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It's been a while since I've remembered a dream. This one was rather unprecedented.
Now I've dreamed in action movies before, but this was different. Well, it wasn't really a movie, but involved action, martial arts action. And that's definately a first as far as I recall for my dreams.
In this one, I was visiting some martial arts guru, hoping to convince him to take me on as a student. There was a discussion about how powerful my legs are and how I should really focus on learning how to use them effectively in kicks. I remember trying to execute a simple jumping forward snap kick, but, alas, my calf muscles were so huge that the one on my kicking leg would catch on the other and stop the kick. I tried this a number of times, but continually failed, much to my sheepish embarrassment and everyone's amusement (there were a couple others present). I think we then moved on to trying other types of kicks, like jumping swivel kicks. (Ironically, of all the kicks attempted in my dream, the only one I failed at is the only one I can actually perform in reality. *shrugs*)
Is this my subconscious trying to get me back in a dojo? Possibly. I've been keeping my eye out for potential martial arts clubs and I've been meaning to call a local aiki-jutsu school to see what kind of hours they keep and rates they charge.
More than likely, though, it's my legs resenting being unused for this long. I've been getting that restless ache that comes of taking too long a break from training. I'll simply have to get in that run I've been meaning to do over the last few days.
Shin splints?
Jul. 26th, 2008 02:56 pmOn the other hand, that overall time could have been so much less if I didn't have to walk the last half mile as a result of occasional sharp pains I was getting in my left shin.
A little bit of internet research later and I figured that I was probably overworking certain muscles connecting the toes to the shin. Apparently, long and middle distance runners tend to strike with the heel to avoid this issue. This is supported by the fact that the pain only occurs when I come down on the foot and that I seem to be able to avoid it by focusing on not moving the ankle so much. I'll have to be a bit more conscious of how I run, but that should be all I really need to do in order to avoid the problem.
Action packed weekend ending in fireworks
Jul. 21st, 2008 11:11 pmAll in all, a good weekend!
A can of tuna...
Jul. 6th, 2008 09:26 amYep, that's what I think I'm gonna have to eat for breakfast; I need the protein. My thigh muscles (mostly) are currently screaming at me. They shouldn't be, but they are. The day before yesterday, I did 3.5 miles of intermittent running (10 minutes running, 1 minute walking) mostly so I could keep up the running whilst minimizing grumbling from my right knee. That seems to be fine. However, the run was absolutely brutal; my legs were burning fiercely. Now, yes, granted I've just come off a period of sloth, but that was far from my longest break in training and even at my worst, I could still manage that kind of distance well enough. Heck, my lungs still had crap in them from the nasty flu of the last couple weeks but my cardio performance kept up to the job easy enough. I'm still kinda stunned at how much they're aching TWO days later. Yergh! With that much grief from my muscles, it's pretty clear they're gonna need extra protein to pull themselves together.
I probably didn't help them with all the walking I did yesterday. I caught a ride into town and walked about, getting a few things done, like a haircut, picking up applications, talking to a few folk here and there, and, basically trying to get a job for substistence purposes whilst I build up the substitute teaching. Yep, get a haircut and get a real job... *chuckle*
Still, the walking shouldn't have had that adverse an effect on me. I mean, crikey!, I'm so used to being on my feet all the time.
So, I'm gonna lay blame firmly on the bike ride earlier this week. I'm not sure how it works that biking puts more demand on the leg muscles, though less of a cardio workout, but there ya have it. Oh well, at least I've dropped 3/4 of an inch in waist size over the last week.
Red Truck, Blue Truck
Jun. 26th, 2008 10:00 amFor the last few days, my life has revolved around the activities of the contractors I've been assigned to keep track off. They are currently grading the roads, as specified by the engineer, into my uncle's future subdivision. I've been noting start and stop times for various pieces of equipment, in particular the bulldozer (henceforth, the Cat) and two dump trucks (nicknamed Red and Blue (though blue is really red, white, and blue, but I digress...)). I've been pretty much fixed to staying in visual contact of Red and Blue so I can keep track of how many loads of dirt they take and where they take them. The task has it's inconveniences, but, at the same time, it gives me a lot of opportunity to catch up on various stationary activities, like blogging, for example.
