I am a practicing clinician, a recent doctoral graduate who finally graduated school but will never leave school, a huge technology lover, a man constantly fighting off the fat, and a father.
I have been really enjoying the summer runs this year. I don’t know what it is about this summer, but they have been really helpful in getting me back to regulation. I’ve been able to push myself a bit in some of my runs (went for 8 sets of stairs in my run one time!) and that’s been helpful to get me out of crippling depression. :I
I got to see the new LC500 coupe from Lexus. Its a stunner for sure. I don’t like it in this blue at all, but it looks bomb in the other colors. I also saw one grey in the flesh last week. very cool. Nearly 470 HP naturally aspirated engine, and luxury through and through. I think if there was a car I would dream of, this would be it, or the RC F. I would get it in the burnt orange though cause its crazy looking. I kind of laughed hearing people comment on the car and sayingit looks ugly AF but not knowing what the car was about. I really do think that Lexus was able to nail the design language and make it a memorable style, particularly the tail end for me.
Went to Lethbridge for awhile and drifted around some of my old haunts. This is the children’s library where I use to hang all the time. Its much smaller than I remember it to be, but still as cool.
The toy borrowing room is still there! I forgot about this completely. Brought a lot of memories back to me remembering the toy room and taking out toys to play with.
The adult section where I used to hide from my dad so I didn’t have to go home and do home work.
The other side of the adult section was closed off- too bad. This is where I read the Exorcist and scared the shit out of myself. I remember the lighting in the adult book area and the lack of people inside, and then being very afraid.
Going through Park Place mall. Its really just turned into another big corporate mall, without any real unique stores, which is a shame. I think most malls are like that now, which is too bad. Really neat stores like the Science Shop in Southgate or Cosmic City in WEM are gone now. The mall overall felt ok, but I definitely felt a bit self conscious being a very visible minority over there.
The classic concrete piller balls of Sears.
Going through my grandparent’s home- this storage area had so many memories for me. Used to play with my sister here all the time. I remember looking through boxes for treasure (usually junk) and the musky smell of basement rot. Also remember makign fishing lines and thinking we could catch something in the drainage (ew).
I’ve been having an insanely tough summer this year. I don’t think I have gone full Combo/Red Zone NRF wise this much in one time. The good thing is that I have finally been able to escape and had some really good support mechanisms in place. I went for a lot of runs in Bull Trail Park near Indian Battle Park. I was really pleased to find that this trail was connected near my uncle’s home, so I was able to get out in the morning sun regularly. The trails were absolutely beautiful and challenging. I particularly had a good time resetting myself here overlooking the coulees.
The sun hit hard and hit fast. If I didn’t get out early enough the run back up was just excruciating – I definitely ended up dry heaving a number of times.
It gave me a number of things to think about, including where my problems resided in the grand scheme of things, and whether I was just straight up catastrophizing or not. I also spent a lot of time thinking about my accomplishments in life and where I was at, and fighting back the overwhelming feelings of uselessness and despair. Anxiety and depression can be one hell of a bitch, even as a professional trained to fight it.
The morning suns really encouraged me to change my lifestyle around- I am now getting up around 6 am to do my workouts and its been absolutely fabulous to have the sun come out while i am getting pumped. This trip really reset myself.
The drive down was also really pleasant- there was a lot of smoke from the fires in Saskatchewan made the sun look just lovely. The mornings were gorgeous with the orange red hues. Getting down to my roots and really thinking about where I have come from was really important for me- I think I am going nuts trying to balance graduate school life, new dad life, and clinician life all together.
Had a beef rib steak at The Keg- and its my favorite cut by far. This is exactly what I am expecting when I want a high end piece of beef. SO GOOD. And so much freaking meat. It was easily one of my most favorite meals.
We went to the Fringe Festival and it was freaking hot like before. This time we spent minimal time in the kids section because it was freaking hot. As in we went to like two features. H had a blast in the parachute section, really all we really should have down was buy the parachute and bring it home.
One of the really nice things from my runs in the Bull Trail Park was that I was able to get a bit of mental stamina build up and be less intimidated by the monster stairs at the Glenora- I don’t think I have had that much fear before from a set of stairs as I was at the Bull Trail Park. It was just freaking intimidating.
H enjoying our Snoezalen room (sp?)- I don’t quite understand the therapeutic element of this room still, but it is still a very entertaining room to be within. I especially like the infinity mirror light on the right and the bubble tube on the left. I wish I could have these in my own home.
Got to ride in a Type R Civic! It was incredible sitting inside- its the kind of machine that just feels right. I know its not a market leader in its segment compared to other hot hatches and such (i.e. Focus RS/STI/GolfR) but I just love it all the same.
I got a recent new set of bluetooth cans, the Sony XB50BS. While not as well thought out as my AS700BT (which is still my favorite all time workout headphone), these do the trick very nicely (at 25% of the MSRP too! from classifieds). I don’t like how the cable keeps tugging on my neck, but I do like the sound, the stability of the connection, the NFC for quick pairing, and the battery life. Overall, the fit is mostly stable too with the nifty wing tip system (which I sort of doubted). Generally pretty solid overall. Even though it doesn’t have APTx or LDAC, it still sounds great for a workout can.
Managed to snag this beauty recently too- the AS300 Action Cam. Its a massive massive improvement over the AS15 (2nd gen Action Cam) that I have in picture quality and useability. I managed to snag an open box model for 48% off the MSRP! So far I have shot TONS with it, and am shooting way more video because of how convenient it is. The big thing about this is the BOSS stabilization that moves the lens and sensor physically (a first for action cameras), which combined with electronic stabilization makes a very awesome package. I also love the still pics from this- they are good enough that I shoot with this quite regularly, and almost always have it in my everyday carry- particularly because its so discrete and does not get in the way of being in the event and experiencing the event (something that happens quite easily once you start spending time behind a big glass/body combo). I find the remote immensely handy given how much you can control from it (although I generally hate the design and build quality compared to the first gen remote). I actually end up shooting much less with the remote because the camera is so wide, its likely to grab what you want in the shot. Its quite amazing how good the video stabilization is- I like it a lot more than the other camcorders I have, or the video from the NEX/E-mount bodies. Really impressed and really pleased with this find.