T DOT TIME

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It was my intention to keep my recent visit to Toronto low key, however, when I list everything I did, it seems like it was a pretty busy 2 weeks. As expected, there was lots of eating involved, particularly of things I've been craving for. More importantly, I spent a lot time with my family. So, I return to Calgary recharged and refreshed.

The Montreal Smoked Meat on rye at Katz Deli complemented the good conversation I shared with J, before heading over to Yorkdale to look for Ecco's and pens. The recently converted Devon Sleigh, now the Casa Imperial Fine Chinese Cuisine, served as an interesting venue for C's full month celebration (who is actually 2 months now, but held off celebrating until both sets of grandparents were in town). Since old habits never die, Mom and Dad took me to Wolfdale, our favorite hangout for dim sum. A cloudless, sunny sky set the stage for a rare Saturday beach volleyball session down at Ashbridges Bay (partly to make way for the next day's special event). That helped to work up a humongous appetite for Congee Wong, noodle house fare that I have been desparately craving for. I really have missed having such large spreads of food, the constant chatter of conversation and the astonishment by all at how small the bill is. Then it was Texas Hold'em at K & C's., which eventually led to another interesting (and very entertaining) flavour of the game: Indian Poker. A dinner at Rex Saigon and I was off to visit S & I, wanting to learn more about their short term missions trip to Peru. Crazy guy; he was driving down to Pittsburg the following day to visit the Steeler's training camp. A couple days later, he sends me an email with a newspaper clipping attached. He managed to get Hines Ward to sign his Hines Ward Jersey, after skillfully maneuvering through some interesting challenges. Talledega Night's at Fairview (actually, any movie at Rainbow would have sufficed for sentimental reasons). A quick visit to C & J's new digs, then a nice Honey Brown in the patio at St. Louis' and then off to a gratuitous sushi feast at Sushi Bong with D and C. A monster concert (no, seriously, that's what they call this kind of music) at Mel Lastman Square, featuring 10 pianos, 20 pianists and pretty cool renditions of some very recongizable pieces. I particularly liked their rendition of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2. A tame nightcap at Ten Ren ended my day in North York. Pho lunch at the "We-want-to-be-like-Spring-Rolls-so-we're-gonna-buy-all-of-the- going-out-of-business-Caban's-lighting-fixtures" Pho West 88. After being denied renting a kayak by the snobs at the Habourfront Canoe and Kayak Centre, took a ferry across to Toronto Island and rented a kayak there. Kayaked across the harbour to my old digs at Harbour Square and then back to the island. Dinner that night was at the Hot House Cafe. A visit with 6 month old S, then off to The Overdraught with the old EPCOR gang. Next, some delicious butter chicken and an interesting reading of Romans 5 at B & J's. Early the next morning, I dropped S & I at the airport (5:30 a.m. for their 8:30 a.m. flight; new airport security measures, ya kno'). I had a lot of pleasure shopping for my cousin who's turning 9 this week. I remember a time, when I was younger and looking for a baseball glove, my parents could only afford the vinyl ones as I drooled over the nicer leather ones. What goes around, I guess; I picked up a nice leather Wilson for P. I hung out with them before heading to the Pickle Barrel for dinner. It's really cool catching up with my cousins and I'm reminded of how much time has passed: one has graduated and is now working full time, another is starting high school, and my other cousin, the one who just received the glove, has one mean arm! He was whipping this tennis ball at me with laser precision and my hands started to sting after a few catches. He asked me to throw him a moon shot, as high as I could. My aim ain't so good. Needless to say, both of us ran pretty quick when the ball came down and set off the alarm of the neighbor's car. After dinner, it was off to (again, sentiment filled) Blackmore for some tennis under the lights. Man, I'm rusty, but I'm glad I lugged the extra piece of luggage carrying my racquets. Some feng-shui inspired Big 2 finished the night. The next meal was a dim sum one at Sapphire and then a visit to Silent Sports to drool over biking gear. Another dim sum lunch at New World (technically, they've changed their name to Emerald and have reinstated the push carts) with C & T, and then back to Ashbridges Bay for another afternoon of beach volleyball. After a quick shower, dinner with the Queen's gang at Aji Sai. Yet another beautiful day was the setting for a quick hike through Sibbald Point Provincial Park, and then dinner at Lone Star with Dr. B. The final lunch was at Dangerous Dan's (yikes) with my cousin V. I wasn't planning on it, but I decided at the very last second to order the Colossal Colon Clogger Combo. My cousin was floored that I finished it, fairly effortlessly. I think I impressed him even more when I told him how I earned the nickname "48". One final meal with moms, some wontons with noodles, and I was dropped off at the airport, armed with some Chinese buns for the flight.

