I'm leaving Toronto in a few hours. It's pouring rain here - remnants of Hurricane Isidore, I believe. It's supposed to be raining for quite awhile. Not quite as bad as the snow they're getting around Calgary today. What a great thing to look forward to.
I've been assigned more work projects today - they'll keep me nice and busy next week. It's not too bad. I know my code is going to be pretty rough-looking, like trying out a new language you've learned on the locals for the first time. They'll snicker and smile at you, but eventually you'll become proficient and efficient at expressing yourself.
I'm waiting for the code reviewer to come around. Both he (Roy) and Peter Kelcey are here today. Peter sat down with me for a few minutes to set up my Connection objects to run an SQL query on the database, but now I'm trying to work through some more stuff that is stumping me. Go figure.
I got out for another run with the Frontrunners last night. Man, that lead group of guys are fast. They're all very good runners. Some of them aren't too bad looking either. It's nice to know there are some other gay guys out there that aren't driven by the bar party and coffeeshop scene. Nice group of people.
The plans are set for Thanksgiving in Montreal. I bought my Black & Blue ticket at Priape yesterday after running. The Toronto flights, hotel, and car rental are all set. Jerome is warned we will be on the highway on Oct. 11th, and should be expecting us late evening, depending on how bad the traffic is. He's supposed to be attending a vernissage for one of his female artist friends at a lesbian bar in the Village, so Natasha is excited already that our first stop in Montreal will be a lesbian bar.
I'm looking forward to seeing the gang tonight. I will finally be able to unwind with my own kind.
Joe's completely psyched about Apt#1203. It's twice the size of 1206, with an extra bedroom, bathroom AND a dishwasher. That's what sold me, even if it is an extra $100 apiece every month. If I don't have to do dishes anymore, I'll be able to spend more time vacuuming and dusting. YEAH RIGHT!
That's all for now. Another few hours stuck in traffic on the 407 and 401, and then desertion in the bowels of Pearson Airport and then I'm OUTTA HERE!
More later......
Wednesday, September 25, 2002
I'm almost done the second hitch in Toronto. I've spent the last week and a half at Royal York, and spent most of my time at work building ASP pages and COM classes, learning how to build WSDL files to allow SOAP communication between applications on the web, and getting a better understanding of the database architecture we're working with. Since the the steering and architecture committees that determine the direction of the project are still changing specs on a daily basis, there is still a lot of confusion and ambiguity going on. I will be surprised if we get this project done by our deadline, but I've been surprised before.
From the looks of things right now, I'm coming back to Calgary on Friday night. I should be coming back to Toronto the following Sunday and spending another two weeks here. Natasha and I are planning on going up to Montreal for the long weekend and participating in some of the Black & Blue festivities going on that weekend. I still have to get my ticket for the main party at Olympic Stadium on the Sunday night, but I'm waiting to get confirmation on what's happening with work.
I've been doing WAY too much shopping here...it's time to come home and save some money (yeah, right!). Last week I dropped some more cash at the Shoe Room, buying a pair of white M.Stevens milliskin tights and two pairs of Freed ballet socks. At HMV, I found an import of Kylie Minogue's "In Your Eyes" with the vocal version of Jean Jacques Smoothie's remix. Awesome. On Sunday, I ended up buying the Layo and Bushwacka! - Night Works and the new Lamya - Learning from Falling CDs last week - they're both pretty good. I didn't know what to expect from Lamya, but it's a pretty nice piece of work - her collaborations with Nellee Hooper remind me a lot of Morcheeba and others of that ilk.
Natasha and I went out for dinner Fri. night to a place in the Village called "Hair of the Dog". It's a nice little place and the food was fantastic, reasonably priced. Sat. night went out with Robert to Babylon for martinis and 5ive, which is a really kickass bar. It was really packed around midnight-1pm, then the crowd really cleared out. Apparently the Barn (which is the popular bar du jour here - Lord knows why) stays open for dancing until 4pm, so everyone heads over there till close. We stayed at 5ive though. Robert is SO funny - we had a great evening. He thinks I'm a riot too. We laughed about my "naivete" coming from the western frontier where subtlety isn't a strong point. I did a few "Yeehaws" in the bar to prove his point, and found the queens scampering for cover. Hilarious. I found out from Jerome on Sunday that Bob Flynn's brother is a co-owner of that place.
Sunday I went shopping - oh no! As per usual, my mother called me at 10AM on Sunday morning waking me up. It's so funny talking to her when my voice in an octave lower than normal - "What mom, oh no I wasn't smoking last night....". I was a zombie yesterday. Went down to BodyBody and Priape, spent a bunch of money in my weakened state, then did the tourist thing and wandered aimlessly around the CN Tower and Skydome. At one point before getting there, I thought "if it's affordable, maybe I'll take a ride up to the top of the tower." Geez...What was I thinking? $30!?!?! What a ripoff! Needless to say, I fully enjoyed the grandeur of the tower from ground level.....
I bought a pair of Body Body board shorts at the store on Church, then went over to Priape and bought a really nice pair of Jocko workout pants and a DVD ("Out of Athens - Pt.2" - yay!). After Jerome informed me of the CK/Joe Boxer/etc underwear sale at the Bay, I popped in there last night and dropped another $170 on underwear, socks, and shirts - yikes! Oh well, you can never have enough undies and socks, right? Two pairs of CK bikinis and tank top, a Pour Lui lycra belly shirt, two DimSkin thongs, and six pairs of CK socks....
I also sent an order to Dancechoice.com for two new Grishko unitards and another pair of Grishko slippers. The unitards are a men's cut in a poly/lycra material full body with zipper in the back and turtle neck top. One is black, the other is skintone. I'm so excited to check them out! I hope I chose the right size for a snug fit though.
Other than that, I've been working out in the Royal York gym and I went running with the Toronto Frontrunners on Sat. morning. Went on a hard 15km trail run through the Don Valley and Rosedale. It was a lot of fun! Spent the rest of Saturday helping Natasha move to her new place - finally got back to the hotel at 9:30pm and rushed to get ready and meet Robert at MLG at 10:30. Frontrunners are out again on Thursday - I'm planning on running with them again tomorrow night.
As far as the weekend's concerned, yes, we're going to the Davison's on Fri. night as soon as I get home. Saturday I should be doing laundry, etc. and then Joe and I are supposed to be going out for dinner for our anniversary, then possibly going out for awhile - no solid plans yet. I had wanted to book a room at the Palliser or something like that, but gotta put a hold on spending for awhile, esp since Montreal isn't going to be cheap. Sunday is Joe's birthday. I think a bunch of people are supposed to be going to The Keg for dinner, then to Boyztown for the drag show. It certainly sounds like a busy weekend. And then...Sasha on Wednesday night.
Gizmo (the cat) is doing well, I guess. Joe says he's out of control and needs his knackers removed. I guess that will be happening soon enough. I've been elected the "permanent enemy" that will drop him off at the vet. He's growing so fast!
The Ekiden plans are in the works for the 19th weekend. I should be flying into Calgary Friday night, off to Banff Sat. morning. I have to get release forms signed yet....more later.
That's all for now.
From the looks of things right now, I'm coming back to Calgary on Friday night. I should be coming back to Toronto the following Sunday and spending another two weeks here. Natasha and I are planning on going up to Montreal for the long weekend and participating in some of the Black & Blue festivities going on that weekend. I still have to get my ticket for the main party at Olympic Stadium on the Sunday night, but I'm waiting to get confirmation on what's happening with work.
I've been doing WAY too much shopping here...it's time to come home and save some money (yeah, right!). Last week I dropped some more cash at the Shoe Room, buying a pair of white M.Stevens milliskin tights and two pairs of Freed ballet socks. At HMV, I found an import of Kylie Minogue's "In Your Eyes" with the vocal version of Jean Jacques Smoothie's remix. Awesome. On Sunday, I ended up buying the Layo and Bushwacka! - Night Works and the new Lamya - Learning from Falling CDs last week - they're both pretty good. I didn't know what to expect from Lamya, but it's a pretty nice piece of work - her collaborations with Nellee Hooper remind me a lot of Morcheeba and others of that ilk.
Natasha and I went out for dinner Fri. night to a place in the Village called "Hair of the Dog". It's a nice little place and the food was fantastic, reasonably priced. Sat. night went out with Robert to Babylon for martinis and 5ive, which is a really kickass bar. It was really packed around midnight-1pm, then the crowd really cleared out. Apparently the Barn (which is the popular bar du jour here - Lord knows why) stays open for dancing until 4pm, so everyone heads over there till close. We stayed at 5ive though. Robert is SO funny - we had a great evening. He thinks I'm a riot too. We laughed about my "naivete" coming from the western frontier where subtlety isn't a strong point. I did a few "Yeehaws" in the bar to prove his point, and found the queens scampering for cover. Hilarious. I found out from Jerome on Sunday that Bob Flynn's brother is a co-owner of that place.
Sunday I went shopping - oh no! As per usual, my mother called me at 10AM on Sunday morning waking me up. It's so funny talking to her when my voice in an octave lower than normal - "What mom, oh no I wasn't smoking last night....". I was a zombie yesterday. Went down to BodyBody and Priape, spent a bunch of money in my weakened state, then did the tourist thing and wandered aimlessly around the CN Tower and Skydome. At one point before getting there, I thought "if it's affordable, maybe I'll take a ride up to the top of the tower." Geez...What was I thinking? $30!?!?! What a ripoff! Needless to say, I fully enjoyed the grandeur of the tower from ground level.....
