Definitely Not Giving Up Olympics for Lent
Good Afternoon, Ladies and Germs!
Well, reading week has been fantastic. Whoever invented this holiday was a genius. Interesting note! The reason reading week exists in Canadian universities is because too many students were committing suicide in the winter term from too much stress, winter blues, etc. Interesting, no? I suppose then, that it is all those students whose sacrifices made this holiday possible that I should thank. Morbid and strange as that is, I find it appropriate.
Mext most interesting thing on my mind these days is the Olympics. I'm sure everyone's talking about them, and you're all getting sicki of hearing about it, but I'd like to say I'm really a fan. Even though I'm not an anthlete by any stretch (At all...ever..), I really do enjoy watching sports, and I think that the idea of the Olympic spirit/dream, etc. is a good one. The opening ceremonies were lovely. I think Gretzky was the perfect choice to light hte torch, and most of hte cultural portion was pretty cool. I could complain about the director's version of Canada, but if there's one thing music festivals have taught me it's that artistic vision is one man's opinion on one day, and he did a really fantastic job of realizing that vision. Although...I'm not sure the wheatfields were my favorite...cool, but not my favorite.
Also, I thought that those in charge of the ceremonies did an excellent job of handling the Georgian Luger's death. It was a classy affair, and a comendable job of handling a very hurtful and emotional event. I was also happy that the Georgian team marched in, even though it was clearly very difficult for them. Congrats guys, well done.
Really, on the whole, the only thing I have to complain about is media pushiness. Especially with athletes who had a rough race/run/game/etc. It's not any of anyone else's business how an athlete reacts to disappointment. Let them do their crying alone. And Stop asking awful questions. Like the one to the Canadian pairs team: "So, just how much pressure were you feeling?" What the hell is that? Oh, I was feeling, you know, thirty pounds per square inch, roughly. Not too bad. Really? You ask those kinds of ridiculous questions? Just LEAVE THEM ALONE! It's pretty sad when the Olympic committee asks for funding for things like the Speedskate Canada house, where athletes can go to get away from the media. Ridiculous.
Anyway, there's my rant about the media, but in general, since everyone seems to be talking about it, I'd say the Olympics are a pretty good deal.
In other news, I've been thinking a lot lately about responsibility. And I've decided that Lent comes along at just the right time. I realize that most of hte people who bother to read what I write aren't Christian, so I'll give a brief explanation. Lent is a Christian 'festival' I suppose you would say that occurs between Ash Wednesday(yesterday) and Easter. It is a time of fasting, praying, etc. to try and bring yourself closer to God. It lasts for forty days, to represent Jesus' 40 day trial in the desert where he didn't eat or drink anything. Yeah, Jesus is cool like that.
Traditionally, Lent was a really hard core festival. No red meat, no sugar, no fat, no butter(which is fat, I guess), pretty much nothing tasty. Fish, veggies and flatbread(*barf*). That, of course, is where the tradition of mardi gras comes from. Mardi gras, as I'm sure may of you are aware, translates from the french to read 'fat tuesday', and is a ridiculously long festival ending on the tuesday night before Ash Wednesday. It was where everyone made huge meals using up all the supplies they wouldn't be able to use for 40 days: butter, and all things equally as tasty.
Nowadays, I know very few Christian families that follow Lent to the letter, and really fast it up, but it is common practice for Catholics(must be where I picked that up) to 'give up' something for Lent. As far as I know(someone should check this out and get back to me), Catholics are the only ones who prescribe the giving up of thinkgs for Lent, but I do know that many other denominations(United, Lutheran, etc.) celebrate the season, and have taken up the practice.
The idea of giving somehting up, as I get sick of explainig to many of my compatriots, is that you sacrifice. Giving up brussel sprouts and codliver oil doesn't count, unless you really really love those things, and it is a sacrifice to give them up. I've known friends who have given up chocolate, tea, and even salt (so hard!) for Lent. It doesn't necessarily have to be food, although those are the most common ones. People also often make pledges for Lent that they feel will bring them closer to God, such as reading a passage from the Bible every evening before they go to bed, or writing in a journal every day. It's a pretty cool deal, to my mind.
