Friday, September 05, 2008

Crazy New and Awesome Old

Hi all...so this week has been 'new' to say the least. As much as I've been apprehensively excited about the new job, it sure has been full of surprises and non-stop 'action'. It certainly isn't boring, it certainly consumes every single second of my time, and it certainly is a million miles from teaching Social Studies to Junior High kids! Needless to say it wouldn't be deemed too correct to disclose all of the ins and outs of the working week - but just imagine the most bizarre things that could possibly happen in a school, then multiply that by a crazy factor of 10, and you're close to what I've been dealing with! It hasn't just been a steep learning curve, it has been a vertical take off, blast my ass into orbit style of learning trajectory. So, as I skirt past my working issues, Brina's having as equally an interesting time coping with the Kindergarten kids in Morley - some rather defiant little ankle biters who, having never been exposed to discipline and a school environment, are more than willing to express their disdain towards Brina's meticulous teaching plans - with one kid only being able to say one word "swing", communication is limited, but he knows where to go at playtime - and Brina knows where to find him at the end of recess where she must, by all accounts, manhandle the little bugger back into the classroom as he kicks and screams for his 'swing', clearly confounded by the notion that he is then meant to sit in a chair, grasp a crayon and colour in his name - something which he has yet failed to grasp - although he is apparently becoming very adept at throwing the crayons at the other students (and the teacher, clearly showing his low IQ, as, trust me here, you don't want to throw anything at Brina since she tends to find something much bigger and heavier or sharper to throw back - and I have the scars to verify this). Apart from that, there's just the kid who got lost on the loo for an hour, and all is fun and games in Kindergarten!!!
So... the training has been slow since the TR ended, but a few little rides out have cleansed the soul and made the week more bearable. However, the big dump of snow in the mountains this week caused me to worry that winter was nearly here - and the scraping of ice off the car hasn't been warmly welcomed either. But, as mentioned in previous posts, TR piccies will slowly infiltrate the blog, so here's what home was for a week on the race...

It slept 4 of us really comfortably, and was the ideal spot for an afternoon nap following the long stage days - it looks like I'm also praying - probably muttering something along the lines of "oh Christ just make my legs work and let me just hold on in tomorrow's stage!" (Mark did his afternoon naps kneeling on a straw mat facing Mecca).

Not that I want to subject you to big brother's nipples for a second posting in a row (and the farmer's tan), but this clearly is the way to travel. Here we're cruising down the TransCanada into Canmore at 120kph - it sure beats being crammed into the back of the Ford Focus!

We also needed the obligatory shots of Team Icebreaker racing in; you guessed it; Icebreaker. Not that I'm biased but I just love the gear!
And finally (for today), when two foreigners end up beating some pretty hardcore sponsored North American riders on the first stage (mentioning no names..... Trek and SoBe Cannondale), no matter how knackering it was, or how snowy it may have been at the top of the 2000m climb, you can't help but be a couple of cheery buggers when greeted at the finish line with Protein smoothies and sushi!!!

I hope your weeks have been calm and that you've actually had time to take a breath (I think I stopped breathing on Wednesday - no time for such luxuries).
Bask in the good memories when things go dour,
still planning whatever's next....

S&S.

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