As Quebec wraps itself in an orange Snuggie before election day...

So Jack Layton must be feeling really good right now. From week 1, where he was marginalized as a non-choice between the red and blue door, 'til one week before the election and BAM, he's riding an Obama-esque wave in Quebec and in other places around the country, I'd say he must be full of shits and giggles right now.

I have to give it to Jack - after a year of battling cancer and just recovering from hip surgery right before the election, one can't tell that this man's been through the gauntlet of health issues as he's just as spry, if not more spry than the Tinman, the Scarecrow and the drunk French guy. He did well in the debates, delivering what I thought was the #1 line to remember (him to Iggy: "If you don't show up for work, don't expect a promotion.") and throwing in #fail worked in his favour with all the Twitter fanatics that tweeted him a #WIN after the debates.

All that being said, I shudder to think of what an NDP opposition, and possible NDP led coalition government will mean for this country and our fragile economic recovery.

Their platform and how they plan on paying for it all.

There are some great plans in this platform - he wants to help seniors, families with small children, help small businesses and renew health care. All decent ideas that I'm sure no one would dispute or can't get behind. That is until you realize how much everything costs.

$6B will be paid by raising corporate taxes from it's current 16.5% to 19.5%. What they don't tell you is that it'll actually cost Canadians more than the $6B that the government will be earning because Corporations will just pass along the cost to consumers - we'll feel it in small price increases. There's also the risk of companies cutting costs to balance out the new 3% tax hike - costs like salaries and wages, resulting in lost jobs in the corporate sector. Raising taxes also deals a blow to us attracting any sort of foreign investment at a time our economy needs the money the most.

Then there's the $1B from getting back money from Canadians sheltering cash in tax havens, like Switzerland. Not really sure how they'll guarantee $1B or the $3B they project in year 3 of their four year plan, but we all know how easy it is to get the Swiss banks to cooperate by giving back money right? Aren't there still lawsuits pending from WWII survivors?

Then the magical $3.6B from cap and trade, a carbon emissions reduction program that punishes those who go over their limit. By the time legislation for cap and trade passes through Parliament, it'll be time for another election - doubtful of where they can realistically get this money from.

With all that said, their $9B in projected revenues is enough to cover every social program they've planned including big expenditures for small business help, education and helping families. I'd be a bit more cautious here, I doubt their projected revenues will be anywhere close to what they expect it to be.

Their candidates. Young and inexperienced.

Remember when you got out of school and you were filled with all the great pep talks from your educators - "You're going to be a star!" "You'll change the world with your ideas!" And then you step into your first job and you quickly figure out how much you don't fucking know. In many ridings around the country, especially Quebec, the NDP are running 20 somethings in this election, 20 somethings that might just win a seat in the HoC. Today, it was announced that one of these 20 somethings decided that a week before the election, she needed a vacation, so she booked it to Vegas. She couldn't cancel the trip for something important like the election, no, she needs her break! One can imagine the discipline she'll have as the MP for her riding.

Maybe I'm being too harsh on young people, but the sheer numbers of young people they have as candidates makes me wonder - if they all win a seat, will our Minister of Health be someone who's still finishing up university? For more on these candidates, and why I'm not the only one who's scared of them, go to: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/andrew-steele/jack-laytons-risky-potential-mps-in-quebec/article1999595/?from=sec368

Alright, I'll admit, the alternatives aren't any better. But let's think for a moment - the NDP have never formed a government or an official federal opposition. There is a reason why the are always a 3rd or 4th place party is because their views are so far to the left that Canada cannot possibly afford any of the plans they want to put into action. Their budget bites of more social programs than we can chew at this point. Knowing our neighbour to the south is still struggling to rescue itself from their quicksand of an economy, we cannot possibly take the change with such a radical budget and social program agenda.

On Monday May 2, I hope that this wave of orange fever is just that, a fever we'll be cured from by the end of this week.

PS - thanks Quebec for giving us this orange fever in the first place.

April Challenge - Day 18 - 24 Bad Weather + Working Lots = Sick

Well, this week hasn't been great for my exercise regimen. After being knocked out with a bad cold for 5 of the past 7 days, I haven't hit the gym as much as the weeks before. Here's a brief overview:

Monday - weights
Tuesday - 7km run
Wednesday - Friday - the worst of my cold days
Saturday - 17km run
Sunday - Weights
Monday - 4km run and abs

I'm hoping I can get back into the groove this week. With the 10k run on Sunday, and my rest day on Saturday, I plan on running at least another 10k this week and a smaller run on two days. Fingers crossed on no injuries!

11 years...

Here's a note I wrote last year when it was the 10th anniversary of my mom's death. With today being April 22, I thought I'd repost to my blog.

Saturday is the 10th anniversary of my mother's passing. On April 24th, 2000, she lost her fight to cancer. She put up a brave fight, having been diagnosed with lung cancer the previous September, she went through several rounds of chemo and radiation. All was looking great up until February 2000, when the cancer spread throughout her body.

I remember that day well. I heard a soft knocking on my door, my stepfather stepped into my room and let me know, tearfully, that my mother had passed during the night. After he let me know that, I remember that sounds became muffled, all I could say was "okay, okay." My brother was still asleep and all I could think about was how to possibly break the news to him.

