A perplexing building in Revelstoke, BC
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
WOW - Words of Wisdom (just kidding, i'm being cheesy on purpose)
But seriously,
I'm reading a book lent to me by a girl on Site, called The Greatness Guide. A series of one or two page blurbs on the authors musings. (Robin Sharma)
A line from one encouraging innovation in all parts of life says "not every risk you take and not everything you will try will work out as planned. Thats just life happening. Failure truly is essential to success. And the more you stretch, the more you reach .... Success and failure go hand in hand. They are business partners".
I need this reminder when I'm feeling bummed about how many risks I've taken and how many of them have failed. And how the risk of moving to Alberta was just the door to the myriad of risks I was going to have to take to merely survive, let alone thrive.
I have to remember that my deep, nearly bottomless, disappointment in where my life is right now, is life happening. I'm not a failure. Its just literally life happening.
In this risk I call Alberta and the sometimes ridiculous perdiciments I find myself in, I've accumulated such amazing stories, experiences, friends, not friends, soul sisters, the list goes on. I also need this reminder that in all of this, I'm (brace yourselves, heres that dreaded word) blessed beyond measure in the good that has come out of all this.
In the process of "life happening", I've learned to not be ashamed of who I am. I've learned to not absorb peoples unintentional (or intentional) jabs at my lifestyle. I've learned to stand up for myself and while not backing down; inwardly terrified of the outcome. I've learned to embrace this instability and the life skills that come along with it, and through the rubble, I feel empowered and strong and oddly satisified with my risks.
Okay, I'm done.
But another thing he says is "so just go to work everyday and refuse to do the same thing you did yesterday - just because its was what you did yesterday... shake things up"
Errr .... hard to do when you're a spreadsheet data entry girl. Pretty hard to 'shake' that up. I suppose I could click on the copy button on the top left corner insteady of right clicking on the cell, but other than that .... I'm kinda stuck ...
Buuuut .... I am not ashamed of what I do for work, its ... you guessed it ... life happening and it simply motivates me to get the h-e-double hockey sticks outta there.
Buuut... then I'd miss the amazing friends I've made.
See, its a constant dilemma - time to get innovative about it, I guess. That'd mean moving to Edmonton to be close to them on days off, and that ain't happening, I couldn't leave my Calgary girls. Then I'd have to become an Oilers fan and well.... I'm not thaaat innovative.
Layter!
LLM
I'm reading a book lent to me by a girl on Site, called The Greatness Guide. A series of one or two page blurbs on the authors musings. (Robin Sharma)
A line from one encouraging innovation in all parts of life says "not every risk you take and not everything you will try will work out as planned. Thats just life happening. Failure truly is essential to success. And the more you stretch, the more you reach .... Success and failure go hand in hand. They are business partners".
I need this reminder when I'm feeling bummed about how many risks I've taken and how many of them have failed. And how the risk of moving to Alberta was just the door to the myriad of risks I was going to have to take to merely survive, let alone thrive.
I have to remember that my deep, nearly bottomless, disappointment in where my life is right now, is life happening. I'm not a failure. Its just literally life happening.
In this risk I call Alberta and the sometimes ridiculous perdiciments I find myself in, I've accumulated such amazing stories, experiences, friends, not friends, soul sisters, the list goes on. I also need this reminder that in all of this, I'm (brace yourselves, heres that dreaded word) blessed beyond measure in the good that has come out of all this.
In the process of "life happening", I've learned to not be ashamed of who I am. I've learned to not absorb peoples unintentional (or intentional) jabs at my lifestyle. I've learned to stand up for myself and while not backing down; inwardly terrified of the outcome. I've learned to embrace this instability and the life skills that come along with it, and through the rubble, I feel empowered and strong and oddly satisified with my risks.
Okay, I'm done.
But another thing he says is "so just go to work everyday and refuse to do the same thing you did yesterday - just because its was what you did yesterday... shake things up"
Errr .... hard to do when you're a spreadsheet data entry girl. Pretty hard to 'shake' that up. I suppose I could click on the copy button on the top left corner insteady of right clicking on the cell, but other than that .... I'm kinda stuck ...
Buuuut .... I am not ashamed of what I do for work, its ... you guessed it ... life happening and it simply motivates me to get the h-e-double hockey sticks outta there.
Buuut... then I'd miss the amazing friends I've made.