Of course, having to continually focus at least part of my attention on the trucks may have slightly deleterious effects upon my sanity, as demonstrated by my rather one sided conversations with the trucks ("Red, where are you? Ah, there you are. What the hell took you so long? Blue, did you just head out the other way when I wasn't looking?!?")
My dad gets to play with a loader and an excavator whilst I sit around all day; that's not fair.
Meanwhile, the exercise regime has been shot to crap over the last week and a bit. I'd been doing well establishing a routine of running, cycling and yoga over the last several weeks, but that ended early last week when I came down with a rather nasty chest cold. At the same time, my right knee started acting up again. I think I may have moved oddly in my sleep, as I woke up in the middle of the night with it being a bit sore. I attempted to end the lack of cardio yesterday with a bike ride out on the property. That lasted all of ten minutes. Granted, I hit the road hard and fast, but I didn't expect to soon be coughing hard enough to see spots. Nope, cardio, at least hard cardio, will have to wait for a while still.
The job hunt isn't going as well as I would like. A call centre job I had an over the phone screening interview for has declined to offer. I strongly suspect that I'm 'overqualified'; few people will hire someone they think will be moving on very soon, as I suspect they think I would. I wonder how many people have been stuck unemployed simply because they were 'overqualified' for all the work that was actually available. *sigh* Still, I'm fairly hopeful I'll pick up something fairly soon; I'm just trying to keep from settling for minimum wage work.
With lots of time available for things like blogging, I've started the transfer of entries from person.com to here. I've been posting them using the Date Out of Order function, so they'll be in the appropriate chronological order. I've also begun putting tags into my past entries. I've become quite fond of tag clouds in my other blog and was pleased to discover that I could use them here, as I was selecting a new theme for my LJ blog (Do you like?). It's going to take a long time to get things sufficiently tagged, methinks.
(What is Red doing now?)
Other odds and ends:
- I've purchased and arranged for the delivery of
![[info]](https://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
1grl_revolution's birthday pressie. - I've recorded a chapter of the novel I've been reading to my girlfriend. I'll have to get that burnt to disk and sent out sometime soon, as well as the really cute pressie I picked up for her.
- I've been seeing coloured balls rolling around in spirals and such whenever I close my eyes, courtesy of playing way too much Zuma.
- I've discovered that Chucky really, really doesn't like the utility jeep. He'll let you walk up pretty close before ducking into his hole, but he bolts for it on hearing the jeep.
And that's about it for now.
Workout wise...
Jun. 7th, 2008 12:01 amI've actually been noticing improvement in my ability to perform the yoga moves, including greater strength and flexibility. This is not to say that I can bend myself into a pretzel, but, hey, for me, ANY increase in flexibility is a good thing.
Tomorrow, after I do a 60 minute bike ride, I'll have officially complete one week's worth of the routine. Yep, I definately feel like l'm back on track. Woohoo!
Zombie bait and other musings...
Jun. 3rd, 2008 08:04 pmEssentially, not only is my room fairly indefensible against zombies (or anyone armed with
a brick, for that matter), the entire house, as beautiful as it is, would have as much resistance to invasion as a greenhouse in a field of rocks. My former single room flat has more defensibility.
Granted, the property has one thing that my flat does not - the garage. Now much of the garage, too, has far too many windows to even keep a rabid gang of hoodies at bay for long, but the middle bay can actually be closed off from the front and provides far more defensive value. Furthermore, it's got a few things I wouldn't have access to in my former flat, like the spade, the machete
, the chainsaw, the gas powered scythe, the
axes,
the pitchfork, the TRACTOR (with enclosed cabin), the
other
chainsaw, the pick axe, and other goodies (did I mention the machete?). Yep, a veritable arsenal of zombie destruction... if I could make it to it after the house got overrun. *chuckle*
In other news, I completed another 3.5 mile run. The thighs were a bit unhappy about that to begin with, but shut up soon after the run began. The nipples, sadly, took up the cry of complaint as they got chaffed. Yerg! Add in a bit of surveying that involved climbing over windfalls and you've got a fairly physically active day.