After sitting at the edge of my bed for what seemed like an entire day, I was able to gather myself to go visit my mom for one last time. I could only mumble "I love you, mom," before I broke down into tears. I left shortly after and by the time I could compose myself, the staff from the funeral home had arrived to remove her from our house.

The one thing I truly regret was the fact that I didn't say a proper goodbye. I couldn't face the fact that the person who gave me life and raised me was gone. I couldn't bring myself to go to the service and I was back in school a couple days after my mom's death. I was (and still am) thankful that I had many great friends who had kind words and were just there for me during that terrible time. If it wasn't for them, I doubt I would have been able to get through that difficult time.

I often think back to that day, and the pain hasn't really diminished even with all the time that has passed. Every year, around this time, I find myself dipping into a slight depression. It wasn't until this past year, when I stumbled across several family photo albums when cleaning out my grandmother's apartment, that I've been able to gain a new perspective on my mom's death, and more importantly, her life.

My mom (age 4)

My mom, Agnes Muh-Jing Yao, was born on February 26, 1956 in Taipei, Taiwan, to my grandparents, Ken-Fa Yao and Hsiu-Ying Lo. She was a spirited child. My grandmother would often tell me that my mom excelled in school and would be giddy to go to school in the mornings. My grandfather would scold me when I would not do so well on tests and remind me that my mother would stay up studying all night in order to get the top score in her class (I was in grade 3 at the time...really grandpa?)

My aunt Anne, my grandmother, my grandfather, my mom and my uncle.

My mom had two siblings, Morgan (the oldest brother) and Anne (the middle sister). My mom was the youngest and clearly my grandfather's favourite. My aunt once told me that her and her brother both knew this fact, and secretly hated it when my grandfather would say to them, "why can't you be more like shao may" (shao may was my mom's nickname). Nonetheless, they were all very close when they were younger, but when my uncle moved to Canada, and my aunt moved to Los Angeles, the distance put a strain on their relationship.

My mom in University.

It's weird to see photos of my mom in university. First, it is hard to imagine her at my age. Second, she looked so distinguished in all her photos (compared to my hundreds of drunk photos posted on Facebook). And finally, she looked so happy and ready to take on life's challenges - not to say she wasn't happy later on in life, but I could definitely see that she had more energy and optimism. What I find most empowering about finding photos from her youth is the fact that she worked incredibly hard to get herself into university (at a time where women still had a difficult time in getting into higher education) and came out with a degree in accounting. She secured a job as a teller at Chase Manhattan bank in Taipei and decided that it was time to start a family. From what I understand, she made the decision to get married to my dad and the decision to have me - incredible, considering that the Chinese culture is still very patriarchical, that she called the shots.

My mom and me in Taiwan.

My mom had me when she was 27 (again, another fact that scares the shit out of me, considering that I turn 27 next year and I am no where close to being ready to have kids of my own). From the very beginning, she was a loving, but often stern parent and this held true all the way into my teenage years. Once again, she proved to be different than the other women around her at the time, rather than staying home to be with me, she decided that she should also be able to pursue a career as well. She went back to work after her maternity leave (again, uncommon during that time in Taiwan) because, she later told me, that it was important to her to pursue a career in order to provide the best possible future for me (and soon, my brother).

Immigrants.

My family immigrated to Toronto in February of 1989. We settled in first with my grandparents in Scarborough, but soon, my parents bought a house near McCowan and Finch, which is where I grew up. I remember it wasn't easy for my parents - both had limited English skills, so finding a job was difficult. But my mom secured a bookkeeping job - good thing she decided to pursue her career back in Taiwan, because it was much more difficult for my dad to find anything in his field. For many years, my mom supported our family and ultimately, that resulted in the dissolution of my parents' relationship. My dad couldn't get over the fact that he wasn't able to provide for his wife and children, and my mom didn't want to give up on being able to provide for her family.

My mom was a tough parent. I was often disciplined when I was out of line or when I didn't perform academically in school. But she was also a hilarious mom - I've often told my friends this story. When I was six, as a way to help me learn English, she would rent movies for me to watch. The first movie she got from the corner store was "Silence of the Lambs" - she had a limited understanding of English at the time and even less of North American pop culture. She just recognized the word "Lamb" and thought it was a children's movie. I sat in my living room watching this movie as a six year old, too scared to watch and too scared to tell my mom that I didn't want to watch anymore because I knew she'd yell at me to watch the movie (again, not understanding what the content was).

As my brother and I got older, we became more defiant, especially when I entered my teenage years, I was a huge brat. I remember for four months, my mom and I didn't talk to each other because we got in a huge fight (and for some reason, our family loves to excommunicate each other when we fight). I often regret this incident, had I known I had so little time with her, I would have never cut her off for that long. Looking back, I am pretty sure that that incident hurt her more than it did me - as much as she was tough, she loved my brother and I a lot, and it probably killed her the fact that we weren't speaking.

My mom and my brother.