See, its a constant dilemma - time to get innovative about it, I guess. That'd mean moving to Edmonton to be close to them on days off, and that ain't happening, I couldn't leave my Calgary girls. Then I'd have to become an Oilers fan and well.... I'm not thaaat innovative.
Layter!
LLM
This Made Me LOL - Literally Laughing Out Loud
maybe i've had a more stressful day than i realize, but i howled laughing at these pictures - the (obviousy facitious) comments, i think, made the pictures funnier.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/27-reasons-why-kids-are-actually-the-worst-6z51
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/27-reasons-why-kids-are-actually-the-worst-6z51
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Wash Your Hair Tomorrow
thats what my boss yelled out the window as he drove by me at the end of the day.
this would be a follow up to this mornings "(insert choice swear word here) leanne, did you even brush your hair this morning?"
my reply: "nope".
pls note: hair was curly, on its third day and literally looked like i just rolled out of bed. (which, quite frankly, i had a mere 35 minutes ago) my face was fine, had lots of make up as per usual, my clothes were normal. but my hair. oh my hair. it was terrible.
beautiful thing is i don't really care but to spare everyone around the true level of despair and dismay of my rats nest, i pulled it back into a bun on top of my head and it still looked rats nest-y but not as horrendous as earlier.
bossman made his late-in-the-day comment as a joke.
i think.
he was smiiling when he said it.
i tend to find bosses that make comments about my hair.
i wonder why that is. i find it part funny and part turbo annoying.
this would be a follow up to this mornings "(insert choice swear word here) leanne, did you even brush your hair this morning?"
my reply: "nope".
pls note: hair was curly, on its third day and literally looked like i just rolled out of bed. (which, quite frankly, i had a mere 35 minutes ago) my face was fine, had lots of make up as per usual, my clothes were normal. but my hair. oh my hair. it was terrible.
beautiful thing is i don't really care but to spare everyone around the true level of despair and dismay of my rats nest, i pulled it back into a bun on top of my head and it still looked rats nest-y but not as horrendous as earlier.
bossman made his late-in-the-day comment as a joke.
i think.
he was smiiling when he said it.
i tend to find bosses that make comments about my hair.
i wonder why that is. i find it part funny and part turbo annoying.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Ain't That The Truth!?
haha. so true. i'd be little miss sunshine all the time if i wasn't surrounded by morons.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Who Needs Toenails Anyway?!
Just registered for the Victoria Half Marathon Oct 7th!
I needed a boost to get my butt in gear again and a friend texted me to see if I was 'still in' for the Race in Victoria
Thats all I had to hear.
Turbo training since its in less than 6 weeks.
I'm already getting the same blisters as before; in all the very same spots and somehow the familiarity is comforting.
It'll be kind of cool to do a half on each coast of Canada.
Besides, that toenail is annoying me there in all its completeness and struggly little attempts to grow back to its full potential... :-).
I needed a boost to get my butt in gear again and a friend texted me to see if I was 'still in' for the Race in Victoria
Thats all I had to hear.
Turbo training since its in less than 6 weeks.
I'm already getting the same blisters as before; in all the very same spots and somehow the familiarity is comforting.
It'll be kind of cool to do a half on each coast of Canada.
Besides, that toenail is annoying me there in all its completeness and struggly little attempts to grow back to its full potential... :-).
Saturday, August 11, 2012
you know what really perplexes me?
how my mother,
a domestic goddess
exceptional seamstress - made my clothes as a child, and you'd never have known the difference. smocked dresses for my baby sisters that stopped people with inquiries on the method and threads used.
phenomenal cook - we, regardless of finanical upturn / downturn, ate like royalty. no hamburger helper in our house (well, sometimes and it was a glorious treat). she'd dress a salmon like it was going to medal in the food olympics. and she made a simple salad into an event, we'd stare in wonder as she magically turned lettuce and cukes and cherry tomatoes into something of a magazine worthy photo shoot. i don't know what she did when she made a tuna sandwich, but i've yet to find one of its equal.
cross-stitcher extrodinaire - remember that crafty little craft? she was quite adept at the complicated little designs and perfecting all those pesky stitches. she taught me how (once), so i made a strawberry. it was proudly displayed on the wall in my parents ensuite. (read: at the furtherest corner of the house lol)
the list goes on
my point is:
all these genes - why is it that i can't even successfully flip a pancake or omelette??
