Well, I haven’t had an update for two weeks, and it’s been brutal. Remember the Olympics? Yeah didn’t do anything but go out and party. Like really bad, didn’t really exercise, didn’t really watch what I was eating…well I was watching it. Hot dogs and pizza, late night munchies, drinking at the bars with all the people from out of town. So what the hell was I going to do? Simple answer. I bit the bullet and got a trainer.

Funny enough, I got a trainer that I SWORE I would never get. It’s a HE and it’s a ‘MO. I SWORE if I ever got a trainer I wouldn’t get a guy because well male trainers are hot. And what would happen if got forbid you’re doing a squat and OOPS! You get a bit farty. Believe me I’ve hear/smelled/seen it happen. I personally think it’s hysterical, but that’s because any kind of potty humour really just cracks me up. I also swore that I would never get a gay trainer because come on now…I don’t need my people to know I’m a weakling. It’s all about smoke and mirrors, no vulnerability. I’m a Leo for crying out loud! PROUD PROUD PROUD! Well, without even wanting or looking, I found Bryan. Remember I wrote about him a couple entires ago? The trainer with the private gym which is amazing? So after my first session with him, it was actually he who snapped a little sense into me. Plus he has the same horrible humour as me. So it worked.

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It has been a while since I’ve written a ‘Behind The Cast‘ post, so I thought this would be a good chance to recap my Olympic experience and how it’s affected me. Where to start? I think it’s fair to say that when Vancouver won the bid for the 2010 Winter Games there were mixed reviews. I myself was excited at the thought of a once in a lifetime experience, having the Olympics right in my ‘backyard’. We all didn’t know what to expect from this momentous event that was about to happen. As Jonny had said in one of our Side Dish webisodes, “It’s like walking into a job where you know what the job title is, but you dont’ know what your duties are.”

The moment the people started pouring into downtown both from the suburbs and from all over the world, the vibe of the city changed and I liked it. I loved how alive and vibrant the city felt filled with pedestrians from every corner you turned. What really surprised me more was my unexpected reaction, I wasn’t expecting this renewed sense of patriotism. Suddenly I was so proud that the world has come to see this beautiful place we call home. Suddenly I find myself watching hockey and actually enjoying every moment of it. Before the games started, I knew nothing about hockey and really had no interest, but as the games progressed so did my understanding of hockey.

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After a week almost a week since it’s been out, got around to watching Alice in Wonderland the a couple nights ago, and I thought it was actually pretty cool. I’d say it was really good, not amazing - but really good. Mind you, I actually didn’t see the 3D version, so I’m not sure what I may have missed out on in that regard, but the story and characters are obviously the same - and, you know I think those 3D glasses are kind of annoying. With last weekend being it’s first in the box office, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland actually beat Avatar’s first weekend! I think Avatar’s 3D experience helped pave the way for people to get excited for this one too. I also think that the fact that this classic tale was remade by Tim Burton and featured some of our current favorites, Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway, also had some pull.

I think Tim Burton did an excellent job with this story. We get to see more of Alice’s life outside “Wonderland” which was actually quite interesting. The film is a combination of “real life” actors and computer animation which actually worked and flowed together seamlessly. Johnny Depp was also great in the film, as you may have expected from the previews and from his extensive resume. His portrayal of a Mad Hatter was bang on. Anne Hathaway’s interpretation of what was The White Queen (The Red Queen’s sister) was hilarious. She was pretty much making a mockery of herself, or what she interpreted the dainty, good-hearted queen would be in a fairy tale.

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The Olympics were an interesting time for me. On one hand it was amazing to see Vancouver take the world’s centre stage for 2 weeks. To see all these places I used to call part of my “home” and listen to my friends’ stories about how awesome the Heineken House was, or any number of amazing experiences they were able to have.

On the other hand, while I was super excited for my friends to be experiencing such an amazing event first-hand, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t an element of pain associated with all the things I just mentioned as well. A sort of “I’m supposed to be there!” kind of feeling that tainted the Olympic experience for me… or at least it did at first.

Thankfully that painful feeling got less and less intense as the days wore on and I enjoyed the Olympics, both on TV and vicariously through my friends, more and more. But it was the Closing Ceremonies when they did the spot on how Canada will own you that something finally hit me… I belong to Canada.

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So there’s some things that I’m confined to not being able to do in my city because of lack of transport. One is going to Grouse whenever I want (a lot of planning and carpooling are required). The other major thing is not being able to go to local wineries. As much as I would love to think I’m going to make it up to the Okanagan and do the Naramata this summer, my schedule’s starting to look a little full for the year now that I’m back in Vancouver and employed again.

