Triceps

I have in the past few days become painfully aware of how often we use our tricep muscles. From the moment we wake up till the moment our heads return to the soft relief of our pillows, we constantly are relaying on this ever so important muscle group. Everything from getting up, clothing ourselves, brushing our teeth, lifting things, pressing down on the soap pump, trying to cut an onion, putting on your seat belt...every action requires the assistance of our triceps. Now, as I carry on with these everyday activities, I am aware of their importance. Everytime they move, a spasm of pain ripples through them. Often, an action will result in waves of pain as different parts exert themselves at different times.
You might ask, why the sudden body awareness? One word...judo. No complaints, it was one of the more interesting, exciting and full-filling ways to spend a Saturday afternoon. If anything, hindsight tells me I probably got too excited and forgot certain aspects of the techniques (I probably lifted my opponents during my throws instead of pushing them). But for now, until I can dress and feed myself painlessly again, I will stick to just visualization techniques.

Can't help it...

I can't help but feel a little mean posting this (and I would normally avoid doing so), but it just feels like finally someone (albeit another country) is taking things seriously.
This past month, a certain heiress was arrested for having cocaine in a purse (ownership to be debated). She later plead guilty to possession and then promptly boarded a plane to Tokyo. When this came on the TV I told my father, I don't think they're going to let her in with a drug charge. Even Paul McCartney can't get into Japan. Sure enough, the very next day we hear news of her being denied entry. My favourite part was her statement to the cameras as she was being kicked out of the country, how she loved it there and she was looking forward to coming back later... Huh. I've come up with a few different theories on this comment: 1) Something was lost in translation 2) She was in denial/ lacked approriate commprehension skills to understand the words "deported" and "banned" (it is a long flight after all) 3) She was trying to save face 4) She figured she could buy her way back into the country, immigration laws be damned.
If people like McCartney and the Rolling Stones (who also have money, power and oh, TALENT) can't find their ways back into Japan, what makes her think her "kawaii factor" will get her back in? Oh, and the "it's not mine, it's my friend's" excuse only works once. Using it twice in one year is definately pushing your legal luck. It's refreshing to see someone playing things by the book and laying out some consequences.
Sigh, and that's my (slightly vindicated) rant.

Bad omens anyone?

It's a good thing I'm not too superstious...as my day was quite the bad omen filled day. After running the gas tank to empty last night, we went up the the cheap place to fill up. When I'm not driving, I like to keep an eye out, as the road we take is in quite a wooded area and there seems to be a lot of deer this year. However, instead of deer, I spotted 3 vultures on the ground. It was my first time seeing vultures in the wild. While I know they're native to this area, it was still a surprise to see them.
Afterwards, we stopped by the car dealership in our ongoing quest to decide on which new car to buy. And what do we find lying on the ground next to a red 2010 Matrix? A dead bird...migratory from the looks of him. The poor dear...
Hope this isn't a sign of things to come...too much death for one day, even for a CSI fan.

Kinda Edible...

Well, I've been trying to find some time to make my own soba ever since I found buckwheat flour at the Bulk Barn. I have to say, it was a semi success. On one hand it was edible, on the other hand, it depends on your definition of the word edible. First, I had major issues finding a good recipe. Some didn't appear authentic, one even called for eggs. This sent off red flags, as it seemed like they were just using the method for italian pasta dough and substituting the flour. I finally found one that seemed okay, however, there were some issues. For example, what does it mean to work the dough until it reaches the smoothness of "a baby's ear lobe"? I started in anyways, and quickly ran into a problem. I didn't seem to have enough wheat flour (as buckwheat lacks gluten, wheat flour is needed to hold the noodles together, or so I read). Oh well, too late. Then, as I started mixing, I found the instructions to keep my fingers down in slicing motions a bit harder to follow than I expected, as the water was quickly absorbed and nothing like dough had formed yet. I added more water and hoped for the best. During this, the words "YOUTUBE" came to mind. I popped on quickly and found an instructional video, while cursing myself for not having thought of this earlier. Well, the noodles came out, sort of. A bit crumbly (very short noodles, as the strands would break along the folds), and definately full of fiber (perhaps will get the finer buckwheat flour if I try it again), but at least the flavour wasn't too bad. And dispite the coarse flour, the noodles were still somehow "smoother" than the dried ones, or so I'm telling myself. Now that I look at the picture of the fruits of my morning's labour, I can't help but think, this picture looks a lot like the one of the 2000 year old bowl of noodles they found in China I saw on the National Geographic site...is that good or bad?

