D & P

"I'm coming up only to hold you under..."
What a great song.

Today has been the day of Band of Horses' "Funeral." You can check out the song here. What a great track. Thanks Mad Dog!

Tonight was one of those nights that kind of sneaks up on you.

I was supposed to go running with a friend, but she couldn't make it because she drank way too much last night. I can completely understand... I've been there too often to recount.

I went running by myself for 86 minutes, which was pretty rockin'. Then I went out with Andrew. We hit a few bars and ended up at Ronnie's. I ordered Delirium Tremens which was fantastic. Then at last call and half a glass left, Andrew ordered another. I didn't mind since I wanted one, but I do have to work tomorrow. I should be on my best behaviour, but screw that.

"Every occasion I'll be ready for a funeral."
What a great song.

I had some fun tonight. I'm still creating the bar-persona that will guarantee that girls will like me, but I'm happy so far with the way things are going. I had some fun, playing around a little. The CBC is a good thing, but the closed captioning thing needs work.

I digress...

I never had trouble shaving. Sure, the usual spots under the mouth and the little spots just where the jaw meets the head just underneath the mandible... is that the mandible? If my Grade 10 History paid off then it is the mandible, but I'm no doctor. Anyway, I noticed a couple of days ago that it isn't easy to shave anymore. The smooth glide from cheek to neck now hits a severe bump at my jaw. I suppose that that's a good thing, but now I have to be extra careful to make sure that I don't cut myself. The effects of all this insane exercise that I'm doing has created a visible difference between my jaw and my neck. How odd.

I probably should post an entry after drinking 14% beer, but that's the way it goes. I'm sure it makes me sound like a complete ass, but I've given up feeling embarrassed about the stupid things that I do. Random drunken ravings are not only fun to write, but also what I know my readers want. Take an insanely private blog and add alcohol to create the most personal of truths.

Wiped

I'm so tired. I can hardly keep my eyes open, but it's been a couple of days, and I feel guilty.

I slept so well last night for the first time this week. I woke up at 9:00 and went for a long run (Harbord/Bathurst to Harbord/Ossington to Oakwoods/Eglington to The Belt Line/Allen Road to Mount Pleasant Cemetery to Yonge/Bloor to Harbord/Bathurt. It was so muggy and gross, but I managed it.

Then I went to work, and it was a busy day. I did a good job today, and impressed my boss. There was a last minute job that needed doing and I handled it efficiently.

When I was walking home, I got caught in a terrible rainstorm and I sat on the steps of an entrance to a grocery in Chinatown and phoned people while waiting for the rain to let up. It was about 20-30 minutes or so, but I made the most of it.

When I got home, I ate like crazy. All I do these days is eat, but since my choices are better, I'm okay with being compulsive. I watched two stories on trans fats on The National and though I pretty much think that it's bogus, I did notice that all my food has 0 trans fats.

I worked on my radio pitch this evening and I'm almost finished it. I've put it off for a month, and the deadline is coming up. Nothing like the pressure to kickstart my work. What a stupid way to go through life.

I'm going to bed. I'm rereading Jonathan Goldstein's "Lenny Bruce is Dead." It was good, but I felt that I missed a lot on the first read.

*Yawn*

So I went out on a date last night and yada-yada-yada I'm really tired today.

Don't get excited.

For the second night in a row, I've had a terrible night's sleep. On Sunday, I was having stress dreams for some irrational reason. Last night, I just couldn't get comfortable. I suspect that it was a combination of exhaustion, the last drabs of my massive hangover, sexual frustration, the cat sleeping in the middle of the bed, allergies, and it being too warm. I was sweaty and uncomfortable all night. I had to get up early for a house showing and the pressure of having to wake up probably didn't help either.

So I'm off to work again today. I'm leaning towards grumpiness, but I am looking for any excuse to cheer up.

Grey Day

I decided that my plan for the day was going to be to do some outside maintenance around the house, get a haircut, clean my apartment, run, have a barbeque and then go out on a date. Pretty good plan and a pretty productive surprise day off.

I clean outside, and then rewarded myself with a couple of sudokus. My sister then asked me if I could give her a ride to her doctor's appointment. I said okay, and then jumped in the shower at some cereal and peach yogurt, and a granny smith apple and then headed out with her.

I drove downtown and then after I dropped her off I decided to get my hair cut. I suppose that I didn't really need a haircut, but I wanted to get one before Saturday. I'm going to a wedding on Saturday and thought that it would make sense to grab a cut on my day off. I drove over to Jack's and parked on a sidestreet.

I sat in the car for a couple of minutes trying to decide if I was actually going to get out and get a haircut. I wasn't desperate for one like I usually am, and I was debating bailing on it. I was trying to figure out when my last one was. I knew that I had blogged about it being somewhat disappointing, but I couldn't pinpoint the day. I considered calling Andrew and asking him to check it out on my blog, but I thought that that would be too nutty.

As I was looking in the mirror and breaking my brain trying to remember I noticed that I had a grey hair. It was a great big one right at the front. It was more white than grey. It was quite distressing. I've never noticed a grey hair before, but this one was so grotesque and so obvious that I began to wonder how many more there are that are hiding in less conspicuous places. I thought about how my sister has had grey hair since she was 17 and if I would have to start getting my hair dyed like her. I thought about how I would look in five years, and if my hair would be salted with grey or even all grey, and how much older I will look.

