WLW: Sigh

I had much stress last week with all the parking drama. It's been resolved – thank fuck for that – but I was an absolute wreck by the time Saturday rolled around.

About.com tells me that yes, stress can make you gain weight, even if you're not being an emotional eater like I usually am. I didn't emo-eat this week, I was too upset, so I'm gonna guess it's cortisol or something hormone-y related.

Also, I'm trying to exercise more. And that always makes me heavier on the scale at first.

See, our derby coach gave us a not-too-subtle hint that we should be getting into shape for next season, because he's going to murder us or something if we don't. Okay, those weren't his exact words, but you can tell that was the real message if you read between the lines... Basically he doesn't want us getting all soft over the break. Which I get.

So after pondering what I can do to try and get into shape, I made the decision to drag my ass out of bed an hour earlier than usual to do this lovely little torture device called Roller Derby Workout.

Good Morning, Ginger! We're here to kill you!

It's all leg, core and ass work, and painful as fuck. And despite what it says on the cover there, they want you to wear skates while you do it because they talk to you like you're wearing skates. I'm not quite there yet, maybe in another week I'll get brave and release my skates from their prison. For now, my own body weight will have to suffice, because I can barely walk when I'm done.

On top of this, I'm also going to the indoor walking track right after work to power walk for an hour. I have to go to the track straight from work, otherwise I'll find some way to talk myself out of going if I'm home for any amount of time. I know me, I'm like that.

I'll be doing this Monday to Friday, then maybe just going regular walking on the weekends... or maybe I'll try actually jogging instead. Might be time to climb back on that horse.

Today was only my third day doing this, so I don't expect any results just yet. I've heard from a very reliable source (my sister) that it takes 21 days of doing something before it becomes a habit. So I'm going to try this for three weeks and see what I get.

It's funny – I was having a discussion with my coworker the other day about how I seem to do one or the other, eat right or exercise. It's rarely both. When I'm eating properly, I don't seem to exercise as much. When I'm exercising a lot, I tend to eat more since exercise makes me hungry. Surely there's a nice comfortable middle ground in there somewhere?

I'm up two pounds from last week, but according to the magic scale, I'm like down a pound of fat... is it possible to gain muscle in two days? I wouldn't think so, but maybe it is? I'm going to tell myself that's the case – it makes me feel better.

So I'm once again only down nine pounds, but now is not the time to get discouraged! I've got a dance performance and derby season coming up in the New Year, and I'm going to look fab for both! Yay!

To end this post on a high note, here's a photo I took earlier this week at dusk.

Purty.

Bend and Stretch,

Ginger.

Parking Wars

I don't know if this guy is just complete douchebag, or just completely ignorant about life in general. But I'm done with his fucking around, and I'm putting an end to it.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Let me explain.

I've been dealing with some bastard who decided that he didn't like the parking spot he was assigned to at our apartment building – he much preferred mine. His vehicle was a hard-topped jeep-looking thing, with what I'm guessing is his employer's name emblazoned across the side.

I have nothing against welding businesses, or any business in this town that help keep this economy going, but I don't know that many of the young guys that these companies hire are cocky fuckwads who think they know everything and had their mommies wipe their asses until they were 18. I know this as my sister had to deal with them where she worked prior to my niece coming into the world.

I can kind of understand that since my car was with the mechanic for four days and my spot was empty during that time, it would seem like the space is open to anyone. Especially to someone who just moved in.

However, my car was only gone four days, not four weeks! When I come home, I expect my spot to be empty so I can park there!

The first day he was in my spot, I left a note on his windshield, as is customary. I was not rude, I didn't even swear! I said please and thank you. I figured that would be the end of it.

Oh no. He was there again on Tuesday. And parked about four feet back from the end of the space. Clearly, he needed more room to get out of the space in the morning, cuz some crazy bitch had parked behind him! What nerve!

Motherfucker.

A note was left then saying 'Dude, not cool.' I parked elsewhere that night, thinking that perhaps that was his little revenge, and once he'd had it, he's stop being a prick.

Nope.

Wednesday I went to the property manager, explaining the situation. Obviously I was in the right, and he shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. She gave me a note with the company letterhead, saying very politely that he was parked in the wrong spot and that he would be shown the correct spot if he didn't know where it was. Failure to comply would lead to the towing of his vehicle.

I figure, okay, he's gotta move now. Once again, when I arrived home that day, he's in my spot, so I leave the note, parked behind him (with more than enough room for him to move around me, I might add) and was looking forward to coming home Thursday and having my spot all to myself again.