I bought a pair of Body Body board shorts at the store on Church, then went over to Priape and bought a really nice pair of Jocko workout pants and a DVD ("Out of Athens - Pt.2" - yay!). After Jerome informed me of the CK/Joe Boxer/etc underwear sale at the Bay, I popped in there last night and dropped another $170 on underwear, socks, and shirts - yikes! Oh well, you can never have enough undies and socks, right? Two pairs of CK bikinis and tank top, a Pour Lui lycra belly shirt, two DimSkin thongs, and six pairs of CK socks....
I also sent an order to Dancechoice.com for two new Grishko unitards and another pair of Grishko slippers. The unitards are a men's cut in a poly/lycra material full body with zipper in the back and turtle neck top. One is black, the other is skintone. I'm so excited to check them out! I hope I chose the right size for a snug fit though.
Other than that, I've been working out in the Royal York gym and I went running with the Toronto Frontrunners on Sat. morning. Went on a hard 15km trail run through the Don Valley and Rosedale. It was a lot of fun! Spent the rest of Saturday helping Natasha move to her new place - finally got back to the hotel at 9:30pm and rushed to get ready and meet Robert at MLG at 10:30. Frontrunners are out again on Thursday - I'm planning on running with them again tomorrow night.
As far as the weekend's concerned, yes, we're going to the Davison's on Fri. night as soon as I get home. Saturday I should be doing laundry, etc. and then Joe and I are supposed to be going out for dinner for our anniversary, then possibly going out for awhile - no solid plans yet. I had wanted to book a room at the Palliser or something like that, but gotta put a hold on spending for awhile, esp since Montreal isn't going to be cheap. Sunday is Joe's birthday. I think a bunch of people are supposed to be going to The Keg for dinner, then to Boyztown for the drag show. It certainly sounds like a busy weekend. And then...Sasha on Wednesday night.
Gizmo (the cat) is doing well, I guess. Joe says he's out of control and needs his knackers removed. I guess that will be happening soon enough. I've been elected the "permanent enemy" that will drop him off at the vet. He's growing so fast!
The Ekiden plans are in the works for the 19th weekend. I should be flying into Calgary Friday night, off to Banff Sat. morning. I have to get release forms signed yet....more later.
That's all for now.
Friday, August 30, 2002
I lied. Had to post one more blog before I leave Toronto. I went out with Natasha again last night. We took the subway up to Bathurst and walked down to College. It's a funky little neighborhood east of the College/Bathurst corner, including Little Italy and the Portuguese district. We went to a sushi place called Tempo. A little pricy, but delicious.
Headed back to the gay village afterwards. Checked out CREWS, Buddies in Bad Times (closed), 5ive (cover - didn't go in), stepped into Woody's, and ended up at a comedy show at Slack Alice's. Got back to hotel at 1am, called Joe.
Checked out this morning. Got charged $33 for local calls. Supposed to be free with Presidents Club membership, but what a ripoff. You can definitely tell you're working with a former CP company due to their pathetic tight-assedness. Especially when anything you buy in the hotel is 25% more expensive than in the real world due to the simple fact it is the Royal York.
Needless to say, I'm back on the 15th. Staying at the Days Inn on Carlton and Yonge. Close to the village, out of the core, and a short subway ride to work in the morning.
More later.
Headed back to the gay village afterwards. Checked out CREWS, Buddies in Bad Times (closed), 5ive (cover - didn't go in), stepped into Woody's, and ended up at a comedy show at Slack Alice's. Got back to hotel at 1am, called Joe.
Checked out this morning. Got charged $33 for local calls. Supposed to be free with Presidents Club membership, but what a ripoff. You can definitely tell you're working with a former CP company due to their pathetic tight-assedness. Especially when anything you buy in the hotel is 25% more expensive than in the real world due to the simple fact it is the Royal York.
Needless to say, I'm back on the 15th. Staying at the Days Inn on Carlton and Yonge. Close to the village, out of the core, and a short subway ride to work in the morning.
More later.
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Thursday afternoon....looking forward to heading back to Calgary. Talked to Joe and Mom last night. Nothing much new to report. I ended up going for another run last night, heading west along the lakeshore instead of east. The area around the CNE was swamped with cars, people. Part of the walkway along the lake was closed to make way for an airshow starting next week, and of course additional parking for all of the CNE-goers. A bit more greenspace, but not a whole lot. Are there any decent parks in this city of what? No doubt they've all been paved over. I will never dis Calgary about lack of greenspace EVER again.
This will be the last entry before I head home. I'm apparently going to be back on the 15th, but the Royal York is full, so as of today I'm staying at the Marriott at $269/day. What a rip-off. I'm going to try and get into the Royal York on the days they aren't full. Reports when I start travelling again.
Later....
This will be the last entry before I head home. I'm apparently going to be back on the 15th, but the Royal York is full, so as of today I'm staying at the Marriott at $269/day. What a rip-off. I'm going to try and get into the Royal York on the days they aren't full. Reports when I start travelling again.
Later....
It’s Tuesday night. I just got home from visiting with Natasha. Joe is supposed to be calling around 11pm.
I slept in this morning, thinking I’d be in the gym this evening, but instead I drank beer and ate chocolate truffle!
I got out of classes at 4pm, and John Walker had fixed the problem with the modem, however now my login name isn’t accepted on the dialup network…never ending problems. At least when I got back to the hotel room I was pleasantly surprised to have a message from Natasha on the voicemail. I was off early enough I ran up to Malabar on McCaul to check out their dance wear and gear. I bought a new pair of Capezio "Romeo" line of white men’s split sole ballet slippers (crème de la crème of men’s slippers – and pretty pricey too $65! - oops) and a new Mondor dance belt. There were some really nice Mirella navy blue unitards there as well, but I decided to hold out on that, at least until I check out some other places. I decided I was going to run back down to the Shoe Room on Jarvis and buy a pair of white M.Stevens tights. I got there about 5:45 and realized that they are closed today until Friday for inventory. I remembered seeing the sign up when I was there on Saturday, but of course, I forgot. It was probably fate, since I’m not in a great need for buying more dancewear, but I’m a slave to my obsessions! I guess I can reconsider that and possibly get them when I return to Toronto.
Anyways, I had a hell of a time finding an operational pay phone after that to give Natasha a call. One was plugged, but the sun was glaring on the display and I didn’t see the warning until I had already put a quarter in. I tried another down the street, but they had restricted calling between 6pm and 7am – obviously a ploy to keep money out of it – only in the big city would somebody be breaking into payphones for money. I finally found one on Yonge Street and called Natasha. She was down by the Royal York of all places, but I waited for her to show up at the Wellesley subway station and we went to Zelda’s on Church for dinner and a few beers. We had a great visit, and we’re meeting up tomorrow so I can give her her pictures from her birthday party in the spring. We decided we’re going to take a trip up to Montreal this fall together when I’m around. She’s never been there, and I’m dying to go back, so it all works out well!
I made it back to the hotel, and realized I didn’t get the bill from Zelda’s to expense, so I’m out more money –dammit!
Joe just called a few minutes ago. He always gets busy at work as soon as he calls…that’s the way things always go. We just talked quickly about what possibilities there are for doing something on the weekend.
So, since I missed my workout this morning, I’m going to go running again tomorrow morning, and hopefully get into the gym tomorrow night or Thursday morning, and I guess I can get in there on Friday morning as well. Natasha thinks I’ve lost even more weight, but I hardly feel like it!
I also emailed Greg Britz this afternoon, asking him what is going on with the project. I’m getting sort of anxious to find out what’s going on, since it will require a lot of replanning of my sporting events and other things going on in Calgary that I will now be unable to attend if I’m spending a large part of the fall in Toronto. It’s quite possible they have no idea what’s going on at that end either.
Did I mention that Joe has found a kitten for us? It’s through a friend of Marion’s, apparently the same woman that gave Joe Bailey so many years ago. It’s another calico cat like Bailey was with black, white and wisps orange. It’s nine weeks old, already litter-trained, and apparently shy since it’s the runt of the litter. Just like us to get the underdog! I love it! I’m so excited about the kitten, but depressed at the same time that I won’t be around for the formative months. I have a bad feeling that it will haunt me for years to come. At any rate, we’ll have to find a cool name for him once we analyze his personality for a while.
Well, I’m going to head to bed – I have to maintain some semblance of a workout regimen while I’m here – that means an early morning. Good night.
I slept in this morning, thinking I’d be in the gym this evening, but instead I drank beer and ate chocolate truffle!
I got out of classes at 4pm, and John Walker had fixed the problem with the modem, however now my login name isn’t accepted on the dialup network…never ending problems. At least when I got back to the hotel room I was pleasantly surprised to have a message from Natasha on the voicemail. I was off early enough I ran up to Malabar on McCaul to check out their dance wear and gear. I bought a new pair of Capezio "Romeo" line of white men’s split sole ballet slippers (crème de la crème of men’s slippers – and pretty pricey too $65! - oops) and a new Mondor dance belt. There were some really nice Mirella navy blue unitards there as well, but I decided to hold out on that, at least until I check out some other places. I decided I was going to run back down to the Shoe Room on Jarvis and buy a pair of white M.Stevens tights. I got there about 5:45 and realized that they are closed today until Friday for inventory. I remembered seeing the sign up when I was there on Saturday, but of course, I forgot. It was probably fate, since I’m not in a great need for buying more dancewear, but I’m a slave to my obsessions! I guess I can reconsider that and possibly get them when I return to Toronto.
