a bit of everything...

So not too much has changed here since I've been gone. The roads are still shoddy, it's flat and the sun is still shining. Yay for the sun. The fate of the vacant army base on Kenaston is still apparently undecided; since 2004 almost 90 hectares of land (including the military base and housing) has been unoccupied - what a waste. The army of crickets that has since moved in is keeping Steve and his team company in the gym they train in on the grounds - apparently everything is just rotting away and falling into disrepair. And this is where Team Canada trains. Not for long I suppose! On to Gatineau some time in the new year. What has changed is our bathroom! Steve did a fabulous job tiling, as you (hopefully) can tell...



Change change change. On my way home I read an article about Abihinav Bindra, India's first individual gold medal winner in Olympic history. He won the men's 10-metre air-rifle event (never saw that on tv) and was rewarded with a lifetime rail pass. The article failed to mention that Bindra was also given almost US$800,000 in addition to his rail pass, by no less than ten different state governments and a handful of other well-wishers. To its gold medal victors Russia purportedly dished out US$160,000, China US$150,000, the USA $25,000 and Canada $20,000. I'm not sure that Bindra made the most money off of his win at the Olympics though - someone predicted that Phelps, with his medals, reward money and endorsement deals is now worth over 30 million dollars. Ridiculous. How about tae kwon do-er Rohullah Nikpai, the first Afghan to ever win a medal for the country (bronze); he was rewarded with a new house, a Toyota sedan and $20,000. I'd be pretty happy with that. I mean, I'd be pretty happy with just going to the Olympics, but the athletes do deserve some monetary incentive/reward, as training is a full-time job in itself, and usually one that is not, at least in Canada, funded all that well.

Anyways, we're off to Sioux Lookout this weekend - for fishing and eating. And, in my case, intensive reading. Visiting Steve's aunt Patti and uncle Paul is always a good time, and Steve gets to go fishing - his first love... I mean second (I'm first... I think). It was last year in the Sioux that some creative wedding ideas were put forth in the name of fishing: the idea is that Steve, the groom/fisherman, would cast into the serene lake looking for a fish/bride and somehow, he would hook line and sinker me-the-bride and I would come aboard the boat and we would wed. Hope that this is not the plan for the weekend. I'll fish and read (not swim) and Steve will... fish.