Friend Making Monday–ABC’s Of Me

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here and over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: ABC’s of Me

A) Apples I think are my favourite fruit, golden delicious to be precise.

B) Batman is my favourite superhero.  No powers, just inventiveness and will power!

C) Christopher is my full first name, I never use it, too long.  My mom used to use it when she was really mad at me!

D) Dad rides his bike forever almost every day, I asked him once if he was going to do the ride to cure cancer, he said it was ‘pretty short’ and he doesn’t know enough people to raise $2500.

E) Exercise is something I have come to love, to crave.  I’m always excited to get to working out.

F) Females, I have been told, give me looks now and then.  Amber notices, I don’t.

G) Gravity is one law I wish I could break!

H) Heat is my enemy, summer is coming and I not looking forward to July and August.

I) Ice cream is the perfect treat after a summer bike ride.

J) Just get out there and do it, is something I have come to live by.  Excuses are for the weak.

K) Karate is awesome, it’s been the source for change in my health and fitness and provided me with a wealth of amazing friends.

L) I don’t play the lottery very often, but I always daydream about what I would do with all that cash.

M) Money, they say, is the root of all evil.  But it sure would solve a LOT of my problems if I won the lottery

N) I’ll likely never give up video games, I like them too much.

O) I open for the daycare pretty much every single day.  I’d hard to be up and at work by 7am, but I get to leave at 4 and I love that.

P) Paintball season is almost here!  I can’t wait to shoot people, and get shot!

Q) I love quite time at daycare, when everyone is engaged with things and just chattering.

R) Running can be great and it can be torture.  I’m hoping to just run shorter distances for a long time now!

S) Superman will always be second to Batman in my mind, but I am seriously looking forward to the Man of Steel movie!

T) T-rex always seems to be the kids favourite dinosaur!

U) Uxbridge is the town I can my first race ever in, the Mudnewton, I’m not doing that race this year.

V) Victory is something I crave in my own personal challenges, If work for it can push to achieve it!

W) Water is Ashley’s favourite drink at work, I think it’s boring!

X) X-ray vision could come in handy!

Y) You can do anything you put your mind to.  Many people get that advice when they are younger, but too few people pay attention to it.

Z) The Toronto Zoo run is something I’d like to do, maybe the animal cheer people on?  Maybe they release the cheetahs after the race starts to help people get faster times!

Now it’s your turn! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments!! Happy Monday friends!!!!!!!!

I’m Never Doing That Again!

I headed out to begin my half marathon run this morning for the WCP International Race Weekends, which has had four people take part so far, one from Finland I believe and three from here in Canada!

by the time I was setting out it was already about 15°C I wore my new shirt that I got yesterday and my other typical running attire, shorts and running socks and such.

As I already said I had no idea what to eat in preparation so I just had half an English muffin and peanut butter and jam and a little homemade muffin that Amber made on Friday. I drove out to where I was starting, took a sip of water and began!  I tried to set a pace that was inline with the other longer runs I have done, I knew there was no hills on this route and so I didn’t have to overwork myself to get over those or anything.

It was pretty steady going really, the sun was a bit warmer than I expected but nothing that was outrageous. I made it to my half way point in Lakefield in about 55 minutes.  A little slower than I wanted to be, but I was still on pace to finish in under two hours so I was happy with that.  I did pick up the pace a little bit through town though on the way back, and by the time I got back to where the path is dirty and gravel again my legs were well aware that I had gone 12k, longer than I usually run.

My right ankle was hurting now, and my left calf was pulling pretty tight, but there was nothing else to do but press on.  My car was, after all, still about 8k away at this point.  When I got to the 16.5k area, I was ready to just stop.  It was as far as I had ever run before, my legs were screaming at me!  But again what could I do really?  So, I kept running, I grunted and breathed deeply and shut out the pain that was happening in my legs and ankles and feet.

