Mildly Adventurous

Soooo, you want a low number - I guess that means you are more adventurous. I need to remember some of these for when I play this as part of a drinking game.

I am at SIX. Because I have never...
- Broken a bone (knock on wood)
- Been skydiving
- Had braces
- Given birth
- Gone scuba diving
- Been on a cruise
(Does having braces make you more adventurous?)

Let me know your number in the comments!! 

The Cost Of Stamps

This is such a grouchy senior citizen post, but I can't believe the price of stamps now! If you just buy one stamp it is a dollar, when you get them in rolls or booklets it is $0.85. It is nice that they have the little P that means 'current domestic postage rate' so if it goes up you can still use it to mail a normal letter within Canada. But still, when did it get so expensive? How is this not a commodity market item?

I actually remember when it was $0.45 to mail a letter. I found a website that maps out all the postage increases from 1943 to now. It turns out the price I am remembering is from 1995, and for my entire elementary and high school life it was under $0.50. That milestone increase happened in 2005 so I was in university at the time and I guess I didn't notice. I am shocked at the cost now, it is just such a big jump.

It is the same story with gas prices too, I started driving when it was in the mid-sixties. However, I can remember it being in the forties when I was younger. Now it is regularly well over a dollar. (I am such a grouchy old person.)

Propelled To Learn

I have mentioned way too many times on Always Standing that I love to learn, so much that a single link to a post exemplifying this wouldn't be enough - I say it all the time, because I mean it. I just read an article that ties this to my ADHD, and I totally agree:

"We need to be careful about what we label as a disorder. When it comes to ADHD, for instance, there is growing evidence that ADHD individuals achieve very good outcomes by normal social standards. The popular-culture stereotype is of an ADHD (often "ADD") person superficially clicking from one channel or Web site to the next. An alternative vision is that many ADHD individuals adapt and end up using their cognitive profile to propel themselves from learning one piece of information to the next, and in fact end up better educated and maybe better situated to deal with the social world as well."

--- from Autism as Academic Paradigm by Tyler Cowen in The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 13, 2009.

Skating Rinks On My Teeth

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A Sunday post about my Dad, named after a song that he loved.

It was usually my dad that took me to the dentist, which was in Cambridge. We never switched it to a Paris one, I don’t know why. It was a long drive and we always went in the morning for the first appointment. I now automatically book the 8am slot for all my cleanings and dental work because I am so used to that being the norm. We then got dropped off at school and my Dad would go to work.

I remember at some point I went to get sealants put into my molars. The sealants were described to me as ‘skating rinks’ filling in the deep holes so that it would be easier to keep my teeth clean. Since this type of dental work is preventative and can be expensive I am surprised my Dad wanted me to get it done. I don’t think that Mike ended up having them later on – maybe it was a fad thing.

I was really really young so they must have been put into my baby teeth. The internet says that the ‘baby’ molars fall out between the ages of 10-13. That would mean people in middle school (which for me was at PDHS) were losing teeth, that seems really late in my mind. I must have had my molars filled in again when my adult teeth finished coming in. I remember the ‘skating rink’ explanation was given to me when I was child, not a pre-teen. So I got sealants twice!

They have worked well since I haven’t any cavities in my molars. I was told that they would only last for a few years (the internet says five years or more) but I actually still have one! I got x-rays done at the dentist last week and one showed up. It is going strong some 20 years later.

 They have this cool new thing too, where not only do they take the x-rays, but also little photos with a special stick. This tooth (coincidentally the one that has the bright white ‘skating rink’ on it) was photographed because it have a deep groove in the back that I am getting filled as a preventative measure. It won’t be done with sealant but a more permanent material.

Needing Alternatives

Yesterday, in my rant against publicly funded Catholic Schools in Ontario, I referenced that I see one advantage to the system. The positive that I see is that it provides a second school choice and it provides it everywhere.

