Outside the Box - Canuck Style
After a rainy six hours in the car on the way to Calgary, we were all pleased to arrive at our little hacienda on the northern side of the Montana border. I rode with Audrey and Lisa while Steve and Allison followed a few hours later since Al was just returning from a three week stint in Tucson. Note: trust your technology! TomTom's are reliable, although you have to get used to them! I don't think one of these handy little devices would have helped me navigate the deserts of Iraq, but the streets of Calgary are a bit less confusing and stressful when you have the TomTom chick telling you "Woohoo! You've reached your destination! Now get out of the car!" I had to resort to the old paper-based navigation via map on my second tour around the city, which still ended up being quite a round-about adventure. But it's all good. More on this later.
I honestly can't remember when I didn't have an opportunity to distract myself with a myriad of projects or responsibilities...I've quite literally sat on my ass for more than 24 hours and did very little if anything productive. So far, I have: rode in a car as a quite capable back seat driver, watched a few movies filled with violence and difficult situations, surfed the Net for nothing in particular and found plenty of it, listened to some favorite tunes I haven't heard in a while, and drank nearly a whole bottle of rum. Viva la Cuba! It's not possible to buy Havana Club on our side of the border, but our Canadian friends don't have the same trade restrictions as we do, so it's time to take advantage of a fine bottle of rum from the island of Castro and Hemingway. No wonder he (Hemingway) died from liver disease. So, poisoning my liver and making a significant dent in this comfy white leather couch...I have exercised a high degree of sloth.
Friday night Audrey, Lisa and I had some dinner at a really nice place called NOtaBLE. Check it out if you're ever in the vicinity. Good chow and nice atmosphere. We decided to see if we could find CrossFit Calgary since Audrey and Allison would be headed there in the morning. Uhhh...wow. What a journey...the TomTom was fun, but wholly unreliable. But it did show us where we were. Unfortunately, the road we were on was not in the TomTom's database! With a bit of creative navigation, we found the facility. It's almost as if the city was daring us to stop at one of the MANY liquor stores scattered about. Yowza...the prices are high but these Canucks apparently like the convenience of a liquor store on nearly every block. Ain't complainin'...jus' sayin'. We arrived back at the condo and got on the phone with Steve and Allison to guide them to our location...thanks to Google Maps and Cellular One!
Today, I felt as though I was back in a HMMWV traveling the countryside of Iraq, minus the constant threat of getting blown up by IED's, vehicle-sized potholes ready to swallow you up, and sweltering under 50 pounds of body armor in 120 degree heat. OK, it was nothing like being in Iraq, but I did have fun directing Steve on our journey, much the way I directed our convoys during my tour in the sandbox. We looked for Cowtown CrossFit, but didn't have an accurate address, and the other boxes were too far away, so we headed for CrossFit Ramsay for a team workout.
We arrived plenty early and had a good chat with Chris, one of the trainers. And since we had our workout gear with us, the trip resulted in my day not being entirely sloven in nature! The workout was quite welcome...not just because we were sick of sitting in the car, but because this was truly a great box. Nice, hard-working people, knowledgeable trainers and a heavy metcon to cleanse the laziness away. Oh yeah, did I mention? The bar is open!
Although we didn't find the sports bar we wanted so Steve could catch his game on TV, we had a good lunch of Greek fast-food (yeah, I know) and headed back to the condo. I reclaimed my spot on the south end of the couch and have hardly moved since...'cept for the occasional shuffle to the counter for a refill or trip to the fridge for a handful of chow.
Other highlights: My two hour nap between Lethbridge and Calgary. Finding a Canadian candy bar called "EAT MORE", (no joke). Steve setting off the fire alarm with what I am sure turned out to be a scrumptious meal for his beautiful bride. Burpees, ball slams, snatches and walking lunges.
Oh, and it wasn't just me taking advantage of the chance to relax!
I honestly can't remember when I didn't have an opportunity to distract myself with a myriad of projects or responsibilities...I've quite literally sat on my ass for more than 24 hours and did very little if anything productive. So far, I have: rode in a car as a quite capable back seat driver, watched a few movies filled with violence and difficult situations, surfed the Net for nothing in particular and found plenty of it, listened to some favorite tunes I haven't heard in a while, and drank nearly a whole bottle of rum. Viva la Cuba! It's not possible to buy Havana Club on our side of the border, but our Canadian friends don't have the same trade restrictions as we do, so it's time to take advantage of a fine bottle of rum from the island of Castro and Hemingway. No wonder he (Hemingway) died from liver disease. So, poisoning my liver and making a significant dent in this comfy white leather couch...I have exercised a high degree of sloth.
Friday night Audrey, Lisa and I had some dinner at a really nice place called NOtaBLE. Check it out if you're ever in the vicinity. Good chow and nice atmosphere. We decided to see if we could find CrossFit Calgary since Audrey and Allison would be headed there in the morning. Uhhh...wow. What a journey...the TomTom was fun, but wholly unreliable. But it did show us where we were. Unfortunately, the road we were on was not in the TomTom's database! With a bit of creative navigation, we found the facility. It's almost as if the city was daring us to stop at one of the MANY liquor stores scattered about. Yowza...the prices are high but these Canucks apparently like the convenience of a liquor store on nearly every block. Ain't complainin'...jus' sayin'. We arrived back at the condo and got on the phone with Steve and Allison to guide them to our location...thanks to Google Maps and Cellular One!
Today, I felt as though I was back in a HMMWV traveling the countryside of Iraq, minus the constant threat of getting blown up by IED's, vehicle-sized potholes ready to swallow you up, and sweltering under 50 pounds of body armor in 120 degree heat. OK, it was nothing like being in Iraq, but I did have fun directing Steve on our journey, much the way I directed our convoys during my tour in the sandbox. We looked for Cowtown CrossFit, but didn't have an accurate address, and the other boxes were too far away, so we headed for CrossFit Ramsay for a team workout.
We arrived plenty early and had a good chat with Chris, one of the trainers. And since we had our workout gear with us, the trip resulted in my day not being entirely sloven in nature! The workout was quite welcome...not just because we were sick of sitting in the car, but because this was truly a great box. Nice, hard-working people, knowledgeable trainers and a heavy metcon to cleanse the laziness away. Oh yeah, did I mention? The bar is open!
Although we didn't find the sports bar we wanted so Steve could catch his game on TV, we had a good lunch of Greek fast-food (yeah, I know) and headed back to the condo. I reclaimed my spot on the south end of the couch and have hardly moved since...'cept for the occasional shuffle to the counter for a refill or trip to the fridge for a handful of chow.
Other highlights: My two hour nap between Lethbridge and Calgary. Finding a Canadian candy bar called "EAT MORE", (no joke). Steve setting off the fire alarm with what I am sure turned out to be a scrumptious meal for his beautiful bride. Burpees, ball slams, snatches and walking lunges.
Oh, and it wasn't just me taking advantage of the chance to relax!
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