It was a frightening development, and a little depressing. Crows feet, laugh lines, and now grey hair. Pretty soon I'll be one of those old guys running around the city. I'll be a fart who sweeps his sidewalk 4 times a day and waters his rhododendrons with the hose just after sunrise, and at again dusk. I'll yell at kids skateboarding in the street, and be overprotective of my garbage bins. This grey hair is opening doors of curmudgeonry that I thought wouldn't open for many years. Oh, Pandora! Now I can be an old grump shaking my greyed head at the state of the world and those blasted kids.

I'm going out for my run while my joints are still good, I'm having a barbeque before my cholesterol gets too high, and things better go well on this date tonight, or I might not have another chance. It might already be too late!

Youch, man,

What a disastrous morning. So hungover.

I was trying to think of interesting things to blog about, but couldn't. Instead I tried to remember as much as I could about the old Hercules cartoon. Here's what I came up with:

Characters: Hercules, Helena, and Newton (the high-voiced centaur).

Theme Song:

Hercules hero of song and story.
Hercules winner of ancient glory.
Hercules is here raise a mighty cheer.
Virtue in his heart, fire in every part of the mighty Hercules.

That's not in the right order, but that's the best I could do. If I really cared, I could google it, but that would ruin the fun of it. I remember the ring that Hercules wore when he wanted to be super powerful. It had an "H" on it.

On to more confusing things.

I had to work yesterday which wasn't much of a problem except that I didn't get to enjoy the lovely weather. I was strangely productive and managed to work without interruption for the whole day. I think that I'm a good employee, but over the past week I've really put my head down and worked like a maniac. I don't take breaks and I don't waste any time. It's quite extraordinary, really, since I would much rather screw around all day.

Anyway, I worked yesterday and then headed home at 9:15. My sister called and offered me a ride and even though I wanted to walk, I was in a rush so I accepted the lift. When I got home, I had to tidy up my apartment. I had reached my breaking point with it and I really needed to make some time to clean it up a little. I took care of business and then jumped in the shower to get ready to go out.

After a bit of debate over what I would wear, I settled on a vintage shirt rather than a t-shirt, but I was unhappy with the top button. It had fallen off and I had to sit down and sew a button back on to it. It was a real nightmare, because I was in a rush and the whole time I was doing it I was thinking, "I shouldn't be wasting all this time on sewing a button on a shirt. No one will care except me." I made a mess of the sewing, but it did manage to pass the very scientific yanking-test.

I headed over to a friend's house and met a whole bunch of new people. To be honest, I was quite nervous because I knew that the plan was to go out dancing. I'm not a dancer, and it really isn't something I get very excited about. If I want to be a member of society, I have to accept the fact that people like dancing. I may not understand it, but I have to get used to doing it occasionally. I expect that people just like to jump around like idiots.

So I was nervous about dancing and in order to make up for it I decided to start drinking. It worked out well because I stopped feeling nervous, and I didn't care about the foolishness of dancing.

It was a good plan until I had to go home. We were at Kensington, which is about 7 blocks from my house. I don't remember leaving, but I have a vague recollection of lying down for a nap somewhere. I think that I was in one of those planters that line the sidestreets. Anyway, the next thing I remember is a do-gooder checking to make sure I was okay. I jumped up and headed on my way. Slurring out something like: "Helena, Helena! Herc needs help!"

I kept walking and walking and I kept wondering to myself, "This seems like a long way. I should be home by now." I ended up at Front and Bathurst. I was at College and Bathurst and instead of going the two blocks north to my bed, I went about 25 blocks south. I was tired and soused and so I called my sister. I woke her up and she got out of bed to pick me up. It would be embarrassing if I cared at all, but I'm past being embarrassed about the stupid things that I do.

Today is a mess. I got up and headed to work a little early, just because I had to get out of my house for fear that I wouldn't ever leave. It's a funny kind of hangover today, because I am acutely observant, and generally at peace. I noticed a ton of attractive girls on the walk and they all seemed to be in a good mood. I listened to my iPod and stopped a few times on the way for flavoured water, chips, cookies and to keep tabs on the England/Ecuador game.

Now I'm at work and I've got a bit of the shakes. Way too much booze last night. I'm going to take a chunk out of the water cooler this afternoon and work on a documentary on Rene Levesque. I also have to decide which Godzilla movie I will tackle next. I think I'll go with Godzilla Raids Again.

Not much is new today. I got up at a decent hour even though I went to bed late. I worked on one of my proposals that is due at the beginning of July.

I wandered to work and that was about normal. I am completely confused about my schedule. It turns out that I'm working all weekend, but have Monday off. The whole thing makes no sense. It really cheeses me off because I can't schedule anything without the whole thing being screwed up later on. It seems that I'm the sucker who always gets shafted. I wouldn't care if it didn't screw over the people that I've made plans with. I don't care about working, but I hate leaving other people in the lurch. My plan for tomorrow is to sit down with my boss and figure out what in the world is going on.

I played poker tonight and didn't have much fun. There was a guy beside me who was so drunk that I had to explain everything to him. He was wasted and it really was a drag. "It's your bet. You can check or raise. Your deal. Burn and turn." It didn't end until I was eliminated in 18th place out or 53. Good riddance, I guess.