Roger's Cup final at Rexall Centre.
There is something about being in the presence of greatness that is inspiring. I don't know the man personally, but Roger Federer has earned a lot of my respect. Not only is this person dominating his trait, he has done a lot with the exposure that comes from being that position, namely starting the Roger Federer Foundation, which focuses on disadvantaged children through sports, with close attention to those in South Africa. After spending the night at K's, he and I made our way to the Rexall Centre on a glorious Sunday morning. After finding our seats, some 15 rows from the court, we began our day by watching the Bryan brothers win the doubles finals. A quick walk around the complex, taking in some free snacks at the Amex tent and an overpriced hotdog at the concession stand, and it was then time for the men's final. We were disappointed that Rafael Nadal (number 2 in the world) didn't make it to the finals but were pleased as pie that we were going to watch the number 1. Federer lost the first set quite easily, and we were a little worried that fatigue from the week long tournament may have set in. But, I think Federer knows how to put on a show, winning the next two sets and making the Roger's Cup, Roger's Cup once more. Thanks to K for such a memorable highlight of my vacation!

Lunch with grandmas.
At 82 and 79 respectively, both of my grandmothers have lived very fruitful lives. Both having made it through arranged marriages, both having lost their husbands to illnesses, both having raised 6 children each. It's amazing what independent lives they both now live. But the fact that one of my grandmas is a vegetarian and the other has an allergy to MSG made choosing a suitable eating place a challenge. So, McDonald's it was! The grandmother with the aversion to MSG really likes the McChicken there and I ordered a delicious grilled cheese sandwich for my other grandmother. I've noticed, for a while, that people that are further along in their years like to repeat themselves. Well, multiply this by 2 and the 3.5 hours I spent with the 2 of them over lunch just flew by! I was still replaying the different conversations through my head even after dropping them off to their respective homes, smiling to myself.

