Everything looks better through a pint o’ green beer

 

The doors of pubs and bars are wide open and the sounds of raucous laughter from the green beer-toting patrons is contagious.

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he could buy him a drink.
"Why of course," comes the reply.
The first man then asks: "Where are you from?" 
"I'm from Ireland," replies the second man. 
The first man responds: "You don't say, I'm from Ireland too! Let's have another round to Ireland." 
"Of Course," replies the second man. 
Curious, the first man then asks: "Where in Ireland are you from?" 
"Dublin," comes the reply. 
"I can't believe it," says the first man. 
"I'm from Dublin too! Let's have another drink to Dublin."
"Of course," replies the second man. 
Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks: 
"What school did you go to?" 
"Saint Mary's," replies the second man. 
"I graduated in '62." 
"This is unbelievable!" the first man says. 
"I went to Saint Mary's and I graduated in '62, too!"
About that time in comes one of the regulars and sits down at the bar. 
"What's been going on?" he asks the bartender. 
"Nothing much," replies the bartender. "The O'Malley twins are drunk again."

spring stroll in sepia tones

 

A ‘rest stop’ worth exploring

I was reading a guest post by Joshua Becker this morning on the ZenHabits blog entitled “The Lost Practice of Resting One Day Each Week”.  It’s not surprising that hectic lifestyles are making us more stressed and subsequently, less healthy.  Are we achieving the work-life balance that many of us crave?  Are we missing opportunities that we might later regret?

So, today…or at least this morning, I took a break from my usual routine.  With a snack and my camera in my backpack, I went for a walk along the lake front.  This is an area that I have ‘run through’ on many occasions, but rarely do I take time and actually stop, listen, observe, and appreciate the surroundings.

Art, architecture, history, and nature – all plentiful when you transform your pathway into a rest stop. 

 

 

Carvings by local artist Jim Menken (www.jimmenken.com), someone who changed professions to followed his passion.

  

Adamson Estate

Little did I know that just a few feet away from the path I had often run, there was a pet cemetery.  Stone markers for cats, dogs, and and other beloved pets were gathered in one spot to honour their memory.  I could envision ‘Caesar -the truly Golden Retriever’ running to the water’s edge to sneak up on a wave, or chase a seagull.  ‘Friskers’ was likely content to spend her day catching mice and lazing on a comfy porch chair – sounds like a perfect work-life balance!

And here I am, feeling rejuvenated and ‘embracing simplicity’ - all from a simple rest stop. Yes, that was a contented sigh you just heard.

Turn right, next exit…and enjoy…

Speed Skating

1000m men's ready to begin!!!

The best laid plans…

You can plan all you want, but there are forces outside your control that can throw a wrench into those plans.  We use an expression often as it relates to Ironman preparation…”take the day for what it gives you”.   I suspect that has become the mantra for Olympic organizers, athletes, and spectators over the past couple of days as Mother Nature leaves her mark…with rain!

First, we had a great trip into Vancouver.  Some low cloud but when we touched down…beautiful weather.  In fact, we had lunch outside at Granville Island with the seagulls close-by waiting for a morsel or two to fall.   A quick trip out to Speed Theory in Kitslano for some new gear (time to replace the helmet Mark cracked when he crashed at IMC last year), and after a stop for some yummy, sticky cinnamon buns, we got checked into the hotel.

Last night we saw Sweden play Slovakia in women’s hockey.  What a great game.   While it was a blow-out game when Slovakia played Canada on the weekend, this one was a better match-up with Sweden being the stronger, faster team…but the Slovakia goal-tender was amazing!  This is the first time Slovakia has had a women’s Olympic hockey team. I can’t even begin to imagine their excitement about being in Vancouver representing their country.

Our hotel is situated right on the water and the fireworks seen from our window before heading off to bed were spectacular.  Vancouver Olympic Committee has done an incredible job…but alas, the rain.

General admission tickets for spectators to Men’s Snowboard Cross yesterday and Women’s Snowboard Cross today have been cancelled and will be refunded.  Keeping fingers crossed that conditions are ‘good enough’ for the athletes to have a good day.

…and, several hours later, it was OBVIOUSLY a good day…Canada’s Maelle Ricker won GOLD! 

A shot of the Olympic Flame…

Sleep well sweet Aussie

In their all-too-short life, they teach us that we all need to find our silly pants from time-to-time.  They reintroduce us to the curiosity we had long ago forgotten from our childhood.  Everyday, they show us that unconditional love can be second nature.  And, we learn that joy can come from the simplest things in life.

