Desert Tusk Blog

See Jen run! Run, Jen, run!

2012-08-15T04:20:00.002-07:00

I used the treadmill at the gym for the first time today and instead of feeling like a gerbil running on a wheel, I felt fantastic. So now of course the treadmill is my new favourite thing. It's this superduper computerized contraption that tells you how fast you're going and how far you've gone and how many calories you're burning and how your investments are doing. Really, it is a technological marvel. I don't know why I didn't get on the treadmill track sooner.

See, I took up running in September, but only because I was seething with anxiety over my job hunt and needed to do something with all that energy. Now, I had always hated the thought of running - all that huffing and puffing and sweating, ick! - and the few times I'd started running, I'd stopped just as quickly because it made me feel so uncomfortable and out of shape. Yes, stopping was the logical thing to do in that case, wasn't it? Kind of like putting off taking my driving test because it will be years before they'll let me drive on the 400-series of highways.

Anyway, this time around, I decided to give it a serious try and not give up after a week. I started out with short sprints, setting realistic, obtainable goals for myself. Life is all about setting realistic goals, I'm finding. So on my first runs, in the relative seclusion and privacy of Mount Pleasant Cemetery, where pretty much everybody is dead except for the runners and the baby-joggers and the rollerbladers, I'd run six tombstones, or three mausoleums. Then I was running the lengths of plots, and up hills and through dales and then I finally was brave enough to run in more public places, like the streets. So I started measuring my progress in half blocks and blocks on long unbroken streets like Alcorn Avenue and Farnham. And then, just as I started counting my runs in kilometers, it got wicked cold and icy and miserable and I was tired after a long day's libraianing and I took up swimming (indoors) instead.

Well, the other night, there was a thaw and it was just beautiful outside and I was feeling restless and also painfully aware that my work clothes, which were too loose only a month ago, were uncomfortably tight, so I threw on some jogging pants and a sweat shirt and my running shoes and I ran up a steep hill to the Sir Winston Churchill Resevoir. And then I ran around the reservoir, on St Clair and then down Spadina Road, all the way to Casa Loma - without stopping. And seriously, when I got to Casa Loma, I thought I was going to die or at least throw up and I was sweaty and dishevelled and out of breath. But in two minutes I had my breath back and I felt great.

And I continued to feel great for the next 24 hours. Not only that, but I wanted more. I'm telling you, this running thing, it's like smack. No wonder I see all these people running in the ice and snow at five in the morning with their little reflective-tape bum-flaps and their tights and their water bottles. So this morning I got to work early, just so I could run on the treadmill. Fortunately, today I happened to be working the evening shift so by "early" I mean, I got to work at 10.30AM.

Anyway, so now I'm this big running freak. Who knew?

True Christmas Confessions

2012-08-14T02:13:00.000-07:00

The Boston Pops arrangement of Sleigh Ride is, like, one of at my absolute favourite Christmas songs. That cracking whip? Classic. And the trumpet/horse at the end - could that be any more perfect?

I have never tasted a figgy pudding, nor any kind of nog, egg or otherwise. And I'm not about to start.

When I was little, about four or five years old, I could sing Jingle Bells, in both official languages (in French, it's Vive le Vent). But in the English version, I didn't get the line, "Bells on Bobtail ring." I heard and therefore sang, "Bells on Cocktail ring". I didn't know from bobtails, but cocktails? No problem! Give me another Shirley Temple and make it a double this time.

Meli-melo

2012-07-12T06:35:00.002-07:00

This is a bit of a catchall post, thus the multiple categories.

Things are hotting up at work and the upshot of it all is that I have been asked if I want to assume more responsibilities along with more pay. This didn't come quite out of the blue, but it happened very suddenly, i.e. on Friday morning right before lunch. Of course I said yes. Duh. So that's kind of exciting. Onward and upward and all that.

Last night Phil and I went to the Spit to look at the coyotes. Yes, there are coyotes in Toronto, and yes we saw them. We had to wait almost two hours though. In fact, we had to decided to leave the spit when we saw them - a family of them, about six in all, three running along the road ahead of us. It was past twilight and quite dark by this time, so they were a bit hard to make out. They look like medium-sized dogs. They have light-coloured fur that's luminous in the dark, and bushy tails. They were not afraid of us - one sat down about ten feet away from us and watched us as we stood there on the road watching them. It's a shame it was so dark - I would have loved to take pictures, but the flash would have scared them for sure.

We also heard a Northern Hawk Owl. It has a ululating call that sounds like a high-pitched, panicked warbling "hoohoohoohoohoohooo!" We have often heard them when we go camping up north, but last year there was a dip in the northern rodent populations and a lot of northern owls have come south looking for food, so that's my guess as to why this one was so far out of its range.

Shalonda Brown - Resume

2012-02-24T09:51:00.005-08:00

Aloha! I happen to be one of many crew organizers of FoxyStilezArticles, a famous web writing collective. We craft in Spanish and English for world-wide online visitors, and are on the market for article building for your web site. Below you may find my CV, and you should be able to read other crew organizers and team members' resumes on this internet site. At the end of my CV, you're going to see some samples of our posted posts. For employment inquiries, you should email us with the form on this webpage and we shall react as soon as feasible.