Final musing: camouflage is not always such a good thing. After spending an hour or so riding around on the lawnmower, I commenced with trimming the odd bits of uncut lawn
with the battery powered strimmer (also from the arsen... err... garage). At one point I looked down as I saw what I initially believed to be water running along a bit of concrete. A second glance revealed the movement to actually be a baby garter snake that just narrowly avoided getting snicker sneed by the weed wacker. The wee thing made good its narrow escape and fled into what remained of the grass, disappearing from view within moments.
Yep, that's the salient bits that have run through my mind today, only to continue without stopping...
Lactic acid burn
Jun. 2nd, 2008 09:28 amhttp://www.halhigdon.com/10ktr aining/10knovice.htm
Last week, I ran three times, twice for 3.5 miles, and again for 5.2. In attempting to actually follow the routine, on Saturday, I also rode my mountain bike for a little over an hour for cross training. That's the first time I've ridden any real distance on a bike for, ummm..., decades. That actually did a number on my legs and, yesterday, I was only able to run 3.5 miles when I had intended to run 5.5. Ah well, I did do a long run earlier last week, so that'll count for it. Hal's program allows that kind of flexibility.
As you may have guessed from the times and distances involved, I've NOT gone all the way back to the beginning of that training schedule. In fact, I'm somewhere around week 7. With some modification, I plan to make that my weekly routine. That'll put me in perpetual readiness to run a 10k with only a few days notice. Neat, no?
Speaking of the routine, today I have to do some stretching and strength building. That will consist of an hour long session of yoga, methinks. I'm quite a newb in regards to yoga, but I at least some degree of pride in the fact that I could do the standing tree pose without a chair or even wobbling all that much on my first try (Go Aikido and Tai Chi
balance training!). At some point in the somewhat near future, I'll be looking local martial arts clubs to add some flavour, too.
My upper body is already seeing the benefit of all the various bits of manual labour I've been doing around the property. My chest, shoulders and arms are really starting to firm up and I seem to be filling out my shirts a little better across the chest. As well, the strong definition of my forearms is slowly creeping up my upper arms. If I keep this up, by this time next year, I'll be looking quite studly.
And it's that particular thought that compensates for the ache I'm currently suffering in my legs from the punishment I gave 'em this weekend. *chuckle*
My ass was way too slack...
May. 31st, 2008 05:24 pmStill, it was good to be out running again. I took a different path through some farm fields and was treated to some beautiful English countryside as the sun lowered in the sky.
The packing front is moving slowly, but surely. Today, I packed away the contents of my altar, which was kinda sad. I'm glad I got that done, though. I didn't realize how much time it would take to pack away all the breakables with care.
It would have really sucked to
have discovered that at the last minute.
However, now they're all well wrapped in a single sturdy plastic container, ready to be tucked into one of my larger shipping boxes.
In the trenches with the wretches, I'm still losing my sanity. A number of people have told the little toads that I'm leaving after spring break. I've been countering this by telling them that I'm leaving next year to return to Canada. Frankly, I don't need them acting up because they think they can get away with it.
Still, I'm going to miss some of 'em and, apparently, some of 'em are going to miss me. During a brief chat between classes, some of 'em asked me why I was returning to Canada. I told them part of the truth by stating that I miss my friends and family and I want to go home. One girl replied, "But this is your home now."
*blink*
Ah, bless!
A restful day...
Feb. 17th, 2008 08:25 pm
I do so enjoy Sundays like this, when there's no pressure of tomorrow to worry about. I can sleep in, stay up late, be as lazy or as active as like, and just enjoy the day.
And I have!
Today, my lovely other read to me from her favourite novel wherein the author spoke of her childhood passion of gathering stones. These stones, as the author claims, only tell part of a story; they serve as a mnemonic.
Whilst this was being read to me, I could not help but smile at the little stones which adorn my altar. How true were her words!
Other events of the day include receiving my grocery order. This, in itself, isn't exactly a thing of great importance, really, but, to me, stocking the larders full has a reassuring effect upon me. Perhaps this is an echo of times when my larder has been much, much more bare and macaroni and cheese was a luxury to break the tedium of ramen noodle soup.
