Day 364 – October 22nd

There is a certain sadness coming over me or in reality I should say a certain sense of disbelief, I can not believe that tomorrow I will be 35 and the youth of my life will be behind me, there is not much else to say it is indeed a time of sadness not joy.

 

Mood for the day 3 out of 10.

Day 363 – October 21st

My beloved Raptors are playing a game in Denver today against Edmonton, the team is called Toronto they are not playing against a team from Edmonton but yet the game is taking place there and as a result I am not sure that I fully support this move.  The team is being pitched as Canada’s team but is this really the case, from my albeit somewhat limited travels through Canada it appears that if you are not from Toronto or live there now you pretty much hate the city.

 

Toronto is seen as a spoiled child in the eyes of many Canadians despite the fact that the city pays far more taxes than it receives back in government spending……but I digress and by all accounts the game in Edmonton had mixed results.  On the one hand the fan base was increased and people who wouldn’t usually get to see the NBA could experience it live but on the other hand the Raps took a beating.

 

Mood for the day 6 out of 10.

Day 362 – October 20th

The stress of the last two days appears to have got to me, and whilst I am physically at work……my mind is elsewhere and I am certainly not focused on the task at hand. I feel as though on this particular day I am being paid for producing not much of value at all.

 

Mood for the day 5 out of 10

Day 361 – October 19th

The Madonna concert actually happened last night but by the time I got home it was too late to post so I will write a mini review today and if I had to describe the concert in a word that word would be disappointing. 

 

The concert itself was fine and was it a stand alone event I would probably have enjoyed it more, but I will judge it in the context of the concert I have seen her in before.  Back then there was a party atmosphere throughout the entire building; people were singing and dancing but this time a very different vibe was to be had as the performance appeared trapped between two periods of time.  On the one hand were all the older folk (And yes put myself in that category) familiar with hits from the 80’s and 90’s and on the other the younger generation who appeared far more familiar with her current work and reacted as such.

 

As a result there never appeared to a moment whereby the whole crowd was at an equal level of excitement, some would be loud, some would be quite and unfortunately the energy of an arena in its entirety never fully materialized.  I would rate the concert a 6 out of 10 and with my mood of the day.

 

Mood of the day 6 out of 10.

Day 360 – October 18th

I have successfully completed my first day at work with juniors at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club………it has been a long time since I last taught children and will admit to being nervous and apprehensive going in.  Whilst it certainly wasn’t easy it wasn’t too bad either and I had the kids running, doing ball sense exercises and a little bit of hitting.  There are a couple of things that I have learned from the day, firstly that just because a child is from a relatively well off family does not necessarily mean that child is going to be well behaved and secondly and this was a real eye opener the definition of an “elite” child is very different in Canada to what it is in the UK.

 

I can remember taking the court with elite children in Britain in the past and can remember having my butt well and truly kicked by said children.  Were there any children at this particular class who could kick my butt the answer would be no, where there any children who would even take a point from me the answer would be probably not and there lies a distinct difference that had me pretty much having to make up routines on the fly as my original plans fell by the wayside due to a combination of both my pupils lack of skills and my own inabilities to raise the game of these children.

 

But it is only week 1 of 9 and hopefully by the time the holidays roll around my little brood will firing on all cylinders.  Following the stress of the morning was the relaxation of the afternoon as I snuck into a local hotel for some rest and relaxation by the pool.  Tonight is Madonna.

 

Mood for the day 7 out of 10.

Day 359 – October 17th

I feel completely exhausted today as though some kind of flu has invaded my body; I don’t have flu as I have neither the chills nor a runny nose/fever.  What I do feel though is tired exceptionally tired and to make matters worse tomorrow is the start of my new job.

 

Mood for the day 4 out of 10.

Day 358 – October 16th

Today I received my property tax assessment and despite the fact that we are now in a softening market it would appear that at least in tax terms my property has risen in value and as a result this could be classed as a mixed blessing.  On the negative side I will have to pay more tax however on the positive side the increased assessed value will help balance out my financial statements at year end.  Given the chaos that has overcome the financial markets my net worth has fallen every month this year, this being most depressing given I have a) Been paying down my mortgage, b) Been Saving and c) Been actively investing.  At the moment the status for year end is on a knife edge and I am not sure if I will come out ahead or not, my work bonus or lack thereof will probably push the scale either way.

 

Mood for the day 7 out of 10.

Day 357 – October 15th

I am at the dentist today and as usually hate it, I don’t like anytime when someone prods around with my body and even less so when it involves sharp implements and the gums and teeth.  To be fair my dentist is very professional and I usually don’t experience too much pain, and today was one of those days and as I look back I actually felt pretty relaxed sitting in the chair.  Despite this I will no doubt be exceptionally nervous when I return again in a few months time.  As a result of the prodding and probing I experienced I wasn’t really in the mood for too much else and pretty much relaxed the rest of the day.

 

Something that was far better on this day however was the England soccer team that continue to role with another win in world cup qualifying, 4 games played and 4 games won, looks like the boys will soon be booking there flight to South Africa.

 

Mood for the day 8 out of 10 (I have a sense of relief after the dentist)

Day 356 – October 14th

Today is Election Day in Canada and from what I have observed few people appear to care, there is more talk of the election by our friends to the south than what is happening within our own country and to be honest the lack of interest is probably as a result of the players involved.  There are no personalities no one to root for…..no one stirs up emotion in either a positive or negative way and the debates have been boring to the say the least.  Part of the problem could be the lack of power the Prime Minister actually has with 3 very distinct levels of government at work within the political system that despite being based on the political model of the UK is wildly different.  With for example Health Care being a national concern in the UK but the responsibility of the Province in Canada.

 

As a result of this phenomenon the Health Care provided in one province can vary in terms of wait time and service from the province located geographically next to it…….very strange.  But I digress the election was………..well to be honest a waste of time and Canada remains with a hung parliament and Stephen Harper at the helm.  Whilst I agree with a first past the post system it is in days such as this that I wonder if proportional representation is the way to go so that a government can be elected that has sufficient seats in the house to actively govern.

 

What else happened today well the Raptors played a team from Moscow, and cruised to an uninspiring victory, a pre-season game is a difficult sell at the best of times and the task becomes immensely more difficult when the opponent has precisely zero players that anyone has ever heard of.

 

Mood for the day 6 out of 10

Day 355 – October 13th

Today is the Thanksgiving holiday in Canada and I am thankful for the break from work……my energy level has been low in recent days and for some reason I am no longer enjoying all that life has to offer.  I feel sluggish and lazy and for some reason numerous self doubts have started to overcome me. 

 

I went to the gym for a good cardio and ab workout and at least now I can feel my strength starting to build, but still something is missing and I have no idea what it is.  I almost feel as I if I want to clean out my whole body and start over……….maybe some kind of detox is in order.  In the afternoon I went to see the move “The Express” it is an excellent story of sports and specifically race’s roll within sports in the USA it was the highlight of an otherwise miserable day.

 

Mood for the day 4 out of 10.