My brother and my mom had a completely different relationship. My mom coddled my brother - he was her baby. He never got hit, she was often more leinent on his schoolwork than she was with mine, and boy was I jealous. To this day, I still rag on my brother for how easy he was treated - he obviously doesn't like that I do that.

My family had our first run in with cancer when my uncle was diagnosed back in 1993. At the time, there was some tension between my uncle and the rest of my family, but his illness definitely brought the family together. He passed away very quickly after the diagnosis.

Seeing my mom go through that was painful. She had recently gotten divorced from my dad and to have this happen, she was hurting. Her only focus at this time, to get her mind off things, was to get her CGA designation in order to provide a better life for my brother and I. As a single mom, she would drop us off at school, go to work, come back and pick us up from my grandparents at 7pm, go home and study for her courses. She worked so hard to improve herself in order to make our lives better.

After my grandfather died from cancer in 1995, my mom was devastated. Since childhood, my grandfather would always be the person she relied on for advice and support. Now, he was gone and she also had to now take care of my grandmother. I couldn't imagine that kind of stress placed on me, but she was able to do it, and never once showed my brother or I, how scared and upset she must have been.

1998 comes along, and my mom meets my stepfather, and she was finally happy for the first time in a long time. However, that happiness would be shortlived as in September of 1999, she got the diagnosis that she too, had cancer.

She called me from the hospital when she got the diagnosis, and I remember crying on the phone. She was crying too, but reassured me that she will fight, promising me that she will beat this cancer. She knew I was scared, considering I've seen my uncle and grandfather pass away from the disease. But I can't imagine how scared she must have been - to be the head of a family, knowing you're facing a disease like cancer.

The last couple of months of my mom's life were some of the happiest times for our relationship. However, when the cancer started to spread, I started to distance myself, likely due to my fear that I didn't want to see her pass away. I've regretted that to this very day.

Having discovered these photo albums, that had been lost to the various boxes stored in my grandmother's closet, I have spent the last couple of months looking through them, several times. On one hand, it was great to find these photos and reconnect with a part of my family that I've forgotten about. On the other hand, it brings up some painful memories of the loss of my mother.

In the end, I am grateful for the lessons my mom has taught me in life. Work hard, work hard, work hard. Hard work make you the best, hard work will provide for yourself and your family, and hard work will inspire others to do the same. I have many aspects of her personality - the good: I'm diligent, responsible and assertive; the bad: I'm extremely stubborn, very impatient and terrible at expressing my feelings properly.

Not a day goes by that I think about her, or wish that she was still here. When she died, I remember praying to God, bargaining with him to bring her back, and that I would do anything if he did. Everyday, for the week after she passed, I would wake up and run to her room to see if he had answered my prayers, and would be heartbroken when reality hit. She was really gone.

My brother has taken her death harder than I have. I pretened to be tough, swallowed the hurt and did my best to honour her by working hard, he was incredibly hurt. It took a toll on him emotionally, and changed his personality. He was 10 at the time, and unfortunately, it took him a good nine years to get back on track. He's doing better now, especially academically, and I know my mom would be super proud of his journey back to the person she always imagined he'd be.

As for me, I hope I have made my mom proud - I wish I could have shared some great accomplishments in my life with her. I miss talking to her and laughing with her. For the last 9 years, I've let April 24 get me down. But having discovered these photos, remembering the life my mom led, I will make this April 24, the 10th anniversary of her passing, different. This year, I will celebrate my mom's life and reflect on the great memories I have of her.

So mom...I love you, and I miss you. Cheers to a life well lived.

With this vote, I protest this election.

Yesterday was the first of three advanced voting days (you can also vote today and on Monday as well). As a person recovering from a nasty cold and nothing else better to do, I went to vote as I'm pretty sure that when May 2nd comes around, I'll be so angry with the political parties I might refuse to go vote.

I got to the polls - conveniently located a kilometer from my house - to the clearly labelled, yet oddly confusion arrow signs that pointed me to the washrooms as opposed to the central room that the voting was taking place. Nonetheless, I'm a smart person, I figured out that the stall was not where I was supposed to vote.

I get greeted by one of three greeters sitting around. Of the 15 polls located in the community centre, there were at least 45 elections officials sitting around, on their cell phones or chatting up a storm with one another. The greeter asks me, "are you here to vote?" The asshole side of me would have answered, "No, I'm here to partake in craftmaking," but I replied with a smile and "yes."

He directed me over to my polling station where I'm greeted by a man with a handlebar moustache who is on his cell phone. After looking at me with a confused look, I stated, "I am here to vote." He politely asked the person on the other end of the call to hold on for a moment and tells me that I'll have to wait until his companion at the polling station came back from the washroom. I asked, "can't another person from another polling station (not two feet away) substitute for her?" He said, "No, it's the rules," and went back to his call. So after waiting 4 minutes for his polling co-worker to take the longest dump ever, and twittering my displeasure of having to wait at the polls, she returns. A spry woman, she looked like Uma Thurman in the Batman where she played Poison Ivy.

After taking my driver's license and my voting card, it took them another five minutes to go through the voter's list, write my name down on the advanced voters list and hand me my ballot. Did I mention that these people are being paid between $14 - $20 / hour for this speedy service?

