I'm having a bit of an emotional session here after getting an email from a Banffite friend of mine who I haven't seen in about a year, although we somewhat regularly communicate through email. I was reading her email and realize I really, really miss her and that it's definitely time we had a get together of some sort! It's strange, because our initial introduction was not a good one - actually, it was fairly rocky after some very harsh professional criticisms which were taken the wrong way (or maybe the right way given the amount of time we had known one another!). But after that, following a heart-to-heart discussion over a couple of scotches, we bonded and we've become very close in the last 2 years. Maybe it's true that the more difficulties that a relationship goes through, the stronger it can be made. Anyway, from a professional point of view, she's always been there to help me. And from a personal point of view, the same. And now, I really do miss her.
Once in a while, like a large brick to the head, it hits me how much I need my close friends and how lucky I am to have great people around me. How many great mentors I have as well, who continue to support me. I don't know why that has happened, because, in my darkest, most depressed states, I don't think I'm particularly worth standing by, but thankfully, those days are few and far between now, and I'm simply grateful for the close friends I do have who put up with me regardless of how insane, wonky, depressed or baggage-filled I might be! And when some of those friends are out of town and I only get to see them once in a while, it hits home a lot harder. But maybe if they were all close at hand, I wouldn't appreciate them as much.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Getting back on track
Amazingly, for the first time in about 10 or 12 months, I actually feel somewhat relaxed. This is a first fellow hedgehogs! Last week, I was actually enthusiastic to go back to work, the science fair is coming along nicely and it's been exciting to set up our new head office and hire a full-time administrative assistant to keep us in line. It's only been getting back to training that's been the slow cog in the works - jet lag, the weather and a plethora of catch-up work have kept me inside (not very good excuses). But this week it's back at it regularly. 5:30am comes very early for spin classes! But I'm buying a new pair of shoes this week so hopefully those will be incentive enough to get my lazy ass back in there! The next "Throwdown in O-Town" is in late April and I'm supposed to be on the card at 150 lbs so have to get back into shape. Hopefully my shoulder holds out. Right now, it's sore ALL the time. Sometimes worse (in the morning, after workouts, after shoveling or carrying things), sometimes better, but it throbs pretty much continuously. Last week, it was killing me from laughing too hard! That's pretty sad. So I've booked some ART sessions again to (hopefully) get it back to normal. I have a suspicion I'm stuck with having to be careful with it for a long time to come.
I think I've lost any cold tolerance I had before I left. Anything less than -5 deg C makes me run for my down jacket. That's pretty pitiful! Thankfully, we've only had one day of extreme cold. I'm going to go out and try skate skiing next weekend to fool my body into enjoying this cold stuff!
Today, I stopped in at Sharky's Scuba Supply and looked at regulator packages - first stage, reg and octo. Yes, I'm preparing in advance for my tax return! But I hope to do a fair amount of diving this spring and summer, and that requires my own equipment. Luckily I picked up an excellent BCD while in Phuket, but I left all the expensive gear to buy until I got home. Yikes. Mid-range regs are going to cost me $1000, plus another $200 for a set of gauges (depth and pressure). Plus a dry suit or a wet suit since water here is quite a bit colder than in Thailand!
But buying equipment now means I'll have my own gear for next year in Thailand, or Indonesia. Or the Phillipines. Or Micronesia. Or wherever I decide to go! I'm thinking the Similans for 4 days. But Banda Aceh in Indonesia sounds excellent as well. As long as the political environment in Indonesia stays stable.
I think I've lost any cold tolerance I had before I left. Anything less than -5 deg C makes me run for my down jacket. That's pretty pitiful! Thankfully, we've only had one day of extreme cold. I'm going to go out and try skate skiing next weekend to fool my body into enjoying this cold stuff!
Today, I stopped in at Sharky's Scuba Supply and looked at regulator packages - first stage, reg and octo. Yes, I'm preparing in advance for my tax return! But I hope to do a fair amount of diving this spring and summer, and that requires my own equipment. Luckily I picked up an excellent BCD while in Phuket, but I left all the expensive gear to buy until I got home. Yikes. Mid-range regs are going to cost me $1000, plus another $200 for a set of gauges (depth and pressure). Plus a dry suit or a wet suit since water here is quite a bit colder than in Thailand!