I was making note of the landmarks as I passed them by, this road crossing the path, the fallen branches from the ice storm that I had noticed on the way to Lakefield, anything to distract my mind.  When I finally came back to the road and the final push, about 1.5k from there to the finish.  I was grunting and heaving every few strides, willing my legs to keep going forward.  As I neared the end I kept my phone in my hand noting the distance travelled every few seconds..  Why would 21.07 not just hurry up!!

Finally the distance was done, my half marathon completed.  I stopped running and barely remembered how to walk.  My legs wobbled beneath me as I made my way back to the car.  I stretched and gulped at a G2 Gatoraide.  I was done, 21.12K (stupid gps always corrects itself after you are done) in 1:53:24!  My goal was met, under 2 hours!

It’s done, and now I have run a half marathon twice at once – the first time, and the last time!  It was so not enjoyable for me, 5 or 10k is so much more fun and likable. But I can say I have done it now, Half Marathon Completed!

My first words upon completion where “I’m never doing that again!”  I have already been asked to do an event since then, in November.  I’m thinking about it.

 

P.S. I think what surprised me most though was that, my breathing and heart rate were not an issue at all during any point of this whole ordeal, just the pain in my legs!

Preparing

Today is the day of my half marathon.  How did I prepare for this day?  Well yesterday I went to karate, and then worked out at home and then biked 13.82 Km.  Those may not have all been the best things to do, but I’m not all that concerned about it.  I really have no idea what I am doing at running this distance, I have no clue what I should be eating this morning, or if I really should have water with me while running or anything.

I hope to be able to do this in under two hours, in theory I should be able to get it done in around an 1:40 since I used to run 10K on a flatish course in about 47 minutes.

I’m probably not going to be heading out onto the course until about 9am since it is still 0C here and I am not doing this with mitts or earmuffs or whatever on.  It’s supposed to get up to 18C today, so I am hoping that by the time I am going it’s a sunny 10C at least.

Here’s hoping it goes well!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!

On my mind since running 16.6k two Mondays ago has been ‘Let’s get this half marathon over with!’ I want to run it, I want to be done with it.  I’m not really certain why exactly I am feeling like this about the whole thing.  I think part of it is just to silence the sceptic inside my head about whether or not I’m actually able to do this.

I was talking with my friend Tara the other day and she mentioned that she was doing a half marathon and the day before she was going to do nothing much at all, her information had lead her to believe that like walking around a lot even was discouraged.  My plan was to ride my bike on Saturday if the weather is nice.  Is that simply because I don’t know better?  Am I setting myself up to fail?

It might just be showing how under-informed I am about running in general.  And really so far I think ignorance, is bliss.  Currently all I have to know is whether my body is tired or not.

I am going to figure out a way to carry a wee bit of water along with me, but I am running when it’s nice and cool, Sunday’s high is only 20C so I figure I should be fine.  I have figured out my route too.

It’s probably the easiest route I could find, along a trail and river, so that it’s fairly flat and at best downhill slightly on the way back, if it’s windy the trees on the trail will shelter me most of the time too.  If my attitude for activity is not quite right on the day before, at least I have chosen a route that is ready for success.

Friend Making Monday–Inside My Head

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here  and over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Inside My Head

I like… Dinners with friends.

I don’t like… Crowds of people I don’t know.

I love… My job, like actually, it’s great and the people I work with are amazing.

I dream of… Having enough money to do all the things I want to do!

I wonder… What I’ll be doing ten years from now?

I know… That I am good at some things, great at a few, and need to work on lots of others, but I try.

I went… To the Caribbean three times so far, I love it there.  Seems so relaxed!

I think… That the new Superman movie, Man Of Steel, will be great!

I plan… To do a half marathon this weekend, I hope, at the moment, that it is the only one I ever do.

I regret… Not improving myself sooner!

I do… The best I can with what I have.

I drink… so much G2 Gatorade!

I wish… I could win the lottery and use that cash to make so many peoples lives easier!

