August 2011
2 posts
Playing sports
I was pretty involved in sports growing up: I was on a competitive swim team for a few years; I played soccer; I refereed soccer; in high school, I ran cross-country and on the track and was on the swim team. Given that, it may surprise you that I didn’t consider myself good at sports. Well, actually, if you knew me when I was growing up, it probably doesn’t surprise you at all.
I...
Lessons learned
I ran the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday. The results are posted online, so you can take a look for yourself. (Spoiler: I finished in 3:25:57.) You can also see a video of me crossing the finish line. If you look closely, you might notice that my running stride looks rather awkward. Taking a closer look at my splits, you might also notice that my pace slowed dramatically during the second...
September 2010
3 posts
Choosing Fitness
I saw Blaine’s post about getting into fitness and decided to take the time to post my own story of how I made exercise a part of my life. It’s been almost two years now since I started getting in shape, and despite a lot of ups and downs along the way, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
One of the requirements for becoming a don (RA) at my residence was that I had to...
Sports as Escapism
As the summer comes to an end and the days get shorter, we’re entering the beginning of the season for many of the most popular North American sports. The NFL is in preseason, college football is already underway, and the NBA won’t be far behind. Of the major sports, by far my favourite is hockey: I grew up as a big fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and really enjoyed spending my...
The Man with the Newspaper
My apartment is located quite close to a major thoroughfare in Silicon Valley, El Camino Real (translated as “the royal road”). Since I don’t have a car, I most often get around on my bicycle, but sometimes the bus is more practical. In an area with mediocre bus service, El Camino is home to the only 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week bus line in the Valley. Running as often as every...
August 2010
1 post
On Marathons and Community
At the end of July, I ran my first marathon. While my training routine did not at all resemble any of the marathon training plans out there (what reputable trainer would advise you to run really long distances but to train only 3 times a week, and then stop running entirely for the two months leading up to the marathon?), I still finished in a very respectable time of 3:49:06. I walked away from...
June 2010
1 post
Information and the World of Tech
I ended up going home (to Waterloo) this past weekend on a spur-of-the-moment decision. My itinerary email from Travelocity was dated 10:47 AM on Friday, and the plane pushed back from SFO right on time at 3:25 PM the same day. That’s not something I plan to do often, but it was something that I needed right now, if only to provide perspective on my life. I’ve been driving pretty...
February 2010
0 posts
1 tag
The journey begins
At the beginning of my journey here, I thought I’d offer some words to explain what I hope to accomplish through my writing and what you can expect from me.
In my younger years, I was quite opinionated, and I didn’t hesitate to share those opinions with anyone who seemed even slightly interested. However, I’ve lost that trait in the last number of years, as school and life...