Battle scars

As requested (ahem, Emma!), here is a pic of my poor, battered face. This was taken a couple of days ago, so my nose isn't as crooked as the first day, but the black eye is a lot darker now. Probably not going to get a date anytime soon, eh? ;) Man, my life reads like a comedy of errors lately...

Step outside and take a deep breath

Yesterday was the first time I ventured outside since the accident...pretty traumatic. I know that she was just concerned, but the receptionist at the massage place just took one look at my face and was horrified. You can imagine how I felt! So I seriously thought about skipping my long run today. I didn't want to deal with all the questions, stares and snickering. I just wanted to hide under my covers until I look normal again.

Lucky for me, I have a super coach who talked me into coming out today. The marathon is coming up real soon and I can't afford to miss any more runs. Spending all that money on physio and massage, all that time training, giving up all my Saturday nights and (this was the hardest one) giving up the snowboarding season, I'm determined to finish this race!! It was hard for me lace up my shoes this morning though...I still get pretty upset at people's reactions. But the group is really great and supportive, and I made it...and finished 26 km too! My coach and a couple of family members followed us on bikes the whole way and talked us through it all, keeping us preoccupied, hydrated and motivated. It wasn't a great run for me time-wise, but it was the most emotional, and the most gratifying run I've ever completed.

There are a lot of parallels between training for this marathon and writing my thesis. Both require a lot of self-discipline, a lot of sacrifices, a lot of time, a lot of perserverence, and a lot of digging deep. Sometimes the road is bumpy, and sometimes you don't know where you're going. The road is long and arduous. Often, you question whether or not you can finish, especially with no finish line in sight. Both take a lot out of you, physically and mentally. Without my "support team", I'd wouldn't be able to finish either. So a HUGE thank-you to my coach, Peninsula Runners, my physio guy and my group for getting me this far. One step at a time, eh?

By the way, next year I'm setting easier, more fun goals for myself...

It's a sign

After my big spill a few weeks ago, you'd think that I'd be a little wary of riding my bike. But I thought I'd better jump right back on so I wouldn't be afraid. Well, I had yet another accident on my bike today...but this time more serious! I was trying to get up on the sidewalk, hit the curb funny and well...my face met the telephone pole! Some people stopped but I thought I was ok, until this lady stopped me and told me that I might have a broken nose and cheek and called me an ambulance right away. My face looks like hamburger right now, but thank god nothing's broken. What a klutz. I think I'm going to hide in the house for while...

New beginnings

Say hi to Sienna...Tania and Don's beautiful new baby girl.

Spring is one of my favourite times of the year. I love the longer, sunnier days, all the flowers and the warmth. In Japan, everything begins anew in the spring - the appearance of cherry blossoms is synonymous with the new school year and the beginning of new jobs.

About a year ago, I started this blog to keep in touch with people and to document my life in Japan. Needless to say, since moving back to Canada, my life has gotten a lot less interesting! It's been hard to find things to write about, so I decided I need some sort to project or experiment. Back when I was living abroad, new things were happening to me all the time, and I felt like a kid again, fascinated with everything around me. I have to say that I've lost that feeling! So, in the interest of preventing this from becoming a boring log of my boring life, I've decided to try something new every week - maybe going somewhere I've never been before, doing something I've always wanted to do but was afraid to try, or striking up a conversation with a total stranger. Hopefully the experiences will provide me with some good stories and photos!

The debacle that was St. Paddy's Day

Ah, St. Patrick's Day...a time to celebrate Ireland by participating in drunken revelry. I hadn't gone out for ages, what with all the studying and training, so I was really looking forward to having a few beer and some fun. Somehow it turned out a little differently from what I had expected...

Some friends and I arranged to meet at a pub. As I got there earlier, I tried to grab a table. Even at 5pm, the place was packed. A server told me that this table of four older men had already paid and should be leaving soon, so I stood by and read the paper, waiting for them. Well, even though they had paid, they kept ordering more food and drinks and I was standing there for quite a while. After about 30 minutes, they asked me if I was waiting for the table, and invited me to join them for a beer. And hey, who am I to pass up a free beer?

The two retirees were quite nice and had some really interesting stories. One was in the navy and had travelled a lot, and the other lived in Hong Kong for 20 years; I really enjoyed their conversation. However, the younger guy, a politician in his 40's, apparently had this "twitch in his cheek" as he called it, and kept winking at me. Needless to say I felt very, very uncomfortable! With no sign of my friends, I was starting to get worried that this was how I was going to spend St. Patrick's Day...being hit on by a slimy, portly, middle-aged politician in a green suit (kind of like a leprechaun, super-sized).

Thank god I eventually did find them, and then the real drinking began. After a few beers, we decided to cab it downtown, hoping to catch a live Celtic band and jig ourselves silly until the wee hours. Unfortunately, the bar that always has live music on didn't have a band that night, so without the distraction of dancing, there was a lot of drinking. Now, in my defense, I have hardly touched beer since I started training, so my tolerance was quite low. I actually didn't have that many (compared to what I used to drink back in the day), but somehow I ended up on my knees in front of the toilet.

I could hardly walk, so my friends got me a cab and I got sent home. After stumbling back to my house, with a few "accidents" on the way, I got in, and was surprised to see everyone was up. I made a bee-line for my room, as I didn't want anyone to see the state I was in, and then realized it was only 10 pm!! I had a little lie-down, hoping that a little rest would make me up to getting ready for bed...and woke up six hours later at 4am, with all my lights still on! Oops. Needless to say, I'm going to be spending today curled up in the fetal position on the couch in my pajamas, drinking peppermint tea. Thank god St. Patrick's day is but once a year!

Close call

Yikes, I was almost hit by car today! Biking at night + no reflective strips = bad idea. Guess he didn't see me signal and slammed on his brakes. I heard him and stupidly braked hard too, and fell right in front of the car. Scary shit! Man, that's my second near-death experience in less than two years! I'm a little shook up and bruised, but other than that, I'm OK...quite lucky. These things always puts things in perspective, hey?