Christmas and Such

Prior to Christmas the Goderich gang (Teresa and Greg and their two kids; Cara and Jeff and their three kids; and Heidi and Jen) came to my place for our annual (most of the time) Christmas gathering. Teresa couldn't handle my crazy cats (allergies are not fun) and they had to leave just after dinner. Cara's family stayed until the next day so that they could go shopping. It was great to have everyone together, since it is so rare that this happens. Cara's kids


My friend, Angele, is getting married this month (January) in Mexico. Back in December there was a surprise wedding shower for her. It was a lot of fun and it was great to get to see everyone outside of work one last time before I left. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to the wedding. I would love to go to Mexico, but I just can't afford it this year (two family weddings) and I just started a new contract.

I was finally able to pick up my Mini and I absolutely love it.

On my last day at work a group of us went out to lunch. I miss everyone. It was really sad to leave and I totally cried before I left. It's one thing to make a decision to change jobs, it's another to actually say goodbye to all the people you've worked with for so long. I miss have my morning talks and lunches with Annie. Luckily we are getting together for dinner next week.

Just before Christmas Tara and Christi invited me to a 12 bars of Christmas pub crawl. It was a ton of fun (for the most part). Unfortunately, that day my ovary was acting up and I took a tylenol 3. It appears that codeine and alcohol are a bad mix. I have very few memories after the 8th or 9th bar. Christi tried to get me to have a shot of tequila at one of the bars (I don't recall this at all). She said it was pretty funny that I had a hold of the lemon, licked the salt, and instead of taking the shot of tequila I grabbed my glass of water (it appears that I look out for myself even when I don't know what's going on). At the next bar they poured me into a cab and we headed back to Tara's. I threw up most of the evening (sorry Tara) once out of the cab. But, until that point I had a great time. Can't wait until next year. I would definitely like to go again next year, but without the codeine.

The week before Christmas Jason and Megan flew in from BC. It was great to get to see them (at some point I will publish the pictures of my trip out west back in August). On the Friday they came to Niagara Falls with me and while I was at work they went to St. Catherines to visit their friends Quentin and Martha. When I was done work we checked out the casino where I work. I'm not allowed to gamble or talk to anyone who is gambling. I had to check in with security so they could be sure that I wasn't doing anything I wasn't supposed to. It's too bad that I can't gamble because it would be nice to go play poker. After that we went to a vineyard and a bought a ton of wine. Then we met up with Lindsay and Jaime (and their boyfriends) for dinner in Burlington. It was great to see them and hopefully I will get to see them again soon.

We then headed to London to see Dad, Sue and Rach. We had Christmas dinner (with mushroom gravy and vegetarian stuffing). It was great. Then we headed to Goderich for the Woodall Christmas. As normal there was lots of drama, screaming, hospital visits and crying. Luckily, Grandma is now okay and has survived the flu.

New Job, New Car (sort of)

As some of you know I was thinking of leaving ESI for something more challenging. Well, it appears that I am leaving. A headhunter called me about a month ago looking for someone with my specific skill set. I had a phone interview and while I was in the hospital (for my stupid ovary) I found out I had been offerred the job. I start on Monday (Dec 11th) and finish at ESI on Friday (Dec 8th). Not alot of time in between, but that has never stopped me before. Besides, I'm taking time off at xmas when my brother and Megan come to visit.

So, the new job is a 3 month contract (probably extended to 6) at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. Which means I need a car. It also means I have to make a decisiion on where I be based. I'm going to try out the commute to start and then I will meet with my real-estate agent to find out my options and what she recommends. I have looked at student housing for a place to crash and St. Catharines is pretty cheap (and Martha and Q love it there).

First things first, find a car. I've been pretty happy with the Toyota Yaris, so that was my first stop. Heidi and Jen were in town so they went looking with me. Toyota sucks! I went in with the idea of buying a car and they so didn't want to help me and couldn't answer Heidi and Jen's questions and called me a liar (I'm not a big fan of that).

Next stop the Mini dealership, just for a fun test drive. Well, after the test drive I was sold. I wanted a mini. But, I can't afford new. So, back to autotrader to find a used one. I found a 2003 that was perfect, but the bank said no. Back to autotrader. Found another 2003 and last Friday I went to look at it in Downsview. They didn't have the 2003, but they did have a 2002. I took it for a test drive (by this point I was pretty bored with the whole shopping thing and just wanted a car). I liked the car and got Heidi on the phone for her thoughts. Negotiated a price and the bank said yes. Took the car to Canadian Tire for a safety inspection and they said it was in good shape (it needed a new battery and the brake fluid changed, but that was it). The dealership said I could have the car on Monday (provided I had the insurance taken care of).

I was super excited. The car was great; red with a white top (aching to have a Canadian flag decal put on).

Then I called RBC Insurance. I had already talked to them (and Primmum) to find out if I could afford the insurance on the mini (or the Yaris). Primmum was crazy in their pricing, so I went back to RBC. But, when I talked to them on Friday the quote was $400 more than what I had received before. I was pretty upset and told them I didn't want it. I needed to calm down and try to get the excitement back.

Monday I called RBC again. I received a completely different quote (at this point I think I had 4 different quotes for the same car from RBC). I finally said okay so that I could get my car. This meant I could get the car on Tuesday (last night).

I took a bus from work, to the go bus at square one, to Finch Go station, I hopped in a cab ($15) that took me to the dealership. I got there and the car was all pretty and clean. They brought it around to the front for me, I hopped in. I tried to adjust the seat, I tried to adjust the seat, I hopped out of the car and found my sales guy. The seat would not adjust to an upright position (no comments from the peanut gallery, please). It turns out the seat is broken. It worked fine on Friday when I went for a test drive. I don't know what happened between those two times, but I do not have a car that I can drive. So, they finally drove me home and said they would try to fix it today. When I called at 3pm they were working on it and expected it to be done by 5pm. It is now 4:16 and I am just leaving work. I will give them a call and then hop on a bus and take another two hour tour to Downsview. Let's hope this trip is more successful.

Ovaries, Do We Really Need Them?

I think I would be in less pain if we didn't. A couple of weeks ago I had this stomach pain, that was the Friday night before Wicked. I didn't feel bad on Saturday and forgot about it until Sunday night. No sleep until 4am! It was driving me crazy. Monday I went to work and Julia yelled at me (as well as you can in an email) and told me to get my butt to a doctor. Which I did. The doctor believed it was a cyst and that I should have an ultrasound. He didn't sound too worried, said they were pretty common (which I have found out, they are). He prescribed me some pain killers. Wed I headed to the ultrasound, they told me I would probably hear back in 3-5 business days. I thought, okay, no big deal, the pain isn't too bad and I went back to work.

About an hour later the doctor's office called and told me to come in right away. Hello, panic! The radiologist thought it might be something called Ovarian Torsion. Not so common and pretty serious. I read later on the internet that the ovary is saved in less than 10% of cases. This was at a walk-in clinic and they told me to go see my family doctor and if the pain gets worse before then to go immediately to the ER. I was pretty upset.

I headed to my doctor on the Thursday (almost a week after the initial pain). She went over the results and tried to get me in to see an OB-GYN. No such luck so she sent me to the ER at Women's College Hospital, because if it was torsion I did need surgery right away. Needless to say I was upset and in tears.

Things were quick at the hospital when I first got there. I saw a doctor and he sent me for another ultrasound to find out if it was torsion and if the ovary was already dead. It took a while to get the ultrasound (and it was not fun). Evil nazi radiologist who wanted to see if she could make me cry from the pain (she succeeded). But, it turns out, it wasn't torsion (it took another hour to find that out). It is a cyst, though. It's bigger than my right ovary (which means my left ovary is growing to accomodate). It's bleeding in on itself which is what makes it grow. But, no surgery is necessary (at least not yet). I go back for another ultrasound (oh joy) in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime the pain is still there. I'm happy that it doesn't appear serious and that I shouldn't lose my ovary. I've never had surgery so I'm not looking forward to that (if it happens). Of course, so many thoughts going through my head: should I harvest my eggs, will I be able to have kids, etc.

Wicked

Today I went to see 'Wicked' with my Dad, Sue, my Grandma, Lisa, Christi and Sandra. It was awesome. I highly recommend this production to everyone. I would definitely go see this again. Much better than I expected, it was great and I loved the idea behind it (especially the propaganda idea). I'm going to have to watch The Wizard of Oz. Go see this show!

After the show we all went to the Overdraught (Irish pub), where my cousin Ed works. We had an excellent time. I wish it was possible to do this more often.

AFIs Top 100 - Finally

As some of you know, AFI (The American Film Institute) came out with their '100 Years...100 Movies' list in 1998. This is a list of the Top 100 films in the first 100 years of AFIs existence. When the list was first published Lisa and I had the list on our respective fridges and Blockbuster had a handy pocket list where you could mark off those you had seen. We were very keen and thought what a great way to watch some great movies. You might not think 100 movies is alot (considering how many movies most of us watch), but this list was so hard to complete.

Well, I am so happy to say, that I have finally watched all 100 movies (it only took 8 years). The final movie for me was Charlie Chaplin's 'Modern Times' (he had three movies on the list). It was good, but I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I could have since at that point I just wanted to be done with the list.

I've been asked to give my opinions on the list and now that I am finished I feel that I can now give a comprehensive answer.

Let's start off with the movies that I didn't feel should be on this list:

• Annie Hall - I hate Woody Allen, I don't find him funny and I don't understand why everyone loves this film.
• West Side Story - I love Nathalie Wood (I was almost named Nathalie because my mom liked her so much, yes, I would have been Nathalie Woodall), but I don't think it quite ranks up there with some of these other films.
• Duck Soup - I really don't get the Marx Brothers. Parts were pretty funny, but I didn't really like the movie.
• Unforgiven - this is the only Clint Eastwood movie on the list. I find that odd. I would have thought one of his other movies would have made the list. Of course, I've never been a big Clint fan (I did really like 'Play Misty for Me', though). I guess I can't say whether or not his other movies were great. But, I suspect they put this on the list because he didn't have any others.
• Fargo - now, I love a good wood-chipper scene, but I suspect that the only reason this film made the list is because it came out the year that they were voting on the list.
• The Searchers - John Wayne already had a movie on the list (Stagecoach) and I thought it was a very good movie. But, I hated this movie. He is so racist and the movie is so long. Don't bother, watching this one.

