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.