Greenway & H2O Centre

Jonathan woke me up this morning because I gave him permission to.  I knew I'd never wake up much before noon on my own and I detest waking up to a blaring alarm clock, especially on days when I don't absolutely HAVE to be up at a certain time for classes or work.  Around lunchtime we went for a walk, which turned into a hike.  I suggested we walk along the Mission Creek Greenway and Jonathan agreed.  For a few minutes we toyed with the idea of biking on the Greenway, but I was in the mood to walk, and I was really glad for that later on.

We walked right by my old elementary and high school (all one big long building), crossed a main road, and walked another minute or two before reaching the Mission Creek and the Greenway.  Then we set out east for a short time and then mostly south, along the creek.  We stopped for a few minutes at the pool of water I used to always walk to with Pepper so she could swim.  Then we took a seldom-used trail that kept going beside the creek until we crossed back to the Greenway.  After walking about two or three miles, we got to a bridge, which is the farthest up the creek I have ever gone on the Greenway.  There was a trail with a sign saying the trail was dangerous and not to proceed.  I kind of wanted to anyway, to see where it led, but then we saw a different trail going up the side of the cliff beside us.  So we took that trail, which made our walk turn into a hike.

After finally getting to the top of the rock trail/wooden stairs, we rested for a bit and then hiked up another short trail to the top of a rise where we took pictures.  Then we went to the edge of the cliff and sat on the boulders to take pictures of us above the creek.  We opted to go back then so we could spend the rest of our afternoon doing something else, but I wanted to try going back a different way, on the second trail leading to the rise.  That went well for a few minutes, but soon that trail got overrun with weeds.  Jonathan suggested we just feet-slide our way down a sandy-rocky section of the mountain.  I didn't feel quite alright with that, but wanted to get down and head back home quickly, so finally agreed to it.  It was a mistake.

We clung to the roots of a huge tree as we tried to stay upright while scooting down the shifting  terrain.  Mid-sized rocks came dislodged and bounced down the slope beneath us and a dog in the trailer park below started barking.  I got really nervous about the whole venture and voted to climb back up to the trail and go back the way we came up.  Jonathan still wanted to try the sliding sand and, since I didn't want to go back up alone, I followed him farther down the embankment.  Finally, after sand poured into my shoes and more rocks tumbled down the hill and it looked like the whole thing would come down around us if we attempted to go further down, we both decided to climb back up to the regular trail.  Jonathan went first and I tried to mimic where he placed his hands and feet.  Unfortunately, I'm a lot shorter than he is and my arms and legs are too, so I had to make my own way back, all the while hanging on to the tree roots.

Eventually, we made it back to the top of the embankment and back on the trail, where we made our way back to the bridge.  Once there, still filled with an adventurous spirit from our recent escapade, we decided to venture down the closed, potentially dangerous trail.  It was just as nice as the rest of the Greenway until it petered out into a bunch of creekside rocks.  We looked up and identified the cliff we had taken pictures at earlier.  I was boiling by this time and decided to risk drinking the cool creek water.  Jonathan followed suit and then poured water down my back when I wasn't watching.  Although startled, I didn't really mind.  It felt great.  After our thirst was quenched and I was considerably cooler, we headed back along the trail and eventually made it back to my house.

We rallied the rest of the household currently at home and then all of us stopped first at Taco Time (like Taco Bell, but cooler and only on the West Coast) for a late lunch/early supper.  Then we drove down to the relatively new H2O Centre, an indoor water park type of place.  We tried out most of the pools, including the wave pool and the current pool that pulled you around a circuit as you floated on top of the water.  Then we raced on the three waterslides and I lost every race.  Bryn, Tyler, Jonathan and I made our way to the surfing/body boarding area and watched some people try out the man-made wave.  Since there wasn't really a line-up, just a man and a boy taking turns on the wave, Jonathan wanted to try it out.  He body boarded with gusto and then told the rest of us we should try it out.  So Ty and I did.  The first time I tried, I went right off to the side, completely out of the wave.  But after a few turns, I kind of had the wave figured out.  Unfortunately, my eyes were getting pretty water-filled by then and so we returned to the wave pool.  After another few laps around the current pool and a few more waterslide races, we left the H2O Centre.  But we got Jugo Juice smoothies before we left and they were great.

Later this evening, our friend Nik came over to visit.  He just graduated with a biology degree from CUC (the Canadian one) and we hadn't seen him since Christmas.  He brought Bryn and I grad presents, CUC SA T-shirts, which are pretty neat since they have the CUC mascot, Broose the Moose, on them.  We talked to him for a bit, sharing our plans for the upcoming year and listening to his.  Ahhh, I love being home.  I just want to ignore the suitcases and plastic bins that are piling up in my room and the entryway.

Falling Water Falls

We went hiking to Falling Water Falls this afternoon.  It was the first time I've been there all school year.  Actually, I haven't been there since January of last year.  And today will probably be the last time I go there since I won't be in the south for too much longer.