I was just thrilled to see my spot was in fact empty when I got home! He finally listened, hooray!

Nada. I am just not that fucking lucky.

That night, he boxed me in. Parked behind me as close as he could fucking get without touching my car. I had plans that night, errands to run that involved me driving somewhere, god-fucking-damn-it!!! Now, I know he's just doing it out of spite.

I am just livid at this point. I'm so mad I'm actually shaking. I could barely sleep that night, I couldn't clam down.

The next morning, Friday, I go back to my property manager. The lady tells me, alright, he's had fair warning. If he's in my spot again, I'm to call the on-call maintenance line and they'll get him towed. It's on them at that point, not me.

I get home that night, and my space is empty. I've pretty much lost hope at that point, and proceed to check every ten minutes to see if he boxes me in again.

Guess what?!!? He totally did!!! Shocker.

So I called the maintenance line. They said someone would get back to me right away. My totally lacking any faith in humanity at this point, didn't figure that would happen. Besides, I had to go take photos of the Santa Claus parade, then go get drunk with friends. So I did. And they didn't, call me that is.

And when I stumbled home drunk around midnight, his jeep thing was still there. He's actually pretty lucky I didn't have any eggs in the house at the moment, 'cause believe me, I was sorely fucking tempted.

And now it's Saturday, having woken up after a horrific dream and slightly hungover. I go check outside one last time.

He's still fucking there.

I think I called the maintenance line about three times to try and light a fire under their asses. I'm actually crying at this point because I'm so fucking frustrated and tired that I don't know what to do anymore. I'm starting to think I'll have to have him towed at my own expense, which could lead to all sorts of problems for as long as he/she/they are here.

Around noon, after I'd calmed down some, I went to check one more time before calling the line again. To my shock and wonder, he wasn't parked behind me anymore.

He must have just gone to do Saturday errands or something – if I leave, he'll just take the spot again. Which depressed me even more. However, the kitties needed kitty litter, so I had to go.

Imagine my sheer fucking elation that when I got downstairs, the fucking bastard was actually parked in his own spot on the other side of the building.

It's a holy fucking miracle!!!

I don't actually know what made him finally go over there, but I like to think that a maintenance guy whet to his apartment to serve him with a towing notice, and that prompted him to get the fuck out of my spot.

I was so relieved, I almost started crying again.

I know this probably sounds ridiculous, but it was really starting to feel like harassment. I was so paranoid about it that I couldn't sleep at night. I suppose I could have found out which apartment was his, and gone and confronted him myself, but I didn't know if he was some psychopath who would have gone and smashed my windshield in or something.

I really hate feeling like a doormat.

Sigh.

But it's over now, although that won't stop me from being paranoid for the next few weeks, half expecting to turn the corner and see that fucking truck in my spot once again.

Sleeping With One Eye Open,

Ginger.

WLW: finally....

I have been good as gold this week with my eating.

Well, maybe not totally... I did have some Werther's chocolate, but that's it. I went out for lunch with a friend and had a salad instead of a burger and fries, and had soup when I went with my sister. I didn't buy chips or any other crap.

This may have something to do with the fact that my car was in the shop.

See, we got a massive dump of snow on Nov. 17, the same day my car decided not to start. The lack of a vehicle, combined with the unpleasant weather, limited my ability to just take off to the store to find myself some snackies. If I was that motivated I suppose I could have walked, but it was cold out and I didn't wanna.

Like this, but times a billion.

I had no choice but to eat what I had in the house for most of the week, so I think that helped. My sister was kind enough to take my grocery shopping so I could stock up on vegetables, which is where I got the chocolate.

I did have one bad meal, though. Which is likely a contributing factor to this week's number. See, I have that Do Not Eat list, and it's full of mostly carby-starchy stuff, such as pasta.

Well, when I finally got my car back, I celebrated by going to the store to find something different for dinner – the thought of eating salad and fish/chicken again made me want to barf. I knew I was on track for a loss this week from eating that salad and fish, but I just needed something else.

So after wandering around aimlessly for like 20 minutes; going up and down the frozen pizza aisles, saying 'no' to that; considering a different meat, like steak or pork; wondering just how bad it would it be if I just three bags of chips and called it a day.

Then, after my third trip down Dairy Lane, I stopped at the end after spying the so-called fresh pasta. Now, pasta is on the Do Not Eat list, as I've mentioned before, but I spied a package of whole grain tortellini – WHole Grain!! Sure I could eat that! Whole grains are better than multi grains, right?

Wrong. So very very wrong.

I felt like shit later that night and the whole next day. Whole grain pasta is just as evil as regular pasta. Lesson learned.

