WHAT THE MUCK?

That was one of the team names at the Muddy Buddy race. Along with team "This Mucks" and the Streakers (2 girls who were wearing beige coloured running suits with maple leaves taped to 'strategic' parts of their bodies), me sis and I were reppin' the Chan Clan in this cool race. It was quite a gorgeous route, as most of it coursed through a forest. In fact, I'd say that this was a mini adventure race, as the running was mainly trail running and the biking was pretty technical. The obstacles.... well, you had your usual fare of tire hopping, balance beaming and mud pit slinking. But, the weirdest one was obstacle #4. Borrowing a chapter from Fear Factor, participants got to choose between eating 8 crackers or half a dog biscuit. And then you had to wash it down with a half cup of cola! I do believe my sis now has a better appreciation of what her yellow Lab snacks on!

Actually, the race was just a small part of the short visit to the 'other' side of the Rockies. I had a great time cruising around with D and got to meet some of her friends. We stayed at B & B's for the first night, where I was introduced to an electric motor assisted bike. At first, I was uninterested, maybe even critical, as I supposedly pride myself to being a purist rider. I once got passed on a steep hill by someone riding what looked like a hybrid bicycle-scooter and remember trying to convince myself that I enjoy the ripping pain in my legs. But this was different; it wain't yo typical granny cycle. B had retrofitted his mountain bike with an encased, brushless motor that fits on the hub. He persuaded me to try it and I was skeptical at first. The thing was heavy, weighing nearly 70 pounds. But the moment I tapped the throttle switch on the handle bar, I took off like a jack rabbit! I was still pedalling, but now I was going twice or three times as fast!! It's great because you don't need to run it all the time, just when you need a little boost, like to first get going or up a steep hill. B no longer requires a car, except for really long road trips. He's fashioned a chariot type cart that has a big plastic bin on it for his groceries. His commute to work is nearly 40km round trip and he can ride in any weather (Vancouver weather is pretty temperate all year round). He's actually tinkered with a number of these motors and has already retrofitted 3 other bikes (typical engineer!). His next project, a recumbent bicycle enclosed in a fibreglass body. This way, he is even more protected from the elements and has more cargo room! Actually, the whole concept of this Velomobile, as they're called, led to a very lengthy discussion about the definition of bicycles and the provincial Motor Vehicle Act!

Well, there's no corresponding video blog becuase I'm totally swamped with month-end and quarter-end at work, so I fear that by the time I actually get around to doing one, much of this information will be stale. I've also just got connected with a really cool organization and will be doing some volunteer work for them. More to come on that!










At the start line; there's my sis taking the first leg of the bike ride.









About a minute later, the runners were started. I'm there somewhere, I swear!









How the race got its name! The final obstacle was crawling through this mud pool. Yummy! That's not me (I guess I didn't get muddy enough to warrant the photographer wasting digital space on his camera!), but it absolutely captures the spirit of this race.













I didn't really get that muddy; still it was a lot of fun (and a lot of fun trying to get it out of my shoes!)










Yeah, the Chan Clan!











Taking a stroll along English Bay Park after some good Thai food at The Banana Leaf.














A short visit to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in downtown Vancouver after post race dim sum in Chinatown.










A nice meal of oysters, West Coast seafood and Quail's Gate Chardonnay at Cafe Brio. Wine selection courtesy of one Dr. Gedalof from Toronto via my sis' Crackberry!

THE PEN IS MIGHTER THAN ADMIN PRIVILEGES WHEN SOAKED IN MUD FROM SCHENECTADY

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A little boy is walking out with his mom after an hour of swimming.
"What's in there?"
"Oh, that's the gym. That's where the big boys and girls play basketball and run around."
"But I don't see him!"
"Who don't you see?"
"Jim, I don't see Jim!"

The English language; often stifling, yet it can be so innocent when wielded by the right person.

Well, this is the third time that it's happened, so I think I've stumbled on how to get full computer administrative rights at work! Especially in larger organizations, restrictions on what you can install on your computer is meant to safeguard against nasty viruses and things that might cause the worker to be counterproductive. So, once again, I put in a request to have my PDA connected to my computer, so I can synchronize my schedules, an innocent enough request aimed at improving productivity I guess. What always happens is that IT sends someone to install the right drivers. For some weird reason, the PDA's driver never agrees with the operating system. So, after spending most of the day trying to connect the two, inevitably, the IT person gives up in frustration, and grants me full computer administrative privileges, just to make it work!

I'll be off to Van-town shortly for the Muddy Buddy Race. Originally, I was going to throw my bike on top of the car and make the drive out. Last week, my partner emailed me and said that due to some flight complications, she couldn't make it. I was going to just forfeit the race. But then I talked to my sister who is out that way right now and she agreed to race with me! It's a short trip, but it'll be great hanging out with her.

And speaking of traveling, I'll be flying to Schenectady at the end of October and to Toronto during the second week of November for some courses. Already liking the perks of this new position!

