Volleyball

I need to whinge for a moment or two about my summer volleyball league. Let me preface this post by saying that my talent as a player is nowhere near the likes of Gabrielle Reece, I do however know how to get the ball over the net, unlike some people. They must really love the game so much......they could watch it all day long!! Which isn't a good thing when they are standing beside me on the court. Some actually cower from the ball or duck, they yell "mine" and then stand there as it falls to their feet. Not everyone on my team is horrible.....but my favorite is this one guy. His serves are phenomenal.....when he can get them over. Absolutely no consistency whatsoever. He averages about 2 over for every 6 he serves, yet he is the most vocal about how we have to "get it together." He also has a tendency to hit the ball far too hard so it hurls out of bounds frequently (not just when serving) and get this....he blames the ball. I wish I were kidding "it's too soft" "it's too hard" I'm like "why the fuck don't you just hit it with a little less force...hmmm there's an idea."

My other issues are with the players themselves. We have about 11 or so people on the team....or so I've been told. The first week 5 of us showed up and played really well together. The 2nd week there were again 5 of us but two new people and 3 from the 1st game. The 3rd game 9 people showed up and it was absolutely disastrous. Our last game 3 of the people from the 1st game were there and 3 people i had never met before. Again there is no consistency whatsoever and it's difficult to gauge how people play. A cohesive team we are not. Lastly, it drives me bonkers when people hit the ball over the net for the sake of hitting the ball over the net. If I wanted to play ping pong, I would have joined a ping pong league. There should be 3 hits in volleyball....bump, set, spike, not bump ball flys over the net....get it back, bump ball flys over the net, it's maddening.

Anyway shoes = happy thoughts!!!! I saw these John Fluevog shoes and fell in love. I'm more inclined to the closed toe cherry red/black pair above, but which ones do you like best? I find them all so adorable I just can't chose.


Canada Day is upon us this weekend which means Monday off.....WOO HOO!! Not only does it mean an extra day off but also spending time with great friends, a BBQ here and there and of course a beer or two....and by two I mean a 2-4 haha. The Canucks will get that one!!! In celebration of Canada Day... I present to you a quiz all about Canada. Good luck and let me know how you fare. ( I got two wrong oops, the size and when the Yukon joined the confederation)

T minus 9 Days until we leave for Montreal !!!!!

Pride 2007

I went to Jennifer's place for the weekend and we had a great time. Friday I spent a leisurely afternoon shopping and taking a walk (IE death march) with P. The walk was lovely, just very very long :)

Saturday was Jennifer's boyfriends Cottilian and of course Sunday was the Pride Parade. I love Pride as it's one big party, everyone is so happy and the city comes alive. Often I find when we rush to work or complete everyday tasks, we don't really pay attention to those around us, however during Pride smiles & hugs are exchanged with random strangers. We share tables, talk and get to know those around us. I'm far too pooped to write anything worthwhile as it's been a long weekend and the sun did quite a number on my skin. I didn't put on sunscreen and was outside for hours & hours....oops. Enjoy the photos:

Parade Route, they say about one million people go to watch:

Sitting on the street waiting for the fun to begin sans sunscreen:


Colourful Outfits:

They were from House of Lords a hair salon:


This guy was having a good time:

I'm not sure how much fun this gentleman was having in his tighty whities. He would yell and scream at every group in the parade, the police, the mayor on and on he went. Clearly some mental health issues going on......but come on, we all need a good laugh every now and again.


This was very cool:

Loved this outfit: We can't leave out the naked men: Ah hotties:
My very sore face at the end of the day:


Happy Pride Everyone!!!

Cover Up

My friend and I were discussing some of the errr umm gentlemen that pass through our office via the John School. JS is a diversion program for men that are 1st time offenders for soliciting the services of sex trade workers. Many of them are married and yes many of them have children as well. They attend a one day course which can include various speakers such as former Johns, former sex workers, the police, community members & public health who have a wonderful section on STD's which of course include colourful pictures.

So my friend and I were discussing how 97% of the partners of these men are completely unaware that their significant other has been out looking for sex with another person. In some cases, the men will admit that this is their 1st time getting caught however, they have a sex addiction and have done this hundreds of times before. Some are just lonely old men who can't get laid, others are professionals who could have their pick of ladies or men.

