May I Have Your Attention Please:
As of Monday, June 28th, Karen Lee has become a full time employee, with all the responsibilities and benefits (ESPECIALLY the benefits) associated with the position.
Please join me in saying "woo hoo!"
Thank you, that is all.
"Movin' on up, to the east side, we finally got a piece of the pie"
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Saturday, June 26, 2004
So That's What It Tastes Like...:
The Bell City Chase sounded okay. In theory. And I guess it really wasn't that bad. In theory.
Emily and I started off the day feeling pretty confident. Both of us have done scavenger hunts before, just never on such a short time limit and never in the city of Toronto. We had six hours to find 10 of 15 checkpoints and to complete the various activities at said checkpoints to receive a stamp in our passport. We could only travel on foot or by TTC (they gave us the day passes). Sounds okay, right? So...first of all, before we could get the checkpoint clues (of course, they're not going to just TELL us where they are), we had to do a mini-scavenger hunt at the beginning of the race. Within 45 minutes, we had to find 10 of 15 objects in and around the Air Canada Centre before we could get the list (after 45 minutes, you could go and get the list by default). The ten things that we found:
1) a dandelion
2) a TTC transfer
3) a page from yesterday's Toronto Star (with the date on it)
4) a carrot with the leafy part still attached (they gave us a clue about that before the race)
5) a lock of hair, 10 strands minimum (we took the scissors to my head)
6) a worm (Em found one in the median on Front Street across from Union Station - quite impressive)
7) Canadian Tire money (a girl on the street gave us 10 cents for free)
8) a maple leaf (I was wearing a Canada hat)
9) a magnet (had to buy that one)
10) a 1984 coin (the last coin I had on me, naturally)
The remaining five things that we didn't get were: the main label from a beer bottle, a cup of sand, goose poop (still in log form), an inflated balloon, and a golf tee. So, this gives you an idea of the kind of day we had in store for us.
To make a long story short, we only got six and a half of ten checkpoints. Briefly and in the order of completion:
1) Ransom: My hands were tied with a plastic chain and a Dudley lock and I was blindfolded while Em had to run up and down the street with the ransom note to find a way to set me free. She got the list of combinations but we tried them all and none of them seemed to work. The guy eventually had to help us out.
2) Boggle: Make as many words (five or more letters) as you can with the letters from "Bell City Chase". You can't reuse letters, you can't use the word 'chase', no plurals, no proper nouns, and at least one word had to be 6 or more letters. With some help from Boni via cellphone, we got it done pretty fast. Em was the wordsmith of the day with 'blase'.
3) Show Me The Money: Panhandle for 20 minutes or until you get $5 at the corner of Yonge and Bloor. We tried for five minutes, then I just put in $5 and we were off. (The money was for charity)
4) A Rooftop View: Who knew that New City Hall had an observation deck? Who knew that it was on the 27th floor? Who guessed that the two of us had to climb 27 flights of stairs before doing a small orienteering task?
5) Surprise!: After searching for a specific car with a clue in the City Hall underground parking, we made our way over to Queen and Peter to...eat stuff. A bad roll of the dice and flip of a coin meant that the two of us had to eat two cans of cat food. I had to ask the guy what the difference was between the pink one and the brown one (salmon and tuna). I don't know what's worse - the bones, or the crunchy stuff that I couldn't identify. I only almost threw up once. But it could have been WAY worse. The other choices besides the cat food were sardines, hot peppers, a live grub (actually, that was the easiest), chew a whole pack of gum and blow a bubble, or drink a cup of the first five items blended together. I heard that a lot of people ended up with that choice, some refused to do it, while others tried and quickly regurgitated it.
6) Trivia 101: Sit in a classroom at U of T, answer 10 of 15 questions involving pop culture, history, and math. By far, the easiest part of the entire race for me.
