Music Monday

A little bitty from 2007. Architecture in Helsinki - Heart It Races.
Boom-dadadadadadada boom-dadadada. Boom! Get up, get out and get your heart racing!
Happy Monday!

Aggressive Time Savings Measures Act of 2010 & Ski Bum Soundtrack

I’ve got my Whistler Blackcomb EDGE card and I’m ready for winter!!!

Every other weekend, my husband, his bestfriend and I leave Vancouver early in the morning and drive up to Whistler for a day of skiing and snowboarding. The number one must-have for the drive up is a great play-list. So I'm going to be prepared! A drive-up-pre-ski playlist, a while-I-ski playlist as well as an apres-ski playlist. Time to make new playlists for the ski season!

A number two must-do for the drive is not stop to pee. Yup, you read that right, no pee breaks. No pee breaks!!! The “Aggressive Time Savings Measures Act of 2010” was enacted last year... by the guys of course. After a few weekends of stopping for a pee-stop and coffee in Squamish the guys had enough of getting up to Whistler later than they wanted. I was making them late. My small bladder was slowing things down. The Squamish stop on the way to Whistler was voted out of our journey.

So, I'm not allowed to have morning coffee anymore because I always have to stop in Squamish to use the bathroom. I like to buy snacks too since the guys don't seem to ever get hungry. If I want coffee I have to wake up extra early, drink it at home and make sure my bladder is empty before boarding the ski-bum-mobile. We must get as many hours and runs in as possible. This is the way it is for this girl if she wants to hang out with the boys. It's ok because I kick their asses on the mountain. I gotta give them something, right?

Anyway, here's some of the music I'll be adding to my playlists



Sleigh Bells - “Riot Rhythm”
MGMT - “Kids”
Foster the Kids - “Pumped Up Kicks”
Temper Trap - “Sweet Disposition” great for cruising
Yeah Yeah Yeahs = “Zero”
The Vaccines - “Wetsuit”
Arcade Fire - “Neighbourhood #1” walked around Paris listening to this
Florence + The Machine - “No Light, No Light”
Apostle of Hustle - “Chances are”
Metric - “Help I'm Alive”
Phoenix - “If I ever feel better”
Caribou - “Melody Day”
Stars - “Take me to the Riot”
Kate Nash - “Pumpkin Soup”
Metric - “Stadium Love”
Built to Spill - “Else”
M.I.A. - "“Paper Planes”
Brazilian Girls - “Good Time”

Music Monday

I run most times without music. Too often when a really good song comes on my iPod, I gotta stop running and dance. Sometimes you'll catch shake my shoulders a bit while run or slow down to shuffle my feet a bit. Here are a few songs that do that to me.



I had to put this in here - the guys are too cute!


OR even better... when this song comes on. I just want to jump around and play air guitar! ... so what running style are you?

Panik Panik!

Despite my zen-like ways... the calm that I seems to project... it's not really there. I am so like, OOOOOHHHMMMM....
Inside I really feel more like this...



It's 2011! I've got lots of places to see, things to do and so little time ALREADY! I gotta travel, I gotta run, I gotta plan and then I gotta get married!

Not a bad day

Whistler

The sun can't shine everyday

So I'll share my sunshine with you!

Had a really up and down day today. But it ended with this gorgeous sunshine. I watched the city and the sunshine and listened to Trooper's "We're Here for a Good Time."

View from my desk. Enjoy!

So really, have a good time!

PS. I'll get more running/training related posts up soon. But for now, do you really want to read about how I did a weights workout yesterday and how today my muscles are super sore and stiff? That I can hardly scratch my nose without feeling like my arm muscles could snap like a rubber band? That I can't delicately lower myself onto the toilet but rather fall onto the seat? That with each breath my abs and back muscles scream? Nah. Sunshine is soooo MUCH better.

