Smoke Monster Hits Ottawa

About 50 fires are currently burning in Central Quebec. Most of these are now under control but the high winds are making things difficult for firefighters. The wind has also pushed the smoke from these fires over 1000 Km away. This morning when I stepped outside I could smell smoke. It was a nice smell - kind of like a campfire. But, when I could see smoke all over my neighbourhood and then all over the city as I made my way to work, I knew that it had come over from the Québec fires. Normally I love the smell of a campfire but, every time I went outside today I felt sad knowing that so much damaged has already occured.

As you can see in the picture, other that it's outline, the Ottawa skyline wasn't visible through the thick smoke this morning.

LJ

Timing is Everything

I had my Tuesday plans tonight...sort of. I think that, even if you're really compatible with someone, the timing has to be right. In this case, the timing - or something - is really off. I think I will be distancing myself from this situation...at least for a little while.

LJ

SATC2

Tonight I went to a premiere of SATC2 courtesy of my friend Adrienne. We were told to dress up for the movie so I brough a LBD (little black dress) and some hot red heels with me to work so that I could change before heading over. Well, it wasn't as fancy as I expected it to be. Hors d'euvres were candy and chocolate bars, drinks were bottles of water with a custom SATC2 label, and fancy meant jeans to some. But, the movie, while long, was great. I thought it was cute and more about friendship than the first movie. If you don't like the show, don't see the movie. But, if you've always been a fan of the show, ignore the critics, grab your girl friends and head out to the theater for a fun night. I'd recommend passing on the late show ;)

LJ

Fulfilling My Civic Duties

Another long weekend has passed. This time it was Victoria Day. A fun fact is that the holiday nicknamed "May Two-Four" actually fell on the 24th of May. Neat :)

It happens to be disgustingly hot outside this week (43 degrees celcius). I had the day off from work today because I was summoned for Jury Selection. Although, as it turns out, the selection was cancelled. It was almost as if this was the first ever panel of jurors because no one had any idea what to do with us until someone found out the day had been cancelled.

On my way back to the west end, a car ran a red light in front of the bus we were on and boy did we ever hit her. Luckily no one was injured other than a few bruises here and there. A sheet of plexiglass ahead of the seats in front of me stopped me from going any further. Luckily the bus wasn't very full at that time.

I also managed to get some groceries and be home in time for my plans that evening. Although those ended up being moved to Thursday. But it's just as well, I'm happy to relax tonight!

LJ

Dinner and a Show

Alright, brace yourself for the following sentence...it's a bit confusing. I've been dating a guy who is friends with my friend's husband for a little while. My friend has really wanted for the four of us to go out on a double date together for quite a while. So, we went out for dinner and comedy this week.

It turns out that Absolute Comedy (on Preston) has a Pro-Am night on Wednesdays. It's really cheap and it's a pretty good show! It was very packed in there this week but I don't know if that's normal. There was a huge group in there this week because their company was having a conference in Ottawa.

Anyway, dinner on the patio at Heart & Crown and comedy across the street makes for a great double date evening :)

...and I'm done

Alright, I think I'm finished with all of these different healing methods for now. After many, many sessions of physio and a couple of accupuncture sessions, I'm still getting pain when I run. So, I'm taking a break from all of those since they're getting to be pretty expensive and I know how to do the physio massages and rehab exercises on my own now.

This was really all triggered by something that happened yesterday. I had my third appointment for accupuncture at 5:30 pm. So, instead of rushing home and then rushing to my appointment, I decided to stay at work a little later. I normally take an express bus home but it they don't stop at the street I needed to take to my appointment. So, I took the dreaded riff-raff express (aka the 95). Oddly, it wasn't very busy at all. I was able to get a seat and, by the time we got to Baseline Station there were hardly any people standing. There was a group of about five teens standing near the back door. I figured they were getting off at the next stop (which was also my stop) seeing that there were still seats left near them and they were right at the door. Well, they weren't getting off. And, because they weren't paying attention or letting me through, I couldn't get to the door within 3 seconds. I called out to one of the teens to open the door but she had no clue what was going on. So, after about 3 seconds the bus driver figured no one was getting off and he took off. Grr! The next stop was quite a distance down the street. By the time we got there I realized that I had to hurry so that I wouldn't be late for my appointment. I RAN down the street and to the house where my accupuncturist lives. I was in so much pain (let's remember the reason why I'm going there in the first place is to help my shins heal) but I managed to get there at 5:29 pm. At this point I'm also sweating considering that it was hot outside and I wasn't dressed for a jog.

I rang the doorbell...and waited...waited some more...rang again...waited again. No one was home! Are you kidding me? I was pretty annoyed on my walk back to the bus stop (at least I was able to go to the closer stop). I took the bus home and decided I didn't want to go back anymore. I might as well save my money. We'll see how that goes. In the mean time, I'm going to stick with biking and the elliptical for cardio.

Productive Saturday!

First of all, my shins were feeling much better when I woke up on Thursday morning. I didn't feel anymore pain and had a smooth walk between home and the bus as well as between the bus and my office.