The last thing we tried to do was actually an ongoing process. We had to find four business cards: one with a non-416 area code, one with a Dundas Street address, one with a photo on it, and one from a police/fire/ambulance worker. The only one that gave us trouble was the photo card, because it was incredibly difficult to find a real estate agency when you're downtown and running around. After we got them all, we had to find a Bell store on Dufferin. Somehow we got misdirected to Yorkdale, but by then it was 5pm (they extended the race by an hour), so it was too late.
We got back to the ACC but we were not the last to arrive, so I guess that says something. It took us a total of 7 hours and 30ish minutes, I think. The winning team finished in 4 hours and 45 minutes, so they're representing Toronto in the National Championships in September. If we thought this race was gruelling, that race is probably going to be killer. First of all, they're competing with eight other teams from across the country, but nobody will know WHERE in the country the race will be held until the day before. And for today's race, finish times were measured in hours...the Nationals will likely be measured in DAYS. Good luck to them.
My legs have rarely hurt in this manner, but hopefully I'll get over it soon. What's really sad is that I started getting tired before we even got to the first checkpoint. I feared that I would burn myself out in the opening moments, and my fears were realized. But this was our first attempt, and it gave us a chance to work out the kinks and realize that our strategy was slightly flawed. I'm sure it'll turn out better next year.
"Just sweet beginnings and bitter endings"
The Bell City Chase sounded okay. In theory. And I guess it really wasn't that bad. In theory.
Emily and I started off the day feeling pretty confident. Both of us have done scavenger hunts before, just never on such a short time limit and never in the city of Toronto. We had six hours to find 10 of 15 checkpoints and to complete the various activities at said checkpoints to receive a stamp in our passport. We could only travel on foot or by TTC (they gave us the day passes). Sounds okay, right? So...first of all, before we could get the checkpoint clues (of course, they're not going to just TELL us where they are), we had to do a mini-scavenger hunt at the beginning of the race. Within 45 minutes, we had to find 10 of 15 objects in and around the Air Canada Centre before we could get the list (after 45 minutes, you could go and get the list by default). The ten things that we found:
1) a dandelion
2) a TTC transfer
3) a page from yesterday's Toronto Star (with the date on it)
4) a carrot with the leafy part still attached (they gave us a clue about that before the race)
5) a lock of hair, 10 strands minimum (we took the scissors to my head)
6) a worm (Em found one in the median on Front Street across from Union Station - quite impressive)
7) Canadian Tire money (a girl on the street gave us 10 cents for free)
8) a maple leaf (I was wearing a Canada hat)
9) a magnet (had to buy that one)
10) a 1984 coin (the last coin I had on me, naturally)
The remaining five things that we didn't get were: the main label from a beer bottle, a cup of sand, goose poop (still in log form), an inflated balloon, and a golf tee. So, this gives you an idea of the kind of day we had in store for us.
To make a long story short, we only got six and a half of ten checkpoints. Briefly and in the order of completion:
1) Ransom: My hands were tied with a plastic chain and a Dudley lock and I was blindfolded while Em had to run up and down the street with the ransom note to find a way to set me free. She got the list of combinations but we tried them all and none of them seemed to work. The guy eventually had to help us out.
2) Boggle: Make as many words (five or more letters) as you can with the letters from "Bell City Chase". You can't reuse letters, you can't use the word 'chase', no plurals, no proper nouns, and at least one word had to be 6 or more letters. With some help from Boni via cellphone, we got it done pretty fast. Em was the wordsmith of the day with 'blase'.
3) Show Me The Money: Panhandle for 20 minutes or until you get $5 at the corner of Yonge and Bloor. We tried for five minutes, then I just put in $5 and we were off. (The money was for charity)
4) A Rooftop View: Who knew that New City Hall had an observation deck? Who knew that it was on the 27th floor? Who guessed that the two of us had to climb 27 flights of stairs before doing a small orienteering task?