For certain reasons, I had more fun on the hike today than I did the couple times I went there last year.  When we got down to the swimming area, the water was freezing, but most people braved the cold and jumped in.  I really didn't want to but eventually, after lots of convincing from Jonathan and right before we headed back, I slipped in for a second and then scrambled back out.

Later, while sitting through a long evensong, Tyler tried to call me.  I obviously couldn't answer the phone, but then he texted me that I should come to the Klein/Dawson Film Festival as soon as I got out of evensong.  A flurry of texts later, evensong finally ended and we all rushed over to Ledford, only to find it locked.  I texted Ty again and we found out it was in Lynnwood this year so we raced there and slid into our seats only about 15 minutes late.  There were some great movies shown this year and it was extra cool because several of Tyler's movies, including one starring Jonathan and me, were shown!

Goggles

It's official; my head is too small for adult-sized goggles. Jonathan and I experimented with his today so you have to know that I'm telling you the truth. Now where do I go about finding kids goggles?

Shaving

One of the most pointless, time-wasting, hateful chores (in my opinion) is shaving. I can't stand it. I'm pretty sure that I couldn't stand walking around with super hairy legs either, though, so I do shave, I just try to go as long as I possibly can without. Well, in winter at least. In summer, when I walk around in shorts and bare feet I try to shave more often, even though I hate it. I guess what really bothers me about the whole process is that for me to really do a good job, it takes me awhile and I just find that time so wasteful. I'd rather be reading.

So that was really random, eh? Well, maybe not so much as you might think. I've been thinking about shaving for several days. It came to me one night just a few minutes after I got into bed while Bryn was still getting ready for bed. I could try not shaving for an entire semester. I know people who do No-Shave November (my brother went a month and a half without shaving his face) and many guys who don't shave during the NHL playoffs while their team is still in the running for the Stanley Cup. I have never done any of those things myself, but wouldn't that be an interesting piece of experiential journalism? I think it could be fascinating, but I really don't want to be the one who has to actually do the experiential part. Another of my experiential journalism ideas for Literary Journalism is to get up with the sun and go to bed with the sun. But, being a university student who has a class that gets out after the sun sets, I don't think that could work. Once I shot down that idea I thought maybe I could just go to bed at a set time (8 or 9 p.m.) and get up at a set time (4 or 5 a.m.) for the semester and write about that, but I'm sure that's not as shocking/astonishing as a North American female not shaving for close to an entire semester. My other idea for class is to do an immersion journalism piece on a person, or maybe a family, who is illiterate. I know there are literacy programs in Chattanooga and it would be interesting to see how they survive everyday life without knowing how to read. So those are my ideas so far. You can tell me what you think or give me more ideas. Please do! I need more that are better than those ones I've come up with so far that don't take any time out of my day.

Another reason shaving was on my brain today was because I went to Hulsey today. I never do. I've barely set foot in that building all year. But Jonathan convinced me to join him in his hour of racquetball playing for the week. It went semi-OK, but I haven't really played since, well for quite a few years. I'm glad I told Bryn and she came along. She's pretty good and if she hadn't been there I'm not sure Jonathan would have got lots of good practicing done. After playing, we went and had a rowing race, which Jonathan won, Bryn got second in, and I came in third. 500 meters is a long way and I have a healthy respect for those Olympic rowers. Then Jonathan and I went swimming, which was lots of fun. I've never been in any of the Hulsey pools and it was pretty fun. In the end, I was glad I went. But the entire time I was there, I was wondering what would it be like to do all that stuff if I hadn't shaved my legs for weeks and weeks.

Christmas Eve pajamas

gI finally wrapped my Christmas presents this morning. I had most of them bought and hidden around my room several days ago, but just didn't get around to wrapping them until today. It such relaxing work. I also find it fun to be creative with which wrapping paper is best to go with which present for which family member and deciding to how wrap each present and if I should include a bow or not. Maybe I'm just too orderly or OCD or something, but I just find it fun to think about all that stuff.

After my presents were wrapped I went to the grocery store with my mum to get food for Christmas dinner. It was probably the fastest we've ever bought food for any big, family-get-together type of meal. We were in and out of the store in 20 minutes and that was including my mum talking to three people she knew. Yeah, I know. Pretty impressive, right? When I was over in the bakery getting baby-sized loaves of flax bread, a mother and her two kids were there just before me. The mum told the two kids they could choose which cookies they wanted to get and the boy decided on these humongous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. The mum made sure the kids knew the cookies were for Santa. She put several in a bag, all the while apologizing to me (like any good Canadian) that they were in my way. I responded with, "no worries," and smiled at the little girl who stared up at me with huge brown eyes. She gave me a half smile back and those adorable eyes started twinkling. I'm serious. They twinkled. It was amazing to see. I was kind of sad to see those merry eyes leave when the whole group moved on to let me get my baked goods. As they walked away I heard the little boy ask if he could have a cookie and his mum told him again, "No, we're saving them for Santa." Poor kid. They looked like yummy cookies, too.