A Midsummer Night's Run.
Ok. I have to admit that I was pretty bummed by my results with the Calgary Marathon. As much as I tell myself that it's always more about the training for it, it's hard to get away from my (self) competitive nature and comparing the results to past runs and future expectations. So, when I found out that there was a race in Toronto when I was visiting, I was excited about this opportunity to somehow vindicate myself. The only problem is that I haven't trained since mid July, plus I was nursing some lovely blisters from my recent camping trip into the Rockies. So, I tried a long run in Mississauga on the third day of my visit. A 22k route I've done many times before while preparing for the Toronto Marathon. It went smoothly, and my legs weren't any worse for the wear, so I jumped online and registered for this 30k race which was supposed to happen 7 days later (meaning, though, I had to pay the full registration fee as all early bird discounts had already expired). Instantly, I was in training mode, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. It is way too easy to not think about what you eat when you're on vacation, but being in this mindset made sure I always kept hydrated and I stayed away from eating things I should not (I cannot describe the pain in my heart for having to deny myself a single bite of that amazing all-you-can-eat dessert spread at Hot House Cafe). I continued training as race day quickly approached, following a condensed schedule that saw me do one more long run and a couple of taper off runs. The forecast was for rain, and I was cool with that, since I believe that it was heat that did me in, in the last run. So, both A and I made our way down to the Beaches and picked up our timing chips. I downed a PowerBar and before I knew it, I was being corralled into the starting area with about 400 other runners. Because the run is based on Shakespeare's famous play, and the race organizers encouraged this to be a "fun" event, people were dressed in various theme costumes. Instead of the pace bunnies, they had race "fairies". There was a little confusion at the start because, instead of firing off a gun or sounding a blowhorn, they had a kid yell "go". But, soon enough, the mass of bodies started moving and I was soon crossing over the starting mat. The first part of the run was very nice, winding through the beaches area with the sun setting. It was flat and well lit and Lake Ontario gifted a nice breeze to the passing runners. The night was rain free, but humid. It wasn't even a 10k but I was already soaked from head to toe. In fact, my shorts were so heavy with sweat that they started falling down! My profuse sweating worried me as I wondered if dehydration would set it. So, I was very intentional about grabbing water at each aid station, either to pour on myself or supplement what I already had in my Fuel Belt. As we exited Ashbridges Bay and started our way towards the Leslie Spit, it was clear why the race organizers gave out glow sticks and flashing blinkers. The people that I went down with are kids at heart and begged for my glow sticks so they could play with them. I conceded, thinking that I probably didn't need them anyways. But, once we started running in the spit, which has absolutely no lighting at all, I wish I hadn't given them away. There were times when the only thing keeping me on the path was seeing the glow sticks of the runner in front of me. As well, there were times when we were running on the same path as opposing runners. Had it not been for the things that made them visible, I might have run right into them! The runners who had looped these glow sticks around ther ankles were orginally the source of my ridicule. Now they were the source of my respect as these glow sticks illumnated the path below their feet, a path which was, at times, uneven and pot-holey. Finally, we made it out of the spit. I was feeling pretty good and decided to kick it up a bit, leaning slightly forward and shortening my strides. I made it pass the single lane bridge and into Cherry Beach, a path that brought back memories because it was the last leg of the triathlon I was in last year. In my mind, the finish line would be there as I turned the corner on Villiers. Imagine my shock when I round the corner to see the finish line on the other side of the street, after another 800m loopback! What torture it is be so close, yet still have to mount another effort just to get there! Well, I mustered enough strength to give one final push and ended up crossing the finish line at 2:36. I had told my friends that I was expecting to finish between 2:45 and 3 hours. Sure enough, they weren't there when I crossed the finish line! So, I received my medal and walked over to the food tent and grabbed a bagel, a banana and 2 bottles of water. I then headed back to the finish line to see if I could cheer A (and the other runners) to the finish line. My friends showed up about 10 minutes later, and their look of surprise was priceless. They were taking their sweet time, each armed with a double double from Timmy's not paying much attention. After A crossed the finish line to some hearty cheering, we took a picture with Queen Titania and Puck. I actually don't envy their disposition, having to pose in a picture with all these sweaty people. We then made our way up to The Owl Of Minerva (what an interesting name for a 24 hour Korean diner) for some delicious pork bone soup. The perfect post race meal!













Nothing like running in the dark then, all of a sudden, a bright flash blinds you silly. Hence, the stunned look.













At the finish line. Where is my cheering section, I wonder.









A and I with Queen Titania and Puck.

*@%#$*!!!!

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There probably isn't a more common time for Calgarians to be cursing than when they open up their mailbox and find a letter from the Calgary Police Services. That's right, I got my very first speeding ticket in Calgary. I was doing 63 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. I don't know what it is about 50 km/h zones and me, but this is the only place that I ever get caught speeding. Sometimes I wish I was caught doing 250 km/h in a 120 km/h; at least that would sound more macho! But, alas, my car does not go that fast... And I was trying to remember what I was doing the day that this supposedly happened because I was in the middle of a 4 shift rotation. With the nice weather, I've been mainly riding by bike to work, so it's uncommon for me to drive. Then it dawned on me: we were relocated for one of my recent shifts to a remote location because they were doing power upgrades to the main building. Just my luck; the one, rare time I drive to work, I get caught speeding!