I resisted Tim Horton's cookies on the way home. I got some strange looks as I listened to Ricky Gervais on my iPod. I took out the garbage, and now I'm going to have some pineapple and then read for a while.

Working to Live

Back at work today. Woke up relatively early and went to the grocery store with my sister. Bought a few things but didn't break the bank. I'm off grocery store produce. I live close enough to Kensington to be able to shop there for all my fruits and vegetables, and there's no reason not to.

Work was fine. It was busy and that helped. I work everyday until the 7th of July. I'm taking Canada Day off for a wedding, but other than that I'm there for the next 16 days in a row.

I went for a run tonight, and then relaxed a little with a nice cup of decaf tea. This nightowl lifestyle is enjoyable. I'm able to go out and do things in the evenings. I realized that I go out almost every night for something or other. It isn't something that I've done a lot of in the past, but I guess when you're single, have a job, and have relatively no debt, you can do things like that. I feel badly for the people I'm with when I know that they are up way past their bedtime. I remember my life of waking up at 4:30am and then getting home at 7:30pm. I think I was happy then, but I was always too tired to do anything fun. At least now I'm always rested and can make the time to enjoy my free time with a little variety outside of the ratrace routine.

State of the Nation Address

It appears that my readership is growing, and I am feeling more and more like I should post daily.

One of the main problems that I have discovered is that the people who read my blog, know everything about me, but I don't know anything about them. We'll meet each other in a bar or at a party, and the interaction will seem bizarrely awkward. I can sense that they don't know what to say because they don't really want to let it slip that they know about my life.

At times, I forget what I've written, and someone will mention it offhandedly. There is a brief moment when I can't figure out how they know that detail about my life, and then I remember that I have posted about it. That is usually followed by a reflection on whether or not I should have written it. I try not to worry about it too much, but take pleasure in the fact that someone spends a little time reading my blatherings. I am particularly interested and curious about those people who read my blog daily whom I have never met.

I wonder sometimes how long this blog will continue. Has it grown stagnant? Will it evolve into something else? I guess that I have two possible options: become less personal, or become even more personal. I suppose that I need to examine why people read blogs:

1) They are a friend who lives out of town and still wants to know what's new in your life.
2) They think that the writer has something interesting to say and they like reading the writer's tranchant insights.
3) The blog gives you an insight into a world that you know nothing about.
4) The blogs teaches you something, or offers up opinions that may change/impact the way you see the world.
5) The blog is funny and pleasurable to read.
6) The blog is depressing, but makes you feel better about your life.
7) It is simply an exercise in documentation and pleasure is gained merely through the act of writing.

I suspect that people enjoy living vicariously when they read blogs; I know I do. I suppose that my life is a good one, but a part of me just can't wrap my head around the whole thing even after 14 months and 258 posts.

There and Back Again.

It was another weird and wonderful weekend, but I'm back at home now and I'm exhausted.

I didn't arrive at my Dad's until 5:30 on Saturday, and he wasn't jumping for joy that I was late, but he wasn't angry by any means. We watched some of the US Open and then the hockey game. I went for a run and then my Dad made hamburgers, homemade french fries, and ice cream cones. It wasn't what I'm used to eating, but it was delicious.

We worked like crazy today, and I left at about 8:30. I'm picking my sister up tomorrow morning at 9:00. I'm actually looking forward to having her here for a while. My goal is to make her realize that the suburbs are boring and that she should move back into downtown. I don't think that she is feeling too good about herself these days so I told her, "Don't think of this as three weeks of Cancer treatment, think of this as three weeks of being free. No husband to drive you crazy, no baby to worry about, no house in the middle of nowhere. It's time for you to do whatever you want!"

I think that's good advice, so it'll be my new motto.

Another One Down.

I had a crazy day yesterday, and an absolute blast.

I woke up early and headed to work for 9:00. It was rough. When you're used to waking up at 11:30 and then suddenly you have to get up at 7:45 it's a reall killer. I rolled reluctantly out of bed and realized that I haven't had those heavy eyes in a long time.

I had to stay late in order to finish up a project. I was out at 7:00 at the very start of a glorious four-day weekend.

I had plans last night to go to Andrew's birthday party (Happy Birthday!). He's the latest victim to reach 30. I've enjoyed my four months of being 30. It's nice to feel grown up even though I'm more immature than ever.

I went out for a run and then had a great dinner with lots of wine. Then it was off to Camera Bar for adventures.

It was so nice to walk in and recognize a ton of people. I headed to the bar, and my conversation with the bartender went like this:

Me: What do you have on tap?
Him: Nothing.
Me: Do you have Stella?
Him: One bottle left.
Me: Okay, I will take it. What else do you have in bottles?
Him [pointing]: Just what's up there.
Me: You have Carlsberg Light?
Him: Yeah.
Me: I'll have a Steamwhistle, then, and she would like a vodka soda.
Him: We don't have any vodka.
Me: Is this a bar?

Sure it was a little rude, but I couldn't believe it. I guess they didn't expect so many people to be there. I knew better, and since we're all lushes, it makes sense that they would be short stocked. I didn't hold it against them. I gave the Stella to the birthday boy and searched the crowd.

I guess everyone realized that I was sauced and they came up to me to say hello and to chat for a few minutes. I headed out a little sooner than I would have liked, but we had to head off to another bar for another birthday party. I feel a little bad about that, but I don't think that anyone minded too much.

