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May 9 – 10

Day 9: something you do every day

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I wake with the alarm, but stay in bed. Keith brings in coffee, and we sit and chat about this, that and the other thing. Eventually, I look at the time, think omg, I’m gonna be late and rush to shower. Once I’m clean, I brush my teeth and check the weather before getting dressed. Then it’s out the door for another day of trying to be a responsible adult.

Day 10: your favourite word

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Anyone who knows me has a good sense of how much I like the f-bomb. It’s not my go-to, use-all-the-time-until-it’s-meaningless word, but I do like it for effect when effect is needed. I like how it augments and raises another word either up or down; ie this is fucking shit or, as shown here this is fucking brilliant.

The design nerd in me really loves the kerning on this one.

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May 4 – 8

Day 4: Fun!

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This is big fun, especially after last season of almost no riding. Looking forward to many summer afternoons of exploring back roads.

Day 5: Bird

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We were walking through the Kings Cross area of Sydney on the way back to our hotel when we came across the sight of a dozen or so wild cockatoos flocking around an apartment building. When we got closer we could see a man feeding them from his third floor window. Just one of the many things that delighted me about Australia.

Day 6: You

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    Where I ended up after the weekend-long referee training clinic.

    Day 7: Someone who inspires you.

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    My Grandma Rose was dealt a crappy hand in a time and place when women had little or no power. She stood it only so long and then went about making life better for her and her kids with a strength and grace that I can only hope to emulate.

    Day 8: A smell you adore.

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    We had a lilac bush that grew in front of the house I grew up in. It bloomed about the time that the days were mild enough to throw open the windows and the cross breeze carried the smell of lilacs throughout the house. Every spring, I find myself going out of my way to walk past the lilac bushes around the neighbourhood just so I can inhale the scent. It’s delicate and short-lived, and reminds me of home.

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May 2

Day 2: skyline.

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Too foggy and dreary to take an outdoor photo, especially since I have this one, taken at Toronto Island last November when Garth & Gretchen were in town. This is my favorite view of the city, and I love the ferry ride to get there; like a mini vacation.

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May 1

Before I get started, let me just say this is not about Australia (still miss it too much to write about it), being 50 (I don’t feel 50 which makes it hard to write about), the anniversary of breaking my knee (I’m pissed at the knee right now…it hurts and is getting in the way of my derby fun), or derby (bought new outdoor wheels, having a blast, except for when the knee acts like a whiney bitch and wants me to take it easy).

Not sure what this is actually. Mind dump, I guess. I’ll get to the other stuff eventually.

BTW I am writing this from my iPad that wants to keep correcting whiney into Whitney and FSM knows what else that I might not catch. My desire to backtrack and correct is waning with every sip of this delicious raspberry cosmo; you’re all smart folks, you can figure it out.

**********

Well my indecision about joining in the May photo-a-day challenge didn’t last long.

Day 1: Peace

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The noisiest thing in the apartment this afternoon was the purring of sleepy cat. It was very peaceful.

Right up to the point where someone (not me) decided it was time to trim her claws and clean her back feet. We need more kitty treats and alcohol before peace is reclaimed.

**********

Last night was the last big event at the school, the annual art show. I was there because I do a cross-curricular business project with the grade 9’s that culminates with them selling their craft-based products. The projects were incredible this year; I am stocked up with gifts for the nieces and some lovely jewelry for me.

I am constantly blown away by the skill and thoughtfulness in the work that the students display. Every year I see a piece or two that strikes me. This year, it is this painting of poppies by a 14-year-old. She agreed to sell it to me & it will be hanging my bedroom as soon as it’s been marked. I told her that if it gets less than 70% then I’ve missed something & I want a partial refund. She just laughed…we both know I’m getting a deal as it is.

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I found myself wishing (again) that I’d had teachers and a curriculum like this when I was growing up.

**********

I am loving my iPad a little too much. There are about 4 things I need it to do that it doesn’t in order for it to replace my trusty netbook, but I’ve found workarounds for 2. I’d like it if there was a better way to work with Google Docs, and I found a Python programming app which made me the nerd queen at a workshop last Saturday. I have more photography apps than is really required by any normal person, and I am delighted to find that I can reread my Sandman and Tankgirl comics by grabbing them off of Dropbox and opening them with Comic Flow.

FYI, comics look awesome on the iPad.

Speaking of Dropbox, I am seriously in <3 with it. With most cloud storage actually, and how it connects to this object of techno-geek desire. It appears I am a bit of a cloud storage whore; I have collected free offers from Box (50 gb), Skydrive (25 gb), Dropbox (10 gb) and Google Drive (3 accounts x 5 gb each). Organizing my data is one of my next fun projects, along with sorting family photos, editing the novel and cleaning the closet. ********** Excellent. The combination of writing and drinking have made me feel less like throat punching someone. Mission accomplished.