I am… Awesome!

I am not… As confident as I always try to appear to be.

I need… My dryer to work again.

I hope… I can actually run that whole half marathon distance!

I want… To never get a bad haircut ever again! Or a Green Lantern ring, whichever is easier.

I sometimes… Think that no matter what I do, someone is looking out for me.

I always… Wake up too early.

I can… Ride my bike with no handlebars.

I cannot… ---  There is nothing I cannot do given enough time.

I avoid… People I don’t like.

I will… Work out tomorrow!

 

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions.  Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! 

I’ll Race Ya!

Yesterday was my first race of the year, the Kilometres For Care hosted by the Peterborough area branch of Community Care.  I competed in this race last year too and came 4/10 in my age group and 12th overall.  I was of course determined to do better this year.  how could I not?  I have been running consistently all winter, and have even done a sub 20 minute 5k on the treadmill.

It was a pretty cool day on race day, barely 5C (40F) and so where I wore shorts and a t-shirt last year I was in sweat pants (actually they are pj pants, but they look close enough) and the under armour cool gear shirt I usually wear playing hockey!  Oh and a Flash t-shirt on top of that!

Lining up at the start one guy said to me ‘Well, I’m not using you as my pace runner!  Look,’ he said to his buddy, ‘It’s the Flash!’.  He might not have been that serious, but I knew he was right.  I was ready to win this event!

It was the same course as last year, which actually makes this the only repeat race I have run where it is actually the same.  I knew my mistakes from last year, and I knew where to speed up and where to reserve.  I kept an even pace coming out of the gate and up the first hill which happens right away, on the downside of the hill going past the daycare where I work I opened up and passed a few people.  i resumed my regular pace again once the hill was over and kept my place for the next few kilometres.  I did pass one of the young guys that burst out of the beginning however along this stretch.  Seems like every race there is a few teenagers that burn out about half way through from going too fast at the start.

During the 3rrd kilometre I got passed by one older guy and reeled in another. I kept just ahead of the second guy for quite a while and also kept the guy that passed me in my sights.  I was going to catch him, he was going to be what really pushed me in the final stretch. we came back to the first hill, about 800 metres to go.  I wasn’t waiting this year like I did last time.  I opened up on the way up the hill.

I caught up to and passed the guy I was trying for by the peak of the hill and opened a small lead on the downside of the hill, maybe only a few feet.  He started to charge hard, and I turned it on!   I could not be wearing a Flash shirt and coast into the finish even if this guy was not in my age group!  It was a full out sprint, neck and neck for probably about 100 metres!  I would hope there at pictures, but I doubt it.  I edged him out by 1/10th of a second!  Fantastic finish.  My time was 21:47.7, good enough for…

1st In My Age Group!

To me that is as good as first overall!  I was actually 7th overall, pretty spiffy!

Gold!

One of my friends who works at daycare with me ran the race too and she finished her first 5K race ever!  I’m proud of her, and she did awesome!  A few of our moms from daycare ran too, and did very well!  It’s exciting to have people I actually know in the same race.  There was also a 1K fun run a bit later on and a couple of the kids from daycare were in that!  Very cool!  I’m proud of them for being a part of it, we’ll have lots to talk about during our group time this week!

My Legs, They Hurt!

Still!

The weather has finally turned spring like here in Bridgenorth Ontario and so on Monday I decided to go for a run after work.  I wasn’t really sure how far I was going to run when I set out to do it I just knew that I was going to be a while.  That is pretty much what I told Amber when I left to “I’ll be back in a while” or some such.

I started on the blue dot, that’s my house.  From there I have two choices really.  Run on the super busy Ward St. or run on the back road which is only kinda busy.  I chose the latter and headed out.  By the time I got to the end of the 7th line where it meets up with thte Centre Line of Smith I know I have gone about 4.5 K.  Not too shabby and I felt great, So I figured I’d keep going along.  I turned right and headed up Centre Line.  I knew my next option was Fifth Line for heading toward home.  When I got there I was still feeling good and thought that if I went to Woodland Dr. I might just run my longest distance ever!