Forgot about those muscles...

I joined a dragon boat team this summer, and boy do I feel it today. After a week and a half hiatus from training (we took a short break after a tournament 2 weekends back), we started back up again. Not only was the sudden activity a shock to the system, but we didn't have our regular coach. On top of that, traffic and weather conditions meant that we were a few paddlers short of a full boat. But wow, it's a "good" pain, but nonetheless, pain. Perhaps tennis tonight might be pushing it...
But, I do have to say, having new coaches every now and then is a good opportunity to get a different perspective on our paddling!

Finally!!!

When I was living in Japan, amazon.co.jp was part of my internet-life-line-system. In the small town I was in, the English book selection was limited to say the least. But I was always amazed at how wonderful the selection of items on amazon was. My favourite part was that not only did they have books, but they had everything from computer games, electronics, jewelry, kitchen appliances, flowers, food, alcohol...the list goes on and on. I even used it to send things to my friends in Japan after I returned home. Much to my annoyance, the Canadian amazon was still limited to mostly books, music and software. I could order from the American site, but that meant extra shipping and the dreading customs charges (I once ordered a sale item, so I ended up paying more in taxes than I did for the item).
Low and behold, I decided on a whim (at 2am) to check the amazon.ca site. And what do my greedy little eyes behold, but a home and garden section!! While it's still not as extensive as it's American or Japanese counterparts, it's a start! Off to explore I go!

World Cup: Back to Basics

Over the weekend, I caught a glimpse of a children's soccer tournament at a local park. And I couldn't help but stop and reflect on what a lot of adults hope children will gain when they play sports: sportsmanship, fair play, love of the game....

As I watched, I was disappointed how some adults have drifted away from those ideals. I had been quite excited about following this year's World Cup in South Africa. It started off great! The build up to the games, seeing all the different flags around the city, feeding off the energy of the fans (and vuvuzelas) and discovering that the Simpson's were correct (that listening to Spanish commentators makes the game more exciting).
However, one day changed all that. The first incident was during the game between England and Germany, when the ball hit the crossbar and went in. The German keeper, Neuer, quickly grabbed the ball and put it back into play. At first, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. It had been so fast maybe he missed it and just saw the ball as it was in the air. Alas, no. In post game interviews he flaunts how he acted purposefully to fool the ref into thinking the ball hadn't crossed the line. Then he goes on to say who he felt the his team was better anyways. First of all, if you were so confident in your team's superiority, why bother cheating? Be a professional, a role model, a representative your grandmother would be proud of and accept that you let a goal past you. Secondly, you've just admitted to cheating. In an arena where it should be the best of the best, where you walk onto the field holding a child's hand, how is this behaviour anyway to represent your sport and your country. If our team had done the same thing, regardless of the result, I would be ashamed. No matter how talented you maybe (in athletics, or in this case, in dramatics) That's not the way anyone should want to win.

Then came the reaction. Again, I return to the children. I recently read a graduation quote from our school's year book on what their future goal was: "To never make the same mistake again". Amazing what a 14 year old has grasped, and yet adults have failed to, or forgotten. Instead of looking at the 2 incidents that occurred that day as learning experiences and an opportunity to improve the game, FIFA was non-apologetic, saying they had spoken with the teams. Yeah, lots of good that will do the teams that got eliminated due to your results. And it's not like the situations wasn't foreseeable. Not to mention, the readily available solution...If a sport like tennis, where a little ball is going over 100m/hr has the technology to track the ball, I think they can handle a soccer ball. But what irked me most of all was the attitude they displayed. Not too long ago, a missed call cost a pitcher a perfect game. However, the umpire that made that mistake was professional enough to go and look at the replay, admit he was wrong and apologized. While the solution wasn't perfect, the attitude was there. FIFA's response to the situation has only left a bad aftertaste.