My play list for a GOOD TIME

I first heard this song driving up the Sunshine Coast. We were fiddling around with the radio looking for a good radio station and I think we found a college-like radio station out of Nanaimo. And how perfect is it? Have you heard it yet? That's all I want to do! Have a GOOD TIME! ALL THE TIME! This is so appropriate for my running play list. Because man! I have a good time when I'm running.

Here are few more on my play list

• Ce Jeu - Yelle
• Je Veux Te Voir - Yelle
• Paper Planes - M.I.A
• Suburban War - Arcade Fire
• Stadium Love - Metric
• Gimme Sympathy - Metric
• Phantom Limb - The Shins
• Ageless Beauty - Stars (Because I feel so young when I run)
• Kids - MGMT, MGMT gets heavy rotation on my ski play list. I had never listened to music while skiing - how do you hear the lovely scraping noise of skis against packed snow??? AF recommended it. AND OH MY GOD WHY DID I NEVER THINK OF IT BEFORE?!?! IT'S AWESOME. Oh, yes I'm posting my run playlist - let's continue
• Time to Pretend - MGMT
• Electric Feel - MGMT

• Way I Are - Timbaland
• Rainin in Paradize - Manu Chao
• Welcome to Tijuana - Manu Chao
• La Vida Tómbola - Manu Chao
• Else - Built to Spill
• We Own The Sky - M83 (Because sometimes I feel like I'm flying when I run)
• Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cindy Lauper
• Typewriter,Tip, Tip, Tip - Asha Bhosie & Kiore Kumar - (A fun song to remind me that this thing that I'm doing - running is supposed to be fun!)
• Under Pressure - Queen
• These Are They Days Of Our Lives - Queen
• Seven Seas of Rhye - Queen
• A whole bunch of DJ Tiesto (reminds me that I gotta stop coasting and run faster!)
• Huddle Formation - The Go! Team 
• If I Ever Feel Better - Phoenix
• Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (I like this when I'm getting close to the finish or home. Home is a great feeling.)
• Emotion 98.6 - Mylo (For after finish)

This is just a small sample of my running playlist. Oh, and hey! If you've got any great songs you think I should add to my playlist let me know! I love love music and love discovering new bands.

Beautiful day for a run!

"Beautiful day for a run!" is what a guy said to me when I ran passed him. I didn't have time to respond but he was right!

I was doing an easy 6 miles as schedule by @WWU10KRUNNER (he's an awesome guy and he's helping me with my training!)

Anyway, let me tell you why it was so awesome.

First, I was still super happy and giddy about my intro diving lesson at the Diving Locker the night before. I loved it! Bucket list item #8. I loved it and I'm looking forward to learning more - but not till after my first marathon (bucket list item #3) is done and I have a bit more time. I'd also like to add that our instructor Annie was pretty awesome. :-)

Second, on the way home I heard, "Thump thump thump thump thump!" I walked towards what I thought might be the sound of a big drum. I walked right into a little parade and outdoor street concert put on by the Ottoman Jannissary Military Band. Yah! Right on Granville at Robson! Right there! An Ottoman Military Band! I found out from a Turkish man on the street that the band who actually consists of around 40 members of which only seven are here touring Canada. They were just in Edmonton and stopped in Vancouver before heading over to Victoria. According the Turkish man they were invited by the city to share their music.

I love music! I hung around watching and listening for about 30 minutes. Then rushed home to get ready for my run. Which leads to my awesome day item #3. I set off for my usual 10k route along the seawall from Yaletown. Weather was warm, a bit humid and a bit hazy from the over 400 wild fires burning in B.C. at the moment. So everything looked soft and a bit yellow-orangey coloured. Running along the seawall passing restaurants, clinking sounds of forks on plates and dinner chat (their dinners smelled so good!). I was just starting to get into my run when I heard the sound of a saxophone. A dread-locked man was playing his saxophone underneath the Burrard Bridge. Aaaah! More music for my ears! I slowed down a bit in order to enjoy his music longer.

Now for #4. After passing the Burrard Bridge there was African drumming. Big, deep, echo-y drumming sounds. "Tam tam tam-tam!" I could have stopped and done the African walk with them. But onward with my run!

