Open the Floodgates!

Boy it's been hard to get back into blogging... I enjoy it, but it takes so much time. I've spent the last week battle a stomach bug that has kept me very close to the toilet, so I suppose I've actually closed the floodgates. Now I need diarrhea of a different kind!

So yes, I did spent three weeks in Australia last month. Way too much to put in one post, so I'll leave that on the agenda, perhaps even with a "table of contents" entry to organise it. Instead I'll start with Christmas and fill in the gaps later.

Christmas this year was at my sister's place. Chris was with me Christmas Eve and Morning, and my parents came in to town and stayed at a hotel for several days, which let them visit their town friends and eased all our travel plans. Very civilized, I thought. My brother had no respite though, they came up from New York state with their twins and they pretty much all got sick as soon as they started traveling. His girls are growing up fast and were fun to have around when they happened to be healthy.

We ended up dining together the day before Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, and again for Christmas Lunch. Not only was it a lot of food, it was a lot of family! Note to self: spread all that stuff out next year, like over a month perhaps...

So what did Christmas bring for everyone? Lots of technology, lots of movies, lots of books. Chris got a new iPod nano, some spending money in his iTunes account, and the new Simpsons and Futurama movies. Sheryl got an iPod nano too, while her daughter got an iPod Touch. I got a nice sweater that I've been wearing almost on-stop, and an iPhone! Too bad I can't hack my iPhone to work as a cell phone in Canada (yet), but it's a groovy iPod, camera, and web browser. Santa brought Chris and I a new 32" Sony Bravia flat panel TV too, which Chris in particular loves...

New Year's Eve was an interesting variation on a theme. I spent all New Year's Day, starting right at midnight, demonstrating Bowflex fitness equipment on The Shopping Channel. Seven hour's worth of muscle building! Personally I've usually chosen to spend New Year's Eve quietly at home.

Since then I've been pretty busy with my triathlon club getting plans together for the coming season, leading another Running Room 5K Clinic, and other Shopping Channel gigs (January always has a big fitness focus apparently).

I did manage to find time to finally replace my superannuated 1994 Cavalier. Two weeks ago I picked up a 2006 Mazda 3 Sport, which is a much nicer ride... I managed to keep the news to myself for about a week and surprised Sheryl by showing up at her office behind it's wheel. My first road trip was this past weekend, heading up to the Washago International Film Festival (a weekend of spy-themed DVDs at a friend's cottage; Diamonds are Forever - a camp hoot with appalling acting, The Conversation - I loved it, but it's better seen alone, On Her Majesty's Secret Service - more camp, The Departed - excellent but grueling), where this photo was taken.

Last week I went with Chris to see Juno, a film he's already seen with his Mum. A fun film with entertaining dialog and a fantastic lead from Ellen Page, but I think the teen pregnancy thing was handled a little too lightly... Still, worth seeing.

Listening to: Oxygène Part IV by Jean Michel Jarre from Oxygène.

The Stuff that Dreams are Made Of

Last night I dreamed that I was helping Ravi Shankar prepare for a concert in a high school auditorium. A few nights ago I dreamed that I had won $200,000 in a lottery. Weird! Sheryl tells me that she dreamed she was on vacation and was worrying about where to put her guinea pig (what guinea pig?) at one of her stops. Weird too. I think I'll buy a lottery ticket today though, that one would be nice to have come true...

I re-arranged my weekend to fit in a last-minute job on-air at The Shopping Channel Saturday and my triathlon club's planning retreat. Chris and I drove out to see my parents, just back from Greece and Turkey, late Saturday night. On Sunday I biked onward to Brighton (45K) to join the other executive members for the final breakfast meeting of the weekend, ride again with them, have lunch and then ride back to Cobourg. 125K all told, in cold and windy weather.

My parents took me out for a day-before-my-birthday dinner before we finally drove back into the city. The drive was interesting though, I had to borrow my parent's van to get home as my car's battery had suddenly died when my parents tried to use it! No sign of any problems at all before it expired. The strange thing is that this has happened once before a few years ago, also when I'd given the keys to my parents. On Monday I drove back out to Cobourg to return their van and pick up my car, with it's new battery, from the auto shop.

