Saturday, June 4, 2011
BBQ Incentive
It is saturday june 4th, 3.17pm. It was raining all morning, thunderstorm and lightning. I was planning a long ride, but after some sensible thinking, decided to spare myself the chance of falling sick a week before the ride. I had practised in the rain before but not without consequences. Don't misunderstand me it was the most amazing feeling. The first time was after I bought a cape rain coat from mec and snuggled in it, the bike path was empty and it felt like I owned the world, it was magical... The second time, I managed to get my phone sick and it vomitted all my contacts then fainted... I had known it would start raining at 8pm so i left work early and made my way to my cuz's place on lakeshore. I went up to his appartment to replenish, re-energize and found him in a crappy mood (that is a subject of another blog altogether, wait for it)...so I stayed longer and it was past 8pm... I arrived home weighing over 200lbs, you know, water retention... I incubated my phone in rice for 3 days and it came back to life... On the downside i lost all my contact numbers, ughhh, not a problem you would say, but think of those people you want to keep their contacts but not contact them but just keep them you know? Am I the only control freak here?? So back to today, my cousin gaby (if you have a cousin as great as mine, bend right now, stop reading this now, bend and kiss the floor 20 times) was planning a barbeque to help replenish me after my ride. No not really. Although I will end up consuming most of his food. He was planning a bbq for his work friends that i decided to crash in the midst of my ride...I called gaby. He was freaking out because of the cloud discharge and his friends were bugging him to change venue because of the rain, I put my foot down (I am the man in this family). I am hoping he makes his yummy garlic paste with the chicken...I just checked the hourly forecast looks like it will be dry for the afternoon in sharp contrast to my salivating mouth..I think I may get out after all, sizzling beef and chicken with some hummus and salad will do the trick.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Crazy Melone
I've been slacking off...not on biking but on writing and the more time passes the more I feel I'm falling behind in dotting down my experiences and feelings...time to stop!
I am planning an intense training weekend starting tomorrow thursday 60km, saturday 70km and sunday 75km! yes the BIG day is coming up and only one week left!
Fast rewind: April 7, 2011.
I land in Vancouver to stay for three weeks, business not fun. How will I find the time and where do I start my training? I called Melone. I wasn't going to as we had never hung out before. I knew her from my years at mcgill, she worked in the lab next door but she would always freak me out. A punk with tattoos and an attitude. But good friends of mine convinced me to give it a shot as they said she is not as scary as she seems. I was happy I called. No she didn't look any different, any less scary, any less tattooed, but i soon found out she was not any less crazy than me! We biked all along the sea wall, stanley park, kitts beach, amazing experience! We had lunch at Sophie's cosmic cafe, dinner at Vij's Rangoli, and she graciously waited while i shopped for american apparel jeans and miz mooooooz shoes. She confessed later to pulling out a single white female on me and buying same red shoes. Needless to say I am still on credit card debt after that trip to vancouver. Before I left, Melone gifted me one of the portraits she had painted, she told me to choose, there were about five of them. She then picked up Luc for me, he had huge lips and as I don't like that on guys, she said that would be therapeutic and help me get over it after all I can't be so picky..seriously big lips?
I did my first one 10km and one 20km trips in Vancouver. Crazy Melone made it happen.
I am planning an intense training weekend starting tomorrow thursday 60km, saturday 70km and sunday 75km! yes the BIG day is coming up and only one week left!
Fast rewind: April 7, 2011.
I land in Vancouver to stay for three weeks, business not fun. How will I find the time and where do I start my training? I called Melone. I wasn't going to as we had never hung out before. I knew her from my years at mcgill, she worked in the lab next door but she would always freak me out. A punk with tattoos and an attitude. But good friends of mine convinced me to give it a shot as they said she is not as scary as she seems. I was happy I called. No she didn't look any different, any less scary, any less tattooed, but i soon found out she was not any less crazy than me! We biked all along the sea wall, stanley park, kitts beach, amazing experience! We had lunch at Sophie's cosmic cafe, dinner at Vij's Rangoli, and she graciously waited while i shopped for american apparel jeans and miz mooooooz shoes. She confessed later to pulling out a single white female on me and buying same red shoes. Needless to say I am still on credit card debt after that trip to vancouver. Before I left, Melone gifted me one of the portraits she had painted, she told me to choose, there were about five of them. She then picked up Luc for me, he had huge lips and as I don't like that on guys, she said that would be therapeutic and help me get over it after all I can't be so picky..seriously big lips?
I did my first one 10km and one 20km trips in Vancouver. Crazy Melone made it happen.
Monday, May 16, 2011
I was humbled
I must admit, after sending the email at 10.30pm, I stayed up till 1am refreshing refreshing refreshing refreshing my homepage.. My first 100$!! yayyyy!!!
I woke up the next day and checked my email
You have received a donation
You have received a donation
You have received a donation
Those 5 words, for the next few weeks, would be equivalent to "will you marry me" if you were the marrying type that is...