i no unnastannn .....
a domestic goddess
exceptional seamstress - made my clothes as a child, and you'd never have known the difference. smocked dresses for my baby sisters that stopped people with inquiries on the method and threads used.
phenomenal cook - we, regardless of finanical upturn / downturn, ate like royalty. no hamburger helper in our house (well, sometimes and it was a glorious treat). she'd dress a salmon like it was going to medal in the food olympics. and she made a simple salad into an event, we'd stare in wonder as she magically turned lettuce and cukes and cherry tomatoes into something of a magazine worthy photo shoot. i don't know what she did when she made a tuna sandwich, but i've yet to find one of its equal.
cross-stitcher extrodinaire - remember that crafty little craft? she was quite adept at the complicated little designs and perfecting all those pesky stitches. she taught me how (once), so i made a strawberry. it was proudly displayed on the wall in my parents ensuite. (read: at the furtherest corner of the house lol)
the list goes on
my point is:
all these genes - why is it that i can't even successfully flip a pancake or omelette??
i no unnastannn .....
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words - or Fifty Years
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/75-captivating-looking-into-the-past-pictures
I have a weird facination with the past - it plays tricks with my mind - like how people made money, how little things cost, etc.
When I found this today on my newest mini-addiction, I thought it was so cool and wanted to share it.
Truthfully, I mainly wanted to post it so I wouldn't forget where to find it on www.buzzfeed.com.
But hope you like it just the same :-).
I have a weird facination with the past - it plays tricks with my mind - like how people made money, how little things cost, etc.
When I found this today on my newest mini-addiction, I thought it was so cool and wanted to share it.
Truthfully, I mainly wanted to post it so I wouldn't forget where to find it on www.buzzfeed.com.
But hope you like it just the same :-).
Saturday, July 21, 2012
FYI
in a recet, unintentional field study, i've discovered:
if you're in leduc, alberta, travelling to st. albert (40 kms away) and you've already driven approx 250 km's from the most northern district of the city of calgary, drinking water and coffee out of boredom, and you have to pee ....
stop in leduc and pee.
just do it.
i know its a crazy little ramp and its inconvenient and its a crappy little esso bathroom and its raining.
but just do it.
because, and just let me tell you first hand, why you should heed your bladders advice.
because, my friend, you are going to drive to the next exit to use the facilities and that 'next exit' is a) further than you remember and b) you won't see that theres bathrooms and its not just an industrial park and / or residential until AFTER you've passed the exit, that there were, in fact, restrooms available.
this will happen twice and by then you're a) speeding (moreso than normal) and b) considering options of relief that could be / would be termed as illegal and possibly immoral.
and you're going to drive til what seems like a round trip to Calgary, and finally you're going to find St. Albert Trail and the light is going to turn red; too red to drive through.
so you're going to sit at this red light for an extensive amount of time and its still going to be raining, you know one of the reasons you didn't stop in leduc; in fact, its going to be teeming rain at this point.
the light will turn green and you will careen around the corner with overwhelming relief that a) you didn't pee on your drivers seat and b) the gas station is right ahead.
well, if by right ahead, you mean after TWO more traffic lights.
and yup, both lights WILL be red.
small tears will trickle out of your eyes; some of panic, some of pain and some to represent regret at your prior lack of planning.
eventually, both lights will turn green and you will mario-andretti-like make your way to the shell station.
you will park, but just barely.
you will run. read: sprint, into the gas station. ahhh ... you will be so relieved in about 20 seconds.
you will slow down only because there is someone else walking (like a sane person) in the same door, at approximately 3.2 seconds ahead of you.
enough time that he gets to the (only) washroom those same 3.2 seconds before you.
yeahhhhh .... thats right.
as you try to be classy (while pacing, try it sometime) and pretending to peruse the snack aisle, examining the chocolate covered raisins closer than necessary, you will curse your lazy streak, pray to the heavens, plead with your bladder to just hang on one more minute, or 6, in this case.
the guy who stole your bathroom break timeslot will finish and you will practically bodyslam him in the narrow, cardboard box-filled hallway to make it to your safe haven in time.
thats where i will end the detailed part of thisactual event er, warning.
all i'm saying folks, is, if you have to pee when you're in leduc, just go pee.