Anyways, I had a hell of a time finding an operational pay phone after that to give Natasha a call. One was plugged, but the sun was glaring on the display and I didn’t see the warning until I had already put a quarter in. I tried another down the street, but they had restricted calling between 6pm and 7am – obviously a ploy to keep money out of it – only in the big city would somebody be breaking into payphones for money. I finally found one on Yonge Street and called Natasha. She was down by the Royal York of all places, but I waited for her to show up at the Wellesley subway station and we went to Zelda’s on Church for dinner and a few beers. We had a great visit, and we’re meeting up tomorrow so I can give her her pictures from her birthday party in the spring. We decided we’re going to take a trip up to Montreal this fall together when I’m around. She’s never been there, and I’m dying to go back, so it all works out well!
I made it back to the hotel, and realized I didn’t get the bill from Zelda’s to expense, so I’m out more money –dammit!
Joe just called a few minutes ago. He always gets busy at work as soon as he calls…that’s the way things always go. We just talked quickly about what possibilities there are for doing something on the weekend.
So, since I missed my workout this morning, I’m going to go running again tomorrow morning, and hopefully get into the gym tomorrow night or Thursday morning, and I guess I can get in there on Friday morning as well. Natasha thinks I’ve lost even more weight, but I hardly feel like it!
I also emailed Greg Britz this afternoon, asking him what is going on with the project. I’m getting sort of anxious to find out what’s going on, since it will require a lot of replanning of my sporting events and other things going on in Calgary that I will now be unable to attend if I’m spending a large part of the fall in Toronto. It’s quite possible they have no idea what’s going on at that end either.
Did I mention that Joe has found a kitten for us? It’s through a friend of Marion’s, apparently the same woman that gave Joe Bailey so many years ago. It’s another calico cat like Bailey was with black, white and wisps orange. It’s nine weeks old, already litter-trained, and apparently shy since it’s the runt of the litter. Just like us to get the underdog! I love it! I’m so excited about the kitten, but depressed at the same time that I won’t be around for the formative months. I have a bad feeling that it will haunt me for years to come. At any rate, we’ll have to find a cool name for him once we analyze his personality for a while.
Well, I’m going to head to bed – I have to maintain some semblance of a workout regimen while I’m here – that means an early morning. Good night.
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Tuesday morning...how long have I been here? It feels like forever already. It was great to talk to Joe last night - got me wanting to get home even more. It was fairly late when we got off the phone, and I was still feeling sleep-deprived, so I decided to sleep in this morning, and hit the gym tonight after class. I still have to take the stupid laptop to the 40U office tonight to see if the hardware guy can figure out why the PCMCIA card isn't working properly.
I have one more dancewear store to check out tonight, not holding my breath on finding anything I like. I also found out which subway station I have to get off at to check out the bike shops up Bloor I want to visit - I'll probably do that on Thursday, possibly tomorrow. I'm still waiting to hear from Natasha, and I also have to do some laundry. I could probably hold out until I get home, but I'm almost out of socks.
Last night I took another walk up Yonge, and came back through the Church and Wellesley area. I stopped at a grocery store to pick up some stuff for the hotel, and as I walked out, to my surprise, I met up with someone I knew from Calgary! Jan plays on the Apollo baseball team. Anyways, he and his bf are moving to Toronto in October, and he was in town looking for apartments. It was quite weird to see someone familiar, and he seemed quite happy too, since he mentioned how depressing it was not to know anyone. Anyways, I got his new phone number, etc. so it will be nice to have someone else to contact whenever I'm in town again.
Speaking of, I still have no project details. I'm planning on emailing Greg Britz this afternoon. Hopefully he'll be able to shed some light on the situation.
Gotta get back to class....
I have one more dancewear store to check out tonight, not holding my breath on finding anything I like. I also found out which subway station I have to get off at to check out the bike shops up Bloor I want to visit - I'll probably do that on Thursday, possibly tomorrow. I'm still waiting to hear from Natasha, and I also have to do some laundry. I could probably hold out until I get home, but I'm almost out of socks.
Last night I took another walk up Yonge, and came back through the Church and Wellesley area. I stopped at a grocery store to pick up some stuff for the hotel, and as I walked out, to my surprise, I met up with someone I knew from Calgary! Jan plays on the Apollo baseball team. Anyways, he and his bf are moving to Toronto in October, and he was in town looking for apartments. It was quite weird to see someone familiar, and he seemed quite happy too, since he mentioned how depressing it was not to know anyone. Anyways, I got his new phone number, etc. so it will be nice to have someone else to contact whenever I'm in town again.
Speaking of, I still have no project details. I'm planning on emailing Greg Britz this afternoon. Hopefully he'll be able to shed some light on the situation.
Gotta get back to class....
Monday, August 26, 2002
So, here I am in Toronto. I escaped from Mississauga on Friday afternoon. I arrived at the Royal York around 2pm, checked in and then headed to the CPR offices at 40 University Ave. I met up with Carolyn Bradley-Hall who allowed me to get into a carrel and do the login settings for the laptop that I needed to do. I visited with a few people before I headed back to the hotel and settled in.
I walked around a bit, getting dinner at a Quizno’s on Yonge Street. I got ready for the evening out and met up with Robert Torrance at Maple Leaf Gardens at 10pm. We walked around the Church and Wellesley area for a bit, and then went into Woody’s for a few drinks. We ended up at Zippers, a piano bar/club after that, and then ended up the evening at The Barn until about 3am. Robert walked me halfway back downtown before turning around and heading home. I hit the pillow at 4:30am.
I had a really crappy sleep that night and got up for brunch in the morning. I had intended to do some exploring, but didn’t get out of the hotel as early as I had originally hoped. I hopped on the Downsview line of the subway and ended up at the Toronto Dancewear Center. I was thoroughly disappointed with the selection of menswear – mostly cotton/lycra jazzpants and one pair of tights, all with a very poor fit, so I headed back down to Bloor Ave. and walked to the Shoe Room at The Betty Oliphant Center on Jarvis and checked out their selection – much better, but still not what I was looking for. There were a few black footless M.Stevens unitards and a huge selection of black, grey, and white footed and footless tights, but I decided to wait. I walked back down Yonge to the hotel stopping at Sam’s Records and HMV on the way. I picked up remixes of Basement Jaxx’s “Get Me Off” with a Superchumbo remix, George Michael’s “Shoot the Dog”, the import of Sheena Easton’s “Giving Up Giving In”, and the CD re-release of “A Private Heaven” with remixes of “Strut”, ”Sugar Walls”, “Swear”, and all the B-sides from the singles off the album that I’ve had on 45 singles for years, but now on digital CD! I resisted buying things that were available in Calgary, knowing full well that I can get them cheaper there. I wanted to have another quick nap before Chris Bailey came to pick me up. I didn’t get much time other than to pack up a few things before Chris showed up. We headed up to Barrie and hung around until Jenn was done work. We ordered pizza and then got ready to go out. We met up with their friends at Hooters before heading to Club 163 (?) for Leslie’s birthday. We headed to The Roxx/The Boiler Room around 11pm and danced there until 1am or so, until Chris got kicked out by a loser bouncer for being too drunk, which he really wasn’t. After that we went to the Spot (the Barrie gay bar) before heading home.
Jenn had to work in the morning, so Chris and I woke up, made brunch and then headed to Wasaga Beach for the afternoon. It was a really nice location – great beach, lots of scenery for the whole family! We came back into Barrie, picked up Jenn after work and made dinner before we decided to head back into the city. Traffic was a nightmare again, and I made it into the hotel room around 10:30pm.
I am tired enough now that I can’t think clearly, so I’m heading to bed soon. I will call Natasha’s place before I head to bed, and hopefully hook up with her sometime this week. I am in dire need of getting some laundry done too, so I have a few other things to get done as well. I’m planning on getting to the gym in the morning as well, so I should turn in. I’ll write up another report during the week, unless I’m spending all my time trying to understand this crazy Visual Basic stuff I’m working on this week.
From the looks of things, we’ve already got carrels set up at 40U for the Portal project, and Aly has said that he’s got his flight booked for September 8th, so I suspect I’ll be back in Toronto before too long, and spending a lot of time here over the next few months. I guess that’s why I’m not too anxious to see everything Toronto has to offer, since I’ll be spending more time here than I care to up until Christmas. In the short term, as long as I’m in Calgary for the Labour Day Classic game and able to compete in the Canadian National Duathlon Championships on the 8th, I’ll be happy. Chances are I won’t be in town for the Calgary Corporate Challenge 10K on the 13th, but I’ll have to be getting the team together during the week that I’m home. I’m also not sure what to do about the Ekiden run in October, or whether I should be buying season tickets for the Alberta Ballet like I had planned to do as a surprise anniversary present for Joe. I will hopefully get some more clarity on the project and what I’ll be doing for the fall this week and the week that I’m back in Calgary. Cross my fingers that I will be able to have some time in Calgary over the next few months.