My "real" birthday dinner was with Sheryl and her sister-in-law. We tried to go to our favourite Asian restaurant, Saigon Sister, but it's gone out of business! We settled for a delicious Indian meal at Biryani House. Sheryl gave me a very nice black pea coat, which will come in handy as the temperature drops.

Halloween was a quiet affair this year, Chris was with his mother and my new neighbourhood seems to have fewer children. All the more chocos for me to eat!

Listening to: Civil Twilight by The Weakerthans from Reunion Tour.

Road Rage

I was talking to a friend, who will remain nameless, about driving recently and they told me about how they used to drive: with aggression and confrontation. They even got into a couple of road-side fights many years ago! Hard to imagine...

Myself, I drive quickly and responsively but not selfishly. Although I'm likely to honk or make an irritated gesture when I see an inattentive driver impeding others (i.e. me) or driving aggressively. But I'm as likely to let someone in as I am to criticize. My driving philosophy is that helping you complete your journey quickly helps me complete my journey quickly. A few girlfriends have asked me not to interact with other drivers that way, but I've never been able to cure myself of it.

Today I followed my regular hard hour of spinning at the Dunfield Club with a 6K run on the treadmill. This is what we triathletes call a "brick" (B for bike, R for run, ICK for how you often feel). The transition from cycling to running is a critical one in triathlon races, as you go from semi-horizontal (easier on the heart) and bent at the waist on the bike to upright on the run (strains the heart and stretches muscles that have been contracted for perhaps several hours). I actually felt pretty good doing it today, although my left ankle and knee hurt for a bit in the middle of the run.

I want to be back in shape for New Year's Day, as I've committed myself to an internet triathlon. Some members of the "International Tri-Blogger Alliance" have agreed to swim, cycle and run at least a short distance wherever they can on New Year's Day. Plenty of us live in cold climates and will have to suffer for their rash commitment. I however will be in the Florida Keys on the day in question, so it should be easy for me.

Listening to: Mad World cover by Michael Andrews with Gary Jules from the Donnie Darko soundtrack (and the Gears of War television commercial).

Size Issues?

I saw the smallest car I've ever seen on the road today, so small that it made a Smart Car seem big. How do I know that? As I was watching it go by a Smart car also drove past, towering over it... I wish I'd had my camera to capture the two side by side. I think the midget was a old Fiat 500 (aka the Topolino). I guess everything old is new.

Listening to: Copperline by James Taylor from New Moon Shine.

Po' Lazarus is Risen

Six weeks ago my old car, a 1994 Chevrolet Cavalier expired. (I offer this information with some embarrassment. I'm not even going to tell you that its colour is referred to as"maroon".) As I was on the final leg of a long trip I heard rattling/grinding noises coming from the engine and the water temperature shot up. I nursed it around the corner to my local GM dealer for a diagnosis, thinking "water pump, not too bad". The next day they reported that the "engine needed to be replaced". I forget their actual wording. I nursed it home and parked it while I pondered my options.

Because I live in the middle of town very close to my office and have great local shops I rarely use my car. I only drive for bigger shopping trips, to meet friends, or to take my son somewhere when he's with me. I've also just had to replace my furnace because it failed an inspection, so my finances are stretched very thin. Perhaps, I thought, I can just get a cab when I need to get somewhere in a hurry, or rent a car when I know I have a lot of errands. I also looked at buying a new, or new-ish, car but the payments and change in insurance were prohibitive. Did I mention that my finances are stretched very thin?

Well my son's hockey season is upon us (i.e. tomorrow night). So I decided to get a second opinion before junking my car and renting something for this weekend. Well guess what...

My car didn't need a new engine, it needed a new alternator. That's about 1/50th as expensive. So thanks to the healing hands of Canadian Tire's mechanics my wheels have risen from their grave. Never trust a dealership! And in particular don't trust Brennan Pontiac Buick GMC Ltd.

My Baby! But purple. Wait, I think aubergine sounds better.