if you're in leduc, alberta, travelling to st. albert (40 kms away) and you've already driven approx 250 km's from the most northern district of the city of calgary, drinking water and coffee out of boredom, and you have to pee ....
stop in leduc and pee.
just do it.
i know its a crazy little ramp and its inconvenient and its a crappy little esso bathroom and its raining.
but just do it.
because, and just let me tell you first hand, why you should heed your bladders advice.
because, my friend, you are going to drive to the next exit to use the facilities and that 'next exit' is a) further than you remember and b) you won't see that theres bathrooms and its not just an industrial park and / or residential until AFTER you've passed the exit, that there were, in fact, restrooms available.
this will happen twice and by then you're a) speeding (moreso than normal) and b) considering options of relief that could be / would be termed as illegal and possibly immoral.
and you're going to drive til what seems like a round trip to Calgary, and finally you're going to find St. Albert Trail and the light is going to turn red; too red to drive through.
so you're going to sit at this red light for an extensive amount of time and its still going to be raining, you know one of the reasons you didn't stop in leduc; in fact, its going to be teeming rain at this point.
the light will turn green and you will careen around the corner with overwhelming relief that a) you didn't pee on your drivers seat and b) the gas station is right ahead.
well, if by right ahead, you mean after TWO more traffic lights.
and yup, both lights WILL be red.
small tears will trickle out of your eyes; some of panic, some of pain and some to represent regret at your prior lack of planning.
eventually, both lights will turn green and you will mario-andretti-like make your way to the shell station.
you will park, but just barely.
you will run. read: sprint, into the gas station. ahhh ... you will be so relieved in about 20 seconds.
you will slow down only because there is someone else walking (like a sane person) in the same door, at approximately 3.2 seconds ahead of you.
enough time that he gets to the (only) washroom those same 3.2 seconds before you.
yeahhhhh .... thats right.
as you try to be classy (while pacing, try it sometime) and pretending to peruse the snack aisle, examining the chocolate covered raisins closer than necessary, you will curse your lazy streak, pray to the heavens, plead with your bladder to just hang on one more minute, or 6, in this case.
the guy who stole your bathroom break timeslot will finish and you will practically bodyslam him in the narrow, cardboard box-filled hallway to make it to your safe haven in time.
thats where i will end the detailed part of this
all i'm saying folks, is, if you have to pee when you're in leduc, just go pee.
I think I'm Jaded
(names have been changed to protect the
today at work, I say to one of the supervisors as he entered the trailer:
me: John, I need your travel work order for july 11th. (we get paid to drive to work - its kind of groovy, though driving to work isn't always)
him : *blank stare*
still him: *stands in middle of office as though freeze-framed, gazing into his thoughts*
annnnnd moments later, still him: oh, I didn't give you one?
me: silence (to prevent the obvious answer of "apparently not and i don't have time to sit here and try to convince you that you didn't hand it in")
him: for the 11th?
me: remaining quiet, while continuing to work
him: hmmm.. weird, I thought I gave you one.
me trying to dispel the new awkwardness in the air: nope. and i need Billy's too.
him: oh, he didn't give you one either?
me: (inside my head: its not april fools, i'm not joking, i'm not yanking your chain, i'm not joshin' ya. if i didn't need one, i'd not have initiated conversation regarding missing travel work orders)
still me: silent, continuing in the quest to not have my actual, real-time, emotion show. though i do think my subsequent disbelieving glance made him say:
i guess not, if you don't have it.
me: in a narrow window of graciousness, and with a pleasant smile, "no problem, just as soon as you can would be great"
*DISCLAIMER*
i realize i shouldn't be so impatient, but come on!
*DISCLAIMER 2*
i know i do stupid and annoying things too - which just at this moment has led me to wonder:
'just how many people have gone home at the end of their day and blogged / complained about something i did?'
just a thought.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Style Critics - They're Everywhere
Point 1:
At Sobeys tonight buying inane things like grapes and gluten free muffins and my newest morning obsession - International Delight coffee cream in some mocha-nut-amazing-chocolate-something flavour.
Point 2:
In an attempt to steer away from by normal Angelina Jolie-esque black ensembles, I've branched out this 'season' and have been convinced by the girls at Espy and the trending 80's comeback to wear color.
Lots of color. All at once. Like grade 8 (think Far West jackets)
Color blocking they call it. Well I've taken the first step and am wearing color. But just one or two at a time.