I walked around a bit, getting dinner at a Quizno’s on Yonge Street. I got ready for the evening out and met up with Robert Torrance at Maple Leaf Gardens at 10pm. We walked around the Church and Wellesley area for a bit, and then went into Woody’s for a few drinks. We ended up at Zippers, a piano bar/club after that, and then ended up the evening at The Barn until about 3am. Robert walked me halfway back downtown before turning around and heading home. I hit the pillow at 4:30am.
I had a really crappy sleep that night and got up for brunch in the morning. I had intended to do some exploring, but didn’t get out of the hotel as early as I had originally hoped. I hopped on the Downsview line of the subway and ended up at the Toronto Dancewear Center. I was thoroughly disappointed with the selection of menswear – mostly cotton/lycra jazzpants and one pair of tights, all with a very poor fit, so I headed back down to Bloor Ave. and walked to the Shoe Room at The Betty Oliphant Center on Jarvis and checked out their selection – much better, but still not what I was looking for. There were a few black footless M.Stevens unitards and a huge selection of black, grey, and white footed and footless tights, but I decided to wait. I walked back down Yonge to the hotel stopping at Sam’s Records and HMV on the way. I picked up remixes of Basement Jaxx’s “Get Me Off” with a Superchumbo remix, George Michael’s “Shoot the Dog”, the import of Sheena Easton’s “Giving Up Giving In”, and the CD re-release of “A Private Heaven” with remixes of “Strut”, ”Sugar Walls”, “Swear”, and all the B-sides from the singles off the album that I’ve had on 45 singles for years, but now on digital CD! I resisted buying things that were available in Calgary, knowing full well that I can get them cheaper there. I wanted to have another quick nap before Chris Bailey came to pick me up. I didn’t get much time other than to pack up a few things before Chris showed up. We headed up to Barrie and hung around until Jenn was done work. We ordered pizza and then got ready to go out. We met up with their friends at Hooters before heading to Club 163 (?) for Leslie’s birthday. We headed to The Roxx/The Boiler Room around 11pm and danced there until 1am or so, until Chris got kicked out by a loser bouncer for being too drunk, which he really wasn’t. After that we went to the Spot (the Barrie gay bar) before heading home.
Jenn had to work in the morning, so Chris and I woke up, made brunch and then headed to Wasaga Beach for the afternoon. It was a really nice location – great beach, lots of scenery for the whole family! We came back into Barrie, picked up Jenn after work and made dinner before we decided to head back into the city. Traffic was a nightmare again, and I made it into the hotel room around 10:30pm.
I am tired enough now that I can’t think clearly, so I’m heading to bed soon. I will call Natasha’s place before I head to bed, and hopefully hook up with her sometime this week. I am in dire need of getting some laundry done too, so I have a few other things to get done as well. I’m planning on getting to the gym in the morning as well, so I should turn in. I’ll write up another report during the week, unless I’m spending all my time trying to understand this crazy Visual Basic stuff I’m working on this week.
From the looks of things, we’ve already got carrels set up at 40U for the Portal project, and Aly has said that he’s got his flight booked for September 8th, so I suspect I’ll be back in Toronto before too long, and spending a lot of time here over the next few months. I guess that’s why I’m not too anxious to see everything Toronto has to offer, since I’ll be spending more time here than I care to up until Christmas. In the short term, as long as I’m in Calgary for the Labour Day Classic game and able to compete in the Canadian National Duathlon Championships on the 8th, I’ll be happy. Chances are I won’t be in town for the Calgary Corporate Challenge 10K on the 13th, but I’ll have to be getting the team together during the week that I’m home. I’m also not sure what to do about the Ekiden run in October, or whether I should be buying season tickets for the Alberta Ballet like I had planned to do as a surprise anniversary present for Joe. I will hopefully get some more clarity on the project and what I’ll be doing for the fall this week and the week that I’m back in Calgary. Cross my fingers that I will be able to have some time in Calgary over the next few months.
Monday, August 19, 2002
I managed to get up to Red Deer on Friday night for an extremely quick visit. Trevor and Marlene Britton are also staying at Owen and Chloe's - there is a craft show going on in Edmonton that Marlene checks out every year. We sat around the kitchen table until late talking and trading pictures. Scott and Jen also came over for a little while.
On Saturday, I went out for lunch with Scott Rhodes and spent the afternoon with him. Managed to see Brandy and Brady at the new Tony Roma's. Erin Skocylas came to pick up Brady, so I got to see her too. Scott and Linda were going to a BBQ with all the guys I used to work with that are now working in Scotland. regrettably, I had already committed to returning to Calgary on Saturday night since there was no longer going to be a birthday party for Owen and Jen. I got back to Owen and Chloe's around 5pm, but the guys were out playing golf and got held up, so Irene came over and picked me up to take me to the bus depot. We had a really quick visit, and then I was off back to Calgary.
Joe and I went to Detour for a little while, and then went home.
Sunday morning, I continued to get ready and headed up to the airport. The flight left around 3:30pm. I got into Pearson at 9:30pm, and was in the hotel by 10:30. Well, here I am in transit again. Things fell apart as far as the Calgary-based training courses were concerned for the new Portal Remediation project, and now I find myself in a computer classroom in Mississauga. Everything is extremely convenient - the TriOS offices are right across the street from my hotel, and next door to that is the big Square One shopping mall. That should keep me entertained until Friday when I move into Toronto. I'm staying at the Royal York (a vacation in itself). The CPR offices at 40U and the TriOS offices at 55U are all extremely close to the hotel, so things should stay convenient. I'm glad I didn't rent a car afterall. I won't really need to go anywhere this week at least (there doesn't seem to be a lot to see in Mississauga. It's one big suburb - we're in the CBD, and it's all centered around the shopping mall, if that gives you any idea of the setup of this burg). Next week, everything will be within walking/subway distance.
The hotel has a 'gym' and a pool, which will be fantastic. It would be nice to find a running area, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of greenspace in this area. I will do more investigating though.
Nothing more to mention about Mississauga. I wouldn't suggest it to anyone. Until later.
On Saturday, I went out for lunch with Scott Rhodes and spent the afternoon with him. Managed to see Brandy and Brady at the new Tony Roma's. Erin Skocylas came to pick up Brady, so I got to see her too. Scott and Linda were going to a BBQ with all the guys I used to work with that are now working in Scotland. regrettably, I had already committed to returning to Calgary on Saturday night since there was no longer going to be a birthday party for Owen and Jen. I got back to Owen and Chloe's around 5pm, but the guys were out playing golf and got held up, so Irene came over and picked me up to take me to the bus depot. We had a really quick visit, and then I was off back to Calgary.
Joe and I went to Detour for a little while, and then went home.
Sunday morning, I continued to get ready and headed up to the airport. The flight left around 3:30pm. I got into Pearson at 9:30pm, and was in the hotel by 10:30. Well, here I am in transit again. Things fell apart as far as the Calgary-based training courses were concerned for the new Portal Remediation project, and now I find myself in a computer classroom in Mississauga. Everything is extremely convenient - the TriOS offices are right across the street from my hotel, and next door to that is the big Square One shopping mall. That should keep me entertained until Friday when I move into Toronto. I'm staying at the Royal York (a vacation in itself). The CPR offices at 40U and the TriOS offices at 55U are all extremely close to the hotel, so things should stay convenient. I'm glad I didn't rent a car afterall. I won't really need to go anywhere this week at least (there doesn't seem to be a lot to see in Mississauga. It's one big suburb - we're in the CBD, and it's all centered around the shopping mall, if that gives you any idea of the setup of this burg). Next week, everything will be within walking/subway distance.
The hotel has a 'gym' and a pool, which will be fantastic. It would be nice to find a running area, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of greenspace in this area. I will do more investigating though.
Nothing more to mention about Mississauga. I wouldn't suggest it to anyone. Until later.
Tuesday, August 06, 2002
I guess I never really talked about my trip back to Manitoba. If Montreal/Ottawa was the partying trip, then the trip back home was the relaxing one. I flew into Regina on July 13th. Mom and Dad picked me up and we got back to Grandview in time to catch dinner at the Farm celebrations across the road. I went into town later on to catch Carla Morran's engagement social, and managed to visit with Dave and Nicole, Michelle Jubenvill, Terry and Felicia Hyra, Chris and Lindsay Samonsky, Brady Campbell, etc.
Sunday we went across the road again for breakfast, and got to meet the Dalgleish relatives from Vernon/Penticton, BC. Ryan Yarush showed up and we went up to Myer's site at Child's Lake. Had a great day there, then came back to GV. Donna Yarush drove me home.
Monday I worked out in the basement and pulled a muscle in my side that didn't hurt until that evening. It hampered the rest of my training plans for the week, although I did get a 15km run in on Tuesday.
Tuesday Dad and I headed up to Child's Lake. We spent the afternoon on the lake and then Mom and Grandma showed up for dinner. After they went home we spent most of the evening at Connor and Bonnie Macdonald's site. The next day we were out in the boat again, still catching nothing. The Macdonald crew went and caught a bunch of jackfish at Little Laurie Lake, so we managed to get a good feed in from their bounty. Dad and I headed back to GV that evening after packing everything up. I went over to Lance and Buffy's in the evening.