But buying equipment now means I'll have my own gear for next year in Thailand, or Indonesia. Or the Phillipines. Or Micronesia. Or wherever I decide to go! I'm thinking the Similans for 4 days. But Banda Aceh in Indonesia sounds excellent as well. As long as the political environment in Indonesia stays stable.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Back in snowy Ottawa
After a lengthy 40 hours in transit from Bangkok to Ottawa, I'm back home, wondering if the last 6 weeks was simply a dream. The fact that I have a pile of (very) dirty laundry and a pretty nice tan lets me know that it was real. But it's amazing how easily one can fall back into "normal" routine, even after being gone so long. Guess what? The world doesn't stop when you leave the continent!!
I managed to come home with some strange intestinal issues, which I believe I picked up on our last night in Bangkok. We wound up eating at a "local" Thai place where you simply choose your ingredient and they cook it up right there and deliver it to your table. We choose squid, pig intestines, some sort of bivalve, and pork short ribs. I believe either the mollusc or the intestines are the cause of my uncertain stomach. Until last night, I wasn't able to eat solid food and have it stay inside for more than an hour or so, following a session of cramping. Today seems to be better, but I did decide to start the course of Cipro I had just in case. Better safe than sorry, right?
So, it's back to reality. 90 days until the Canada-Wide Science Fair and that means from now until May 20th, chaos will reign. It's started already. I haven't been in to work yet this week but have spent most of my time in science fair meetings. I have a sneaky suspicion that weekend meetings will become the norm (meeting at 10am this morning will start the season off). Our new office is ready to be occupied and all our committees are in full work mode. Which was actually very encouraging to come back to.
I was wide awake this morning at 4am, went back to bed for 2 hours and finally decided to get up at 6am. I figure if I can continue this early morning trend, it will allow me to get a run in before work (or a spin class) so that I don't have to worry about doing cardio in the evenings. It's not quite a New Year's Resolution, but more of a solid realization that time management is going to be a huge factor in the next 3 months, and if I want to get back into shape after this much time off, then I have to plan out training in a more regimented fashion.
Yes, I will post on the remainder of my trip, most likely later today when I have a bit more time. It's alot to recap and will take a bit of thinking and creativity. Luckily, there are many photos to prompt memories.
I managed to come home with some strange intestinal issues, which I believe I picked up on our last night in Bangkok. We wound up eating at a "local" Thai place where you simply choose your ingredient and they cook it up right there and deliver it to your table. We choose squid, pig intestines, some sort of bivalve, and pork short ribs. I believe either the mollusc or the intestines are the cause of my uncertain stomach. Until last night, I wasn't able to eat solid food and have it stay inside for more than an hour or so, following a session of cramping. Today seems to be better, but I did decide to start the course of Cipro I had just in case. Better safe than sorry, right?
So, it's back to reality. 90 days until the Canada-Wide Science Fair and that means from now until May 20th, chaos will reign. It's started already. I haven't been in to work yet this week but have spent most of my time in science fair meetings. I have a sneaky suspicion that weekend meetings will become the norm (meeting at 10am this morning will start the season off). Our new office is ready to be occupied and all our committees are in full work mode. Which was actually very encouraging to come back to.
I was wide awake this morning at 4am, went back to bed for 2 hours and finally decided to get up at 6am. I figure if I can continue this early morning trend, it will allow me to get a run in before work (or a spin class) so that I don't have to worry about doing cardio in the evenings. It's not quite a New Year's Resolution, but more of a solid realization that time management is going to be a huge factor in the next 3 months, and if I want to get back into shape after this much time off, then I have to plan out training in a more regimented fashion.
Yes, I will post on the remainder of my trip, most likely later today when I have a bit more time. It's alot to recap and will take a bit of thinking and creativity. Luckily, there are many photos to prompt memories.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Thailand to Cambodia, overland
It's been quite a while since I last posted, but it's not because I haven't wanted to or that nothing exciting has been going on! Today is my last day in Thailand - flying out bright and early tomorrow morning, back to the cold and snow. I think culture and temperature shock will occurr!
