grey

How do you write a book review without reading the book? You have a lengthy, spirited discussion with your women friends who are already reading, or have read it! Plus you have no shame.   Shades of Grey ... it has called to me from many a bookshelf in several airports over the past few months. I have heard... it's about sex, it's about spicy and taboo sex, it was a quick, light read. Almost everyone at work has read it or is reading it. I was starting to feel out of date and out of the loop... so was very, very tempted. Temptation... I'm pretty sure you can read about this in the book as well.

Spoiler alert... I had ASSUMED it was about older individuals... you, know, my age group. Much to my horror, I learnt yesterday it was about young adults, perhaps not even in their 20's. What are we to make of this? Is this just fluff or a real assault on humankind's hard fought battle for equality of the sexes? (maybe I'll actually have to read it for myself.)

And so what if it is someones fantasy that just happens to take us back decades as far as womens' rights are concerned? Do we older women need to protest, demonstrate and boycott (again) so that younger women get the message that we don't have to be objects to have satisfying, committed relationship? Or, maybe, they know this already, and that's why a book like this can outsell Harry Potter. Because it's nothing new, nothing to get upset about. Maybe we (I) need to trust that enough change has happened in relationships between people (men and women, women and women, men and men) that the readers don't think of this as something to be emulated, just as the fluff it is. Hope. Fingers crossed.

signal

How does one navigate the streets (be it driving, cycling or hoofing it) when a fair number of folks seem to have forgotten their drivers-ed? If they ever even had any to start with. Signalling, that's what I am referring to.

My, my... these poor folks are under the delusion that there are no other cars on the road, that it's all just for them. Sure, they check their blind spots, but then they don't signal?!? I don't get it. Rules of the road, man. And ya don't see the police out there in force handing out tickets for this.

I've tried the little "reminder honk" (not when my husband is in the car mind you) to no avail. Like they haven't got a clue. I've tried my imaginary bazooka that pops out of my hood. I no longer attempt to drive around in front of them and wag my finger and point pointedly at their signal lights. It's too late by then and I look crazy. At least in my car, I have the security of several airbags and a ton of steel should anything really come of it, but as a cyclist or pedestrian, I wouldn't be so lucky.

So is this a broader kind of signal for all of us to pick up on? In this "me, me, me" society, can't we look out for each other just a little bit more? Maybe I should stop bitching and make sure at least I am signalling. Try to care about those on the road behind me and signal my intentions. Maybe that lack of a signal from those other cars means they are stressed, troubled, or depressed and I should give them a break. Fire my bazooka of compassion at them. Take my foot off the accelerator and coast (until someone behind me starts to honk.) Be a leaf in the river of traffic. Save gas. Signal... more... care.

biking

How sore do your knees have to get when you start biking to work before you realise you're too old to make this kind of commitment? How sweaty do you have to get? And how short of breath? It's only 20 minutes, I told myself... and back... later. But the hills that seemed inconsequential in a car, or even by foot, feel like Mount Everest (to me) on a bike. (ok, I exaggerate, Mount Kilimanjaro).

It started out innocuously enough. Just back from two weeks of vacation when I was active most days. Walking, swimming, cycling. It seemed easy to exercise when it was all you had to do in a day. (other than read good books, watch the Olympics, cook, eat, and sleep.) A trial run to work by bike revealed many tune-up needs that were swiftly dealt with at the local cycle shop. (everyone gets their bikes tuned in the spring, I discovered)  Then, the learning points. Too tired to get ready the night before. (error number 1). Alarm clock set in the dark. (error number 2) Missing bungee cord (did have one though), indecision about shoes (Teva sandals had to do double duty on the bike and at work), attaching my purse and bundle of clothes to the back of the bike before locking the door, (extra time to dig the keys back out that I didn't have) and not leaving enough time to cool down at work before having to get into a dress and head off to the first meeting (sweat dribbling down my back, double yuck). Error, error, error...

Or is that the point. It's hard to get things right the first time in lots of things in life. There's always tomorrow. Lots of work colleagues seemed impressed (?!?). Cheered me on. Little did they know how hard it was. Or was it? I am home now safe and sound. It's ok to to sweat and cool down while you're plunking away at your own computer. The weather tomorrow is forcast to be sunny and a high of 23 degrees. Perfect cycling weather. You just never know....Trial. Error. Repeat.

moving

How do you start moving again after a long, dark, rainy winter? No, this blog isn't about packing up and relocating. Even though lots of people are doing just that at this time of year. It's about what to do when the aches set in and keep you on the couch even when the sun peaks it's lovely head out from behind the clouds. I haven't totally retreated to the couch. There was some amount of skiing that happened as well as the occasional power walk on the beach and a few snowy walks (along with icy falls) during the xmas holiday break to see the mom. But today I have the day off and I had absolutely no excuse to not hit the pool or the seawall, on foot or with my bike.

Instead, I set about to try to read those darn "new and improved" google privacy rules. The ones they keep telling you are not to be dismissed and are really important. The ones that came into effect on March 1, 2012. The ones that are supposed to be shorter and less complicated to read. After a good hour I have determined that I need a techno geek to help me decipher them and figure out what is important to me and what is not. Do I want ads geared to my age group and sex? If not, will I get fewer or more ads? Do I have to get ads at all? Google seems to even know my hotmail account user name I use to play MSN games on-line. How creepy is that?