And finally #5, Running into the very orange sunset at about the 4 mile mark I had to stop and listen. I had to stop and listen to a woman singing a Russian song accompanied by a man playing the accordian. Sweet! I stood there with a big smile on my sweaty face. I clapped and thanked them for the performance when they were done. I wish I had at least my iPhone to take pictures!!

Oh! I also did stand-up paddle surfing on Monday. I saw people doing this on my trips to Maui and said to myself that I'd try it the next time I'm down there and never did. So, I did it on Monday morning. My friend and I biked out to Jericho and took a 1-hour lesson with Windsure. It was SO EASY!

A few great things happened on my paddle surfing trip. A seal popped his head out of the water and greeted me as I pushed my board out. Then a fish jumped over the tip of my board! I didn't fall and I was as fast as the guys in my class. Yep, I'm strong! ;-)

Woke up with this song playing in my head

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros "Home" from Edward Sharpe on Vimeo.

I woke up this morning with this song playing in my head.
I have lots to do today and I'm putting of a 13 mile run. I hope I'll have time to do it later this evening.
I feel like I'm paying the price for eating a lot of foods I'm not supposed to yesterday today. Feel so sluggish and yucky.

Just another manic Monday... ?

Had a bit of strange encounter today. Got my adrenaline rushing. My blood boiled a bit.

I was standing in front of a shop at the corner of Georgia and Granville Streets waiting for AF when a guy started to harass me. I told him to fuck off to show that I wasn't scared of him but I think that gave him fuel for his hate of me and my slanty eyes.

I stood my ground and didn't move as he put his face really close to mine and threatened death at me by gesturing slitting the throat and told me to go back to Hong Kong and China.

He went on to thank me and my people for building the railway and gestured slitting the throat again and hammering nails. He walked around a bit and continued to gesture the hammering nails and slitting throat.

I stood there silent and just faced him. I didn't want to show fear or weakness.

He asked if I knew how I and my people treated dogs - by frying them in peanut oil.

He walked back up close to me again.

He gestured again slitting of the throat and strangling and said something about fishing lines and something about thin eyes.

I couldn't hear him anymore because my anger and adrenaline was taking over and all I could hear was my heart pounding.

At that moment I really wished that I was physically strong. I wanted to pick him up and slam him on the ground. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to make him sorry. I wanted him to know and feel the hurt. But he didn't even deserve that. He didn't deserve any of my energy. He wasn't worth it. He's not worth it. It's not worth perpetuating such a negative energy.

His life already sucks. He chooses to carry the burden of hate and anger.

Listen to the lyrics of Matisyahu in the above video.

I heart this

http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix? Do you know this guy? André Michelle. If you do, can you thank him? 

I can't stop! I've created my own personal musical masterpiece between these three

http://lab.andre-michelle.com/superellipse

http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix
 and
http://lab.andre-michelle.com/pulsate

Just the simple things in life

It's just the simple things in life that make me happy. My friends, running, the beach, good food, the sound of a ukulele, a pretty voice...

Have a wonderful weekend!

A really good sigh...

You can melt my heart anytime with an acoustic guitar, banjo or slide guitar... oh and the ukulele of course.

Sam Beam's music makes me think of sitting on the porch swing in summer time, swinging slowly and looking over the lake.

I'm only posting this music video because there are people running... :-P

La noyée

Avec toi cheri, la vie est belle

Paris

Winter Olympics are just around the corner!

I attended an event put on and organized by my company today that featured John Furlong speaking on the topic, "With glowing hearts." I'm not going to summarize the event or anything cuz we have professionals to do that here (at my office and that is the director of communications, Terry Hadley and our intern Allison Tanner -go ahead you can see the video and summary of the event here!) I'm not a writer, I'm just sharing a little bit of my life with you... ANYWAAAAY, toward the end of Furlong's speech he presented a slide show with images spanning the time from when we won the Olympic bid to today and the music that played along the presentation was this K'naan song...