When I got home from the grocery store, I left the bags for Bryn to bring in and ran to grab stuff for swimming then drove to the H20 Adventure + Fitness Centre. Julie was waiting for me in the lobby and so I paid quickly and we went to change. Then we spent the next two hours there swimming in the wave pool, being pulled around this circular pool that had a current (my personal favourite pool in the place), racing down the waterslides (Julie won every single time even though we alternated slides), lounging in the hot tubs, and laughing a LOT. Another friend, Kristina, was there, too, and so was Julie's family. We had a great time, although I was rather pruney by the time we emerged from the water and went home.

After that we went to my grandparents place for Christmas Eve dinner like we always do. It was awesome and I was so stuffed I could barely fit any dessert into my overfilled stomach. Then we played this game where one person had to draw a Christmas phrase while the rest of us guessed what they were. It was rather hilarious. After each song was guessed (the phrase idea morphed into just drawing Christmas songs pretty quickly) we would write the name of the song under the drawing and then get a picture taken. Ty went first and got us in a giggly mood when he wrote the title of his song upside-down and it turned out as "Joy to the Worlb." My mum's drawings were also fun to guess because they got pretty complicated and then were almost impossible to guess. Ty's last one was funny too because it was a four-part drawing of "In the Bleak Midwinter." Maybe I'll try to upload some of the pictures here later, so check back if you want to see them. When we ran out of ideas for that game we taught my grandparents how to play 8 1/2, a card game Bryn got for Christmas last year. We got kind of confused between that and Pinocchio though, so we ended up just using the 8 1/2 cards, but playing by Pinocchio rules. Then I scrounged up my grandpa's crokinole board and discs to bring back home with us. We didn't have time to play it tonight, but we're going to make sure to have a few games before eating Christmas dinner tomorrow when my grandparents come over. I love crokinole. It's probably my favourite games ever. Maybe that's why I occasionally like watching curling on TV.

Then we finally trimmed our Christmas tree and put most of the presents underneath it. My dad had set the tree up last night, but it was already late by then so we decided to finish it tonight. Before we went to my grandparents house my dad had put the lights on so we just had to put the ornaments on. It was kind of fun doing it on Christmas Eve for once. Our tradition used to be to put up the tree on December 1, but that's pushed back now until we're home from college, and this year we couldn't find a time to get the tree and put it up until tonight. It was still fun though. We also listened to our Billy Gilman CD, which has been another Q. tradition since my mum bought that CD for Tyler years ago. Once the tree was stuffed to overflowing with ornaments (it's a rather straggly and spindly tree, but we all love it anyhow), we made hot chocolate and then opened our Christmas Eve presents. Every year we are allowed to open one present each. That present is always pajamas. It's so nice knowing that you are guaranteed new pajamas at least once a year and my mum always finds really awesome ones too. This year Bryn got music ones, which are adorable. Ty got ones that have cartoon animals playing a bunch of different sports and I got moose pajamas. I must admit that I knew about mine. When we were driving to the Winnipeg airport after a weekend in western Ontario for my cousin's grad, we stopped to get gas at a small town that had a bunch of random stuff for sale in their gas station/gift shop. I saw the pj's and told my mum they would be nice for Christmas. Then I forgot about them until I opened my box tonight. I also got Canadian hockey pj pants. And then, of course, my mum took some more pictures before we headed for our own rooms to finish up last minute pre-Christmas secrets. So I bid you all goodnight and a Happy Christmas Eve!! Hope this holiday is amazing for you all!

PS - I just posted this, but came back to edit this blog with some good pre-Christmas news. I just found out that my married friends, Sharlet and Brad, just had their baby at 11:35 p.m. It was due on the 28th, but Sharlet's water broke last night. She went to the hospital, but was sent home cause nothing was progressing. Apparently she was going to get an IV to induce labour this morning if nothing had happened in the night. Anyway, her step-father-in-law posted updates on Facebook throughout the day (which weren't that interesting since nothing was really happening) and then her brother wrote a new status update from the hospital when the baby was born, which is how I heard the news. (Crazy how society has changed since we were born and our parents had to actually call up their parents on the phone to let them know.) Anyway, so they're now proud parents of a Christmas Eve daughter and everything is right with the world because a new Canucks fan was born . . .

Quarry

Today after church, Bryn and I had friends over for a pasta lunch. Then after cleaning the kitchen up, we called a few more people and got ready to go swimming. Our friend, Jonathan, knew of a quarry to swim in and so we decided to go. In the end three vehicles headed out to Hixson for a short hike and a good swim. There was also cliff jumping available and always the ever exciting game of keep-away-the-scum. Later most of us came back to Jonathan's apartment to make supper and play games after sundown. All in all, it was a good day with great weather and awesome friends.