Rob's 2010 Blog

Worked today, then had coffee with Rocky, Sean, Bob.  Sat outside in the 7.5 degree sun this afternoon for about 15 minutes but was nice and toasty in my parka; I can feel Spring coming.

Did a duet with Ryan today (he turned 9 years old three days ago) and posted it on Youtube (with permission).  Music is 99% rhythm and that is why duets are great for beginning students to learn how to keep tempo and play along with other musicians.

CARDIO: 25 minutes (with five fast breaks @ 1 minute each) in the evening — great heartbeat/great sweat.  One carb-free protein shake 1.5 hours after cardio, then bed.

Put up a vid of Fur Elise tonight.  I usually play it so fast, it was a challenge for me to keep it slow!

Sat outside in the late afternoon sun today and studied a bit of Cantonese.  It was a cool day but the first time I sat out in the sun since beginning of January.

CARDIO: In the evening, 25 minutes on the bike with five fast breaks for one minute each — great sweat/great heart rate.  Only a protein shake (no carbs) one hour after before bed.

Watched The Oscar awards tonight.  It seems to have lost in the past decade a lot of the glamour, zest and appeal, which is undoubtedly a reflection of the low Amercian morale and economy right now.  I was a little disappointed they cut out the musical numbers of all the Best Song nominations, and the two co-hosts were probably the worst presenters that I’ve seen, especially after all the singing and dancing and effort that Hugh Jackman put in to his Oscar presentation last year.  The Hurt Locker won for Best Picture and if you’re an American and a member of the Academy, whose members aren’t fighting in Iraq right now but are getting private massages in their Bel-Air homes, then of course you would vote for it; not surprised at all it won, but we all know Avatar is a universally better movie!  I don’t care about actors and actresses (how did Sandra Bullock win over that Black actress in Precious?!); I like the directing, screenwriting and music awards part of the Oscars, though the Best Song category has been lame-o for many years, without any songs that I’d actually want to listen to on my car stereo.  And everybody was kissing up to George Clooney, who I don’t think is as good-looking as everyone says he is and certainly he is one of the worst ‘A-list’ actors I’ve seen act (Up in the Air wasn’t bad, just more of the same from George Clooney).  Even the red carpet sucked for one reason: we have that clown Ben Mulroney repping for Canada — he always introduces himself as ‘Ben Mulroney from Canada’ and asks really dumb questions to the actors about craft and other silly things; maybe I just don’t like him because he’s the spawn of his father, the second biggest crook we ever had for Prime Minister, with Pierre Eliot Trudeau being the worst.  Ah, the Oscars…I remember a time when it wasn’t about politics.

I watched Up and The Blind Side, two movies nominated for Best Picture; I enjoyed them both.

After work today, I managed to get nine holes of golf in up at Fraserview, one of my favourite courses to play on in terms of beauty and it cost less than $20!  Played a foursome with tall Steve (about 6′4.5″), Paul from South Africa/Australia, and Mike.  My first game of the year and I was pulling a lot of tee shots, but I still managed to get a couple of pars — took quite a few mulligans today though!  Overall I’m surprised I still remember how to swing the clubs as normally it takes me a couple of months before my golf game comes back.  I hadn’t played golf since around last October, and playing golf is not like riding a bike, you have to maintain your skills by going to the driving range during the winter (I didn’t), so I’m quite surprised that I had some great tee and approach shots; I even had one ten foot putt I made for par, though the greens conditions today were subpar.

GREAT exercise lugging the golf cart up the muddy hills today!  And I almost feel sorry for people who don’t golf, as they don’t know what they are missing.  It takes a lot of dedication and commitment — like anything else in life — but the rewards are great.  I get that peace of mind, all-is-right-with-the-world feeling when I golf, and sometimes I get into ‘the zone’, which a lot of people don’t get to experience sad to say.  No sport is better for your mind and for you to play when you’re retired and old.  If you don’t golf, it is never to late to learn!  I want to retire in Great Britain and golf three or four or more days per week.  St. Andrew’s is a public course and easily accessible and I had one of the best days of my adult life playing there and seeing the sea lions on the sand banks, where they filmed the famous running scene in the opening of Chariots of Fire, one of my favourite movies of all time.

Another reason golf is great is you get to meet people.  I’ve met some great people playing golf around the world.  It seems that quality people golf.  Enough rambling about golf, just get golfing.

Watched Precious, nominated for a Oscar for Best Picture 2009 and for two Best Actor awards, and it was a soberingly amazing movie with some mesmerizingly amazing acting.  After seeing the movie, you realize you shouldn’t have anything to complain about!

Today was a lazy day.  By the time I realize I should get in the gym, the gym was closing!  This is the month I need to step up my training…summer is on the horizon.

Watched The Hurt Locker — I can see why Americans would love this film, as it plays to the USA’s jingoistic attitude and assauges the guilt they would feel for invading Iraq by portraying the Iraqi people as completely lost without American help; that American bomb dismantlers have saved thousands of Iraqi lives (how ironic!) and that the insurgents are the only bad ones.  If it wins Best Picture at the Oscar Awards this year over Avatar I will be disappointed, but not surprised.  The movie doesn’t mention anything about the American bombings or what led up to this invasion, or why Americans invaded (oil), not even one mention or hint of Sadam Hussein; instead the movie hides behind the ‘war is a drug’ pithy yet meaningless catchphrase, making the viewer of this movie wear blinders so as not to see how jingoistic and pointless this movie is — I dare anyone who isn’t American to tell me why this movie is important.  At least Avatar was groundbreaking in its special effects and told an epic story of heroism and ended positively, like all great films should.

On Tuesday, I took this picture of a beautiful cottonwood tree, the reason I was sneezing yesterday, and proof that Spring is here:

Cottonwood by my car

Worked in Vancouver tonight.  After met up with Steve (later Jeff and his friend) and we went downtown for Italian food, then cruised Stanley Park:

Canada Place from Stanley Park

Put up a couple vids on Youtube of my students (with permission) tonight.  First is a duet with me and 8-year-old George (performed today) and the second video is a solo by 11-year-old Gina (performed yesterday).  Check them out:

Worked in Vancouver tonight; had coffee with the gang (Sean, Bob, Bernard, Cindy, Peter, Joe, Rocky et al) for an hour after; then went to the gym.

GYM: 25-minutes (that’s all I could get in before the gym closed) — chest, light biceps, and one set of twist abs to failure; max. set: bench 255 x 8 reps (4 full + 4 partials).  Did a couple set of pulldowns and a set of rear delt/rotator cuff exercises to warm-up.  Did 25 minutes of cardio immediately after weights:

CARDIO: 25-minutes (with 5 x one minute fast breaks, good sweat, good heartrate).

Sneezing time again!  It usually lasts for two or three weeks at the start of Spring then pretty much nothing until mid-summer for a week or two, then nothing for the rest of the year.  I hate having allergies.

Didn’t train today.  Worked today and — guess what? — another bad sleep last night.  I had only one night this past month where I slept a full seven hours without waking up inbetween!  I’ve been sleeping about about 5-6 hours a night in total, and in the summers when it is sunny that is all I need in order to function…but I need some sun, and soon!

SUBGOAL for this week: do my workouts at the gym in the morning, as usually I don’t get back from work in the evening in time before the gym closes.  Yesterday I looked in the mirror and looked pretty solid.  I would like a more muscle symmetry (I don’t need any more size) and of course be 240 pounds or less (and/or have the sixpack).

Watched Team Canada beat the USA in men’s hockey.  Worked for a little bit.  Didn’t get a chance to hit the gym.