Saturday, February 26, 2005
Why I can't lift my arms tonight, or How I Learned To Love WaterPolo
I figure it is about time to give a quick intro to my sport of choice. For those of you who don't know anything about the game, here are some basics:
Waterpolo is...
...played in deep water, with a field of play around 25m long and 15-20m wide. Ish.
... played with 7 players per side, including the goalie, not including the subs on the bench.
... played with a yellow ball, bigger than a volleyball, smaller than a basketball, very grippy.
... somewhat similar in setup to basketball, with players commonly making a semi-circle around the net with one player directly in front of the net on the 2meter line, called "centre" or "hole".
... played with floating nets, about 6 feet across by 3 feet high, and a goalie who has incredible leg strength and who is the only player in the pool allowed to touch the ball with two hands.
... a full contact sport, with lots of pushing and holding and grabbing and sinking the person, especially if they have the ball and are trying to shoot, or if the ref isn't looking.
... hard work! Especially if your team keeps losing the ball, because then you have to SPRINT back down to the other end of the pool on defense, instead of leisurely breaststroking back to the centre line after scoring. Also especially if you play the "hole" position (which *I* am working on, woo!) since you're the one who has the most physical pressure on you, as your defense is trying to sink you while getting in the way of any passes made to you by your teammates. Glub.
I play with UBC Waterpolo locally, and I travel to play with the Seattle Otters, and San Fransisco Tsunami (who are contemplating a name change after Dec 26's events). So far, waterpolo has taken me to Sydney, Australia, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco/Stanford and Seattle in the States, and often over to Victoria/Saanich for provincial tournaments. I've been part of medal-winning teams at the Gay Games, IGLA (mini-GG that just have aquatic events) and most recently at the Otters Open, with the UBC Women getting gold and with Tsunami getting silver in the co-ed division.
THIS is why my shoulders hurt... I don't actually know how to warm up properly, or stretch afterwards, I do half-hearted re/prehab exercises when I feel like it, and I book massages every month or so to get my friend Vince to tear my shoulders up for me and make me cry like a baby... but right now, after going fairly hard for the 1.75 hours of practice this evening, I ache. (picture me growling, making the rock-star-devil handsigns, boasting about how hard-core I am.. snicker) Makes me wonder what I'll be doing for fun when I am, oh, say.. 40? Hope I can hang on to it that long, at least... I'm planning to work on my ref certification in the meantime, just in case...
Weather: was weirdly foggy today, for a drive out to Richmond to IKEA/Home Depot/Staples with da boyz... kinda icky, with short bursts of brighter sky
Chai's so far: two, one for breakky and one before practice.. and one soon to come at Chapters :)
Water exposure so far: morning bath, afternoon shower, pool, post-pool shower.. and I wonder why my skin gets dry...
Craft project in progress: the cardigan has been "short rowed" to build up more, erm, space? for my bodaciousness, and the body section is now on hold waiting for the arms to catch up. One sleeve was done up to about elbow height, when I decided I didn't like the design.. so I'm on sleeve version number 2, at low-bicep height, and I'm digging the cable-work that is coming together on it.
Wardrobe: a bit on the slummy side right now, just jeans and a long-sleeve T from MEC, but was enjoying wearing my kicky black linen capris to IKEA, with my black Birki slides... made me almost feel chic. Esqe.
New catagory(!!):
Music of the Day: sound track from O Brother Where Art Thou? Bluegrassy/gospelly, fun to sing-along to, and makes me think of my dad and his Old Time Fiddlers group that I occasionally jam with. Hated the movie, dig the music.
Waterpolo is...
...played in deep water, with a field of play around 25m long and 15-20m wide. Ish.
... played with 7 players per side, including the goalie, not including the subs on the bench.
... played with a yellow ball, bigger than a volleyball, smaller than a basketball, very grippy.
... somewhat similar in setup to basketball, with players commonly making a semi-circle around the net with one player directly in front of the net on the 2meter line, called "centre" or "hole".
... played with floating nets, about 6 feet across by 3 feet high, and a goalie who has incredible leg strength and who is the only player in the pool allowed to touch the ball with two hands.
