Been getting a lot of text messages asking where have I been lately?

It just seems like since Fathers Day weekend all I’ve been doing is heading to work, dragon boat practice, pilates (if I can make it) and spending my weekends at regattas after regattas. In a 7 weekend span I would have done 6 regattas but thankfully I was only sparing for 2 other teams and they didn’t need me so I get those weekends to just attend practice and sleep in my own bed (something I do miss when traveling). So by the time I get home I’m just wiped and I barely have the energy to check my email let along blog.

Don’t get me wrong but I love racing and mini paddling vacations but when it’s back to back like this it wipes you out and the additional heat stroke over the weekend didn’t help (I was doing everything correctly to avoid it and still got it ).

In none paddling news: I got promoted at work …. er ….. well just for this week as my supervisor is on holidays, which is alright until you look at how much work I’m covering (my job and all her job/responsibility).

So that’s what happening in my world as of lately, hows it going with you?

Sport is friendship,
Sport is health,
Sport is education,
Sport is life,
Sport brings the world together.

Quoted at the 1996 Olympic Games
By Juan Antonio Samaranch (1920-2010)

Comment for a Cause (C4AC) is back for it’s 3rd year. C4AC is my way to raises funds & awareness. This year I’ve picked Right to Play as my charity of choice. Each comment this site gets equals $1 that I will be donating at the end of the month.. Don’t forget to keep up to date by subscribing to my rss feed

Since signing up for pilates as an extra workout routine I’ve noticed that I’m more flexible then I thought and it’s helped improved my rotation with a longer reach when I’m paddling. I’m kicking myself now because I really wished I signed up for a class when I moved out here two years ago instead of the other day since the gyms out here are over priced and aren’t well kept up. With that being said I’m really pleased with my outcome so far in the class, can’t wait to see the full results by this summer when the classes end.. I just wish it wasn’t so pricey

Other then that nothing much else is new other then I can’t wait for this Saturday, the boat I paddle on is in our 2nd regatta of the season.. I’ve never been on a team that’s been to it so this is gonna be fun and interesting I just hope that the weather gods bring out the sun instead of pouring buckets of rain like it did last Saturday.

With that being said I think it’s time for bed and I’m please I get to sleep in tomorrow since I don’t have to get up early and cover a route.. YAY!

Comment for a Cause (C4AC) is back for it’s 3rd year. C4AC is my way to raises funds & awareness. This year I’ve picked Right to Play as my charity of choice. Each comment this site gets equals $1 that I will be donating at the end of the month.. Don’t forget to keep up to date by subscribing to my rss feed

For the last while, I just found heading to the gym or even working out at home isn’t doing for it for me anymore.. It just feels like I’m doing the same boring thing over and over again even if I changed something. So after a lot of thought and googling I found a pilates studio that’s about 15 minutes from my house, so tomorrow morning (err in a couple hours) I’ll be taking in my 1st pilates class (signed up for 15 weeks). I’m looking forward to be working out in a different way and not be waiting in line for a treadmill or the weights.

My goal isn’t to have a killer beach body by the summer but to be able to compete the skill tests that you need to do if you want to join the national bobsledding team. The one part of that test I’m NOT looking forward to is the running since I’m not a runner, no matter what if I truly try out for the team or not, I see this as a great cross trainer for my paddling.

What’s driving you to your fitness goal?

Comment for a Cause (C4AC) is back for it’s 3rd year. C4AC is my way to raises funds & awareness. This year I’ve picked Right to Play as my charity of choice. Each comment this site gets equals $1 that I will be donating at the end of the month.. Don’t forget to keep up to date by subscribing to my rss feed

It’s day 15 of this years Comment for a Cause and I wanted to write a bit more on why I decided to pick this charity.

Everyone always says oh they are a 2nd or 3rd world country, Kids aren’t Kids there, but when it hits home then people whine and complain and want the Kids to be Kids.. It is true that a lot of Kids these days don’t have the chance to be a Kid and take part in sports or other after school activities. For me I think anyone who wants to take part in a activity should be allowed, if there isn’t a girls hockey team then let them play on the boys team until there is one and so on..

Can’t remember where I heard it, but 1 in 3 Canadians families can’t afford to put their kids into sports/after school activities. I can’t imagination what it must be like for those parents of the kids who want to take part in something but can’t. This is why I think a charity like this that helps out globally instead of just in Canada or say in Africa, will teach everyone to takes part a thing or two about life.

Just tallying up the total so far, Comment for a Cause has raised $74 that will be going to Right to Play.. In the 3 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve donated over $260 to different charities.

