Willpower

This actually came up a few days ago while I was grocery shopping.

Why is that if a beautiful woman came up to me and said she wanted me I could resist, yet when it comes to making healthy eating or lifestyle choices I can't resist?

I mean, both will lead to my untimely death but you figure saying no would be much easier sometimes.

My oh my!

It has been a long time since I've updated this thing.

Where to start?

Well, I'll start with the earliest news. My car was broken into and while nothing was stolen I was left with a broken window and a jammed lock. So I went to get it repaired not far from work.
I was offered a rental but I figured I didn't need I would just take the bus. While what is normally a 10-15 minute car ride ended up being a 55 minute bus trip.
I took two buses and there were two driver changes. Maybe it was just bad luck on my part, but why two driver changes? And on top of that, they would chat like little school girls when they made the change.

Then some people wonder why more people don't take public transportation. Basically it comes down to Toronto having inefficient public transportation.

I can't wait to get my car back.

Broken...

Well, I have suffered my first bone break ever. Broke my foot on Sunday kicking a base of all things. I didn't think anything of it - figured it was a bad sprain. But when the doctor looking at my X-ray said "Hmm, that's interesting" I knew something was wrong.

And while the pain is slowly going away, I'll find out tomorrow if I need surgery to screw the chip back into place.

The worst part is that I can't drive, which is frustrating because I have to inconvenience a lot of players.

As a result, I want to thank Girlfriend and her family for helping me out.

A la Montreal

Humidity aside...

The big news *drum roll please* is that the Girlfriend and I have made the one year mark. Doesn't feel like a year but at the same time it feels like a long time ago as my head space was a lot different then.

We decided to celebrate by going to Montreal. And had a blast. I have never really spent time in Montreal that I could enjoy. I love going to Quebec as it feels like I'm in Europe especially when visiting old Montreal or old Quebec City. I definitely want to make it more of a regular thing. And I have to thank the girlfriend for let me indulge in some inane things like going to Schwartz's (I didn't know it would take so long! - I might want to go back if we go again, but next time we know better), going to St-Viateur and going to Lachine. Aside from the crack whore taking a puff in front of us, I think I enjoyed Vieux-Montreal the most as well as Quartier Latin. The St. Lawrence River tour and the walk around Mont-Royal was nice. Though next time there probably won't be a need to do so much touristy stuff and can't do some partying and relaxing by Lac aux Castors. I'm already thinking about the next trip.

Anyway, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Thanks for bringing fun back into my life. I can honestly say it's been one of the best years of my life.

Humidity causes my brain to melt...

I can't believe I haven't been able to update this as frequently as I would have liked this summer. You figure you have all this time, but no, you really don't. Busy season at work, the weather is nice, you try to get into shape, going away for weekends, impending move - all this stuff gets in the way.

Let's get this out of the way. I hate humidity.

I've still been running. Though not as frequently as I would like. I have another 5k run coming up - Toronto Island - that I'm trying to prepare for. I've had some good runs but the weather has played havoc on my schedule. I can't wait until the weather cools down.

Been a long time...

I can't believe it's been about 6 weeks since I last posted.

Well, let's recap:
- It's half way through summer and I'm still running. Actually I'm enjoying it a lot. I even competed in my first race on Sunday - the Nissan 5k. While I beat my goal that I had set for the end of September, I'm disappointed because my foot blistered - for the first time I might add during a run - thus preventing me from even bettering my time. I've even entered two more 5k races in the meantime. So I now have one in August and two in September. Still debating whether or not to enter two races in October. Depends on timing.
- I still can't believe I've been promoted by the Girlfriend's mother. Definitely not expecting that.
- Kickball season is in full gear and the Bucs are doing well - 3-1-1, though we should have won the game we tied and the game we lost the other team should have forfeited for not having enough girls on the team.
- After the Team Ontario U17 camp, I'm definitely looking forward to the hockey season.
- Speaking of which, there might be a change there.
- Starting to get ready for my move back to North York next month.
- Looking for the trip to Montreal for August long weekend.
- And I still haven't gotten around to looking for a new job.

I think that wraps up the last few weeks nicely.

Well that was better...

Went for my second run last night and I have to say it was a lot better. I was able to up my time a bit.
I think it was the new shoes that helped.

The first step is admitting you have a problem...

Well, today was day one in my training for my 5k run in September. It was the first time that I have run in slightly over 10 years and man, my lungs can tell.
I took my friend Jacquie's advice - she's a runner - about doing a run/walk for the first two weeks. I won't bore you with the details, but in 20 minutes of a run/walk I covered about 2.3 to 2.5km. And having to walk the rest of the way home, I covered about 4km in 40 minutes. So the good news is that my goal of 5km in 45 minutes should be attainable. I won't change my goal yet but we'll see how I progress. My goal will first to be able to run for 45 minutes without having to stop to walk. We'll see how that goes.

Time to rest and get ready for my next session on Friday.

By the way, I have to get new shoes.

I'm in...

I bit the bullet and registered for the Scotiabank 5k run.

Now I have to set up a training program.

Oh boy...

New prediction...

After reading one of my earlier posts, I have a couple of new contenders for Song of the Summer '07, The White Stripes "Icky Thump" and The Chemical Brothers "Do It Again".

Icky Thump
With a lump in my throat
Grabbed my coat
And I was freaking
I was ready to go!

Summer goals

Going into this summer I don't have many goals.