Tonight in my travels, I decided on the coral silk sleeveless with coral flowers along one shoulder and with a tie around the waist. Very mature and modest, but with a punch of personality.
(let's get back to Sobeys here)
I walk up to the cash and the sweet 17ish cashier says "your shirt is very bright".
I chuckled at her lack of couth and asked if that was good or bad.
"I don't know" she half said half giggled "I was just standing here half asleep and looked up and saw you and was like whoa thats a bright shirt".
Fair enough I thought, shes entitled to her own thoughts, but maybe she should just keep them as that. Just thoughts.
15 seconds later a woman joined the line up and said "thats a very pretty shirt you're wearing"
I graciously thanked her (does the fact that I said I was gracious negate said graciousness?) and looked at the cashier.
She looked at me with a little grin and said "I guess its good then".
Such a funny little exchange within a 45 second period.
My thought as she was ringing my order through was - thats another reason I'm entirely devastated that I likely won't have children. They're going to become teenagers and get a job at Sobeys and say stupid things to people who will go home and blog about them.
And the underlying truth of that statement is that they'd be exactly like their mother.
At Sobeys tonight buying inane things like grapes and gluten free muffins and my newest morning obsession - International Delight coffee cream in some mocha-nut-amazing-chocolate-something flavour.
Point 2:
In an attempt to steer away from by normal Angelina Jolie-esque black ensembles, I've branched out this 'season' and have been convinced by the girls at Espy and the trending 80's comeback to wear color.
Lots of color. All at once. Like grade 8 (think Far West jackets)
Color blocking they call it. Well I've taken the first step and am wearing color. But just one or two at a time.
Tonight in my travels, I decided on the coral silk sleeveless with coral flowers along one shoulder and with a tie around the waist. Very mature and modest, but with a punch of personality.
(let's get back to Sobeys here)
I walk up to the cash and the sweet 17ish cashier says "your shirt is very bright".
I chuckled at her lack of couth and asked if that was good or bad.
"I don't know" she half said half giggled "I was just standing here half asleep and looked up and saw you and was like whoa thats a bright shirt".
Fair enough I thought, shes entitled to her own thoughts, but maybe she should just keep them as that. Just thoughts.
15 seconds later a woman joined the line up and said "thats a very pretty shirt you're wearing"
I graciously thanked her (does the fact that I said I was gracious negate said graciousness?) and looked at the cashier.
She looked at me with a little grin and said "I guess its good then".
Such a funny little exchange within a 45 second period.
My thought as she was ringing my order through was - thats another reason I'm entirely devastated that I likely won't have children. They're going to become teenagers and get a job at Sobeys and say stupid things to people who will go home and blog about them.
And the underlying truth of that statement is that they'd be exactly like their mother.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Mini Lightbulb Moment
"For some of us, the Gypsy years can go on forever, ... That isn't such a bad thing. When all is said and done, they're a lot of fun. The truth is, I liked being a Gypsy. It's who I was. And it's still a lot of who I am. Gypsy, it's a good word.”-Chita Rivera (Broadway actor)
I saw this quote as someones Facebook status yesterday and it really hit home.
I've had the opportunity recently to really 'be still' and do some pretty serious soul searching which included questions I didn't want to have to answer.
And this quote in a nutshell answered a lot of them in the 10 seconds it took to read it. It strangely gave me a glimpse of peace; this is who I am, and this is the life I'm living. I am not the typical 37 year old woman and I have to embrace that. I may not always be a gypsy, but really, who knows that? I might be, and if I'm am .... well thats not what I'd hoped for, but think of the stories I'll be able to tell!
I saw this quote as someones Facebook status yesterday and it really hit home.
I've had the opportunity recently to really 'be still' and do some pretty serious soul searching which included questions I didn't want to have to answer.
And this quote in a nutshell answered a lot of them in the 10 seconds it took to read it. It strangely gave me a glimpse of peace; this is who I am, and this is the life I'm living. I am not the typical 37 year old woman and I have to embrace that. I may not always be a gypsy, but really, who knows that? I might be, and if I'm am .... well thats not what I'd hoped for, but think of the stories I'll be able to tell!
Ew
I just put moisturizer on my face (not carefully or thoughtfully applied - just smeared and let to soak in like you see in old lady cartoons)
then ...