Growing up some students would switch to attend high school in the Catholic system, which meant taking a bus from Paris into Brantford. Sometimes it was a case of not wanting to attend PDHS, or no longer wanting to attend PDHS, or other reasons. A switch of schools, without having to move, is a nice option to have available.

Without the Catholic Boards across the province there wouldn't really be that place to switch to (or from) if the child or parent felt a change was necessary. Poor behavior, disagreements with teachers or administration, bullying, a bad group of friends, even easier commutes, could all be reasons to leave one school and want to try another.

In Toronto, the main school board offers French Immersion or specialized Academies for kids who are Elementary age. These might work for some kids but not ones struggling academically, there are also Alternative choices. In Toronto these options are available and often fairly close by, in other parts of Ontario that isn't the case.

It is nice to have a second 'normal/basic' school to switch too. It is very difficult to have a child go to a school in a different district than assigned in Toronto. - The Toronto Star wrote an article about this. If I was faced with these types of decisions as a parent I wouldn't switch my child into the Catholic system, but I know lots of parents who would do it or who have done it - it is nice to have that easy alternative.

But is it worth the unfairness it shows to all other religions whose school systems don't get funding and must be run privately? I personally don't think so.

Computers In The 80s

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

I wouldn't say that I am the digital generation because we didn't get the internet until I was in middle school and I was very late to get a cell phone. However, I have always had a computer in the house. I am pretty sure my dad got his Atari computer before I was born. I can remember watching him play it. There were so many games. When I got older I got to play too. My favourite was River Raid, which was a flying and shooting, scrolling style of game. I think my mom used the computer for word processing, but all my memories from it were with my dad playing games.

A Seemingly Small Change

I have been reading The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We've Lost in a World of Constant Connection by Michael Harris. As a Canadian writer, Harris' thoughts and research feel very local and relevant. The book is focused on the following point: "Soon enough, nobody will remember life before the Internet. What does this unavoidable fact mean?"

As the title suggests, Harris argues that the main thing that the Internet has taken from us is the notion and experience of solitude. This is something I wholeheartedly agree with, but at the same time I fear solitude and sense danger at being left alone with my thoughts for too long a stretch of time.

Harris says, "As we embrace a technology's gifts, we usually fail to consider what they ask from us in return - the subtle, hardly noticeable payments we make in exchange for their marvelous service. We don't notice, for example, that the gaps in our scheduled have disappeared because we're too busy delighting in the amusements that fill them. We forget the games that childhood boredom forged because boredom itself has been outlawed. Why would we bother to register the end of solitude, or ignorance, or lack? Why would we care that an absence has disappeared?" But for me these thoughts are incorrectly worded, because I DID notice, and I DO care. I don't know if I want to change it but I have been making a point to register this change for a long time. I feel the change deep in my being and I worry about what it means for the future and for my future children.

I also feel and acknowledge the unprecedented speed at which change is occurring. It has always been easy to equate the rise of digital text/information to the switch from scribes to a printing press, or from oral history to a written one. This type of technology shift is not new, but the pace is shocking. I will allow Harris to provide a succinct explanation, "The rate of penetration - the amount of time it takes for a new technology to be adopted by fifty million people. Radio took thirty-eight years to reach that mark; the telephone took twenty years; and television took thirteen. More recently the World Wide Web took four years, Facebook took 3.6, Twitter took three, and the iPad took 2. Google Plus, which nobody even finds useful, took only eighty-eight days." The book is filled with these types of lists, facts you know and are not even surprised by but they can still somehow be shocking to read.

I remember an English teacher in high school saying that computers were not revolutionary - that they didn't actually do anything new, just found a new way to store thoughts and information. I remember thinking at the time how incorrect he was, that this new type of storage solution and ease of information transfer was going to touch every part of our lives in ways that we could not yet understand in 1999. Almost 15 years later, in my Master's program, we often argued about whether the Digital Revolution was an era in its own right, or merely an extension of the Industrial Revolution. I still don't know the answer.