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FoxyStilezArticles, Toronto Canada

1998 - Present

Team Manager

In charge of organizing a international staff of authors to meet a demanding set of output aims.

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Kenya: "Save Our Beloved Country"

2012-02-24T09:51:00.002-08:00

This photo is from Mental Acrobatics. I don't know if the media is still operating under a blackout, but at least they're working together now to articulate what must be every Kenyan's collective wish: "Save Our Beloved Country." Read an amazing piece of citizen journalism from Mental Acrobatics, who braved the empty, boarded up streets to document the planned rally by Odinga supporters in Nairobi yesterday.

Marcel Clark - Resume

2012-02-23T04:41:00.002-08:00

Howdy! I happen to be one of many team leaders of FoxyStilezArticles, a global web content writing group. We post in Spanish and English for global web readers, and are at hand for written content generation for your blog. Below you can find my curriculum vitae, and you may be able to read other team leaders and writers' resumes on this website. At the bottom of my curriculum vitae, you're going to look at some illustrations of our exhibited articles. For work requests, you should mail us with the contactform on this webpage and one of us will answer as soon as can be.

CV

Marcel Clark

2704 Boston Street

New Jersey Trenton

marcel_1987@gmail.com

Summary

Graduated With Honors from The University Of Toronto

10 years of writing experience (especially for Internet readers)

Great competency in English and Spanish

Dedicated, staff-oriented individual with a knack for particulars

Business Experience

FoxyStilezArticles, Paris France

2001 - Present

Group Senior Officer

Answerable for setting up a global staff of authors to meet a demanding set of development aims.

- Set records for production, improving output by 12% throughout the world

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Proficient in English and Spanish

Innovative competence with a full range of office computer software

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WSJ on South-South Investment

2012-02-23T04:40:00.002-08:00

The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel on South-South investment:

(via Africa Unchained)

Not Soon Enough

2011-12-10T07:15:00.005-08:00

Dan Rather, of Rathergate fame, will be stepping down from "CBS Evening News". But not until March.

Veteran newsman Dan Rather announced Tuesday that he would step down as anchor of "CBS Evening News" in March, the 24th anniversary of his taking over the job from Walter Cronkite.

The move comes just months after Rather, 73, was taken to task for going to air with a controversial "60 Minutes II" story that questioned President Bush's service in the National Guard, a piece that turned out to be based on allegedly forged documents.

Rather said he would continue to work for CBS News as a correspondent for both editions of "60 Minutes."

"I have always been and remain a 'hard news' investigative reporter at heart," he said. "I now look forward to pouring my heart into that kind of reporting full time."

For some reason Dan, I don't have much confidence in your "investigative" abilities. Maybe you should write fiction instead. You know what fiction is, right Dan? It's basically what you do already, but admitting it's fake.

Phoenix Water Problems

2011-12-10T07:15:00.003-08:00

I was at the gym this morning. After I had finished working out I went to take a shower, only to find the showers closed off. This is why.

Phoenix's 1.4 million residents, as well as residents in the western half of Paradise Valley, were encouraged Tuesday to boil their tap water until at least noon Wednesday, and also to limit what water they do use.

City officials blamed a turbidity problem they discovered during testing Monday night: Muddy water due to recent storms was flowing into one of the city's two operating water treatment plants, reducing the output of that plant.

Two other water treatment plants are shut down due to routine maintenance and another is off line because of water damage, leaving only one of the city's five water treatment plants producing water at full capacity

No Oscar for Moore

2011-12-10T07:15:00.001-08:00

Fahrenheit 9/11 did not receive any nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards.

Michael Moore's gamble to hold his hit film "Fahrenheit 9/11" out of the documentary category - to boost its best-picture prospects - backfired. The movie was shut out across the board.

Sweet.

Hat tip: Drudge

One More Week

2011-12-10T07:14:00.003-08:00

During my month long break from school I thought I would blog more than I had during school. The exact opposite has happened. The truth is I often had more time to blog then than I do now. I had time in between classes during which I would be on the computer (on Tuesday's and Thursday's I had about six hours between classes to sit around). Now during the break I've been working, I've been catching up on some reading I wanted to do and I've also just taken a break from blogging. I have one week before school resumes. I plan on getting back to regular blogging then.

NOTE: I've added AZ Perspective and Junk to my list of AZ bloggers. Dave asked me to put him on and, since I've always been a fan of shameless self promotion, I did.

The Boston Whine Party

2011-12-10T07:14:00.001-08:00

I think John Kerry is looking to replace Al Gore as the top "I lost to George W. Bush but really didn't" guy in the Democratic Party. He's going to lose that race as well (hey, Al Gore will actually win). Kerry lost Ohio by over a 100,000 votes, whereas Gore lost Florida by less than 1,000; so the moonbats can more easily come up with their "the election was stolen" scenarios with Gore. The county (Cuyahoga) where most of the claims of voting problems are coming from is run by Democrats. So if Kerry wants to take someone to task over the alleged irregularities, it should be the members of his own party.

And the worst part is that he said these things on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. King fought against real problems in this country and Kerry tarnishes that by whining about a false scandal.