Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Old Blog page 4 (Older)

Moving House, going back to Trep

Trepid Explorer

Sorry, Opera, but I've found a faster, more reliable service (since you were closed down ALL DAY).

cry

I have to pay for it... but with all things in life, you get what you pay for I suppose.

Perhaps I'll return when they piss me off... As with all things in life, that eventually happens.

Weekend in Vancouver

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Doing the Vancouver Tourist Board's job for them here, but I have to post some pictures from my weekend away with Hubby, staying in the Sheraton Wall Centre at the beconing of Mr Gillespie.


A Sea Otter does backstroke (actually, just floats there eating) at the Vancouver aquarium. Apparently they don't have fat like other sea mamals but keep their fur constantly clean and aerated to stay warm.


A rescue dolphin does it's thing


Tropical Flower that I "picked"(out) for Silver Lining


A cheeky-marmoset


Fog and sunrise from the 25th floor of the Sheraton Wall Centre.


Colourful, sunny Vancouver


O Canada


The steam-powered clock at the appropriately-named "Gastown".

Fresh Tracks

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Last weekend we were in Vancouver and consequently I didi no training all week, trying to recover from the long hours of driving and the over activity and over indulgence that came with the weekend. It didn’t help that work was insane. Completely insane. So Saturday was also spent doing very little – playing the pianner and doing houseworky nonsense. Consequently by lunchtime I felt like cak. It had been a beautiful day and I was wasting it.

Not feeling like doing any exercise, I drove to town to get some groceries and spend some serious cash. I first noted, in the car, that my sunglasses suck.

My first stop was at Penticton City Runners where I bought new sunglasses – complete with three lens options – sunshine-shaded, happy orange and snow-proof-colourless (because ALL GLASSES ARE CLEAR, OTHERWISE YOU COULDN’T SEE THROUGH THEM)

Next stop, Skaha Outdoor where I spent a long time choosing a new running jacket and trying to find some track pants but failing miserably. I also bought some very thin thermal gloves to keep in the pockets of the running jacket.

Finally I made it to the grocery store but without the new sports bras or knickers that I thought I needed to buy.

Now adorned with new gear to provide the impetus to train this week, I headed for home, feeling just a little pissy that I still didn’t do anything constructive with my Saturday. The cure for this is skiing on Sunday. Because I left my camera at home we had Wonderful conditions – excellent snow on the ground and sunshine in the sky.

Ski racers practicing for race today. I thought, "I wish I had my camera for a picture for dad" cos there were four beautiful women lined up in front of us at the lift in lycra ski suits with very peachy bottoms and perfect legs. Probably crap skiers because they didn't have much thigh but they looked
good.

Did my own bit of ski racing. Found an open wide slope at the perfect angle and carved some mean turns, leaning right over and touching the snow with my hand as I sped round... "SWEET" as they say in Canada. Got to the bottom of the hill out of breath with a big grin on my face. You have to make the most of
"firsts" when you get to this age.

In keeping with my new philosophy of not being a shitty woos, got up this morning to ride to work, stuck my nose out of the door and swore because it was raining and my rain jacket is at work but then realised it was
snowing and I got to try out my new glasses so happy instead. Rode for quite some time before a motorist passed and took away my fresh-tracks-status, then I was on the KVR and it was all mine again – mine! All mine! Polartec windproof fleece (from 21st birthday!) kept the moisture out as far as the city boundary when I started to get a damp elbow crook (!). Office now adorned with soggy pants, jacket, dripping helmet and battery pack, etc. Plastic bag on saddle just incase I decide not to woos out and get Hubby to pick me up on the way home. 17.41 km/hr. Not bad for a 5:45am start and skiing yesterday.

Shhhhhh... don't tell anyone

Yesterday, I spent $22 (11 quid) on a lip balm.

It's gookin' fud. Fixing all my broken lips.

And so foxy.

Then... I bought some eye-shaddow and got a free gift pack.

Just call me Elizabeth Arden.

Then I got home and continued my quest to go back-to-blonde (which is similar to back-to-basics).

I feel a little weird and pampered.

I am sooooo. busy

I do not have time to sit down, never mind blog. Keep meaning to try and get blog set up at home but get back exhausted every night. However, I am having fun. When you look at your watch and suddenly realise it's lunchtime when you thought it was 9am coffee, it makes for a fun working day.

What's more... I got a letter from a very special long-term friend last night.

Hello Catherine!

Gender Prayers. For DBO

FEMALE PRAYER
Before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who's not a creep,
One who's handsome, smart and strong
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
One who'll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he's gainfully employed,
When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door,
Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! Send me a ! man, who'll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to "how big is my behind?"
I pray that this man will love me to no end, and
always be my very best friend.
Amen.