This is quite scary and got me thinking about safer sex and condoms. I know a lot of people once in a "monogamous" relationship will forgo the condoms because they are only sleeping with each other.....or so they think. There's this false sense of security....I say false because people cheat all of the time. I see them come through my office, head hung in shame "she/he can never find out." Sad part is, she/he probably never will.
So when do you think it's ok to stop practicing safe sex? I can honestly say that even if I were to get married, the poor bugger that gets stuck with me will most likely be wearing one for the rest of his life. Blame it on the perspective my work has given me....or perhaps my common sense :)

After a long weekend of kayaking, movies and a very early breakfast I've opted to name 8 random things about myself as JLee did.

1. I am absolutely terrified of what I call gagillipedes (the ones with a million legs that run really really fast .... BLEH) as well as spiders and really almost any insect. I just find them terribly creepy to the point where I actually will have a mini panic attack shall I say. Heart starts to race, I feel scared and sometimes I even cry. Not only shameful but ridiculous as well.

2. I dislike salt and will eat it if it is already on something, but on very very rare occasions will I actually add it to a dish.

3. I can get both of my legs behind my head. I took dance class for 10 years which helped with flexibility haha

4. I like Nickelback....yes you read that right. Everyone I know loathes them. I wouldn't buy an album or go and see them live or anything, but if they are on the radio I will sing along.

5. Which brings me to this answer, I'll sing just about anywhere and everywhere. In the car, in a store if I dig a song I will sing along. I've called up LD on many occasions to sing her a song on her answering machine "Who sings this?"

6. My self esteem is essentially non existant however I'm working on it :)

7. I would really love to go skydiving, tandem of course. If I can get the courage I may even do it before the summer ends.

8. I absolutely hate sorting socks, it's torturous for me. I only wear black socks and am ready to buy about 30 pairs of the exact same ones so I won't have to sort them any longer. It's just so tedious, some are shorter, some are longer, some have little designs.....ugh hate it.

As most of you know I sometimes watch questionable television programs haha. I absolutely love dancing so it should be no surprise that I am enjoying this season of So You Think You Can Dance. I generally enjoy the funky hip hop routines and the popping however, this dance really struck a chord with me. It seems to represent passion, turmoil and struggle within a relationship. Plus the song rocks(Dancing by Elisa), check it out:



And Elisa live at the Vatican with an orchestra, man she has a beautiful voice:

HNT

Well the bruise is healing nicely as you can see LOL, it's freaking huge and still quite sore. Hope it is better for Monday or I imagine there will be a permanent mark on my leg all summer long as it will never have any time to heal.

I was listening to the radio the other day and they had the top 25 songs to "get busy to". Now I didn't get to hear the whole show nor which song came in at #1, however the songs I heard left me rather confused.

* Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana

Hmmm I'm not thinking lyrics like "I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black" would really turn me on.

Granted there were a few that made sense :

*Darling Nikki (originally by Prince) but covered by The Foo Fighters

"I knew a girl named Nikki I guess you could say she was a sex fiend I met her in a hotel lobby masturbating with a magazine she said how'd you like to waste some time and I could not resist when I saw little Nikki grind" Now that is a hot song, even the Foo's version will do.

My guess is NIN's Closer was #1 but i'd rather not know as that song is soooooo over played. I love NIN and they have so many other great songs, however you are not likely to hear them very often as Closer seems to take over the airwaves.

So what songs do you like to "get busy to?" (I think at this point i'd even welcome Heart Shaped Box into my room if I could find someone to spend some errr ahhh special time with haha)

Where's Ron Jeremy?

So it was an interesting weekend considering I did not make any plans and wanted to lounge and relax. As most of you know I'm an absolute baby when it comes to lightening and storms and have a terrible time driving in such weather. PP and I made dinner plans however I was rather hesitent about driving in the storm. She suggested I drive to her house before it started and she would then drive us to the restaurant. It wasn't so bad out when I left so I continued on to the restaurant to meet her (after she made fun of me and my ridiculous fear for almost cancelling). Hmm turns out her neighbours 40 foot tree came crashing into their pool, and if my memory serves me correctly, last time we had a lightning storm a tree in her back yard got hit. Not exactly the place I want to be in such weather but thanks for the offer :P

(I *gasp* stayed home on Friday evening read a bit & watched some tv)

On Saturday afternoon I somehow ended up at the Sex Show in TO with a friend who wanted her photo taken with Ron Jeremy. It was a small event as the real show happens in October, but we saw some errr ahh interesting things whilst there. I may or may not have purchased a little something as well haha. If my mood becomes much more pleasant in the next few weeks it will surely be from my earlier bedtime rather than anything I may or may not have purchased at the show. We never did find Ron but figured we could wait until October. We did however see this rather talented gentleman:

I purchased a very comfy lounger on Sunday and made good use of it while basking in the sun, reading and drinking iced tea. God that felt good.