Now, the following are movies that I understand should be on the list, but I really didn't like them:

• Ben-Hur - Great film making in this one. The chariot race is pretty amazing, but you know me, I'm not a big fan of religion. I didn't realize that this was a movie about Jesus, but it is, in a very weird way.
• 2001: A Space Odyssey - I can just imagine my brother yelling at his computer when he sees this. Now, I love the scene with Hal, but other than that, I'm really not a big fan of this film. I think there were some amazing parts to this film and I agree that it should be on the list, but not my cup of tea. But, I could listen to Hal again and again.
• The Jazz Singer - I think I expected something more from this film. I didn't dislike it, but I did expect there to be more spoken word. I really didn't realize that it was a silent film with the songs actually synched. Apparently, the entire movie wasn't in sound because the producers didn't think the audience wanted a talking picture. I did find out many interesting film facts while watching these movies.
• Bringing up Baby - Katherine Hepburn already had multiple movies on this list. This just wasn't as good as the others.
• Birth of a Nation - I just don't know where to start with this film. Is it the white woman dressed in black face acting all crazy for the camera (to show that black women are all crazy); or the fact that the movie is about how awesome the KKK is (and how everyone - well, the white race - will be saved by the KKK); or how Griffith didn't want to employ any black people, so most of the black characters are actual white actors in blackface; there are just so many things wrong with this movie. I had put off watching this movie for so long (I thought it would be the last movie in the list that I watched), but I do understand why it is here. The stuff that Griffith did on the screen is amazing. Watch this just to see how crazy he makes the black people seem. You just won't believe it.

Here is a list of the movies that I was really surprised by and I highly recommend them:

• The Wild Bunch - I think this was the movie I was most surprised by. I absolutely loved it. It's a western and is so beautifully shot. It took my breath away.
• Shane - Maybe I secretly love westerns. But, whenever I see that final scene I just start bawling.
• Singin' In the Rain - I had to go out and buy it right after I saw it. I love Gene Kelly.
• All About Eve - probably my favourite on the list. Just an amazing movie.
• High Noon - once again another western. Maybe I just didn't expect the westerns to be any good.

Now, the list of my favourites. Well, actually I can't really pin it down. With the obvious exceptions above, I really enjoyed the movies on this list. I highly recommend checking the list out: http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx

• Star Wars
• The Godfather
• Gone With The Wind
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• From Here to Eternity
• American Graffiti

These are just some of my favourites. It was a great list and the other lists that they have (top villains / heros; screen legends; etc) are really interesting as well. A great way to find movies that you may otherwise have not picked up.

Happy viewing!

Stuff

Since April I've been feeling like crap (as many of you know). In July my doctor prescribed some anti-depressants for me. For the most part the drugs appear to be working, but I still have some really crappy days. The last two days have been pretty good days. I took today off work to think about some stuff. I'm going to start looking for a new job. I really like the company I work for and the people I work with, but I need a new challenge. I'm really looking forward to moving back to a city.

But, on a much happier note I bought a new computer. I had my laptop for 6 years and it was about time for something new. This one is wireless and I love it. I'm sitting on my new couch in front of the tv posting my blog. It's awesome.

Who You Gonna Call?

Ghostbusters!

Our company always goes all out for Halloween and this year my team worked together on a theme. We were the Ghostbusters.

We decorated our cubicle area with ghosts and spiderwebs. We had the music (and the movie) playing all day. I made 'Slimer' out of paper mache and homemade slime. Cool, eh?

There was also a pumpkin carving contest (we didn't participate). Here is my favourite out of the bunch (pretty creative).

Now I'm tired and need a rest from all this creativity and chocolate.

So Many Things

Where to begin? It has been so long since I really posted. I'm still trying to work on my post for my trip out to BC. Hopefully this weekend.

When I returned from the trip out West I was on the road again. This time, a little closer to home. I headed to Goderich for my Grandmother's 85th birthday celebration. The party was excellent, we had beautiful weather, the food was excellent and it was great to see everyone that made the trek.

My cousin Ed was the bartender for the beginning of the party, check him out:

Ed and his wife Jana crashed at my place while they were looking for jobs in TO this fall. It was awesome to have them around (I do like being the weigh-station for everyone moving to Toronto - I'm not being sarcastic).

One of the best parts of the day was when my cousin Nick dressed up in a sailor outfit and brought out the cannon that my Grandfather built (yes a cannon that he built). We thought the neighbours might call the cops when he set it off.

My aunt Karen didn't believe that the motorcycle outside was mine. Even after I let her hop on, I still don't think she believed me.

The weekend after that I headed to Wasaga Beach for a surprise wedding shower for my cousin Candice and her fiance Sean. I hadn't been up to Chris and Dennis' place since they had moved and it was awesome to see their new place. One of the best parts of the day was getting to play with the kids (Nicole has a daughter and a son and Keith has a son). They are so super cute.

My Uncle Dennis has the best games room. He's always wanted a pool table and it is great. I played horribly, but boy was it a lot of fun.

A couple of weekends after that I headed to Kitchener to visit with Heidi, Teresa, Cara and the respective families. Here is the scary thought, we started high school together 20 years ago in Goderich. The visit was great and we have plans to get together again in November. The only unpleasant part of the visit (aside from Jen being unable to join us) was when Liam was fighting the chair and the chair won. It started out super cute and Liam was winning in the fight, but the chair took its final revenge and Liam ended up with a bloody nose.

I had a girls weekend up at the cottage in September. Lisa, Sandra and Julia were able to make it and we had an excellent weekend. My dad was up there working and therefore we were able to get out in the boat. Lisa decided to try tubing and she was having a great time and then dad sent her flying. She kept wanting to go faster. Dad did feel bad, but Lisa appears to be keen to try it again.

At the end of September I went to the weirdest housewarming party. It was a surprise party for Dorie, but not at her place. You have to know Dorie and her friends to understand. Dorie was super surprised (I won't show you that picture :)). The party was great and the cosmos were excellent!The party theme was 'Sex and the City"; check out my super cute red heels! Picture is of me, Dorie and her sister Mary Sue.

I wasn't sure what my plans were going to be for Thanksgiving, but at the last minute I was invited to my cousin Michelle's place. I headed to TO and checked out my cousin Ed's new place first (huge apartment) and then we headed to Michelle and Andrew's. Excellent dinner and great visit. Dad showed up on his way back from the cottage and then he stuck around to watch my hockey game. Hockey hasn't been going so well this season and that night's game was no exception.

Dad and I listen to Derringer's morning show on Q107, so when I won tickets to a 'Breakfast with Derringer' he was the first person I called to invite. He was also the only other person I knew that would be crazy enough to get up at that time of the morning. For those of you that don't listen to Derringer, every so often the morning show leaves the studio and heads out into the real world (i.e. bars or people's homes) for the show. This time it was Jack Astor's around the GTA. I won tickets to the show in Newmarket. We had to be there for 5am (yes, 5am), so I was up at 3:45 and on the road for 4. Boy was it ever dark and cold. But, it was fun. We met John and Ryan and had some breakfast and listen to some comics.

Dorie, Lisa and I headed out for Brunch one Saturday morning. The food was excellent and so was the company. We then headed to Dorie's new condo, to check it out. I'm super jealous. It's a great place.

Well, I've been trying to post this for awhile now. So, I better just do it. I haven't been reading a lot lately, so I can't think of anything to say on the book front. Oh, I did read 'This Can't Be Happening at McDonald Hall". To be able to write a book in grade seven; I can't even imagine. I must have read some other books, but for the life of me I can't think of any of them.

New Laptop

So, I bought a new laptop. I've had the same one for six years. I thought it was about time. Famous last words. I've been fighting with the new laptop for three days now. It's making me mental. First the wireless didn't work. Then, I had a system file error and the computer wouldn't even shut down. Boy that was fun. Apparently windows auto updates cause a problem with XP. Ah, how I love Microsoft.

I do have wireless working now, and (for now) a new laptop that appears to be working. I hope this means that I will finally be able to update my blog with the details of the rest of my summer. But, tonight I am sick of my computer.

Mtv

As some of you know, I'm addicted to Mtv and have been for a long time. Lisa's friend Waheeda was looking for a quote for an article. Here I am in print:

http://www.accessmag.com/83/mtvcanada.php

Book List

So, I haven't been on here in awhile and at some point I will publish the details of my trip to Vancouver, but many pictures are required for that.

In the meantime I've been reading, watching movies and have been stuck to my couch as the new television season starts.

Here's what I've been reading. I finished reading Silent Spring. Everyone should read this, even though it was written in the 60s, it is still very relevant to today. Then on a lighter note I read 'Skipped Parts'. Lisa always lends me the weirdest books. I think I liked this book. It was very different. Then Jason leant me a sci-fi book when I was out west, 'Farnham's Freehold'. This book was very interesting and it has some great ideas, but I don't think I liked it. It has some very heavy racist comments and some other weird ideas. But, it definitely makes you think about what you would need if you were stuck in a bomb shelter. I found it to be very interesting in the ways it makes you think. Then onto lighter stuff again, 'The Perfect Elizabeth'. I really enjoyed this, nice and light and a good read. Back into a mystery after that, 'I is for Innocent'. I had read quite a few of the Sue Grafton books a few years ago, but then they all started to sound the same. It was nice to get back and find out what was happening with Kinsey. Now I'm reading 'Zero'. Yes, it is a book on the history of the number zero. Very interesting.

Oct 18, 2006 - Update: I stopped reading 'Zero' again. Someday I will finish that book.

I really can't remember all the books I've read. Actually, I took a break and was very addicted to Sudoku there for awhile.

I did read 'This Can't Be Happening at McDonald Hall', I never read it in public school. It was pretty good. I also read 'Hags, Sirens and other Bad Girls of Fantasy', a short story collection. It was good, my favourite story out of the book was one about the Tooth Fairy, it just takes a hilarious turn.

I'm Angelic

I found the best quiz ever. http://home.att.net/~slugbutter/evil/

I took the quiz and this is what it says about me: http://home.att.net/~slugbutter/evil/angelic.htm

Really, it did, it said that I'm Angelic.

Lord of the Rings - the play, sucks

So, July is now over. Where does the time go? I can't even remember what happened at the end of July. Too many things going on, I guess.

I finally went to see Lord of the Rings, the play. Wow, now I realize why the show is being cancelled. It was so bad. The staging was pretty cool. But, the book is, what, 1600 pages. The movies were about 13 hours. Yet, they condensed that to 3 1/2 hours of play. Which was possible. I was suprised, but it was definitely possibe. Unfortunately, they did not get the right actors to pull it off. Gandalf did not have enough screen prescence. They also had the sound turned way up so it sounded like I was at a movie theatre with surround sound. Very weird for a play. Go see Spamalot, a much better production.