As mentioned in an earlier post, one joyous highlight was discovering a means of getting my feet upon Europe with little hassle and expense. In some ways, I look more forward to the upcoming short visit to France than I do about April's possible week long visit to Germany. It has a lot to do with knowing the language of the place I am visiting and the independence that grants. It means I can wander as I wish, something I fear I might not be able to do so readily in Germany. Hmmm... I must make sure to walk the beaches of Dover, in England, and Calais, in France; perhaps I may be able to find a few new stones to add to my stockpile of memories.
Today also saw a decent, and thankfully uneventful, run of about 2.5 miles. Perhaps I should have done a longer distance, but I was feeling mildly under the weathe and didn't want to push it. Besides, methinks I might be better off doing more shorter runs during the week; doing six miles on the Sunday seems to take it out of me for the rest of the week. *chuckle* Yeah, I really need to work to get back to where I was.
And now, methinks, 'twould be a good time to say "good night." 
And those places? They consist of pretty much every one horse town in central British Columbia and a few beyond. Perhaps part of the reason I took to the small living space of my flat in the UK so readily is because much of my childhood was spent living in trailers (larger caravans, for you Brits), mobile homes, townhouses, and even hotel rooms. I don't remember exactly when we actually moved into my parents' home in Prince George. I think it may have been when I was around 10 or so. However, we never stayed in it much, as Dad's job kept pulling us elsewhere and everywhere. The house served more as a 'base camp' to which we would return to on weekends and between jobs. It was only after my first year of high school (a psychologically disastrous one for me) that my mother insisted that she, my brother and I had to remain in PG.
Few of my memories of any of these places are at all fond. As the perpetual new kid, along with sporting glasses and being a butterball, I quickly developed a strong distaste for local populations of rednecks early on in my schooling. By the time we truly settled in PG, what social development I had was pretty much stunted by nearly a decade of intense bullying. I may have spent more of my life there than in any other one location, and, indeed, it is even the city of my birth, but it ceased being 'home' for me long ago and, instead, became a prison from which to escape.
That escape took place in my early twenties when I left for Victoria, BC, to attend art school. Victoria was a whole new world for me, filled with wonder, beauty, and culture. Surrounded by Mother Ocean and filled with many hidden treasures, I felt an immediate and deep connection to this place. The move to Victoria reflected more than just a change of geography, it also marked my transformation from bitter ex-Catholic to a life-reaffirming Wiccan, as well as the first steps towards becoming a teacher. It was Victorian soil that saw me blossom spiritually, educationally and socially.
In part, being separated from the only place I ever truly considered 'home' was one of the reasons why my first year teaching in the UK was so traumatic. (Of course, the sheer wretchedness of my first pupils played a MUCH greater part.) The irony that I was moving from place to place following the work, as my father had done (and still does), did not escape me.
For all the trials of teaching here, all the tears, all the trauma, the UK has seen a lot of my development, professionally, emotionally, and even physically, albeit much of that in a 'sink or swim' capacity. I've even come to enjoy the last year of my existence in my cozy little flat, the only place I've ever occupied entirely by myself. I will miss it, and the farms, and the trails along which I run. I will also miss the wonders of London and other amazing parts of Britain that I have, and yet to have, explored.
I'm certain my journey through life will take me through many other incredible places. Aside from the UK, it has already seen both coasts of Canada, a couple of stays in Toronto, visits to Washington State and California, and even two months in South Australia. Along the way, my fascination with problem of personal connection to space has manifested in an astounding collection of photos, some of which are the only thing that can say "I have been here." I'm certain I will add many, many more photos to that collection (and to that of my heart shaped stones) before I finally come to 'home.'
Ups and Downs
Jan. 22nd, 2008 05:51 pmOn the upside though, the year 7s have calmed down quite a bit since the ugliness of the previous couple of weeks. I'm actually ENJOYING the year 7 group that was causing me the most despair a week ago. I might actually be able to last out that extra term and, since the last half-term may prove easier depending on the timetable, I might just finish off the year. 'Course, that'll depend entirely on how long things remain calm...
In other bits, I now have the joy of having to call my landlord and informing him that there's a leak under the tub. I've identified the problem; the pipe connection has loosened and will need new sealant. I've tightened up the connection to slow the leaking, but I'll likely have to surrender another Saturday for the visit of a plumber to reseal the the thing. Sure I could do it myself, but there'd be no guarantee that I'd get done right and, frankly, why go through the hassle when getting a plumber would be on the landlord's dime? 