Thursday came around rather quickly. I met with Tannis and the boys and Roxanne and the girls at Pulock's place for a nice visit in the morning before mom took me to Dauphin to catch the bus to Winnipeg. I missed the express bus by minutes and had to go through Brandon instead. I managed to get into Wpg around 9:30pm. Ryan and Lynn picked me up and we spent the rest of the evening visiting.
Friday morning Ryan and I took Takeo to Bird's Hill Park for a run through the woods. We got back in the afternoon and did a little looking around in Osborne Village before getting to Carlo's and Murphy's for a few beers and a visit with Kristy and Barry Westerlund. We relaxed the rest of the evening.
Reid was at the house around 5:30am to start the trek back to Calgary. Very uneventful - I'm glad I only do that trip once a year or less.
It was back to work on Monday after relaxing on Sunday - actually I think I rode 100km that day.
The following Sunday was Elbow Valley, and then off to Ottawa on the Monday. What a bunch of whirlwind trips :-(
Sunday we went across the road again for breakfast, and got to meet the Dalgleish relatives from Vernon/Penticton, BC. Ryan Yarush showed up and we went up to Myer's site at Child's Lake. Had a great day there, then came back to GV. Donna Yarush drove me home.
Monday I worked out in the basement and pulled a muscle in my side that didn't hurt until that evening. It hampered the rest of my training plans for the week, although I did get a 15km run in on Tuesday.
Tuesday Dad and I headed up to Child's Lake. We spent the afternoon on the lake and then Mom and Grandma showed up for dinner. After they went home we spent most of the evening at Connor and Bonnie Macdonald's site. The next day we were out in the boat again, still catching nothing. The Macdonald crew went and caught a bunch of jackfish at Little Laurie Lake, so we managed to get a good feed in from their bounty. Dad and I headed back to GV that evening after packing everything up. I went over to Lance and Buffy's in the evening.
Thursday came around rather quickly. I met with Tannis and the boys and Roxanne and the girls at Pulock's place for a nice visit in the morning before mom took me to Dauphin to catch the bus to Winnipeg. I missed the express bus by minutes and had to go through Brandon instead. I managed to get into Wpg around 9:30pm. Ryan and Lynn picked me up and we spent the rest of the evening visiting.
Friday morning Ryan and I took Takeo to Bird's Hill Park for a run through the woods. We got back in the afternoon and did a little looking around in Osborne Village before getting to Carlo's and Murphy's for a few beers and a visit with Kristy and Barry Westerlund. We relaxed the rest of the evening.
Reid was at the house around 5:30am to start the trek back to Calgary. Very uneventful - I'm glad I only do that trip once a year or less.
It was back to work on Monday after relaxing on Sunday - actually I think I rode 100km that day.
The following Sunday was Elbow Valley, and then off to Ottawa on the Monday. What a bunch of whirlwind trips :-(
Sigh....back in front of the office computer - back at work for another stint until vacation comes around again.....
We got back last night with very little difficulty, except for the sprint through Pearson to catch the Calgary flight since the flight out of Montreal was delayed 15-20 minutes. I still feel quite groggy even though I'm back in my environment - it may take a few days of re-adjustment yet.
We ate at Bato Thai with Jerome and Tom, and ended up going to Sky on Friday instead of Le Parking. The choice was a good one - everyone managed to join us for the evening, and all Labatt products were $2 apiece. I knew I should've stayed on beer, but we all started drinking those stupid lemon coolers - I think Labatt's is called Lemonice or something equally disgusting. Needless to say, I was puking by 4am while sprinting out of the cab on the way home. The last thing I remembered was pushing Bertrand's wheelchair around the block while we were trying to finish off all of the coolers we stole out of the bar on the way out.
I spent all of Saturday in bed. I couldn't keep anything down until 3pm, and then once getting up at five we headed out for dinner once again. The choice was a very good Italian place on Ste-Catherine, of course we didn't get out of there until 9:30 or so, and proceeded to the T-dance until 11pm. Joe and I followed Bertrand and Alain to Club Date and howled over the karaoke hell we were being put through. Bob came back into town and met us for dinner and the evening. Jerome, Tom and Karen all went home early to prep for the next day.
Joe and I decided we wanted to catch a drag show at Mado before heading home, but the club had already been transformed into a dance club when we got there. We went home.
Sunday we headed to the parade route on Rene-Levesque around 11:30. The parade started around 12:30 and continued until around 3pm. It was a fantastic parade - 800,000 people showed up for it. Afterwards we moved to the blocked off sections of Ste-Catherine and did a lot of people watching before moving back to Sky for a few drinks, and then to the dance on Berri and then the festivities in Parc Emilie-Gamelin. We slowly lost everyone until Bob, Joe and myself were left. At 11pm the outdoor shows were done and we went back to Sky again. We smoked more ganja before heading home.
Monday morning we got ready and went out for breakfast. Bob drove us to Dorval and then we headed home.
We got back last night with very little difficulty, except for the sprint through Pearson to catch the Calgary flight since the flight out of Montreal was delayed 15-20 minutes. I still feel quite groggy even though I'm back in my environment - it may take a few days of re-adjustment yet.
We ate at Bato Thai with Jerome and Tom, and ended up going to Sky on Friday instead of Le Parking. The choice was a good one - everyone managed to join us for the evening, and all Labatt products were $2 apiece. I knew I should've stayed on beer, but we all started drinking those stupid lemon coolers - I think Labatt's is called Lemonice or something equally disgusting. Needless to say, I was puking by 4am while sprinting out of the cab on the way home. The last thing I remembered was pushing Bertrand's wheelchair around the block while we were trying to finish off all of the coolers we stole out of the bar on the way out.
I spent all of Saturday in bed. I couldn't keep anything down until 3pm, and then once getting up at five we headed out for dinner once again. The choice was a very good Italian place on Ste-Catherine, of course we didn't get out of there until 9:30 or so, and proceeded to the T-dance until 11pm. Joe and I followed Bertrand and Alain to Club Date and howled over the karaoke hell we were being put through. Bob came back into town and met us for dinner and the evening. Jerome, Tom and Karen all went home early to prep for the next day.
Joe and I decided we wanted to catch a drag show at Mado before heading home, but the club had already been transformed into a dance club when we got there. We went home.
Sunday we headed to the parade route on Rene-Levesque around 11:30. The parade started around 12:30 and continued until around 3pm. It was a fantastic parade - 800,000 people showed up for it. Afterwards we moved to the blocked off sections of Ste-Catherine and did a lot of people watching before moving back to Sky for a few drinks, and then to the dance on Berri and then the festivities in Parc Emilie-Gamelin. We slowly lost everyone until Bob, Joe and myself were left. At 11pm the outdoor shows were done and we went back to Sky again. We smoked more ganja before heading home.
Monday morning we got ready and went out for breakfast. Bob drove us to Dorval and then we headed home.
Friday, August 02, 2002
Joe's still sleeping, so I thought I'd drop a few lines. I was hoping to get out for a run today, but it poured out last night making everything muddy, and now it's getting hot again...like we need the humidity.
Yesterday was fun. Joe and I spent the day shopping on Ste-Catherine. We did the obligatory stops at Simon's and we both ended up buying new sandals at Aldo. I bought a couple of bathing suits on sale at Simon's and Joe bought a pair of shorts and several shirts. We continued walking towards the Village and stopped at several others stores before grabbing a bite to eat at Cafe Europeen and heading back to Jerome's. We quaffed a few beers and headed to Cafeteria on St-Laurent where we met up with Karen, Bertrand, Simon and Alain for drinks and food. Joe and I headed back to the Village and spent the rest of the evening dancing at Unity II.
Today we're planning on walking around the Vieux-Port and getting our souvenir shopping done. Tonight is the beginning of the weekend long party, starting with the HomoRama fashion show at Le Parking, and possibly to Stereo, Aria or Sona for afterhours dancing. Tomorrow is the T-dance in Emilie-Gamelin Park, and possibly some dancing at Sky or one of the other bars afterwards, and Sunday is the parade on Boulevard Rene-Levesque, and the street parties on Ste-Catherine and Berri, and who knows what else afterwards? If I don't manage to add an entry over the next few days, these are my excuses. Wish me luck!
Yesterday was fun. Joe and I spent the day shopping on Ste-Catherine. We did the obligatory stops at Simon's and we both ended up buying new sandals at Aldo. I bought a couple of bathing suits on sale at Simon's and Joe bought a pair of shorts and several shirts. We continued walking towards the Village and stopped at several others stores before grabbing a bite to eat at Cafe Europeen and heading back to Jerome's. We quaffed a few beers and headed to Cafeteria on St-Laurent where we met up with Karen, Bertrand, Simon and Alain for drinks and food. Joe and I headed back to the Village and spent the rest of the evening dancing at Unity II.
Today we're planning on walking around the Vieux-Port and getting our souvenir shopping done. Tonight is the beginning of the weekend long party, starting with the HomoRama fashion show at Le Parking, and possibly to Stereo, Aria or Sona for afterhours dancing. Tomorrow is the T-dance in Emilie-Gamelin Park, and possibly some dancing at Sky or one of the other bars afterwards, and Sunday is the parade on Boulevard Rene-Levesque, and the street parties on Ste-Catherine and Berri, and who knows what else afterwards? If I don't manage to add an entry over the next few days, these are my excuses. Wish me luck!