Anyway, I stumbled home eventually and spent as much time in bed as I could trying to sleep off the hangover that I knew was not only imminent, but monstrous. It was an unsettled morning since I couldn't relax because I was supposed to be up and about and on my way to my Dad's farm. I told him that I would be there at 1:00, and I was dreading the four-hour drive as I saw the clock tick 11:30.

I'm supposed to help my Dad with the haying. The weather isn't cooperating and it doesn't look like we're going to be able to do much. I don't have heart to back out and not go even though the reason for going has been kiboshed by the weather.

So I'm going to the farm to spend some time with my Dad. It's Father's Day afterall, and I should be the good son.

My sister is at the hospital right now in a leaded room undergoing her radiation treatment. She just has to take a pill and be in isolation for the weekend. She is scheduled to be released on Monday morning. I am going to be back in time to pick her up and bring her to my house. She can't be near her baby for three weeks, and since her husband is Mr. Mom, I'm going to take care of my sister. I'm not sure what that will entail. I expect that she will be lethargic and maybe nauseous and I think that someone should be closeby to help her out. I'll cook for her, and run to the video store and just be an gopher until she's back on her feet.

The rain, actually, works out well because now I can not only be a good son, but come back early and be a good brother without having to worry about letting my Dad down.

See you on Monday.

It's Not The Band I Hate...

I'm getting very frustrated with the World Cup for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I cannot stand all the diving that goes on. The players must take time to practice how to fall as heavily and awkwardly as possible. "Okay, guys, today we're going to work on knowing when someone is close enough to you that you can fall down and suck out a free kick. I'm going to take this Chinese fan and wave it three feet from you. When you feel a slight breeze you need to jump and roll while grabbing your leg. Roll around and writhe in pain until you get a call."

There have been some fantastic goals and I love watching them, but it drives me crazy to watch these grown men behaving like a tattling six year-old on the school yard. It cheapens the game and is incredibly desperate and lame.

I was walking home from work on Monday, and just as I stepped out of my building, a car full of people were screaming and brandishing Brazilian flags. As I continued home, I made sure to note all the cars with flags. The closer I got to the Annex, more and more people were hanging out of the windows of horn-blaring cars.

I can understand celebrating. I walked up Yonge street when the Blue Jays won in '93, in fact, I got in trouble as a result, but I didn't care because I was a fan, and I had a blast.

What I don't understand is that the game had finished 5 hours before I saw these lunatics and was deafened by their foolish honking. Enough is enough already. It's your first game against Croatia who severely outplayed you. It hardly warrants that much ballyhoo.

The third that that frustrates me, and it really shouldn't, but I'm just about fed up with the shots of the crowd. The camera operator seems to focus only on hot girls. I don't have a problems with hot girls, don't get me wrong, but it's just too obvious. I'm sure that there are lots of ugly girls in the crowd, but they never get any air time. It seems so antiquated that during every pause you would get some braless drunken 23 year-old jumping up and down in the stands. It's just so blatant. We all know why of all the people in the crowd you decided to focus on this one. It's hardly something that I should be complaining about, but I thought that we had gotten past this crap. The cheerleader is far from dead, I guess.

I will continue to watch the World Cup, but I'm just saying.

Chimpanzee That!

This amount of pure unadulterated laughter should be outlawed. I cannot express just how enjoyable my life has been since I downloaded the Ricky Gervais podcasts.

The problem of course is that I can't stop listening to them. Like having Lost or 24 on DVD you get to the end of an episode and then think, "I'll just start listening to the next one, and then that's it. After that I'll go to bed." It never ends though. At the very end of the next episode you say exactly the same thing. As each episode goes by, I am fearful of the knowledge that I am closer to not being able to experience it again for the first time. Still, there are about 4 years of XFM broadcasts that should keep me happy when the podcasts are finished.

As one watches the show, you ask yourself the question, "Is Karl Pilkington for real?" It's a valid question, and here's my breakdown:

The "Karl is an idiot" Theory: I don't want to believe that Karl is an idiot because I think that the shyte that he spews is just too hilarious. Still, I had a friend in high school who was an idiot. He was a kind, generous, lovable person, but was a complete moron. We latched on to him for the pure comedy. I remember Grade 10 Ancient civilizations History class, when he sat right behind me. The shyte that he would spew was as funny as Karl, and every bit as idiotic. People like that exist, and they are just naturally funny. They don't care that people laugh at them, and most of the time we didn't laugh at him, but simply loved being around him.

The "Karl is a genius" Theory: Karl Pilkington is the best straight man ever. His stories are scripted and planned and Ricky, Stephen and Karl simply work together well as a comedy writing team. No one can come up with diary entries like, "There was a really fat bloke on the plane playing with his PSP. While I waited to go to the toilet, I looked at what game he was playing. It was darts. He's that fat and lazy he can't even face playing a more active game on a games console?" and "Old men's ears and noses carry on growing as they get older. Suzanne noticed his fingers were fat too. Maybe they continue to grow. Suzanne didn't laugh when I said her arse had the same problem." I mean no one can come up with that shit on their own. No one can just write a diary with endless nuggets of pure gold like that. There is a great bit on XFM broadcast from November 17th 2001:

"Rick did you see that film last tonight, 'Gaylord Say No.'"
"No."
"That means your a gaylord.... That is actually the official way of finding out if someone is gay."
"That's how Oscar Wilde got caught."

and...