Since I last posted, I've traveled back and forth to Cambodia. It's going to take a couple of posts to get all the information down, so bear with me! Photos will be coming soon.
As a summary, in the last 6 weeks or so, I have traveled by the following methods, across borders, through towns, and in the Andaman Sea:
Tuk tuk - both Thai and Khmer
Speed boat (river and ocean)
Motorcycle (both driving and passenger)
Mini-van, mini-bus
Bus
Pick-up truck (in the cab and in the box)
Walking
Long tail boat - both Thai and Khmer
Dive boat (big and small)
Taxi
Plane
It's been quite the experience - for anyone who wants to travel around SE Asia, my advice is to forgo the normal methods of transportation (ie. planes) and go overland or oversea! It's the best way to go!
January 22nd. After flying back to BKK from Phuket, I met up with Nat and John at the Ambassador Hotel. We spent the afternoon on Khao San Road, eating street meat and indulging in Thai buckets. The evening was spent at the Suan Lam night market, only to be woken up abruptly at 4am the next morning by our wake-up call, in plenty of time to make it down to Hua Lamphong train station to catch our commuter train to the Thai-Khmer border. We had stocked up on train-friendly food items the evening before (not needed since train meat and random drinks were plentiful for the entire ride). Once at the train station, we purchased our tickets for the border: 48 baht each!! For a 5 hour train ride! Sweet! Okay, so the entire train was 3rd class, but still, it was great!
The ride to the border was relatively quiet and very scenic - lots of rice paddies, farming villages, small train stations. I managed to catch a few winks of sleep to make up for the horrid night of 'sleep' the evening before.
Once at the border town of Arayan Prathet, we walked through immigration and into a no-man's land somewhere between Thailand and Cambodia where we had a bit of lunch before standing in line to be let into Cambodia. Crossing borders on foot is always an interesting experience - it can take anywhere from 1-2 hours, depending on the paperwork and the number of tour groups who are lined up with you.
On the other side of the Cambodia line, we had the somewhat frustrating experience of negotiating a ride from Poipet to Siem Reap. Let the games begin!!! The drive was expected to be 4 hours (dependent entirely on the insanity of the driver). We wound up stuck in a bidding war between 2 private car drivers. Our ultimate choice was, in hindsight, the wrong one! But at the time we just wanted to get the hell out of dodge. The trunk was packed with bags, the car with people, and off we went.
I'm not entirely sure how to explain or describe the ride from Poipet to Siem Reap. Nat's cartoon of the trip is probably the best in terms of a summary. "Hellish" might be a good word. Exciting? An adventure? Death-defying? All good words! The "road" was worse than anything I have ever been on, logging and quarry roads included. HUGE potholes and culvert bumps, road construction the entire length of the highway, cows, chickens, toll trolls, bicycles, other drivers. There are no rules driving on that road - it's a free for all. Either side of the road is fair game (Thais drive on the left, Khmer on the right, this road either side worked), and playing chicken with every vehicle you came across seemed the norm. It was quite the ride. I was sitting in the front, and I swear I lost 10 years of my life just staring out the front window at the conditions in front of us. To top it all off, our driver seemed to have Turret's syndrome as well! He kept taking his hands off the steering wheel and cracking his knuckles, making weird, spastic head motions, and mumbling violently to himself.
4.5 hours later, in the dark, we were very relieved to find ourselves in Siem Reap itself. But the journey wasn't over! Our car driver decided he'd try and drop us off at a tuk-tuk stand because apparently "dirty cars weren't allowed in Siem Reap". We loaded into 2 tuk-tuks and asked to go to the Jasmine Lodge. Ha! We were being taken for a ride. Luckily, having been here long enough, we were smart to this scam and wound up jumping out of the tuk-tuk near to where we thought our guesthouse was. Close enough. A bit of a walk landed us at the guesthouse, very dirty, exhausted and ready for sleep. We had made it to Cambodia, although there were times during the ride that I didn't think surviving that road was a possibility!!
