Richmond Olympic Oval
We paid a visit to
Richmond Olympic Oval last week. That is a huge building for indoor activities and designed for speed skating, mainly. It has a 400 m. track which is as unique as the building itself. The
Federal Government and the
Provincial Government funded the
$178 million building. The roof which can be seen in the above photo (Sorry! Did not get a better shot!) is made out of pine beetle trees of northern
B. C. and again is unique in not only
North America but also the entire world. The ice which can be seen, again, partially in the photo is
1 in. thick ,maximum, and has a blue and a white section, like any other track. The blue or inner side is for warming up and the white or outer, is meant for the race or competition.
The tour took only about 15 min. but was good enough. The gentleman also said that there was no seat left, are all sold out. So it's very unfortunate that we won't be able to see any race.
Canada has good speed skaters including
Cindy Klassen whom I personally met once in
Calgary International Airport.
Anyhow that worth the trip but good for the people who actually can watch the live performances and also good for the young kids, like the ones in the photo, who can actually practice ice skating and enjoy their childhood in such a nice and wonderful sport complex.
(Photo: Richmound Olympic Oval from inside with the kids practicing ice skating on the track)
This Is It
We finally watched
This Is It last Wed. I'm not disappointed but not thrilled though. The first hour of the documentary was really boring and could not help looking at my watch. Then it got a bit better. I think they could have made it much better by starting from when
Michael started with
Jackson 5 and just go through his life, his allegations and everything but I guess they didn't want to lose any time. They simply wanted to make the hay when the Sun shines!
Another thing is the legal restriction. I don't know what
M. J. had put in his will which he prepared in 2002. There could be something like I don't want my kids up for any show or I don't want anything about my personal life revealed.
Anyways it's amazing what a guy can do at the age of
50 and after almost
4 decades. If you like
Michael Jackson and his songs then there's a right movie for you. There was a moment that I really felt bad and that was the time he was singing his
Jackson 5 hit,
I'll Be There. He mentioned his brother's names and there were shots of him when he was singing that both at childhood and
50. I still like listening to all of his songs and I have a good collection of them.
(Photo: Michael Jackson at the rehearsal for This Is It tour with the Australian guitar Player)
Weight Watcher
I have been trying to keep a healthy for years but it's really isn't easy especially here in Canada because almost everywhere you go, you're surrounded by fattening, sugary and full of carbohydrate food. Back home it's all rice, rice, bread, bread, and again the same! You barely get out of that cycle which has no more better affect! Nevertheless fruits and vegetables are more natural and tastier over there but there's no education. Something you get here a lot from different media.
The said above turns to fat in my body and make me more inflated! I guess that's because I have a low rate metabolism. I started to keep an eye on my weight this past Oct., writing it done every day I would go to gym. The results doesn't seem right, basically because the weight is not fixed at the beginning, middle and end of the exercise. I made the table and drew the chart anyway. All I have to do is to make sure that I get it done everyday after I finished exercises.
(Photo: Simply a record of my weight in Kg in seven days of Oct.)
Oct. Results
Oct. was not a bad month in terms of practices and exercises. I did my Cooper Test practice 12 times in total and once I failed to finish while 4 times I did it in that soccer field. The above chart show the result of the days that the practice was performed on a treadmill but as it's seen there has been no improvement to the months before.
(Photo: Oct. chart shows ups and downs and no improvement. Horizontal axis is the sequence and the vertical is the length in miles. I guess I need at least 1.6!)
Reese's Bar
I'm a person who usually eats a lot but at the same time tries to keep a low weight! I'm currently around
195 Lb and I can't resist revealing my new discovery:
Reese's peanut butter chocolate bar!I found the damn good chocolate bar in a
Mac's store and ever since I find it very hard to ignore! The strange thing is I've checked a few store and major supermarkets and none of them carry it! So if you're a chocolate lover and not allergic to peanut butter, try that for sure. You'll love it!
Pre-Halloween Carving
I just found a little pumpkin carving for Halloween today and that was interesting. The camera I used, none of mine, was not a good one so I didn't get a good shot but still want to display this. I hope there will be opportunities to 31th and I can take better photos.
(Photo: Pumpkin carving in a cold and rainy day while sipping coffee from a travel mug and gulping beer from a glass!)
The Stepfather
We watched The Stepfather tonight. I think it's an interesting movie, worth watching at least once. I'm saying that because I've watched movies more than 10 times at times and then bought the DVD but not this one. Nevertheless I recommend that. You follow the story to the last minute and it's not really predictable. The story is good, the cast is good and the cinematography is good too. But it's not a multi million dollar Hollywood movie with superstars. But who cars? As long as the movie keeps me seated, I'm fine with that. See it!
(Photo: Dylan Walsh as the stepfather is trying to convince Penn Badgley, the stepson, to stay home and be a part of the new family)
Serpentine Wildlife Area
If you ever enjoyed hiking , nature, photography and wild fruits as much as I do, you would definitely have a good time in south Surrey, B. C. where we were today and it's called Serpentine Wildlife Area. This is a protected habitat for different species like Canadian Goose, Duck, Blue Heron and so on and at the same time there's a path around it and pick nick benches so people who are respectful to the environment can sit and enjoy their time.
We walked around, took a few photos and enjoyed the beautiful wildlife and plants. And surprisingly we found 4 different types of fruits and one was really a blast: Medlar. We enjoyed the unique taste of some wild Medlar while some Nuts were still not ripe and the pears and blackberries were gone rotten.
(Photo: The Medlar trees were all at the other side of the fence where there was a private property. So we did not each much. But whatever we ate and that was after many years for me was fantastic!)
Hockey Season's Back
The 2009-2010
NHL season is back but I have no TV! I have a TV set but the damn apartment doesn't allow me to have a good reception of
CBC, the channel that I always watch the games and it's free. So I decided to go to the local rink with F. F. and watch a bit of the young kids practice and that was nice.
F. F. liked it as well and now we're goin' to watch a game soon in
GM Place. At the same time I'm goin' to have the channel fixed soon.
(Photo: Kids were practicing very passionately in the arena. This is the goalie in the centre, I'm not sure if he's aware of the importance of his role he's about to take in his future team!)
Videoconference
I had the opportunity to present myself to the interviewers in
Atlantic division of
CSC last week. That was a good experience and I think I did not do very badly. I think they were happy with the way I presented myself. But I'm too far from being employed by them. I was told the next possible training, a
13-week one, will held in Jan. and I will be informed if I'm needed.
A. F. works for their
B. C. division and he's quite happy with his job. He says that the wage is good, the job's easy and the commute is fine. But this is not exactly what my former classmate, a retired Juvenal Correctional Officer told me. He extremely
prohibited(!) having the job but I'm goin' to go forward with the situation.