"If you could give a cock to any bird, which would it be?"
"It's gotta be a bird of prey hasn't it?"
"Which would it be?"
"The Robin... Christmas cards would be like..."

The three of them hang about and write the scripts and then Karl keeps a completely straight face as Stephen and Ricky have a go at him. A true testament to their genius.

You can get the entire XFM broadcasts here, not to mention a fantastic website. Decide on your own, but die laughing in the meantime.

Random Monday.

This has been a very odd day.

I ran 19 kilometres yesterday, and my hip was sore this morning. I slept in and then walked up to Book City. My copy of Lenny Bruce is Dead arrived and I wanted to pick it up since I finished Natasha early last week. I also needed to get a hairbrush for Harpo. He has developed all these mats in his coat on his back just before his tail and I needed to take care of them for him. With my sore leg, I wanted to take the subway to work to give it a bit of a break. I was able to walk home all right and it isn't hurting much right now.

So there was nothing too unusual about the trip to Bloor. The person at the desk at Book City was someone I know and so I chatted with her for a wee bit. She said that the book was good. She was very concerned about not fingerprinting the book, as it seems that it gets easily smudged. I told her that I didn't care, and wasn't that protective of my books. Some people keep books as trophies, but I'd sooner just borrow them from the library than have them cluttering up my house.

Anyway, I've been listening to the Ricky Gervais podcasts and I figure that I'm going to get slapped for smiling at the wrong person as I'm walking along, or put into a mental institution for laughing so much in the middle of the street. I'm loving Karl Pilkington's diary, but a part of me wonders if my blog sounds a little too much like that. Incidentally, if you listen to series 1 podcast number 5, they discuss a documentary called Tribe. Since I did the promo for it I know that CBC Newsworld will air the show on Sunday, June 18th at 8:00.

So I got to work and discovered that I have to work on the Canada Day long weekend. It was supposed to be my weekend off, but my co-worker is taking 8 days off, and I have to be there to work. Ordinarily, I would be happy as I will have four full days of overtime, but I had plans for the weekend. I was supposed to go to the farm to help my Dad, but now I will have to stay in Toronto while everyone else splits for cottages. I'm really ticked off about it since I will have to work for 17 straight days, and had to break plans for a fun weekend.

I got a call from Brian this evening. He was right outside my office and wanted to go for dinner. I would normally jump at the chance, but I was actually eating during the conversation. That was unfortunate. He was about 14 minutes too late.

I was hungry for something sweet later on in the evening, and got a gingersnap cookie from Starbucks. It was my first purchase at Starbucks ever, and holy crap was that cookie good. It was totally bad for me, but I didn't care. My grandmother made the greatest gingersnaps ever and I missed her a bit.

I was excited when I got home because I started some downloads on Soulseek before I left for work. I managed to get some great stuff, and with all these podcasts and some new tunes, I've got lots of good stuff to listen to. That makes me happy.

I'm not sure what kind of morning it will be tomorrow. I'll likely read 'til after 3:00, as usual, but I need to get up and go to the grocery store tomorrow morning. Actually, there's no maybe here. I'm out of soy milk for making shakes and I haven't had yogurt in weeks.

Rooney Eats It!

I managed to catch the last little bit of 60 Minutes tonight, and caught Andy Rooney.

I love watching Andy Rooney. The guy is so out of it that I just can't get enough of his ridiculous diatribes. This one was all about milk. View it here.

Skimmed milk? Half and half on his shredded wheat? Whole water?

Did he really expect to find vast flowing fields of clover, begonias neatly planted alongside a white picket fence, pies cooling on window ledges, and farmers with straw hats and a blade of timothy dangling from their mouths in Wellington, New Jersey?

It's clear that Andy Rooney isn't funny. It's sad because he thinks that he is.

Check out exhibit "A" of Andy Rooney's lack of a sense of humour.

Here's a decent spoof.

I always watched Andy Rooney as a kid. I remember that Murder She Wrote was on right after 60 Minutes on CBS. I don't remember laughing then, but I'm laughing now, though not for the right reasons.

World Cup Predictions

My World cup predictions are as follows:

Top 16:

Germany
Poland (though I recognize that they won't make it, predicting Ecuador would be unfair to the nature of this post)
England
Sweden
The Netherlands
Ivory Coast
Mexico
Portugal
Italy
Czech Republic
Brazil
Croatia
France
Switzerland
Spain
Ukraine

Top 8

Germany
The Netherlands
Italy
Ukraine
England
Mexico
Brazil
Spain

Semi-Finals

Mexico
Brazil
Germany
Ukraine

Finals

Mexico
Germany

Winner: Mexico.


I am cheering for England, The Netherlands, Ukraine, and (now) Ecuador. Actually, I'm really only cheering for England, but they always choke. I just want to see some great games, and love that I can have the games on while I work.

My Achilles Heel If You Will.

I got an email yesterday morning from Brian. He said that he would be going to a concert tonight at 10:00 and would be meeting up with friends at 9:00. The timing worked out perfectly so that I would be able to finish work and head over. I planned to forego my usual Thursday poker and meet up with him at Ronnie's.

I ended up having to stay late at work to finish up a Nature of Things episode, but I was out of work by 9:30. I met Brian and some friends at around 10:00. I squeezed in a pint before heading to the concert.