Off to the cottage with my dad and my sister. So, much fun. We watched Underworld: Evolution; played cards and cribbage and spent a ton of time on the boat. It was so relaxing. We also tore down some dead branches from one of the trees. That was fun!

New Baby

Congratulations to my friends Karen and Kevin (and Brandon and Mackenzie). They have just welcomed their new son (brother) into their family. Three boys now for Karen and Kevin. I just can't imagine.

And Your Father Smelt of Elderberries

If you have the chance, you should definitely go and see Spamalot. My brother bought me a ticket for my birthday and Lisa and I went to see it on Friday. Now, I have see the Holy Grail I don't know how many times, but Lisa had never seen the movie. We both really enjoyed it. All the great scenes are there, plus some new ones. It is quite entertaining. I laughed the entire time. It's currently only on sale until the end of August. "It's just a flesh wound."

http://www.montypythonsspamalot.com/ for info on the show and http://www.mirvish.com/spamalot/ for tickets in Toronto.

After the fun of Monty Python, I spent the weekend at the beach. Yes, I spent the weekend that was hotter than hell at the beach. The 12th annual Heatwave beach volleyball tournament for Sick Kids Hospital was this past weekend. ESI (the company I work for) has put a team in the tournament for the past 7 years. I missed last year because I was hiking around Newfoundland. But, I was back this year as captain. My goodness it was hot. The sand was burning and I actually suffered a bit of heat stroke with a headache that lasted about 8 hours.

The tournament was a lot of fun, as always. We played 14 games, we won 5 of the games and had two others that ended with a point difference. Not our worst year, but not our best either. I had a couple of great serves and now wish that I played more than once a year. By the end of the tournament I was definitely getting a better sense of where the ball was going. (Many collisions happened during the weekend, like the one below between Jeff and Christi.)

Christi and I went swimming in between a couple of the games (Woodbine beach was one of two without an ecoli warning in Toronto this weekend). Boy was it nice to get in the lake even if it was only for a minute or two. To beat the heat we had two tents on Saturday, but only one on Sunday. Even though it was super hot, there was a bit of a breeze. During one of our games we looked over and our tents were blowing away. They actually blew right over a girl sitting on the beach and one of the tents broke. I knew I should have brought the duct tape out of the car. I couldn't have imagined being one of the teams without a tent, it made such a huge difference. We hated getting out and stepping on the super hot sand. But, we did make it on tv. Apparently, I was in the footage shown on CTV News. I missed it because I was too tired to remember to set the pvr. CityTv also taped one of our games, but no word yet if we made it onto their broadcast.

Hockey No Fun

Today was crappy. I hate zip.ca, the rental car company forgot about me (again) and for the first time ever I didn't want to play hockey.

I haven't been feeling great for a couple of months now and it just seems to be getting worse. I can't sleep, I'm upset all the time and I keep quitting my sports. Today I went to hockey and half way through the game I just stopped wanting to play. So, I stopped. I hate my life right now.

But, there was a highlight to my day. I bought the kitties a new scratching post and they are so cute. I bought it for Placenta Head but Noke has taken it over and won't let him near it. I was hoping this would stop him from destroying my couch so that I could think about buying a new one. But, it doesn't look good.

Mudball

On Monday night I had my first baseball game with the Bears (a new team I've joined). It was pouring rain all day. I figured the game would be cancelled, but just in case I asked for a ride from one of the guys on the team (turned out we had to show up no matter what to ensure the team didn't default). About an hour before I was getting picked the sun was shining and Dan asked if I still needed a ride, or if I would take the motorcycle. I hadn't really thought about taking the bike due to the rain, so I asked if he could still pick me up. Boy was I glad I did. It started to pour about ten minutes before he picked me up. We both figured the game would be cancelled. No such luck. Ump said we were playing.

Now, I play backcatch. If any of you have ever been to a baseball diamond when it rains, have you ever noticed how home plate normally seems to be a small lake? Well, this was a red mud lake. No matter what I tried to do the ball somehow bounced in one of the huge puddles and sent mud flying in my direction. By the end of the game I had chunks of mud in my hair, I couldn't see out of my glasses and my uniform was caked with mud from wiping the ball off. Even after a shower when I got home I still had mud in my ears. But, I had a great time!

World Cup

I totally got addicted to the World Cup this year, but not until late in the competition. The first game I watched was Portugal vs. England. I was in the minority here, I think, cheering for Portugal. I'm currently sitting here watching the 3rd place game with Portugal vs. Germany.

Last weekend I celebrated Canada Day at Karen and Kevin's. It was a lot of fun. We sat out side and watched the kids go crazy on the wet banana slide and then played cards all evening. I love playing cards. We also played Taboo and the guys kicked our butts. But, it was still fun.

Nothing else too exciting going on with me. I'm having major issues with my MP3 player. It keeps shutting itself off even with a full battery charge. Of course, I can not find any answers on the web. Hopefully iriver emails me back with some ideas of what is wrong. Then, if that wasn't annoying enough, I just received an email from zip.ca that they have deactivated my account. I loved my zip service. DVDs being delivered to my house. But, I have had over 6 DVDs not received back at Zip and one that I never received. Apparently, they believe that I have stolen them or some such thing. I personally believe that whoever is responsible for the mail in my office building has something to do with it. But, apparently that does not matter. Stupid zip.ca.

I finished reading Stephen King's newest book, Cell. It was okay. It was somewhat similar to The Stand, but not as good. I'm currently reading Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. A rather depressing book. It is one of the books that started the modern environmental movement. It was written in the 1960s and still resonates today. But, I think I want something a little less heavy for the summer.

Next weekend I'm heading down to the Beaches in Toronto for a beach volleyball tournament as well as going to see Spamalot with Lisa. Should be a good weekend.

Even Bad Golf is Fun

To celebrate Father's Day and my birthday (because I love my dad so much I decided to come into this world to coincide with a day to celebrate him), my dad and I finally got in a game of golf.

Monday started out looking pretty bad weather wise. They were calling for rain. That would not have been good since we had already rescheduled this game. But, the weather did hold out and we had beautiful weather on the course.

Unfortunately, we did not have a beautiful game. Dad had a couple of great holes, but we also seemed to have some bad ones to go along with that. But, the beer girl was by numerous times and that made up for everything.

I had not had a good day at work, so I am hopeful that that is what caused my extremely bad performance.

We then had dinner at the Devil's Harp to cap off our great evening. Thanks for a great birthday Dad!

Happy Pride

I made it downtown today and caught up with my friends Heidi and Jen and Heidi's brother, George. They had staked out a great spot for the pride parade and it was just an absolutely gorgeous day.

Now, Heidi and Jen have been in Ottawa for a few years now and I have not had the pleasure of their company for Toronto Pride. So, it was very nice to hang out with them today. But, I did miss hanging out with Andi, Liz and Michelle and everyone from the gang. Of course, normally that is a Saturday Dyke March day and crazy dancing night.

Maybe next year I will get to hang out with both groups and Pride will be perfect :)

At one point as we were watching today, I looked up and saw all this yellow and a bunch of math symbols. University of Waterloo! Woo hoo. What other crazy group would have math symbols on their shirts?

I didn't take too many pics at pride, but here is another. When we saw the firetruck we were hoping that there would be some hot women along with the hot firemen. But, alas, only men.

Happy Pride Everyone!

Woodall Number

Did you know that there is a 'Woodall number'? How did this never come up in one of my math classes?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodall_prime


Woodall number is a natural number of the form n · 2n − 1 (written Wn).

Woodall numbers were first studied by A. J. C. Cunningham and H. J.
Woodall in 1917, inspired by James Cullen's earlier study of the
similarly-defined Cullen numbers. The first few Woodall numbers are 1,
7, 23, 63, 159, 383, 895, ... (sequence A003261 in OEIS). Woodall
numbers curiously arise in Goodstein's theorem.

Woodall numbers that are also prime numbers are called Woodall primes;
the first few exponents n for which the corresponding Woodall numbers Wn
are prime are 2, 3, 6, 30, 75, 81, 115, 123, 249, 362, 384, ...
(sequence A002234 in OEIS); the Woodall primes themselves begin with 7,
23, 383, 32212254719, ... (sequence A050918 in OEIS).

Like Cullen numbers, Woodall numbers have many divisibility properties.
For example, if p is a prime number, then p divides
W(p + 1) / 2 if the Jacobi symbol \left(\frac{2}{p}\right) is +1 and
W(3p − 1) / 2 if the Jacobi symbol \left(\frac{2}{p}\right) is −1.
It is conjectured that almost all Woodall numbers are composite; a proof
has been submitted by Suyama, but it has not been verified yet.
Nonetheless, it is also conjectured that there are infinitely many
Woodall primes.

A generalized Woodall number is defined to be a number of the form n ·
bn − 1, where n + 2 > b; if a prime can be written in this form, it is
then called a generalized Woodall prime.

Wonderland

Christi and I had a great time at Wonderland. Beautiful weather and short lines. The longest line we had to stand in was about 30 mins. That was for White Water Canyon. I haven't been on that ride for a long time because the line is always too long.

Our first ride of the day was Top Gun. I don't know why I stand in line for this one. It's definitely not one of my favourites. But, it is the first ride when I get there so I can't seem to resist. We checked out the new Tomb Raider ride. It's kinda of cool going through the ride lying down, especially when flipping upside down. My favourite is still the Psychlone. Christi and I went on that ride twice. We also hit a number of water rides and were soaked for most of the day. A ton of fun!

My friend Karen had her last day at work this week before going on maternity leave. We went out for lunch at this Indian pancake place. Huge amounts of food! A whole year without Karen at work :( But, soon a new baby for me to spoil.

Friday night my friends Lisa, Mohsen and Anna came to Mississauga for dinner for my birthday (it just keeps going). We had an excellent dinner! After they dropped me off, I decided to head out to Crocodile Rock to go dancing. I was so in the mood to dance. It's odd going to a bar by yourself. But, I found some people to dance with and had a great time.


Saturday I was supposed to go on the Ride for Sight to Trenton. Unfortunately, my friend Tim was in a car accident and couldn't ride his motorcycle (concussion). Feel better soon Tim!

Today I am hoping to head down to Toronto for the Pride parade and to watch the Portugal / Netherlands soccer game at Mohsen and Anna's. Looks like it should be a great day for the parade.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday and so far I have had a great weekend leading up to it. On Friday I went out with some friends for a stagette / slash birthday party. Christi's friend Jen was getting married so Mr. Stud (see below) invited us out for night of dancing, drinking and naked men (they were not that naked).