So after all that, I stepped on the scale this morning and I was actually down! Holy shitballs, it's a miracle!!

It was only a pound, but it's something, right? Better than yet another stagnant week!

So I'm back to being down 11 lbs, which is a good step in the right direction.

Only, what? 14 more to go by New Year's?

Yikes.

I think I might switch up that goal a bit – see, my dance troupe is doing a performance in March, and I'd like to be just a bit more on the svelte side than the fat ass side by then, so maybe we'll make the goal be 25-30 down by then? Give me a little more time so I won't get quite so depressed come New Year's Eve.

Sound like a plan, man?

Chicken and Salad,

Ginger.

Post-election day

So it's done. Another election, another ballot cast.

Where I'm at in FSJ, we have a new Mayor and two new councillors (four were re-elected), and a voter turnout of approximately 21%.

That is appalling.

I don't know if it's just that people really don't give a shit who makes the decisions for them, or they're just too fucking lazy to make the trek down to the voting station – whatever their reason, beyond being in a coma on life support, it's unacceptable.

I get that people have other responsibilities – many people up here work in camp, so when you're stuck in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, it's a little difficult to get into town.

But this is why there is advanced voting. I know a lot of people who participated in that. But how do we light a fire under the ass of the rest of the population?

I also heard from a few people that they didn't feel informed enough to make a decision. Do you know whose fault that is? It's yours, for not getting yourself informed. It's like everyone wants all the pertinent info served up to them on a silver platter before they make a decision. You are all very capable people, you can be a little proactive and find out what the candidates all believe if you just opened your eyes and paid attention. Read the local websites and newspapers, they all had info on all the candidates. So that excuse really doesn't hold water.

Maybe we need to be like Australia and make voting mandatory. If you don't vote in any election, you get fined. Or maybe have it be something you can claim on your tax return? I check the little box saying 'Yes, I Voted This Year' and the government adds five bucks to your refund.

It's not much, but Hell, five bucks is five bucks.

Into the beer fund you go!

Or, as I've heard bandied about in the past, maybe we need to step into the 21st Century and do online voting. If I can file my taxes and fill out the census form online, surely to jeebus I should be able to securely cast my vote in any election.

I recently read an article saying that maybe we need to pre-register high school students to vote before they turn 18. I think it should go a step further, and introduce election conduct into the curriculum. Make it part of CAPP class (do they still even have that anymore?), like the mandatory work experience they have to do (they still have to do that, right?).

It could even be a mandatory elective. Kids would learn why their vote really does count (and it really does – in Radium Hot Springs, a councillior beat out her competition by one vote, for serious!), and how different the outcome of an election would be effected if 20, 50, 75 and 100% of the population voted. Hold mock-elections where only a certain number of kids would be allowed to vote, and see the results before increasing the number of participants. If they could actually see that in front of them, the lesson might stick as they get older.

Hook 'em while they're young, like the tobacco industry.

Ahh, sweet, sweet voting.... goes down smooth.

Our own election in FSJ could have had a very different outcome if all 12,000+ registered voters actually came out. There was only a 60 vote difference between the top two mayoral candidates! We could have a different mayor now if more people voted. Or the winning one would have won by a landslide (and contrary to what I saw a few people posting online last night, she did not win be a landslide – maybe compared to the third mayoral candidate, but not compared to the second candidate. Just sayin').

Maybe I just need to stop getting my hopes up that the population is going to step up and do their civic duty. I'd be less disappointed and could walk around saying 'I told you so, you fuckwads!'

As I once saw on a t-shirt in NYC: Fuck you, you fucking fucks!

But the thing is, those who don't vote really have no right to complain about how the city is being run for the next three years. I know they will complain, especially with winter being upon us and EVERYONE loves to bitch and moan about how long it takes to get the streets plowed. What we need is for everyone to wear a little spring-loaded box with a boxing glove inside that is triggered to release whenever people who didn't vote start whining about how the city is being run. Every time you bitch, you get punched in the face.

That's a pretty feasible deterrent, right?

This is our last election for awhile, the next one being the provincial one in 2013. Maybe a nice little year-and-a-half break from doing anything related to voting will be good for those suffering from voter fatigue.

We can only hope, world. We can only hope.

Ballots and Bitching,

Ginger.

WLW: Going Greek

I have made a fantastic discovery! Fantastic in my mind, anyway.

A few weeks ago, a co-worker and I discussed yogurt. Specifically, greek yogurt, which she had recently tried and absolutely loved. Mixed with fruit, she said, was a most satisfying breakfast.