For me, the most powerful passage in the entire book is a brief musing about modern teenagers in the current era of smart phones, iPods, the Internet, and basically access to more digital technology and information than any generation to come before. Even though the words state that the author feels great regret at the prospect, in the grand scheme of the book it is just a couple of tiny sentences that seem thrown in merely for their cute factor - but reading them struck me to my core:

"There is a single, seemingly small change that I'll be most sorry about. It will sound meaningless, but: One doesn't see teenagers staring into space anymore."

Music Detective

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

I have heard this song played at spinning a few times, often accompanied by the music video during a class that features those (most classes either show nothing on the TV at the front of the room, or have bike races playing.) Every time I hear it I am reminded of two things: 1. my dad 2. some another song that I struggle to place.

The song at spinning is:

Are You Going To Be My Girl

The song is by an Australian rock band called Jet. I only know this because I looked it up. In fact, I didn't even know the title - though I should have been able to guess it. The part that sticks with me is the line, "Oh, 4,5,6, - c'mon and get your kicks - now you don't need that money when you look like that, do ya honey." I am surprised that it reminds me of my dad so much since it was it was recorded and released in 2003, which is the year that I graduated from high school and moved away to go to university. I guess Dad had added it to his regular playlist of songs and I heard it enough in the car or when visiting home that it stays with me as part of my memories of him.

Every time I hear it I am also reminded of some other song and I keep thinking, "Man, they are so similar, what is that other song?" It always takes me a while to figure out what song something reminds me of. So today I decided to try to figure it out. All that was in my head was "dun dun dun revolution, talking bout a revolution" or something like that. I had to go through three songs before I figured it out. (Interestingly, the first two - incorrect - songs, also reminded me of my father.)

So, the song Talkin' bout a Revolution, is by Tracy Chapman. My dad liked her, or my mom liked her and my dad played her a lot. I remember this song, as well as Give Me One Reason, being played. But this wasn't the right song, too slow and soulful. Also, I was pretty sure that the song I was looking for wasn't sung by a woman.

The only other song that came to mind that it could be was Revolution by The Beatles. I knew that there was a part that went, "You say you want a revolution." However, I knew that how they sung that part was also too slow to be the song I was thinking of. I listened to it anyway, thinking that maybe I was forgetting about some faster chorus part or something. Nope, not the song.

Then somehow I figured it out - it wasn't "revolution" it was "generation" that I was looking for! Then it was really easy to find - My Generation by The Who. The line, "Talkin' bout my generation," was what was stuck in my head, and Jet was definitely inspired by this song/band for Are You Goin Be My Girl. The sound is very similar.

A New Baby

Aria Lynn 

Born: August 3, 2014

In my usual form, I am very late with my Always Standing congratulations, but on August 3rd, Amanda (SoccarStar, WalkerPal) and her husband, Tim, welcomed a beautiful daughter into their family. Amanda and I have been friends since elementary school; we walked together and were always late. Of course, we were also friends all through High School too. I very much wish she lived closer to Toronto (in fact she did live in the city but I was in Ottawa at the time, and moved away before I got here.) Amanda is amazing and I miss her a lot.

When she was born, Aria Lynn was 'only' 5lbs 13oz, and I like to hear about tiny babies, since 8 and 9lbs now seems to be the norm. (I was 6lbs 11oz, and I don't think I was considered small at all.) I have yet to meet Aria Lynn, however a very pregnant Amanda was at Teri and Greg's wedding on July 26, so I was in the same room as the baby - kinda. Teri and I will make our way to see the new one soon, and of course visit with proud big brother Hudson.

All photos by:

Cayley Black Photography

Copywrite 2014

Why I Don't WANT An Engagement Ring

In connection with my previous post, Why I Don't NEED An Engagement Ring, I thought I would write about the more personal side of my lack of desire in having this item at some point in my life. In JennD's Facebook post about the issue she also stated, "I'm so glad I have my beautiful claddagh ring given by my family in the traditional Irish way." I think that is the most important thing for all relationships, engagements, weddings, and marriages - Do what you want! Do what means something to you (individually and as a couple).

