Leisure Friday ~ Tricks or Treats?

It's Friday which means we can wear jeans!!!!!

I digress. 

This post could be a trick and could be a treat.

(PLEASE PROCEED)

!!!CAUTION!!!

When buying treats,  buy what you want to receive.

Try your treats before handing them out. 

I say this because we bought halloween themed candy before.  All nicely decorated with halloween wrappers and all.   Tasted... digusting... but edible.   We gave 2 handfuls to every person that visited...

Now that I think about it... we might have bought mini tricks without knowing. .

(Shhhhhhh...)

(.....)

*poof*

(8) WUHAHAHAHAHAHAHahaaaaaa (8)

Dreamy Thursday~ the beach

A few weeks ago,  I traveled far and wide with Okee (my Siberian Husky/partner in crime/baby/guide) to a dreamy offleash park with water and beach!!!!

We actually went to a few offleash parks in Toronto that day.

Okee got a taste of the Subway, Bus and RT as well! (She would not get on the escalator,  smart decision)

Can you spot Okee in this picture?

Stupid Monday :@!

Stupid Monday :@!

I was suppose to write a blog post about work on Monday and have a Working Monday trend going, but now that I am a seasonal worker, I am still going to blog about work but I am going to call it Stupid Monday :@! instead.

Am I working? No, I am not, I have a day off! HAHAHAHAHA

I am not ready to work full time yet so I applied for a temporary seasonal job.  I don't want to be called "lazy" but secretly I also wanted to try a new field.

Hopefully, I do ok.

Random On! Shower, Bathing and Cleaning

Random On! Shower, Bathing and Cleaning

I did many things today.

First, I walked my doggies!

Then, I went to a Zumba Dance Party!

And Finally, I made dessert with my Mommy!

At the end of the day, as I took a warm shower to unwind, I thought/wondered about a few things that I do not have the answers to because, imho, there are no right answers or wrong answers to those questions.

So here I am, randomly asking anyone about those things that I was thinking and wondering about:

When you view a photograph that your parents or your grandparents or your parent's friends, etc.. took for you as a baby or a toddler, are you looking at yourself? or are you looking at your parents? or whoever is with you in that picture?

I would like to ask the same question for videos too with the following additional question:  do you even want to see a video of yourself as a baby or toddler?

Please keep in mind that those photos and videos are taken at an age where you have no memory at all or close to no memory.

For myself, it depends on the picture.  Sometimes, I notice the expression of my parents first, other times, I ponder about a toy that I am hugging, and then, sometimes I wonder about certain people in the photographs because I still have not met them.

I can't really answer the video question but I did take some videos of my collies as a child.  I was volleying the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Mascot Mini Basketball with her while filming the video.  The title of the video was Doggie Heaven (I wrote it on some labels.. no fancy video editing tools so can't put the title in the video).

More of the collies another day :)!

Sidenote: Babe came out in 1995, awesome movie! Same year as Toy Story!  Everyone in art class was talking about Toy Story and forgot about Babe :(   Did you know a lot of piglets were used to film that movie?

Leisure Friday ~ Hobbies and Chores

Leisure Friday ~ Hobbies and Chores
---
How to turn a chore into a hobby

Or

How to turn a hobby into a chore
---
Oxymoron; Grammar; Run on sentences; English are some of the words I thought of as I browsed through the annual toy warehouse sale in Markham.  Window shopping is a hobby of mine.  Gift shopping on the other hand is a chore.   It takes me a long time to find a gift because of many reasons.  To simplify the reasons into 3 categories: time, cost, person.

While shopping with those 3 circles in mind.  I went on a real shopping spree.  It was too awesome.  I digress.

Or did I? 

Window shopping is a hobby because when I am window shopping,  I'm simply looking at what's available.  I only make  a purchase if I think it is a real good deal. 

Gift shopping on the other hand is a chore and can turn into a shopping spree.   I might actually regret my purchases because the giftee might not appreciate the gift or might have received the same gift.  (More on being  a receiver on another day,  maybe)

Gift shopping can also evolved into conversations, arguments, affirmations, confirmations, disagreements,  sortings,  messes,  fines,  rewards,  happiness,  sadness,  drunk textings,  creative bloggings, many more. ..