So, after the long explanation on the festival of Lent, I've decided to give up refined sugar. A friend of mine did that last year with great success, so I've decided to follow her lead. Sugar, especially in the form of assorted junk, is one of my favorite things ever! Aaaaand, unfortunately, my waist really likes it to, so much that it wants to keep it for ever and ever in case I ever need to starve, and have body fat stored up. Stupid Body, planning ahead...So, in my quest to decrease my yucky things intake while increasing my exercisy thing, I've decided to give up sugar. It will be hard, I think. I really like food....
Oh...It just occured to me that most of you don't know that I'm anemic (not enough iron in the blood). Cool shit. It means I have to eat less calcium and take an iron supplement! It's...not fun at all, who an I kidding. But, they say it willb e getter for me, and maybe I'll quit being sicky and tired all the time! But, to help out the blood thing I figured I should try and just get healthier in general. I mean, it's not really fair to expect my body to do all the work without some help from me, so to be nice to it I'm taking it swimming. I'm going to try for three days next week, and maybe I'll drop in for a couple of yoga classes too. We'll see. That way, I can also take my NLS and Bronze Cross again, so I can get a lifeguarding job, so I can make money so I can move out next year! Fun stuff. I'm feeling really inspired, can you tell?
I'm also trying to get back to writing. I doubt that many of you were holding your breath waiting for the completed product, but if you were, please, take a breath. You're going to suffocate, if you haven't already. I'm working on it, but I'm going really slow, as I want to make sure I do it right this time, as opposed to plunging right into writing and then decided halfway through that i don't like it and I should quit. As a bit of a preview, it will combine some of the elements from almost every attempt I've made so far, and we're going back to some favorite characters. Kesela, Reivyn, Cabernet, Raphael, and Finesse will all be there, fear not. Everyone else is optional for the moment, but I'm sure we'll get it sorted.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings...this was really really long....Time to go clean the kitchen!! Have a great rest of your reading week everyone!
~K
Well, reading week has been fantastic. Whoever invented this holiday was a genius. Interesting note! The reason reading week exists in Canadian universities is because too many students were committing suicide in the winter term from too much stress, winter blues, etc. Interesting, no? I suppose then, that it is all those students whose sacrifices made this holiday possible that I should thank. Morbid and strange as that is, I find it appropriate.
Mext most interesting thing on my mind these days is the Olympics. I'm sure everyone's talking about them, and you're all getting sicki of hearing about it, but I'd like to say I'm really a fan. Even though I'm not an anthlete by any stretch (At all...ever..), I really do enjoy watching sports, and I think that the idea of the Olympic spirit/dream, etc. is a good one. The opening ceremonies were lovely. I think Gretzky was the perfect choice to light hte torch, and most of hte cultural portion was pretty cool. I could complain about the director's version of Canada, but if there's one thing music festivals have taught me it's that artistic vision is one man's opinion on one day, and he did a really fantastic job of realizing that vision. Although...I'm not sure the wheatfields were my favorite...cool, but not my favorite.
Also, I thought that those in charge of the ceremonies did an excellent job of handling the Georgian Luger's death. It was a classy affair, and a comendable job of handling a very hurtful and emotional event. I was also happy that the Georgian team marched in, even though it was clearly very difficult for them. Congrats guys, well done.
Really, on the whole, the only thing I have to complain about is media pushiness. Especially with athletes who had a rough race/run/game/etc. It's not any of anyone else's business how an athlete reacts to disappointment. Let them do their crying alone. And Stop asking awful questions. Like the one to the Canadian pairs team: "So, just how much pressure were you feeling?" What the hell is that? Oh, I was feeling, you know, thirty pounds per square inch, roughly. Not too bad. Really? You ask those kinds of ridiculous questions? Just LEAVE THEM ALONE! It's pretty sad when the Olympic committee asks for funding for things like the Speedskate Canada house, where athletes can go to get away from the media. Ridiculous.