I kept going.  I got to Woodland Dr. and turned right and immediately remembered why I plan to ride my half marathon on the Lakefield – Peterborough bike path.  Woodland Dr. between Centre Line and Hillard St. is ENTIRELY up hill.  and not even just gently sloping, but the kind of up hill where if you are right a bike you gear down and then stand up to get there.  By the time I reached Hillard St. I was regretting this whole decision to run really far after work.  I was jogging more than running at this point and reminding myself that it was less than 6k home, less than 25 minutes.

Right where Hillard St. turns into Fifth Line there is a bike trail, Thankfully except for one quick steep hill the bike trail is generally down hill.  There were people walking their dogs and stuff too so I was glad to have the ‘pressure’ to actually run and not ‘jog’.  I woke my legs up and got moving, especially on the more downhillish parts.

Once I got to the end of the trail there is only a Kilometre to go before being back at my house.  No problem right?  Wrong.

This part here is a huge, steep hill.  So steep and long at this point that I had no choice but to walk up the last bit of it because ‘running’ up was no fast and way more effort.  I walked about ten steps maybe.  then the rest is a gently sloped down hill back to my house.

My “I’m going out for a run for a while” turned into 1:27:41!! and 16.6K

(Time off the stopwatch is official, since I want to make sure the GPS catches up with me and I have to get out my phone and swipe and stop the workout and so on)

This was my longest run ever, outside or on a treadmill.  Thankfully Amber massaged my legs with the super expensive oil and anti-inflammatory gel we bought on the cruise ship.  My legs are still a bit tender even today, two days later, but not too bad at all.  I wouldn’t say I’m looking forward to running a half marathon, but I know I can do it!

Friend Making Monday–20 Questions

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here and over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Twenty Questions

1. Share something that you enjoy doing when you’re alone.

Drawing

2. What do you plan to eat next?

Afternoon snack with the kids, veggies I think

3. When did you first travel on a plane? Where did you go?

I first traveled on a plane when I was 19 I think, I flew to Philadelphia so see the girlfriend I had at the time

4. Do you currently have a crush on someone? If so, share a few of the reasons why.

Yeah, most folks are crushing on someone it seems

5. List one thing that disgusts you that probably wouldn’t bother someone else.

Um.. I'm not even sure of this one.  Bugs I guess, I'm not a fan of bugs at all.  You know that scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom where they are walking on the big bugs, and then the girl has to reach in the hole filled with creepy crawlies..  ick!

6. If you could buy a new car tomorrow (and money was no object) what would you buy?

Jet Black Camero!

7. Who was the first person who broke your heart?

Um, Seriously?  This question does suck, do I really want to put that on someone?

8. If you could spend the night with a celebrity tonight, who would it be?

I get the feeling that Robert Downey Jr. would be awesome to hang out with.

9. Are you a morning person or a night person?

Depends on the day really, but I am up early for work all the time.  I would say I am generally a morning person overall.

10. What’s your favorite board game?

I think Carcasonne is my favourite game.

11. Can you play an instrument? If so, what do you play?

I can play a few songs on guitar, but I can't sing at the same time.  The songs I can play sound pretty good though I think.

12. What is the last thing you ate?

Homemade mac and cheese for lunch here at daycare!  Yum!

13. Do you wear a watch?

I wear a watch when I am working out just to have the stopwatch function close at hand.  Generally though, no, I use my phone as a watch.

14. Do you go to church?

Nope, Amber and I have talked about doing so once she does not work on Sundays though, I think it would be a good thing if we can find a place with a good speaker.

15. Do you ever wish on stars?

Yeah, sometimes, never seems to work though

16. Have you ever been on a motorcycle?

I have been on a minibike, like when I was ten years old, that was pretty cool, but not a full on motorcycle.

