He looks between 35-45 years old but who can tell.
The boardwalk was buried under sand and the docks had all manner of garbage on them and stuck between the planks. Eve and I couldn't believe the number of tampax applicators. It was ridiculous and we speculated briefly on where they came from. We decided that they somehow got through the sewage treatment plant although I have heard stories that there are still original OPEN sewers that empty household waste straight into the Humber. I went into the office to get gloves.
Eve found a whole, ripe lime buried in some sludge. We figured either a bottle of gin or a coconut would turn up eventually. We did our best with the docks then moved onto the boardwalk. I shovelled the sand back onto the beach and Chrissy followed behind sweeping the boards clean with a broom. A lot of people stopped to offer help but we didn't have any more equipment. Plus, there wasn't much else we could do. Several of the boats had sunk, a couple were folded in half (like fortune cookies, as Marisha put it) and some had disappeared. Blake and Ian were fixing the broken parts of the couple salvagable boats.
After an hour or so, we took a break and Blake bought us pizza and drinks at Sunnyside.
We left shortly after. Blake and Ian went back to fixing seats.

It was after 3pm by the time I got home and I was suddenly really tired. I jumped in the jacuzzi and read for awhile. Latter called Jackie to confirm plans for the night. We were meeting at the Pump at 8pm. Tammy called a little early so we headed up there in time to grab a table at the window.

We thought it would be difficult getting a table on a Saturday but the Pump was quieter than usual. We decided it was probably because they were broadcasting the hockey game and not the pay-per-view UFC fight (George St. Pierre vs Jake Sheilds). Earlier in the day, Ian mentioned he was meeting Juice and a couple of other guys at the Loose Moose. Rob Smith is manager there now so I'm sure they had a good night. Because we asked for a table for 6, we actually jumped the line. There's only one and it had just become vacant. It's right between the front door and the fireplace. They had the fireplace whaling away so I sat on the opposite side of the table. Jackie, Carrie, Steph and Katy weren't far behind us and most expressed relief that the fireplace was on because they were cold. Eventually though, they asked the server to turn it off.

You always get a mix of people at the Pump. Tonight, as we were chatting, there would be this really loud belch every once in awhile. Really loud. Carrie and I looked around but the only person within possible range was a Tan-Jay wearing middle-aged woman, typical Lorne Park type. She had been sitting with 3 other people who'd left the table briefly. She was looking over her bill and didn't seem like someone who'd just let one rip. We shrugged and went back to our conversation until a few minutes later it happened again. Now that her friends were back and she was chatting we could see she was pretty drunk. One of her companions was expressing shock that she'd just belched like that and she said, "you think THAT was loud?", as though she'd been challenged.

Carrie was the first to leave - her phone rang and we could hear Noah crying in the background. Mike R. turned up a few minutes later - he had been sitting in the back with a couple of buddies (who he ditched to come and hang out with us).  After about 20 minutes, his friends came looking for him and were noticeably surprised to find him sitting with a tableful of attractive women. They made a move to sit down and Mike said, "no these are all my married buddies wives" and dragged them away. It was almost 1am by the time we left.

Sunday morning was a non-starter. I had that greasy food and red wine kind of gross feeling and, since the weather wasn't anything special, I lay around reading until 9:00am. Around 1pm I met Laurie for coffee at Starbucks - more catching up since we haven't seen each other since February. Lots going on with them since Krista, who has suffered some minor seizures, had a grande mal seizure and had to be taken to emergency. She has epilepsy but they'll know more after further tests on wednesday. So far she's only had seizures in the early morning.

Tonight, Andrew (gears/lululemon) is hosting the premier of his Wipeout appearance at the crooked cue. I was going to go but just not feeling it. I watched a bit on tv though. I kept missing the parts with Andrew but at least saw im make it past the sweeper and into the final six! (when I went to work on Monday, one of my co-workers was all excited that someone I knew had been on the show. Or, more to the point, had met the female host, Jessica. He asked me to find out from Andrew what she smelled like. Men are weird.

Blake just cancelled NDC practices for tonight because of 81km/hr wind gusts. The wind will die down before then but after spending the day retrieving boats that have broken loose, swamped, sunk, they won't be ready to run practices.

The waves never look as big in photos as they really are. Check out this video from the Star website;