Regardless, I'm just happy to get to vote. I get into the booth and look at my ballot with six names on it. There are the four major party candidates and two fringe party candidates (there's actually a Marxist-Leninist candidate in my area!).

As I go to mark my X beside the Conservative Party candidate, I hesitated. I thought this would have been an easy vote for me, but I had a minute of deep reflection as to why I should give this party my vote. They've produced a platform that was as weak as their budget, they have a leader who refuses to answer any direct questions from the media, and now stories of more corruption and scandal that would make the Liberal's Sponsorship scandal look like a legal transaction. As much as I believe that we need a strong majority government, this was not the party to do so.

So I consider marking my X for the Liberal candidate and wince at the thought that Michael Ignatieff would be PM. The Liberal platform is just as bad as the Conservatives, with funding calculations using parts of the Conservative budget they defeated to cause this election. This guy has also flip flopped on the idea of coalitions, which shows me he'll do whatever it take to gain power - similar to Stephane Dion, his doomed predecessor. I couldn't justify my vote for him.

Then I go to Olivia Chow - who I think has done quite a bit for our riding and was the only candidate who approached me with a flyer near my building. But I could never justify a vote for the NDP, not after what they did to Ontario in the 1990s under Bob Rae's leadership.

I thought about giving my vote to the Greens - perhaps throw them my $1.95 / vote funding that they so desperately need. But Elizabeth May has made less than a rat's fart of a contribution to these elections. They certainly didn't have the same gusto as they did back in 2008. So no, not them either.

Now, while it seems like an eternity has gone by at the booth, it's only been really 10 - 15 seconds. 10 - 15 seconds of me going through the disgust I had with all the parties and wondering why we're even having this election in the first place. I highly doubt seat counts will change much, the Conservatives will still have a minority government and the same leaders will be back to behave in the same manner as they would have before this election.

Then I did what I thought I'd never do. I drew a line across my ballot, spoiling it. My own protest against this election. I protest the fact that there is an election, I protest the fact that these parties have not spoken to my needs during these elections, and I protest that these are the leaders of our political parties - petty, whiny assholes. I protest that my regular vote for the party of my choice doesn't count in my overly NDP/Liberal riding. I protest the fact that we will have another minority government after having 3 failed attempts because our politicians can't cooperate. I protest the current state of Canadian politics.

I slight disbelief that I just spoiled my ballot, I walk to the ballot box and quickly placed the ballot in before I changed my mind. After a "thank you for voting," from the poll workers, I left the polling station in a state of shock and giddiness, like a child who knows he's done something to defy his parent's wishes.

I encourage the rest of you to vote - take Monday as an opportunity to take some time out of your day and cast your ballot (your employer must legally allow you this time off). If you don't vote on Monday, vote the following Monday like everyone else. And if you're as pissed off with the parties as I am, think about spoiling your vote. It is your right to do so.

April Challenge - Day 17: Fruit Smoothies

I've been experimenting with various real fruit smoothies lately. During my Sunday shopping at the supermarket, I buy a whole bunch of fruit and then make different combos of smoothies.

So far, I've tried:

Mango Strawberry

Blackberry Strawberry

Mango Raspberry

Mango Orange

Each pitcher that I make provides three servings. It's great and provides me my morning and afternoon servings of fruit. Super healthy and with no sugar whatsoever.

April Challenge - Day 10 - 16: Bad poster...

I've been a terrible blogger. Just terrible. It's been a jam packed week but that's no excuse for bad blogging. Rather than trying to make up each day as I have done before - I'll save everyone's time by putting it all into one blog posting.

Monday - cardio - 7k on the dreadmill, I mean treadmill.

Tuesday - weights (focusing on arms)

Wednesday - cardio - 6k with the Sporting Life team at Queen's Park.

Thursday - weights (focus on legs)

Friday - after having dinner with a client, it was to the gym to concentrate on core. I can't say this was the best idea this week

Saturday - I was pretty sick, so my focus was on exercises that wouldn't aggrevate my stomach...so it was just arms today.

Sunday - 8k run - felt good, but would have been better outside

This week, I'll be better at posting. I promise.

Why you should fucking vote and not be a lazy asshole.

I was born in Taiwan in October of 1983. When I was born, my parents had no idea of what it was to live under a democratic state. You see, Taiwan, while broken off from the People's Republic of China and communist rule since the civil war in 1949, was a non-democratic state with the Kuomingtang party ruling under martial law. My parents never voted when they lived there and their parents never voted either since moving from the mainland to the tiny island in the Pacific.

When my family arrived here in Canada in 1989, Brian Mulroney had just won another majority in December, so politics was far from their mind. It wasn't until 1993, when we became citizens, that my parents had to even concern themselves with voting - the timing was perfect, it was time for an election. From what I can remember from this time period, my mom was more excited about an election than my dad was. My dad never adjusted all that well to Canada, and wasn't interested in immersing himself in the culture. My mom on the other hand was determined to integrate and to make sure her children did as well. I remember one day at the mall she spent about 20 minutes talking to the local Liberal candidate while I was being an annoying twat asking her why we were talking to this strange man. She gave me one of those glares that this was something important and that if I didn't shut up, I'd be sorry later.