Few days later I had made 600$!! Still hundreds away from the 2500$ minimum target for the ride but I was well on my way.
I was overwhelmed by the donations, kind words and support of people in my life, I expected to have shoes, tomatoes and other ripe fruits and veggies thrown at me each time I would open my email in a cyber-kind-of way but I was soo wrong.
Every time I would read a friend's message, I was this amazing person fundraising to find a cure for cancer, standing on a pedestal, crowds cheering, flowers flying, i'm waving to the crowds, carried on shoulders smiling away, my curls floating in the wind...Little did they know that all I felt was worry. I was now worried trapped choking no way out! I had to bike from Toronto to Niagara,
What have I gotten myself into???
I woke up the next day and checked my email
You have received a donation
You have received a donation
You have received a donation
Those 5 words, for the next few weeks, would be equivalent to "will you marry me" if you were the marrying type that is...
Few days later I had made 600$!! Still hundreds away from the 2500$ minimum target for the ride but I was well on my way.
I was overwhelmed by the donations, kind words and support of people in my life, I expected to have shoes, tomatoes and other ripe fruits and veggies thrown at me each time I would open my email in a cyber-kind-of way but I was soo wrong.
Every time I would read a friend's message, I was this amazing person fundraising to find a cure for cancer, standing on a pedestal, crowds cheering, flowers flying, i'm waving to the crowds, carried on shoulders smiling away, my curls floating in the wind...Little did they know that all I felt was worry. I was now worried trapped choking no way out! I had to bike from Toronto to Niagara,
What have I gotten myself into???
I hate asking for money!
OH NOOOO!! Not one of those emails again!! I hate asking my friends and family for money it is too awkward! I remind myself I am not asking them to fund me for my laser hair removal (which i just started and by the way is awesome..never have my legs been so smooth).
Everyone has been affected by cancer in their lives whether at the individual level or hitting people close to their hearts. It is such a sneaky disease and I would be the one to tell you as I spent the last 8 years of my life in the lab trying to understand its screwed up mind!
...But as soon as I get closer and closer I run out of funds and I halt and slave away writing grants to get more funding amidst frustration and sleepless nights full of nightmares and a bogey-man whose face usually ressembles my supervisor's face when he realizes we didnt get funding to continue our project.
....Great cancer research is happening in the country but we are still limited by funding nation-wide and there is money to fund less than 20% of researchers at times although most of them are doing amazing work!
20 March 2011, I pressed: send
Everyone has been affected by cancer in their lives whether at the individual level or hitting people close to their hearts. It is such a sneaky disease and I would be the one to tell you as I spent the last 8 years of my life in the lab trying to understand its screwed up mind!
...But as soon as I get closer and closer I run out of funds and I halt and slave away writing grants to get more funding amidst frustration and sleepless nights full of nightmares and a bogey-man whose face usually ressembles my supervisor's face when he realizes we didnt get funding to continue our project.
....Great cancer research is happening in the country but we are still limited by funding nation-wide and there is money to fund less than 20% of researchers at times although most of them are doing amazing work!
20 March 2011, I pressed: send
I signed up!
For a couple of years now, I have watched them go...thousands of participants young and old, wheel away, as if to say: cancer eat my dust! and i have thought about it.. only thought, i would humor the idea then dismiss it...after all a 200 Km bike ride is not for someone like me despite the good cause behind it!
I am NOT an athletic person and I repeat I am NOT an athletic person! I do not run to hit back a volley-ball, to slam dunk a basket-ball, to shoot a foot-ball instead i run away from balls so i recently thought to try dodge-ball where you actually do run away from the ball! but that too i couldnt handle as the pain of being hit by the ball drove me away after the first session without giving a second thought for my 50$ used in joining the team, but now that's another story...
In March 2011, I called my friend Kristin, an inspirational person who herself beat cancer few years ago like it was whipped cream and then ate it with strawberries! I bribed her with some tabboule, and she helped me set up my Ride To Conquer Cancer 2011!! We were going to do it together this year!
http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Toronto2011?px=2606375&pg=personal&fr_id=1361
I am NOT an athletic person and I repeat I am NOT an athletic person! I do not run to hit back a volley-ball, to slam dunk a basket-ball, to shoot a foot-ball instead i run away from balls so i recently thought to try dodge-ball where you actually do run away from the ball! but that too i couldnt handle as the pain of being hit by the ball drove me away after the first session without giving a second thought for my 50$ used in joining the team, but now that's another story...
In March 2011, I called my friend Kristin, an inspirational person who herself beat cancer few years ago like it was whipped cream and then ate it with strawberries! I bribed her with some tabboule, and she helped me set up my Ride To Conquer Cancer 2011!! We were going to do it together this year!
http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Toronto2011?px=2606375&pg=personal&fr_id=1361
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