Day 161 – March 31st

Well I no longer have to worry about my blood blister, as when taking my shoe off after squash my sock was covered in blood and no my blister is just of the regular variety.  Didn’t play particularly well, my movement is severly limited by my foot injuries but managed to a 3-1 win.  Followed this up with some chest press in the gym and much to my disgust realised I hadn’t done a weight workout for about a month.

Today is the first day of spring…..I say this because it is opening day or the baseball season for Toronto and, you’ve guessed it the game was rained out.  As I write this Raptors are leading Charlotte, although don’t appear to be playing particularly well.

A pretty slow day today I’d say……not much going on.

Mood for the day 6 out of 10.

Day 160 – March 30th

Just returned from the ACC at whilst the Raptors only lost by about 10 in all honesty the game was a total beating……….up till this point I have said Kobe Bryant should be MVP but watching Chris Paul dismantle the Raptor defence makes me wonder if he is a more worthy candidate.

Obviously the highlight of the game was the return to Toronto of Mo Pete……he gave good service during his 7 years in Toronto, allways left it on the floor and never appeared to take a possesion off…….he deserverdly recieved an ovation and went to his knees to kiss the Raptor logo when introduced……..I also added a new bobblehead to my collection……….but even more remarkable the guy who sits two rows ahead of me, who I would describe as awkward looking at best appears to have scored an asian girlfriend who in my opinion is way out his league.  Whilst it is no where near as bad as what I witnessed at the Lion King a few years back, it gives me hope non the less.

In other basketball news, all four number 1 seeds have reached the final 4 of the US college basketball tournament, pretty amazing given it is a one and done competition.

The blister on my foot is getting real ugly so much so that I decided to skip the gym……however guilt began to set in and as a result I ended up doing a pretty good cardio workout in the gym in my building.

Mood for the day 7 out of 10.

Day 159 – March 29th

Today was the fatal fourway as I finally made my way back to the squash court for the first games with my new rackets…….going in I knew I was already dehydrated so was a little worried, but I didn’t fare too badly.  I went 3-3 in my 6 games and although I didn’t play particularly well, I beat Jerry 2-0 in order to keep my undefeated streak against him alive.

By the time I played my last match however I was so tired it was ridiculous……..and I could barely raise my racket of the ground, whilst the dehydration was part of the problem (I have drunk around 4 litres of water since getting off the court) the biggest is my lack of fitness.  My right foot injury has severely limited my playing time recently and given I now have a huge blood blister will continue to do so in the future.  I will have to step up and do something else, spinning…….elliptical I’m not sure.  One thing I do know for sure is that I don’t want to feel as badly (dizzy) as I did after my matches today.

Whilst we were playing there was female beginner squash clinic going on and some of the routines the players were doing were wildly different to what I was taught when doing my squash coaching exams in the UK……..I’m not sure either a) How effective the session was or b) What the particpants thought of it.  I only recognised one of the girls at the clinic so will ask her the next time I see her at the gym.

Afterwards we all went for lunch and it was good to catch up with Jerry again, every-time I meet him he appears to be happy and upbeat…….he is the exact opposite of me, when I take him to a Raptor game in a couple of weeks I will ask him what the secret is.

In the afternoon I went to see the movie “21″ about a bunch of genius students who set up a card counting scheme to take down the houses in Vegas…….it’s not great but certainly entertaining and was my first visit to the new movie theatres that have just opened about a 3 minute walk from my house……..the theatre I went into was great, high quality picture, stadium seating and best of all the sound system.  I will no doubt return soon.

Got home to watch the “March Madness” continue, I was never really a big fan of college basketball but it is growing on me over time………….on the other channel the Leafs appear to be playing well, but given they are out of the playoffs does it matter not really…they may as well just pack up and go home.

I also called Marina for the first time and we chatted for about an hour…….we appear to have some common interests, can obviously hold a conversation and she lives just a few blocks down the street, looks like this will once again come down to the all elusive “chemistry”……..I’ll look forward to calling her again in a couple of days.  I also found out she emigrated to Canada on August 21st 2000……….this wouldn’t really be that significant other than the date I first landed in Canada was August 25th 2000……just four days later.

To finish, today is earth day and as a result most of the lights went off for an hour this evening in order to save energy……..whilst this was purely a symbolic gesture it once again reminds us of the danger the planet is in and how as a global society we continue to be literally teetering on the edge, hopefully we can all do something to turn things around before we lose our balance and tumble into the abyss.

Whilst this post had ended on a relatively depressing note it has been a good day overall.

Mood for the day 8 out of 10.

Day 157/8 – March 27/28th

I got home pretty late from the dinner party on Thursday and coupled with being a little downbeat decided not to post on my return……..this gives the reader the unfortunate situation of having to endure a double post today.  So how was the dinner party……

To be honest it was a flat out disaster and was almost identical in pretty much every way to the debacle of the last one I went to………firstly and I only have myself to blame I arrived late and as result was tucked away in the wasteland at the far end of the table too far away to communicate with the majority of the people at the event.  To further compound the misery……….Terresa’s (Of the Christmas Day massacre) brother was at event…..I don’t know him that well and I’m sure he’s a decent guy, but given how things had exploded with his sister it was a little awkward to say the least.