Since I last posted, I've traveled back and forth to Cambodia. It's going to take a couple of posts to get all the information down, so bear with me! Photos will be coming soon.
As a summary, in the last 6 weeks or so, I have traveled by the following methods, across borders, through towns, and in the Andaman Sea:
Tuk tuk - both Thai and Khmer
Speed boat (river and ocean)
Motorcycle (both driving and passenger)
Mini-van, mini-bus
Bus
Pick-up truck (in the cab and in the box)
Walking
Long tail boat - both Thai and Khmer
Dive boat (big and small)
Taxi
Plane
It's been quite the experience - for anyone who wants to travel around SE Asia, my advice is to forgo the normal methods of transportation (ie. planes) and go overland or oversea! It's the best way to go!
January 22nd. After flying back to BKK from Phuket, I met up with Nat and John at the Ambassador Hotel. We spent the afternoon on Khao San Road, eating street meat and indulging in Thai buckets. The evening was spent at the Suan Lam night market, only to be woken up abruptly at 4am the next morning by our wake-up call, in plenty of time to make it down to Hua Lamphong train station to catch our commuter train to the Thai-Khmer border. We had stocked up on train-friendly food items the evening before (not needed since train meat and random drinks were plentiful for the entire ride). Once at the train station, we purchased our tickets for the border: 48 baht each!! For a 5 hour train ride! Sweet! Okay, so the entire train was 3rd class, but still, it was great!
The ride to the border was relatively quiet and very scenic - lots of rice paddies, farming villages, small train stations. I managed to catch a few winks of sleep to make up for the horrid night of 'sleep' the evening before.
Once at the border town of Arayan Prathet, we walked through immigration and into a no-man's land somewhere between Thailand and Cambodia where we had a bit of lunch before standing in line to be let into Cambodia. Crossing borders on foot is always an interesting experience - it can take anywhere from 1-2 hours, depending on the paperwork and the number of tour groups who are lined up with you.
On the other side of the Cambodia line, we had the somewhat frustrating experience of negotiating a ride from Poipet to Siem Reap. Let the games begin!!! The drive was expected to be 4 hours (dependent entirely on the insanity of the driver). We wound up stuck in a bidding war between 2 private car drivers. Our ultimate choice was, in hindsight, the wrong one! But at the time we just wanted to get the hell out of dodge. The trunk was packed with bags, the car with people, and off we went.
I'm not entirely sure how to explain or describe the ride from Poipet to Siem Reap. Nat's cartoon of the trip is probably the best in terms of a summary. "Hellish" might be a good word. Exciting? An adventure? Death-defying? All good words! The "road" was worse than anything I have ever been on, logging and quarry roads included. HUGE potholes and culvert bumps, road construction the entire length of the highway, cows, chickens, toll trolls, bicycles, other drivers. There are no rules driving on that road - it's a free for all. Either side of the road is fair game (Thais drive on the left, Khmer on the right, this road either side worked), and playing chicken with every vehicle you came across seemed the norm. It was quite the ride. I was sitting in the front, and I swear I lost 10 years of my life just staring out the front window at the conditions in front of us. To top it all off, our driver seemed to have Turret's syndrome as well! He kept taking his hands off the steering wheel and cracking his knuckles, making weird, spastic head motions, and mumbling violently to himself.
4.5 hours later, in the dark, we were very relieved to find ourselves in Siem Reap itself. But the journey wasn't over! Our car driver decided he'd try and drop us off at a tuk-tuk stand because apparently "dirty cars weren't allowed in Siem Reap". We loaded into 2 tuk-tuks and asked to go to the Jasmine Lodge. Ha! We were being taken for a ride. Luckily, having been here long enough, we were smart to this scam and wound up jumping out of the tuk-tuk near to where we thought our guesthouse was. Close enough. A bit of a walk landed us at the guesthouse, very dirty, exhausted and ready for sleep. We had made it to Cambodia, although there were times during the ride that I didn't think surviving that road was a possibility!!
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