5) Surprise!: After searching for a specific car with a clue in the City Hall underground parking, we made our way over to Queen and Peter to...eat stuff. A bad roll of the dice and flip of a coin meant that the two of us had to eat two cans of cat food. I had to ask the guy what the difference was between the pink one and the brown one (salmon and tuna). I don't know what's worse - the bones, or the crunchy stuff that I couldn't identify. I only almost threw up once. But it could have been WAY worse. The other choices besides the cat food were sardines, hot peppers, a live grub (actually, that was the easiest), chew a whole pack of gum and blow a bubble, or drink a cup of the first five items blended together. I heard that a lot of people ended up with that choice, some refused to do it, while others tried and quickly regurgitated it.
6) Trivia 101: Sit in a classroom at U of T, answer 10 of 15 questions involving pop culture, history, and math. By far, the easiest part of the entire race for me.
The last thing we tried to do was actually an ongoing process. We had to find four business cards: one with a non-416 area code, one with a Dundas Street address, one with a photo on it, and one from a police/fire/ambulance worker. The only one that gave us trouble was the photo card, because it was incredibly difficult to find a real estate agency when you're downtown and running around. After we got them all, we had to find a Bell store on Dufferin. Somehow we got misdirected to Yorkdale, but by then it was 5pm (they extended the race by an hour), so it was too late.
We got back to the ACC but we were not the last to arrive, so I guess that says something. It took us a total of 7 hours and 30ish minutes, I think. The winning team finished in 4 hours and 45 minutes, so they're representing Toronto in the National Championships in September. If we thought this race was gruelling, that race is probably going to be killer. First of all, they're competing with eight other teams from across the country, but nobody will know WHERE in the country the race will be held until the day before. And for today's race, finish times were measured in hours...the Nationals will likely be measured in DAYS. Good luck to them.
My legs have rarely hurt in this manner, but hopefully I'll get over it soon. What's really sad is that I started getting tired before we even got to the first checkpoint. I feared that I would burn myself out in the opening moments, and my fears were realized. But this was our first attempt, and it gave us a chance to work out the kinks and realize that our strategy was slightly flawed. I'm sure it'll turn out better next year.
"Just sweet beginnings and bitter endings"
Friday, June 18, 2004
Little Blue Car:
Our FDA inspection went well. And I mean REALLY well. There were some tense moments this past week and a half, but in the end the inspector was impressed with us. I never really saw him up close, but we noticed him leaving the building on Wednesday afternoon. He looked like an average guy. After a few minutes, I saw him pass the window again in his rented car. Now, these inspectors usually have expense accounts in the neighbourhood of tens of thousands of dollars. Nenita said that she's seen some of them that have a limo come and pick them up. So here's this guy, driving away from the plant, in a little blue car. I have no idea what make or model it was, but it was EXACTLY the kind of car that I would have pictured any kind of inspector driving. It reminded me of old-school European cars, like Renaults or Citroens. Or if you've ever watched Mr. Bean, it's kind of like his car. Only blue.
"So far so good, 'cause no one knows I'm faking, I wish I could show you the toll it's taking"
Our FDA inspection went well. And I mean REALLY well. There were some tense moments this past week and a half, but in the end the inspector was impressed with us. I never really saw him up close, but we noticed him leaving the building on Wednesday afternoon. He looked like an average guy. After a few minutes, I saw him pass the window again in his rented car. Now, these inspectors usually have expense accounts in the neighbourhood of tens of thousands of dollars. Nenita said that she's seen some of them that have a limo come and pick them up. So here's this guy, driving away from the plant, in a little blue car. I have no idea what make or model it was, but it was EXACTLY the kind of car that I would have pictured any kind of inspector driving. It reminded me of old-school European cars, like Renaults or Citroens. Or if you've ever watched Mr. Bean, it's kind of like his car. Only blue.
"So far so good, 'cause no one knows I'm faking, I wish I could show you the toll it's taking"
Monday, June 07, 2004
Addendums:
1) Yes, that was a llama.
2) My estimate was a little bit off for Kimberly. She GRADUATED from Med School at around the same time I was starting 3rd year.