This was the first time I saw her buy newspapers everyday and read them when she came home from work at night. She would call her few friends in Toronto to talk about the elections and who she should vote for. In the end, her mind was pretty much made up because my grandfather and grandmother told her to vote Liberal. The Liberals, they said, were the party that welcomed immigrants (very true during that decade) and our family needed to repay that open arms policy with our votes.

I even remember when she voted that January of '94, she walked me to school, which happened to be our local polling station, and stayed with her to watch her vote. She registered, she went to the booth and told me that this was very important. I asked her, why can't I do the same thing she was doing. She said, when you're 18, you can.

I didn't realize it at the time, probably because my main concern was what fruit roll up colour did I get for my lunch snack that day, of how important it was to her to go and vote. It was the first time in her 38 years on the planet that she was able to go to the polls and make her voice heard. When she lived in Taiwan, she and her family never had the opportunity to have a say - they were told what to do by the government. I even remember her telling me that when I'm 18, I should vote Liberal too. (Sorry mom, that's one piece of advice I don't think I'll be taking anytime soon.)

Her experience is like many other immigrant experiences - coming to this country and embracing the privilage and right to vote, something that a large segment of our population has shunned for no good reason.

Sure - people point to the fact that we've had four elections in the last seven years. People are tired of voting. Well, had an additional 10 - 15% of people gone to the polls in the last election, we might have had a majority government, which would have prevented us from having to return to the polls before the four year term limit expired.

Sure - people point to the fact that we have uninspiring leaders. With the exception of the US, I doubt other leaders from countries around the world are more exciting than our Harper, Ignatieff, Layton lineup. In fact, I am pretty sure Gordon Brown of Britain was less popular than Harper, something most non-Conservatives here in Canada couldn't possibly imagine.

Sure - people point to the fact that the parties all say the same things election after election. Well, it's the same reason as point number one - our voices and votes make them change what they focus on. It happened before when the country booted the Conservatives over terrible handling of the 90s recession, it happened again in 2006 when the Liberals were turfed over sponsorship. The parties will only change their ways when they get fired - which we have the power to do so.

I can't even begin to tell you how angry I get when I hear people complain about how politics is too hard to follow and how they are too lazy to get educated on the issues. Not to be overly dramatic, but people have and are dying around the world to be able to obtain the right to choose their governments. People die around the world everyday, never being able to experience the freedom of casting a vote.

Not to mention, we have our brave men and women of the Canadian military who risk their lives to defend our country so that we have a right to vote. Everytime you choose to wave your right, think of it as a massive dishonour for those who parished in WW1, WW2 and other conflicts to prevent dictatorships from spreading.

Finally, you're doing yourself, your family and your community a great disservice by waving your right to vote. The policies that these federal parties are cooking up will impact your taxes, your health care, the funding your community receives on infrastructure and so many other areas of our lives. You'd be a fool not to say which one you feel will make your life easier in the next four years.

Media and Poll researchers are already predicting low voter turnout as voter apathy hits an all-time high. In fact, I watched a local news channel interviewing people on the street and some baffoon (in her lulus and ugg shoes) didn't even know there was an election going on. Can we parachute her into Libya and make her realize the privilages she's throwing away by being an ignorant constituent? And don't even get me started on how many women's suffrage leaders would be spinning in their graves if they heard her statement - why did they fight so hard for you to get the vote then?

What's worse about someone not voting is that they complain about the government after an election. I think those that don't vote should have a massive wad of duct tape slap them on their mouth when they complain about government. You don't get to voice your opinions after the fact if you didn't make an effort to vote. Frankly, I don't want to hear it.

Like in all elections, there's still a large majority of undecided voters that could make all the difference between a majority or minority Conservative or Liberal government. If you're sick of how Canadian politicians have been behaving, cast a ballot. Give someone a mandate so that we don't have these minority government political shinanigans from all parties.

Going back to my anecdote, I can't even imagine how it must have felt for my mom to vote that cold day in 1994. The amount of pride she must have had to let the government know how she felt just by marking an X on her ballot must have been incredibly empowering. Since that election until her death, she voted in every municipal, provincial and federal election.

I remember my first vote was in the 2003 Ontario Provincial Elections. While not as exciting as a federal election vote, I still felt great pride in being able to walk up, get my ballot and make a difference. My first federal vote was in 2004, when the Liberals under Paul Martin, won the first of many minority governments.

With that said, I can't wait to cast my ballot this time around on May 2. And to you I say - educate yourself and fucking vote - don't be an asshole.

April Challenge - Day 9: Pull Ups - not the diaper...

Since last year, I've been trying to improve the number of pull ups I can do. When I was rock climbing, the most I could do on the rings was 7. Weak, I know. And considering I'm all of 135/140 lbs (the latter happens on my binge eating weeks), it shouldn't be that hard to do a pull up.

Since then, I've been trying to best that each week at the gym. And it hasn't been as successful as I had wanted it to be. I'm up to about 9. I'm sure I can squeeze out that extra pull up to make it into the double digits but by the time I'm done 9, I feel like fainting.

