Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Keeping Occupied

Winter has the ability to cut down on what activities you can do; it's no different up North. The big difference is who you know. John introduced me to badminton and a volleyball league, and Katherine got us involved in caving and climbing. John and I have discovered a mutal love of skiing and cat tree construction (minus snipping off the pad of my finger).



While there are only so many cat trees you can build for one apartment, there is always something else to do. Some days it's harder to come up with something than others, but even sitting at home watching movies and playing with our cats, has it's appeal.



The first day we went to badminton, I just wanted to sit on the sidelines and learn the rules. I wore jeans to further illustrate my resolve to not play. Despite my efforts, I was talked into picking up a racked and making a few swipes at birdies. That was 4-5 months ago.



Last wednesday, the older gentlemen who are the heart and soul of our badminton team, had nothing but praise for my improvement! I have a relatively awesome serve, I think about placement instead of just hitting the birdie, and I can apply strategy to my game! As long as the guys don't hit shots right at me I can usually return them!



As for volleyball, the last time I had played was sometime during high school gym class. That's about five years ago! While not excellent, I'm not terrible either. Last week our team of misfit players were kicking some ass! Our serves were awesome, our rally's were impressive and our setups for spikes were improving! It helps to have tall, talented players, haha.



Skiing was my thing in high school. Captain of the girl's team senior year and MVP a few of the years. I did Slalom and GS. I even had the GS suit! Not the most flattering thing in the world. ANYWAY, again, it has been over five years since I participated in this sport. I had developed this mindset that skiing was a waste of time. You go up, just to go down again. Followed by heading back up, just to come down again. What's the point, right? Guess what, they were right; it's all in the location. Kim, one of the guys from badminton, suggested Castle Mountain. Not only is it cheaper than Lake Louise, it's not as touristy or expensive! The view was spectacular and the runs were challenging and "at your own risk." An amazing experience!



The experience that was not so amazing came during the construction of our 'cat tree.' After much debating over design, materials, and time; we finally started construction. Having accomplished fairly little, I managed a slip with a pair of scissors. The twine I was about to cut, leapt out of the way, and in saving itself, sacrificed the pad of my finger. John assures me it wasn't that bad, and at least it was a clean slice; but I will tell you, that did not make me feel any better. (When you can see a vein under the tiniest bit of remaining flesh, nothing will make you calmer). Not having the optional hospital visit scared the crap out of me. "What if it gets infected? I can't clean it, it hurts too much. Is it supposed to look like that?"



John's calm presence was a lifesaver. If he had acted worried, I might have passed out. As it was he got to see the wimpiest side of my personality. "But it's my finger!!!" The crying, the blood rushing out of my facing, and ending up on my back on the bathroom floor cradling the finger he had just bandaged. Yeah, I'm awesome. Alright, I think that's all for now!