It isn’t surprising that it makes our hearts ache when we have to say goodbye to some of the greatest teachers we will have ever known. 

Mike, we know the emptiness you’re feeling…and our hearts go out to you.

Sleep well, sweet Aussie.

----------

(photos courtesy of Mike)

“There is no such thing as a small act of kindness.”

Scott Adams, the creator of ‘Dilbert’, finished the above comment with “Every act creates a ripple with no logical end".

I just read an article on the CNN feed found here which suggests social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter have proven beneficial as a way to get the message out to the masses – help Haiti!  And, the masses have responded!  The tweets, re-tweets, status updates, and FB group pages have prompted people to pull out their mobile phones and to send one very simple text message that triggers a $10 donation.

What started as something small - Hey, it’s only $10! - has made a far-reaching ripple such that more than $4 million has been donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti relief program thus far.  Wow!

With the Canadian federal government’s announcement that they will match donations up to $50 million to Canadian registered charitable organizations, now is the time to act and create our own ripples.

As Adams also said, “you don’t have to be a ‘person of influence’ to be influential.” 

We can make a difference!  There are a number of charities that are offering legitimate ways to give (see link to CBC article).  These are just a couple:

Canadian Red Cross, donate online at:  www.redcross.ca/helpnow

Partners in Health: Haiti - Rogers Wireless and Fido customers can donate $5 by texting the word HELP to 1291.  Teaming up with ONEXONE, the donations are earmarked to go to Partners in Health: Haiti.

Reuters photo via dailymail.co.uk

Just when you thought it was safe…

Many people who have treasured memories in photos or important data will back-up those files on CD/DVDs for safe-keeping.  As we know, a computer crash could bring even the most reticent individual to tears accompanied by child-like temper tantrums.

So, you’ve done that.  You’ve been diligent about backing up the important files and one day you go back to retrieve one of those files and…what??!…you can’t?!  Huh?!

Check out this blog post by Jacques Giraud.   Interesting findings and may make us re-think how we store our data.

Excuse me ma’am, anything to declare?

Other than lots of great memories that I stashed away, yes sir…I also smuggled a nasty cold back into the country. 

I can guarantee the fashionable Parisian styles are not reflected in any way to the over-size PJ’s and fuzzy slippers that have been my wardrobe choice since we returned home.

Paris – Bonne Année - just a few more hours

After collecting all the fresh foods earlier in the week at the St. Germain market, we had everything we needed to make dinner at the apartment instead of going out to a restaurant. It was a great idea…very relaxing.

We made sure to dress very warmly for the evening and were on our way to the Champs-Elysées shortly after 9:30pm.  The crowds were already thick when we got to Place du Concorde.  People were singing, dancing, and drinking.  Every once in awhile we would notice a group of people all huddled together and then realized they were all standing on a metro grate and taking advantage of the warmth coming up through from the subway. 

The police seemed to have a significant presence, including a few with riot shields and shoulder protection (just in case).  Some of the stores had already boarded up their windows earlier in the day, but this is typical of many city stores when big, potentially rowdy, celebrations are about to take place.  We didn’t see anything that would warrant the use of it – everyone just seemed to be having a ton of fun, but better to plan for the worst.

The avenue itself was a sea of car lights and the sound of horns honking, but by the time we made it to the Arc du Triomphe and took a left towards the Eiffel Tower, things were significantly calmer (good for me, since I tend to get a little claustrophobic in crowds).  We, along with hundreds of others, were making our way to find a place along the Seine or one of the bridges for the best position to see the lights of the Eiffel Tower. 

With 10 minutes left to go, the tower was ablaze with a light show.  We had brought along a small bottle of Mumm’s and a couple of plastic glasses.  We were ready!

It’s hard to imagine that we were experiencing something similar, and yet so very different, a year ago in Amsterdam.  Who knows where we’ll be on December 31, 2010.  Whether we’re spending time with family and friends, or just the two of us exploring a new place…it is being together, arms wrapped around each other, grateful for our life together, and sharing hopes and dreams for the coming year…that’s what’s important to us.

Countdown begins…ten seconds to go…the lights make their way down the side of the tower, second-by-second until the cheers become deafening, the low barritone-like horns of the Bateaux Mouches (the tour boats of the Seine) were sounding, camera flashes everywhere, people kissing, and catching a glimpse of more than one ‘moon’ dancing across the bridge.  People stopped and took it all in.  The beginning of a new year…

2010 was upon us…Bonne Année!