Aside from a very select few friends who for various reasons aren't interested, pretty much everyone I know wants or wanted an engagement ring. And that is great! It is a beautiful gift to give and to receive. The boyfriends, fiances, and husbands of these friends all wanted to buy and give one too. It isn't a conversation you have often but I am sure in the intimacy that is a relationship at the level of engagement each of these couples have different meanings for the ring and the girls wanted them for different reasons. I am so happy for them, it is amazing to watch people you love have their dreams realized.

Here is the thing, it isn't a desire I have, it has never been a dream of mine. So unless my future fiance has anticipated the exciting moment that he buy and give an engagement ring since he was a little boy - like really really wants to - something he has hoped for all his life. If not, then I don't think it makes sense for me. For the following reasons, moving from practical to the more personally vain/stupid.

1. For all the reasons listed in the previous post: I don't like what it symbolizes, I don't believe in the tradition since it isn't longstanding or meaningful. They don't actually contain or maintain their perceived value. They are not an investment and even if they were how would that investment be realized (you aren't going to sell it upon retirement.) Mainly, personally, I don't like how unequal and gender based the practice is. OTHER SIDE: Put your own meaning on it, link the tradition to your more immediate family, it is a reminder of a very special moment in your life.

2. The cost: I don't want that money spent on something I would wear. There are so many things that I could think of to put that money towards, including the actual wedding itself. I can't imagine buying an item of jewelry for more than $200 and I am only stating such a high price because I can see value in a nice watch or higher quality earrings because of metal sensitivities. I have a hard time spending more than $40 for jeans. As I age, and gradually make more money, I am sure the amount I spend on what I wear could increase, but never to the amount that most of these rings are. OTHER SIDE: If you want something than the cost doesn't matter. Value is different for everyone. Good budgeting can usually make something affordable.

3. It is common place: I want to be unique. So, I am obviously moving on to the less practical reasons. (I am not going to provide the other side of these reasons, mainly because they are so personally connected to who I am.) I like the idea of being special. I know that it is inaccurate and arrogant but I want to think of myself and my relationships are being different than others. Engagement rings are so expected, to not have one would be a bold statement of individualism.

4. I don't like jewelry: I rarely wear it. I actually often find it uncomfortable or bothersome when wearing jewelry. I have to keep it on permanently (sleep, bath, constantly) or I would forget to put it on. I barely notice it on other people.

5. I have webbed fingers: Maybe this is the root of it all. I hate rings. The only one I ever really liked was the one I got from high school and I was really really picky about it (and still don't wear it often.) I like my hands, but I wouldn't want to draw attention to the specifics of my fingers. You can't see the webbing (most predominately between the ring and middle finger on the left hand) unless you really look and I am spreading my fingers out. However, as soon as I put a ring on the fact that it rests, often cockeyed, between my knuckle and bottom of my finger is very evident. It always looks terrible.

So, there you have it. I don't need or want an engagement ring. But a wedding band is a different story and in the far far future when I might have to deal with that I hope to figure out a way to resolve the webbed finger issue.

Bartending Major

From the May 9, 2013 The Daily Show episode:
Interview between Aasif Mandvi and Career Adviser Marty Nemko

Nemko: For many more people than in decades past, collage is the wrong choice. Those who were average students in high school who went into collage ended up doing jobs that they could have done right out of high school. like selling extended warranties or they are bartenders.
Mandvi: Oh, I always assumed they had a Bartending Major?
Nemko: That's called English Literature.