There was a long line-up at The Boat and we decided that since we only wanted to see the opening band that it just wasn't worth it. We headed back to Ronnie's for more beers.

I had my second pint of Headstrong and enjoyed the conversation. Occasionally piping in when the opportunity arose.

The next round of drinks turned out to be Delirium Tremens.

When we ordered it, the waitress did give us a warning: "You know..." That was all she said. It was heavier than anything that she could have actually have said, and I was a little nervous waiting for it to arrive. I usually stick to the tried and true when it comes to alcohol, and I suppose that my most adventurous would be something around Leffe.

The glasses were very suspect and looked totally uncool, but did come with pink elephants on them. The beer had a very fruity taste, and at 9% alcohol, it does a number on any buzz that you might have going.

The name comes from the medical term for the neurological changes that come from the abrupt stopping of alcohol consumption. All I know now is that I would really like to have another one. The only problem is that now I've found a place that serves it on tap. I'm not prophet, but I foresee a serious night at Ronnie's and many more glasses.

Spaz: Pushups

So apparently, I don't know how to do push ups.

On the frigid Victoria Day long weekend, my friend, Sean, was in town. He was on business and made a special trip to Toronto to visit with his friends. Since my house was clean, I had people over for a barbeque. It was textbook barbeque: extravagant meat, Caesars, lots of butter, beer, wine, and laughs.

Sadly, the most laughs seemed to come at me expense when I was goaded into doing push ups.

Brian likes to stir up shit, and after reading that I was running a lot, he bet that I couldn't do 30 push ups. I suspected that the only reason why he did it was to see if I would just drop down and start doing push ups in much the same way you ask a dog to sit just because you want to be obeyed. I resisted, and it was dropped.

Later on, we were discussing it again, and Sean was sure that he could do it. I mean 30 pushups isn't very many and he had been in the military (to some extent) after all where 30 pushups is about as difficult as blowing your nose. Sean succeeded in his 30 pushups and then took a well-desevered pull on his cigarette.

I got ready to do my 30 pushups this time because of pride and beer-fueled idiocy. I got set up and started. I had to stop after the first half a dozen simply because I couldn't count over the bellows of laughter. Apparently, I don't do them right.

Sean ran in to get the camera and below are some of the results:

This clearly isn't a pushup. I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Obviously, I know that my butt isn't supposed to be waving in the air. That barbeque is awfully lucky, with a view like that!

Now there is something funky happening with my shoulders and back. I think that the legs are nice and straight, but it looks like I'm arching my back too much. My arms are all twisted around, too.

This one doesn't look half bad. There are clearly some back issues, and it doesn't feel at all comfortable because my hands are so far apart, but I guess I'm on the right track.

When it was said and done, I managed to complete my 30 pushups. It was more like 50 when I got the kinks worked out. My suspicion at the the time was that everyone was just giving me a rough time for no reason, but the pictures don't lie and yet I cannot help but think that they really don't adequately capture it.

What concerns me is how messed up my body is when I'm doing things that I actually believe are normal. I mean when I began doing the pushups, I certainly didn't think that I was doing anything wrong and I certainly didn't think that my body was this mangled. In my own mind everything was okay, and now I have photographic evidence that I 'm a spaz (and for some reaons have now posted it for the world to see). This is a simple pushup, and I don't want to know what it looks like when I'm running, or swimming, water-skiing, or standing around feeling nervous and awkward.

Balancing Act

My life has now become a strange juggling act of shaving and exercising.

I am going out for lunch/brunch/drunch with a friend this afternoon and I decided I needed to jump in the shower. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and thought, "I really need to shave before I can go out."

The problem is that I can't. I can't shave today because I am planning a run tonight.

I can only shower after my run, because if I shave to close to the beginning of a run, I get tremendous irritation and pain on my face. The sweat must burn and sting the small nicks that have come from having a piece of sharpened steel scraped across my skin.

So I have to balance my schedule so that I always have at least 8 hours between exercising and my last shave. It isn't something that anyone should have to worry about, but that's the way it goes. I should just grow a beard and be done with it.

The Sport of Shopping

I headed out this morning to get a haircut. The place by my house is closed on Monday so I headed over to Jack's on Yonge. It was a relatively pain free experience, but I wasn't pampered like the last time. I'm glad that I got a haircut, and it doesn't look bad, but it certainly wasn't the supremely enjoyable experience it should have been.

I then headed up to The Running Room. I was in desperate need of a pair of shorts for running. I was using some dark green generic brand from the Bay circa 2002, and they just weren't doing it for me. They accentuated the swass and were just not good at all. They are sitting on the dock shorts, or walking to the ice cream shop shorts, not running 18k shorts.

While there I decided that I needed to get a new pair of running shoes. The ones I've been using are at least five years old, and I'm afraid that they are very worn out. I suspect that that's one of the contributors to my occasional knee pain. Apparently running shoes have an 800km lifespan, and my warrantee would have run out years ago.

Anyway, I bought a pair of runners and a pair of shorts. I was trying to buy a proper running shirt and some new supportive insoles, but they didn't have either in my size. My bill was going to be over $200, so I decided to leave everything and zip up Yonge to the Dominion at Lawrence. Vector cereal had a coupon for 20 per cent off any purchase at The Running Room, and so I figured that it would make sense to buy a box.