Thursday, August 01, 2002
Greetings once again from Montreal! Joe and I arrived safely last night (Wednesday). After spending 48 hours of non-stop walking in Ottawa, it was nice to get somewhere with acceptable transit. We had a lot of fun in Ottawa, and obviously didn't get everything done we had set out to do, but we did get quite a few things accomplished (including taking six or seven rolls of pictures). The city is beautiful. On Monday, we went out for a late dinner on Bank Street, and then Bob Flynn took us to a bar in Hull called "The Living Room" that had a gay night, and apparently is one of the few occasions during the week when anything is going on. It was fun.
Tuesday we spent walking around. We had a tour of the Parliament Buildings, and walked up Sussex Drive, stopping outside the Canadian War Museum and Rideau Centre. That evening we went out with Bob again for a few beers in the Bytown Market.
On Wednesday we caught the changing of the guards on the Parliament grounds and then went to the Canadian Museam of Civilization in Hull. What a fantastic facility! We spent about four hours in there, and realized we were going to have to miss everything else to keep on our schedule and make it to Montreal in the evening. We caught the 5pm bus to Montreal, and we were at Jerome's place around 8:30pm. Joe and I headed down to the Village in the evening, and stopped in at Campus for a few beers. Regrettably, we missed the Flexx show at Emilie-Gamelin Park, which was one of the countless Pride Week activities I actually wanted to check out. Oh well, there's always next year!
Today we are heading downtown to do some "window shopping". Hopefully this does not lead to any impulsive purchasing, but we'll see what happens. I already know we're going to run out of time by Monday to do everything we want to do, but we'll do our best to get as much in as possible.
Still feeling a great high from my finish at Elbow Valley Half Ironman on Sunday. I knocked 20 minutes off of last year's time, ending sub-five hours, which was my goal (4:57), so I'm quite satisfied with my performance, even though the 2km swim was no hell yet again.
Anyhoo, I will add more tomorrow.....
Tuesday we spent walking around. We had a tour of the Parliament Buildings, and walked up Sussex Drive, stopping outside the Canadian War Museum and Rideau Centre. That evening we went out with Bob again for a few beers in the Bytown Market.
On Wednesday we caught the changing of the guards on the Parliament grounds and then went to the Canadian Museam of Civilization in Hull. What a fantastic facility! We spent about four hours in there, and realized we were going to have to miss everything else to keep on our schedule and make it to Montreal in the evening. We caught the 5pm bus to Montreal, and we were at Jerome's place around 8:30pm. Joe and I headed down to the Village in the evening, and stopped in at Campus for a few beers. Regrettably, we missed the Flexx show at Emilie-Gamelin Park, which was one of the countless Pride Week activities I actually wanted to check out. Oh well, there's always next year!
Today we are heading downtown to do some "window shopping". Hopefully this does not lead to any impulsive purchasing, but we'll see what happens. I already know we're going to run out of time by Monday to do everything we want to do, but we'll do our best to get as much in as possible.
Still feeling a great high from my finish at Elbow Valley Half Ironman on Sunday. I knocked 20 minutes off of last year's time, ending sub-five hours, which was my goal (4:57), so I'm quite satisfied with my performance, even though the 2km swim was no hell yet again.
Anyhoo, I will add more tomorrow.....
Friday, May 31, 2002
I"ve decided to race in the Bikeshevik this weekend.....I'm not sure if I've made a mistake or not! Actually, with how things went last night at the race series, I hope that I can pull off some good results. I think I'm registered in the 200m sprint heats, the 3000m and something else, on top of the possibility of racing some Points races, Devils and Scratch races. There could be six races in all on Sat. and Sun, all in the Master's category.
Joe has Sat. night off and wants to do something. I'll have to play it by ear.
Results on Monday......
Joe has Sat. night off and wants to do something. I'll have to play it by ear.
Results on Monday......
Tuesday, May 28, 2002
What's been happening? Not too much....work, training, competitions. I've had a cold that won't disappear for the last two weeks - I ended up missing the Bikes on Broadway Stage Race in Saskatoon on the long weekend due to that fact, plus my ride arrangements fell apart at the last minute.
The races so far:
Calgary Police Services Half Marathon, April 28, 2002 Place: 24th. Time: 1:25:49. Pace: 6:33.
Creative Restaurants Banff-Calgary Relay, May 4, 2002 CPR Track Stars overall team place: 14th. Category place: 4th (Fun category). Total time: 11:06:12. Pace: 7:45
Individual results: Leg 1 (Banff-Canmore - 22km) Leg place: 9th. Time: 1:29:19. Pace: 6:32.
Crankmaster's Bearspaw Breaking Away, April 21, 2002. Individual TT time: 12:31, place 2nd overall. Team TT: 14:25, place 2nd - Team place 1st overall.
Velocity Ardrossan Stage Race, May 11-12, 2002. Individual TT: 8:02 (14/53). Criterium: 41:48 (31/53). Road race: 2:19:23 (35/53) GC: 3:09:13 (33/53).
Next up: CBTL racing night on Thursday, May 30. Bikeshevik Grand Prix at Glenmore Velodrome on June 1-2. Headwinds SR June 15-16. Geldsetzer Memorial Track Competition on June 22-23. Arbour Lake Triathlon on June 30.
The Lilac Festival was on May 26 - Joe, Doug, Wayne and myself spent the day moving up and down 4th Street and sampling all of the different beer gardens. Spent most of last week in the gym and at yoga, due to the fact I was still feeling crappy and had the sensation that there was no cardio endurance to be summoned.
I received another order of M. Stevens dancewear at the end of April. I ended up ordering a navy blue unitard, a white leotard and a nude dance belt all in milliskin. The unitard is the most comfortable lycra article I've ever owned - paired with the milliskin dance belt, I could dance forever. Fits like a second skin. I can't wait to start lessons now! I ended up making two waist belts to hold up the tights from some material I bought. The belts work very well, especially with the tights over the milliskin leotard. There is movement at the waist, but you can cinch the belt tight enough to secure the tights in place. Marvelous!
I'm waiting to buy some more Juventus team gear - jacket, skinsuit, bib shorts. I will probably get the rest of the order at Headwinds, but now I'm thinking that Juventus, even though they are a great team, aren't for me. I'm going to join Bicisport or Synergy next year. They get track practice time included with their membership, which is a great deal, plus all of the organized team rides. I'm feeling pretty isolated here - if I was in Edmonton, Juventus would definitely be the way to go. I was hoping on being able to do more team stuff here as well, but since all of the other Juvie riders in Calgary are Cat 1/2/3, there's no chance I'll be able to ride with them, at least for the first half of the season. By adding in a track practice and racing night once a week, plus weekly crit races on Tuesdays, I'll be able to network and meet some new people, and find new people to train with (hopefully). The limits of Wednesday and Friday nights for group road rides isn't working with Tim, Doug, Wayne, or Hugh's schedules so far.
Joe and I finalized purchase of our flights to Ottawa/Montreal a week ago. We're heading to Ottawa on July 29th, returning from Montreal on August 5th. I wish we had more time, but that's the way of the world. We're going to spend a day or two in Ottawa and check out the sights, and then we're going to bus to Montreal and spend the remainder of the week and Pride weekend in the city. It's going to be so awesome! I found out from Jerome that Bob Flynn is living in Ottawa now, so hopefully we'll be able to meet up with him, along with Fraser and Matthew. Jerome will be done is art show by then, Tom will be free, Karen will have just moved there, and Wendy will be around too. FUN!
I'm planning now on heading back to Manitoba on July 12th for Keith and Sharon's Century Farm celebration, and return the following weekend of July 21. I may be hitching a ride to Grandview with Bob and Trudy, and hopefully will be able to spend the 19-21 in Winnipeg visiting the old haunts. I want to spend most of the week up at the lake - I'm really hoping I'll be able to either take my scuba equipment or my bike. I was originally going to go back with Cheryl-lee for Pattie Rausch's wedding on June 15th, but it was too early and too much money I don't have that factored in to screw up that plan.
The races so far:
Calgary Police Services Half Marathon, April 28, 2002 Place: 24th. Time: 1:25:49. Pace: 6:33.
Creative Restaurants Banff-Calgary Relay, May 4, 2002 CPR Track Stars overall team place: 14th. Category place: 4th (Fun category). Total time: 11:06:12. Pace: 7:45
Individual results: Leg 1 (Banff-Canmore - 22km) Leg place: 9th. Time: 1:29:19. Pace: 6:32.
Crankmaster's Bearspaw Breaking Away, April 21, 2002. Individual TT time: 12:31, place 2nd overall. Team TT: 14:25, place 2nd - Team place 1st overall.
Velocity Ardrossan Stage Race, May 11-12, 2002. Individual TT: 8:02 (14/53). Criterium: 41:48 (31/53). Road race: 2:19:23 (35/53) GC: 3:09:13 (33/53).
Next up: CBTL racing night on Thursday, May 30. Bikeshevik Grand Prix at Glenmore Velodrome on June 1-2. Headwinds SR June 15-16. Geldsetzer Memorial Track Competition on June 22-23. Arbour Lake Triathlon on June 30.
The Lilac Festival was on May 26 - Joe, Doug, Wayne and myself spent the day moving up and down 4th Street and sampling all of the different beer gardens. Spent most of last week in the gym and at yoga, due to the fact I was still feeling crappy and had the sensation that there was no cardio endurance to be summoned.