17. What is the last thing you purchased?

A wedding card for my friend Keri.

18. How big is your bed?

It's a Queen bed, we need a King I think!

19. What size shoe do you wear?

I wear a size 10 typically

20. What are you looking forward to most in the coming week?

A few things to look forward to this week.  Injustice: Gods Among Us comes out tomorrow, I'll be getting that, and I have a race on Sunday!  And finally a few days of nice weather, I'm tired of all this wintery type stuff!

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions. Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! Happy Monday!

WCP Race

So a few months ago I had the idea of the WCP International Race weekend. The time is nearly upon us!  This morning however I woke up to snow on the ground, again, and I got to thinking that I really have not had the amount of time to train outside that I have wanted, and the weather sucks.  The training thing I can get over, I set my own date for the race, I did a whole lot of running early in the year inside to get ready, I can run the distance.

The weather thing I am SO NOT a fan of.  I guess I thought about last year’s March where I wore t-shirts half the time and figured that late April would be fine this year.  It does not seem that way.  The whole Idea of Race At Your Own Place was to have race day be enjoyable!  Well as enjoyable as it can be when you are setting out to complete a race distance that challenges you.

I propose this change to the admittedly very loose rules of the WCP Race Weekend.

I think we should change it to race weekends! Having multiple weekends should ensure that, the weather gets a bit warmer here in Canada, and since I have not mentioned this on here since the announcement give some more people some more time to join in, and an week of training if they want.  Or run your distance each of those weekends and take the best time!  Oh I like that.  Gives people an opportunity to discard a race where they have a shoe explode or something.

All in favour?  *raises hand*  All opposed? *none* by a vote of 1-0 I accept!

The WCP International Race Weekends are:

April 26-28

May 3-5

Bib download to follow later today on this post and on the Facebook event page.

Home Gym

I have begun to amass the equipment needed for a bit of a home gym.  I don’t have an idea spot for it yet as we have a tenant down in our basement but sometimes you just have to make due.  The garage is me making due.  See earlier in the year the garage door on ‘my’ side stopped working (inside a garage door opener the gears are plastic!)  And while it’s totally fixable, I don’t have the money to pay someone to do it, or the skills to do it myself, or really even the need to be sure my car is parked inside.  Since winter is (hopefully) over, there really is no point to parking in the garage anyways.

Last fall I picked up for free a bunch of the old cement and plastic weights.  Back when I lived at home we had these and I actually spent one summer working out with them.  My dad still has them and uses them I believe.  Then just two weekends ago I picked up some more and a weight bench so that I could do bench presses at home.

Before

Problem is I needed a space to do all that.  So I spent some time last weekend cleaning out my side of the garage and making it a bit more useable.  We have quite a bit of junk back there that was left here by other people when my Grandma had the house.  My Aunt before we took possession asked people to come get their things, and then we even had a huge yard sale.  So I’m just going to be chucking this stuff out.  I’m still in the process of setting up the place, and I’ll be getting some of the puzzle mat things that we used to have on the karate club floor to use as the mat part so that I can do crunchies and other ab work on the floor without being on cement.

This morning I made use of my partially finished home gym for the first time.  Since all I would be doing at the gym is bench press and pull ups I did that here with a little bit more of a warm up since I had the time.  I bench pressed on the bench naturally, then did my pull ups on the garage door rails, some box jumps, jumping jacks, push ups and crunchies on the bench.  I followed all that up with a 2k run.

Clean, but not done

I didn’t have to leave home at 7 to get to the gym in time enough to be able to do all this and then get to karate, in fact since I saved the time driving is why I had the time to do the short little run.  I think this is really going to be a great thing!  It will be even better when it’s not just barely above the freezing mark when I am out doing it too!

Floor in, but too dark for a good picture

A little cluttery in the back still, but good!