Fortunately though, my friend Faye needed some help delivering a gigantic dismantled Ikea shelf on Tuesday. It was being delivered to Walnut Grove, and when I showed up at her house without a coffee (I still feel bad), I saw in hand, a little map with some places to go and have a drink. The shelf was delivered easily enough and in record time, and without even looking at the map, we found ourselves following easy to follow signs into cow tippin’ territory, where The Fort Winery is located.

For those of you that don’t know this local gem, YOU SHOULD. The Fort, located in Fort Langley is a delicious treat. They don’t make wine from grapes. They make amazing fruit wine from locally sourced fruit. And not dessert wine as some of you might have thought automatically. These are dinner and sipping wines, ready to pop with meals. The tasting and retail room feels like the comfiest country cabin you can imagine, and the team itself is so hospitable and RELAXED. I’ve been to a few staunchy tastings in my life, and these people are the real deal and make you feel at home. Try to be there when Blodwyn is there because she’s amazeballs.

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Tuesday Feb 9^th

Yesterday was crazy. I actually didn’t even realize how hard I worked until I got home at 11:30 and laid down and crashed. I woke up early on Monday and did my run which was great. Then I went to work which is always kind of a wahh wahh because when I go into the office I end up sitting pretty much for 7ish hours at a desk. Now if you don’t do that, you don’t actually realize how bad it is for you. I just know that sitting down constantly and not really moving really doesn’t help. I mean that’s how a lot of people get out of shape. I know my mother is like that. Funny enough shes at the heaviest she’s weighed right now, and it’s because she gets up goes to work. Sits on her ass for 10-12 hours working, then goes home and is so tired and ends up sitting on her ass on the couch and falls asleep. Everyday for like the past 20 years. Mind you my mother still looks fucking FANTASTIC for 55 years old. She doesn’t look a day over 40ish. But she’s getting rounder. I gave her the same speech my roommate gave me.

“Right now, you’re at the point where you can either say fuck it all and just become obese, or you start doing something to get back on track.”

And the thing is when someone tells you that, you’re not really surprised. I wasn’t. I told myself every morning when I woke up and looked in the mirror, “Come on just do SOMETHING”.

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On July 2, 2003, Vancouver was informed they had won the Olympic bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. On Friday, Vancouver welcomed the world to the 2010 Winter Olympics Games with a fantastic show, orchestrated by David Atkins Enterprises, and I (along with Dan) had the privilege of being a part of it. After auditioning, Dan and I had the privilege of being selected to participate with hundreds of others in performing in the Opening Ceremonies. Now that everyone one has seen the show, we can finally openly talk about a show we’ve had to keep our lips sealed about for so long. We helped officially welcome the world to our beautiful city….to Vancouver, Canada. Countless hours of rehearsals and long days were all worth it when we performed on Friday. We were part of the Rhythms of the Fall portion of the Cultural Segment of the ceremonies.

We, the builders, come out carrying leaves, and actually I was one of the four people that carried in the big tap board that was brought to the center of the field of play. This is wear the hero tapper Brock Jellison performed his solo, and other well known musicians, including Ashley MacIsaac performed their solos. Shivers went through my body as we walked out to a lively crowd of 60,000 people and an estimated 3 billion people watching. I was surprisingly not that nervous, just extremely excited and in awe at being a part of it.

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Monday, February 1^st, 2010

I really gotta be careful with my cheat days. I think instead of cheat days I should just do a cheat meal. Like I get one meal on Sunday that I can eat as badly as I want. It used to be the whole day, but three shitty meals on a Sunday, makes for a really sluggish day on a Monday.

Tuesday, February 2^nd, 2010

In my everlasting quest to figure out what the hell is going to fit the best for me, I went to check out this trainer who has a private gym…which I like. Completely private, no judging eyes, no nothing. It was a great session and Bryan is a fabulous trainer. It was fun. I’m got a couple other options to try out and really see exactly what I want to do.

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Here’s a little glimpse into a rainy Saturday with me and my dog, Dani. Having gone out the previous night for a few drinks with friends, Dani and I wake up at around noon. I really look forward to the weekends when I can sleep in and don’t have to wake up at 7am like I have to during the week. I’m sure Dani doesn’t mind staying in bed a little longer… he loves to snuggle under the duvet.

Noon - Breakfasts are in order. I just recently switched Dani’s food from Innova to FROMM’s Whitefish & Potato. He loves the new food and wants to eat first thing as soon as he’s up. So he gets a bowl of Whitefish & Potato and I have coffee & a cinnamon roll. Yummy!

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