Green & Dumb

The time is almost upon me - my fourth 5k, and my first since March 2006. Back then I entered with a goal of 25:00 and miraculously pulled out with a 24:56 and a muscle injury to the underside of the left foot. Rehab on that took over a year until it felt good enough to run on again, and I've been a regular on the local roads and in the gym at work this year preparing for the inevitable fourth installment in my attempts to become a good runner. I ran 5k Thursday and Friday, then took today to lie around the house and do nothing but place all the right nutritional things into my face. It'll be an early morning meeting Rob, Carrie, and the gang at Yonge and Queen at 9:30. I'm contemplating an espresso shot and carb-heavy energy bar then in advance of the 10:00 start.

I shall report back tomorrow with results!

Bandwagoneers

I know the big hot-button topic amonst electoral pundits is faith-based funding, and we've all stated our thoughts on the zonk already. While I'm not really in favour of it either I know there are Christian schools (or school) in London, Ontario currently using the public curriculum and it's been running fine. I have more of an issue with the public curriculum, to be frank. I'm tired of paying for kids to be raised with a knowledge of Shakespeare and Roman Numerals, but not in how to communication with proper grammar or do basic personal accounting.

That said, there is an issue arising that I did find interesting enough to warrant contacting the PC Party via their website about. Pertaining to this article it seems there's thought of selling Ontario wine and beer in convenience stores should the PC Party get elected. I've sent this message to them today, and will report back on any answer I get:

I read with interest today the plan to possibly sell liquor and beer in corner stores throughout Ontario should the PC Party win the upcoming election. I trust this doesn't mean you're looking to privatize the system at all, as it's quite a large money maker for Ontario. That said, I'm wondering about your thoughts on the idea of having the LCBO selectively license entrepreneurs to operate their own liquor, beer, and wine stores?

Thanks,
Rick.

I Know My Rider

Paco has arrived! I took ownership of my 2008 Nissan Versa Hatchback on Saturday morning, just in time for Mary and I to head into western New York for our 7th anniversary weekend getaway. He was originally named Jackson until Nissan called to tell me he was coming via rail from Mexico, leading me to create a story by which my car was an illegal Mexican immigrant rail-jumper making his way to Canada by any means necessary. However it goes, he's in my driveway now. The first 2008 Nissan Versa SL Hatchback with Technology Package and CVT in Canada.

The tech package means it comes with six speakers, six CDs, subwoofer, Bluetooth phone, and XM Radio for one year. It's a great little setup, especially the Bluetooth phone.. never again must I go through the trouble of actually picking up my phone to use it. The XM Radio meant nothing to me - until I used it. After a weekend of motoring through 240 stations to find such things as a live Wilco concert I'm a convert, and I imagine I'll be suckered into paying for it when the promo expires.

The 7th anniversary trip was a basic Buffalo getaway consisting of some shopping at the Walden Galleria, dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, $97 worth of strange beers, and a trip to the Basilica of The National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima for Mary. As a rather devout non-Catholic I can't say that last part was a big thrill for me, but I guess that's part of being married 7 years. She probably didn't much care for my car full of clanking beers.

For those who care this was by far the best haul yet, purely in ratings. Check out what Rick's going to be drinking - numbers in brackets are RateBeer ratings out of 100, click on them for more info:

Yup, almost all 95+ and two long retired and difficult to find. Maybe if anyone on the Zonk happens to invite me to their cottage a couple can make the trip with me......

10 Degrees and Getting Colder

Well folks I guess its time to finally lay summer to rest. But for myself it’s not all bad. With the change of the seasons comes the chance at one final trip up to the famous Moose Camp and my second taste of Northern Ontario upland game bird hunting. That’s right this past weekend marked the opening of the grouse season and our annual trip to run the logging roads near Shining Tree Ontario. I once again joined the group of my Uncle Jim, Rob and Dean Roberts, Jim Armstrong, Ed Westerneng, Cam Oulette and Peter the Polska for 3 days of hunting. We left Barrie on Friday afternoon around 2pm to make the 8-hour trek north to Clarkson Lake where our small camp is located.