Comment for a Cause (C4AC) is back for it’s 3rd year. C4AC is my way to raises funds & awareness. This year I’ve picked Right to Play as my charity of choice. Each comment this site gets equals $1 that I will be donating at the end of the month.. Don’t forget to keep up to date by subscribing to my rss feed

Other day when I was working out this years budget and I just realized how much money I have spent in the last 16 years in my beloved sport of Dragon Boating. Sure I could have quit the sport and saved that money for a house in one of the best areas in Vancouver but I rather paddle and live where I am out in the boonies because there are less snobs and cheap rent is good.

More I think about it, the more I might want to get another job and have this job where I am at now and have it to pay for my paddling addiction and maybe my bobsledding addiction (going to be trying the sport in the Summer and use that as my cross trainer). Guess I should crunch some more numbers and figure how much sleep I’ll be getting before I apply for another job.

Would you get a second job just to help with your sport/hobby’s addiction?

As of today Comment for a Cause has raised over $43. Thanks everyone who has commented daily.

Comment for a Cause (C4AC) is back for it’s 3rd year. C4AC is my way to raises funds & awareness. This year I’ve picked Right to Play as my charity of choice. Each comment this site gets equals $1 that I will be donating at the end of the month.. Don’t forget to keep up to date by subscribing to my rss feed

Hope everyone had a great day whether you celebrate Easter and or celebrate the chocolate that is now related to Easter.

Today’s just been a heart wreaked mess, it starts out with getting a text message from my dad around 7am mentioning that my Nana had fallen last night around midnight, my dad wasn’t sure if she fallen as she was heading into bed or fallen heading to the washroom… my Nana couldn’t remember. With that fall she did a pretty number on her forehead and wrist. The doctors were questioning if it was broken or not.

After a nice visit, my mom and I went to a family friends for dinner, just before dinner one of their cats just went into their room and died in his sleep, he was a healthy cat too.

Now I’m questioning what’s gonna be the 3rd thing that’s gonna happen.

But with all of this happening I do not take life for granted, I treat every day like its my last one. Cause you never know.

Days prior to the Olympics people were mentioning on twitter that they never heard so many different languages as they were walking around. When I heard that I was just shocked, as Vancouver is a multicultural city just like the rest of North America. Maybe they just been living under a rock all these years.. Who knows? I remember being six years old at Expo 1986 and being amazed at all the different cultures and whatnot and then again 10 years later when Vancouver hosted the World dragon boat championships, so I got to see all these different cultures once again getting together and take part in something they love. This is why I love this city as we are all so different.

I maybe a very proud Canadian with a maple leaf tattoo but I support every athlete out there whether your have a mega sponsor(s) like Shaun White of the USA or those athletes who taking time off work and paying out of your own pocket to attend the games.. Like most of the parlympics athletes had to do.

With that being said, I do believe that the Olympics and the Paralympics has changed us Vancouverites (and maybe even the rest of Canada) in a big way, As I’ve never seen Vancouver so bubbly and so patriot like our neighbours to the south. Where ever you went you heard a huge crowd people singing our anthem or a small group of people signing theirs. There was always someone in that crowd of red and white wearing their nations flags as a cape. This is a once in a lifetime event and it was priceless and just awesome. Only thing I am not looking forward to is the paying off the debt.

The highlight of the Olympics games for me would have been when we broke the 34 year curse of not winning a gold on home soil, and for every athlete being able to make it to the Olympics and doing their personal best. And talking to US Bobsled Elena and Canadian Luger Chris. (...)
Read the rest of What a rush (395 words)

With the Paralympics games just about to start (on friday)… My question is,

Are you going to be taking in any of the Paralympic games? (on tv or at an event?)

Me: My best friend and I are going to the opening ceremonies tomorrow.

Answers from Facebook:
- Wheelchair Curling
- Alpine Skiing

Question of the day: What was your favourite Olympic memory / moment ?

I have three:
- Talking to a few athletes (on twitter) and I am gonna try out their different sports this summer,
- Watching a friend of mines, friends take part in one of the snowboarding events. She didn’t medal but she had a blast
- As well seeing everyone in their countries colours cheering like no tomorrow.

Answers from Facebook:
- Plushenko’s many antics, including this gem if a quote: “Without the quad, it’s not men’s figure skating.”
- Joannie Rochette skating and winning bronze!
- Jubilant crowds on car free streets.
- Gold Medal Men’s Hockey will always live in my Memory.
- My daughters excitement as the torch came though.. she was sitting on her dads shoulders and screamed out “YAY!!!” Super cute.
- Running through the streets of downtown Vancouver yelling and screaming with a bunch of other people waving the Canadian flag. Total strangers, but all Canadian
- When we won gold and silver for women’s bobsledding, gold for both hockey teams, and the ridiculous closing ceremony with the flying moose. Ahaha