In about 4 hours, I will be hopping on a plane for Toronto. I'm quite excited about this trip because I will get to see family and friends whom I haven't seen in a while. One of the highlights of this trip is going to the finals of the Roger's Cup tennis tournament. I'm one that's hoping for a Federer vs. Nadal final!

ROCKY ADVENTURES; FAREWELL FRIEND

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My latest visitors from Toronto spent hardly any time in Calgary. For we went from the airport straight into the Rockies. The plan: camp at various parks and make our way towards Jasper, where one of my visitors would then catch a bus to Edmonton for a wedding. I was quite excited about this trip, my first time camping in the Rockies, so much of my free time in July was spent helping to plan the itinerary, booking the permits and visiting my good friends at Mountain Co-op.

Our first stop, a picnic lunch at Johnson Lake, feasting on Viet subs and fruit salad. We then took the scenic drive along the Bow Valley Parkway towards Lake Louise, our first overnight stop. After making camp, we headed to the infamous Chateau Lake Louise, to gawk at the over-gawked view from the hotel across the lake. This was our starting point. 7km later, we reached the tea house which looked back at the Chateau, now just a tiny doll house, far off in the distance. Along the way, we admired the various rock formations, the different flowers, an odd looking snowpile and the brave rock climbers. Not wanting to stop at the tea house, we continued on to the furthest point on this route, where one can basically reach out and touch the glacier. We sat beneath a rock face where glacial runoff was coming down like a gentle shower. Deceptively hidden beneath layers of loose rock laid a monster glacier, its only signs being the surface claw-like cracks formed when it moved. As we finished off our remaining Viet subs, a thunderous clap sounded next to us; we looked up in time to see a plume of snow coming down the rock face about 100 meters away - AN AVALANCHE!!! After hiking it back, we washed up and made ourselves as presentable as possible, for we had reservations at the Fairview Dining Room inside the Chateau. Not your usual campground fare, but a very enjoyable treat (thanks to B) at the end of an amazing hike!

The next morning, we broke camp early and headed over to Moraine Lake. The hue of blue of this lake is unreal, tempting you to dip yourself in this shallow body of water. Yet, this was all glacial water, so cold that there was no life in it. We found a big, flat rock nearby and set up our stove to have a lakeside breakfast. This was fun, despite spending a lot of our time chasing away 2 very chubby chipmunks who were interested in joining us for breakfast. We left just in time, as a number of tour buses started arriving. We traveled northward on the Icefields Parkway, escorted by the fascinating mountain peaks. About 2 hours later, we arrived at Wilcox Creek campground. This campground was slightly different and more minimal than Lake Louise. This site employed a self check in system and had very little in the way of comfort facilities. We made camp, then headed down to the trailhead of the Wilcox Creek Pass, our next hike. We learned that all hikes in the Rockies ALWAYS start with a huge uphill climb. After the brutal initial ascent, the view opened up to reveal snowcapped towering peaks. The silly tourists riding the ice buses part way up the icefields now looked like ants and we were just blown away by the view. We had meat sticks as a snack. The trail continued upwards for what seemed like forever until, finally, it leveled off and now we were in the pass itself, a wide pathway between two mountains. Odd looking snowpiles didn't surprise us anymore. In fact, there was one point, while seeking some refuge from the sun, we decided to rest on a glacier. I dug out a divot in one of these inclined ice walls, creating a make shift seat for me to sit on (I didn't care that my shorts were getting wet while I rested, in fact, it was very refreshing). So, there is some glacier in the Rockies that now has my bum print on it! At one point, B looked over to the left and noticed something moving. It was off in the distance and we all could see that it was a young deer or goat, maneuvering quite gracefully on steeply inclined rocky terrain. Then, it started making its way down, at a pretty quick clip. I had read somewhere that rams can be aggressive. So, I quickly whip out my bear spray, ready to click off the safety. Well, this beautiful creature could've cared less about us and crossed our path less than 20 feet away. As it galloped off to the other side of the mountain, I put away the spray, feeling a little sheepish. As we continued hiking, we started getting hungry and worn by the sun. There was no shelter anywhere. Then, as if an answer to some unspoken wish, we stumble upon this flowing creek, which sprung from beneath some rocks and disappeared back into the ground just ahead of us. It was a glacial runoff and because the water was moving at such a fast rate, it was perfect for drawing from; the cold water was so refreshing! There also happened to be a nice flat rock nearby, perfect for setting up the stove. We had an amazing freeze dried lunch by this creek. We made our way back to camp, looping back the same way we came and being treated to a mostly downhill descent for the remainder of this 15km trek. Dinner that night was a nice summer salad and curry beef over rice. And wine! We had good discussions as we waited for an "inky black" star studded night sky, hoping that we'd catch some northern lights. Alas, our heavy eyelids were not in agreement and the sky was still a little light when we called it quits.