I managed to find a parking spot and then found a box without any difficulty. It cost $4.69.

I drove back down to The Running Room and cut the coupon out of the box. I presented it and saved $39.00. Best $4.69 I've ever spent.

Since I was up in that general area I stopped at Sporting Life. I managed to find a running shirt and the supportive insoles that The Running Room didn't have in stock. It sucked that I wasn't able to get the 20 per cent discount, but that's the way it goes.

So $300.00 later, I'm actually wearing something that fits and something that actaully is supposed to make running easier.

Sunday Revised

So I'm sure that you are all dying to know what the day brought.

1) After typing up the blog and publishing it I walked into my bedroom and began changing into my work clothes. Yardwork cannot be done in your best pair of jeans and a collared shirt, you know.

2) I then put some water into a bowl and put it into the microwave to boil. I turned the faucet to hot and started to do the dishes while I waited for the water to boil.

3) I finished the dishes and then used the now boiling water from the microwave to make oatmeal. The house filled up with the smell of artificial maple and brown sugar. I started to eat.

4) After getting about halfway through the oatmeal, I decided to tackle the cat litter. I went into the laundry room grabbed a garbage bag and cleaned the litter. I added new litter from the box in my office. I noticed that I had scattered litter onto the floor.

5) I went back into the laundry room with the clumped cat urine and feces filled bag and put the bag down where it will sit until Friday garbage day. I got the vacuum cleaner and wheeled it into my apartment. I plugged it in and vacuumed the apartment, and then returned the vacuum to the laundry room.

6) I washed my hands with antibacterial soap and hot water.

7) I ate a few more bites of oatmeal and threw the remainder into the compost bin. I then slipped the bowl into the sudsy sink. I washed the bowl and my spoon and then drained the sink. My phone rang and a friend who seems to be concerned with my blog entries of late called to make plans for the afternoon. We arranged to meet to wander around Kensington.

8) I went outside and into the back deck to get the lawn mower. I discovered that it was an electric mower and then had to go back into my house and find an extension cord. I took the cord outside and then realized that I needed to plug it in upstairs and then extend it through the front door and out to the street. I went back into my house and then upstairs and then I set it up.

9) I went back into the back yard to find a broom, but the real estate agent had moved the corn broom inside, and so I had to go back downstairs and then up into the kitchen to get it. I walked out the front door and then along the side of the house into the back deck where I got the lawn mower and wheeled it out front.

10) I mowed the lawn making sure to spray all the grass into the street and not onto the sidewalk that I would have to sweep. Clever, huh?

11) I then swept all the maple keys from the front step, front walk, the alley down the side of the house, and on the sidewalk out front.

12) The real-estate agent arrived and set up her signs. I told her that I needed to take a quick shower and then would be out of her hair.

13) I cleaned up all my piles of yard waste and then put the lawn mower, broom, and dustpan away.

14) I went into my bedroom, took off my work clothes and then jumped into the shower. I washed my hair, shaved, and washed.

15) I changed into some clean clothes, but was a little concerned that everything is too big for me. My dress shirt that was once just about perfect, just didn't feel right.

16) I brushed my teeth and then headed out of the apartment. I tried calling my friend, but she must have had her iPod on and didn't hear her phone ring. I decided that since it was super sunny out and that I was about to spend the day wandering around outside, that I needed to put on some sunscreen. I sat down and applied my sunblock. That stuff is great because it is convenient enough to carry around in your pocket, and is grease-free. As I sat there my friend arrived and we headed off to Kensington. It wasn't long before she mentioned that the shirt I was wearing was too big. I worried about that for a few minutes and then forgot about it.

17) There was a lot going on in Kensington, but we were both disappointed to find out that the streets weren't closed off to cars. There were just too many people wandering around and it was a little claustrophobic. I went into a bakery and was going to get a danish, but there were too many people and I was confused about whether I was supposed to take the danish or ask someone to get it for me. I also didn't know where to stand and so I decided that I didn't want it that badly and so I left.

18) We decided to get out of Kensington and we wandered over to College. I decided to get an cone at The Big Chill. With the whole shirt being too big thing, I figured that I would indulge. IN reality I went with a blueberry frozen yogurt. It doesn't surprise me that when given the yogurt option I took it. We sat outside and watched people for a while I ate my cone. I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to offer her a taste.

19) Then we headed over to Soundscapes. I wanted to buy a Bonobo remix album, but I couldn't find their Ninjatune section. It used to be in the back corner on the bottom shelf, but it wasn't there. I didn't feel like asking anybody to where it had been moved. I agreed to go with my friend to the controller.controller concert at Sneaky Dees on Friday and we bought tickets to the show.

20) We headed over to Grace and sat down beside the Bank of Nova Scotia so that we could watch all the people go by. We chatted for a while and she was waiting for a friend to call her. By that time it was after 4:00 and the open house would be over with. I headed home and she stayed there to wait for her friend.

21) I walked home with the knowledge that I was about to go out on a killer run. I really felt like a good hard exercise. I did the customary email check when I got home. I responded to an email and then got changed into my running gear. My shirt was still wet from my run on Friday (gross) so I went to an orange one instead.