Some of you have been out with Mr. Stud and some of you may never have heard of him. No one seems to be really sure on th origins of Mr. Stud, but my first encounter was with Lisa for some stagette and I have now become the keeper of Mr. Stud. He's been to Grand Bend, made out on a pool table, crowd surfed and had many dances with different bouncers. Mr. Stud tends to be the life of any party!

Two of my sisters were also able to join the festivities on Friday, which was so great. I hadn't seen my sister Jaime in two years and it had been almost a year since I had seen Lindsay. We had so much fun dancing. Then we all headed out to the strip club. Apparently we got there late as there were not very many acts left to dance. We still had fun, maybe too much. I was pretty hung over all day. No more champagne for me, it is never a good idea.

I was supposed to go to a pre-pride party on Saturday, but due to the above mentioned hangover and this stupid iron deficiency (diagnosed again, explaining my extreme lack of energy lately), I didn't make it to the party. Happy Pride everyone, sorry I missed the party!

Sunday was Father's Day and normally, since my birthday coincides with this day to celebrate dad, my father and I normally go golfing. But, I was ditched this year.

After learning my Father's Day was free, my friend Lisa (from hockey) and I were to go for a round of golf. But last week she broke her ankle in hockey. She's out for 6-8 weeks. How crappy is that?

Today Christi and I are heading to Wonderland for a day of rollercoasters and waterslides. I'm so excited. I love Wonderland. What an excellent way to spend a birthday! Can't wait for the funnel cakes.

Cottage and Poker

At the beginning of June Lisa and I headed to the cottage for a weekend with my dad. We left Toronto around noon, but didn't make it to the cottage until around 5pm. No, the traffic wasn't bad. Apparently, we shouldn't stop in Barrie on the way to the cottage. We stopped to get something to eat and didn't want to leave the patio (beer just tastes so much better on a patio) and then we had some running around to do. Finally we made it to the cottage and had a very relaxing weekend.

Dad was actually up at the cottage for a 'boys weekend' with the guys at the cottage down the road. Golf and poker. Lisa and I actually got invited over for the poker. (This after Lisa had been cheating at cards. Now, she says she just wasn't paying attention.) Lisa did really well and came in second in the tournament. I was fourth, so much better than I expected. It was fun.

Saturday was pretty miserable (except for the beautiful double rainbow - I couldn't get the entire thing in the picture) so we just stayed in the cottage and watched a really bad movie. Please stay away from the movie 'Casanova'. It just kept getting worse as it progressed. It's a good thing Heath also made 'Brokeback Mountain' last year it would be pretty bad if this was the only movie he made last year.

We were invited back for more poker on Saturday night. I actually went out in the first hand, but had fun dealing for the rest of the evening. Lisa ended up in third. So, a good Texas Hold 'Em weekend for her.

Sunday was much nicer and we were outside most of the day cleaning the boat. It was hard to leave the cottage with the weather being so nice. But, it is just the start of the summer.

Last weekend Lumina and I hosted a surprise baby shower for our friend Karen. We almost pulled off the surprise, but her husband driving up to the house at the exact same time kind of wrecked that element of surprise :) But, everyone had a great time (I believe) and I don't think Karen hates us too much.

Saturday, my friend Christi and I headed to Guelph for her friend Jen's stag and doe. It was in the cutest little church / schoolhouse. We had so much fun. I was in charge of the poker table as the dealer. Another weekend of Texas Hold 'Em! The first game I was out pretty early, but made up for it in the next two games where I came in second and first. My poker playing seems to be improving (I hope). I think it is time for another trip to Vegas.

That's about it for me. The sports are going okay. My lacrosse team is definitely doing well (no thanks to me), hockey we keep improving and baseball is definitely alot of fun.

This weekend is super packed again. Stagette and a pre-pride party, a possible golf game and then a trip to Wonderland. I hope I find the time for some rest.

I almost forgot to mention the book I just finished. I am highly recommending this one to everyone: 'We Need to Talk About Kevin'. It definitely makes you think, not a happy book by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely worth the effort.

After that, though, I needed to go for something a little less intense and I'm now reading book 3 of Anne of Green Gables (Anne of the Island).

Happy Birthday Lindsay

It is yet another sister's birthday. This time it is my sister Lindsay's birthday. Actually, her birthday was yesterday, but I had no access to a computer to blog it.

From what I hear she had a very exciting birthday, full of drunken escapades! I haven't seen two of my sisters in forever. I saw Lindsay last July and I don't remember the last time I saw Jaime :(. I miss them. I'm hoping they will join me for my birthday and that all three of my sisters will be there.

Have a great birthday girlie!

I've Done a Bad Bad Thing

The BAD Ride 2006 was yesterday (Sunday May 28th) and what an absolutely beautiful day for a motorcycle ride. Last year it rained on us, but this year just beautiful sunshine. Here we are before we set out for the day (Tom, Tim, Steve and Craig, with my bike in the foreground).

For those of you who are wondering what the BAD ride is, I'll tell you. BAD - Bikers against Despair is an annual motorcycle ride to raise money and awareness for the Distress Centres of Toronto. Just one of the groups that they help are kids who have been mentally, physically and sexually abused. This year the bikers raised over $300,000 (thanks again to everyone that sponsored me) and there were over 1500 bikes in the ride. It was crazy.

The route is different every year (with some similarities). This year the route took us through Terra Cotta. Up until Terra Cotta it was a beautiful ride. It is the most amazing feeling when all you can see in front of you are motorcycles and all you can see behind you is motorcycles. Then came the crazy curve before Terra Cotta.

Tim was in front then me, then I see in my mirror a motorcycle and motorcyclist go sliding along the ground hitting the guard rail. I was so freaked out. But, I couldn't get Tim's attention. I yelled at a guy on the road that a rider was down and went to get Tim. Finally caught up with Tim and we waited to see if the rest of our group came along. They didn't so we turned around and found Craig and Steve helping our friend Tom along the side of the road. Tom had hit some gravel on the curve when trying to correct for the turn, lost control of the bike and went sliding into the guard rail. He is so lucky. He's in a lot of pain, but nothing is broken.

He had just installed engine guards to his bike and they saved his leg and probably the bike. We left the bike on the side of the road and Tom got on the back of Tim's bike and we got him home to Mississauga. Tim went back last night and got the bike. It is ridable and had some scrapes and dents. So lucky. I was freaked out for the rest of the day. It could just has easily have been me. I probably took that corner a little fast as well. I was so slow for the rest of the day.

We picked up the ride after dropping Tom off and headed into Toronto to the CNE grounds. We have never gotten there so late and with so many bikes already there (the above picture is just one of the parking lots). It was crazy! The lineup for the barbeque was back to the parking lot. What a beautiful day, though. We watched the police precision riders. They are amazing. They come so close to each other in such a small space. It's hard to see it in this picture, but they are swerving in between each other at pretty high speeds.

Yesterday (Tuesday May 30th) was my second lacrosse game of the season. I took a little bit of a different route to the game and appeared to be more prepared for the craziness of the traffic. I didn't feel like I was going to die this time. The game was great as well. We won 8-3. I did get to set up one shot, but we were denied on that one. I'm glad I signed up again this year.

I finished 'Neither Here Nor There' and I'm now reading 'We Need to Talk About Kevin'. I didn't realize I was picking up a somewhat depressing book, but the other choice was 'Anne Frank's Diary', so I guess I was going to get depressing either way. The book is very different and I'm intrigued.

You're Out

Last night I had a great baseball game. My team went up against a Division 1 team and things weren't looking good the first inning. The other team scored 5 runs, but we came back with 3. The second inning we held them to one and we scored 5. From then on we were in the lead. I made a couple of great catches at home plate (one was really close and went to the runner and the other went to me) - this after Lisa and I were talking about how the guys never threw home to me. I caught a pop up at home as well. I was hitting really well, but only made it on base twice. The other team tied us in the last inning and I was up first. I made it to first and then ended up on third after the next hit. Next thing I knew Joel was running towards me at third so I had to run home and scored the winning run. Turned out an outfielder had thrown the ball to the pitcher. In our game, the pitcher only has to accept a throw from an infielder. This caused some mayhem that I was not paying attention to. Luckily I did start to pay attention and we won. Hopefully this means next week will be good for lacrosse and hockey.

Hockey Update

Once again our hockey team played against one of the competitive teams last night. We faired much better this time, 3-0 (for them). A much better showing. We are definitely starting to gel as a team. Unfortunately, I could not stay on my feet last night. I kept catching the edge of my skates. I received a number of cheers from my bench for one particularly (un)graceful trip, where I tried to unsuccessfully catch myself.

Tonight is our second baseball game. I'm hoping that I get a couple of good hits again. The last game I actually hit a couple of singles (which is rare for me).

Happy Victoria Day - Too Bad About the Weather

I have been remiss in blogging lately (thanks Jamie for pointing that out) ;) So, I'm going to try to be better, but I'm not promising anything.

So, what has been happening since the bike drop? My friend Tim hooked me up with a new brake lever so it is now pretty hard to tell that I dropped it. There is one other part I need to replace, but I don't have the $100 so it will have to wait.

I read 'Tara Road' by Maeve Binchy earlier this month. I found it to be very similar to 'Scarlet Feather'. She seems to be repeating herself. Or, maybe I just wasn't in the mood for her right now. The book was still good, just not at the level I was expecting. Now, I'm reading 'Neither Here Nor There' by Bill Bryson. A book about travels through Europe. Very funny! So far, though, he hasn't made me want to go anywhere. He has made me think twice though about going to certain European Countries :)

The last couple of weeks have been all about the television season (and series) finales. Jack Bauer once again saved the day and I can't wait until next January to find out what happens to him! If you are not watching 24 you must start watching this show, go out and buy the DVD! The Amazing Race 9 finished up and I was so happy when the Hippies won. They were my favourites from the first episode. I would have been okay with the Frat Boys as well as they did run a great race. Survivor was disappointing in that I was very hopeful that Terry would prove to be the greatest survivor ever. But, no that damn car curse! They better have him back for an all star season. Tonight is the season finale of Lost. Thank goodness, I don't have time for all this TV.

Last week my dad and I went out for a round of golf. It was perfect. Beautiful day for golf and I didn't completely suck. I had some really good shots and some really bad ones. I'm hoping to get out a little more often this summer to get a little more consistency.

