It's a beautiful day

Having a day off is great.
Having errands to do is better, because it forces me to leave my place. A "day off" means I'm not scheduled to work somewhere else but that doesn't mean that I don't have work that I could (should?) be doing at home.
Anyway, after a little sleep in which my body has been desperately begging for (I think my body is past the fitness testing pain, but now it's in the we-had-circuit-training-at-the-gym-yesterday-pain phase) I got my stuff together and ventured out into the sunlight.
It was wonderful.
I walked. I people watched. I window shopped.
I walked through Nathan Phillips Square (the sound of the water fountain was calming) and noticed a photo exhibition. I thought it was related to the current CONTACT exhibition that's going on in the city, but it was a separate exhibition about those touched by cancer. I thought it was quite well done, each photo accompanied by a blurb linking the photograph to cancer in some way. I think it was the first time that I can remember that I stared at a woman who'd had a mastectomy for a long time. I appreciate the chance to see things up close and personal that many people fear or don't like to talk about.
I walked west on Queen Street West and ventured into the CONTACT exhibition at Red Bull 381 Projects. I suppose I understand the appeal of the 1st Place Winner of the HP Jury Prize, but I personally liked the 2nd and 3rd Place Winners better. There are some other nice photos on display as well. At this venue, HP is also providing a free print of one of your digital photos (bring on CD or USB). Tomorrow is the last day...hours are 11.00-16.00. Hopefully I will be able to narrow down my huge pile of favs to get my own print!

Fitness testing

Tonight I did my first full scale fitness test. I have subsequently developed a low self-esteem.
I should remind myself that some of the other people who I am being ranked against have been doing this for 6-15 years whereas I have been gymless for over a quarter of a century. Regardless, I'm sure glad that I invested in Lavender L'Occitane bath products to relax me into a state of apathy.
After getting the basics (height and weight - the depression commences) the calipers come out and my fat is pulled from 4 or 5 different areas. Great.
Now the true fun begins. The bane of my existence. Push ups. We have a minute to complete as many push-ups as possible and no resting is allowed. Only "proper" push-ups are counted. Proper = full out (not on the knees) push-ups low enough that your chest hits a target. So shorties and big boobied girls have an advantage. I fall under neither of those categories. I suck.
Old-school sit ups are next and I match my push-up count. I used to be proud of my abs, so the depression sinks in further.
Vertical jump tests. I need to hit up the gym some more. I do learn something of interest - a figure skater's landing leg is typically stronger than their take-off leg. I am no exception.
It is finally here. The VO2 max test. The moment that I have been dreading for a whole year. I have a mental block against running. Being strapped in wearing a headpiece, nose plug, and a mouthpiece which was uncomfortable and forced me to not be able to swallow my own saliva doesn't make the experience any more pleasant. Being asked every two minutes to tap a board which shows a scale from extremely easy to extremely hard while they keep speeding up the treadmill pisses me off. Of course this is extremely hard you fools. I want to die. After an eternity (which was depressingly nowhere near close to that) I was onto my next challenge.
Various flexibility tests follow and luckily, I have one strength. Thanks to a little obsession as a 12 year old, my spine continues to bend in mysterious ways.
And just when I was starting to think that there was hope for me, I get bashed back down to reality and complete the last portion of the test. Wingate. I remind my tester that yelling at me during my 45 seconds of pain doesn't inspire me in any way. Rather, it makes me want to climb off the bike and slap the man. I was happy to find out that slapping was not on the agenda for today. It was a lot harder that I remembered it to be (I had the pleasure of doing the wingate once before and felt decent afterwards) and the downward spiral continued.
I was exhausted, in pain, but done. The VO2 max test was just as scary as I had built up in my head. I get my results as some point and have the pleasure of finding out just how crappy I am compared to others. Yeah, so much for working to your own capacity and concentrating on improving your own results. We are obviously in direct competition.
And after sitting through a nutrition talk last week, I won't even feel good drowning my sorrows in a big bowl of ice cream. The motto of "if it tastes good, it's probably bad for you" has ruined my life. Thank goodness I'm so cynical that I will soon block this talk out of my memory and be back to eating everything that life has to offer.
Guess what. I get to do the darn test again at the end of the summer. Kill me now.

Only because I spend a lot of time with teenagers

I can't believe it. I'm fallen off the deep end. I've joined facebook.
It seems complicated so far. There's so many things that can be done, yet I have no desire to do them.
Trust me when I say that the only reason I've joined is because I realize it's importance to this little thing that I've become a part of.
Anyway, please don't consider me a sellout. This is the worst.

Ri-di-cu-lous, non?

Don't take it as me being obsessed with Project Runway, but in Season 3, Episode 10 where the contestants are in Paris (I'm getting so excited for the end of June, by the way) there was music that was completely ripped off. It's Yann Tiersen all the way. Inversions and variations don't trick me. I suppose mimicry is the highest form of flattery.

Brice de Nice

Two days ago, I heard a song that reminded me of Brice de Nice which made me very nostalgic. So, in an attempt to explain the significance of the song, I tried to explain the premise of the movie. It can't be done. Well, it can, but not to an extent where it makes any sense. The best correlation I could make was to Mr. Bean, but it's not the best link.
This is the original sketch...this an educational bit...and this is your musical fix for the day. If you aren't laughing (potentially out of bewilderment), well, I'm sorry.

- picture courtesy of www.bricedenice.com

WHAT?!?

After the judging...I started rooting for Daniel. Based on what I've learned about fashion, I understand why Chloe would win. It would have been nice to see them nurture the young talent which could propel him to greatness, but Chloe's work was fantastic and she had the right tools to succeed. I have no idea if she's hoping to go somewhere with it or not, but regardless, I'm sure that each of the finalists (and others who participated in the show) have their pick of job opportunities. If they don't end up starting their own lines, it would be great to see them designing at a major fashion house.

Okay - back to work.

Who who who?!?

OMG - I'm dying! The final runway shows were amazing! It's like a whole other level those shows. I guess when you've got more than two days to complete an outfit, you really can show what you're capable of. I don't know who's going to win! I've put my marking on hold because I want to pay attention to the final moments of the show. I think it'll be one of the boys that wins. This is ridiculous - I can't believe how many talented designers are out there. It's a shame that they can't all have enough funding to merchandise their own lines. Just 15 more minutes of this and then it's back to work for me. The first couple of episode are just background noise - gotta be productive!

This is the problem with reality TV

OMG - I'm watching the final episode of Season 2 of Project Runway. I have no idea who's going to win. I'm hooked. I'm addicted. And there's two more seasons that I can watch after this. OMG. It's nice to have in the background as I do my marking, so it's not completely taking over my life. I miss having TV on the the background. This is great.
Oh, and I freaked out when they cut Nick Verreos. What a shame. I haven't googled him yet because I don't want any spoilers, but I hope he goes far. I like his sense of style too.

Being productive

So what does two days off give you a chance to do?
Watch Season 1 of Project Runway. A lot of the outfits didn't blow me away, but there sure was an interesting cast of characters. And then all of a sudden the final three come out with amazing collections. The soundtrack for the shows were great as well.
Season 2 is coming up.
The internet is a wonderful thing.

(don't worry - I did other things too)

Ballers in da house

Seems there are some footballers staying in my building. Toronto FC...go go go!