My daughter called me yesterday and I was surprised to hear her voice at 2pm. She should have been in school! Turns out that she was pushed by a student (who is mentally challenged) and she got a bruise on her head.
As Rhea was narrating me the story, I felt a pit in my stomach and my first inclination was to abandon my work and reach her as soon as possible. But my next thought was “no”. She is a strong independent girl and she will handle it herself. And by all accounts (the way she was talking to me and at the same time telling me of the new J. Bieber song she was listening to) she seemed fine. Then what in the world was she doing at my in-laws house in the middle of the day?
Turns out that the school had called my in-laws (who live very near my daughter’s school) and they immediately went and picked her up. For a few moments I was REALLY angry with my mother-in-law. But then I realised they are just being grandparents. So I let it go.
Reason number 234 why I want to be working nearer to home and not 1 hour away.
So there is the Toronto Marathon, The Scotiabank Marathon, The Cannon Mississauga Marathon and few shorter runs (Acura 10 miler and 10K Sporting Life being my favourite) in around town and GTA.
And everyone is angry about them. Actually I should say all the non-runners are angry. Therefore, there are numerous plans afoot to amalgamate, split, merge and dissect all these marathons because the non-runners are terribly inconvenienced by all these marathons.
As an amateur runner, I find this argument to merge and dissect all these runs….well…quite incomprehensible. I mean, each run starts at 7:30am to about 1:30pm on a Sunday. And these are the marathons I am talking about. The short runs are over by 10am or so. Hence my incomprehension at the anger over the runs. How bad are the businesses affected by closing down the roads in town on Sunday morning? How much of an inconvenience is to the general public on a Sunday morning? And, BTW, the roads are closed and opened in stages. So, at the start once all the runners have left, the roads are opened to the public. And this staggered approach is followed at each stage. So when I say the roads are closed, it is not really for the entire duration of the marathon.
Moreover, thousands of runners come from across Canada and the world to participate and spend money in Toronto (and yes because of the way the marathons are spread out, most come for both Toronto and Scotiabank Marathon) and the non-runners and bureaucrats want to close down some runs because of the inconvenience factor. Like I said, incomprehensible.
UPDATE : And let’s not forget the numerous parades in and around town and the obligatory strikes each year that shut down the city for days. And the non-runners and bureaucrats are crying about the city being shut for a few hours. Nonsense.
Based on a podcast I started following recently, What Canada Reads, I bought this book with much trepidation from World’s Biggest Book Store (BTW, is it really the biggest book store?). Why the trepidation, I will go into it soon.
Brief synopsis of the book : the story follows three people (Noah (a descendant of native Canadian), Joyce (a descendent of Canadian pirates) and the book’s narrator). Each of these characters have had an odd upbringing and are connected to each other by a book that has been sown together from three books. In the end each character continues on a new adventure away from the drudgery of their current lives.
I love books that have parallel stories going on and have a thread of commonality between the stories especially when the authour holds off on the link right till the end. On that note, this book really delivers!
The pace of the book is remarkable. The book reads like a wave – sometimes it’s smooth sailing, sometimes turbulent and sometimes scary. By the time the authour had introduced us to the characters’ quirks and obsessions, he tells us how they are living their lives (one is idling away in a bookstore, one is selling fish by day and pirating (credit cards, etc.) by night and the last one is in some island digging up garbage for analysis). But you can feel the restlessness of each of these characters. They have a yearning to move on but they are completely lost and would have stayed that way but thanks to circumstances beyond their control (or because of it) they find a new lease on their lives.
The prose of the book is sublime and easy to read. I mean, I don’t really read a book very fast but I was able to read and absorb this book in 5 days. By absorb I mean, I would go back a few pages every now and then to try and get to the meaning (another reason why I don’t read books quickly).
On the whole a very satisfying book which will keep bouncing in your head for a few days.
BTW, my trepidation on buying this book from World’s Biggest Book Store stems from the fact that the book industry is represented by Indigo here in Canada. That’s it. There are no other big names and it really irritates me that they dictate the industry. The only challenge is from Amazon and that leaves me unsatisfied because I LOVE book stores so I go to only the small book stores for my purchases (New books). Therefore, when purchasing this item from Indigo I felt like I was committing a crime but the book was at a discount ($10!!) and it was signed by the authour. A deal that could not be overlooked.
Well, that’s it. I am pulling out of the Mississauga Marathon and enrolling myself to the ½ marathon.
The reasons are fairly straightforward. My training was a pathetic. Sham is a better word. I just could not find the time to prepare myself for the marathon in the last 4 weeks. The training was going really well until end of Feb (when I was out of a job) but in March, my training went downhill. Between my job, my house and my daughter I just could not keep up with it. I have not been able to break the 25 K mark and my motivation levels have dipped. Before I really start to lose myself, I am going to do the right thing and aim for setting a personal best in the ½ marathon and focus for a full marathon in Oct 2010 (Scotiabank Marathon). My wife will be back in town permanently in May so I will be able to pay more attention to my training after she comes back.