I'd actually forgotten about that conversation until I was wandering around the grocery store in a vain attempt to find something interesting to eat. I was in the yogurt section, about to grab my usual lemon flavoured, low-fat, no-sugar brand, when I spotted some little tubs of the aforementioned greek yogurt.

Now, I'd been eating the now-fat, no-sugar yogurt mostly due to the low calorie count of the product. Which is kind of ridonkulous when I've been trying to get away from over-processed food by avoiding calorie-wise anything. So why the hell was I still eating the fake yogurt when I've been eating (reasonable portions of) real salad dressing, mayo, sour cream and everything else?

Upon perusing the nutrition labels, I found that the greek yogurt has a few less calories per serving than the full fat, full sugar yogurt, and far more protein as well. Alright, I said, I'll give it a shot. I picked out the strawberry kind – stick with a familiar flavour, I figured – got some bananas and strawberries (my yogurt staples) and toddled off home to await the morn.

Holy shitballs, it was amazing.

Soooooo yummy....

It's thick and creamy, the strawberry takes away the tartness, and it had more protein than my usual bacon and eggs – and less grease.

Wow, I just wrote a lot about yogurt....

I wish I could tell you I posted a loss today. In fact, as of Sunday I was all set to do so. I was down from what I'd been the past few weeks, and was looking forward to actually writing it this week.

But no. My weight had other ideas.

It's my own fault, really. I had the absolute shittiest day at work yesterday, awesome yogurt or no, and decided that I just wantedcheese and crackers for dinner. A lot of cheese and crackers.

mmmmm, cheese.

The logic behind it was 'surely having cheeseand crackers for dinner is better than going and getting a cheeseburger and poutine, right?' Because I really wanted a fucking cheeseburger and poutine, you have no idea.

So for the fourth week in a row (holy fuck!??!) I sit at 225 lbs. I'm getting seriously annoyed now.

I thought I did alright this last week – I didn't even drink at a derby get-together just because I wanted to post a loss! Okay, I had a couple Mexican Snickerdoodles and bread, but I've had worse than that with still posting a loss! Not recently, obviously, but it has happened. Plus! I've started doing step and stuff! Doesn't that count for anything?!!?

Rawr, says I. Rawr.

Maybe I should start doing the weekly weigh in on Mondays, and then just post that number here on Wednesdays?

Anyhoo, off to eat a nice salad and some chicken for dinner... 'cause I'm good like that.

Peace and Love,

Ginger

WLW: That First Step

I'm really going to hate that blonde bitch in the step aerobics DVD. I can already tell. She's far too peppy for someone that's clearly trying to kill me.

My sister and I started our step aerobics journey last night, in case you couldn't tell. We follow a DVD down in her basement, which the cat and dog watch and most likely mock us in cat- and dog-speak.

You would think that as a dancer, I'd pick up on this fairly quickly. I do it all the time at dance workshops and whatnot, doing step should be a breeze!

Oh, hell no.

Steps are evil, just look at it!

I nearly fell off the step at least three times... this would be why the blonde lady said to look down at the step once in a while. I couldn't coordinate my right foot with my left, and I'm pretty sure I did most of the moves backwards.

But I got my heart rate up, which was the whole point, I guess.

So we're going to do this twice a week for a while and see how it goes. My hope is 'very well.'

After all that exercise from Sk8fest this weekend, plus all the not-eating from being sick the week before, that I would be down something this week. Oh no. I am exactly what I was a week ago. Still only down 10 pounds. Still fuming at the scale.

At least I know I can maintain.

But enough of this bullshit. Time to throw myself back on the wagon and stop fucking around. I know I say that every week, but I really mean it this time! Really!

It should be a lot easier now, what with my weekend getaways all done for a few months. I'm so sick of restaurant food, even though I had some pretty good restaurant food in PG, I still don't want to eat it for three meals a day.

So, the goals are to eat at home so I can control what I eat and how it's made, and to continue with step, bellydance and do some laps at the walking track.

Sounds good to me.

Step and step,

Ginger.

Sk8Fest!

Holy god, am I ever sore...

I haven't been in a bout since August, and haven't done much skating since then either. So after Sk8fest this weekend, I am hurting today.

It's good pain, though – good make-me-walk-all-stiff-at-work-and-make-people-stare-at-me-funny pain.

Let me start with saying I'm actually pretty impressed with the Roll A Dome. Having any sort of year-round skating facility would be a dream come true for my league, even one that's been around so long that my own mother used to skate there when she was a child. That was the most bizarre thing for me – knowing I was roller skating where mom used to roller skate. It's kinda meta.