Health wise, things seem to be slowly improving. I've managed to stop the weight gain and have regained some of my former stamina. On Saturday, I did a good 45 minute session of yoga and, on Sunday, I covered 5.6 miles. For my longer distances, I've opted to alternate between 10 minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking. It makes for a bit of a slower time, but my knee gives me far less aggro about it. I should probably do the same for shorter distances, but that's not a worry until I actually start doing them again during the week. Yep, motivating myself during weekdays is still a problem for me. Ah well, at least I can complete a 10k race again, if I needed to, albeit with even less grace than I did the first time.
My new toy! And other bits and bobs...
Jan. 13th, 2008 03:24 pmBut that's not the real joy, no! Right now, I am enjoying an incredible American style milkshake blended from Ben and Jerry's Vanilla ice cream and *sigh* Irish cream. Bliss! Yes, Irish cream milkshake! You just can't get that in a restaurant (at least not in any I'VE been in).
I think I will sleep well tonight.
I also had a good run today, about five miles to and through some lovely woods on a hill near home. Got an excellent work out in! I still have to do more regular runs, though. 5 miles or not, once week just isn't enough cardio. I really need to get more yoga in, too. I actually found that it seemed to do well to tone my upper body; I'm getting definition in my upper arms (kewl!).
During the next three months, I HAVE to try and get in a trip to Europe, just to say that, in the damn near four months I've been in living in the UK, I at least made it to the continent ONCE. I've checked out some fairly cheap weekend getaways. I have to decide between Paris, Amsterdam, and various bits of Germany. Hmmm.... Sadly, I do not think I can really afford to do more than one. I'll still need cash for the move back to Canada and to do last bits of puttering around the UK (and maybe Ireland: gotta visit the motherland and all that).
In the next week or so, I'm thinking of checking out the Terracotta Soldiers exhibit at the British Museum. Anyone interested in joining me? I also have to do a photoshoot of famous London landmarks featuring this little guy (seen here in front of the Toronto City Hall):
Can you believe it? All the times I've been shooting in London and I haven't got any with Teddy in them! Must rectify that!
And there's friends I'm going to have to see before I go (saying 'goodbye' to them is going to be the hard part 
).
Yeah, April is going to roll up pretty quick (at least I HOPE it rolls up quick!); there's a lot of things I have to get out of the way.
But chief is getting my feet on Europe! *chuckle*
Another ramble...
Dec. 20th, 2007 09:39 amToday is the first day of Christmas Holidays! Woohoo! Needless to say, I slept in quite late! It's a good thing, too. I desperately need the rest; I've been fighting off a bug for a week now and I'd actually like to finish the damn thing off before it does the same for me. I have to say, though, that the last week and a bit actually went a fair bit easier than anticipated. The last two and a half days in particular were quite easy to manage, actually. I could say this is in spite of all the 'unfortuitous' events that occurred, but, really, it's actually because of 'em. Between the head of department and her right hand woman going off ill, repairmen showing up unexpectedly to fix the window that had broken last week, discovering (only minutes before the class I needed them for) that worksheets haven't been photocopied because BOTH photocopiers went down, a change of last day scheduling substituting my last year 10 class for an extended registeration period, and a good chunk of staff joining the aforemention head of department in the 'dropping like flies' category, it became very easy to justify spending much of the 2 and half days playing Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away' to keep the hyper little wretches mesmerized and in their seats. And hey, some real work did get done Monday! 
This week has really sucked in the health and fitness department. I have done zip for training in the last week and a bit; there's been just too much going on and fighting this bug has NOT been helping. There won't be much serious running for a while yet, either, as my lungs are feeling pretty congested. Ugh. I might do a bit of yoga today, though.
Other than that, I'm pretty much relaxing and doing my best to pretend that the holiday season doesn't exist. No, I'm not depressed or anything, but this will be my second Christmas away from family and I don't really have anyone to spend the holidays with. I'm also trying very hard to save up so I have the money to return to Canada and start afresh. Because of this, I'm also denied the joy of shopping for weird and wonderful presents (saves a lot of hassle, though!). As such, I'm just sorta treating this as a double length midterm break and trying to enjoy it that way.