I took a giant drink of coffee.
Since there was gunk on my lips, my mouth now has a nice mixture of Starbucks Blonde Roast and Aveeno.
I won't be suggesting this combo to their tasting lab ....
then ...
I took a giant drink of coffee.
Since there was gunk on my lips, my mouth now has a nice mixture of Starbucks Blonde Roast and Aveeno.
I won't be suggesting this combo to their tasting lab ....
Friday, May 25, 2012
DIY Cab Ride
My flight to Calgary landed without incident ( my seatmate had run the half in 1:32! so we talked for over an hour) and my cab ride home was, lets say, unique.
Dude had a GPS and fingers which was puzzling to me why the following conversation occured:
ME:Hi, blah blah blah Crescent please
HIM:Is that the Northeast?
ME:Yes, well kind off, its more Northwest
HIM:Okay, whats the street name again
ME:Blah blah
HIM:Where is that?
ME:Off Country Hills
(a few kms go by)
HIM:So, where is it again?
(me glancing up from my rabid texting - I'd been without for 5 hours you know)
ME:Umm, its on the other side of the Deerfoot.
HIM:So do I go left or right on Country Hills?
(me silently exasperated)
ME:Left, its on the other side of the Deerfoot
a couple more kms go by and we're indeed on Country Hills Blvd where I thought the questions would surely cease.
HIM:So where do I turn now?
ME:Right at Burger King
(head bent momentarily to finish off a text as I'm fully now in Do It Yourself Cab Driver mode)
ME:now blah blah blah ... giving him directions to my doorstep ..
Like, doubleyou-tea-eff - I don't understand people sometimes. He's a cabbie - shouldn't he know this stuff?? What if I was a stranger in the city ...?
Dude had a GPS and fingers which was puzzling to me why the following conversation occured:
ME:Hi, blah blah blah Crescent please
HIM:Is that the Northeast?
ME:Yes, well kind off, its more Northwest
HIM:Okay, whats the street name again
ME:Blah blah
HIM:Where is that?
ME:Off Country Hills
(a few kms go by)
HIM:So, where is it again?
(me glancing up from my rabid texting - I'd been without for 5 hours you know)
ME:Umm, its on the other side of the Deerfoot.
HIM:So do I go left or right on Country Hills?
(me silently exasperated)
ME:Left, its on the other side of the Deerfoot
a couple more kms go by and we're indeed on Country Hills Blvd where I thought the questions would surely cease.
HIM:So where do I turn now?
ME:Right at Burger King
(head bent momentarily to finish off a text as I'm fully now in Do It Yourself Cab Driver mode)
ME:now blah blah blah ... giving him directions to my doorstep ..
Like, doubleyou-tea-eff - I don't understand people sometimes. He's a cabbie - shouldn't he know this stuff?? What if I was a stranger in the city ...?
Post Race Shenanigans
Post Race:
 |
| For a long-anticipated cheesecake at The Sweet Hereafter - our smiles hide our downtrodden hearts as it was Sunday and it was closed ... But Kenny adds levity by totally creeping .... |
Day After: (no shenanigans reported - we were too tired and sore)
 |
| We look better than we feel. H is stressed because she had a board exam the next day, I was just sore. All over sore. My feet. My hips. My knees. My shouders. I walked like an old lady. But we had a lovely day in downtown Halifax. |
 |
| Holiday Monday lunch at The Argyle (their peanut chicken salad is recommended). The gal in the stripes had one of the largest diamonds rings I've seen on a person. |
 |
| I won't tell you who this is. He'll be mad - well as mad as he ever gets ... The females of the group bullied him into this pose ... |
Where Every Second Counts
So the day arrived.
Sunday, May 20, 2012.
That date that was the sole reason for sore joints, blood blisters, the occasional 3 day limp, bruised feet, iced knees, triumphant defeats of previously unimaginable hurdles, possibly a couple of choice words while eyeing the hill ahead or realizing an undesirable number of kilometers are left in a run, and non-jersey shore fist pumps when crashing through another 'longest distance ever ran by me' goal.
The date loomed as my many injuries / setbacks threatened my success. There was no possible way I could catch up to the training schedule after my snowboarding fall and doctors orders to stay off the treadmill and out of the gym until my immune system bounced back.