3) Huzzah! I am in no pain whatsoever! The miracle continues...
New Business:
1) The fashion industry doesn't like me. At all.
2) They've discontinued one of my favourite products at the Body Shop!
3) I'm going to the Dido concert tomorrow.
Made off, don't stray, my kind's your kind, I'll stay the same"
1) Yes, that was a llama.
2) My estimate was a little bit off for Kimberly. She GRADUATED from Med School at around the same time I was starting 3rd year.
3) Huzzah! I am in no pain whatsoever! The miracle continues...
New Business:
1) The fashion industry doesn't like me. At all.
2) They've discontinued one of my favourite products at the Body Shop!
3) I'm going to the Dido concert tomorrow.
Made off, don't stray, my kind's your kind, I'll stay the same"
Sunday, June 06, 2004
Exceeding All Expectations:
Wow...I am absolutely amazed. Here I am, just a few hours after riding by bike (almost) 50 kms, and I AM NOT DEAD.
The scoop: Emily and I arrived at the CNE for the Becel Ride for Heart at 7:15am this morning, but that was the time we were supposed to be at the starting line. We quickly grabbed our stuff and found our way to the start and it turned out we could go even though we were about 15 minutes late.
Biking along the Gardiner Expressway and up the Don Valley Parkway was kind of pleasant at some points (the downhills) and quite brutal at other points (the uphills), but overall it was not as bad as I had imagined. It was less of a gruelling ordeal than, say, the CN Tower Stair Climb because (1) the scenery changes, (2) you can bring food and drink along with you (actually, it was provided for free at the rest stops), and (3) you get to see some interesting things, like a guy on a unicycle (I think he was doing the 50km ride, which is crazy) and a lot of people on tandem bikes (what happens when one person stops pedalling?). There were the hard core types in the racing gear who were passing us at top speed even on the uphill, but there were also entire families who looked like they were just on a leisurely Sunday bike ride.
There were two distinct moments when I was completely ready to give up. Both of them occurred during brutal uphills after we had rounded the top and were heading back down the DVP towards the lake, and Em was a good 200 metres ahead of me and there seemed to be no way in hell that I was going to catch up. But somehow I was able to mentally push myself up the hill. I was really surprised with myself.
Then there was the part where we kind of cheated. We didn't realize that we had to take the Bayview/Bloor off-ramp and bike for a little bit in the valley and then come back up the on-ramp and continue on the DVP. The sign just said "rest stop", and although we did stop at the top of the off-ramp for a break, we didn't want to go all the way down to the actual rest area and grind up the hill again, so we just cut across the ramp. Oops. I guess we should remember that for next time.
So our total time, from start to finish including all rest stops, was 2 hours and 22 minutes. That still really amazes me. I was so sure, based on my own preliminary trials, that it would take me twice as long. But this leads to:
Lesson of the Day: Always bring Emily with you for all physically challenging events. She will push you to your limits in ways you didn't even know were possible.
We were provided with a lunch that consisted of a lot of low-fat, soy-based products. The tofu dessert scared me, but Em said it tasted like the tofu dessert they serve in chinese restaurants (which I can't stand), so I just left that for a member of my family (most likely my dad). We met up with the rest of the McBride Bicycle Junkies (the group we registered with), and we hung out on the lawn for a while listening to some guy butcher one song after another at the bandstand. As we were about to leave, there was a loud pop, like a firecracker. Andy's tire had exploded, even though it wasn't really overinflated, but the sun had just come out while we were eating. It blew a tear in the outer tube of the tire. Kevin was able to mcgyver the tire using one of the Ride for Heart ID stickers. We all laughed and someone said that he was probably going to start patching it with grass next.
In a stunning display of endurance on my part, Em and I left the car at the CNE and biked to MEC so that she could get a hydration pack. We didn't have a bike lock so I got to hang out for an hour and a half on King Street, watching the bikes and checking out the scene (it's an interesting demographic of people who frequent the MEC establishment). I got home an hour and a half ago, and I am still really surprised that I'm not in an immense amount of pain. I hope I can still say that tomorrow at work.