22) I ran from my house to Avenue Road and Harbord, up Avenue Road to the Kay Gardner Belt Line, over to Bathurst and Eglington and then south to Harbord. This was the same run that just about killed me in April. It wasn't an easy run, but I am in infinitely better condition than I was then. I ran like crazy and was running much, much faster than I was the other time. I felt so good that I could have gone much further. It was a great feeling to not only get in a great run, but to be so much further along than I was two months ago. I guess the whole thing has been worth it.

23) When I got back to my house I sit some sit ups and push ups and then took a shower.

24) I was very hungry and so I decided to barbecue up some veggie dogs. I went upstairs and fired up the "q" and then headed back down to the basement. I grabbed the package of dogs, a fork, plate, bread, some sauces, and a beer and headed back upstairs. I sat outside in the setting sun and tended to my heating dogs. I called Brian to see if he wanted to come over, but I had to leave a message. I didn't mind because I was enjoying my beer and the peace of the situation. God, that beer tasted good, and the veggie dogs were exactly what I needed. I sat outside for about 45 minutes and just relaxed. I cleared up the mess and headed back inside.

25) I'm supposed to write a review of a DVD of William Wegman's video works. You might not know his name, but you've probably seen his art. He photographs his dogs in various scenes. I watched it for a while and fell asleep on the couch. Harpo was all cuddled up beside me and I had a nice fluffy pillow. I was relaxed, and beery and a little nap was inevitable.

26) I woke up with a start at 8:30 and decided that rather than going to bed I would blog a bit.

So I think that it was a pretty excellent day. I'm glad that I decided to get out and do something (thanks JB). The greatest part about my job is now that I have had two days off, I have two more to go. I hope that they are as unexpectedly enjoyable as today.

Sunday Blueprint

It doesn't really seem like I've posted a proper entry in a long time. It is 11:45am on Sunday. I just rolled out of bed. I'm hungry and I want to take a shower badly. I have a long day ahead of me and I want to enjoy it and not let it go to waste.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but a few ideas have popped into my head:

1) Get a haircut. I need to get one, but I don't think that either place I go to will be open on Sunday. I will investigate.

2) Go shopping for clothes. I'm considering the sock purge. A lot of my socks are threadbare in the heels and I think that I need to replace them. I also need to buy a ton of new clothes. I am unhappy with the state of my wardrobe and need to go shopping. I'm don't think that I can handle wandering through a mall or through the streets today. The problem is that I never feel like going shopping.

3) Go for a long run. This is the plan and will happen today at some point. Actually, I remembered that I was supposed to participate in the Ride for Heart cycling tour up the Don Valley Parkway. After agreeing to joining my friend for it, I didn't hear anything back from him about it. Here I am instead writing this blog and not getting any exercise. I will run instead.

4) Staying in bed and reading. A big part of me wants to just curl back up in bed and read all day. This would also be combined with numerous naps. I can't do this because I know that I will end up feeling like garbage. Today isn't about feeling like garbage, it's about doing something fun and different.

5) Going to a movie. While this would be all right, I don't know if I want to spend the good part of the day indoors. Though I would like to think of myself as a movie fan, I know very few of the movies that are out, and I certainly am not excited about rushing out to see anything.

6) Go to the track. I have never been to the racetrack, but like the idea of spending the day outside drinking beer and betting on the ponies. I wouldn't bet a lot, because I would only go for medium-longshots (therefore losers). I love playing the mechanical horses at the casino, so the real thing might be fun. I am thinking that this might be the plan for tomorrow. Must avoid the temptation to become a Bukowski character.

7) Go grocery shopping. I might go grocery shopping. I would like to start cooking more, and it would be nice to have some food in my house occasionally. The big problem is that when I have food, I eat it whether I'm hungry or not. I have some compulsive eating problems and need to make sure that when I eat an entire packet/bag/tub/can/jar of something that it isn't really bad for me. Still, even when it is good for me, I will eat it if it's in my house. Rather than a trip to the grocery store, I need to think about and put into action some kind of routine change that sees me visit a local market everyday. Maybe today I should just clean my refridgerator.

8) Alcohol. I have already considered sitting on a patio and drinking all afternoon. Though a nice idea, I dont really want to. I've been drinking too much these days and that leads to the dreaded D & P (drinking and posting) and that is something that I must avoid (but won't, of course).

9) Play vids all day. While a nice idea, it is completely unfeasible since I do not want to waste my day and playing video games alone in a basement apartment is the very definition of a wasted day. I will not play vids today.

10) Drive somewhere far away. While a very appealling idea, I don't really have an idea about where I would go. I drove to Uxbridge yesterday and I'm not sure that I can come up with a random location today. I would probably get as far at Downsview and then be so completely out of ideas that I would just turn around and come home. That's just plain sad. Besides, it wouldn't be any fun by myself. The spontaneous drive to the country is really only appealling with someone special. I mean, am I going to have a picnic by myself?

I am getting kicked out of my house from 2-4. There is another open house today. I need to take care of the litterbox and a few dishes before it happens, but that won't take long. I also should mow the lawn out in front of the sidewalk, do some weeding, sweeping, and pick up some branches. That's a good plan and one that is within reach.

As for the rest of the day, I just don't know. I'm off work until Wednesday, so I am really free to do whatever I want. This is my last free weekend until mid-July and I feel this pressure to make it worthwhile. The tough part is that I have already slept late today, and it is now 12:56pm. I've spent over an hour blathering on and on and not doing anything. Enough, already!