Owwwwww My Bloody Legs...

This past weekend I worked a shift with the Sport and Social Club. It was a 3-pitch tournament...I just can't bear to call it a 'softball' tournament, as they marketed it. Softball is with a pitcher on the OPPOSITE team, no rover, and with a real catcher....none of this throwing a female in that position to pick up balls off the ground. It's insulting to even watch.

Anyhooo, I had to get up at 5am, and if any of you know me well, I am anything but a morning person. Even though I knew I had to get up this early, I sat awake in bed until 1:45 - it's as though my body just can't comply with my wishes, and simply fall asleep. So, there I was, walking to the blue line on Eglinton at 5:40 am...to get to the subway to be picked up by another employee downtown. I wasn't aware that I would be working the whole 12 hours, but I ended up umping about 9 games, with a mere hour break in between. By the end of the day, I thought I was going to DIE. I asked the rest of the employees if they were sore and they all agreed.

I ended up calling my mother when I got home at 9pm. I asked her HOW THE HELL she worked on her feet ALL DAY at the Bay for 25 years?!?!!? She was 65 when she retired. She told me it was never her feet that hurt, but her hips instead. It's been years and years since I have had to work on my feet. I think back to working at the supermarket - shifts that were 8 hours long, standing in ONE PLACE. That is the killer. It's not being on your feet as much as it is not moving around.

So by the end of the day, I had throbbing feet, a sunburned face and neck, a sore lower back (which NEVER happens) and was a tad irritated at umping. It really made me question whether I want to referee volleyball. I'm not sure that it's worth the money or time. I was challenged, yelled at, ignored, and disrespected. I knew that it wouldn't be a wonderful job with no issues, but until you've done it, you have no clue. It's been years since I have played baseball, so the rules were a little fuzzy at first, which didn't help. I guess I have to decide whether I want to go in this direction at all anymore.

I slept like a log last night for 10 hours, which made up for my 3.5 the previous night. I also managed to nap in the afternoon. Back to the grind tomorrow. No rest for the wicked.

This two-job thing sucks eggs.

The good news? After being there all day, it gave me the itch to get involved in fast pitch again. I miss being the catcher. Crouching, giving signs, throwing to second base to get the runner out on a steal. Love it. The part I don't like? Running the bases, with my flat feet and my slow-ass.

It's embarrassing, really.

Even when I was thin, I was a slowpoke. I have two speeds when running:

Slow and stop.

Human Beat Box

I've heard some good beat boxers, but this guy is PHENOMENAL!

Who needs a dance club when you have this guy?

17 Year Reunion

This past Saturday was my 16-17 year reunion with my high school buddies.

I can't say that it was a lot of planning on my part....my co-planner, Suzie, volunteered her house for the event, and splurged for the burgers and dogs. Her house is like a wonderland for kids. It has a basketball court, hockey surface, pool, putting green, jungle gym and hot tub; NOT ONCE did the kids ask their parents to leave. They were having a grand time. The day was filled with laughter, conversation and great food.


I must admit that for the few weeks that preceded the reunion date, I was a bit of a mess. I was worried that not many people would show. This fear comes from the last 10 or so events that I have either organized or attended, whereby people RSVP'd as a yes and then never showed. The most recent example of this, was my Tuesday night volleyball organizing. I had 7 people, double confirm with me, and when it came down to the wire, none of them signed up. I was so happy that I didn't sign the team up on my credit card, as I would have been doubly pissed. Needless to say, my faith is people's "word" was very low. I even went so far as to bet Suzie 10 dollars that less than 30 of the 43 that confirmed would actually show up. Two hours into the event, we were missing only 2 of the girls.

Some of the girls I have known since elementary school. A few of us were in the same class from grade 3 and on. It amazed me, that after 16 years apart, it was as though no time had passed at all. Everyone had different lives, some married - some single. Some with kids, some pregnant. Regardless of how our lives had progressed, we were all excited to go back in time, reminiscing about our childhood and teenage years. There was a general consensus that none of us felt 35. It was as though we were pretending to live adult lives, whereas we all still felt 17 inside.

It was the best 10 dollars I ever lost.

Ngudu / Sarit

Has anyone seen the movie "About Schmidt"?

I LOVE that movie. It's easily a 10/10.

I recently watched it again at the cottage with a few people this summer. Once again, at the end, I bawled.

If you haven't seen it, and don't plan on it....

[SPOILER]

Jack Nicholson thinks that his life doesn't serve a purpose. His wife dies, he retires, his daughter gets married and doesn't want him around, and he's wandering aimlessly for most of the movie. During the movie, he is narrating the letters that he is writing to his sponsored child, Ngudu. He pronounces it as "EN-GOODU."

Well, at the end, he comes home and is feeling lower than low. He thinks his life is shit. He checks his mail and there is a letter from the agency. It is written by a missionary that is volunteering in the village that Ngudu lives in. He ends up drawing a picture for Schmidt. It's a picture of Ngudu holding Schmidt's hand. This brings him to tears and the movie ends. There is NO better ending to a movie than this one.

Today, after a long week at work, I arrived home and checked my mailbox. Alas, a letter from World Vision. I opened it, and it was a progress report on Sarit, my sponsored child in Thailand. Among the progress was an updated picture of him, his favourite fruits, colours, animals, etc. I was reading this on the elevator which I was sharing with another man. I flipped the page over and he had drawn me a picture with pencil crayons. It entailed the ocean, a tree, the sky, a carrot and the sun. Above the picture he had printed:

I LOVE YOU.