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April in photos

It was a whim, to do another photo-a-day challenge. I’d seen bloggers Dan and Brad post instagram photos on Twitter and followed the hashtags to FatMumSlim’s blog. I was missing my old year-long challenge but didn’t know if I could stick to a more thematic challenge without getting bored.

Some were very easy (#4) and some were thought-provoking (#24, 30), but some felt a bit lame (#8, 23). While I didn’t get bored, I’m not entirely sure if I’m going to do May’s. I like keeping my eyes open for the defining picture of a day but rarely is that defining picture a vegetable.

The challenges:

 

My responses:

  1. Bubble mirror
  2. Knee sock
  3. Canada Post mail box
  4. Keith, waiting for the sunrise in Torquay, Australia
  5. Sydney from the air
  6. Miss Vickie’s chips – not the most nutritious lunch ever
  7. Landing in Alice Springs, Australia
  8. Never realized that my wallet is colour blocked
  9. Me at 3
  10. Beer is good
  11. Coffee in bed
  12. Stairs away from the river
  13. My new knitting project box
  14. Felt like a drink
  15. Uluru sunset with Kata Tjuta in the distance
  16. Trying out the new macro lens.
  17. Laundry blows
  18. Love this hair colour
  19. Keith`s 1972 Honda CB750 with original Flake Sunrise Gold paint
  20. My first tattoo, rendered in stained glass
  21. Older Chambord bottle. They’ve now changed the bottle. It no longer looks like the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.
  22. Zebra patterned fishnet stockings
  23. Tomatoes are a healthy snack. Also very boring.
  24. Thankful for an adventurous spirit.
  25. View from my window
  26. Lobby art & wallpaper in the Morgan Boutique Hotel, Sydney
  27. Northern Ontario – Tyson Lake near Killarney to be exact
  28. At a Python workshop
  29. Hot pink roller skate wheels
  30. I wish I was back in Australia.
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Things I have not done in a really long time:

Jog.
Push-ups.
Sit-ups.
Squats.
Squats while on 8 wheels.
Lunges after squats.
More jogging.
More squats.
And then skate for two and a half hours.

That was Sunday. My body is…umm…unaccustomed to this kind of activity. It’s now Tuesday and even after epsom salt baths and many stretches, my knees and arms still ache like a bugger. I have my first derby-related bruise; a lovely light purple strip across my hips. The funny thing is, I wasn’t skating when I got it. The trainer was counting us off for groups and all she did was point at me and say “2”, and my formerly stable stance became a mess of flailing arms and legs. Down I went. Right on my ass.

That’s when I noticed a few of the other Fresh Meat girls with these decidedly unlovely padded shorts and thought “must have”. They ain’t pretty, but bruises are less so.

Did I have fun? Hell yeah! But as with most things I find fun, there’s a recovery period.

Ow.

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105/366

This how I am ending my day:

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My mood did not lift until late this evening at roller derby, my first night of working as NSO (non skating official). I’ll be putting in some time here while I 1) learn to skate and 2) learn the rules.

Yeah, I need to do some studying. I fucked up a few times, but nothing cataclysmic. I wrote the wrong penalty a few times (well, more like 50% of the time), but everyone was very helpful once they saw just how green I am. I was tempted to go out to the after party, and to be honest, I’m not sure why I didn’t.

Next time.

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bitter

Woke up feeling as bitter as my morning coffee tastes today. A couple of things happened to happen last night that have made me … displeased. Perplexed. Generally off.

Great way to start a busy weekend.

***

It’s a derby-flavoured weekend. There’s a game tonight, and I start my NSO (non-skating official) training by jumping in with both feet. I’m nervous and excited and feeling like I have should read the rule book waaaay more than I did.

Tomorrow is Fresh Meat practice. I missed the first one while I was in Australia, and am feeling a bit like I’m coming from behind. But I can’t wait to get the skates on and refresh my blisters.

***

I was thinking about the bloggers, and about how so many have taken up running. I found myself thinking what it would have been like, if I could have run, to have the kind of support I’m seeing in the former poker blogosphere. I’ll admit to being a bit envious of the new community; I doubt that anyone is going to travel to watch me skate or know/care what I’m having to do to get ready for this at my age. And then the more reasonable/less emotional part of my brain reminded me that it’s just the way it is. Even if I could run, would I? I am drawn to different things than most, things on the fringe, like punk rock and geeky electronics and motorcycling and roller-derby. And when you like things on the fringe, you really can’t complain about how it feels a bit lonely at times, to be on the periphery.

***

And on that rather self-pitying note, I’m off to a hair appointment to get the gray roots looked after and then go for a brief motorcycle ride before heading to the Bunker.

I expect to feel more myself later.

Speaking of runners, clunes calcitrantes to the G-Vegas crew today. I hope it’s a blast!