Why I Will Be A Trainer

I have spouted off a few times about how I can’t be a personal trainer simply due to the fact that I am very blunt and a bit demanding.  I push hard for result and expect that of other people and as we have learned say things that others take as hurtful when to me I am merely stating facts.

Maybe my statement of why I can’t be a trainer is too general.  I can’t be a trainer for people who’s feelings I am invested in not hurting.  Like my wife for example, I don’t want to hurt her feelings.  I want her to be successful at the things she does, but not at the cost of our relationship obviously.

A couple of friends of mine have asked me to help them get ready for races and such, or just generally work out with them.  Supposedly I am inspiring.  That’s pretty cool.  I went running with Nikki a few weeks ago, and while she was nearly dying she did run/walk the whole 5k of her May 26th race course.  I did ok there, I pushed her to go.  I did not get told that I was being annoying or patronizing.  It was good.  Another friend, Sarah, has sort of asked/implied the same thing.  We could go to the gym, run on the trails, and find monkey bars and such in preparation for the Tough Mudder that we are doing in September.

I think it’s a good idea, not that I can be a great trainer or anything, but that I can train with them and they likely won’t feel the same heat from me as Amber likely does.  Amber knows me too well, know when I am putting her on and knows when I am being genuine.  If I was like “Good Job Amber!” When it had taken us (this is an exaggerated example!) like 3 hours to bike 20K.  She’d likely tell me to shut up!  Problem is I know her too well too, I know what she can do when she’s trying and when she’s not and so that leads to problems.

I have been told many times that being a good teacher, and in the case of teaching physical things I really do believe this, you have to be a good liar.  You have to be able to lie about the scale of goodness you are comparing to.  For instance, I have a black belt at karate, I’ve been doing it for almost ten years.  A new person starts and they are learning their first bunch of kicks.  I will tell them “man those kicks are awesome!” Are they?  Not necessarily, but that person is trying their guts out to do them.  They are awesome compared to if they were doing them without the effort, or compared to the first time I saw them do kicks.

Our ‘rule’ at karate is that everyone should go home with a smile, yeah we teach but we want people to go home happy with what they did that day and impressed with what they have learned. (Until you get to red and brown belt and then you need people to be happy but slightly troubled because they are having to push themselves).  I don’t think as a trainer I would have that rule, and that is probably my biggest problem.  If I thought a grown person was not trying I’m going to call them on it and then they will be all cheesed about it.

So maybe the thing is really that one shouldn’t jump right in to training with people by practicing with their spouse, but practice the whole trainer thing with some friends who you can live with being upset with you for a day or two.

Mental Health Day

I used to think it was pretty funny that my dad got Mental Health Days.  He was a teacher, for the longest time a French teacher, and finished his career as a grade 8 teacher (usually with a 7/8 split because of the tiny school he was at).  And once in a while he’d just take a day off to do the things he liked to do.  He was never one to miss work, I think in all the years that I can recall he might have been actually sick enough to miss work a dozen times.  When he retired he had loads of banked sick days. So a day off once or twice a year must have been nice.

I say I used to think it was funny because how much work could it be to be a teacher?  I have been at school, it didn’t seem all that hard for the person at the front to give out work, and keep the rowdys under control.

My god do I know the difference now!

Today for me in fact is a ‘Mental Health Day’.  I am not sick (though my neck is killing me!) but I just needed an extra day off, especially with doing CPR all day Saturday.  I have been a bit stressed out at work, which seems odd because I do get to draw and colour and stuff all the time.  But being a teacher in any setting, school, karate, daycare is not nearly as easy as the people who are good at it make it look.

Teaching, and especially teaching children, takes an enormous amount of energy.  you have to give energy out, you have to be able to absorb it from others and you have to be able to control the energy of the room.  At times I have felt like I am in the zone while at work and that is when the job is easy!  Other times, and most recently, I have felt like I am fighting it all day.  I have to be able to find that zone again where things just roll.