Through BBM and text messages / calls to Rachel and Heidi (cousin and sister), I mentioned that I was pulling out of this years race and all Rachel said was "you have to, you're the reason I'm doing this, you have to". She's my lil cuz, and I DID forcibly request that she do this with me ..... so I kept training.
And with that, I boarded a Halifax bound plane in Calgary, just happy to be able to do it and didn't really care what time I finished in .... just kidding. I'd been pissssed if I ran it slower than 2 hours after already doing it in a training run a month prior 1:59:47. But I WAS excited to be doing this in my 'hometown' and with two other women who through the miles and time zones, we encouraged each other and literally ran through barriers, fears, physical pain, injuries and doubts.
Heres some pics:
 |
| The day before at the Expo at the Metro Centre, Rae hadn't arrived at this point, so Heidi and I were cruising around getting free stuff. Here we're documenting our target time. |
 |
| Heidi, the champion half marathoner, yawning at the prospect of 7 kilometers, she doesn't get out of bed for that .... |
 |
| Rae arrived!!! And we picked up our bibs as a group. |
 |
| Rae and I - who through BBM, trained together. |
 |
| So ready to do this! And we all had 7's in our bib numbers :-) |
 |
| Whilst waiting for Rachel to make the trek from CB that morning, we cruised around playing Bluenose Bingo - just for the chance at ... yeah ... free stuff. |
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| Race day arrives!!! I was past nervous / anxious at this point and just wanted to get running. The anticipation in the air was almost palpable. |
 |
| ahhh .... if you're a runner - invest in a Garmin. Its like running with a friend. A friend who constantly reminds you that you need to run faster and harder to beat your last time. It literally spurred me on in my long runs. Best $150 ever spent. (I'm exaggerating - there was once this dress .... ) |
 |
| Start line. |
 |
| AWESOME sign Kenny made for Heidi. Then I got fake insulted and he added Rachel and I to it ... |
 |
| Off we goooooo!!!!! |
There was such a cool spirit in the city. The streets all
along the route were lined with supporters of all ages and stages in life,
signs of encouragement ranging from the simple Go Go to
cheeky messages like “Don’t stop now, people are watching”, “Don’t poop your
pants”, “Toenails are for sissies” and “If you’ve got stamina, call me”.
It was strange to be running amongst all that pomp and
circumstance. I’m so used to just racing against the time of my last run, so to be
running with a couple thousand others was a really interesting experience.
 |
| The parental units all the way from Fort McMurray.... well, they were here anyway ... but still amazing to have them there. |
 |
| Here comes lil Heid (bib 2437, ponytail swinging) |
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| She sees Mom and Dad for the first time since October - love this picture. |
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| Cute little thing she is! Hard to believe I used to babysit her and carry her around like I'd been given a live doll. Now she's all mature and stuff .... |
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| Just after thinking how weird it was to be amongst so many people and not know any of them, I saw Chole O'brien , of www.choleobrien.com fame, and Nate, then Kenny. Mom and Dad hadn't arrived yet (at least I didn't see them) |
 |
| Okay, pleasantries over ... back to business |
Well, a friend made me.
And I wasn’t having any of it. The Albertan in me came out in me as I pretended not to notice he was trying to strike up a conversation with me. I was on km … I don’t know, 13? I wasn’t in any shape to keep up random banter with someone I was essentially trying to beat in a race, er, run. But the trouble was, he was at my elbow. So close, that if I tried to do the chicken dance, I’d have hit him. And he was keeping pace with me, if I sped up, he did too, if I slowed down to let him ahead of me, he remained steadfast …
I’m a middle kid, I’m used to people being in my space, but seriously, people in an elevator don’t stand this close …
So I finally got tired enough of him breathing down my neck, and in the park, I booked it for about half a km, just gave it my all and shed him. And I didn’t apologize.
How un-Canadian of me.
 |
| Next sighting of Heidi is the finish line. I surely wasn't there yet .... |
I started the race behind the 2:00 pace bunny (pace bunnies wear little pink bunny ears with the time they are running on them) and I couldn’t see her, so I figured there was no way I was going to make my goal. And I kept checking my Garmin, but with my combo of being heinously terrible at anything mathematics, and trying to survive the heat and the hills of this run, I’d attempt to decipher the numbers blinking at me from the screen and scrunch my face in dismay and just keep running.