Anyway, there's my rant about the media, but in general, since everyone seems to be talking about it, I'd say the Olympics are a pretty good deal.
In other news, I've been thinking a lot lately about responsibility. And I've decided that Lent comes along at just the right time. I realize that most of hte people who bother to read what I write aren't Christian, so I'll give a brief explanation. Lent is a Christian 'festival' I suppose you would say that occurs between Ash Wednesday(yesterday) and Easter. It is a time of fasting, praying, etc. to try and bring yourself closer to God. It lasts for forty days, to represent Jesus' 40 day trial in the desert where he didn't eat or drink anything. Yeah, Jesus is cool like that.
Traditionally, Lent was a really hard core festival. No red meat, no sugar, no fat, no butter(which is fat, I guess), pretty much nothing tasty. Fish, veggies and flatbread(*barf*). That, of course, is where the tradition of mardi gras comes from. Mardi gras, as I'm sure may of you are aware, translates from the french to read 'fat tuesday', and is a ridiculously long festival ending on the tuesday night before Ash Wednesday. It was where everyone made huge meals using up all the supplies they wouldn't be able to use for 40 days: butter, and all things equally as tasty.
Nowadays, I know very few Christian families that follow Lent to the letter, and really fast it up, but it is common practice for Catholics(must be where I picked that up) to 'give up' something for Lent. As far as I know(someone should check this out and get back to me), Catholics are the only ones who prescribe the giving up of thinkgs for Lent, but I do know that many other denominations(United, Lutheran, etc.) celebrate the season, and have taken up the practice.
The idea of giving somehting up, as I get sick of explainig to many of my compatriots, is that you sacrifice. Giving up brussel sprouts and codliver oil doesn't count, unless you really really love those things, and it is a sacrifice to give them up. I've known friends who have given up chocolate, tea, and even salt (so hard!) for Lent. It doesn't necessarily have to be food, although those are the most common ones. People also often make pledges for Lent that they feel will bring them closer to God, such as reading a passage from the Bible every evening before they go to bed, or writing in a journal every day. It's a pretty cool deal, to my mind.
So, after the long explanation on the festival of Lent, I've decided to give up refined sugar. A friend of mine did that last year with great success, so I've decided to follow her lead. Sugar, especially in the form of assorted junk, is one of my favorite things ever! Aaaaand, unfortunately, my waist really likes it to, so much that it wants to keep it for ever and ever in case I ever need to starve, and have body fat stored up. Stupid Body, planning ahead...So, in my quest to decrease my yucky things intake while increasing my exercisy thing, I've decided to give up sugar. It will be hard, I think. I really like food....
Oh...It just occured to me that most of you don't know that I'm anemic (not enough iron in the blood). Cool shit. It means I have to eat less calcium and take an iron supplement! It's...not fun at all, who an I kidding. But, they say it willb e getter for me, and maybe I'll quit being sicky and tired all the time! But, to help out the blood thing I figured I should try and just get healthier in general. I mean, it's not really fair to expect my body to do all the work without some help from me, so to be nice to it I'm taking it swimming. I'm going to try for three days next week, and maybe I'll drop in for a couple of yoga classes too. We'll see. That way, I can also take my NLS and Bronze Cross again, so I can get a lifeguarding job, so I can make money so I can move out next year! Fun stuff. I'm feeling really inspired, can you tell?
I'm also trying to get back to writing. I doubt that many of you were holding your breath waiting for the completed product, but if you were, please, take a breath. You're going to suffocate, if you haven't already. I'm working on it, but I'm going really slow, as I want to make sure I do it right this time, as opposed to plunging right into writing and then decided halfway through that i don't like it and I should quit. As a bit of a preview, it will combine some of the elements from almost every attempt I've made so far, and we're going back to some favorite characters. Kesela, Reivyn, Cabernet, Raphael, and Finesse will all be there, fear not. Everyone else is optional for the moment, but I'm sure we'll get it sorted.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings...this was really really long....Time to go clean the kitchen!! Have a great rest of your reading week everyone!
~K