Now season open came Saturday morning at sunrise, but unfortunately brought with it some fairly ugly weather. We woke early to overcast skies and a dipping thermometer hovering just above 0 degrees. But not to be disheartened we had a quick breakfast of bacon and eggs and loaded up the ATV’s for some trail riding. This was my first season actually getting to use an ATV that was generously provided by Jim Armstrong. So we headed out into the cold in search of birds. Unfortunately not long after that it started to rain. Now the problem with this is not only were we cold and getting wet, but also the birds tend to hole-up in the forest out of the weather. So after a day of riding my uncle and I had only managed to come across three birds, two of which I managed to hit, a slow start to the trip. We returned to the camp to see most of the guys hadn’t faired much better, with the exception of Rob and Dean who landed nine in total (your daily limit is five per person). But the clearing skies showed promise of better days ahead.

Day two I woke with the sun and took the time to grab some pictures of it rising over the lake, as well as some shots from down at the swamp. The rest of the group was not as quick to stir seeing as once again it was very cold. But once I had stoked the fire and the coffee started brewing on the stove they were ready to get up and face the day. Out on the trails we had a great day of riding. The weather started to warm and everything was drying out from the rains the day before. Alas it seemed that the good weather was no help for us with the birds. Another full day of trail riding and my uncle and I only managed one bird apiece. But it seemed that our luck was not much better than the rest of the group with only Peter managing 4 birds and Cam bringing back 2. That night I treated the guys to a small taste of our days take. I did a quick sautéed some grouse with garlic, black pepper and white wine. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Day three, the final day of our hunt, once again looked to be a good day. The weather was finally warming up and the sun was out. So we hit the trails in hopes that we would finally land a decent haul of birds. We ran all morning with very little luck. We did take a little side trip to climb a hill to an old abandoned fire tower. The view was amazing, but it wasn’t helping our cause with the birds. Back out on the trails we were running low on time. Jim Armstrong was heading back early and needed to take my ATV back with him. My uncle had managed to bag one bird, but that was all we had seen all morning. Disheartened we headed back to camp to return the ATV. As we ran down the man road luck seemed to finally throw us a bone. Coming down the road towards us was a snowshoe hare! We quickly pulled over while the stupid rabbit continued to run straight for us. I drew my gun, just as the hare finally decided that he was going in the wrong direction, and fired. After a small chase through the bush at the side of the road I was able to line up another shot and “BOOM” I had my first rabbit! We headed back to the camp from there to return the ATV. The rest of the afternoon we spend heading around the big loop on a nearby hydro line. Cam and Ed joined us and I road on the back of Ed’s ATV because it was made to fit two people. We managed to come across two more birds, one that Cam shot and one that I shot. So another poor day of hunting for us, but I was still all smiles because I had got my rabbit.

And with that we close out another season up at the Moose Camp. Overall the hunting was very poor this year, but we still had a great time. We now look forward to the moose hunt up near Manitouwadge Ontario in 2 weeks. I hope to be able to join the guys for my first try at Ontario’s biggest animal, but we shall see how that all plays out.

All the Roadrunning

I am SO FREAKING TIRED. It's very strange, I've spent nine months now working the 9 to 5 rather than the 7 (am) to 11 (pm), so one would think that the odd busy week wouldn't bother me. Alas, in between the running, gym visits, it would seem I've lost that extra step that used to get me through the hectic times.

In planning the large Vancouver event last week, and launching Ingram's new branding initiative (Partner Smart) from the Mississauga office, I appear to have put myself into a bit of a daze. Normally a weekend would offer a bit of solace and time to rest, but aside from a belated Friday night that didn't last long enough, my weekend remained busy. Yet another wedding on Saturday up at the farm, which isn't a problem per se except that my wife refuses to say no to anyone in her family, and thus has spent all of this year volunteering to help with the kitchen and stuff. End result - I drive 90 minutes to sit around and watch her work, then drive 90 minutes home. Lame.

Sunday was fun - Craig and Cheryl held a mini high school reunion attended by myself and Mark, Pat and Denise, Alan and his new girlfriend, Steve, and Kara, whom I hadn't seen since high school. An impressive spread of food was out, everyone had a great time laughing and enjoying themselves, and I crashed into bed at 11. Couldn't wake up.

My head hurts and I need some rest. I shall now trudge through the remainder of my day awaiting time to go home and lie around in my pj's watching something on the PVR. In the meantime discuss amongst yourselves how everyone except Cliff, KP, and myself seem to have disappeared from the zonk at the exact same time Mark did.. curious..