Friend Making Monday - TV, Movies and Me

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here and over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

TV, Movies and Me

1. If you could be a recurring star on a show that is currently on TV, which show would you choose? 

Currently…  Hmm, I guess I would go with Big Bang Theory.  I’m not as smart as those guys buy I fit in with them nerd-wise.  And I’d probably get a shot at Penny.

2. Name the movie that you are most embarrassed to admit that you love.

I think that I’d get a few raised eyebrows if I admitted I like The Powerpuff Girls Movie, but I’m not embarrassed by it.  The Powerpuff Girls are awesome.

3. Name one show that you’ve never seen and would love to watch. 

This one I don’t know what to answer with between Netflix, the Internet and Cable I watch pretty much everything I want to watch.  I can think of should I would watch but have not been made yet!  Like a Nightwing show akin to Smallville, but where Dick is actually Nightwing and figuring out how things go without Batman around.

4. Do you ever go to movies alone? 

Yep, lots.  Not as much anymore with straps on disposable income, and that I could be working out or something instead of sitting still but I still go alone.  Usually it’s to see a good movie again that i am on my own.  Like seeing Green Lantern for instance.  The movie I saw the most times in theater (and most times alone) would be either Fellowship of the Ring or Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.  The movie I have seen the most times in theater with people would be The Dark Knight

5. If you could only watch one TV show for the next year, which show would you choose and why? 

Mythbusters. It’s smart, it’s funny, it has explosions.

6. If you could star in one reality show, which one would it be and why? 

Amazing Race I think.  Amber and I were going to try out for the Canadian version, but her school teaching schedule doesn’t really allow it.  I think it would be awesome to travel either the country or the world for free and do stuff.

7. If someone rented a billboard for you, what would it say? 

Hmmm, if they are renting it they would get to choose wouldn’t they?  So how ‘bout it people, what would the billboard of Chris say?  Leave a comment!!!

8. Who is the most famous person with whom you have been in the same room? 

Sports-wise I have shaken Guy Carbonneau’s hand, former NHL player for the Canadiens and the Dallas Stars, and at the time Coach of the Canadiens.

I have been in the same room as singers only really,  most famous, I was at a little theater to see Weird Al,  Some might question why I choose him over Barenaked Ladies, Pink, NSYNC, Bon Jovi etc…  Three things, I like him better than all those, it was a much smaller venue so the ‘room’ bit applies better and his career has nearly spanned my entire lifetime!

9. If you were chosen to be a contestant on a TV game show, which show would you want to be on? 

Not a Canadian game show for sure because I want to win more than $50!!  I think actually Family Feud, it looks fun.  I’m not clever enough to actually win on Jeopardy, and the pace of Wheel of Fortune is too slow.

Wait scratch all that, The Price is Right!  As long as I get out of contestants row!

10. If there was a movie being made about you, which actor would you choose to play you?

Amber shot down most of my pics, I kept the young Harrison Ford card off the table till now though.  Think Raiders of the Lost Arc age.

Amber has suggested and I agree with Chris Evans, he was pretty cool and funny in both Captain America and The Avengers – He should have been Green Lantern I think!

 

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions!  And put up what`s going on my bill board!  Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments!

When Is The Weekend Not The Weekend?

When you have to go to the head office of work and take a CPR course for the whole Saturday!

I’m so not a fan of giving up my days off to do mundane work type things.  Sure send me to a conference where I’m learning something exciting and new and stuff, but to re-up my CPR is not fun.  Boo.

However in exciting news I won a Shigeru Miyamoto autographed copy of Luigi’s Mansion from Nintendo of America!  They had a contest on twitter that asked people to send in their favourite Luigi memories.  I have two. 