... a full contact sport, with lots of pushing and holding and grabbing and sinking the person, especially if they have the ball and are trying to shoot, or if the ref isn't looking.
... hard work! Especially if your team keeps losing the ball, because then you have to SPRINT back down to the other end of the pool on defense, instead of leisurely breaststroking back to the centre line after scoring. Also especially if you play the "hole" position (which *I* am working on, woo!) since you're the one who has the most physical pressure on you, as your defense is trying to sink you while getting in the way of any passes made to you by your teammates. Glub.
I play with UBC Waterpolo locally, and I travel to play with the Seattle Otters, and San Fransisco Tsunami (who are contemplating a name change after Dec 26's events). So far, waterpolo has taken me to Sydney, Australia, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco/Stanford and Seattle in the States, and often over to Victoria/Saanich for provincial tournaments. I've been part of medal-winning teams at the Gay Games, IGLA (mini-GG that just have aquatic events) and most recently at the Otters Open, with the UBC Women getting gold and with Tsunami getting silver in the co-ed division.
THIS is why my shoulders hurt... I don't actually know how to warm up properly, or stretch afterwards, I do half-hearted re/prehab exercises when I feel like it, and I book massages every month or so to get my friend Vince to tear my shoulders up for me and make me cry like a baby... but right now, after going fairly hard for the 1.75 hours of practice this evening, I ache. (picture me growling, making the rock-star-devil handsigns, boasting about how hard-core I am.. snicker) Makes me wonder what I'll be doing for fun when I am, oh, say.. 40? Hope I can hang on to it that long, at least... I'm planning to work on my ref certification in the meantime, just in case...
Weather: was weirdly foggy today, for a drive out to Richmond to IKEA/Home Depot/Staples with da boyz... kinda icky, with short bursts of brighter sky
Chai's so far: two, one for breakky and one before practice.. and one soon to come at Chapters :)
Water exposure so far: morning bath, afternoon shower, pool, post-pool shower.. and I wonder why my skin gets dry...
Craft project in progress: the cardigan has been "short rowed" to build up more, erm, space? for my bodaciousness, and the body section is now on hold waiting for the arms to catch up. One sleeve was done up to about elbow height, when I decided I didn't like the design.. so I'm on sleeve version number 2, at low-bicep height, and I'm digging the cable-work that is coming together on it.
Wardrobe: a bit on the slummy side right now, just jeans and a long-sleeve T from MEC, but was enjoying wearing my kicky black linen capris to IKEA, with my black Birki slides... made me almost feel chic. Esqe.
New catagory(!!):
Music of the Day: sound track from O Brother Where Art Thou? Bluegrassy/gospelly, fun to sing-along to, and makes me think of my dad and his Old Time Fiddlers group that I occasionally jam with. Hated the movie, dig the music.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
This title would be profane if I was less restrained.
www.vday.org
Yes, I have now seen a performance of the Vagina Monologues. The live version is a vast improvement over reading the script (go figure), especially when the cast is a yummy spectrum of all the shapes, sizes, colours, and generations that women come in... a coworker from the yarn store where I work had two major pieces, one where she portrayed a woman in her early 70s, talking about "Down There" for the first time.. and the other one where she had all 300+ of us in the audience up on our feet chanting "Cunt! Cunt! Cunt!" as we reclaimed this beautiful, powerful word for ourselves. Most enjoyable, and I highly recommend it. (the whole show, not just saying "cunt"...)
For me, the Monologues were a good wake-up call of where I've been, and taking care not to return there. The performance is always done with the intention of ending violence against women and girls around the world, and my personal understanding of ending violence against ME includes forgiving, but never going back to, men who have done things to me against my will. "Safe, Sane and Consensual" still fits nicely with "No means No."
Other news: my vacation plans for April are starting to shape up nicely: a little travel for waterpolo, a bit of visiting friends to sit and chill in a city with no other demands on my time, and the opportunity to come back home and then take a silversmithing course in the ever-exotic city of Burnaby! Yes, if I play my cards right, I could bus out to East Hastings for a couple of day-long sessions and learn to work with silver in its sheet form, not just the Precious Metal Clay stuff (though it's quite cool, too.. I'm wearing a pendant I made the other morning, fired in my kiln, polished up, and then thought I was going to set off my smoke detector after midnight last night when I was holding it over a candle to get some carbon to blacken the shadows more... oopsie!)
www.pmcguild.com has some cool pictures and articles by master muck-moldersI swear, I have to coat myself in olive oil before touching the stuff, or it sticks to EVERYTHING!