Heaven or the Highway out of Town

So just thought I would write a quick note today. I figured it’s about time I did something around here, but really it’s been a fairly boring summer so I’ve had nothing to say. But now that the fall is rolling in I may have a few more things to write about. This coming weekend marks my second annual trip up north for the fall bird hunt. That’s right I will be heading back to the fabled Moose Camp on the shores of Clarkson Lake in the wilds of Northeastern Ontario for 3 days of hunting. While I haven’t had much time up till now to put much thought into the trip I’m now getting very excited. The best part about this year’s trip is my uncle has secured me an ATV to use rather than riding in a truck all day. This means I will have more trails to explore and overall I expect it will be a much better trip. So I will be leaving Friday morning with the group for camp. Season opens Saturday morning at sunrise and we will hunt till Monday night and then pack up and leave Tuesday morning. For the most part we are going for grouse again (ruffed and spruce), but I will also be looking to hopefully score some rabbits. I will fill everyone in when I get back next week.

Besides that I just wanted to say a quick word or two about the a-for-mentioned Corn “Boil” Rick talked about. Last weekend my family and I decided to resurrect an old tradition and had our fall corn roast (Rick refuses to call it a roast because we do in fact boil the corn). The basis for the event is corn (of course) cooked outdoors on an open fire in a big pot, but on top of that we have lots of hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers, salads and to top it all off enough dessert to choke an elephant. All in all it was a great even with friends and family (26 people in total). The weather cooperated and everyone seemed to have a great time. Not sure what the future holds for the event as its getting harder to do it every year, but it was real nice to have everyone together one more time including my grandfather who we were able to bring out of the nursing home for the day.

It was definitely a nice way to cap off the summer.

Seeing Things

Looks like my first 5k in 17 months is finally on the horizon - the CIBC Run for the Cure on September 30th in Toronto. Rob cordially invited me to join his Raybec team and get back on the competitive running horse. My last 5k - the Achilles St. Pat's - resulted in a new personal best of 24:56, but also a pulled muscle under my left foot that's taken until this summer to fully heal. I'm excited to get back out there and seek a sub-24:45 time. This run does offer the option to sponsor me with money going towards funding cancer research, I'd love it if anyone would be interested in helping me out with a sponsor. E-mail me at rickjessup@gmail.com and I'll flip you a donation link. Thanks!

This weekend offered a rare chance for me to visit all six of my grandparents within a two-day span. I can't be more grateful that at 33 I still have that many to visit with, and it was a good time. Kudos to our resident Zonk Nazi, Mark, for putting on an unrivaled spread of good eats on Saturday at his annual corn boil. Burgers, sausage, corn, salads, and about the largest amount of dessert I've ever seen in one place at one time. We still didn't get into the Bernardus, but like hamster stories and all good things, that's another story...

Who Knows Where the Time Goes

It's tired time again. A big part of the job here at Ingram is building the programs I'll be selling and living with for all of 2008. This year I inherited them from my predecessors and they certainly aren't what I would have done. It's my first chance to build something I want, but it's also exhausting all my time while I create this large Vancouver event with my team.

In between it all I had a rather busy weekend as my cousin Crystal and her long-time boyfriend, Chris, came to town from Cornwall, PEI on Friday. This is their first visit to the Toronto area so we tried to take them around to see the sights. Saturday we headed to Toronto for a small walk around and a Blue Jays game. Our goal to head up the CN Tower was thwarted by a three-hour wait so we strolled around, hit beerbistro for the Belgian Frites, HMV for some shopping, and eventually the Keg Mansion for dinner.

Sunday was a 60th anniversary bbq for my grandparents. I wanted to create some food for it and spent the morning coming up with: Roasted Fennel and Orange Salad with Mint and Almonds; Coconut Cashew Basmati Salad; Thai Peanut Chipotle Sauce (for chicken); Roasted Garlic White Bean Hummus; Tzatziki Sauce; and Blueberry White Iced Tea. It was good times catching up with the family I don't see so often.

Monday we were off to Wonderland. After a hideous park entry experience that involved the parking guy telling us we had to go to another lane when there was no possible way to do so and a group sales fiasco that took us over 45 minutes to break through we entered the surprisingly lightly-attended park. I think this is my first time there since Cedar Point and my memory is telling me that the Canadian version is too slow and rough compared to the American counterpart.

I'd ask what everyone else did for the weekend but Junkeater - and thus comments - are still down. Boo-urns.