I received another order of M. Stevens dancewear at the end of April. I ended up ordering a navy blue unitard, a white leotard and a nude dance belt all in milliskin. The unitard is the most comfortable lycra article I've ever owned - paired with the milliskin dance belt, I could dance forever. Fits like a second skin. I can't wait to start lessons now! I ended up making two waist belts to hold up the tights from some material I bought. The belts work very well, especially with the tights over the milliskin leotard. There is movement at the waist, but you can cinch the belt tight enough to secure the tights in place. Marvelous!
I'm waiting to buy some more Juventus team gear - jacket, skinsuit, bib shorts. I will probably get the rest of the order at Headwinds, but now I'm thinking that Juventus, even though they are a great team, aren't for me. I'm going to join Bicisport or Synergy next year. They get track practice time included with their membership, which is a great deal, plus all of the organized team rides. I'm feeling pretty isolated here - if I was in Edmonton, Juventus would definitely be the way to go. I was hoping on being able to do more team stuff here as well, but since all of the other Juvie riders in Calgary are Cat 1/2/3, there's no chance I'll be able to ride with them, at least for the first half of the season. By adding in a track practice and racing night once a week, plus weekly crit races on Tuesdays, I'll be able to network and meet some new people, and find new people to train with (hopefully). The limits of Wednesday and Friday nights for group road rides isn't working with Tim, Doug, Wayne, or Hugh's schedules so far.
Joe and I finalized purchase of our flights to Ottawa/Montreal a week ago. We're heading to Ottawa on July 29th, returning from Montreal on August 5th. I wish we had more time, but that's the way of the world. We're going to spend a day or two in Ottawa and check out the sights, and then we're going to bus to Montreal and spend the remainder of the week and Pride weekend in the city. It's going to be so awesome! I found out from Jerome that Bob Flynn is living in Ottawa now, so hopefully we'll be able to meet up with him, along with Fraser and Matthew. Jerome will be done is art show by then, Tom will be free, Karen will have just moved there, and Wendy will be around too. FUN!
I'm planning now on heading back to Manitoba on July 12th for Keith and Sharon's Century Farm celebration, and return the following weekend of July 21. I may be hitching a ride to Grandview with Bob and Trudy, and hopefully will be able to spend the 19-21 in Winnipeg visiting the old haunts. I want to spend most of the week up at the lake - I'm really hoping I'll be able to either take my scuba equipment or my bike. I was originally going to go back with Cheryl-lee for Pattie Rausch's wedding on June 15th, but it was too early and too much money I don't have that factored in to screw up that plan.
Tuesday, April 09, 2002
The volunteer list for the Juventus team has been posted. It looks like I'm going to be helping out with the design of the team website, and also in charge of team clothing for the Calgary contingent. Sounds interesting!
Speaking of the rest of the workout clothing, I'm hoping to buy some more M.Stevens dance stuff. The Milliskin material is SO superior to anything else I've ever worn. The dance tights fit like a glove and feel like you almost have nothing on. I'm intending on buying a black unitard, a white SS leotard, and a nude color dancebelt, all in Milliskin from Get to the Pointe dancewear online. I probably won't do this until mid-summer, when some more of my bills are out of the way/under control.
I'm really looking forward to trying new things this fall. So many options - I'm seriously considering taking a few dance classes (for sure Introductory Ballet, and possibly a jazz or modern class), but also possibly getting back into speed skating again. Why not? It's a good overall sport for muscle conditioning, and I already have all of the equipment! On top of that, I'm also wanting to get back swimming with UCTC in September. We'll see what happens.
Speaking of the rest of the workout clothing, I'm hoping to buy some more M.Stevens dance stuff. The Milliskin material is SO superior to anything else I've ever worn. The dance tights fit like a glove and feel like you almost have nothing on. I'm intending on buying a black unitard, a white SS leotard, and a nude color dancebelt, all in Milliskin from Get to the Pointe dancewear online. I probably won't do this until mid-summer, when some more of my bills are out of the way/under control.
I'm really looking forward to trying new things this fall. So many options - I'm seriously considering taking a few dance classes (for sure Introductory Ballet, and possibly a jazz or modern class), but also possibly getting back into speed skating again. Why not? It's a good overall sport for muscle conditioning, and I already have all of the equipment! On top of that, I'm also wanting to get back swimming with UCTC in September. We'll see what happens.
Received Kylie Minogue "In Your Eyes" remix CD-R from Rob Rumble in Lincolnshire through eBay auction at the end of February, the week before Malina's 25th birthday party.
Received Kylie Minogue, "Butterfly" limited edition remix CD from BluePlate Records in Chicago (Mark Picchiati's label) on April 4, 2002. Expecting "Can't Get You Out of My Head" club promo CD from Praphan (Kevin) Kongthanasunthorn in Bangkok this week.
Received Kylie Minogue, "Butterfly" limited edition remix CD from BluePlate Records in Chicago (Mark Picchiati's label) on April 4, 2002. Expecting "Can't Get You Out of My Head" club promo CD from Praphan (Kevin) Kongthanasunthorn in Bangkok this week.
Another letter to Fraser Valentine in Ottawa:
Hey Fraser,
I'm just heading out of the office for another week....just thought I'd drop you a quick "hi" and see how things are going.
Not too much new here. The weather is still sucking shit - really putting a damper on getting some miles on the bike before competition season. The first race of the season is on the 20th...only two weeks away. I doubt the snow will all be gone by then, but hopefully the route will be clear enough.
I've been in physiotherapy for my knees for the past month. Nothing too major, apparently muscle imbalance in my legs from concentrating on too few sports has tightened up my IT band and weakened my gluteus medius muscles enough to pull my knees off center when I run, causing some nagging pain. The massage and acupuncture therapy has been doing a lot of good, and I've been doing a lot of Pilates, yoga and stretching along with muscle training in an attempt to swing things around. I went for a test run on Tuesday night - 16km, everything seems to be working okay, which is a good thing, since I'm running two half marathons back-to-back on April 28 and May 4.
The rest of the summer is full of competitions, either triathlons or road/track races almost every weekend. I am still taking the August long weekend to come to Montreal for Pride. I would really like to take a few days to check out what Ottawa has to offer too, still no definite plans. You and Matthew should come to Montreal for the Pride weekend. Should be a lot of fun!!!
Sept. Labor day long weekend is the Vancouver International Triathlon taking place in Stanley Park. I'm definitely considering that one as well. I'm planning on taking the week off after that to do some riding on the Pacific side of Vancouver Island and some scuba diving off of Nanaimo, Victoria and the Lower Mainland coast.
Some friends are also considering heading to Toronto for Pride in June as well. One of our good friends is moving there this weekend, and so we'll have a place to stay. So many plans, so few confirmations......
I guess I'm considering so many trips because I have a pile of Aeroplan miles and Airmiles I can use up for some free trips, and instead of putting myself further in debt this year, I've thought it would be a good idea to use them up to still complete the trips I've intended on doing, while still keeping my spending under control. It all sounds good in theory, at least.
Most of my spare time right now is spent in the gym or in the pool. I've had one cold after another this season, which has really been dogging things as well.
I haven't bought any new gear lately either. I think I told Matthew that I won an auction on Ebay a few months ago for a longsleeve 2000 season Mercury-Viatel skinsuit. It's a beautiful piece, I've been wearing it on the windtrainer, but I'm anxious to test it out on a few time trials this season.
Other than that, not too much is new. Work is going better after the budget fiasco that occurred here at the beginning of the year. I got picked up by another project team at the beginning of February, and things have been pretty hectic since then - just the way l like it! Joe (the bf) has 24 days until his last exam is over, and then he's officially an alumni, barring any technicalities like failing a course. He's so excited to be done (he's been in school seven years sans break as well) - so am I - maybe we can start building a normal life together with normal hours. Who knows? Maybe spending more time together is exactly what we need. Maybe it's not. I guess we'll have to wait and find out. I'm still having issues with commitment specifically because of this vagueness in our lives right now - time will tell whether the fog clears somewhat.
Speaking of school, isn't your dissertation due at the end of this term too, or maybe it was at the end of the fall session??? I can't remember anymore (something tells me I'm three months behind things). At any rate, you're close to being done too, thank god. It's so nice not having all of that studying to do on top of everything else, like classes, jobs, working out, maintaining your health and diet, and boyfriends for starters.
Well, I've been at this desk enough hours today. I'll drop another line soon. We should be firming up our Montreal dates within the next month or so. I think the plan is to leave Calgary on the evening of July 28th (after the big triathlon of the season - Elbow Springs- on the morning of the 28th) or the morning of the 29th. We are planning the return flight from Montreal on August 5th, but I am still thinking of using a few more AV days to get to Ottawa after the 5th. Maybe I should fly into Montreal, and return from Ottawa. That will sort of depend on what Westjet is planning for its flight expansions this year.
Enough about details! I hope everything is well at your end. Drop me a line or two to prove you're still alive.
Talk soon,
Reid
Hey Fraser,
I'm just heading out of the office for another week....just thought I'd drop you a quick "hi" and see how things are going.
Not too much new here. The weather is still sucking shit - really putting a damper on getting some miles on the bike before competition season. The first race of the season is on the 20th...only two weeks away. I doubt the snow will all be gone by then, but hopefully the route will be clear enough.