After breakfast, we broke camp and made our way towards Jasper. The next stop would be the final excursion for B but was also one of the treats on our itinerary. The Miette Hot springs are nestled in the mountains, on top of a geothermal source. Because it's a little off the beaten path, it's not as frequented as much by tourists, unlike the other hot springs found in Banff. It was just what we needed, after two days of sweat and grime. We lazed in this warm pool, staring at the mountains that surrounded us on all four sides. After a nice shower, we headed into the town of Jasper for a quick lunch and then parted ways with B. C and I retraced our steps back towards Banff. We arrived at our next destination some 2 hours later: Mosquito Creek. Having already trekked over 30km in the past 2 days, our feet weren't exactly in the best shape to start another 15km route to get to our campsite at Upper Fish Lake, especially now that we are carrying more gear for this overnight trip. But, C and I are always up for the challenge, memories of our first trek into Frontenac together still pretty fresh in our minds. The initial part of the hike was amazing: a fast, rushing rapid showed us the way into the interior. What's amazing about hiking in the Rockies is the different terrain that one goes through. Thick Aspen forests during the initial ascent. Then, the trees thin out as you approach the tree line, opening up to subalpine meadows. The meadows we wandered across were stunning - as far as the eye could see purple and yellow meadow flowers. Apparently, bears love to hang out in these parts, feasting on this all-you-can-eat buffet. We never saw any. We then exited the meadows towards a large body of water, where we were greeted by a marmot, a creature that reminded me of a beaver, but slightly heftier. We continued climbing upwards until there was no vegetation left, heading for one of the highest points in the Rockies that is accessible by a hiking trail. When we got there, after scrambling on some pretty loose shale, we started a steep descent, dropping 100 meters in a literal instant. It was getting dark now, as the sun was hiding behind the tall mountains. Still, we thought there would be enough ambient light to get to the campsite. Of course, in my enthusiasm to get to camp quicker, I got us lost as the trail we were following suddenly ended at a creek. We wandered around a bit, walking through thick brush, trying to avoid gopher holes until we met up with the braided trail again. By this time, it was dark and we had to whip out our headlamps. Finally, we made it to camp in total darkness. After wandering around for a bit and determining that there were no tent pads, we decided to pitch the tent on a flat area of grass just beside a picnic table. This camp site had a really cool food storage system: a tall pole with a built in clip and pulley contraption! Foregoing dinner, we decided to just turn in. Before doing so, I had my second incident where I pulled out the bear spray. As we were walking towards the food pole, we saw these 2 shiny beads floating in midair, about 15 feet away. Although not quickly, it was approaching us. As we flooded the area with our headlamps, we see this deer just meandering through the campsite, looking for shrubs.