My sports season has started in earnest. A couple of weeks ago I had my first baseball game and we lost. Last week I had my first hockey game and we lost. Last night I had my first lacrosse game and... we lost. Things can only get better.

In my hockey league this summer, we only have 6 teams. Three competitive and three recreational. Due to the shortage of teams, the two groups will play against each other throughout the season (but, these will be exhibition only games). Our first game was against one of the competitive teams. There goalie didn't show up for the game. You would think that that would be good for us, no, it wasn't. We had to play the first period like it was a penalty kill (which is fine for two minutes, but difficult for ten). We lost 9-0.

Last night on my way to my lacrosse game I thought I was going to die. I've never really had the motorcycle downtown during rush hour. Boy, was that scary. No one sees the bike at all. But, I'm going to try again next week (hopefully I won't die). I had a great time at the game, even though we lost.

For the May 2-4 weekend I headed up to Goderich to visit with my grandma. I really need to buy some rain gear for the motorcycle. The ride takes about two hours (depending on the traffic and the quality of the backroads). An hour and a half in I was cold and then it started to rain. Just a slight drizzle but by the time I reached Goderich it was really coming down and I was drenched and couldn't feel my toes. Grandma hooked me up with some hot chocolate and set me up in front of the little heater she has and I was good as new. We stayed in and watched 'In The Heat of the Night'. I'd never seen this movie and had always wanted to. Sidney Poitier is amazing.

Saturday I walked around Goderich and bought some of the best doughnuts in the world. (I can't go home without stopping at Culbert's for doughnuts.) Walked by my old house. Apparently, there are new owners and they have really changed the inside. My brother's old room is now a laundry room. They took out a wall as well. I guess it's just not the same house.

My friend Cara had a surprise 40th birthday party for her husband Jeff during the weekend. It was great to get to visit and see the kids. Teresa and I ended up having a great conversation with Pastor Dave (very funny guy). Then back to town to meet up with Grandma at the Legion. The Goderich Legion has a meat draw every week. Apparently, it is good luck to take a vegetarian because my grandma won meat twice. Then we went out for dinner with some of her friends. It was a really great evening.

Sunday was so cold! We didn't want to leave the house. But, leave we did. We needed to do some visiting. First we headed out of town to my aunt Judy's cottage. I hadn't been there since they first got it. What a great cottage. Overlooking Lake Huron is just a wall of windows. They just got a new puppy and he so cute. Made me want a dog (until I got home to my bad kitties and then I had second thoughts about the pets I already have). Then we headed to my aunt Lynda's for dinner. Another great visit (looking at pictures of my dad at my aunt's wedding when he was so young and without a beard).

Monday I headed back to the city. I didn't want to leave because it had been so relaxing. The ride home was dry but even colder than the ride there. I couldn't feel any of my fingers or toes by the time I got home. But, there was no time to really relax as I had to head back out to meet Lisa to go to a Blue Jays game. I was given free tickets to Monday's game against Tampa Bay (perks of ordering tickets for the company). The game was fun (except for the crazy lady who was made at everyone for showing up to the game late - especially the people whose seat she was sitting in). I went to get Lisa and I some beer (can't watch a game without beer) and when I came back she had this crazy story about how she had sort of caught a ball. While I was gone she wasn't really paying attention to the game and then realized that a ball was coming straight at her. It didn't hit her but landed at her feet and she scooped it up. Everyone around was staring at her (especially the kids). How do I end up missing the really exciting part of the game? The Jays did win and we came within one strike of getting free pizza. It's pretty sad that the fans will stand up and chant for pizza but not necessarily for a player.

This week looks to be bringing us much better weather. I hope so. I'm heading to the cottage in a couple of weeks and I want to be able to sit out on the deck.

Hope you all had a great Victoria Day. I'm super glad I wasn't camping!

The Drop

Well, it was bound to happen. I dropped my motorcycle. Well, not exactly dropped, more of a lay down. So embarrassing! Outside of the theatre on a Friday night. The steering column was still locked when I went to ride away (apparently when I thought I unlocked it, I locked it). Well, not being able to straighten the handlebars out posed a problem and the bike went down. There are a few scrapes and a bent lever, but all in all not too much damage. But, it certainly doesn't look as pretty as it used to. The only good thing to come out of this: I learned that I can pick up a 500lb motorcycle all by myself. Yes, adrenaline is a wonderful thing.

I went to the movies with my friend Tara. I haven't been to a movie in forever. We went to see the new Jennifer Aniston flick, 'Friends With Money'. It was pretty good. An okay rental.

In the book department, I just finished reading 'Running With Scissors'. This is a crazy book and has just been made into a movie. Apparently, this is a memoir of the writers life. I wonder if actually escaped adolescence.

Work

Our office is going through a major move in the next couple of weeks. My team got a little too big for the number of desks we have so they are moving us to another floor. Luckily I got to move early. It is so nice and quiet on my new floor and no one knows where I am. It's great.

I just finished reading 'Reefer Madness'. Very interesting. Today in the news there was actual a district attorney from the US talking about how Canada should not adopt the drug laws that the US has. He made some very similar points to the book.

I'm currently reading 'Stardust' by Neil Gaiman. I've only ever read one of his books before, 'Neverwhere'. I highly recommend him as an author. My brother has also recommended 'Good Omens'. It will definitely be going on my list. Don't you just love it when you find a great author?

Portugal Boy

I had such a happy surprise at work yesterday. Ricardo was back online. I haven't chatted with the boy from Portugal for a long time and it was weird that I was so happy to hear from him. He just makes me smile.

Spring

I love spring! It was so beautiful outside this weekend. I didn't get out on the bike a great deal this weekend, but I think it will be out alot soon. The summer bike rides are almost upon us.

Insomnia

For the past three weeks I have not been sleeping well and when I finally do get to sleep I dream these very vivid dreams that I remember when I wake up which means I'm not getting any sleep. I hate insomnia. I even tried to take a sleeping aid, but that was even worse. My brain fought against it and so I had an even worse sleep.

The last time I had insomnia this bad was in university during finals (not a good time to be sleep deprived). I don't know what's going on but I must be stressed about something.

Unfortunately, I won't even have the option of sleeping in this weekend. I'm helping Karen and Kevin paint the baby's room.

On the book front I'm reading 'Reefer Madness' right now. I think I need to stop reading non fiction for awhile. It is making me very angry and depressed. The book is written by the same guy that wrote 'Fast Food Nation'. This one is about 'Sex, drugs and cheap labour in the american black market'. Very interesting, but so making me hate the government (American in this instance).

Not sure what I will read next, but David Suzuki's biography comes out this weekend. Which would mean more non fiction. I may have to hold off on that. Not sure I can handle reading about the internment camps at this point.

On a totally different note, my sports start again next week. Woo hoo! I'm so glad. I've been missing the physical activity. The gym just isn't the same. Next week lacrosse and baseball start and then hockey starts mid May. So, the end of my free nights is upon me.

I can't believe it is almost May. The days go by so fast.

Rogers

Today I hate Rogers!

The remote for my digital cable died. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to deal with your cable box without a remote? Apparently I have a defective remote. It has been defective since Friday night. I can not access anything that I taped to my PVR. So, I can't watch last night's Prison Break (I was at an aquafit class when it was on). I can't even tell if it actually taped. Luckily I was home to see 24 (how sad is that I am upset about the fact that I can't access my television shows - I will try not to think about how sad that is).

Really why I'm mad at Rogers is because of their technical support. I dislike their voice recognition system immensely. The guy's voice is so infuriating. I really just want to get through to technical support and it takes forever.

Suzuki

Please check out this article:
http://ca.entertainment.yahoo.com/s/22042006/2/entertain-suzuki-hopes-autobiography-inspire-canadians-become-environmentalists.html

I love David Suzuki! I can't wait to read his new book.

Currently, I'm reading 'Reefer Madness'. Yep, it's about drugs. Actually, it's about the American black market (including drugs). Oh the government makes me laugh and makes me cry.

This weekend I hung out with a recent grad from Waterloo. We walked around downtown in the rain and finally found a pool hall. Oh my pool game is so bad lately. I definitely need to get out there and practice.

Jacket

So, the motorcycle jacket I looked at on the weekend was quite nice. But, one major problem the inner lining was pink. Now, some of you may not know about my aversion to pink. It is quite the deep seated hatred. I don't know why I hate it so much, but I can't stand pink. Lisa has indicated that it really shouldn't matter that the 'inside' is pink since no one will see it. In theory that makes sense, but I will know it is there and when the jacket is not done up you can see it. It would clash with my motorcycle once the bike is painted orange.

Anyway, the same jacket also comes in black with cream. I'm going to ask today what colour the lining is on that one. Of course, then I have to locate the jacket in my size. The Canadian dealers don't appear to carry this jacket.

I finished my Christopher Moore book last night, 'A Dirty Job'. It was good, not great. It definitely had some excellent moments. It was very similar to some of his other books. Not his best, but not his worst.

I'm currently reading 'Nickel and Dimed'. A book that Lisa leant me about a writer that decides to find out if it is possible to survive on minimum wage. It's very interesting so far.

I've booked my flight to Vancouver to go see Jason and Megan in August. I can't wait! I actually found a direct flight using my Air Canada points. I was so surprised. Actually, I'm flying into the airport closest to them and not Vancouver. When I attempted to book a flight to Vancouver I was going to end up spending 6 hours in Saskatoon. Ah the joys of Aeroplan points. Not that I'm complaining about a free flight!

I've almost used up all of my points. One more trip I think and then I will look at switching to the Royal Bank Visa. I hear it has the best plan (of course, I think Sue might be biased :).

Happy Birthday Rachael

It's another sister's birthday today! Happy Birthday to Rachael. I believe she was spending her birthday weekend in Toronto and was going to the zoo.

I love the zoo. Especially in spring when all the babies have been born. Now, ethically I have issues with the zoo. But, I have so many happy memories of the zoo that it is hard to not still love going to the zoo. I love walking around that place (and really when I think of the zoo, it's the walk that I love - I'm such a freak).

This weekend I was supposed to head to Goderich, but the weather didn't seem to think that was a good idea. Considering how cold it was yesterday on the bike, I think I made the correct choice. Grandma, I promise to come visit soon!

