I think I may be sore when I wake up.

I was awoken, at the decent hour of 10:30, this morning by Reed, wanting to go mountain biking. Couldn't get ahold of Rol, so the two of us (Reed came in and picked me up) headed to the dump to do some ridin'. Now, while I ride my bike regularly to work, I have seldom gone off-road/hard-core...the last time I went was over a year and a half ago I believe. Regardless, I changed my tires to the off-road knobbies (which, comparing them to Reed's, really aren't that knobby...but they're better than my roadies). I wasn't really dressed properly for mountain riding...I forgot how rough it was. Reed had a bunch of armour, a full helmet, gloves, and long pants and logn sleeves. I had a T-shirt, shorts, bare hands, and a basic helmet. Basically, if I wiped out in the wrong spot (and most places one would wipe out are generally the wrong spot), some rocks and dirt were highly likely to make it into my blood stream. As it went, I was fairly cautious and only wiped out a couple of times...neither serious. One was pretty pathetic actually...we were riding uphill and I got to a spot where I couldn't go any further (lost my momentum or tire hit something or lost traction)...but we were on a fairly narrow ledge and when I stepped down to get off the bike and push, and was right on the edge and went for a tumble down the mossy slope. Of course, with the bike still between my legs, it came as well. I tried my best to stop and save everything, but failed. Luckily we didn't go too far, and I sustained no injuries. Reed did witness the spectacle and had a good laugh. I didn't care...it's all part of ridin'.

We got good and muddy, and rode a few trails that were excellent for my skill level. It was a fun outing, and I'm sure I'll be sore, but it's all worth it. The hose they have at the parking lot clean up station has got some pressure behind it...holy shit! I rinsed my bike off then went to shut the tap off, but pushed it the wrong way (it's not a turn tap...just a lever) and the pressure went crazy...then end of the hose swayin' all over. I got the people in the van that was parked right beside the station pretty good. I apologised...they didn't seem to care too much.

S & Q invited me up for Easter dinner tonight. I made a salad which turned out quite nicely. They made a ham, mashed potatoes, mashed yams, and a steamed veggie mix (cauli, broccoli, carrots). It was great...my second Easter dinner this weekend (the first being at mom and dad's on Friday...which was equally good). Ever since our little dinner parties in Auckland, I've been a good salad maker. I think I have Victoria to thank for that...she started the whole fancy, non-boring salad thing. Mixing fruit with greens, using nuts, and cheese, and then a nice vinagrette to cover it. I've made a few since I've been back, and each one has been a success. I think anything that's different from the everyday (and tasty helps too) is always good.

Woo Hoo! I think I hit 10K today! I ran, and I ran, and I ran. My endurance is way up...I had really no trouble keeping up to the pace I set for myself (which, in all honesty, wasn't that fast). The only problem was that I had to shit the return trip. I was going to stop at the porta-toilet that is at the head of the trail, but as I approached it, some old guy went in. Then, as I was walking past, deciding whether to wait for this guy (trying to hear if he was number 1ing or number 2ing), another old guy was telling his wife, "ok honey, I'll meet you in a down there", because he was going to use the thing as well. I've walked and ran past this toilet several times, not once have I seen anyone using it...and now, when I need it the most, it's in high demand! Argh...so I pinched and ran on. That was the only spot where I slowed to a walk...and not because I was tired. Running when you have to shit is not fun. You try not to think about it, because the more you think about it, the more intense the shit sensation gets. But you can't not think about it...it takes over you whole mind and all you can think about is, "should I knock on that person's door and ask to use their bathroom?", or, "is there a public restroom in that business?", or, "how bad would it really be if I shit my pants?" (yes, gross, but the thought crosses one's mind). I managed to make it home...and you know how when you're about 2 feet away from the toilet, your mind thinks you're basically there and tells your bowels to release? Even though you still have to get your pants/shorts unbuttoned and down (and with sweat, that's not always easy)...so ya, I just made it. What a relief.

Hey, I didn't say I was only going to post the pretty stories...everything is fair game.

I was terrible in goal on tuesday night, but when I did get out and run about, I managed to score my team a few goals...one of which was the elusive "header" goal. It's a goal that many strive for, but seldom achieve. I got lucky...I was in the right spot, the goalie was not in front of me, and the ball floated towards me at just the right height. I recognized the situation immediately and acted in impulse. My forehead colliding with the ball, pushing it in the direction of the open goal. Well into the void beyond the end line between the goal posts the ball did travel, until it touched up against the net and fell softly to the ground. If there were a crowd present, they would have roared to life.

My team won the evening, 10-7...nevermind the fact that we had an extra player.

I bought some shelving at Canadian Tire yesterday. I had a $50 gift card to use (courtesy of Sara...thank you very much Sara!), plus $6.10 in Canadian Tire money (the other official Canadian currency...we're a bilingual and bicurrecial country). Total price for the shelves, brackets, and a pack of screws (plus tax): $56.13. Nicely done! Oh, and I got $0.80 back in Canadian Tire money. I'll be putting up the shelves this weekend.