I wallowed in my self pity for about an hour and then finally decided I’d pretty much had enough and simply got up took my plate and squeezed myself between two women at the far end of the table.  Needless to say things picked up dramatically from this point on and I had an interesting if not particularly engaging conversation with both of them……..however there was still one person I had yet to connect with and based on appearence only she was in my opinion the best of the bunch (Yes, she was the only Asian there).  As the group began to leave I asked if she would stay a little later so I could get to know her a little more………she agreed and we chatted for about half an hour.

What did I find out……….she lives in the city (Check 1), she works out 6 times a week (Check 2), she is exceptionally busy (Check 3), she has a good job (Check 4) and she is easy to talk too (Check 5)………she is a “5″ tool woman………not only does she work but she is also a black belt in Karate and is training to become an instructor.

Why does this matter, it matters because at any point in time she could turn round and beat me to a pulp, that is a pretty scary prospect……..would I be bothered by this no, would it turn me on……a little bit yes.  Does this make me some kind of twisted human being?  I’ll let you guys decide that.

I walked her back to the subway and to be honest have no idea if she is interested in meeting again or not, fortunately in this environment you don’t have to ask…….you simply send an email to the organiser (that I have done) that they forward the message to her.  I will wait and see if she responds.

On to today and as I got up and looked myself up and down in the mirror I have come to the conclusion that I am turning into and FB…….upon finishing my Easter chocolate that has no doubt contributed to the problem I will have to recommit to my exercise and healthy eating regime. 

The best looking woman (sadly married) in my office returned from vacation today and took me out to lunch to tell me about her trip to far east…….based on how she described things and my affection for Asain women it became clear that if I was to venture to Hong Kong, Thailand and Cambodia………..I would a) Be out of control and b) May possibly never come back.

After work I was due to work out…….but decided to chat with the Pilates instructor instead (it is skipped workouts like this that have also put me on the path to FB)…..I will put in some work during the fatal fourway tomorrow however.  Oliver is now out due to “root canal” issues (I can relate) and has now been replaced by Dev……I will take my “A” game to the court along with for first time my new rackets.

Onto the ACC to watch the Raptors beat the Knicks in what was one of the most boring games I have seen in a long, long time…….it was so boring that the most interesting parts were a) The cute girl sitting on my left and b) The comments made by the person I went to the game with sitting on my right.  What did he have to say, well the following:

“That I am tortured sole who enjoys misery, and as a result am destined to remain single as it is the only way to guarantee that I will remain miserable”

I am not sure what to make of this at the moment, but on first thought it probably has an element of truth to it………I will post some reasons for and against the statement in the next couple of days.

Mood for the days 5 & 6………I will average the two for a 5.5

Day 156 – March 26th

Just returned from the hanger and…….oh yes…….oh yes……the Raptors have just taken down Detroit, the turning point of the game was even before the first tip when Calderon decided that for the benefit of the team he should come off the bench…….and it appears to have worked.  The Raptors have been stumbling the last few weeks, and whilst they haven’t quite fallen hopefully this game will help them regain there balance.

The big sporting news today is “hats off” to David Beckham, who made his 100th appearance for England.  Whilst I do not know Beckham I am glad he has reached this milestone as at his peak he was one of the greatest players in the world……..he has gone from chipping the keeper in his early years, to driving United to the treble, to scoring one of the greatest goals England has seen against Greece to put England into the finals of a major championship.  I am not sure if Beckham will play for England again, we’ll wait and see.

What else has happened today……a haircut as I was feeling a little sluggish…….and finally, finally my new squash rackets have arrived…….they are very, very light especially the head of the racket and whilst I have yet to play with them I am already a little nervous that I may not have enough skill to play with the racket.  Whilst I am a good player, obviously I am no where near the level of the pros who use this brand of racket routinely.

Got notification that one of the shows of my Mirvish subscription has been canceled, they have offered me either a refund or a free ticket to different show…….I will ponder this pleasant dilemma.

Mood for the day 8 out of 10.

Day 155 – March 25th

Let’s get it on the “fatal fourway” has been confirmed and on Saturday I will compete against Olivier, Jeff and Jerry in a mini squash tournament.  It has been an age since I last saw Jerry ever since his marriage and move to the burbs I have only seen him a couple of times.  Is this because of the marriage or the burbs probably a combination of both……although have been told by numerous people that upon marriage a man’s social life is seriously curtailed.

Hopefully my rackets will have arrived by Saturday, as I came home today and they are still yet to show up……how long can it take to ship something from Quebec to Toronto, this is the 21st century and not “back in the day” when things were shipped by horse and cart.

Spoke with Libia again, although she sounded a little spluttery (??) given her roommate was setting fire to something that she was supposed to be having for dinner and as result smoke was starting to consume the apartment…….I will call her again following the “dinner party” Thursday night.