Instead I did some work around the house, bought some new plants (I wonder how long they will last) and went out on the bike. I went shopping for a new motorcycle jacket and while at the store I lost my motorcycle key. Not fun! Cycle World has so many places to lose a key. After hunting around the store for about 45 mins and asking Lisa to come pick me up, the key was finally found at the counter (thankfully someone found it and turned it in). I can't have a keychain on the key because it scratches the paint / chrome (learned this the hard way), so, the key becomes very easy to lose (this is the second time).

I finished a Stephen King book this weekend. Really just a short story. It was okay, not great. Now, I'm reading 'A Dirty Job' by Christopher Moore.

I watched 'March of the Penguins' on the weekend. Soo cute (Jay, I'm trying out your new word). Nature is weird and wonderful.

Hope everyone had an excellent long weekend and is ready for the spring!

Brokeback

So, I just finished watching Brokeback Mountain. Again. It was even better the second time. I could watch Jake for hours. It is such a beautiful movie.

When I was at home last weekend I had brought the DVD with me so that my family could see it. But, I realized that it just wasn't a good idea. As much as I love this movie and I think they should see it, I realized that they were just going to upset me a great deal. When I brought up the idea of watching the movie I didn't receive a great reception to the idea. I have enough problems with some of the ideas they have (and them with mine) that I realized that it was probably going to cause more problems between us. I hope they watch it and see all the beauty that I do.

Outside of how amazing I thought the movie overall was I just can not get over how damn sexy Jake is in this movie. I have loved Jake since I saw him in October Sky (go see this movie), but this really just cemented how amazing I think he is (maybe even more than Viggo as Aragorn - which I did not think was possible). Yes, I am well aware of the fact that I seem to like movie / book characters more than real people (but have you seen Jake :)?)

Enough about Brokeback. I was supposed to go to Goderich this weekend to visit my grandma. But, the weather did not cooperate. I am back to only having a motorcycle so I need the good weather. (Sorry Grandma.) I am thinking of going out to find a leather motorcycle jacket this weekend.

I am very torn about the decision to get a motorcycle jacket. My kevlar Joe Rocket jacket is falling apart (the seems are torn) and doesn't appear to be that protective any more. The tests show that leather is the most protective. Of course, if I was to really stick to my guns I would say kevlar is the way for me to go. But, my new motorcycle really does scream leather. I hate that, but I also like it because riding the bike is also about looking cool :). Of course, I probably won't find the jacket I'm looking for. My body is just not built for the style of jackets out there. Somedays I wish I was just a little taller.

I talked to Lisa today and, of course, we were discussing the books we were reading. She reminded me that I have read 'Harriet the Spy' before and that I hated it. I don't understand how I could forget that I had read this before. Now, I did hate it again this time. I'm sorry, but a kids book with a 'moral' of lying is necessary? That's really not what I expect from a kids book.

Now I'm reading a new Stephen King. It's a pulp fiction thing and it is really quite boring. Luckily it is very short and I should be done tomorrow. Then I am on to the new Christopher Moore. I can't wait.

Prison Break

This television season is really harming my sleeping. Between Prison Break, 24, Lost and reading 'In Cold Blood' I am having the worst nightmares.

I finished 'In Cold Blood'. Excellent book, very well written. Of course, since seeing Capote, I probably visualized some of the scenes differently than I would have if I had never seen the movie. Now I'm reading 'Harriet the Spy'. I never read this as a kid, and every once in awhile I like to read those kids books. It's okay.

The biker murders in Ontario have freaked me out. So, I've been reading lots of different articles. My favourite was the one from the states that said 5 men had been arrested. Always good when the newspapers get their facts straight. The day after the murders the Toronto Star had a side bar of all the mass killings in Canada (not Ontario, Canada) and somehow Picton (the guy in BC) isn't in the list. Now, I'm not quite sure how they missed the biggest mass murder in Canada but hey I'm not a writer. My dad thought it might be because he was still on trial, but this weekends murder was in the list. Hmm, curious.

Trivia

While in London on the weekend, Dad, Sue, Rach and I were involved in a trivia tournament in Stratford. Sue signed us up as part of the Royal Bank team with some people from her work. It was a lot of fun, but wow, what was with those questions. I thought the trivia league I used to be in was tough. There were ten teams, I think, and ten rounds of ten questions. There were a couple of music questions that I knew (but not the John Lennon one - my dad couldn't believe it - hey, I'm a Beatles fan, not so much the solo stuff). I also answered two of the four literary questions correctly. There were a few questions where people were not happy with the answers. We thought a fight might break out and the quiz master looked very scared :)

After the tournament, we went over to Kelseys to see my cousin Ed (he's a bartender there). He brought us the most amazing dessert. And from the small world files, three guys at the bar were from Goderich.

Sunday was so beautiful! Wish I had of been out on the motorcycle (of course, with all the craziness of the murders in the London area this weekend that may be biker related, maybe not). Instead I helped Dad build a walkway around the side of the house. It looks really good. Dad and Sue really know how to put a house together! My arms hurt so much today from moving rocks. Of course, I think the game of catch that Dad, Rach and I might also have something to do with the pain.

I was just reading Jamie's blog (http://bloodyhyena.blogspot.com/) and was remembering the game of cranium we played on Friday night. Jamie and I made an awesome team. If there is ever a chance to play charades I want him as my partner. For some weird reason I could always figure out what he was acting out. I think his girlfriend might be wondering what is in the water in Goderich to make us so weird :)

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. I'm hanging out in London and tonight we are all heading to Stratford for a trivia tournament.

Last night a blast from the past came over to my dad's place. A friend of Jason's from high school is dating Rach's friend Steve's sister. Small world! So, Jamie (Jason's friend) and Christine (Steve's sister) live in London and came over for a visit. Jamie looks the same as ever and it was cool to do the Goderich reminiscing thing.

I hope my dad has a great birthday.

Happy Birthday Jaime

Today is my youngest sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Jaime!

I haven't seen her for so long and I miss her :(

Some of you may be wondering, sister? I thought you just had a brother. Silly, kids. Jason and I have three (step) sisters. Rachael, Lindsay and Jaime.

This weekend I am off to London to celebrate my dad's birthday. So many April birthdays for our family. Next week is Rachael's.

I'm currently reading 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote. After seeing the movie Capote I really wanted to read this book. It is so nice to be reading a well written book. I wonder how long it will take me to forget about the horror of 'The Historian'? I highly recommend 'In Cold Blood'. It so beautifully written.

Worst Book Ever

I finally finished the worst book ever. Well, that's not exactly true. I have probably read worse books in the past. 'The Historian' was so boring. It had a really good premise, but the writer just couldn't pull it off. I couldn't wait for it to be done. I complained about it all the time. Of course, Christi wondered why I didn't just stop reading it (novel concept). I just can't not finish a book. The ending also was a let down. Suzanne, if you are reading this, I'm not sure I can ever trust you to recommend a book to me again :). In Suzanne's defense I believe she had only heard of the book before she recommended it to me.

Now I'm reading 'Close Range' by Annie Proux. A collection of short stories about Wyoming that includes 'Brokeback Mountain'. It is very good. (Brokeback comes out on DVD tomorrow.)

This weekend I hit the One of a Kind Craft Show with Lisa and Dorie. I believe I spent the least amount of money ever at the craft show. I bought a couple of things and a couple of presents. Then we ordered Thai food (apparently my soup came with a staple, how fun), drank some wine and chatted. That was the best part of the day.

Last night (April 3) I was invited to a Rev launch party. Christi's husband, Mike, works at Bacardi and they have a new flavour of Rev out on the market. There was purple everywhere. It was fun, but I am too old to be drinking Rev on a Monday night downtown :) Wow is there ever a lot of sugar and caffeine in those. (And as many of you are aware I don't normally have caffeine in my diet so I am still wired this morning. Very difficult to sleep last night.)

Math March Madness

As many of you know I went to the University of Waterloo for Math. Every year there is a math alumni event in Toronto in March (it used to be every March 14th in celebration of Pi day, you know 3.14 - those crazy mathies). Well, last night was the annual event. I am so glad I took this morning off work.

As usual there was a pool tournament. A couple of years ago the event was held at Vinnie's and I made it to the final game after beating Dean Alan (the Dean of Math at Waterloo). Last year I was asked by our Alumni coordinator Pat if I would help run the tournament. Of course! Unfortunately, I was knocked out the first round. If I remember correctly it was by the Dean.

This year, I was once again asked to help with the tournament and of course I said yes again. And once again I was knocked out first round. This time by Ian (who won the tournament last year). Next year, I have to remember to write out the pool rules that we are going to use PRIOR to the event. Every year I forget that I will be asked this question and that the 'real' pool players will be upset with whatever 'easy' rules we choose. We need to choose a couple of easy rules so that the 'non' pool players always know what's going on.

Unfortunately, because I'm running around getting everyone playing I don't get to chat as much as I would like (and you know how much I like to chat). I did meet some great people and wish that I had of had longer to talk with them.

One of our rules was that if you scratch on the black you lose. Deidre (sp?) won her first game this way; then she won her second game this way; I believe the third win was the same to put her in the semi-final. But as you can see below she was doing quite well in the semi-final against Jamie:

My friend Tim was also doing quite well and then he was pitted against Tom (who is also Deirdre's friend). Apparently Tom was taking a page out of Deirdre's play book because he was trying to play the most defensive pool game ever. Tim actually sank more of Tom's balls because Tom was just trying to hook the eight every shot. It was very crazy.

Then the evening gets a little hazy. I know Tim ended up in the final. (Tom's tactic didn't quite work out for him). But, I can't remember if it was Jamie or Deirdre against Tim. You know they look so similar :) Either way, Tim won (yeah!).

Ian (our winner from last year) won a painting of the Waterloo campus that he really wanted to win last year. So, that was good.

Tim, Ian and I stuck around to play pool for awhile. There was a guy from Chicago, Kevin, at the bar that was wondering what was the deal with all the math and so I invited him to play pool with us (unfortunately, he ended up with me as a partner).

I played extremely badly last night and definitely need to get out and practice (the last time I played was probably back in December). I finally got myself home on the bus by around 2am. I just caught the last bus back to Mississauga. I think it took me over an hour and half at that time of night. I should really check the bus schedules before I head downtown.

A great time appeared to be had by all and I can't wait for next year! Note to self: write out the rules prior to going downtown.

Brother Blog

Jason now has a blog as well and I can keep track of his crazy day to day life. Please check it out: http://gollumullog.livejournal.com/

This weekend I cleaned up the motorcycle and had it out on the road. Saturday night was not so fun. It was cold and rainy, but I didn't have to beg for a ride. Which was very nice.