Anyways,  my gift shopping became a shopping spree which evolved into organizing the gifts at home,  confirming that I had all my purchases and,  finally,  deciding who to give what to on a preliminary basis.

I hope my giftees will ----- this year.  I'm used to getting the weirdest expressions from people when they receive my gifts.

It's like "wtf was she thinking".

---
Side note on photo...

Hints of my other hobbies, interests and chores.

A Walk Down Memory Lane - My Spartan Race Story - Part 2

A Walk Down Memory Lane - My Spartan Race Story - Part 2  Our Drive to Spartan Trifecta
(Obviously there is a Part I)

In a previous blog post, I wrote mostly about my first Spartan Race experience.

My second Spartan Race year was not memorable so let's just not waste too much time on this.  I drove the really old Volkwagon Golf and the bumper almost felt off because the grass at the parking lot was so long!

As I mentioned previously, this year I went to the Spartan Race with people I trained with and had a blast!  We went to the Spartan Sprint together.  I was actually really reluctant to go this year but I ended up signing up and completing it because of their encouragements.

After completing the Spartan Sprint, I decided to complete the Spartan Trifecta*.  I wanted to complete this item on my bucket list because I am not sure if I'll ever complete the Spartan Trifecta if I don't do it this year.

This time my mother came with me!  It was really comforting having her there with me because the drive there and back was a real long one.  We drove from Markham to Cul de Sac (Mount Perkin?) near Montreal in one evening,  We departed at around 9 p.m. and arrived at around 4 a.m. After arriving, I was dropped off immediately and completed the Spartan Super and the following day I completed the Spartan Beast. Basically, it was a 3 nights trip.  The first night, we slept at a ON ROUTE parking lots (I packed a lawn swing chair cushion as a mattress) and the remaining two nights we camped at Camping Nature Plein Air.  We drove back the day following Spartan Beast and I went back to work the next day.  Although our trip was a short and quick one, we got to see sunrise, sunset, nature, cities, towns and triathlons** along the way.  If we had more times, I would have loved to explore Cul de Sac some more.  (Originally, I wanted to go a nearby hiking trail with my mother before we go back home).

Anyways, I guess I didn't end up writing the Spartan Race Story - Part 2.  This was more like a.. our drive to Spartan Race story.

One day, I'll write the experience of the actual course.   It was great.

*Spartan Trifecta means completing Spartan Sprint, Spartan Super and Spartan Beast in the same year
**Ironman event was going on the same weekend at Magog I think.

Restful Sunday

Went to the Terry Fox Run today at good old Unionville.

Restful Sunday ~ Auto Classic

Beautiful day to go for a spin,  instead I was at the AUTO CLASSIC!

Random On! Selfies.

I don't like selfies.
I like selfies.
It's complicated.

You like selfie sticks?
What's selfie stick?
The stick for selfies.

I do not have one.
Would you like one?
I do not need one.

Besides,  I have arms.
And, I have legs.
And friends too.

Leisure Friday! - My Spartan Race Story!

Leisure Friday! - My Spartan Race Story!

This year I completed the Spartan Trifecta which is a big accomplishment for me.  Obstacle course typed races are becoming more popular these days and Spartan Race, I believe, are one of the older ones.  If you don't know what I mean by Spartan Trifecta feel free to look up the Spartan Race website to find out.

I must admit, I don't like running or jogging so I am really just there for the obstacles and nature.

I completed my first Spartan Race in 2013.

---unnecessary details feel free to skip---

Spartan Race is really expensive though so I was waiting for a deal and load and behold a Groupon deal! I finally got my chance to sign up!!!!!!  BUT... a new problem arises... none of my friends liked getting dirty :( and I didn't want to drive there alone.

I ended up joining a MeetUp group and found 3 ladies to carpool with.  I had to pick them up one by one and almost took a wrong turn.  I was hoping someone would navigate me but no one did. In fact, no one even checked for directions.  I had no GPS, I had no data plan.. all i had was a Google map and those old booklet map.  We managed to get there anyways.