I also received an email from Michelle, and whilst she is not able to attend the Pistons game, she has suggested we go watch a Raptor road game in local bar……..no doubt we will end up in the Sports Bar cafe at Yonge/St Clair…….I have fond memories of the place having a) watched Raptor playoff games there in the past and b) the enforcer burger.

Another new prospect has half arrived as the agency called me……it was too late to return the call when I got home….but will get all the details Wednesday.

What else has happened, my mother sent me the tentative dates for her trip, so I’ll start the planning soon and in what can only be described as mixed news Soo has canceled my pilates class for this Sunday.  Why is this mixed………….because a) I will miss having my abs feel as though they are on fire and b) I will miss spending an hour with a pretty girl.

Take a wild guess as to what I would class as the good/bad of the situation. Leafs are getting spanked as I write this so at the moment the glass is half full.

Mood for the day 7 out of 10.

Day 154 – March 24th

Back on the squash court today and whilst my new rackets have yet to arrive, someone lent me a new racket……the difference between playing with a broken racket and a new one is incredible and as a result Butler was dispatched 3-0.  I still feel a little tired and my fitness is weak but hopefully I am back on the right track.

I am officially on the beach volleyball team, the season starts in a few weeks and I am looking forward to it immensely as I think a few more social interactions will do me good.

Not much else going on today other than I discovered that the pictures on EU passports have all kind of security measures built in when you try and photo copy them.

Mood for the day 6 out of 10.

Day 153 – March 23rd

After the high invariably comes the low and so it has proved today with what can only be described as a pretty bad day……in the morning I watch Lewis Hamilton stumble but not quite fall in the Grand Prix, and follow this immediately by Liverpool getting thumped by Manchester United.  I am now already depressed and choose to skip the gym…….

Maybe the Raptors will cheer me up at the ACC……things start well and we are up by around 15 after one quarter, however things soon fall apart and I leave feeling downbeat after another Raptor defeat.  The Raptors now have a .500 record and are looking nervously in the rear view mirror as they risk dropping to the number 7 seed and a likely 4 game sweep by Detroit……..

It is time for my Sunday evening stroll………hopefully it will cheer my up somewhat.

Mood for the day 2 out 10.

Day 152 – March 22nd

The highlight of today was always going to be RENT but more of that later…….started off with a morning game of squash and despite my racket that is now literally hanging together by thread I manged a 3-1 win. I am not sure if it is as a result of poor hydration, packing on muscle or the fact that a broken racket means you have to put in so much more effort into each swing, but squash is difficult at the moment…..as I say I’m not all together sure why……hopefully my new rackets will arrive soon.

Followed this up by watching some taped qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix……..there are too many cars burning off fuel in qualify and dangerously slowing down, it is no surprise that someone has been penalised and Hamilton has been thrown down the grid……it will be tough for him to come back in the race.

There appears to be numerous closing down sales at the moment and as a result this afternoon I bought 4 dress shirts, 4 short sleeve summer shirts, 3 sweaters and 4 polo/t-shirts for $150 it’s a deal it’s a steal as we would say in the UK.

An now to RENT, if RENT were a women I would describe it as “spectacular”.  To say I was impressed would be an understatement, it is a flat out classic that just goes straight from one great song to another……..and takes you to an incredible high, only to bring you all the way down and back again.  It is a musical that confronts a real and harsh situation and certainly hits the mark…….it was every bit as good as I remembered and as a result remains my favourite musical………it also makes me wonder how the such fare as “We Will Rock You” does so well at the box office……makes no sense, no sense whatsoever.

I was also not alone in my assessment of the situation as the performance got a well deserved standing “O”.   I can not remember the last time I had a day this good, is it a perfect day, obviously not but it has come pretty close and my mood reflects this.

Mood for the day 9 out of 10.

Day 151 – March 21st

Today is Good Friday, and a welcome day off work of just rest and relaxation.  Was offered a new deal from Dinnerworks for a one year membership so on Thursday I will be going for dinner with 7 “active” 25 to 35 year olds. (4 women, 3 guys).  It is quite a while since I went to a singles dinner party so am intrigued as to how things will turn out.

In the afternoon today I went to see the movie “Never Back Down”……it is a cross between Rocky and Karate Kid, it is enjoyable but by no means a classic.

The US presidential race is taking even more bizarre twists as it appears the passport profiles of all the major candidates have been breached…….if the confidential files of presidential candidates can be breached it makes you wonder just how safe are the so called “confidential” files of the regular public.

As I mentioned at the top, today is “Good” Friday………..what is all that about, as everyone knows I am not particular religious but am obviously familiar with the story.  If the story is true and if it is or not is open to debate then figure this………on a Friday the son of god was subjected to one of the most brutal and barbaric acts the world has seen.

I would say that any day that any living creature is subjected to torture and humiliation in front of a rabid crowd is a terrible day.  Yet this is not just any living creature it is the so called son of god (and a couple of others) who are subjected to this and a graphic account is written.  How a day such as this merits the term “good” is beyond me, so if anyone has any idea as to why the day was named as such, feel free to let me know.

Mood for the day 8 out of 10.