P.S. Thanks to everyone who supported me, both in pledges and in words of encouragement. It made a huge difference.
"You're on the road, but you've got no destination, you're in the mud, in the maze of her imagination"
Wow...I am absolutely amazed. Here I am, just a few hours after riding by bike (almost) 50 kms, and I AM NOT DEAD.
The scoop: Emily and I arrived at the CNE for the Becel Ride for Heart at 7:15am this morning, but that was the time we were supposed to be at the starting line. We quickly grabbed our stuff and found our way to the start and it turned out we could go even though we were about 15 minutes late.
Biking along the Gardiner Expressway and up the Don Valley Parkway was kind of pleasant at some points (the downhills) and quite brutal at other points (the uphills), but overall it was not as bad as I had imagined. It was less of a gruelling ordeal than, say, the CN Tower Stair Climb because (1) the scenery changes, (2) you can bring food and drink along with you (actually, it was provided for free at the rest stops), and (3) you get to see some interesting things, like a guy on a unicycle (I think he was doing the 50km ride, which is crazy) and a lot of people on tandem bikes (what happens when one person stops pedalling?). There were the hard core types in the racing gear who were passing us at top speed even on the uphill, but there were also entire families who looked like they were just on a leisurely Sunday bike ride.
There were two distinct moments when I was completely ready to give up. Both of them occurred during brutal uphills after we had rounded the top and were heading back down the DVP towards the lake, and Em was a good 200 metres ahead of me and there seemed to be no way in hell that I was going to catch up. But somehow I was able to mentally push myself up the hill. I was really surprised with myself.
Then there was the part where we kind of cheated. We didn't realize that we had to take the Bayview/Bloor off-ramp and bike for a little bit in the valley and then come back up the on-ramp and continue on the DVP. The sign just said "rest stop", and although we did stop at the top of the off-ramp for a break, we didn't want to go all the way down to the actual rest area and grind up the hill again, so we just cut across the ramp. Oops. I guess we should remember that for next time.
So our total time, from start to finish including all rest stops, was 2 hours and 22 minutes. That still really amazes me. I was so sure, based on my own preliminary trials, that it would take me twice as long. But this leads to:
Lesson of the Day: Always bring Emily with you for all physically challenging events. She will push you to your limits in ways you didn't even know were possible.
We were provided with a lunch that consisted of a lot of low-fat, soy-based products. The tofu dessert scared me, but Em said it tasted like the tofu dessert they serve in chinese restaurants (which I can't stand), so I just left that for a member of my family (most likely my dad). We met up with the rest of the McBride Bicycle Junkies (the group we registered with), and we hung out on the lawn for a while listening to some guy butcher one song after another at the bandstand. As we were about to leave, there was a loud pop, like a firecracker. Andy's tire had exploded, even though it wasn't really overinflated, but the sun had just come out while we were eating. It blew a tear in the outer tube of the tire. Kevin was able to mcgyver the tire using one of the Ride for Heart ID stickers. We all laughed and someone said that he was probably going to start patching it with grass next.
In a stunning display of endurance on my part, Em and I left the car at the CNE and biked to MEC so that she could get a hydration pack. We didn't have a bike lock so I got to hang out for an hour and a half on King Street, watching the bikes and checking out the scene (it's an interesting demographic of people who frequent the MEC establishment). I got home an hour and a half ago, and I am still really surprised that I'm not in an immense amount of pain. I hope I can still say that tomorrow at work.
P.S. Thanks to everyone who supported me, both in pledges and in words of encouragement. It made a huge difference.