The reason for taking the motorcycle out in the cold and rain was because it was my friend Tim's birthday. I couldn't miss that. Actually, I had forgotten that I did need a rental car for one last weekend. I was putting away my hockey equipment and realized that I had one last hockey skating class. So, I called the rental company and they said they would call me back when they were on their way to pick me up. I waited and nothing. They didn't even call back on Monday to apologize for forgetting about me. I believe this was a fluke since they are normally very good about getting me a car every weekend. I am now carless until mid May when hockey starts again on Wednesdays.

Back to the party. Tim's birthday was alot of fun. Wow, I didn't recognize the house. There were actual curtains on the windows (I love you Tim, but your house had that crack house look to it), not a sheet in the window. His new girlfriend Jen is definitely a good influence.

Skating at the ACC

Okay, I went skating at the ACC. Do I remember to take my camera? Of course not! So, no pictures of me at centre ice. It was still alot of fun. I was amazed at how bad the ice is and how small the ice is.

Lisa hasn't been skating since she was around 15, so that was interesting. Actually, she did great and seemed to really enjoy it. I'm hoping she will join me at some public skates in the future. It's funny, when we were in university together I remember her telling me that her mom thought she should learn how to skate so that she could go skating with her friends. Lisa brought this up when we were out on the ice on Saturday. Well, it took awhile, but there was actually an event where it would have been good to have skating ability.

Our final playoff game was this past weekend as well. We lost 4-0. I still had fun and it was a great season. The summer season starts in a month and a half. I don't know what I'll do in the meantime :)

St. Paddy's Day

Well, another St. Patricks Day has come and gone. Another year to recover from drinking green beer. I may have my picture in one of the Toronto papers today. Some guy was taking pictures for the Sun (I believe, it was loud at the bar) while I was dancing. He wrote down my name and then another woman asked me some questions about why I chose to celebrate at Failte.

Julia and I met up with Tim, Jen and Jerome at around 12:30 at the bar and it was already packed. It was difficult getting a table! Julia and I left around 10:00pm. I am at work today (yes, Saturday) and boy do I feel rough. No more green beer!

The band (Kitchen Party) was excellent as always and the dancers were amazing. Failte has Irish dancers come in throughout the day, which is so cool.

Tonight I'm heading downtown to go skating with Lisa at the ACC. Some media promotion, I'm so excited.

On March 4th, my friend Annie got married. Congratulations! A good time was had by all. The reception was beautiful and the food was amazing. Annie's husband is Greek, so we actually got to do some Greek dancing, so much fun.

Single Girl

No more Bryan (and for those of you that were unsure - no more Ricardo, either). I'm dateless again, but used to it, so no biggy.

I've been watching the Olympics non stop and love how well the Women's Hockey team is doing.

I rented (well Zipped - zip.ca is awesome) Crash, the third movie up for best picture at the Oscars. It was really well done. Definitely makes you think, I highly recommend watching this one. It's not a happy movie and I think there was only one character I actually liked, but I think that was the point. I still want to see 'Good night and Good luck' and 'Walk the Line'. I'm really not fussy on seeing 'Munich'. Maybe this weekend.

(Okay, I'm back - I actually wrote all of that a couple of weeks ago. Probably around Valentine's Day since that is when Bryan and I broke up.)

I've seen Walk the Line now and wow, was it great. Joaquin is so damn hot. I definitely recommend this movie. In my opinion it should have been up for best picture over Capote. Philip Seymour Hoffman was amazing as Capote and the movie was good. But, I didn't think the overall movie was as good as Walk the Line.

Tonight I am off to see Good Night and Good Luck with Lisa. Then on Sunday I'll be all excited to find out who won. I will be at hockey during the beginning of the show. But, I just picked up my new PVR so I can start watching from the beginning as soon as I get home. I'm so excited.

I'm off to my friend Annie's wedding tomorrow. I'm sure she will look beautiful. And I suspect from all the planning I've heard that it will be a great reception.

Last weekend I headed to London to see my family (well part at least, Dad, Sue and Rach). And to check out their new hottub. Oh, I want one for my very own (but, will have to settle for the one at my gym). It was a really great, relaxing weekend. Lots of Olympics to watch and much sleeping on the couch!

Books for this week included Enchantment by Orson Scott Card. Everytime I read one of his books, they blow me away. If you get a chance I highly recommend this one. Especially if you have ever read any Russian Fairy Tales. Currently, I'm reading Blue Gold: The Battle Against Corporate Theft of the World's Water. This book is making me extremely depressed, but definitely opening my eyes. North Americans waste more water than any other group of people. Come on people conserve that water, it is not even close to unlimited. More on this book later, when I'm done.

So, before I sign off here are my Oscar picks:

Best Picture and Director: Brokeback Mountain
Best Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon
Best Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhal - but I don't think he will win :(
Best Supporting Actress: well, I don't really care. I only saw two of the performances and they were good, but didn't blow me away
Best Original Screenplay: Crash
Best Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain

Snowboarding with no snow

Well, it is the winter that never was. Well, not exactly true since we do seem to have snow today. It was not fun driving to Cambridge on Saturday.

Last week (well, when I started this post it was last week) Bryan allowed me to take him snowboarding for the first time. In my quest to convert everyone to snowboarding I decided Bryan would be my next victim. (For those of you not in the know, Bryan and I have been dating since December. He's an engineer from Cambridge. He thinks I read too much and that I should go back to eating meat. Yet, I still keep him around.)

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The sun was shining and after getting bruised and battered we both sat on the outdoor patio for a couple of beers. Ah, winter in Canada!

Bryan is probably going to be kicking my butt on the slopes after two more trips to the hill. I am still such a cautious boarder. But, we had a great time and Bryan went back out this past week. I guess that means he enjoyed it. We planning on going again at the end of February. He's in Florida right now, so I figure the best thing for him when he gets back is to go play in the snow.

We went to see a play this past weekend, 'The Boyfriend'. It was okay. It wasn't one where I would tell everyone that you have to see it (like Les Mis) and it also isn't one where I would say don't see this (like Cats). It was cute. My friend Karen couldn't use her tickets so she was nice enough to let us use them. We had to walk past the theatre with 'Lord of the Rings'. I'm waiting for my dad to tell me how it is (hint hint).

I need to send out some congratulations: my friend Karen is pregnant. And I believe, congratulations need to also go out to my friend Tanya. I hear she got engaged. But, since I never get any emails from her I can't confirm that :).

Since I finally finished the John Nash book I am now on to another non-fiction, but one that I am really enjoying reading. I'm reading 'Under the Banner of Heaven'. It's by the same author that wrote 'Into Thin Air' about the Everest Disaster, Jon Karakauer. I really like his writing style. This book is about Mormon Fundamentalism. It is extremely interesting. I also read some trash this past week, a book called 'Basket Case'. It was written by the same guy that wrote 'Skinny Dip'. His books are okay, but they go on a little too long. It's like he is making up extra scenarios that are unnecessary for the plot to the book. But, a fun read.

I have two books from the library as well. Lisa has joined a book club in Toronto and I am going to attempt to read the book list as well. One of the books is called Blue Gold. It is about the theft of the world's water supply. (I'm sure Bryan is cringing at the mention of another book that will put me in a bad mood about how corporate america is destroying our world.)

Well, that appears to be it for now. Oh, of course, the Olympics. I have been sucked in to the coverage. How about our awesome women's hockey team (which reminds me I scored a goal in my game last night - first one this season)? Hope everyone tunes in to watch them against the Americans.

Books, Movies and Whirly Ball

In going back over my last couple of blogs I realized that I have been remiss in listing books that I have read. And I was hoping to use this blog to keep track. I am so happy that I finally finished 'A Beautiful Mind'. This is the story of John Nash (mathematician that Russell Crowe played in the movie). It was interesting, but so difficult to read. I started reading it back in the middle of December and only finished it a couple of days ago. Not very well written from my point of view.

Before that I read a book of short stories called 'Lady Killer'. The problem was that I didn't realize it was a book of short stories at first. This caused mass confusion to my brain when I started reading the second story and the characters seemed completely different from the first chapter. Then I read the cover of the book: Lady Killer short stories. It helps if I know what I am getting myself into.

While on my trip I read the Steve Jobs biography 'The Second Coming of Steve Jobs'. This was a great read. It is the story of Steve Jobs after he was kicked out of Apple until his triumphant return back to Apple. It contains the story of Pixar. Very cool. I highly recommend it.

This weekend I went to see Brokeback Mountain and Capote (in my quest to see the Oscar nominated movies - except Munich, I really don't care). I loved Brokeback. Jake is so damn sexy! Philip Seymore Hoffman was excellent in Capote and now I can't wait to read 'In Cold Blood'.

On the Wednesday after I returned from my trip, our team had a team event. We went to Toronto to play 'Whirly Ball'. Oh my goodness, so much fun. It's kind of difficult to explain Whirly Ball. It involves bumper cars and attempting to throw a ball at a target. Our team came in 2nd place. Can't wait to go play again.

A Tale of a Fateful Trip

The BVI: Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,a tale of a fateful trip.That started from this tropic port,aboard this tiny ship.The mate was a mighty sailin' man,the skipper brave and sure.Five passengers set sail that day,for a three hour tour, a three hour tour………The weather started getting rough,the tiny ship was tossed.If not for the courage of the fearless crew,the Minnow would be lost; the Minnow would be lost.The ship took ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle,with Gilligan, the Skipper too,the Millionaire, and his Wife,the Movie Star, the Professor and Mary Ann,here on Gilligan's Isle.


Okay, nothing horrible happened on the trip. It was awesome. The weather was amazing and the water was so beautiful.

For those of you not in the know, I went to the British Virgin Islands for two weeks this month. Four or five years ago my friend Timm sent me an email about a sailing Flotilla that had a spot free and they were looking for interested parties. Unfortunately, this was during the Nortel days of not knowing if I had a job so I passed, but passed the email along to my other friend Tim. Tim jumped on the idea and headed on the sailing trip to the BVI. He then went back again two years ago with his friend Bill. Last July you might remember I went hiking in Newfoundland. I came back and swore that my next trip would be sitting on a beach somewhere. When I got back from Newfoundland, Tim and I went out for a drink to talk about my trip. I told him that my next trip would be relaxing in the Caribbean. He told me that his friend Jen had just cancelled on going on the BVI trip with him and there was a spot on his boat free. I still wasn't sure if I could afford it. Then he said we would be using our Air Canada points for the flight. Well, that sealed the deal. I was in (my bank account is so not happy with me now).