Weather: STILL warm and sunny, but cold enough at night to require defrosting windshields before driving (not that I own a vehicle, or ever will, but I get rides home from late-night polo...)
Chai's so far: One. Can't actually remember yesterday. Planning to have another in about an hour when I get to Chapters to read books that I won't pay for (though I DO buy CDs at full price there, and magazines, so I figure that makes up for it)
Water exposure so far: One bath, almost all of my lunch-break in the pool. Polo yesterday was okay, except I think I swam too hard in the sprint set (gotta impress the coach, eh?) and I didn't like the guy with the video camera poking around...
Craft project in progress: LOTS more rows on the cardigan... had a doctor appointment this morning, so tons of time to sit and knit while in the waiting room.. I'm on the "increase" section heading towards the shoulders, after nipping in for the waist... woo!
Wardrobe: Work uniform again, but accessoried by a lovely PMC pendant (see above for the full story...)
Yes, I have now seen a performance of the Vagina Monologues. The live version is a vast improvement over reading the script (go figure), especially when the cast is a yummy spectrum of all the shapes, sizes, colours, and generations that women come in... a coworker from the yarn store where I work had two major pieces, one where she portrayed a woman in her early 70s, talking about "Down There" for the first time.. and the other one where she had all 300+ of us in the audience up on our feet chanting "Cunt! Cunt! Cunt!" as we reclaimed this beautiful, powerful word for ourselves. Most enjoyable, and I highly recommend it. (the whole show, not just saying "cunt"...
For me, the Monologues were a good wake-up call of where I've been, and taking care not to return there. The performance is always done with the intention of ending violence against women and girls around the world, and my personal understanding of ending violence against ME includes forgiving, but never going back to, men who have done things to me against my will. "Safe, Sane and Consensual" still fits nicely with "No means No."
Other news: my vacation plans for April are starting to shape up nicely: a little travel for waterpolo, a bit of visiting friends to sit and chill in a city with no other demands on my time, and the opportunity to come back home and then take a silversmithing course in the ever-exotic city of Burnaby! Yes, if I play my cards right, I could bus out to East Hastings for a couple of day-long sessions and learn to work with silver in its sheet form, not just the Precious Metal Clay stuff (though it's quite cool, too.. I'm wearing a pendant I made the other morning, fired in my kiln, polished up, and then thought I was going to set off my smoke detector after midnight last night when I was holding it over a candle to get some carbon to blacken the shadows more... oopsie!)
www.pmcguild.com has some cool pictures and articles by master muck-molders
Weather: STILL warm and sunny, but cold enough at night to require defrosting windshields before driving (not that I own a vehicle, or ever will, but I get rides home from late-night polo...)
Chai's so far: One. Can't actually remember yesterday. Planning to have another in about an hour when I get to Chapters to read books that I won't pay for (though I DO buy CDs at full price there, and magazines, so I figure that makes up for it)
Water exposure so far: One bath, almost all of my lunch-break in the pool. Polo yesterday was okay, except I think I swam too hard in the sprint set (gotta impress the coach, eh?) and I didn't like the guy with the video camera poking around...
Craft project in progress: LOTS more rows on the cardigan... had a doctor appointment this morning, so tons of time to sit and knit while in the waiting room.. I'm on the "increase" section heading towards the shoulders, after nipping in for the waist... woo!
Wardrobe: Work uniform again, but accessoried by a lovely PMC pendant (see above for the full story...)
Friday, February 18, 2005
Goodbye, Tallow.
David and Kyle's cat, Tallow, has passed on... he was doing the same sort of slow, sad-to-watch severe weight loss that Belly did a few months back before she died...