ALL IN CONVERSATION

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There are some things that you probably shouldn't say to your boss. He is in the process of moving from Edmonton to Calgary and is expecting most of his possessions to arrive this week, including his prized Martin guitar. Another colleague of mine also plays guitar and so the two of them were engaged in an enthusiastic conversation about musicality and influences. Me, not wanting to feel left out, waited for the right moment to pipe in, anxious to showcase what little knowledge I have left over from the music store days. Unfortunately, I learned a lesson in timing and delivery. Me: "So, manager, have you ever tried a Taylor before?" Timing and delivery is not only WHEN you say something (the 2 second pause that I waited probably didn't help), but context is also important. Because my manager has never heard of the Taylor brand of guitars before, AND because my manager prefers wearing tattered golf shirts to work, this is what he heard: "…have you ever tried a tailor before?" And so, a very awkward moment of silence ensued, for what seemed like an eternity, as he looked down at his fashion choices. Until my colleague, who is familiar with the brand, rescued me: "Oh, you mean Taylor guitars. Yeah, they're awesome!" Thankfully, my manager is a pretty easy going guy and we all had a big chuckle over it.

I found that by the time 4:00 p.m. rolled around, I was pretty exhausted, after spending most of the day pouring through spreadsheets. At that point, I was having an intense debate with myself about whether or not to go to the Seed that night. I just wanted to lay my head down and close my eyes. I toughed it out until 6:30 p.m. when I headed over, thinking that maybe having something to eat might help my state of mind. But, when I got there, we had a meeting because they were rolling out a new program. So, no food. Well, I was assigned to the task of serving and thought this would be a good way of just getting through the night, as carrying food to our guests on trays is a pretty mindless task. Because of the new program, there weren't many guests, so it was soon clear that there were too many servers. Instead of just standing and waiting with a full tray of food, I handed the rest of my plates to a fellow server and decided to walk around. I sat down beside one of the guests, an elderly gentleman with a slightly crooked nose and about 2 days' worth of beard growth. He looked at me with hazy eyes as I asked him "How are you?". He replied "How are you?" I said "I'm fine". He said "I'm fine." Mmmmm. "How did you like tonight's dinner?" "How did you like tonight's dinner?" What?! But before I let my imagination of how a conversation with a man who repeated everything I said get the better of me, we actually started talking. We talked about the recent cold weather that has swept into Calgary and he asked me if I had enough blankets. Huh? I told him I had one and he was surprised. He said he had 3 and offered me one! I politely declined and told him that my blanket was actually a cover, and it was pretty thick. But thanks! I walked around a bit some more and talked to another guest. He was eating by himself, working on his third helping of delicious macaroni. I asked him how his week was and he said, with a very quiet voice, that it was lonely. He had just lost his wife and is reluctant in calling his family, because they always think he's calling from a bar, which leads to some fundamental right wing scorning. We had a pretty decent coversation. At the end of the night, despite staying for more than an hour than I told myself I would, I was thoroughly refreshed. Any hints of previous fatigue were gone and I was pretty pumped. It's amazing how good conversation really helps to lift the spirit. That's the cool thing about the Seed; often, one is tempted to go there with the thought of "How can I help you?" Yet, I've discovered it is usually the other way around. My private prayer each time I go is to meet Jesus there. And every time, He has shown up, each time in a different guest.

LABOUR (OF A DIFFERENT TYPE) DAY

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THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY RECENT CAMPING TRIP TO RIBBON LAKE IN KANANASKIS COUNTRY:
- not to be surprised when, even on a hike rated as easy, that a nearly insurmountable obstacle will stop you from your final destination. Say, for example, the need to scale a 50 foot vertical cliff face with an attached chain as the only climbing gear available to help haul you and your pack up.
- that Oakley makes incredible sunglasses, as I dropped mine from said cliff at about 15 feet up, with only a small ding on the left lens to show for it
- if you have the good fortune to go camping with a couple of rugby players, packing like a weight Nazi is not as crucial for these beasts of burden; as such, you can bring in fresh corn-on-the-cob, whole peppers, fruit, an entire block of garlic butter and a pepper mill!
- incredibly, there are fish that live in Ribbon Lake, by all accounts a glacial lake; understandably, they don't grow to be very big, but if you happen to catch one, and are friends of the mentioned rugby mules, it makes for one heck of a campfire dinner! (although I won't complain about my delicious freeze dried gourmet fare)
- that campfires are a lot of fun! I haven't sat around one probably since high school days...
- one very dirty joke involving deers, mud and Italy!
- that "suggested" trails on a Gem-Trek map mean there is NO trail and you better have a compass with you
- the top of a mountain range is all loose shale and it's very easy to start rock avalanches just by walking on it
- and if you happen to slip and become a Tim-valanche, the slide can be controlled (poor hiking boots), allowing for a pretty fun slide all the way down to the valley
- that my UV AquaStar water filter absolutely rocks! I even completed an entire Sudoku puzzle in my tent by the comforting blue glow of it's lantern
- THAT I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I CAN DECIDE AT THE VERY LAST MINUTE TO THROW MY GEAR IN THE CAR, DRIVE FOR LESS THAN AN HOUR, AND BE CAMPING LIKE THIS!!!!!