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!

(Photo, updated Nov.15.09: Resse's bar is a limited edition product as it's seen here!)

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!)