Here's to hoping by the end of this month, I'll be able to surpass 9 and hit 12 or 13. Then at least these guns will be upgraded from bb guns to some sort of respectable caliber weapons. Boy, my gun analogies are terrible.

April Challenge - Day 8: Farting at the gym

Okay, I think we can all admit, we've all accidentally (or purposefully) passed gas at the gym. You might have had an extra glass of milk than you needed that morning, or didn't realize that sushi wasn't the best choice of snack before hitting the weights.

Two days ago, (I'll admit, yesterday, I was in no shape to train as I was recovering from the worse hangover ever) I was on a treadmill in the morning before work. There are three treadmills in my condo gym, so I take the one on the far right. There's a strategy to this...you take the far end, the next person takes the other far end (leaving a nice space in between) and then, when it does get busy, that last spot gets taken up. It's like seating on the TTC...when there's seats everywhere, you don't go and sit beside the only person on the streetcar.

Apparently, someone didn't tell this man the proper etiquette (we'll call him Bob, as it's one letter away from Boob, of which he had two). Bob struts into the gym, onto the treadmill beside mine. After a friendly nod, I thought, OK, just focus on your workout and crank up the music. He begins to let out some loud breaths while stretching...yea, he hasn't even started yet. As he stretches, a good five minutes go by, and I wonder - rather than stretching on the treadmill and taking a spot away from someone ready to run, why don't you stretch in the studio area? Whatever, back to my run...focus Terence, focus.

Bob then starts running, at a mild pace. Not two minutes later, he's huffing and puffing like he's at the last part of a torturous marathon - face red, sweat streaming down the sides of his face, pit stains the size of Lake Victoria. As I turn my iPod up to the maximum level before my ears bleed, I start smelling the smell of rancid eggs. I look around, and there were only four people in the gym - Bob, myself and two people working in the distance at the weights.

Being the utterly insecure person that I am, I first do a self check by pretending to wipe my face on my sleeves and making sure it wasn't my armpits emitting that odour. Check - they actually smell Tide Mountain Spring fresh.

I then look at the two people away in the distance in the weight area. They did not have the same contorted face of disgust as I did on my face. So by process of elimination, Bob was the offender.

Now, at first I thought, aww shit, it's BO. But the smell didn't come in a steady stream as BO would. Then I heard it. At first, a pop then fizzling. Yes, it was that loud that I heard it through my iPod music. Bob at this point didn't seem to care that he was contributing to the emission of greenhouse gases, he was more focused on trying not to have a heart attack. I, on the other hand, was grossed out beyond belief.

How, at 7am in the morning, can you have gas that is that intense? How are you not ashamed that you're releasing that evil onto the world? How do you not kindly excuse yourself and go to the washroom to get that issue resolved?

As these questions flooded through my head, thankfully, I was close to the end of my 30min run. But it wasn't until he released another barrage of air WMDs into the gym and this time, I think the people at the weights heard as they looked up and giggled.

Dude - you might be running, but you're running on a stationary piece of equipment. It's not like outside where you are far far away from your mischevious deed and no one can pinpoint it is you.

That was it. I stopped my treadmill - took a deep breath in from my mouth to avoid smelling anything, and quickly wiped down my machine before running into the studio to work away from Bob's stench.

My hope is that Bob felt that his run was so strenuous that he won't be back in the gym for a while, but I might have to stop working out in the mornings to avoid exposing myself to nauseous gases.

April Challenge - Day 7: Cardio and the need for good music

In the lead up to my run May 1st, it's been all about cardio for the first part of my work out. Whether it be 1/2 hour on the treadmill, bike or elliptical, I've got to build up that endurance. Nothing helps more than a good set of tunes, and that was super apparent as I had forgotten to charge my iPod before going to the gym.

In my mind, there are three key reasons to isolate yourself with the sounds of your favourite tunes at the gym:

1) It pushes your workout to the next level.

A good upbeat song or an angry Eminem song (my favourite is Til I Collapse) really helps motivate you to push yourself when working out. It helps you run that extra mile or do that extra set or work through the pain. It's the personal trainer that doesn't cost you $100 per session.

2) It cancels out all the gross noise at the gym.

During my music-less run, I began to realize why I should just bring a set of earplugs the next time I forget to charge my iPod. The noises at the gym are disgusting. Grunting from the neanderthals at the weights, heavy breathing from those on the treadmill running at less speed than grannies walk, and farting, YES, farting noises coming from people who have headphones on, thinking that if they can't hear the noise, others can't (this topic is left for another post alone).

3) With a playlist, you can keep yourself in check for a regular workout.

I have a set playlist for running. When I'm done, I know I've reached my needed run time for the day. What a great solution for a timer.

Of course, having your headphones on does have one drawback. You're an anti-social git. There've been plenty of times people have tried to engage in conversation, and I've always had to make them repeat themselves as I remove my headset to respond. But then again, the gym shouldn't really be a place for chit chat...