I have discovered in the last 4 weeks that running a full marathon is not as easy as I thought it would be. It is infinitely more demanding and requires 100% devotion and dedication which if lacking means injury (which I had) or demotivating you to run (which I had as well). My training was hotch potch i.e. I would just go when I thought I had some free time which meant an erratic schedule. Moreover, there were numerous times when I would start my training and then get a call from Rhea (my daughter) imploring me to come back home as soon as possible. How can you say no to a 6 year old?
Anyway, I hope to put better input in my upcoming ½ marathon. I feel I am well prepared for it. Wish me luck!!
As an addendum to my previous post, I wanted to note the music that my daughter is listening to these days. The artists she follows are
- Jonas Brothers
- Taylor Swift
- Lady Gaga (minus the videos)
- Miley Cyrus
It’s lovely to see her musical horizons broaden from school poems to pop music. I can only hope that trend continues and she does not get stuck in this one dimensional music. Having said that, I can understand it’s appeal. Simple chords and easy to understand lyrics. After having heard Taylor Swift’s Tear Drops On My Guitar 10,000 times, I quite like that song now.
And thank god for YouTube! There is no way I am going to spend money on this music so Rhea goes to youtube and listens to the songs from that site. I have the parental controls set on (although the one by Windows is not very good) cause I do not want her to see videos she is not supposed to see. I mean there is no way in the world I will let her watch Lady Gaga’s videos. You cannot convince me that they are ok for a 6 year old.
One song she constantly listens to these days is Stupid In Love. I think it’s by Rhianna. She loves it because I once proclaimed that saying bad words in songs is ok and now when she sings that song “I am stuuuuupid in love” she always gives me that impish grin as if daring me to contradict myself. So far I have been shaking my head but if this song is heading to the top of the charts in her mind, then I might have to clamp down pretty soon.
I do like the fact that we discussed the song at length after listening to the lyrics. I explained that it seems that her boyfriend/husband was mean to her and thinks she is stupid and she is being ironic when she sings those lyrics. That really upset Rhea. “Why would a boyfriend say such mean things?” Oh my dear baby, you are growing up too fast to learn about adult issues.
Just a quick round up of what I am listening to these days.
1) Bat For Lashes (Two Suns)
Apparently the band is one woman show like Nine Inch Nails. My first reaction was, Tori Amos! But upon further listening there are big differences. I mean, she is definitely influenced by Kate Bush and Tori Amos but her music is more expansive and paints a larger & more complex picture even though her lyrics are not comprehensible to the casual listener like me. Anyway, a must if you are in a melancholy mood.
Update : Just found out a “crucial” song is missing from the album I downloaded from emusic.com. Hmmm, I wonder why emusic.com did that?
2) The Besnard Lakes (The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night)
The soundscapes from a myriad of instruments, the vocals, the lyrics all paint an astounding picture in my mind. I am very impressed with the band. And as per Spin, this is not even their best effort! Wow! The songs take a little while to get going but, boy, is the wait worth it. It would be interesting to see the band do a show. I mean the swelling music and the power cords should play well with the crowd. I have to say that listening to Besnard Lakes reminded me of SlowDive and alternatively My Bloody Valentine quite a bit. Shoegazing in the 10s? I thought that trend was long over?
3) Rilo Kiley (The Execution Of All Things)
OK, I know I am late to the party of Rilo Kiley but better late than never! Excellent album from start finish. I like it when bands mix different genres and make something pleasing and yet disturbing at the same time. The lyrics of most of the songs are pretty dark but they are encased in pop notes with hooks that keep your feet tapping that is until you realise what Lewis is singing! Definitely a better listen than their earlier album Takeoffs and Landing. Now looking forward to listen to their next two albums.
4) Frightened Rabbit (The Winter Of Mixed Drinks)
Eternally grateful to Will (www.willsband.net) for introducing this band to me last year. Loved their second album (Midnight Organ Fight) and this new album is again powerful stuff from the Scots. Will, Barrett and Chris have done a great job describing the album (willsband.net/index.php?post_id=596910) and I will only add that the overall tone of the album is upbeat and pulsating in stark contrast to their earlier effort. Love it!
5) Fanfarlo (Reservoir)
Got a recommendation from Allison regarding this band and, man, it has really grown on me in the last few days. Melodious yet powerful; soothing yet enough cacophony to keep things interesting. The music paints a beautiful picture in the mind and that keeps me coming back to the album for more. Although the vocals remind me too much of Beirut but I am willing to overlook that aspect for the music. It would be interesting to see what they come up with next!
6) The White Stripes
I know, I know they have not released anything for a while but I just saw the movie “Great White Northern Lights” and the sleeping White Stripes giant me has woken up again!! I missed their show when they were here during their tour and now am cursing myself for missing it. Amazing, amazing live performances. Jack going crazy on guitar around the stage and Meg thumping away at the drums producing foot stomping music. Or they would be just sitting and creating a beautiful sound from just two instruments at a time. Next they come around, I will definitely catch them live.
Here are some of my favourite tracks from each albums (minus White Stripes). It`s totally legit so don`t hesitate. Hope you like them :)
http://8tracks.com/agsharma/april-madness