New Tag - 'Real Estate'

I have reached the point in my life when my friends are starting to buy houses. Actually, my brother bought his first house soon after he finished high school, in the mid-2000's when he was only 19. Around that time, Taylor and Mark bought their first house as well. They have since upgraded to a larger house and are renting out the first one. Mike sold his first house, moved to Edmonton, and rented for a while. He then bought a condo with Aimee and they have since started renting it out as they have bought a house nearby to live in. James and her husband had a loft, sold it, and now own a duplex in Toronto. Steph and Dave got a house in Barrhaven a couple of years ago. Teri and Greg are looking around in Oakville. The list goes on.

I realized that I didn't really have a tag on Always Standing to commemorate the large and exciting event that is home (or apartment or cottage) ownership; so I have added 'Real Estate' and went back and tried to tag any past articles that may be relevant.

Pop At A Movie Theatre

So, early in the week I posted about Weekly Money Challenges that Jason and I are trying to do and that the first one was to stop buying pop at restaurants/bars. Well, today we went to go see a movie (with Cailin, Nicola, Noah, and Kristen) and we couldn't determine what to do about pop at the movie theatre:

Jason's Side: Seeing that pop is over priced at movie theatres, it shares in the spirit of the challenge and therefore should not be purchased.

My Side: The challenge was only for restaurants/bars and a movie theatre doesn't count and therefore it can be purchased without breaking the challenge.

What do you think?

In general, those with us were split on the issue but Kristen did point out that free water is not served, I gather she has tried to get tap water in the past and they charged her for the cup. I really like the popcorn and it is so salty that not having a drink would be torture. On the other hand, when growing up my parents definitely never got movie food for me because all of the snacks are over priced and later on when I was in high school and university I would just sneak food in, so buying popcorn, candy and pop at the concession stand is a relatively new thing for me. I think it would be best to go back to sneaking food and drinks in, since that would save money and not change the experience, however it would take more thinking/planning ahead.

My New Love Affair

I am in love with leeks! I tried them with Teri when we were visiting an old high school gymnastics friend recently and I remember being amazed then. Jason and I are spending the weekend at The Cottage and this morning I noticed in the Port Rowan Foodland that leeks were on sale for $1.19 each. We were already planning to do steak with mushrooms so I thought they would be a good addition. Sure enough, I was able to put together an awesome meal with leeks and mushrooms in a Balsamic and Lemon (and Worcestershire and Garlic) reduction. (Yes, I made a reduction, it wasn't super reduced but it I got it thick enough to comfortably call it by that fancy term.)

Then I served my fancy reduction over steak medallions that I had cooked earlier in the pan and kept warm in the toaster oven. (I made the reduction in the same pain used to cook the meat so as it make it more au jus/gravy ish.) I cooked the steak with the edges wrapped in bacon, but then I ended up having to take the bacon off after cooking it because it didn't fully cook, I guess it just ended up protecting the sides from getting too dark/dry. I also managed to make my steak medium-well. While I was aiming to do Jason's medium-rare is was probably closer to medium. However, this is still much better than my usual very well done way of cooking all meat (and pasta, and vegetables  and really anything on a stove top.)

As you can see I am quite proud of my cooking tonight. I still don't like doing it very much but I am getting much better at it. Lately, the things I make seem easier and it takes less time than usual. Also, they have been pretty creative, taste decent, and most impressively finish at approximately the same time so everything can be served together.

Still the best part of the meal tonight was the leeks, totally made the dish. They are so amazing - sweet and delicious! They are also really really good for you. I am going to start using them all the time!

A Happy Brother At Last

I have known my little brother for his entire life, all 24 years of it. I have watched him date a number of girls who ended up being, for lack of a better word, crazy. He would stay in horrible and destructive relationships becoming more and more miserable. From about mid-high school onwards it is hard to think of a time he was truly happy with all aspects of his life, especially romantically.

It was such a relief a couple of years ago when he started to date his best friend, Aimee. They had met a few years before, in the Army. She was one of his roommates in Edmonton and they really were great friends; hanging out, having fun, and supporting each other. During this time I knew her by her last name, which I gather is how everyone refers to each other in the Canadian Forces. When she and Mike became romantically involved it was a bit of time before my mind switched over to using her first name.