April Challenge - Day 6: Biceps

One part of my body that I've never been able to workout just right are my arms. No matter how many bicep curls or tricep exercises, these guns never get bigger than a bebe gun.

So that's one of the areas I'll be working out in the next month. Today, I did the following:

10 sets of 8 reps of bicep curls with 20lb weights

5 sets of 8 reps of bicep curls with 30lb weights

4 sets of 5 pull ups

10 sets of 8 reps of tricep extensions with 15lb weights

Now my arms feel like jello. Waiting for them to be operational again.

April Challenge - Day 5: Running with others = motivation!

So with the run less than 24 days away, we've started a running group at work. Today's showing was just myself and Hayley, but all in all, a great run from the office to Queen's Park and then three loops around the park and back to the office. All in all, 5k in about 30 min.

Running after work was exhilarating - great way to relax and I went back to the office, ate my dinner and did some work. I felt so accomplished afterwards.

I am sure we'll run every Wednesday - even after Sporting Life run is over.

April Challenge - Day 4: Exercising my brain

I decided to take a break yesterday, and instead, focused on exercising my political brain. As most of you, I have been very interested in these upcoming federal elections. One particular issue that's been bugging me is the fact that Elizabeth May, leader of our 4th place national party, was not invited to the English and French debates.

So instead of exercising my body yesterday, I exercised my brain and sent Ms. May a suggestion - question is, will she take my suggestion? I hope so.

Hello Ms. May,

While I do not support your party, I have been one of the many thousands of Canadians infuriated by your alienation from the English and French national debates by both the media consortium and the other federal parties. It is embarrassing that this country that professes to be a democratic society, shuts out a legitimate 4th national party and putting a regional separatist party at higher standing.

I think your fight to be included in the national debates is admirable, however, it looks like at this point to be a lost cause. So here's an idea. If they won't include you (likely because they are all afraid to debate you), hold your own Youtube town hall during both debates. Live stream and take live questions as opposed to the questions filtered by the national media. Reach out to the Youth vote. Reach out to those who are disenchanted with the state of Canadian politics. Do the unconventional and go online, while the rest rely on traditional media.

Use social media to your advantage - with the groundswell of support you've had on Facebook, I wouldn't be surprised if you get more views than the leader's debate. Get your candidates in key ridings you can win to follow up with linked videos. With the debates just a week away, focus your efforts on doing your own thing, as opposed to a system which is clearly out to exclude you.

I wish you the best of luck. I hope you do take my suggestion - if you do, I'll definitely watch you over the leader's debate.

Cheers,

--
Terence Jou

April Challenge - Day 3: Ab exercises - the devil's work

I've somehow hurt my wrist (no dirty jokes please) and wasn't able to do much except for some cardio and all abs. Crunches, Situps and Side Crunches - that was the focus today.

Here's an overview:

15min of running

100 crunches (4 sets of 25 reps)

150 situps (6 sets of 25 reps)

50 side crunches (2 sets of 25, each side)

There's nothing great about crunches or situps. I looked like a struggling panda bear trying to get up from a nap. I turned into the morons that grunt and moan at the gym. At one point, I think my legs were wiggling around I was doing some sideway dance in the air.

And I turned into I feel like someone has punched me several times in the gut. This better pay off. Just keep thinking - Thailand, Thailand...

April Challenge - Day 2: Squats

Today's workout was done early this morning - I'm not a morning exercise person. But I still gave it a good try and today, the focus was on legs.

My workout consisted of:

- 40 min on the stairclimber

- Five 1 min intervals of speed running on the treadmill

- 20 min of core exercises

- Ten sets of squats (10 reps) with two 25lb weights

- 100 lunges with two 15lb weights

- back to wall squat (leg bent at 90 degrees, similar to a sitting position) for 30s intervals

My legs are on fire. I felt a bit of the strain during the exercises but now, I feel like someone has beat me up below the waist. This just shows me how much more strength training I need on my legs in order to build up my speed for my run.

Attack Ads - Stop it already.

I love TV. I watch TV every night. I normally PVR through commercials but lately, whether it be laziness or just curiosity, I've sat through commercials to see what type of election campaign advertising the competing parties were going to throw at us.

What they flung at us was shit. The campaign began as negatively as the last two and half years in Parliament. It began even before the elections started. What's even worse, it can't even be called advertising - I'm ashamed that these commercials have been done by another agency who thought, this is good advertising. Who can blame them? Nothing's changed in campaign advertising - your enemy is bad, you are good and the more desperate that party becomes, the more negative the ads become.

Let's take a look at the Liberal attack ad:

Not to excuse anything that Harper has done, but let's be honest - the majority of Canadians do not care about this compared to issues that will impact their lives, like the economy and health care. Those who are offended by the Harper government's flagrant disregard for democracy have already made up their minds on which party they will vote for. If the goal of this ad is to get the swing voters, I doubt it'll swing anyone.

Now for the NDP -

A little "happier" and lighter than the doom and gloom of the Liberals - interesting use of puppet/animation. It does target a big issue that Canadians are concerned about, but spending more time talking about what the Conservatives haven't done for Health Care and less time about what you plan on doing for health care doesn't make me feel super confident in your party. However, I appreciate the fact this ad doesn't look like armageddon is happening tomorrow.