Did we end up running together? No, we all ran our separate ways! The four of us were really different.

I actually really enjoyed carpooling with them.  Out of the four of us, I finished second and had to wait. It was really nice meeting the four of them and I even ran into one of them at a mall a year later.  I never kept in touch with them but wouldn't mind carpooling with them again.

---end of unnecessary details---

I learned a lot from my first Spartan Race. In fact, I think out of all the Spartan Race that I have completed, I learned the most from my first one.

As I was running alone, I ran passed many teams and also kept pace with a lot of different teams.  Two teams that I learned from was a father and daughter team and a Herbal Magic team.

The father and daughter team, the father said to the daughter "Don't run like her, she has no pace."  His statement was, of course, correct. I was running like I was doing interval training the whole time.  I kept running into them.  It was funny.

The Herbal Magic team.  I assumed they were a Herbal Magic team because they all had Herbal Magic T-shirts on.  I kept running into them too and the team leader kept encouraging me to run faster and keep running.  I kept running for that duration of the course because of him.  Eventually I lost them because I have no stamina!

I am sure there were a lot of Goodlife members too because I saw a lot of Goodlife members gym bags at the bag drop area.  P.S. Spartan Race has changed their bag drop system so you will no longer see a gazillion Goodlife member gym bags at the bag drop area.

I also learned that I should do certain obstacles slower to prevent potential injuries.  In fact, i pulled a muscle in my first Spartan Race and this injury has never been healed.  I actually pulled it again in my second Spartan Race and had to stop a group of runners.   I was all like "wait.. please help me stretch my leg.. I can't run.. it's all clamped up".  I pulled the same muscle again in Tough Mudder a year later while doing an obstacle (I completed it but clamped my leg again)...and a volunteer stretched it out for me this time.

Anyways, I had so much fun in my first Spartan Race, I began trying out other obstacle races.  They are all different and I enjoy them all. But.. I like Spartan Race the best because of certain rules they have in place.  It also feels more serious.

This year, for the first time, I went with other Goodlife Members, people that I actually train with, and had a blast!  I am a totally useless team member but I like tagging along anyways.

P.S. This is a horrible entry but it's leisure Friday so please excuse the bad writing.

Dreamy Thursday! - The day I lost job

The title of this post sure doesn't sound dreamy. Sounds more like a nightmare.

Today,  I got let go for the first time ever.  The picture to this post captured part of my day so far. 

Although this event is upsetting,  I didn't stop daydreaming!  Just look at the beautiful photos.

First a wonderful morning spent with my doggies,  after being fired I took a long walk home.  Long but worthwhile.  Then I went home and had root beer and sorbet! !!!

A walk down memory lane - The changing platform

Every morning, we wake up and travel to our daily destination.

It may be school, it may be work, it may be the hospital, or it may simply be the washroom.

While traveling to work today, I thought about the changes that have taken place at the platform (or maybe the station) that I use every morning.

A platform that used to be only accessible* at one side is now accessible at both sides.

I, along with others,  noticed the changing platform as workers made subtle changes to it overtime.

As I walked down the same platform that I use every morning,  I remembered how I, being the latecomer, used to run down the long parking lot at the inaccessible side to catch the train.

Nowadays,  I arrive early and actually have time to relax at the station.   I even have time to walk down the same parking lot twice.

A platform that used to appear "less safe" is now safer and appears to be more "sophisticated".

I, along with many passengers, no longer have to wait at the "stop" signal because,  well,  you know,  the platform is now accessible at both sides.

As I crossed the same track that I ride on every morning,  I hear the sound of the "stop" signal and the gates coming down,  along with the whistle of the train signifying it's arrival.

I looked up and see the same amber coloured light and I thought to myself,  "how can a platform that changed so much still feels so familiar and comforting?".

With that thought in mind,  I walked slowly to the same line for a spot on the train.
------

*by accessible, I mean being able to get on the train. Before the changes,  there was only one platform instead of two.

Technology Tuesday - Photographs

Many of us love taking photos or love being photographed.

It's amazing how far technology has advanced.

I digress.

I don't have my dictionary.  I need the definition of technology.

So let's just end this "post" with a photograph from lunch.