Well, holy moly. It was like I was reading sappy cards in the Hallmark store. It brought me to tears. The fella in the elevator probably wondered what news I had just read. Mind you, I am totally PMS'ing so I am more emotional than normal.

World Vision is a wonderful organization; I am so happy to have become a part of it. The progress reports and the letters from him are so exciting to receive, because I know my money is going directly to the child. $35 a month is nothing, considering I drop that in one night for dinner and a movie.

If you have ever considered getting involved, let me know. I will be happy to share my info with you.

Push It

Ok I was watching this cheesy movie on digital and happened to see this scene. Oh my goodness...this chick is so anal and boring on ER, and here she is..hilarious.

F*cking Sabbatical

I am going to try (seriously) to refrain from cursing so much. When I hear other females curse so unnecessarily, it makes me cringe. Nothing says tomboy like a girl that swears like a trucker. Sometimes the f-bomb can be hilarious, if used in the perfect context. I recall when one of the kids that I used to mentor asked me if I ever swore....(I can turn it off so well). I told her there was no reason to swear - that it was the act of a lazy person who couldn't be bothered to use unique language. Can you believe I said that? What a hypocrite. I had lived in the same house as her for about 6 months at that point. It's time I took some of my own advice.

In the meantime, I think I am going to take a wee break from blogging. Maybe a week, maybe two.

I have been feeling disinterested and overly cynical lately; it seems to have been seeping into my blog entries. No one needs to read about the negative so often. I shall surface when my disposition improves.

Until then, ta.

Great Apes

I saw this commercial the other day and giggled. I love their voices - so perfect.

Weddings and Showers

This has been a slow summer for weddings and showers. Thank goodness.

I've felt like this my whole life, for the most part. I don't enjoy weddings, and I truly hate showers. It's not that I think that devoting yourself to someone else for the rest of your life is stupid. Quite the opposite actually. I just don't understand why people must make this big frickin' deal about it. Most get realllllllly greedy in the process.

Let us analyze weddings:

Back in the day (40's, 50's, 60's, 70's), women stayed at home until they got married. Once they started their life with their husbands, they had nothing to start out with.

Enter the concept of registries.

Registries were created so that they were equipped with all of the important things to start up with. Cutlery, dishes, bedding, small appliances, etc. Now that we are in the twenty-first century, I can't name one person who has lived at home until they got married. Most have owned their own homes, which is a giant step from a few decades ago. For some reason, they now feel that they can create a registry that contains all of the items that are so expensive that they would never purchase them on their own. For example, Hilfiger sheets. $400. A set of Henckel steak knives. $175.

Give me a friggin break. If you already have sheets that work, and knives that cut, then why be so greedy?

I love the actual ceremony part of a wedding. Weirdly, I am one of those sappy chicks that gets emotional during the vows, etc. I think devoting yourself to one person for the rest of your life is beautiful. Keywords in that sentence are "rest of your life".

My thought is that due to the extreme divorce rate these days, gifts should be given when the couple reaches, say, 10 yrs. People can pitch in and send them on a holiday or something. That would be a fantastic gift don't you think?

I usually refuse to get anything off a registry. I usually buy the couple gift certificates to a nice restaurant that they would never usually treat themselves to. Or, I give money. I refuse to buy a fitted sheet for 200 dollars.

I also find that when you go to a wedding, people are all so rigid and are unable to loosen up. They are so concerned with their pantyhose staying up, or what fork to use, that they aren't themselves. Inevitably, the first song played is ABBA or The Village People, and they just get worse from there. Why someone would want the chicken dance played on their wedding day (or any day for that matter) is beyond me.

I promise you that if I ever get married, it will be a relaxed ceremony with a reception that takes place outside with burgers blazing on the barbecue. No gifts allowed. A band playing on a stage.

Now, let's talk about showers.

Showers are the most ridiculous of all traditions. Someone is getting married, and not only are you expected to give a great gift at the wedding, they want a gift beforehand. What the hell? Someone creates a gay hat for the bride-to-be to wear, and everyone goes ga-ga over the gifts that are being opened. Words you normally hear at a wedding shower?

Gorgeous.
Beautiful.
Precious.
Cute.

Again, people aren't themselves. I would rather poke pins in my eyes and watch Star Trek than go to a shower. I have blogged about this many times, but I crave "real" people and "real" experiences.

I can guarantee you as well, that if I am ever engaged to be married, I will give my friends and family STRICT instructions that I don't want a shower of any sort. Their presence, not presents, is what I covet. A movie night? Great! Sitting around opening gifts that I don't need from people that spent their hard earned money on? No thanks.

Baby showers are totally different. I understand the need for all of the baby-related items. I don't enjoy these get-togethers either, but I don't resent buying things in this case. I know they need them, and will use them. They serve a purpose.

I'm really not that grouchy. I just have very strong opinions about certain things.

And Laurelle, if you are reading this, I didn't hate your wedding. I enjoyed myself, but that is because I was happy that you were happy. I also liked that you let me buy my own dress for 59 dollars from Sears. Most of my friends have spent up to $500 on bridesmaid dresses. I also knew that you needed stuff since you and Greg had nothing. A set of pots was well worth the $1200 I spent on them.

You can't put a price on sisterhood :)

[Addition]

I just watched one of my favourite movies, "In her Shoes". Rose had the best wedding ever, in the best place ever, with the best guy ever. She knew how to do things right.