Last week there was a story in the news about the annual seal pup hunt. Now, I'm a meat eater, so I don't have any issue with hunting, as long as there's purpose to it (ie food). If you're out there just for the hell of it to kill animals..well, that's fuckin' murder. While I'm not against murder (when necessary), I don't think these innocent animals ever did anything to the person to warrant death. So I'm not sure on all the purposes of the seal pup hunt...but one reason that was given was that it was "needed" in order to control the over-population of the seals. I says pardon!? Control the over-population? Who are we to say the population of anything needs to be controlled? What about the over-population of humans? I don't see us culling our own kind because there's too many of us (and there are too many frickin' humans in my opinion). We freak out about an animal becoming extinct, usually from our own doing...but then we freak out about there being too many of an animal so we work on getting it towards extinction. How's that for hypocritical? Fuck I hate being a human sometimes.

I need to take some pictures...I've been slackin big time lately. I haven't taken my camera out in like over 2 months. Nothing to take pictures of I guess. That, or I keep forgetting to bring it with me.

Just finished cleaning and re-organising my living space a little. I bought a TV stand at FS last night...they had a Customer Appreciation Sale on. I had to set my foot down though, cause the prices they had at the store weren't matching the prices on the website. I actually bought one stand, then got home and checked the website (cause something didn't seem right) and ended up taking it back, exchanging it for another model (the difference I couldn't see...one was black one was silver, but structurally I think they were the same) that was $20 cheaper. The chick workin' the customer service counter was good and gave it to me for the price that was on the website. I felt good having made sure I got the deal I was entitled to.

I like the stand, it's fairly heavy duty with glass shelves. I assembled it myself without any problem and it looks good. It consolidates all my AV gear into one place and will be useable in a few years when I finally get a nice widescreen LCD TV.

Speaking of LCDs, I almost bought one of those last night too. NEC has a new model out with the specs I am after...but I decided against it because I don't need it right away and if I wait a few months, hopefully the market with those specs will open up and get more competitive and prices will come down.

I haven't been philosophising much lately. My mind is letting me down. Oh, I had a dream this morning that I actually remember (I only remember my dreams from when I'm on the edge of sleep). It was a work dream, but not a typical one. Usually my work dreams involve me screwing up in Master Control...where I usually work. This one involved me screwing up in the news department. I was working the teleprompter for Hudson...it was a big newscast (for some reason the whole crew had relocated to some little island across the strait because there was a mass murder over there and all our reporters were doing stories on different aspects of it, so it made sense (somehow) to do the cast from there). Anyways, I was rolling the prompter and I went too fast and Hudson lost his place and he said, on air, "I totally lost my place". After that I was basically freaking out about getting fired. I woke up, and for a little while I thought it was real...then I realized that shit never happened and all was ok.

Weird eh?

I was a scoring machine at soccer...for a little while at least. I scored at least 4 goals I think. It was a fun game...and no one got hurt.

I haven't been running in the last week. I'm going to try and get out tomorrow. I've been sleeping in too late, or just haven't felt like it. I do get my exercise though...a bit anyways (biking, climbing, soccer).

Sorry, I'm drawin' blanks here.

Finished up The Da Vinci Code the other night. Not too shabby. It didn't change my life or anything (as I've heard other people claim it has), but it was a decent read. Quite fast paced and always developing. I feel so cliche having read it...it's a popular book right now. I'm onto Hocus Pocus by Vonnegut now...it's off to a good start (I like Vonnegut's style).

Climbing at Humpback on Saturday with Melinda and Reed was good. I relied on the rope a few times, but I managed to climb 3 of the 4 routes we did. Man am I sore though. I must have really been trying, cause I don't usually get sore after climbing at the gym these days...but outdoors is different and I'm really feelin' it. I like climbing outdoors...it's real.

I watched I Heart Huckabees last night. It was ok, but I think most of it went over my head. It's tough to admit when something has gone over your head. You don't really want to admit that something is above your comprehension...but I'm openly admitting that this movie went over my head. I failed to get it. There's a lot of hype about this flick, and it's received good reviews, so I know some people got it and it's not a bad movie. It just didn't speak to me. It appeared well produced and presented...and there were some funny lines/parts...but it just didn't register with me.

I should do some dusting.

I've been sleeping in later than usual lately. I wake up around 10, but then I doze or fall back asleep...sometimes well past noon. Didn't get up till almost 1 today. It feels like a waste of a day...but I needs my zzzzs.