The lady told me I was to come back for another appointment Saturday morning (today). So, I got up very early today to head over to her house. I actually had no idea what I was going in for. More herbs? To check progress? More accupuncture? What? She checked my tongue again but didn't do the 5 minute pulse-taking this time around. She asked if I wanted to buy some more herbs and I said no. To be honest, I didnt take the ones I bought in the first place because they freaked me out! haha! They were little black balls that smelled like hay. I had to take three spoonfulls three times daily...for three days. It worked out to $1 per spoonful. Pass!

Anyway, she did accupuncture again. I could tell that she wasn't going to the same spots because on Wednesday she put the needles in my shins and on the inside of my foot (ick). This time the needles were placed in my shines and on the outside of my foot. I found it particularily painful when the needles were being placed around the ankle bone on the outside of my foot/ankle. There was a bit of bleeding along with that. But the pain didn't last for very long.

Afterwards, I walked to the bus and made a few phone calls while I was waiting. I didn't go home right away. I decided that I'd do some errands around the Barrhaven mall area before heading home. I picked up some groceries, cat supplies, etc. I'm not at home enjoying a cold drink (it's pretty warm outside!) before I do some cleaning up around the house.

It's not even 1:00 yet and I feel like I've accomplished a lot. This means I'll have plenty of time to relax or do whatever I want with the rest of the weekend :)

Punctured

I went to the accupuncturist this evening. The "clinic" is at the lady's house and it's not too difficult for me to walk-bus-walk to get there. When I arrived she was still with another client so I waited on a chair outside of the open room. They were speaking in Chinese so I had no idea what they were saying.

When it was my turn, she took my pulse for what felt like 2 minutes per wrist. Then she asked me to stick out my tongue. She gave be a diagnosis based on these things and gave me some herbs to take at home.

Next, it was time for accupuncture. I was brought behind a curtain to a nice little room with a medical bed. She put about 10 needles in each leg. It wasn't painful other than a couple of times while the needle was being placed in my leg and, once in a while, there was a sensation that would shoot down my leg and make my toes twitch. I was left to lay there for 30 mins to relax before she came back to take the needles out. I didn't expect to be there for that long but the time went by quickly and some nice music was playing in the background. The same shooting sensation occured when she was taking out some of the needles.

Once we had our post-appointment chat and the bill was paid, I left and started walking towards the bus stop. I felt a lot of pain in my legs...oh no. Not the same kind of muscle pain that I've been feeling though - this was more of a nerve pain. I was able to make it home. Now that I'm here, I've been massaging my shins but the nerve pain feels worse when I do that.

I've been told by some friends that you're supposed to drink a lot of water and get lots of sleep after an accupuncture appointment so I'm currently drinking some water and will be heading to bed shortly. Hopefully everything will feel better in the morning.

Something New...Take Two

I've been having problems with my shins for a while now. They've been getting really tight and painful ever since I broke my leg climbing the mountain. I was having a lot of trouble at the gym and decided to FINALLY start going to Physio. I've been going for over a month now. I was assessed and diagnosed with strained and tight Tibialis Anteriors (that's the muscle on the outside of the shin). This was mostly likely caused by the strain put on them while on the mountain.

Normally I love to run and, when I'm going from point A to point B I like to walk quickly...very quickly. But, I haven't been able to do either of these things for more than a few minutes before the pain sets in. I thought I was progressing with physio but, this week I've had extreme pain walking quickly between the bus and my office!

So, I'm fed up and I'm looking in to alternative forms or medicine. I have an appointment with an acupuncturist tonight who was recommended to me by my Aunt. So, fingers crossed that I'll be feeling a lot better this evening after my appointment!

Wish me luck,

LJ

Sometimes it's Best to Keep Your Mouth Shut

I had a Bridal Shower to go to this afternoon. I didn't know many people there, it was way out in the Gatineau boonies and I'm not a huge fan of showers of any kind. But, I was going and I planned to have a good time.

When we arrived, everyone was sitting in a circle of chairs in the maid of honour's living room. We started with the presents right away. The theme was "entertainment for the bride and groom (keep it clean)". So, we arrived with a huge Night In basket full of

popcorn,

snacks,

red wine,

white wine,

Blockbuster gift certificates,

wine glasses,

napkins,

old fashioned popcorn boxes (but made of plastic)

and a fake bottle of Champagne that blew out confetti and streamers

The MOH's dog kept trying to eat the basket...and she wasn't trying very hard to get him to stop. That was a tad annoying.

After the unwrapping of the gifts, we had cake. While eating, everyone was discussing various wedding-related activities. The subject of registries came up and everyone there was very strongly against them. I almost talked about how great I think they were but everyone else was of the opinion that "having a registry suggests that gifts are more important to you than your guests". I really couldn't disagree more but, I wasn't about to start a debate at a wedding shower. More similar topics came up...more time passed...and we left shortly after.

Sometimes, it's just best to keep your mouth shut ;)

LJ