Enough with winter already...

Well I'm now OH for TWO in the recreational activity department... If you remember from a few posts back, I spent a most enjoyable day out skating with a friend recently but had it end with an embarassing wipe-out. Then yesterday, what began as another super-fun winter outing came to a tragic close as well. Okay, 'tragic' might be an exaggeration... but bear with me...

The day was overcast but only -5C, and the winds were perfect for my snowkiting abilities. I was cruising along over Slack Slough on my 11m kite, feeling great, and I slowed down for a turn at (unbeknownst to me) probably the only spot on the entire pond that was not frozen... Before I knew it - SPLOOSH!! I was thigh-deep in gross, stinky, brown slough water. It caught me completely off-guard, and at first all I could think of was how mad I'd be if my kite launched me and ripped off my skiis - they would be unretrievable from the muck. So I flagged out my kite and sat down, only to sink through the slushy surface even further.

I struggled for a minute to get my skiis off my feet and then crawled back towards shore dragging the Turbo 3 behind me and sliding my boards along in front of me. As this was happening, I was waving and yelling to Todd (he claims 'Screaming like I was dying!') to NOT come out this far - all I could picture was a whole pile of us wading around in the slop. Anyway, within about thirty metres the ice was solid again and I got to my feet and sloshed back to the car. My boots and socks were soaked, my long underwear and inside my ski pants were soaked, my gloves were soaked... basically my day was done. Not to mention how bad I stunk! Peee-ewwwww!

So home I went, while Todd and Pete and Darryl and Shawn rode uneventfully for several more hours. How's my luck!!!?

Oh well. I think I'm ready for winter to be over anyhow, so I'm actually not that choked about the whole incident. It was more funny than anything, and fortunately there weren't alot of spectators at that point - unlike the day at Bower Ponds! Hee hee!

Hopefully this will be the last post involving snow and sub-zero temps for awhile. The forecast is calling for sunshine and highs of 8 degrees C this week - I say bring it on!! Yay for summer!

Cheers!

I need some color!

I try to make the best of winter, really I do, but it has come to the point where I'm just tired of it already. I am wishing desparately for yellow and blue and green (that would be sunshine, clear skies, and grass!!). I am so over grey.

Oh please, please, please let summertime be right around the corner!

Cheers.

Blades of Glory

Ha ha ha!! If you've seen that movie, then you probably laughed out loud at my post title! Well, this afternoon there were blades alright, but trust me, there was no glory... not for me, anyway.

The ol' skates have been buried for months in some box in the basement, and during a major recent overhaul of the storage situation down in the dungeon, they were found! Alas! And just in time too, since it reached +5C outside today - perfect temps for an outdoor skate.

My great friend Toni and I went down to Bower Ponds and soaked up the sunshine while striding around on the ice. We made several laps, Toni with her Tim Horton's in hand and me with my camera.

Everything went without incident until the final thirty feet of our day. We were on our way to leave via the access stairs, and I had just put my camera back in it's case. I was skating along, happily chatting with Toni about how much fun it was and BOOOOF!!! Down I go!!! HARD!! I must have caught a pick or something (yeah, likely story you're thinking) and faceplanted onto the ice. I was able to get my hands out so I didn't lose any teeth or anything, but boy oh boy my knees took a beating, and of course so did my ego! Jeeeeesh!!! I'm not sure how the 50 people sitting right there didn't burst into laughter immediately... if  you were there today and are reading this, I thank you so much for saving it until I was out of earshot!! Hee hee!!

Anyway, other than looking like a total idiot (I figure skated for years as a kid, really I did!!), it was awesome to get out and enjoy this rare, pleasant winter day.

Cheers!

Just by Chance

Today I ran into an old boss of mine... I know, I know... that could go either way, right?! But this guy was one of my favorite people to work for, and honestly, it was absolutely great to see him! I really, really enjoy those chance meetings where the person is genuinely happy to see you again - it is so fun to catch up (no matter how brief the conversation may be), and I especially love it when folks are in positive spirits and are truly doing well. He was all of the above!

It's a small thing, in the big scheme of things, but that ten-minute chat in the coffee shop this morning totally made my day! Yeah!!

Now, on a completely unrelated note... here is a vintage-style visual for you:

I'm not sure why exactly, but I'm fascinated by camera filters and their effects lately. The aged, film-grain photos are what I'm finding the most intriguing right now, but as I continue to play around with my K7 (as well as with CS5!), I know there are going to be several others that I become obsessed with! Check out my photoblog if you'd like to see more!

Cheers!

In My Office

I don't know about you... but here's how I like to start my workday...

Makes my desk look a little like an ad for a multi-national coffee company, wouldn't you say?? Hee hee!

Cheers!