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I had my first swim lesson at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre today. We learn to kick our feet. Oh, and breathe also. It's actually a lot harder than it looks. I've been told I should try to get my chin higher into the air before trying to breathe... I'm swallowing a lot of water. I think I should get ear plugs, nose plugs, and goggles. Basically prevent any ingress of water.
I also smell like chlorine. Everytime I sniff myself, I smell chlorine. I've already taken 2 showers. Maybe it's all the chlorine I've swallowed... the fumes are still getting into my nose or something. I definitely can't scrub anymore. The last shower and scrub left me feeling peeled.

I had my first swim lesson at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre today. We learn to kick our feet. Oh, and breathe also. It's actually a lot harder than it looks. I've been told I should try to get my chin higher into the air before trying to breathe... I'm swallowing a lot of water. I think I should get ear plugs, nose plugs, and goggles. Basically prevent any ingress of water.
I also smell like chlorine. Everytime I sniff myself, I smell chlorine. I've already taken 2 showers. Maybe it's all the chlorine I've swallowed... the fumes are still getting into my nose or something. I definitely can't scrub anymore. The last shower and scrub left me feeling peeled.

I hate eating ice cream ’cause I always get to the end of my dessert.

So over the Christmas break I decided to find out how much ice cream is enough.  I started with a litre.  I ate the whole litre.  However, I decided about 800 mL was probably enough.  Only, given my somewhat competitive nature, I needed to know I could eat a litre of ice cream.  So I did.

In future, ice cream will be dished out in 800 mL aliquots.

After finishing my litre (and being heckled both along the way and after by Danielle and Kate) I think the many grams of fat I consumed in that one sitting might need to be moderated by… say… some red wine?!

stole my rear wheel from my bike. You are not a nice person.

Turns out bike theft, or theft of any part of your bike that is easily removed is common in Oxford. Huh. Now I’m on the lookout for a new rear wheel. I mean second hand… a new one would cost more than I paid for the bike!

We’ve done a lot of travelling/sight-seeing since Christmas. I will try and get some photos up soon - but as expected don’t hold your breath!

I’ve got to posts this quick before I forget. Things tend to flow out of my head quickly these days…it may be because I’ve got too many things on my mind, or it could just be the rum.

Chances are it’s the rum, but in about 10 minutes I will have forgotten that I even made this post, so it’ll all be good.

The latest Simpsons that I saw tonight was probably the best I’ve seen in quite a while. If you get a chance, watch it, there’s a good chance it’ll tickle that bone that some call funny.

Then maybe somebody can tell me just how these ‘primaries’ work down in the States. What’s so important about Iowa or New Hampshire? Did they win some kinda lotto to decide who goes first? Or did they loose at a game of rock-paper-scissors? It’s seems to be all that American TV can talk about, curious Canadians want to know!

…actually…it doesn’t really matter…I’ve already forgotten what I was typing about. Seems my glass is empty, there should be rum in that there vessel!

“Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.”

Starcraft in real life … I hope the graphics for SC2 are only 1/2 as good..

Unrelated and slightly late:

Hope your holidays were full of family and equally full of rest. For my part, I spent a lot of time cocooning and watching a number of movies that have kind of built up around the TV area. Here’s some quickie reviews — if you don’t read anything else, at least read the comments on “Its a Wonderful Lifeâ€?, which I rewatched for the umpteenth time, but this time with fresh eyes (I’m thinking about child-appropriate movies)

Its a Wonderful Life – its a holiday classic, but I actually cringed watching it this year. Has anybody besides me noticed that George Bailey can be an awfully violent man? Even perfectly sober, he’s capable at lashing out in boardroom meetings; but under stress, he’s shouting at his wife and children and their teacher. And he drinks to excess under stress. And whats so nice about Bedford Falls anyway, I mean, its a quiet sleepy little town. I think that cities strive to be a little more like Pottersville, with action packed bars and a lively nightlife…

Miracle on 34th Street – Santa actually assaults the doctor! I mean, yes, its a key point in the movie, but are we telling people this is acceptable behaviour?

Bad Santa - Its an oldy and Santa again actually assaults people (and drinks and womanizes and so on).  But at least, the movie isn’t _intended_ for children.  Billy-Bob Thornton is perhaps one of the only actors I can imagine in the role, providing the perfect amount of “oh, ick, what a horrible man�.  Laugh out loud moment when Santa and his sidekick are in the boxing ring together.  It was a defining lowbrow moment for the movie.

Balls of Fury – Did this actually make it to the big screen? This is a spoof of many many kung-fu movies, but set to a Ping Pong theme. Christopher Walken does a funny job, but you’d better either love ping-pong or one of the actors, and have a good 90 minutes to waste before taking this one on.

Spiderman 3 – Epilepsy inducing action, and vomit-inducing cheesy script. If you’re a Marvel fan, you’ll like what they’ve done with the FX for Sandman (maybe not so much Venom). The movie is pretty much critic-proof anyway

The Simpsons – Also, pretty much critic proof. You can’t go too far wrong with the Simpsons when they’re consciously trying to write a “greatâ€? script — as opposed to the TV show where its on again/off again — fair seeing as they’ve been at it only forever. The movie is funny, with Homer at his best (and worst), but its not going to make any new fans. But wasn’t the advertising campaign over the summer great?

Sicko – Michael Moore does a great job pulling heartstrings. Lets be honest – he has an axe to grind and he doesn’t show the full story. But there’s still some truth under there — I’d hate to be a sick, middle-class person in the United States.

Coyote Ugly – This is an old old movie that I forced myself to watch because I wanted some “background researchâ€? for the reality show “The Next Coyote Uglyâ€? which auditions waitresses for Coyote Ugly franchises. The plot is.. uh… was there a plot? Not bad if you like a little dancing music though. Reminds me a little of “Save the Last Danceâ€?, soundtrack wise anyway. Oh, and the kid loved the movie. Probably because it makes him think of food. If you know what I mean.

Brokeback Mountain – see, I did watch at least one decent movie. A deserving Oscar winner that said a world of words without using a lot of words. Might push people’s boundaries (and minds) a little bit.

Ratatouille – actually, I watched at least two decent movies.  This was a great movie for foodies (or aspiring foodies), but is enjoyable for children of all ages.  Pixar has got another winner on its hands.  The animation, the characters, the little jokes that only adults could ever really hope to understand.  Ratatouille is one of the highest rated movies of all time on Metacritic’s rating, which is probably saying something good.

Watch anything interesting lately??