Uncomfortable Silence

Boy oh boy did I manage to have myself a busy weekend. Weekends are meant to be a time of rest and relaxation, aren't they? Well, if they are then it feels like I went out of my way to ensure that these two days were action-packed to the max.

Things kicked off Saturday morning as I attempted to continue my little experiment of waking up at the same time every morning...for the rest of my life. At this point in the experiment, I've arbitrarily picked 07:00 as that time. While certainly an admirable goal to strive towards, I find it a fascinating exertion of my will power (or lack thereof). Anyways, I trotted on down to Advanis to work a shift from 10:00 - 17:00, after which I hurried on home to get spiffied up for my niece Jasmine's birthday party.

Quite frankly, the evening was pure pandemonium. Gatherings with my family tend to be a bit out of control, what with 6 ankle-biters now in the picture, but said gatherings at my sister Debbie's house take things to a whole new level. People from India know how to party, and her husband isn't shy about inviting everyone and anyone over for the evening. Now, I like being in a small house with 40 complete strangers as much as the next guy, but Lord have mercy on people like my sweet Nicole, who's not only surrounded, but most likely bombarded by kids as well. Just as we had just about had enough, the crowd dissipated, and the family was able to enjoy a few moments of comparable tranquility before departing - until the next celebration/collision.

A few more hours of sleep and another attempt at rising at 07:00 later, I was back out the door to participate in the Run for the Cure. It's the 2nd time I've participated, and hopefully many more are to follow. I've never fancied myself to be a runner, heck, even walking to the corner store makes me grumble, but it sure is nice to challenge yourself once in a while. I entered into the 5km run, which started promptly at 10:00 in the near-freezing morning air. I wore my full-body Helly Hanson thermal underwear under my sweats and shirt, and it sure didn't take long before things started to get nice and warm. The sheer volume of people made the start very slow, and you were forced to pretty much walk the first block or so before you found some gaps. I finished in 28 minutes and 3 seconds, without having to break my pace once. Not since Phys. Ed. and the dreaded 20-Minute Runs have I carried on in such a foolish manner.

As if that wasn't enough physical punishment for one day, I then proceeded to play 3 games of ball hockey with the boys. It was a momentous occasion, as I decided to wear a cup for the first time - not a bad idea when you're a goalie. I never got to see if it would help out, but I did watch Jason get bagged by a ball during warm-up shots. That alone made me thankful I had something awkwardly covering 2/3 of my genitals. There were goals, there were saves, and Mike's slapshot in the last game damn near broke my blocker arm. Fun times.

Sweaty and exhausted, I made my way back home to discover that Nicole and I had been invited to her sister's place for dinner and a movie, so I finally showered up and headed back out the door yet again. What followed was a delicious dinner (filled with so many of those "vegetables" her family is so keen on), a visit with their cuddly matrimonial offspring, and a viewing of perhaps the 2 worst movies to come out this year: Walking Tall and Eurotrip. One should always be wary of any movie that stars a professional wrestler, and, for the most part, modern teenage angst movies are trite rubbish. Compared to the gems that they pumped out in the 80's, teens these days just don't know how bad they got it. On a positive note, there were several extended scenes of beach-bronzed male phalluses, which should have delighted female movie-goers so frequently forced to endure female nudity. To my and all males subsequent chagrin, these were not matched with extended scenes of bottomless females, however.

Phew. I'm getting tired just typing all this stuff out. So yeah, it was a very busy weekend, and the weeks to come are just jam-packed with more events, birthdays, and holidays. So here I sit, sore legs and throbbing arm, typing out my Blog far beyond my planned bedtime...enjoying the uncomfortable silence of a post-late-night-Queen Donair binge.

Currently: Thinking of organs to sell to off-set my education costs.