Finally, the film 'Curse of the Golden Flower' is not really worth watching. It can most easily be described as a Chinese historical drama coarsely ground together with 'Eastenders.' The occasional bit of Hong Kong wire flying action is thrown in to jolt the audience out of its stupor when things get too boring. The only thing going for this film is brilliant cinematography and great set decoration.
Square One
Dec. 7th, 2007 07:20 pmI decided that I was going to go to square one with 10k training to ease back into running. Yeah, that half marathon is again on the far back burner, but I think the best thing is to get back into gradually instead of rushing to bring myself into my former glory.
Fortunately, Sunday's run didn't suck as harshly as I feared it might, so it's not going to be a huge struggle to regain my former fitness levels (such as they were...). Now let's see if I can really get back to waking up early enough to do my runs in the morning...
As part of the training, I've decided to add a basic yoga workout for the strengthening and stretching portions of the program. I just finished my first yoga and, gadzooks!, my thighs are burning! I feel pretty good, though, and got some good, overall strengthening and stretching. I might need some additional workout to really increase the power in my arms, but this will still tone them pretty good.
As Samhain approaches...
Oct. 30th, 2007 07:16 pm As much as I miss my childhood days of trying to get as much candy as possible, my thoughts are a fair bit different. Yes, I do think about whether or not to try for a costume this year (but, sadly, cannot afford one yet again, nor do I have the skills, time and/or equipment to make my own) and I also wonder about what to expect from this neighbourhood (shall have to ask the neighbours) in terms of how ill behaved the local youth can be.
But, in the front of my mind, I think about the ancient Celtic view of Samhain (pronounced "sa-wen") and the celebration of the harvest (Samhain being the final harvest rite). Now I'm pretty far removed from the farming traditions of my family, but the idea of reaping the rewards of one's labour over the course of the year is still quite relevant. Afterall, when would be a better time to celebrate one's accomplishments over the course of the year?
Okay, okay, I can already hear a number of people shouting "New Year's Eve!" and in response to that, well, you're absolutely correct. And, for the Celtic peoples, Samhain was, indeed, New Year's Eve. Of course, for a people whose lives revolved around the cycles of farming, the last day of harvest would be the most appropriate one to celebrate the year with.
So what have I to think about this year? Well, it did see a huge change in my health, including finally being rid of the need to use a CPAP machine to deal with obstructive sleep apnea, as well as actually running a 10k race (a HUGE accomplishment for me). Career wise, it was nice to kept for more than a year, even if I was given all crap classes to teach this year. I no longer question my own ability as a teacher and no longer have anything to really prove to myself in that regard.
This weekend, I'll be marking year 11 Original Writing coursework. In a very true sense, I will being seeing the results of a LOT of effort I have put into their Hero's Journey project over the past half term. I am already well pleased by how many of them actually produced work (this is a very low ability and under-motivated group). Like I say, I no longer really have anything to prove to myself, teaching-wise.
Family wise, this summer proved very important in that I returned to places and people that I hadn't seen since my childhood. It was a great time of spiritual and emotional healing. I was also pleased and relieved to see two of my grandparents, who will not be much longer for this world. It is quite possible that I have seen them for the last time, but, at least, my final memories of them will be pleasant ones.
Traditionally, the Celtic New Year was celebrated with large bonfires used to symbolize purification. In many instances, two bonfires would be set and both people and livestock would be passed between the two in act of purification (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain).
As Samhain saw the end of the old and the beginning of the new, it was also a time to reflect on one's departed loved ones. By legend, the barrier between the world of the living and that of the dead would be thinnest, as the Summer Lord (Holly Lord, Green Man, etc.) made his descent in the underworld to await rebirth in the spring. There are a plethora of different practices associated with this aspect of Samhain. "Trick or treating" is derived from practices involving leaving offerings for the dead, such as food and drink. Many modern pagans utilize the tradition of the "dumb feast," in which a place is set at one's dinner table for the honoured dead. I, myself, tend to light special candles and share a drink with the dead, in a fashion that would be similar to the Mexican Day of the Dead (one day I'll have to explore the reasons for the many parallels between such similar practices on this day for such differing cultures).