Then at kilometer 19, I saw the 1:55 pace bunny. What a happy surprise! I was going to do this in under 2 hrs, and now I had a new goal of making it under 1:55 because I was going to pass that man-bunny and race him to the finish line.
Alas, kilometer 19 had a hill – who knew these roads I’d driven on for 9 years had hills?? (I now have a healthy respect for the hills of Halifax) Right beside the VG hospital, is in fact a hill. Go see for yourself. If you’d been running for 18+ kms, you’d really believe me. Anyway, I lost him. I could see him, but I I couldn’t catch him and his skinny running man legs.
Surprisingly at km 20, I felt defeated. And for almost the rest of the race, I was pummeled with negative thoughts, very strange. And I wanted to give up and walk, my feet hurt, my knee was shooting pain, my hip flexor was screaming at me ….
Then I rounded the corner by the police station (my terrible memory is preventing me from including street names here) and the downhill was too steep for me to speed up, my legs were about to retire on me at this point, but when I rounded the corner and saw the crowd and the finish line, it was such a crazy feeling of accomplishment.
 |
| Almost 7 minutes later, I arrive in full sprint mode, completely unaware of anything but beating that clock. |
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| Haha- not going let some punk ass kid beat me! Actually didn't even see him .... |
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| Seconds are ticking .... |
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| Last ditch attempt .... all the training since Feb down to this very moment. What a feeling!!! (picture by www.choleobrien.com) |
Very cool to hear your name over the loudspeaker.
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| Race is over, re-united with parents. Rachel and Dad sharing a laugh |
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| Celebratory phone call from Adam - well, more of a "its too busy downtown, drop by the house" call. |
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| We made a cheeky sign for Dad and Mom to hold. (go favorite daughter go)While we were in the photo shoot, someone walked by and said 'obviously, you only have one'. LOL - how far off was she?? |
 |
| A job well done! So much fun and such a sense of unity to know we encouraged each other across the miles. I'd do it again in a heartbeat .... but next time, all sisters will be involved ... right? |
Next stop ... Vancouver Half next year ... ???
Thats all for now ...
Later,
Lee xoxo
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Computer Geeks Come to Life
So I had to call the I.T. department at work the other day.
I asked my question.
Followed by silence as the guy tried to figure out my problem.
I could hear the other personnel in the background chattering.
All I could make out was 'Battlestar Galactica'.
More than once.
If I hashtagged, I'd say #sonotsurprised or #hilariouslystereotypical
I asked my question.
Followed by silence as the guy tried to figure out my problem.
I could hear the other personnel in the background chattering.
All I could make out was 'Battlestar Galactica'.
More than once.
If I hashtagged, I'd say #sonotsurprised or #hilariouslystereotypical
#tryingtoohardtobetrendy
I'm probably going to eat my words, I always do, but I just need to say:
I think hashtags are stooopid. Okay if you're tweeting (I'm a twitter-er, but not very prolific) because thats how it came about.
But hashtagging anywhere else ... lay off the #tryingtobecool stuff guys. Cuz its not.
That is all.
I think hashtags are stooopid. Okay if you're tweeting (I'm a twitter-er, but not very prolific) because thats how it came about.
But hashtagging anywhere else ... lay off the #tryingtobecool stuff guys. Cuz its not.
That is all.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Kearl Quotes - Part III
(found three more quotes this am written in a notebook)
Some background:
A co-worker was describing a job he worked on in Africa where the camp, food, facilities etc were pretty primitive.
After describing the camp itself and the lack of modern /clean / what-he-was-used-to comforts, he said:
"that was really the only shite part."
paused, then said:
"besides the rest of it."
Another one:
On our way over to see the bear that was captured, a co-worker says to me:
"Life sucks. Especially if you're a bear in a trap."
Last one for today:
"I don't fancy bears. Black or not, if they swipe at you, they'd leave a pretty big hole."
Some background:
A co-worker was describing a job he worked on in Africa where the camp, food, facilities etc were pretty primitive.
After describing the camp itself and the lack of modern /clean / what-he-was-used-to comforts, he said:
"that was really the only shite part."
paused, then said:
"besides the rest of it."
Another one:
On our way over to see the bear that was captured, a co-worker says to me:
"Life sucks. Especially if you're a bear in a trap."
Last one for today:
"I don't fancy bears. Black or not, if they swipe at you, they'd leave a pretty big hole."
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