MALE PRAYER
I pray for a deaf-mute nymphomaniac with huge boobs
Who owns a liquor store and a bass boat. This doesn't
rhyme and I don't give a shit. Amen

Brokeback Mountain

In the land where horses are horses and men are cowboys... this film is creating quite a stir but I imagine it's nothing compared to the US where horses are horses and men are NOT gay, no, no sir, never, no no, the good lord would not allow it.









So Canada, if our conservative government does away with our new gay marriage rights, does that mean all gays who got married in the last... oooo... 12 months... have instant annulmnents?

How does that work?

Remember "Cypress Hill"?

Well, this weekend we're off to Cypress Mountain with Mr Gillespie. Pass the planks.



Achey breaky bum

On Monday I rode to work. I did 17.95km/hr on the way in.

On Monday I gaffed up big time at work and had to run around madly making up for my mistakes. We didn't finish till 5:30 and then I rode home - fast because I was hungry. I clocked 19.75 km/hr on the way home.

Yesterday I brought the car to work for a rest and got home early and made myself pasta with mushroom stroganoff to bring to work for lunches.

Today I woke at 5:19 in a VERY bad mood. I thought I could go in on my bike - since I'm awake. I really didn't feel like it. I made toast and told myself to stop being a baby. I still really didn't fell like it. I zeroed my cyclomputer.

I got dressed into my cycling clothes, supping on tea and still didn't feel like it but I told myself that if nothing else it would improve my mood.

I got my bike out and loaded it up, still not feeling like it and spent ten minutes searching for the cyclomputer that I had in my hands 10 minutes ago. I gave up.

I rolled out onto the road and began the climb up the hill. My legs were heavy and totally not feeling like it. Je n'ai plus de courage, ni plus de fière.

Towards the top of the hill (where yesterday I sprinted because I got bored) self-saviourism kicked in and I started thinking about my impending weekend away. Then I remembered I'd forgotten my carefully prepared lunch and seriously wondered about turning round and going home to get the car.

I kept going, and noticed every other goddamn hill due to a dull, unbothered lethargic pain in all my muscles. At the winery I breathed a sigh of relief because it's the start of the downhill(ish) then I popped out of the shade of the hills into a stiff Northerly head-wind, to battle all the rest of the way to work.

At work, there were no shoes in my office, they were stored in my changing room ladies' loo. I went to get dressed (now urgently needing to pee the tea away) and the frickin' door was locked. I went to the office to get the spare key which I remembered I stole to stop the stoopid male supervisor using it whilst on night shift so I had to walk all the way back to my office to get my keys, which I had hidden from myself, all the time barking at anyone that made eye contact because I'm in a really bad mood.

Three hours, a cup of coffee and two pain killers later, I am calm again, but please don't rattle my cage today. It's like poking a lion with a stick.

Dirty Weekend Away - Part 5 - the Clean Bit

Once we leave rural bliss with the smell of dog, the fury floor, the choke chains and bridles hanging from the walls we drive to Fort Langley and eat fish and chips before taking the Albion ferry across the Fraser River as the sun is setting. What is it about a trip on a ferry that really makes you feel like you’re travelling? We have to wait for 4 ferries to make the crossing before we got on there but it is fun, making stunted progress along the road, remembering you’re saving a huge round trip, and it reminds me of the Kylesku ferry to Ardgour in Scotland.




1 hour later we are in Harrison Hot Springs public baths. We wallow for an hour in 100F (38C) natural sulphur water, staring at the white tile walls, wooden roof and Japanese screen-style window lights that are actually made of glass-fibre instead of paper. We discuss bunking off work to get more holidays this year.

Feeling healed and revitalised we drive on towards home, eating left-over Greek pizza. Eventually the cloud clears and the moonlight is shining on the mountains as we pass back through Hope. I see the most amazing mountain scenery I have ever encountered. The moonbeams are doing very strange things to the perspective and the cliffs are more vertical than usual, the trees magnified to 10 times normal height so that you can’t quite tell if you’re looking at a clump of fir trees or a towering boulderfield.

Hubby can drive on and on through the darkness – and he did. Meanwhile, I drifted in and out of sleep and eventually climbed into the back to lie down and roll around with the new gear box. He was gentle and didn’t flip me off my perch once.

Back home at midnight we finally slid into bed to dream of ferns and rainforests and smallholdings, of light spattering between tree branches and barns full of goodies. See you soon Rover Landers.

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