I just got back from volleyball and had a mid air collision with a teammate as we were both eager to spike the ball. We landed in a mangled, crumpled mess with body parts intertwined and sand all over our bodies. I got to take home a swollen shin, thigh and foot. They are all turning a lovely bluish hue and should be nice and sore tomorrow. Here's a sneak peak below:This last bit is inspired by 2DP's blog. He often likes to end with a pleasant photo, I too shall do so on this fine day.

Jobs

My 1st job was at an amusement park. I was 16 and continued on until the ripe ole age of 19. Those were actually some of the best times of my life, not sure if it was the people I met or the age itself. I didn't really have any cares or responsibilities at that time (other than to finish high school and get good grades), life was one big party.

I met a great group of people who continue to be some of my closest friends even today. We developed traditions in our early years: May 2-4 camping every year.....no matter how cold or muddy we were all there, driving 45 minutes every Friday to hit up our favorite bar (this went on for like 6 years) and of course every payday, the entire park went to the same bar to have a few bevvies together. We went to Bush Parties, camped out by the Humane Society, at the beach & have many ridiculous stories to go along. There was the time we went camping LD & I spent alllll night long hiding from a few suitors. The next morning Mikey hit a pole & ran out of gas when we were rushing to work. At the Humane Society camping extravaganza, Donnie and I were the last two left as everyone else had gone to work. We woke up to find his car broken and some strange man parked beside us. He drove us down the road to a payphone and we walked into work late. Why he wouldn't drive us the extra 5 minutes down the road to work was beyond us. There was the time LD threw up on her way into work, right in front of the children's fountain.....she was sent home. Oh yes, and the time Jean Claude Van Damn made an appearance Sher and I were covered in chicken guts ewe. On more than one occasion before the restaurant opened you could find us sleeping errr napping in the staff area just before work, trying to catch even 20 minutes of shut eye. How we functioned on 2-3 hours of sleep I will never know.

We would often test the limits and see what kind of shenanigans we could get away with while inside working as well. The guys would be in charge of the kegs......and often helped themselves and us to a little drinky drinky every now and again. We would take extra long breaks at the far end of the lawn to see how long it would take our supervisor to find us. I was well fed those 3 or 4 years eating nachos, pizza and Fudge O Shakes. I enjoyed sitting with the polka band and listening to the very dirty jokes the men had to tell. I remember one fond evening after a staff party, breaking into the park at 2am with about 10 other workers, just to see if we could. I twisted my ankle and did a superman on top of a huge pile of dirt.....but it was fun and exciting. I would never dream of doing such a thing at this age, to be carefree and young again......I miss those days!!!

What was your 1st job?

Busy Busy Busy

It was a very full weekend and I shant bore you with elaborate details however We Will Rock You was fabulous. As well I was able to check out some of the free Luminato events, mostly the floating artworks exhibits around the city which were very cool. (My favorite is the 1st photo Le Grand Mobile by Xavier Veihan)
Jennifer's Roller Derby team kicked the other teams ass 117 to 78. It was exciting to watch and the crowd was really into it hooting and hollering. Here is Michael laughing and Danboy booing, we LOVED it!!!! Jennifer was even thrown into the penalty box Woo Hoo!!!!

(the above photo was taken from the Toronto Sun, shameful I know, I don't read it, I just wanted the photo as all of my photos looked like this, rather blurry)

Today was the 1st volleyball game of the season and let me tell you, my team kicked the other teams ass. Yee Haw!!! We only had 5 players as our other 3 members were busy....oh yeah, we rock :)

We had training again today for work, oh man, the instructor mentioned the vortex of despair and my co-workers and I agreed we were smack in the middle of it with no way out. We've decided to bring some games tomorrow to amuse ourselves, perhaps some hangman, cross word puzzles, sudoku type of games. SERENITY NOW!!!!!!

During my wonderful training I began to think of my favorite things (How very Julie Andrews of me) and would like to know my fellow bloggers...What is your favorite holiday & why??? Mine of course is Halloween. I love the crisp cool Autumn air, the creativity of the costumes and of course everything wicked, absolutely nothing beats it, truly!!!