So, the internet seems to be moving forward in some strange direction and I can't figure it out. I started out on the world wide web at the very beginning of it all. I always thought I'd be able to keep up, protect my identity and escape the perils of how interconnected we all are. Reap the benefits. Miss the down side. Alas, I fear this is not to be. Google has up and changed the rules, and I can't figure them out! (Repetitive, aren't I) Rather than worry, I think I'd be much better off getting up and seeking out people who have read the rules and understand them. Give me the Coles notes version, or the "Google's New Privacy Rules for Dummies" book. I know, I can go out for an early morning walk with my wonderful running (er, walking) group tomorrow. They'll know. Get moving, catch up. I hope. Maybe. Move. Learn. Connect.

rant

How do you cope with all the silly things famous people, politicians and everyday people are doing these days. More prisons vs neglecting the environment by not supporting Kyoto? Sure, it's not a great accord and doesn't have a lot of teeth but it's the best we have at the moment and at least a starting place. But really, more prisons when crime rates are dropping and studies done don't support them? Harper must feel pretty good about himself. He has a majority so he can do what he wants too, and doesn't have to listen to scientific evidence.

Then there's Alec Baldwin, getting himself ejected from a plane the other day for having a tantrum when the flight attendant asked him to turn his cell phone off. Like the rest of us have to. So he thinks he's above the everyday in flight rules that we all have to deal with? He holds up a plane and all the other passengers who what to get somewhere on time. Someone else who thinks he can just do what he wants to and doesn't have to listen to others.

And lastly, what about those two elders and their wives who tried to cross the border into Canada with three semi-automatic pistols, a derringer-style pistol, and cowboy-style six gun and a shotgun? This was after they denied having any guns in their motor home. What were they thinking? Is there so little news filtering down from Canada to the States that they had no idea we have different gun laws here? Oh, wait a minute. They did lie to the border guards, so they must have known. A little scared of the true north strong and free, were they? Or was this just another case of someone thinking that Canadian laws didn't apply to they and that they could do what they want to.

Enough ranting. Enjoy this Xmas jingle from a very creative young man from Winnipeg, Sean Quigley.
Ra-pa-pa-pum!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrNcD34KFhM

fall

How do you deal with the bitter reality that summer has gone for another season and the fall blahs are here to stay? "It's cold and damp", I whine. No more glorious walks on a sun drenched beaches. No more garden (only the basil seems to be hanging on for dear life). The leaves are dropping in abundance. Vancouver had it's first windstorm of the season the other day. April seems like a long way away.

It's kinda like the way my body feels these days. Plus, I have already had a cold... drip, drip. Aches and pains, things are dropping (or drooping), no longer the summer body I enjoyed for so long. As the pain killer commercial tells you... "you feel rusty." I don't feel like a trooper today. Plus your body doesn't get an April. There are still the occasional hot flashes to remind me of "warmer" times. I guess they are easier to tolerate in the cool of the fall than the summer heat and humidity.

However... I have a gift certificate for a spa treatment. Squirreled away from last Christmas. I'll likely go slough some dead skin cells, maybe have a spa massage to help with some of these achy muscles. Like oil for those rusty spots. Hoping it will help me put the spring of summer back in my steps for a few days.  I may no longer have a summer body, but spring will come back to Vancouver. We'll get the garden in earlier this year I hope. Nothing like watching a garden grow to make you feel young again. I'll try to pretend that's not so long from now. Stretch. Hibernate. Sleep.

hockey

How do you go back to watching the Vancouver Canucks after such a brilliant season, but such a "hopes dashed" finish? I'm torn. The fall TV line-up is less than stellar, otherwise I think I would have waited until the end of November to tune into the Canucks again. They have been a better December/January team than early fall, and I'm having trouble handling the losses. I know that Luongo hung in for his first win of the season during the last game, but the possibility of a loss was always there.

Besides, at the end of last season I had my hospital stint thrown into the mix of emotions that was happening around the playoffs, missed several games when I was on a ventilator, and was in hospital about 5 blocks away from the riot when it broke out.  What were those people thinking? Let's give our city a black-eye for all of the North American hockey viewing audience to see? I could see the orange smoke from my hospital window and hear the helicopters circling overhead. The "code orange" alerts (mass casualties) rang every 15 minutes for most of the night, depriving us sick people of a decent night sleep. The poor nurses were rattled and weren't allowed to leave due to the code orange. Sigh.

So, do you cheer for the Canucks again, in hopes of them getting to the Stanley cup finals again, and hold your breath that the nitwits don't make their way downtown again on the last night? (Assuming that the city won't host a downtown venue again, the rioters spoiled that for the other thousands of people who just wanted to have a good time.) Or do you watch the Canucks reluctantly, with apprehension and less than the end of the year enthusiasm we all had in June. Well, I guess I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed and wish for fewer injuries, more goals, more wins and fewer shootouts. Wish. Hope. Sigh.