Plus, you know, the racks of the roller skate equivalent of bowling shoes. I like weird shit like that.

Brown and orange, totally retro.

But I actually liked the floor. It's stickier than the polished concrete I'm used to, but I felt like I could get more speed and not go sliding into the wall or on my face if I did. So that was kinda cool.

The bootcamp was a good length, I thought. Especially since I was still on the tail end of that head cold and probably would have passed out in a corner if it had been any longer. It's hard to breathe through your mouth when you're biting down on a big chunk of plastic.

Team Canada skaters Luludemon and EightMean Wheeler were awesome teachers in the ways of derby. They made a very excellent point when it came to crossovers – I clearly have not been doing them in an efficient manner, which is why my one leg gets so tired. I kinda want to do the endurance skate again and try doing my crossovers the way lulu showed us. Both legs need to work together. This is key!

The bout later that evening saw skaters from Energetic City Roller Derby (duh.), Oil City Derby Girls, Lake City Derby Girls, Gold Pain City Derby Girls and our wonderful hosts, the Rated PG Rollergirls. I think that's all the leagues that were there, anyway. Someone tell me if I missed any, please?

RPGRG used the event to raise money for cancer research, after losing one of their skaters to colon cancer back in the summer. The white team won the right to wear Canadian Cancer Society underpants during the game, which I think was pretty cool. Any time we can give back like this is time well spent.

As a wise man once said, kick cancer in the face with a skate!

The bout was super fun,and super close right up to about the last few jams. There was a nice mix of newbies and experienced players and, at least on the white team, we all got pretty equal playing time. I throughly enjoyed being on lines with several different girls with different skill levels. I mean really, if I can't learn anything from the more experienced players, then what's the point? I even got to be on the first line, lucky me.

Oh! And I finally got to sit in the penalty box! Not once, but twice! Two majors! Heeeee! My mom called me a goon.

Like I said, I like weird shit.

The final score after it was all said and done was 133-173, which made for a pretty awesome game. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

ECRDA represents!

After taking a few trips with my derbies, I've come to a few conclusions about roller derby road trips.

1. Be prepared to spend money on stuff you probably don't need, especially of you're going to a city larger than your own that has a real mall.

2. Always make sure you have cash to get swag at the bout. Not every venue will have an ATM and you will want a t-shirt.

3. If you're sharing a hotel room with four girls that all snore, bring earplugs and try to fall asleep first. Heaven help the girl that falls asleep last.

4. You will eat fewer meals than you normally would, so bring some snacks. And water. For love of god, don't get dehydrated!

5. You will increase your Facebook friends list be at least a few names afterwards. And that's cool beans.

So that's all I got to say about that. I leave you with the greatest thing you will ever watch... roller derby ponies!!!!!

Jams and Blocks,

Ginger.

WLW: And it finally catches up...

I knew I jinxed myself last week. I just fucking knew it.

A lovely sinus cold has creeped its way into my face, turning my nose into a faucet and my throat to sandpaper. This is totally not cool, since I'm going to PG on Friday and I want to actually enjoy myself and learn something at Sk8fest.

A coworker had the same cold a couple weeks ago, and I think she got over it in, something like, three days? Maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part, since I have no intention of bailing on Sk8fest, but I still want to have the energy to participate in both the boot camp and the bout.

Which is why I'm going to drink my NeoCitran like a good girl and get lots of sleep between now and the time I leave. And if I'm still not feeling up to snuff, I'll just ingest a lot of daytime cold medicine... hell, it might help with my skating!

As of this morning, I'm still sitting at 225lbs, which is bizzare since I've barely eaten anything since Saturday. When I feel like crap, I only want to eat my comfort foods. But since I've taken myself off of mushroom rice (oh how I miss you!), I'm relying on soup to fill that void. So between all the water and soup, you'd think I'd be down SOMETHING! But no, scale is being a total bitch today.

Maybe it's due to the nutritional black hole I've been consuming:

Pictured: A Nutritional Black Hole

This shit has all the nutritional value of a lego block, but it's easy on my stomach, which hasn't been to happy lately, and it's nice to my throat. So I eat it.

My sister and I were going to start doing step aerobics yesterday, but that kinda fell by the wayside as we were both feeling like hammered shit. Hopefully I'm feeling better tomorrow and she's feeling better tomorrow so we can get started.

So I'm gonna go boil some more water and choke down that vile NeoCitran and get this cold out of my system. Wish me luck!

Kleenex and Cold Medicine,

Ginger.