A little bit of info on the trip: this is the 15th year for this flotilla. Harvey Cracknell has been putting a group of sailors together for years to go and hang out in the beautiful blue. Tim, his friend Bill, his wife Lyn and I signed up to be on a Catamaran for the trip. We were put together with three others for our boat (our skipper Struther and Norm and his now wife Dolores).

Tim, Bill, Lyn and I headed down to the BVI a couple of days early. We flew threw Philidelphia with a stop for the night. Tim has friends in Philly that we met up with at a bar downtown and danced the night away. That was so much fun, but boy was the hotel sketchy. Then back to the airport for our flight to St. Thomas (US VI). A free rum punch off of the plane and then waiting for luggage. A bit of a scare when Tim's luggage was the last one to appear. Then a bit of a freaky ride in a taxi to the ferry dock for our ferry over to Tortola (the main island of the BVI). The ferry ride was fine until we got to West End (our departure point). There appeared to be some issues with figuring out how to dock. Through customs and then we sent Tim off to get the rental car. Lyn and I had some amazing fruit smoothies (oh, the start of the rum drinking) while waiting. Once Tim finally showed up with the car, we came to the realization that there may not be room for all four of us and all the luggage in the tracker. We managed, but Lyn and I were stuck in the backseat covered in backpacks. A fun drive over the hills to our hotel (Sebastian's on the Beach). Tim and Bill left us in the back while they checked in and during that time the rum from my smoothy kicked in. That was some great rum!

The hotel was great, beautiful beach with surfers to watch. Next time, I am booking myself some surf lessons. (Here is a picture of the beach at our hotel.)

(FYI - I started this blog right after my trip, but now it is two weeks later)

We had an awesome day of jumping in the waves. I went for a couple of somersaults at one point. Tim had some issues with sand in his shorts :)

So, we had fun for the first couple of days and then my trip went the way of all of my other trips (remember the Australian airport fiasco?). The day we left the hotel we went over to the marina to find out about getting our catamaran. The woman working there said that there was no way we could find out which boat was ours until 6pm (this was at around 1pm). We couldn't drive around in our car all day with our luggage (Lyn and I couldn't see out the windows because we were covered in bags). The woman at the marina said we could leave our stuff in the office. Bill decided to stay with the luggage while the rest of us went for a hike up Sage Mountain (tallest mountain in the Virgin Islands). It was pretty muddy, but the view was spectacular.

Back to the marina, still no access to the boat. There happen to be two marinas owned by the same company. One has a pool. So, Tim and I headed to the pool while we waited for 6pm. Unfortunately, 6pm came and still no access to a boat. The ferry containing the other 100 people on our trip showed up just after 6pm with a whole pile of drunk / happy people. The four of us, not happy. I think they finally found us a boat at 7pm. An upgrade, woo hoo. We upgraded from a 38' to a 45' cat. Which meant that instead of 3 cabins, we had 4. This meant that our skipper didn't have to sleep in the salon at our dining room table. Finally, we get on to our boat and can unpack. But, first we had a group outing to dinner. Our groceries were set to be delivered, but every boat but ours seemed to get theirs. So, Bill and Lyn stayed behind to wait for the food. Tim and Struther (our skipper) were at a skipper's meeting. So, I headed withs Norm and Dolores to dinner. Dinner was very tasty; the painkillers - drink of the BVI - not so much. Then when Bill, Lyn and Tim showed up, we found out that our boat was not our boat. Apparently, it had a mechanical difficulty. So, it was ours for the night and a new boat in the morning.

Remember I said morning for a new boat. Not the case. We finally got a new boat around 1pm. We had to transfer all the food, luggage and alcohol.

(Here's a shot of Tim, me and Struther with all the beer.)How fun! Finally we left around 2pm, I think. Too late to actually get to snorkel at the two snorkelling stops of the day (the caves and the Indians). Those of you who know me well, will know that I was not a happy camper. So, I drank, a lot. Tim was making Margaritas and Painkillers. That night we were stopped in the Bight. Tim went finishing off the back of our boat and caught a fish (which he threw back). In this harbour is a 'pirate ship' called the Willie T. You can jump off the top level of the Willie T. I didn't really need alot of convincing. But, I did need better depth perception. I misjudged where the water was (it was 1am and I was drunk) and hit the water with my butt and leg and was super bruised. Of course, that didn't stop me from jumping a second time. Yes, normally, very afraid of the water. Drunk, not so much.

The Indians with the Bight in the background:
The next day, Tim and I tried to get everyone up early so we could do the snorkelling we missed the day before. Unfortunately, there was no getting the boat to leave early on any day. We did get to the Indians (a rock formation) for a 15 min snorkel. We moored the boat and then jumped off the back. So, my fear water didn't really kick in on the way to the rocks. As we were swimming, it got shallower, which seemed to be okay. Very pretty, swam through the rocks and then it just opened up. But, then we swam back to the boat. It got deeper and darker and the boat seemed very far away. Then I saw the silver shape. A barracuda between us and the boat. That did not make me happy. I could not get into the boat fast enough. Tim and Bill, though, thought it was very cool. That night we were in West End on the island of Tortola for a pizza dinner.

Just so you can get an idea of the size of the boat, here it is from the back. One night Struther and I were dancing to my psychadelic mix and I almost slipped right off the back into the water. Alcohol and a boat seems like a good idea, but alcohol, a boat and Mel dancing seems like a bad idea.

The next day we travelled to a place called Sandy Cay. An unpopulated island with the most gorgeous beach. Swam into the island and saw all these pretty silver fish. Took a bit of a walk through the vegetation until we came upon a bunch of wasps (or hornets, I can't tell the difference). Back to the beach, quickly.

Here is Tim and I off of Sandy Cay with our boat Enchantress in the background. Isn't the water spectacular?

Then off to the island of Jost Van Dyke for a wedding. Norm and Dolores got married on the beach at White Bay. It was very beautiful and touching. Congratulations you guys! After an amazing dinner at the hotel where they were staying the group headed to Foxy's for dancing. Norm and the guys sang Margaritaville and then I headed back to the boat. I was very tired on our trip (not sure if that was the iron deficiency or the huge amount of fresh air and sun).

The next day we headed back to White Bay to swim into the Soggy Dollar Bar (another Barracuda). So called because you have to swim to the bar, no dinghies (Swim in, drink, Swim out - repeat). Then we headed out for an amazing sail. Three hours with the waves crashing over the front of the boat and the trampoline. At one point Lyn couldn't see Tim, Bill or I because we were covered with a wave. It was amazing (up to 7.8 knots)! We saw two schools of flying fish (they are so tiny).

Soggy Dollar Bar at White Bay:
That night we were anchored at Beef Island. Tim and I rented a car to head back to West End (where we all stayed at the hotel) to go to the Bomba Shack for the Full Moon Party (a monthly event). At the Bomba you buy a mug and then they will fill it with Mushroom Tea. I partook of the mushroom tea and then proceeded to pass out in the rental car while Tim went back to the party. Tim came back with three other people from the Flotilla (who needed a ride back). On the ride back there was a speedbump that was not marked. We went airborne, I can't believe I didn't throw up on the dashboard (Paul shared my sentiment from the back seat).

This is me at the Bomba Shack prior to the tea:

Then off to the Baths on Virgin Gorda. A snorkel at the Baths (so cool). Lots of fish, lots of rocks. Apparently, another Barracuda around our boat. Dinner with the whole Flotilla that night. Tim, Bill, Lyn and I sat at a table with two other couples. Dinner was amazing. At the end of dinner we were speaking with the other two couples about where we all worked. I told them where I worked and they had actually heard of it. Turns out the two men used to work with our company's new president. Such a small world.

There was a huge storm that night. It was impossible to get to the dinghys to get back to the boat. So, we hung out at the bar until the storm subsided. The next day we went on a tour of the island that included a hike through the Baths. The rocks were so cool and the waves were insane. Very different than the day before when it was completely calm for snorkelling.


At one point Evelyn and Barb were pulled off of a rock by a wave. Then we headed to a restaurant for lunch that had a pool. We hung out there drinking for awhile!

Then we headed to Bitter End. It was gorgeous. A decision was made to not go to Anagada the next day due to the weather. So, we hung out in Bitter End. It was beautiful!

While on the trip, Tim taught me how to drive the dinghy. At first I wasn't sure how to dock, so Tim did the docking at the island and then (mistakenly) allowed me to dock when we got back to the boat at Bitter End (I believe). This was a big mistake. Since I hadn't docked at the island I wasn't comfortable with neutral and reverse. When we came back to the boat I missed the steps and ended up almost driving us under the catamaran. Tim ended up bleeding from attempting to push us off the back of the boat (so sorry Tim). But, he trusted me enough to let me try again and now I am quite happy with the dinghy driving (where's that Dinghy captain shirt?).

The next day the swells were huge, 10 feet, when we went out for a sail. That really freaked me out. That day they had cancelled the snorkelling because the water was too rough. Our boat was not doing so well. Mechanical difficulties kept plaguing us. So, the crew made a decision to go back to Road Town instead of Coopers Island. On the way back we actually got to stop at The Caves so we could snorkel. And just as Tim predicted it was the best snorkelling of the trip.

We had so much fun on the way back to the Marina. We had a ton of fruits and veggies left on the boat. We decided that it would be fun to have veggie bowling. That turned into veggie throwing and hit the dinghy with the veggies. The grapes were the best! Tim hit the bow of the dinghy with a bunch of grapes that exploded.

Don't worry no one let me be in charge of the boat:

Most of the boat crews headed to a rib place for dinner and then we invited everyone back to our boat to party on our last night (we had a lot of alcohol to get rid of). The next morning (as with the first night) we were the last boat to get checked out. Then onto the ferry for free rum punches and a ride back to St. Thomas to the airport. On the way, the ferry had to be turned around because someone left their passport / wallet on their boat and we had to go back to get it.

Tim, Bill, Lyn and I were supposed to be on a flight back to Philly and then on to Toronto. But, the flight was cancelled so they put us on the same flight as everyone else. Which was cool because we got to have a few more hours with everyone.

I caught a cold in the last couple of days and so I pretty much passed out on the floor of the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. I just wanted sleep.

Back into Toronto around midnight, grabbed my luggage and headed for home. Very happy to be in my own bed even though it felt like it was moving and I kept dreaming that I was still on the boat.

I hope my dad and my step mom will come on this trip in the future. Tim says he would love to skipper a boat with my dad.

Thanks to everyone that made the trip awesome! Hope to see you all out there sometime.

Sunset at West End: