luckycanuck: (Mr Strong)
It feels great.

Click for 12 hours of pushups )


The reception I got in Melbourne was inspiring. Parts of the challenge were trying, parts were frustrating, but overall the experience was great. For a while, instead of feeling stalked by the black dog, I felt bulletproof.

www.everydayhero.com.au/blackdogpushups
Twitter: @blackdogpushups
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Dog-Pushups/220574198010624
luckycanuck: (Mr Strong)
I managed 3,615 pushups in three hours.
Click for details and pics )

It was a good physical challenge to take on, and I raised some money for a cause and an organisation that is important to me, but on top of that, I was moved by the level of support that friends and even strangers offered me throughout the challenge. A lot of people had no idea that I had been facing depression all year and many of them sent me messages of support or came to visit me on the day.

It was a great challenge and a great cause!
luckycanuck: (Mr Strong)
The project is going very well.

I set myself a high fundraising target and so far it is going quite well.  I have raised close to $1000 without having done a single pushup.  Most of it is from friends, but some donations have come in from total strangers who heard about me through others.

Barack Obama has just arrived in Canberra, and he will be around tomorrow so the Sunrise program will be doing at least some of their broadcast from Canberra rather than from the site of my pushup challenge.  They may do the whole thing there which would mean the probability of getting on TV has dropped.  That is a pain.  I'm still doing it tomorrow.  People are coming to support me, but I've thought about having another go tomorrow to get on TV.

I have been very impressed with the support that people have offered me.  Plenty of friends have promised to come to visit me during the challenge and messages of support have been flooding in from all quarters.  Even people who I thought might be cynical or who might find my endearing quirks to be annoying habits are being supportive.

This is good beyond helping me do pushups or helping me raise money.  It is a reminder that there are a lot of people who care about me and are concerned about the state of my moods.  My cousin and cousin in law who arrived in Sydney this morning were very supportive and were clear that there is nothing wrong with feeling gloom.  They also mentioned a book by former All Black John Kirwan entitled All Blacks Don't Cry that details his problem as a big strong rugby guy who suffered from depression and couldn't talk to anyone about it without them saying "harden up."

Here are the contact details for Black Dog Pushups.

Twitter: @blackdogpushups (I am picking up new Twitter followers all the time, and I intend to live tweet during the challenge itself.)
E-Mail: blackdogpushups@gmail.com
Fundraising page: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/blackdogpushups

And here is the media release, perhaps the first media release in history that I've helped write that actually mentions me!

BLACK DOG PUSHUPS TO TACKLE DEPRESSION

A Canberra man who has been fighting a battle against depression is doing 3,000 pushups in three hours to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute and awareness of depression.
 
Luckycanuck will undertake his challenge from 6:00am to 9:00am on Thursday 17 November at the corner of Martin Place and Elizabeth Street in Sydney.
 
“I love pushups and I hate depression, so doing one to fight the other was a natural fit,” Luckycanuck said.
 
“All year I’ve been engaged in a running battle against depression. I've had good days and bad days, but one thing that always seemed to help me keep the black dog at bay was getting regular exercise.
 
“It was a self test from the Black Dog Institute that convinced me to seek further help earlier this year, so I wanted to do something to help them reach others struggling with depression.
 
“I know that exercise can have a very positive effect on people facing depression.  Doing 3,000 pushups in three hours is how I choose to get exercise, but if you aren’t quite up to that, there are plenty of other ways to let exercise lift your mood.
 
Around one in five Australians will suffer from a mood disorder in their lifetime.
 
For some people it will be an isolated occurrence. However, the reality is that for many people, it will be an ongoing challenge throughout their lives that will also impact loved ones around them.
 
The Black Dog Institute is a not- for-profit organisation helping people with mood disorders and by undertaking this initiative/project we know we are helping those impacted to enjoy a normal life.
 
The Institute has an international reputation for its outstanding research while at the same time operates a clinic for people with mood disorders at its Randwick facility as well as extensive community programs and education and training for health professionals, including GP’s.
 
Donations can be made at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/blackdogpushups
 
To find out more about the Institute visit their website: www.blackdoginstitute.org.au


I may send this off to the newspapers along with photographs after the fact if there is not much media coverage of the event.

I am very optimistic about tomorrow.  In 24 hours I expect I will be quite sore, quite tired, but also quite happy.  It's good having a purpose again, even if it's just for a little while.

Black Dog

Nov. 8th, 2011 10:45 pm
luckycanuck: (Mr Strong)
No, I'm not feeling like the proverbial black dog is stalking me.  I'm actually feeling pretty good.

But I am working on a new plan.  My plan is to do 3,000 pushups during the three hours of a Channel 7 Sunrise broadcast in Martin Place right in front of the studio.

I've found a charity that would suit this purpose.  It's called the Black Dog Institute and they do more than raise awareness of depression. They provide clinical support and conduct research too.  They also recently staged Exercise Your Mood week promoting exercise as a way of fighting depression.

I think they would also be better at getting a foot in the door with the network people better than I would as they are a respected organisation rather than some random weirdo who does pushups in public.

Tomorrow I will make some calls and see what I can arrange.  I'll be up in Sydney next week and it could be a great opportunity.  Pushups and exercise in general have always been a lifeline of sorts for me, and I think there could be a lot of interest in this.  I could do some good and have a sense of purpose again.

I'll keep you posted.

Today my interval timer arrived and I put it to use immediately with a tabata workout at the gym.

TW: Tabata sandbag squats (163), tabata rowing (65 calories), tabata sandbag around the worlds (75), tabata SDHP 32kg (84), tabata pullups (93), tabata hr pushups (114).

Also, there will me more change in Chez Canuck.  Esky is leaving.  She couldn't bear to go without winter, and will be moving to Europe in December as soon as she finishes work.  Also, her boyfriend is there.
luckycanuck: (Default)
I wound up going to a Q&A session featuring six American political types from both parties on Wednesday night.  It was kind of like networking, though not exactly, but ti did make me feel busy and important again.  It was one of the rare occasions over the last couple of months when I have worn a suit.  Some of them liked my pushup ideas and said to get in touch with them regarding election experience opportunities next year.

TW: 10 rounds - 20 situps, 5 100kg deadlifts. 10 rounds - row 200m, 10 situps.  I also did 10 handstand pushups, for which I had to ask for help with balance.  The pushups themselves were fine, but I do need help with balance and I will keep practicing them.

The market seems to be ok but there is still the chance for major falls if people get spooked again.  I am mostly in, but I am looking to get out of a few stocks like Nexbis which has long frustrated me and has not responded to my requests for further information like VDM Group did.  I'm considering tipping a bit more into their capital raising now that it has been extended and sweetened with one option for every two stocks held after the raising.  There is another capital raising for ERA that I will likely participate in.  I usually like capital raisings.  Some people complain about diluting the stock, but that only happens if you don't participate.

The house has been pretty quiet with people away.  It's just been Roxy and I for the last couple weeks, but now Esky is back.  Ginger Harpist is still in France, but I am getting photos from Facebook.

I'm feeling a bit better, having been busy.  The gloom isn't quite as intense as it was during recent lows.  I plan to go back to therapy next week.

Off to Sydney tomorrow for the weekend.  I have successfully learned Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau in Welsh and I am all set to sing on Saturday.
luckycanuck: (Maccabi)
No I didn't just doze off and collapse on the keyboard in writing the title of this post.

These words are the emotive climax of the Welsh National Anthem.

I will be supporting Wales against France this weekend because I liked the way Wales played against Ireland, and also because I have some Welsh ancestors.  But I don't want to just claim Welshness for the day based on that.  I would rather actually show some appreciation for it, and learning to sing in an obscure and difficult language will do just that.  So I am going to apply my skills at learning little bits of language to learning to sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

Just FYI, here are the lyrics in Cymraeg.

Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi,
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri;
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mâd,
Dros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.

Gwlad! Gwlad! Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad.
Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau.


And here they are translated into English.

The land of my fathers is dear unto me,
Old land where the minstrels are honoured and free:
Its warring defenders, so gallant and brave,
For freedom their life's blood they gave

Home! Home! True I am to my home!
While seas secure, this land so pure,
O may our old language endure.


It is rousing stuff, especially when belted out by tens of thousands of rugby fans.  Of course, this is not to downplay the French National Anthem, which is pretty stirring too.

Allons enfants de la Patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé
L'étendard sanglant est levé
Entendez-vous dans nos campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras.
Egorger vos fils, vos compagnes!
Aux armes citoyens
Formez vos bataillons
Marchons, marchons
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons


Or in English

Arise children of the fatherland
The day of glory has arrived
Against us tyranny's
Bloody standard is raised
The bloody standard is raised
Listen to the sound in the fields
The howling of these fearsome soldiers
They are coming into our midst
To cut the throats of your sons and consorts
To arms citizens
Form your battalions
March, march
Let impure blood
Water the furrows
of our fields

It's about the most violent national anthem I can think of.  On Saturday I will sing both.

I've always liked national anthems.

I had dinner last night with a friend who works for the US State Department on the Australia desk and who is visiting Canberra right now.  She though Pushups Across America was a great idea.

YW: 100 24kg kettlebell swings, 100 pullups, max hand release pushups for remainder of 30 minutes.  Total, 376 HRPU.  Finisher, 25-20-15-10-5 row calories, bicep curls.

Update

Oct. 10th, 2011 11:42 pm
luckycanuck: (Mr Happy)
Another review post.

Investing: There seems to be more confidence in the market now, and some of the stocks that people were shorting are now on their way back up.  I like to imagine that the people who were pushing the price of my shares down are now scrambling to close their positions and losing money.  Aurora, Billabong and ERA are gaining momentum, and I've got orders out to pick up more as I think they seem to have turned a corner with plenty of buyers waiting in the wings.  Service Stream looks like it has been oversold and I picked up more today now that there is finally support, and I got more Eureka last week.  It seems drastically undervalued.

Gym: I managed a workout on Friday that involved 25 calories of rowing, 25 marine pushups, 25 pullups, and 25 burpees repeated 6 times.  It took me 52 minutes and I had a real thousand yard stare going from the burpees.

Pushups/Gloom: I've also been doing large numbers of pushups on a regular basis so I can get freakishly good at them.  The idea of taking some time next year and doing Pushups Across America to raise money for charity is gaining steam.  I think I may have found a charity that might be suitable for this project of mine.  It's called To Write Love On Her Arms and it is a group that tries to fight depression by setting up intervention programs and funding crisis hotlines.  Apparently they are quite switched on, and they have contacts and chapters all over who may be able to help me out too.  It's early on and I would have to do a lot of investigating, but it might be especially appropriate for me.  Pushups, and working out generally is a great help for me when I get the gloom.

Church: To Write Love On Her Arms is a vaguely Christian charity.  It chooses not to identify itself that way because a lot of people find the term alienating (I can well understand that) and they have discontinued links with some questionable Christian groups some time ago, but the founder is personally religious as I am.  It has been a long time since I felt particularly religious (or even spiritual) and in the year to date I've only been to church for services twice, and even that is contingent on counting my attendance on Easter Sunday at an airport chapel for fifteen minutes before my flight in Orlando.  I really haven't felt like it.

On Sunday I got up early and drove up to Young because Renaissance Priest's daughter was being baptised.  It all went very well, the sermon given by a priest I know in Canberra was excellent and was all about a very difficult passage (those are so often the best), and given the circumstances and the atmosphere, I was glad to be there.  It was the first Eucharist I've had since Ash Wednesday.  I'm not going to be a regular at church all of a sudden, but it was good to be back.

Rugby: On Saturday I donned a Wales jersey and watched the Wales/Ireland match in an Irish pub.  There was me and one other red shirt in a sea of green, but luckily rugby is the kind of game where you can do that without getting glassed.  In fact, if I could have faked a Welsh accent I could have had half a dozen drinks bought for me after Wales won.  If I had been wearing England gear I doubt I would have been as well received.  People really don't like England.  I think it's excessive.

Friends: I wound up meeting a couple of guys at the pub, one of whom is an old friend of Helga (small world) and had a couple of drinks with them.  I've not been much for going out for drinks for quite a while, but I felt up to it this weekend.  It was as though I had a lot of mental energy and could stand going out after the Wallabies/Springboks match (or maybe I was just in a very good mood given the result.)  I've not been out for drinks with the guys for a long time.  I've not even had "the guys" for a long time.  That's not to say these guys are the guys, but for part of the weekend they were.  We wound up out at a bar in the city that had an overabundance of fake tan and ridiculous hair on excessively muscular wankers, and the "I want to be a reality tv contestant" women to match.  Normally that atmosphere would have sent me into an aspie tailspin, but for some reason I had a good time.  I really can't account for it.
luckycanuck: (Default)
It has been an active few days.

Plenty of workouts, including one where I surprised myself by cleaning more than my bodyweight.  I failed at my first attempt but made the second and felt very proud of myself.  I've also had lots of fun with the tire at Deakin (which belongs to a trainer who has no objections to me using it if he's not around.)
Pics )

So I've had plenty of physical fun.  I took Coffee Snob through a workout I devised for her, and she said to me "you make me work harder than I want to, but I have to work out harder than I want to."  Praise indeed.

I also went to a harp concert featuring Ginger Harpist.

Pics )

Because I'm all cultured like that.  She learned me a few things about the harp the next day.

I had a job interview that went very well.  It would be doing media work in the Department of Health and it would be one step removed from the Minister's office.  There was a little bit of concern about my partisan past, but I'm professional enough to be able to put my personal feelings about the Minister aside (I don't like her at all) and do the job.  It would be a three month job, possibly longer, and it sounds quite interesting.  Oh yes, and the first question they asked was about wife carrying, which I mention on my resume.

I've also traded a bit.  Generally I keep an eye on the market for the first half hour and the last ten minutes or so in addition to checking in periodically during the day, rather than watching like a hawk all the time. I can still pay attention without letting it get in the way of everything else.

I'm up in Sydney now, but I forgot to bring appropriate clothes for looking for work so I may have to pick something up before heading into the city today talk to a couple of agencies.  I've also got a funeral to go to.  The team doctor for the Convicts and partner of one of our players died and it would be good to go.

Last night I had a beer with an ex-girlfriend.  With Jem, things were often tumultuous.  I really loved her and I still do (though I didn't say it this time.)  I hadn't seen her in quite a while but we had a good chat.  I told her about me being depressed, and her reaction was "isn't is great?"  I may have been told at some point, but somehow it never struck me that she had been struggling with depression since before we met.  That might explain some of the difficulty we had, especially when you add in the stresses and aspieness that I brought to the table.  What we had was wonderful at times, but it was also exhausting at times.  Part of me that still remembers the good things between up still wishes we could have it back, but we can't.

Tonight I'm having a beer with another ex-girlfriend.  It's lucky for me that I get along with exes.  The only one about which I have any negative memories is Ma Cherie Zoologiste (and I'm not sure she was actually a girlfriend.)

So the last few days have been pretty good actually, given that I've kept myself busy.
luckycanuck: (SPARTA!!!!!!!!)
Right now, Australia and the USA are playing a preliminary match in the rugby world cup.  I am at home instead of watching it at the pub.

Also, I am in a really strange mood.

I turned up just before kickoff, ordered a beer, and found myself an uncrowded spot in a nearly empty pub to watch.  My intended workout for they day was to do ten pushups for every point the Wallabies scored.  I've done it plenty of times.  Last Sunday I did the same thing while watching Canada v France in a pub and there were no objections.

But as I finished my second set of post try pushups, I was told that nobody was allowed to be on the floor and that pushups in the pub were out of the question on accout of health and safety regulations.

F*cking health and safety regulations!  I wasn't in anyone's way, I wasn't doing pushups on shards of broken glass, I wasn't hurting anyone, I was just patronising their pub and watching the rugby in my own way and they decided they would rather I left than stay for the rest of the game and most likely for dinner.  Damn you Surf Rock Hotel!!!  Damn you I say!  If you thought I was going to hang around for the atmosphere you are wrong.  I was there to watch the rugby and do pushups, and if you take either of those away from me I have no reason to stay.

So I finished my beer in one gulp and walked out, making sure they knew why I was leaving.  I marched home with a scowl on my face.  My plans had been interrupted and I was fuming.  I had been looking forward to the rugby and my pushups all day and now I couldn't enjoy either.

Now I'm home, and with my original plan dashed I am all aspie stressed and struggling to think of something else to do.  I feel paralysed with frustration.

MCat and I had another long Skype chat this afternoon and I told her that I felt broken, that I had no idea how to fix myself, and that I had virtually no inclination to do so.

I'm not well.
luckycanuck: (Mr Happy)


"It used to be cool" night went very well.

I decided on Saturday morning that I would go as Officer John McClane from the Die Hard series.  There are very few characters that I could come as that have very short hair, but this one worked.  One theory that Die Hard was still cool and therefore my outfit was inappropriate was advanced, but I decided that it was still a valid idea because Die Hard was such a huge series that was so full of iconic action movie cliches that it can be mocked for its excesses even as it enjoys a mantle of retro coolness.  Plenty of things fall into similar categories.

I managed to get a workout in on Saturday afternoon.

YW: AMRAP 12 minutes - 5 80kg deadlifts, 15 hand release pushups (12 rounds +5 +3).  Finisher - 2 minutes for max situps (75), 2 minutes max 30kg tricep extentions (81), 2 minutes mac 30kg bicep curls (73).

I was really sore especially from all the pushups, but later on during the party I was called upon by MadAlex to do pushups as her way of explaining my inclination to spontaneously do pushups.  I did 50 in one set as they counted off, and later did some pushups on the sofa over the people who were sitting on it.  I don't know whose idea that was, but I was always going to take up that challenge.
Cut for pics )



People didn't stay as late as our last party, there weren't as many people (last time Roxy invited almost her whole program and this time she only invited about half of them.  By about 2:30am I was in bed.  I made it up the next morning with no hangover at all (Alleluia spent a lot of time over the toilet regretting the amount of alcohol she had consumed the night before.  I was absolutely exhausted though, and have not set foot off of the property all day.  I've also taken a couple of my prescription muscle relaxants and have been quite drowsy.  My neckstill has a stubborn crick and I've got a lot of soreness in the chest and core.

So today was spent mopping floors and loaning my car to Roxy as I was not going to be driving anywhere.  Chez Canuck is clean again.
luckycanuck: (Default)
I wrote our standard words on live animal exports today in anticipation of a flood of letters and e-mails we will be getting on the subject after some disturbing footage of Australian cattle being slaughtered in Indonesia hit the news yesterday.

I also got a call from an agency that posted a job recently.  This particular job would mean a pay cut which I am not all that keen on, but they have a number of public affairs jobs and want to talk to me further about my background and the opportunities they have.  Good news.

The odd things I've done recently?

Today, though I didn't do a whole lot of what could be called work, but I didn't do nothing.  I spent a substantial portion of the day reading about 19th century American Presidential elections.  Because I'm a political nerd even when I'm wasting time.

And I just recalled that last weekend I went to a bank machine and withdrew $60 and then went into the supermarket to pick up a couple of things.  When I got to the checkout, there was no $60 there.  I checked all my pockets and couldn't find it.  My best guess was that I was distracted for a second and left it in the machine.  Someone in Dee Why is $60 richer.  After a few minutes of confusion and frustration, the conclusion I took away from this was that I'm lucky that losing $60 like that is an anecdote rather than a crisis.  Part of me feels like I'm being austere until I feel I've saved $60 I would have otherwise spent.
luckycanuck: (Kokoda tractor)

Last year when I was out with my fellow Australians to observe the American elections, we went out on the Saturday before Halloween and in the process I met MCat who was dressed up as Lady Gaga.  We spoke for a little while and became Facebook friends.

For the past few days, I stayed with MCat and her cats (who reluctantly got used to me.)

I suppose in theory it's an odd thing to do for both of us.  She opened her home to a guy from overseas (and had to reassure skeptical friends that she would be ok) and it was a long way for me to go, though given that I was in America anyway, Orlando isn't all that hard to get to.

We had gotten to know each other pretty well though, in fact better than most people I interact with on a daily basis.  She knew about my frailties and quirks and accepted them all.  For both of us it just felt right.

So when my bags were delayed (again) coming in from Washington, I didn't mind much even though it meant waiting around the airport a bit because my bags came in on the next flight right at the same time as MCat finished her class and came by to pick me up.

On Thursday little aside from resting was done.  I've been fighting a cold since last week (probably punishment for lack of sleep in New York) and medicated myself to a point where I felt much more human.  (Though I think I passed some of my symptoms on to MCat.)

On Friday she hauled me across the state to her native Tampa (which is, I was assured, much better than Orlando) and we went to Sand Key so that I could swim in another body of water, this time the extraordinarily warm Gulf of Mexico and do pushups on the shore.  An onlooker asked if we were visiting on our honeymoon, and we said no, but for some reason I was inspired to spin a bit of a tale.  I told the guy I was a rugby player when he asked what I did.  Now technically that's true.  I am a rugby player.  I never said I played rugby for a living, I just let him conclude that.  He said he was going to look out for me when he watched ESPN.  I told him I played for the Sydney Convicts, and I'm pretty sure he forgot the name of the team by the time he left.

People in the south are really very friendly.

On Saturday we went to the other coast and visited Kennedy Space Centre, which was expensive, but worth it.  A space shuttle was on the platform in preparation for launch and we got a pretty good view.  We also met with an active space shuttle astronaut and, of course, I did pushups with her.  I'm not a full on science nerd, but I do have some tendencies in that area and the opportunity to get that close to space was too good to pass up.  The whole production was quite impressive and was aimed at promoting the idea of space travel amongst people who might lobby their Senators and Congressmen to increase NASA's funding.  I know there are a lot of demands on taxpayer funds and the US Government is going deeper and deeper in debt everyda, and I couldn't actually explain in simple terms what NASA is doing with all those expensive missions, but it was hard to come away from the place without wanting to send a man to Mars.

This morning MCat took me to the airport and saw me off.  (I made it through security in time to catch most of Easter Sunday Mass.)  Now is an odd part of the holiday.  I am currently in LAX on an 11 hour stopover (luckily I have a guest pass to the Qantas Club which was accepted which is good because as much as I like adventure, I think I've had enough of it for now and I would rather have some quiet time.)

The problem with quiet time is that sometimes it gives me time to stew, and stewing at the moment would likely be on the subject of feeling alone now that I am leaving all my American friends behind.

But you know, this has been a pretty good trip and I have had some very good friends to share it with.  From starting my holiday visiting JAQ in San Francisco to visiting my family, to getting in touch with some old friends in Ottawa and Washington, to getting in touch with newer friends in New York, to meeting blog friends in Baltimore, to ending my trip with MCat, I have been fairly well surrounded by people who know me and care what happens to me.

There were a few lonely and teary moments on the flight in to LA, but they are behind me now.

I am, indeed, a Luckycanuck.
luckycanuck: (Kokoda tractor)
And then there was Washington.  On my first night I went for a walk up to the Adams Morgan area which was quite a walk but it was worth it for the excellent slice of blueberry pie and then a visit to a pub.  People in both the cafe and in the pub were very friendly and I found myself happily involved in a number of unsolicited conversations.

On Tuesday I made a trip around the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum and did pushups in front of the Wright Brothers plane, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, the Spirit of St Louis (where I must have done 100 friggin pushups waiting for the guy to figure out how to use my camera.)  Then it was Archie Bunker's chair, Fonzie's jacket, Catwoman's costume, and Dorothy's Ruby slippers.

In the afternoon I put my suit on and made my way out to Alexandria to have a work meeting.  I was meeting with a guy who does microtargeting similar to one of the projects I work on and he and I discussed what he does and what I do and how I might improve it.  He was of the opinion that my work was quite impressive given the budget and resources I have.  I've considered a change of scenery and a move back to North America (considered it, not planning it) and this is the kind of place I might end up working if I did.  It would be an awfully big step though.  Still, given all the career angst I've been having, I liked hearing that someone thought very highly of the work I do.  We will be in touch.

I spent the evening having beers with a lawyer with whom I went to university and whom I hadn't seen in 10 years.  There was plenty of career talk and poltical talk and comments were made that I was far better dressed than most people on holiday.  It was a good reminder that plenty of people who appear to be master's of the universe are jaded and pissed off about their career choices like a lot of the lawyers he knows.

Right now there are a bunch of American girls on a church trip who are strangely fascinated by my stories.

Today it's on to Orlando to stay with someone I met last year.
luckycanuck: (Default)

The trip to Boston was pretty uneventful aside from a group of brotards who wanted to get on in Burlington, Vermont.  They had been drinking and their 2:00am attempts to join us on the bus south were denied.

We arrived on schedule and I got more rest than I expected (and did pushups in two states along the way.)  Before long I was out on the street to take on Boston.

My first stop was the Samuel Adams Brewery.  It's tough for me to pass up a brewery tour and this was quite good, though the visit to the tasting room meant I wound up drunk by noon.

Then it was back into town where pushups were done at the exterior location where Cheers was filmed.  Then Boston Common, then Paul Revere's House where I also had a wonderful (and huge) cannoli in what is now Boston's Italian neighbourhood.

A highlight of the day was my trip to the USS Constitution.  For one thing, I did marine pushups on the oldest active commissioned warship in the world, and the tour of the ship was given by a Navy Petty Officer who presented the whole thing very well with plenty of gusto and theatrics.




I wound up walking further, all the way to Harvard.  They say "yah kahnt pahk yah kah in Harvahd yahd" and they are right, though you can do pushups.  Alas, they didn't set me up to do a PhD on a pushup scholarship.

Finally I made it across to Fenway Park where the Red Sox were playing.  I briefly considered buying tickets from a scalper but felt uneasy with the idea.  At any rater, I was knackered from getting limited sleep the night before and walking what I now estimate to be about 11 miles across Boston fuelled by New England Clam Chowdah and a couple of local beers.

I slept well last night.
luckycanuck: (Kokoda tractor)

I felt a tiny bit odd yesterday while being dropped off at the backpackers where I stayed.  Nothing was implied, but part of me wondered if I could be seen as too old to be staying at a backpackers.  At any rate, I moved to new digs today.  It's another backpackers and it's located in the old Ottawa Jail.  I am staying in a cell.Cut for pics )
No political work was done today.  I'm not sure if I will get into the central campaign HQ.  Obviously people have bigger priorities than me.  It would be great to get in and there is stil a chance, but I'm not sure if PP will come through with this networking opportunity.  On the other hand, if I can even meet some of these people socially outside of their workplace it would still be useful.  I'll probably do a bit of work tomorrow afternoon.  I'm on holiday, sure, but this is a key reason I came to Ottawa specifically and I would like to see it through.