He was a good cat, a kind cat, not the type of cat to pee on his owner when I'd approach wearing my hat with the kitty ears (unlike his brother, Leo)... he'd say hello with a regall nose-lift as he allowed me to scratch gently behind his ears, and he'd jump up on to my lap when I'd visit to watch TV, usually lounging around knee-length on my stretched legs, rather than being a lap-hogger He was a cat-nipper, especially in plant form, which he could smell even on the highest shelf, and would thus be forced to jump up to the shelf, knock it down, and eat it. Apparently he was also quite amusing to watch while on Valium, a recent attempt to stimulate his appetite... ah well.
Enjoy the cozy spots with sunbeams, my friend.
He was a good cat, a kind cat, not the type of cat to pee on his owner when I'd approach wearing my hat with the kitty ears (unlike his brother, Leo)... he'd say hello with a regall nose-lift as he allowed me to scratch gently behind his ears, and he'd jump up on to my lap when I'd visit to watch TV, usually lounging around knee-length on my stretched legs, rather than being a lap-hogger He was a cat-nipper, especially in plant form, which he could smell even on the highest shelf, and would thus be forced to jump up to the shelf, knock it down, and eat it. Apparently he was also quite amusing to watch while on Valium, a recent attempt to stimulate his appetite... ah well.
Enjoy the cozy spots with sunbeams, my friend.
First Formal Featured Friend
www.philipstephen.com is the site for the day... Phil is someone that I grew up with in Williams Lake, but since he's a few years younger than me, the only hanging out we did was playing Hide N Seek in the bathrooms at church with the lights turned off, after the service on some Sundays. And THEN... a couple Christmas vacations ago, we ran into each other at the traditional Christmas Eve Service With Family Once A Year thing, and he bummed a ride back to Vancouver with me.. and during the seven-hour trip, we discovered that we had a ton in common: taste in music, love of Poetry Slams, a similar outlook on the journey of life.. and now sometimes we hang. Sometimes he also pretends to be hosting a big "get together with a bunch of people to make crafts" but it always winds up being just me... which sometimes seems sketchy, but I'm bigger than he is, so it is all okay.
Weather: Again, warm and sunny.. makes me long for May, when I get to swim outside and play lizard in the sun.
Chai's so far: One. Only had ONE yesterday, gasp!
Water exposure so far: One bath, lunch-break in the pool in a few minutes. Polo yesterday was fun, except for people getting cranky at some of the calls I made as a referree.. but hey, I'm learning!
Craft project in progress: four more rows on the cardigan... have been going into the yarn store in the mornings, to sit and knit (won't do that if I go to Chapters instead, so I'm choosing wisely...) and listen to all the gossip.
Wardrobe: Work uniform: Navy synthetic-something cargo shorts, navy polyfleece vest with name and position embroidered on.. frivolous (sp?) tropical print bikini top underneath, and fanny pack with the ever-handy gun holster in the back... kinda counters the pocket mask and other First Aid equipment, hey? OOh! Check out www.trauma.org for some nifty photos of gunshot wounds in their image gallerey! Warning: not for the queasy. You know who you are.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
The Gates, and other inspiring things
First, go here:
http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/tg.html
then, here:
http://www.the-gates-at-central-park.com/
I heard about The Gates on CBC the other morning... fascinated that this is a self-funded project (Cristo and Jeanne Claude make money from selling the preparatory pieces from all of their enormous site-specific installations), and that the day The Gates opened, Central Park saw its biggest day of attendance EVER... in mid-February. Wish I was there, and I'll definitely springboard to more of their other works... (you may have heard primarily of Cristo, but apparently this was because the couple chose to project Jeanne Claude's participation in a lesser station, due to society's standards of the day... long live progress!)
Other, general notes on Blogging (having read other people's blogs, and feeling there was insufficient, uhm, introduction...? ..I wanted to add more of mine): I am using this to change the way I experience the world. Just as, when I have a camera in my hands, I start looking around at everything as if it could be a photo, I am now mentally tagging things as potential blog material:
The experience of running into an old friend at McDonalds... showing the rest of you some of the cool paintings my friend Phil does... linking to the other Christa/Xta I just met through HER blog... ranting about things that I have since mentally edited OUT of my list of bloggables, since I am the type to avoid burning bridges, and I've already gotten an earful today from someone reacting to a fury-of-the-moment phone message I left regarding a work issue... and other things.