I've been in physiotherapy for my knees for the past month. Nothing too major, apparently muscle imbalance in my legs from concentrating on too few sports has tightened up my IT band and weakened my gluteus medius muscles enough to pull my knees off center when I run, causing some nagging pain. The massage and acupuncture therapy has been doing a lot of good, and I've been doing a lot of Pilates, yoga and stretching along with muscle training in an attempt to swing things around. I went for a test run on Tuesday night - 16km, everything seems to be working okay, which is a good thing, since I'm running two half marathons back-to-back on April 28 and May 4.
The rest of the summer is full of competitions, either triathlons or road/track races almost every weekend. I am still taking the August long weekend to come to Montreal for Pride. I would really like to take a few days to check out what Ottawa has to offer too, still no definite plans. You and Matthew should come to Montreal for the Pride weekend. Should be a lot of fun!!!
Sept. Labor day long weekend is the Vancouver International Triathlon taking place in Stanley Park. I'm definitely considering that one as well. I'm planning on taking the week off after that to do some riding on the Pacific side of Vancouver Island and some scuba diving off of Nanaimo, Victoria and the Lower Mainland coast.
Some friends are also considering heading to Toronto for Pride in June as well. One of our good friends is moving there this weekend, and so we'll have a place to stay. So many plans, so few confirmations......
I guess I'm considering so many trips because I have a pile of Aeroplan miles and Airmiles I can use up for some free trips, and instead of putting myself further in debt this year, I've thought it would be a good idea to use them up to still complete the trips I've intended on doing, while still keeping my spending under control. It all sounds good in theory, at least.
Most of my spare time right now is spent in the gym or in the pool. I've had one cold after another this season, which has really been dogging things as well.
I haven't bought any new gear lately either. I think I told Matthew that I won an auction on Ebay a few months ago for a longsleeve 2000 season Mercury-Viatel skinsuit. It's a beautiful piece, I've been wearing it on the windtrainer, but I'm anxious to test it out on a few time trials this season.
Other than that, not too much is new. Work is going better after the budget fiasco that occurred here at the beginning of the year. I got picked up by another project team at the beginning of February, and things have been pretty hectic since then - just the way l like it! Joe (the bf) has 24 days until his last exam is over, and then he's officially an alumni, barring any technicalities like failing a course. He's so excited to be done (he's been in school seven years sans break as well) - so am I - maybe we can start building a normal life together with normal hours. Who knows? Maybe spending more time together is exactly what we need. Maybe it's not. I guess we'll have to wait and find out. I'm still having issues with commitment specifically because of this vagueness in our lives right now - time will tell whether the fog clears somewhat.
Speaking of school, isn't your dissertation due at the end of this term too, or maybe it was at the end of the fall session??? I can't remember anymore (something tells me I'm three months behind things). At any rate, you're close to being done too, thank god. It's so nice not having all of that studying to do on top of everything else, like classes, jobs, working out, maintaining your health and diet, and boyfriends for starters.
Well, I've been at this desk enough hours today. I'll drop another line soon. We should be firming up our Montreal dates within the next month or so. I think the plan is to leave Calgary on the evening of July 28th (after the big triathlon of the season - Elbow Springs- on the morning of the 28th) or the morning of the 29th. We are planning the return flight from Montreal on August 5th, but I am still thinking of using a few more AV days to get to Ottawa after the 5th. Maybe I should fly into Montreal, and return from Ottawa. That will sort of depend on what Westjet is planning for its flight expansions this year.
Enough about details! I hope everything is well at your end. Drop me a line or two to prove you're still alive.
Talk soon,
Reid
Another letter - "The State of Training" address to Reid Cummings:
Hey RJC,
I think everything is going really good. I was at six pills a day last week with no adverse effects - I was even sleeping good. I started 8 a day yesterday, and everything is still fine. I guess I will stay here until either I reach my target weight or the pills run out. I'm sitting under 180 (178 to be exact on an empty stomach at lunch hour today), a loss of 6 or 7 pounds already. I think I'm setting 165 as my absolute low limit for now. I haven't weighed that little since early high school, I think. I reached 167 at one point last summer, and I know that once the weather warms up, I will have no problem maintaining that. The rate things are going, I should only have to take one dose of this stuff (240 pills) and save the other batch for next spring. That would be a good idea considering I am starting to balk at the cost of all these supplements.
BTW, I paid $72 for a pail of Endurox at Samson's last Tuesday on their 20% off day. Another friend has told me their products are overpriced. Would you check out the regular price of Endurox (and Hydro-Lean) at Gator's the next time you're there? I'm curious to find out how overpriced they are...I don't really think they are, if you buy on the SuperTuesdays.
I took a dose of Endurox on Saturday. I ran 21km in the morning, did Pilates at the gym and then an upper body workout. I drank a glass of Endurox afterwards, and I did feel pretty good an hour or so later, as I continued to stretch out awhile longer.
I had hoped to ride yesterday, but you know what the conditions were like. I ended up going to Swan's in Inglewood on Sat. night to meet up with Joe (that's where he works), and we ended up staying until 1am playing darts and drinking beer with a bunch of people. The snow started falling around 9pm, so I knew I wouldn't be going out for a ride anyways. It was nice to have a full day off at any rate.
Once cycling starts, this is going to be the schedule I will be trying to maintain:
Monday am - gym workout
Monday noon - stretch/abs
Monday pm - cycle - speedwork
(THIS WILL BECOME MY OFF DAY ON COMPETITION WEEKS)
Tuesday am - swim
Tuesday noon - stretch/abs
Tuesday pm - Crits at UofC Research Park
Wednesday am - gym workout
Wednesday noon - Pilates
Wednesday pm - run
Thursday am - swim
Thursday noon - stretch/abs
Thursday pm - cycle - hillwork
Friday am - gym workout
Friday noon - Yoga
Friday pm - OFF
Saturday am - run/Pilates
Saturday pm - OFF/distance cycle?
Sunday am - distance cycle/OFF?
Sunday pm - swim/OFF
(THIS WILL BE MY DAY OFF ON NON-COMPETITION WEEKS)
The weekends will change according to when everyone else wants to ride, and when the competitions are. Most people want to go out for their distance rides on Saturday morning. I'd much rather go out on Sundays, but since most weekends are being taken up by competitions anyway, it won't matter much. I'm going to have to find a full OFF day during the week in that case.
Anyways, gotta go,
R.
Hey RJC,
I think everything is going really good. I was at six pills a day last week with no adverse effects - I was even sleeping good. I started 8 a day yesterday, and everything is still fine. I guess I will stay here until either I reach my target weight or the pills run out. I'm sitting under 180 (178 to be exact on an empty stomach at lunch hour today), a loss of 6 or 7 pounds already. I think I'm setting 165 as my absolute low limit for now. I haven't weighed that little since early high school, I think. I reached 167 at one point last summer, and I know that once the weather warms up, I will have no problem maintaining that. The rate things are going, I should only have to take one dose of this stuff (240 pills) and save the other batch for next spring. That would be a good idea considering I am starting to balk at the cost of all these supplements.
BTW, I paid $72 for a pail of Endurox at Samson's last Tuesday on their 20% off day. Another friend has told me their products are overpriced. Would you check out the regular price of Endurox (and Hydro-Lean) at Gator's the next time you're there? I'm curious to find out how overpriced they are...I don't really think they are, if you buy on the SuperTuesdays.
I took a dose of Endurox on Saturday. I ran 21km in the morning, did Pilates at the gym and then an upper body workout. I drank a glass of Endurox afterwards, and I did feel pretty good an hour or so later, as I continued to stretch out awhile longer.
I had hoped to ride yesterday, but you know what the conditions were like. I ended up going to Swan's in Inglewood on Sat. night to meet up with Joe (that's where he works), and we ended up staying until 1am playing darts and drinking beer with a bunch of people. The snow started falling around 9pm, so I knew I wouldn't be going out for a ride anyways. It was nice to have a full day off at any rate.
Once cycling starts, this is going to be the schedule I will be trying to maintain:
Monday am - gym workout
Monday noon - stretch/abs
Monday pm - cycle - speedwork
(THIS WILL BECOME MY OFF DAY ON COMPETITION WEEKS)
Tuesday am - swim
Tuesday noon - stretch/abs
Tuesday pm - Crits at UofC Research Park
Wednesday am - gym workout
Wednesday noon - Pilates
Wednesday pm - run
Thursday am - swim
Thursday noon - stretch/abs
Thursday pm - cycle - hillwork
Friday am - gym workout
Friday noon - Yoga
Friday pm - OFF
Saturday am - run/Pilates
Saturday pm - OFF/distance cycle?
Sunday am - distance cycle/OFF?
Sunday pm - swim/OFF
(THIS WILL BE MY DAY OFF ON NON-COMPETITION WEEKS)
The weekends will change according to when everyone else wants to ride, and when the competitions are. Most people want to go out for their distance rides on Saturday morning. I'd much rather go out on Sundays, but since most weekends are being taken up by competitions anyway, it won't matter much. I'm going to have to find a full OFF day during the week in that case.
Anyways, gotta go,
R.
Monday, April 08, 2002
I've had five (?) physiotherapy sessions. I like Mina, she's very good, but the receptionists at that Lindsay Park physiotherapy center are pretty inept. Acupuncture and electric therapy are pretty weird, but they seem to be working. Man, could Mina ever massage the crap out of my IT band. I came out of their with bruised more than once.
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