These recent years as Mike and Aimee's relationship grew I watched him move forward with his life filled with hope. Mike has always bested me with growing up, despite being younger - owning property, getting a career, etc. However, with Aimee he seemed even more excited with each new stage of life. They stopped renting and bought a condo together in Edmonton. While Aimee was away 'on tour' they purchased a house, which is still being built. I don't know what either of their plans are for after this first contract with the Army is over, but whenever I hear them talk about it they are excited about the future.

It has been wonderful to see my brother happy. He loves Aimee so much and I totally understand, she is pretty awesome. She puts him in he place. They share a lot of the same interests. They are kind with each other and have fun, even when doing mundane tasks. It is a great relationship.

I am happy to say that last week my brother proposed! Of course Aimee said, "Yes!" So, now I am going to have a sister. I could not be more happy for them and am glad that it is such a great person who will be added to our family.

Congratulations Mike and Aimee
I love you and wish you both the best!

Aged Or High?

Throughout both my Masters and Undergraduate work I have had many 'all-nighters.' Recently, I discovered that I really enjoy working at night with jazz music playing. I have never been the type of person who can listen to music or watch tv while doing homework. In High School, Teri used to do her Math work while watching tv and I never understood how she did it - I would just sit there with the text book open on my lap doing nothing. Anyway, I discovered this year that jazz is perfect. There are rarely lyrics to distract me. It is soothing but not in a 'put you to sleep' way. It also creates some nice background noise so the quiet doesn't freak me out.

Kristen, coming home late one night and discovering me up working on a paper with jazz playing, mocked me a little. I have to admit, it does make me feel old. My grandfather absolutely loves jazz. We get a lot of local radio stations through cable, so I listen using the tv. I listen to Jazz FM 91. According to the station's website: More than just a radio station, JAZZ.FM91 is Canada’s only broadcaster and registered not-for-profit charitable arts organization dedicated to enriching the cultural, educational and community experience of their audience. The station began life more than 60 years ago as CJRT-FM, Ryerson's university radio station, broadcasting an eclectic mix of educational programming, classics and jazz. Then in 1996, it was transformed - embracing the concept of an all-jazz format within a non-profit, educational context and highlighting diversity and musical sophistication. This is all very nice, but still makes me feel old.

Then, tonight, a song came on with lyrics - these are quite rare. It is quite late and I am running on sugar and caffeine, soon to be infused with 5-Hour Energy Drink. I swear I didn't know if I was sleeping or awake. The song was just ridiculous. I kept listening to see if it was somehow a metaphor for something larger, but it didn't seem to be. At one point I actually questioned if I was high. Seriously, this is a song? From 2008 too! Yeah, I just don't get it. Click the video below to listen.

Summer Time

Everyone has different ideas about when summer starts:
-May, end of class for universities
-July, end of class for elementary and high schools
-June 21st, summer solstice
-First swim
-First freezie
-First BBQ'd hamburger
-First warm day
-When the family pool gets opened


For me it is all of the above, but really I don't feel that I can really enjoy summer until school is over - with the MRP that means near the end of July.

The Fashion Pendulum

I remember in early high school everyone had flared pants. At times during high school these flares became huge bell bottoms. However, I also remember the dreaded term 'pencil pants'. These were the awful tapered leg jeans that were fairly loose fitting at the top and tighter around the ankles, seen on moms and computer geeks everywhere. Today, I bought a pair of skinny jeans. The 15 year old in my was shouting in protest. "They are all going to make fun of you! These aren't cool, where is the flare? Or at least a boot cut?" The 26 year old had to reply, "No, no, these are trendy now, and that isn't the issue. The issue is that they make my hips look too big, something you didn't really have to deal with 15 year old self!" They are very dark and I do like them. They are from Gap, which I gather means a certain level of quality, I don't ever shop at Gap so I don't really know. They also were on sale, which is always good. So, I'm wearing tight legged jeans, looks like style has swung back to the 'pencil pants.' Skinny and straight cut jeans have been around for a while now, I am always a good quarter swing behind on the fashion pendulum.