But, for the rest of today, I'll do this:
Weather: Warm, sunny, a beautiful February day in Vancouver.
Chai's so far: One. Only had two yesterday.
Water exposure so far: One bath, waterpolo later today. Yesterday: two baths, two swims. I'm such a fish.
Craft project in progress: Knitting a mostly-cotton cardigan for myself, on the smallest needles (4mm) I've ever used for a big project. Anticipating that it will take a while.
Wardrobe: (have you ever looked back on diary entries about your favorite outfit? Makes me giggle, so I'm gonna continue the habit...) Black Mary Jane shoes, dark knee socks, knee length panelled denim skirt (bought on the weekend, LOVE LOVE LOVE it..), purple boat-neck t from American Apparel (dig their philosophy, but not their photos), and the straps of my bright red bra are peeking out at the neckline. Oh, and one of my beads, because it is weird to tell people I make beads, but have nothing to show them.
Oh, and my sister has started her own blog, as soon as I told her about mine. Check her out, and leave her a note to encourage the habitwww.heathergiles.blogspot.com
L'chaim!
http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/tg.html
then, here:
http://www.the-gates-at-central-park.com/
I heard about The Gates on CBC the other morning... fascinated that this is a self-funded project (Cristo and Jeanne Claude make money from selling the preparatory pieces from all of their enormous site-specific installations), and that the day The Gates opened, Central Park saw its biggest day of attendance EVER... in mid-February. Wish I was there, and I'll definitely springboard to more of their other works... (you may have heard primarily of Cristo, but apparently this was because the couple chose to project Jeanne Claude's participation in a lesser station, due to society's standards of the day... long live progress!)
Other, general notes on Blogging (having read other people's blogs, and feeling there was insufficient, uhm, introduction...? ..I wanted to add more of mine): I am using this to change the way I experience the world. Just as, when I have a camera in my hands, I start looking around at everything as if it could be a photo, I am now mentally tagging things as potential blog material:
The experience of running into an old friend at McDonalds... showing the rest of you some of the cool paintings my friend Phil does... linking to the other Christa/Xta I just met through HER blog... ranting about things that I have since mentally edited OUT of my list of bloggables, since I am the type to avoid burning bridges, and I've already gotten an earful today from someone reacting to a fury-of-the-moment phone message I left regarding a work issue... and other things.
But, for the rest of today, I'll do this:
Weather: Warm, sunny, a beautiful February day in Vancouver.
Chai's so far: One. Only had two yesterday.
Water exposure so far: One bath, waterpolo later today. Yesterday: two baths, two swims. I'm such a fish.
Craft project in progress: Knitting a mostly-cotton cardigan for myself, on the smallest needles (4mm) I've ever used for a big project. Anticipating that it will take a while.
Wardrobe: (have you ever looked back on diary entries about your favorite outfit? Makes me giggle, so I'm gonna continue the habit...) Black Mary Jane shoes, dark knee socks, knee length panelled denim skirt (bought on the weekend, LOVE LOVE LOVE it..), purple boat-neck t from American Apparel (dig their philosophy, but not their photos), and the straps of my bright red bra are peeking out at the neckline. Oh, and one of my beads, because it is weird to tell people I make beads, but have nothing to show them.
Oh, and my sister has started her own blog, as soon as I told her about mine. Check her out, and leave her a note to encourage the habit
L'chaim!
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Day 1 - Oh Momentous February 16, 2005
For the last week, people have been sending me links to various blogs. Or, I have been hitting various blogs through searches for knitting patterns. OR, chat groups I belong to have featured other members' new blogs... in short, I was inundated with 'em, and I wanted to get in on all the fun.
After all, as I said to my friend Paul:
"... obviously, more people need to be exposed to my thoughts every day."
But seriously, folks, thanks for checking in. I'll try to keep it amusing.
X.
After all, as I said to my friend Paul:
"... obviously, more people need to be exposed to my thoughts every day."
But seriously, folks, thanks for checking in. I'll try to keep it amusing.
X.