"You're on the road, but you've got no destination, you're in the mud, in the maze of her imagination"
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Takin' a Look Around:
Since I'm on the road a lot these days, I get to see a lot of interesting things. Like close calls. Goddamn, why do all the crappy drivers hang around me??? It's almost a daily occurrence now to see someone almost get hit by someone else (thank God it's never me...so far). And it's like it always happens in slow motion. The guy starts moving into the next lane, not noticing that someone else is already occupying the next lane, and he just inches closer...and closer...and closer...and finally the guy in the other lane gets a clue and swerves out of the way, honking like there's no tomorrow. Or the ones where the guy stops just centimetres away from rear-ending the guy in front. Hello, do you not see that the car in front has come to a complete stop?
I probably mentioned this in the past, but Stouffville is the horse capital of Ontario. So naturally, I see a lot of horses. Even more now that the weather is nicer. There's this one farm that's right by the highway, and the horses are usually grazing by the fence so you can see them pretty well. Lately there's a new foal standing around looking cute. But today on my drive home, I glanced at the fence, and although I only saw it for a second, I'm almost certain that I saw a llama. Otherwise it was the ugliest horse I've ever seen. On second thought, it could easily have been a camel too. I'm going to have to take a closer look tomorrow.
The other day my dad asked, "Where's Moldova?" To which I gave my standard geography answer, "I dunno, somewhere in the middle." The reason he was asking was because one of the many cousins in my family is getting married in August to a guy who's originally from Moldova. Kimberly's the daughter of my dad's cousin, which makes us somewhat related (I can never get the categories straight. Second cousin? Third cousin? Removed a couple of times? I don't know). This is also the infamous "brainchild" cousin that I think I may have met many many years ago, but haven't seen since. She's the kind of kid that our parents will heap praises on and make the rest of us kids feel completely inferior. She got into Johns Hopkins University at age 15 or something, then got into med school at around the same time I was starting 3rd year at Waterloo. Now I think she's a practicing OB/GYN. And she's about the same age as I am. And she's getting married. To a dermatologist from Moldova. Grrr...
"Hey, don't write yourself off yet, it's only in your head you feel left out, or looked down on"
Since I'm on the road a lot these days, I get to see a lot of interesting things. Like close calls. Goddamn, why do all the crappy drivers hang around me??? It's almost a daily occurrence now to see someone almost get hit by someone else (thank God it's never me...so far). And it's like it always happens in slow motion. The guy starts moving into the next lane, not noticing that someone else is already occupying the next lane, and he just inches closer...and closer...and closer...and finally the guy in the other lane gets a clue and swerves out of the way, honking like there's no tomorrow. Or the ones where the guy stops just centimetres away from rear-ending the guy in front. Hello, do you not see that the car in front has come to a complete stop?
I probably mentioned this in the past, but Stouffville is the horse capital of Ontario. So naturally, I see a lot of horses. Even more now that the weather is nicer. There's this one farm that's right by the highway, and the horses are usually grazing by the fence so you can see them pretty well. Lately there's a new foal standing around looking cute. But today on my drive home, I glanced at the fence, and although I only saw it for a second, I'm almost certain that I saw a llama. Otherwise it was the ugliest horse I've ever seen. On second thought, it could easily have been a camel too. I'm going to have to take a closer look tomorrow.
The other day my dad asked, "Where's Moldova?" To which I gave my standard geography answer, "I dunno, somewhere in the middle." The reason he was asking was because one of the many cousins in my family is getting married in August to a guy who's originally from Moldova. Kimberly's the daughter of my dad's cousin, which makes us somewhat related (I can never get the categories straight. Second cousin? Third cousin? Removed a couple of times? I don't know). This is also the infamous "brainchild" cousin that I think I may have met many many years ago, but haven't seen since. She's the kind of kid that our parents will heap praises on and make the rest of us kids feel completely inferior. She got into Johns Hopkins University at age 15 or something, then got into med school at around the same time I was starting 3rd year at Waterloo. Now I think she's a practicing OB/GYN. And she's about the same age as I am. And she's getting married. To a dermatologist from Moldova. Grrr...
"Hey, don't write yourself off yet, it's only in your head you feel left out, or looked down on"