Now the Conservatives:

It's like the Liberals and Conservatives hired the same agency to produce the same ad for both camps, just switching out the leaders. Who the fuck cares that Ignatieff loves America? He's here now, he's ready to lead, how the fuck is this an election issue? Spend this money (and the time you're wasting of mine) and tell me what you plan on doing.

One would hope the Greens would do a better job:

What the fuck was that? This ad looks even scarier than all the other ones combined! It barely tells me anything about what the Greens plan on doing beside not being negative (but being negative at the same time). What happened to friendly, smiling, aloof looking Elizabeth May? Maybe she was bitter she wasn't allowed in the debates.

All in all, a terrible tone to set this early in the election campaign and another reminder to Canadians that this yet again, a useless election.

April Challenge - Day 1: Walk the Plank

So my goal for the next 28 days is to train for the Sporting Life 10k which takes place on May 1. I've already started on the treadmill this past week, but the goal here is to also do some strength training in order to get beach ready for my trip to Thailand in May.

So I did about 2 hours at the gym today, which included:

- 27min of running (5K - need to get this time down to 24min somehow)

- 10min of skipping (goal was to get 1,000 skips in - I think I achieved about 800 before I was like, no more.)

- 30 min on core - I tried a new exercise on the swiss ball. One handed planks (more on that below) and various crunches and situps

- 20min on freeweights

- 15min on back

- 15min on flexibility exercises (stretches, yoga poses)

The one handed plank on a swiss ball was perhaps the toughest thing I did today. It was less than successful. After trying to stabilize myself for about 2 minutes, I thought I finally found my perfect balance, removed my left hand and promptly fell face first into the floor. Thankfully, no one was around to witness this sad display of fitness (or lack thereof). So I modified it and did a regular plank with the swiss ball. Still incredibly challenging but better than the one handed plank. I'll continue to try this exercise - we'll see how many attempts and faceplants it takes before I get it.

April Challenge - Getting my fitness on

So this month, it's all about training for the Sporting Life 10K run taking place May 1. We started up a group to run at BBDO/Proximity and we have about 15 people on the team at the moment.

The Sporting Life 10K helps raise money for Camp Oochigeas that provides a great camp environment for kids with cancer. This is a place where they can forget they have this terrible illness and just be kids.

Please support us by going here or if you'd like to donate to me directly, please go here. I thank you for any contribution.

My challenge this April will be to run, but also strength train. I'll try out new exercises everyday and let you guys know about my progress. My posts will start tomorrow.

PS - April is also Cancer Awareness month. Buy some daffodils from the Cancer Society to help fund cancer research.

March Challenge - Day 26: Fail.

So I've failed at my March challenge of keeping up with reading interesting stuff and blogging for 28 days.

Was this a well thought out challenge? Not really. Should I have put in more thought? Yes, I was lazy. The parameters of this month's challenge were not defined properly nor was it a specific enough challenge. So my first fail in three months of this challenge.

Oh well, here's to hoping April is better.

March Challenge - Day 25: Perhaps the NDP shouldn't have voted down the government

Poor Jacky. He must be regretting his move to bring down the government with the other parties. In this first week of this election, he's seen his support wane and a lot of that support going over to the Liberals.

Some point out that it's because the Conservatives and Liberals have done a great job at focusing the media's attention on a two way race between the blue and red, leaving Layton out in the cold. Some others think that it has something to do with Mr. Layton's health and that people view that as a reason not to vote for a candidate with ailing health.

Regardless, this really has become a Conservatives vs. Liberals debate. Everyone wants to see a majority government, but don't know which side to turn to. As I said in my last blog, it's time for a party to take bold moves and propose a true vision and not just one or two nice to have campaign promises.

March Challenge - Day 24: Election...2008?

So this first week in the election has seen some new (albeit not so great) campaign promises, but also a lot of old rehashed campaign promises from parties from the 2008 and 2006 elections. While it's important to reuse and recycle, regifting campaign ideas and calling them new is terribly unappealing.

Take the Liberal's universal daycare promise for example. They've been promising this since they were in power in the 90s. Has it happened? No. Will it happen? No. Their plan this time, to share the burden with the provinces. Have provinces committed? No. It's like telling investors you have plenty of business partners willing to help fund your idea, but when the investors contact your partners, the partners haven't the foggiest idea.

Then there's the NDP tackling the oil sands issue. It's totally expected of the NDP to put this on their agenda. But let's be honest, even if Canada experiences an orange sweep this election season, Layton would be hard pressed to try to touch the Oil Sands considering the troubles going on in oil rich regions of the world. There is demand - oil sands make money for Canada. Touch that and you risk damaging Canada's economic growth.

As for the Conservatives - minor moves and shifts this campaign - nothing too out of the box considering they want to hold onto their lead. This is the dumbest idea ever as they are slowly watching the Liberals gain more support. It's time for bold action in order to inspire voters to go out and vote and perhaps choose a majority government that has a vision for the country in the next four years. Talk of stability is fine...but stagnation is just around the corner if we don't start making some big moves soon.