I said I had a rant. Well, we'll see how it goes...it may not turn into a rant, but I'll give it a go. Basically I just want to touch on the topic of hybrid vehicles. I think they're a good idea, but they seem more like an intermediate solution to me than something the car manufacturers should be settling on. But, they seem to be focusing on them...there are more models coming out, including trucks, as hybrids. I've heard they cut down on emissions by about 1/3...which is good, but not stellar. They've still got a fossil fuel engine in them after all. I'm hoping that the manufacturers are not stopping with hybrids and are focusing on other technologies like fuel cells or fully electric vehicles...because when you get right down to it, hybrids are still polluting.

Now I realize the manufacturers are not the only ones to blame. The consumers need to change as well. I was chatting with the Dahler the other day and he was talking about getting a truck in a couple years and I told him to go for a hybrid. He blew it off, talkin about how he's a redneck Albertan and loves his horsepower and gas guzzlin V8. Now, not so long ago, that was me...I love the growling power of a V8. But we can't just go for a vehicle based on it's sound or look or speed...not anymore. We've got to change our ways. Global warming is getting serious...it's noticeable. We barely had any winter this year. I'm not much of an enviromentalist, but I do think we need to stop abusing the earth. We're such a selfish species.

I'm not about to believe that everyone should go out and buy a hybrid vehicle...but if someone is in the market for a new vehicle, and they're price range includes hybrids they should be going for them. I don't drive a hybrid...I can barely afford my car and a hybrid is about $10K more. But I don't drive mine all that much. I can sometimes go a month between fill ups. I ride my bike to work...it helps out big time (and it's good for the exercise, and I don't have to worry about parking).

So, back to people like the Dahler...basically my point is that people's attitudes about vehicles needs to change. Yes the manufacturers have a responsibility to create and make more enviromentally friendly vehicles, and if the demand from the consumers is there, it will happen. Plus, you know if we focus on alternative power methods, the oil tycoons go broke...and that wouldn't be a bad thing!

Is that a rant? A bit I guess. My thoughts. Truthfully I think hybrid technology is a bit lame...but it's a step in the right direction and it's better than a full out gasoline powered car.

I gotta go.

They don't call me "Two-shit Planman" for nothing...

Soccer last night...I scored a goal, assisted on one or two. It was a fun game...only 8 of us. Lots of running. I sucked it up in goal, but I had a couple of ok saves too.

I'm not much of a conversationalist. Some people I can carry a conversation with no problem...others I just can't seem to find any common ground. Or the common ground that I know exists...well it's already been exhausted and there's really no reason in covering that stuff again, searching for a different angle.

I got another voice-over through work! Not sure who the client is, but it doesn't matter. I just want to do voice work, so the more opportunity I get, the better. It would be sweet if I could one day setup my own home voicing studio and market myself as voice-over talent...but I need some more experience before that happens.

Finally, all my CDs are ripped into my MythBox...my entire music collection is available via my remote control. Now, where to put all the CDs? They don't really need to be out in the open anymore.

I have a rant I'm working on...watch for it soon.

Ok, I think I'm back. Took a little hiatus from the posts there, but I'm back into it. I apologise to my loyal readers...I hope you're still with me.

Upped my run distance yesterday...not sure what I'm at yet, but it was definitely more than the 4.5K I've been doing for the past month or so. I think maybe 6-7K...somewhere in there. It felt good...I was getting quite weary in the middle and thoughts of walking crossed my mind...but I pushed on (slow jog that it was) and near the end I felt better. I made the whole thing without stopping or walking. I'll be ready for that Garden City 10K!

I broke up with Mel last week. I guess that's what it was...we always just classified ourselves as dating, so maybe it was more of a "stopped seeing her" situation than a "break up" situation. Either way, it's over. There just wasn't any spark happening...not for me anyways. She's nice enough, and we did have some fun times...but I'm somewhat of a loner and if there isn't obvious chemistry, I'm not going to stay with someone just to be with someone. I'm perfectly happy to be alone...I do quite well on my own. I'm not actively seeking love...if it happens, cool! if not, oh well.

Thanks to Gord for suggesting First Degree as a name for my DVD authoring/burning business. I like it...I think I may stick with it. The only dilemma I'm having now is whether to use First Degree, or Third Degree. Cause a Third Degree burn is a better burn than a First Degree, right? But First Degree implies number 1...which may be subconsciously better than Third Degree, eh? Any thoughts? Anyone?

I need to put up some shelves in my kitchen...I have very little space.

I'm not even gonna get into any sort of apology for not posting in a week.

Something happened, like yesterday. I dunno what it was, but I seem to have lost my steam on this whole DVD Authoring business. I was pretty gung ho for it on the weekend...I even started writing notes for my business plan. Hopefully I get a second wind soon.

I need to stop spending money. I'm getting nowhere...fast. I just need to sit idle and gel for a while. I should be able to do that, I think.

Saw my kitties this weekend...house/pet sitting for my parents. It was good to spend time with them...and they seemed to enjoy having me around. I was cuddled on several occasions.

Going climbing this afternoon...I haven't climbed in months (I've belayed others), so this should be interesting. I'm probably gonna be back doing 5.6s...maybe some 5.7s.