Interestingly, during my early years as a pagan, I actually didn't have any specific people from my life to honour. I gave thanks to my ancestors, as an abstract generality, and to a person of substantial effect on my own spiritual values, O Sensei Morihei Ueshiba. That changed with the death of my grandmother some years back. Now, I light a candle specifically for her, as well as one for my ancestors.
Of course, such communion with the dead also includes the God, as embodied by the Holly Lord. The solemnity of this ceremony is tempered, though, by the acknowledgment that, whilst He and the land pass into a time of darkness, Spring will see His rebirth, as light and warmth once again begin to embrace the world. Oh, and also all that celebration (The Dead drink a lot, you know! You have to keep pace with 'em!).
Sorta goes well beyond "Shall I dress as a witch for Halloween?", don't it. *chuckle*
I think I'll end this reflection with the suitably seasonal song, Holly Lord, by the Australian folk band, Spiral Dance. The song can be heard here: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo .cfm?bandID=461752&songID=3411737
Yes, I run.
Sep. 30th, 2007 12:02 pmAside from irritation at the fact that they didn't think to get a drink after they had finished PE and figure it would be okay to lose time from English to deal with the issue, school policy is pretty adamant about leaving lessons to get water so I flatly deny them their request.
To counter the resultant moaning, I begin to explain that when I run, I can do so for an hour without needing water. I only get as far as "When I run..." when one little smart ass interrupts with "What, once a month?"
I looked at him askance and explained that, quite regularly, I run 10k. In response to his look of disbelief, I asked, "You don't believe that I run?" With that, I pull up my trouser leg to reveal the huge mass of hard, angular lines, blocks and trenches that is my calf and shin. I note, with satisfaction, the eyes bulging from his skull in shock and amazement.
"OH GROSS!!!" he exclaims.
Kids...
Yes, it seems pretty clear that I've changed quite a bit in the two or so years since I've last seen many of my relatives. They are greatly impressed with the amount I've managed to shape up since they last saw me. As such, I'm rather baffled by attempts to press huge amounts of food upon me. Maybe it's their way of expressing love; I don't know. What I do know is that I've now realized one of the reasons why I got so big in the first place *chuckle*
Ah well; this time 'round, it seems I'm prepared with some measure of self control and *gasp* an exercise regime that seems to be keeping up with the lobster, crab, donairs (not quite like UK kebabs (and, ummm... those are my fault)), turkey, clams, lobster sandwiches, goodies, pleuys (thin buckwheat pancake thingy), drink (though exported Strongbow sucks) and travel munchies. I've actually managed to slim down a bit.
Meanwhile, I've enjoyed a relaxing vacation that has brought me in touch with family that I haven't seen in a long time, in some cases, decades. It's also brought me in touch with some long forgotten maritime roots, especially through hikes along the beach and clam digging. I've also done a few wee bits of sightseeing, including a trip to Magnetic Hill where an optical illusion allows you to believe that your car rolls uphill ($5 well spent!). I also plan to see the Hopewell Rocks and the Bay of Fundy. Speaking of natural wonders, I've also been witness to some pretty amazing lightning storms (and frequent torrential downpours). Aside from that, though, it's mostly about relaxation and time with family.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Do I HAVE to update, mionemione?
May. 31st, 2007 01:07 amAside from that, Saturday was spent walking about a wet and chilly London that was warmed by the company of a delightful new friend I made a number of weeks ago (on the Avesbury trip, to be precise). Highlights of that day include a nice walk along the Thames, roaming Lambert Gardens (only open to the public four times a year) and enjoying a fine meal at Studio 6 on Southbank, all of which was liberally dosed with brilliant conversation.
Other than that, my week off has been, ummm... lazy. Okay, yes I did do a lot of laundry, a fair bit of tidying up, sorted a lot of my new classroom, and stuff like that, as well as a couple of running sessions and another Kenpo lesson, but I've spent far more time sucking on my VR crack pipe (the computer). *chuckle*
At some point, I have to get to the planning for next term, but not tonight...
