Start of summer

It sucks getting older .. Why?  Because injuries take longer to heal.  In the last few months, I had a nagging rotator cuff strain that I had been trying to fix with strength training.  I've had the same injury before and strength training helped fix it.  But this time, it wasn't as effective as it was in the past so I had to seek alternate treatment.  I guess it also didn't help that I had strained it even more by playing in a competitive tournament when I should have been resting.  Anyway, I went to see an acupuncturist and he told me to stop playing for a few months to allow myself to heal.  I've had to put all sports on hold .. No tennis, no badminton, no golf, and no pole dancing.  Anything that requires arm strength was out of the question.  I was bummed .. I'm still bummed.

But I'm determined to get the most out of the summer.

I went hiking last weekend in Gatineau Park with some friends.  It was my first time there and it was a gorgeous day to go.  I also went to Westboro beach to take photos for my photography assignment.  One of the category of shots that was required for the assignment was Freeze Action.  Usually I'm a freeze action pro due to all of the badminton photos I've taken over the years but for the assignment I was stumped.  Luckily, my coworkers gave me some good ideas on where in the city I could look for interesting things to shoot.  It also allowed me to discover parts of the city I didn't know about.

In two weeks, I'm going skydiving with my coworkers.  It wasn't something I wanted to do or even thought about, but one day my team brought it up and I thought .. Hmm, why not?  When am I going to have the opportunity to do this?  So I signed up.  It's a tandem jump so I won't be doing this alone .. I'll be strapped to an experienced jumper.  It's scary and exciting at the same time. 

Since I can't participate in any sports, I will focus on yoga for next two months.  It will help the mind, body, and soul.  Lately, my mood has been up and down .. I've been reactionary to things I've heard or been told.  It has caused me a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety that my physical health has been affected in a way.  I need to re-centre and re-balance myself .. It took years for wounds of the heart to heal.  When new wounds are created, I have to take care of myself sooner .. 

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we have some catching up to do!

geezus .. has it been this long since i updated my blog?  things have been pretty neutral .. i guess.  let's see .. 

i'm back in school again .. but this time, i'm taking a photography course.  i've been taking photos for a number of years now and i guess i just figure taking a course is way easier than reading a book on photography.  i'll be the first to admit, i can't learn from books alone.  i need to interact, ask questions, and get some kind of feedback (ie. am i doing this right?).  so taking a class is way more helpful to me than buying a bunch of books that i probably wouldn't read.

the course is okay .. just okay.  many students in the class are first time SLR camera users.  most had bought their first DSLR and were learning how to use it.  i'm still using my old XSi from 8 years ago.  i may not have the latest and greatest camera but my pictures are still pretty awesome, in my opinion.  it's not the camera that does the work .. it's the person taking the picture.

right now, i'm busy trying to finish up my final photography assignment that is due at the end of the month.  sigh .. i've got the majority of the shots i want but i'm a bit of a perfectionist so i'm hoping to get some better shots next weekend when i hit the gatineau hills with some friends.

work has been busy but fun.  love my job but also love playing hard.  unfortunately, playing hard had to take a back seat for the summer.  i sustained a rotator cuff injury that has kept me off the courts for the last few months.  i hit the gym to try and strengthen it but it didn't help.  i guess it also didn't help that i was still playing in an advanced league.  :P  i went to see an accupuncturist today and got my first treatment.  my accupuncturist asked me to stop playing for a few months while the muscle heals.  it was kind of funny the way the doctor asked .. he said "you are so young, you will have many years left to play .. you're not even half my age!"  .. i didn't have the heart to tell the man that i was a lot older than he thought.

i don't know if there are plans to return to Toronto any time soon .. i'm kind of enjoying my independence here in Ottawa.  i've learned a lot being on my own and not having anyone to rely on.  it doesn't get lonely because i have a good balance of spending time with a few close friends and being by myself.  sometimes all i want is to enjoy the silence.  it also forces me to go out and find stuff to do .. i've had the opportunity to try a lot of things like muay thai boxing, ju jitsu, badminton, wine tasting, etc .. next on the list .. pole dancing!  i know .. me!  on a pole!  .. dancing!  hahaha .. one of my friends wants to try it so why not?  :)

no worries, i'm not switching careers .. nor is this a mid life crisis.  it's just going outside the box .. something we all should do every once in a while.

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