Back in the day I used to play Super Mario Bros. a LOT, and on my own.  I liked Luigi’s green and white better than Mario’s red and brown so I used to start up a two player game, and then kill off Mario just so I could play as Luigi!.  I have done this on many, many different Mario games as well.  My other memory involves actual people and competition though.  When I was 21-22 I lived in an apartment with three other guys, we played a lot of Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Gamecube.  It was general consensus that Ian and I were the best players in the house, he with Link and me with Luigi.  During one particularly epic battle, we were both down to our last man, both highly damaged and were contesting a a little piece of space on the back of the Great Fox (from Star Fox).  Link was trying to reach back up to the stage, and did a spinning sword slash to try to make some room.  I jumped backward with Luigi, the blade narrowly missing his face and then SMACK, knocked Link into oblivion.  Victory and bragging rights for the night were mine!

Once I get the signed game I’ll show you guys, should be pretty cool!

Friend Making Monday–Childhood Flashbacks

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here and over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

 

Childhood Flashbacks

1. Did you have a set bedtime as a child?  If so, what was it?

I don’t actually recall if I did.  When I was a little kid I might have, like 8 o’clock or something but I’m not sure of the time.  I know that when I was very small, like less than 6 and we lived one house over from my grandma and grandpa I used to lean out my window and talk to them on their back porch.  “Are you supposed to be in bed Chrissy?’ She would ask. And then I would go to bed.

2. Were you taught to be a member of the “Clean Plate Club?” Did it affect your eating habits as an adult?

Nope, I was a member of the ‘you have to try it club’ though.  Generally it was fine if I didn’t clean my plate, but I did have to take a taste of everything on it.  Ketchup was my friend as a child, even on mashed potatoes! Ick.

I would say yes, I’m a bit adventurous when it comes to food, if you read the posts about the cruise I just took you’d know I tried everything from alligator to snails!

3. Share one thing that you were not allowed to do as a child.

I’m again not actually sure on this one, besides the obvious.  Play with fire and so on.  Of course by the time I was 10 I was lighting the fires in the woodstove in the morning to heat the house. 

Swear is another obvious one, and I would get in huge trouble the few times that I was caught.

 

4. What is the cheapest gas price you can remember? 

I’m not sure.  I know the cheapest I have paid is somewhere in the $0.70 per Litre range.

5. What was your favourite thing on the playground? 

We had like the merry go round on our school yard, and we loved it.  We’d all get it spinning as fast as we could and then grab a bar and hop on.  the flippin’ thing would nearly tear your arm off doing that.  Or while it was moving slowly we’d walk on the bars.  It’s astounding that we had no severe injuries!

6. Share one thing that your parents always made you do that you didn’t like doing. 

Clean my room, make my bed and help shovel the driveway.  I hated to clean my room and usually I would just shove all my toys loose into the drawers that I had.  I figured as long as the floor was clean I was good to go (and I usually was).  Mom always wanted me to make my bed, I would usually do a pretty weak job of it really.

I always had to help shovel the driveway too.  Dad figured that if I wanted to be driven to friends houses (we liked like 3k from anyone) that I had to help.  our driveway was like 7 or 8 car lengths long!!

7. Do you remember your first kiss? 

Yep, I kissed Sarah in the classroom during recess in grade 5.

8. Did you prefer to play inside or outside? 

I was a play outside type of guy, going out and about through the woods, knocking down little skinny dead trees, climbing rocks, mucking about in creeks and fishing at the lake.  Of course I liked playing with my toys and Nintendo too.

9. What was your favourite TV show growing up? 

Depends on the age.  My favourite show rotated quite a bit but it went from He-man to Ghostbusters to Ninja Turtles and then the Batman cartoon.

10. Share one awesome childhood memory. 

My grandma used to let me ‘drive the car’.  I would have been about 4 or 5 and her car had the old style bench seats even in the front.  I would sit in her lap and believe I was steering.  Of course she was doing all the work!  Later my dad used to let me steer from the passenger side while going on our back road!  Very cool.

Bonus: Share a picture of yourself as a child. 

 

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions!  Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments!  Happy Monday, my friends!