1) I would like to be able to compete in the Scotiabank 5K run on September 30th.
2) I would like to learn how to play drums.
3) A possible upgrade on my current job.

Of the thing I think #1 is the most achieveable. I haven't run since university and I've been meaning to do the Scotiabank 5K run since 1999 but I've never have gotten my lazy ass motivated to do it. But I think I will do it.

"Shit! God Damn! Get off your ass and jam!"

Went to see the Elastocitizens at the Horseshoe based on a friends' recommendation and what a night.
With names like Grand Poobah Groove, Big Brother Bass and Monster Muffin, they evoked the spirit of James Brown and brought back memories Parliament, George Clinton and Bootsy Collins. They made everyone in attendance dance and shake their ass.

A funkalicious good time.

P.S. Supposedly they have a show coming up in a couple of weeks at the Gladstone. A possible birthday venue?

"Hip bone connected to the thigh bone. Thigh bone connected to the leg bone. Leg bone connected to the ankle bone and so on and so on!"

One with nature...

It's been a while since I posted.

A week today I was just coming back from spending a weekend near Algonquin Park. I'm not much of an outdoors person, but I enjoyed myself. A number of us stayed at a hostel near Dwight, ON called The Wolf's Den. It was great. It was my first hosteling experience. But I really enjoyed Algonquin Park and its trails, especially the Train and Tower Trail much to the dismay of my friends. Ragged Falls was also pretty cool.

All in all a good trip. I had fun and plan on going back sometime in the fall... maybe.

Recharged...

Well, hockey is now for the most part over for the 2006-07 season. I still have a mini-camp to attend in June and then the U17 camp at the end of June. So I've been recharging my batteries.

I plan to do lots this summer especially with the Girlfriend seeing as she puts up with the hockey during the winter. We're going away this weekend with some friends up to Algonquin Park. I'm not a big nature guy - I like my cities - but it will be fun. And then in August we plan on taking another road trip.

One thing I hope to get to is to go to more Toronto FC games. I went Wednesday night when Toronto beat Houston. I was cold and wet for 2 hours but it was worth it. I have tickets for the June 2nd game against Colorado. I'm really pissed I didn't get season tickets. But I did add my name to the waiting list. So I guess scalpers will have to do.

And lastly, what is with songs from the UK coming out now? I mean I know why it happens but it is kind of weird. For example, last year's summer song, Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy", I remember hearing that song probably at the end of 2005, early 2006. I remember because I had heard it and then had heard it in a mash-up. This year, I'm starting to hear Peter, Bjorn and John's "Young Folks" a lot even though it was named NME's #2 song of 2006! Either way, I predict it to be this year's summer song.

A note to my friends

All the work and hours I've put into hockey this winter will culminate this weekend. So I should be able to spend more time with you and enjoy the warm weather together. Patios, parks, walks, bikes, kickball, oh my!
As the assistant director for the U17 Team Ontario, I will be away for one weekend and do have to help my parents move during the course of the next month or so, but that's all.

So I will be there to enjoy this summer with you. And I have to enjoy it thoroughly because when fall and winter roll around my time will be eaten up again.

Count me in

After seeing Ted Leo & The Pharmacists last night at the Mod Club, put me down as a new fan. The Girlfriend had been ranting and raving about Ted Leo for as long as I've known her and dragged my sleep-deprived ass to the show. And I'm glad I went, though I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I normally would have.
Ted Leo is a good entertainer and puts on a good show. One of the better concerts I've been to.

Contender #3 for Album of the Year?

After bemoaning the lack of good music in 2007, a rash of good albums have popped out of the woodworks.
As you know I'm a huge fan of Shitt Hottt and they've recently put out a new album, Are You There God? It's Me, Shitt Hottt. And of course, it kicks ass. Popular tracks like "Theme from Shitt Hottt", "Boxx Damage", "Law & Order", and "Ready, Aim, Fire" are included.

The band will probably taking a break for a month or two to recharge and possibly write some new material before performing again. And in until then I can listen to their new album over and over again.

Contender #2 for Album of the Year?

I'm excited because one of my favorite bands of recent years, Sahara Hotnights, released a new album this week, What if Leaving is a Loving Thing. They know how to write catchy songs and this album proves to be no different. Favorite tracks at the moment include the first single, "Cheek to Cheek", "Neon Lights", "Salty Lips", and "Visit to Vienna". Though I could swear the chorus for "Salty Lips" was stolen from a Shitt Hottt song.
I really hope they come to Toronto on tour. Seeing their current schedule it looks like the earliest they could make it would be in the fall.

Home, sweet home

I've finally recovered from my cross-Ontario road trip on the weekend.

Saturday I went from Georgetown to Peterborough to Ottawa. The killer part was the trip from Peterborough to Ottawa along Hwy. 7.

But the one thing I've realized through my travels throughout Ontario and the northern States, while there are some nice places out there, I love my hometown. Especially when you're driving along Hwy. 401 coming towards the highway after having been driving for 4+ hours.

Speaking of hometown, I'm looking forward to today's game between Toronto FC and the Kansas City Wizards. Going to the Duke of Gloucester for that one.

"Przepraszam ale nie rozumie po Polsku"

It was announced yesterday that Poland/Ukraine will be hosting Euro 2012. Looks like I know where I will be in the summer of 2012. I'll probably aim for Kiev.

Hopefully, by the end of the month I'll know if I will be going to Switzerland next year.