I had dinner tonight with a friend of mine from university who now works for the Department of Foreign Affairs and has had her share of postings overseas.  It was good catching up but I do kind of wish her brother hadn't come along.  He's a nice guy, but I don't know him and it complicated social interaction and meant I couldn't be as frank and comfortable as I would have liked to have been.  Also I had bubble tea for the first time ever.  I'm not sure what the big deal is.  The place was crowded with quite a few annoying hipsters and I'm pretty sure the guy making the tea was high.
luckycanuck: (Kokoda tractor)
The soundtrack to this post is "Boots or Hearts" by The Tragically Hip, a song I hadn't heard in years until I heard it on the radio during my drive to the mountains yesterday.


Cut for pics )
luckycanuck: (SPARTA!!!!!!!!)
I promised a write up of the Warrior Dash.  Well here it is.

Click for pics of Warrior Training )
luckycanuck: (half marathon)

That's how many steps I reckon I took in my 12 hour race, provided that I averaged 1 metre per step.

Cut for action photos )

The donations to beyondblue have picked up a lot recently.  So far they total $860 with more still pledged to come in.  I even managed to collect a few donations on the night from passers by or people on my support crew.

Now I just have to hope I recover from this in time to make a showing at the Warrior Dash on Saturday.  Why oh why do they have to be so close together?
luckycanuck: (half marathon)
There will be another post including all the details and photos, but I finished my 12 hour run.  I was one of 6 to finish the whole 12 hours, and in the process I completed 85.02km.  (53 miles)

I am now a barely walking ball of soreness.
luckycanuck: (Default)

See if you can guess which of these stories is which.

1) I have had to change rooms in our office.

2) The stock market as it relates to me.

3) My nice watch (a confirmation gift from an ex-girlfriend) has moved a total of 25 minutes since Monday.

4) An old rugby teammate will probably be joining me in the 12 hour race.

Go ahead and lock in your answers.  I'll read this while I wait.

Done?  Good.

1) I have had to change rooms in our office... relatively indifferent news.  It sounds like the kind of change that would disturb things in my life, but it's fine.  I no longer have a window, but I do have a room entirely to myself when Parliament isn't sitting.  I've also gotten rid of a number of things that were just taking up space.

2) The stock market as it relates to me... good news.  Overall the market is down so far in 2011, but everyday seems to bring good news for me as ARX, VMG, Cash Converters, and especially AUT have jumped considerably.  Even PVE has shown signs of life after being in the doldrums for a long time.  Still no hurry to sell though.

3) The watch... bad news.  I reckon I'll probably need to get a new battery.  I really like this watch and it has personal significance as it was bought by someone who knew I wouldn't have bought such a watch for myself.  Tonight I will probably have it looked at on the way home.  (I do wish shops in Australia were open later like they are in North America.)

4) Company on the 12 hour race... bad news that's not really so bad.  At first it bothered me because I felt as though it made my own determination to endure such a hardship less significant.  I know it shouldn't bother me and that it's petty, but I was all set to go with this and be all cool and unique, only for someone to come in and undermine my cool uniquitude.  Today I was walking/running to work and he passed by on his bike and we chatted a bit, and it doesn't bother me so much.  In the end it might be nice to have someone I know out there with me on the night.

My back feels a bit better, but time will tell how it holds up.  In the meantime I am still limited in what I can do (nothing that involves pressing while seated or lying down and pushups are tough.)  Here's hoping that things clear up and I can get back to my full suite of exercises soon.  The foam roller things that my physio recommended to me will be a regular fixture of workouts over the next couple of weeks.  I was at the gym last night later than normal which meant I avoided the resolutionaries who seem to come in and take over the place right after work.  Lucky for me that at all times of the day, nobody else seems to want to play with kettlebells.  Mmmmmmmmm.  Kettlebells.

Tomorrow I'm off for a long walk very early in the morning which will take me to isolated places where I can sing nice and loud without disturbing anyone.

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