Wrong Finger

I have started to wear my High School Ring again after finding it during my two month long unpacking into Rrunuv Bayit. (Still not done yet.) I have been wearing it on the ring finger of my right hand, and it is a little too tight. I noticed this last time I put it on. All day I kept swapping it between this finger and my two pinkys, it is a little big for the pinkys. I assumed, like the other times I have tried it on recently, that as I got older my fingers got bigger and now it doesn't fit. Then I remembered in class today that I had it fitted, when I was 19, to go on the ring finger of my left hand. Yes, where a wedding band would go. I think my reasoning was that it is always easier to wear jewelry on your non-working hand, seeing that I rarely wear any. Also that I liked the idea of being 'married to my education' and had dreams of getting university rings for the same finger. (So lame, I know.) Well, people are getting married now, married to people, and I am of the age that a ring on that finger is strange. I guess it didn't matter when I was 19, as that reality was so far away but now I would just feel weird wearing a ring on that one. It feels off limits unless it was a huge fashion ring that no one could mistake as anything. I slipped the ring on the wedding finger to check, and sure enough it fits perfectly. Stupid 19 year old self!

A Morning In Paris

*Compare with this previous post which could have been given the same title... though is not the same place at all....

Normally I really don't like being home, Paris makes me feel very uneasy. However, since I am here for the next month I have decided to make the most of it. I have been at the cottage all weekend so this was really my first morning back in town. It was awesome!! My dad woke me up on his way to work and I lay in bed reading for an hour or so - didn't really have anywhere I needed to be, except meeting Teri at 10am for a run.

Went to go and check the time and sure enough it was almost 10am. I called Teri to tell her I was coming over then dug through all my stuff looking for my running shoes. Put my contacts in, put sunscreen on, and headed out the backdoor onto the deck. During the 5 second walk that it takes to go across the backyard and up the side of the house to the street, I encountered 6 different types of birds hopping around the small pond we have, and about 12 very fat squirrels running, or should I say waddling, around. I then started the walk to Teri's house.

Teri and I have lived on opposite sides of the main street in Paris, the not-even-double-lane Grand River Street North, for the entire length of our almost 20 year friendship. I have always thought the walk over to her place was very long. When I was young I would beg my parents to drive me or come pick me up. I would often bike or rollerblade. In high school I would take my car. Teri lives about 4 blocks away, and these are not city blocks, I swear this is about a 2 minute walk. A very nice, very pretty, 2 minute walk.

Teri and I took another 2 minute walk to our old high school. We both live ridiculously close to PDHS but when we were in high school sometimes we drove, it is just crazy. The tennis courts have all be redone, which is very nice, and Ter informed me that a family membership with 24 hour key access to them is only $10 for the year! We made our way down to the weed-overgrown sand track around the football/soccer field.

Then we ran. I made it 5 times around the track, which is a total of 2km!! I only had to stop occasionally for a quick drink of water. It was a beautiful sunny day with a light breeze that kept the heat from being unbearable. Teri is much better runner, so was able to chat a bit during our jog, which makes things much more fun and interesting. Panting heavily we walked back together for a while in the shade before splitting in different directions to go to our houses.

Once home I did some cool down stretches on the grass in the back yard, underneath my mom's very impressive vine archway. It felt very work-out video like. I finished up the stretches inside on the living room carpet. Sitting in the sun coming through the large lead windows, since I hadn't wanted to sit down in the grass as it was a tad damp.

I hadn't eaten yet so went into the kitchen to see if I could find something that fit with my diet. I did up an egg in the frying pan and had it with cheese on a whole wheat english muffin. Just delicious!! I cooked two more eggs to have in the chicken friend rice that I'm making for dinner and pulled some chicken out of the freezer to defrost. I guess it is time to figure out what I'm doing this afternoon...