About an hour after we went to sleep, we hear this rustling outside the tent. In my sleepy daze, I think that it's the deer, grazing nearby. The sound gets closer, so C opens up the vestibule and sticks his head out for a look. He mentions something about chipmunks and goes back to sleep after putting our packs on top of the picnic table. Perhaps there were scraps of food near the table that attracted these (nocturnal, really?) critters. About 1/2 an hour later, the sound is back. This time, it's louder and sounds like gnawing right outside the tent! I pop open the vestibule, stick my head out and look right into the eyes of a porcupine! It was chewing on the backpacks. I was still half asleep, so I wasn't really sure why it was doing this. It took about 2 minutes before I realized that this creature might actually be doing damage to our gear! I found a pebble nearby (since my assaulting it with LED light and verbal shooing didn't seem to work) and 'skipped' it towards this creature (I didn't have the heart to hit it directly). That got it's attention. It quickly turned its back to me, quills fully erected into the air. I don't know why, but at that moment, my brain was cotton candy. I didn't remember if porcupines can launch their quills or if it was just a passive defensive mechanism. So, I quickly grabbed as much of the vestibule flap as I could and shielded my face! Well, nothing happened, except this creature sauntered off and since it wasn't able to give me the finger, it displayed to me the only other part of its body to tell me off. After it was gone, I quickly hopped out of the tent and inspected the damage. It had chewed on C's backpack straps. Thankfully, the main strap was not chewed entirely through, but the damage was pretty extensive. I also saw that it had chewed on the foam hand grips on C's trekking poles. I looked at my own pack and nothing. We determined, in a discussion later that day, that the salt in C's sweat was more appetizing to that porc! I went back to the food pole with our packs and hung them up with our food bag. I was awake now and it was about 4:30. The sky was still inky black, but, just over one of the nearby mountains, there was a hint of the sun coming up. So, I sat on the picnic table, armed with a trekking pole, guarding our tent, half expecting the porc to come back with reinforcements. It didn't, so I was able to admire the view. But, with the sun rising, the mosquitoes started coming out. So, I crawled back to sleep, praying that the porc would not come back and start eating our tent.

I'm sad to say that horseflies ended our trip short. We had an amazing hike back, especially when we reached the "notch" with its breath-taking view of the whole area. But the flies just kept with us the entire time. Deet doesn't work on them and their bites really have bite. Both C and I were sunburned from the previous days, our feet were sore and blistered, and I was breaking out in a heat rash. So, we decided to just hike to the car and head back to Calgary. Along the way, we "snuck" into the Lake Louise campgrounds to use the shower facilities. Once back in Cow-town, I learned that one of the best cures for what the Chinese call "yeet hay" (when the body has been in contact with extreme heat, such as long term exposure to the sun or when eating deep fried food) is beer! So, over a delicious sushi meal on 4th St., C and I Kampai'd with sake and remedied ourselves with Sapporo! No doubt, our bodies thanked us for being able to sleep on soft beds that night. We went to church the following morning, and after a hearty dim sum lunch, I dropped C off at the airport.

I never did get a chance to use my new water filtration system. It's pretty cool: it uses UV light to kill waterbourne nasties like protozoa, bacteria and viruses. It's even got a built in LED lantern! But what really impresses me is the company that designed it, Meridian Designs. They're into all sorts of things, ranging from avionics to medical centrifuges to kitchen composters. Their stuff is well built and practical. For example, the bottle came in a simple cardboard shipping box and the instructions are printed right on the bottle, so there's no need for a wasteful printed manual. More importantly, they're working on a low cost solar powered version that can be used in developing countries where clean water problems kill over 2 million people a year.

So, after more than 3 years as a faithful companion, I received a call last week from a Mastercard CSR. She told me that an unusual transaction took place, where someone charged $400 on my credit card in a Walmart in Florida. She asked me to destroy this one right away, as they were going to send me a new one. Good bye, dear friend.