This Year's Blog

There is a new blog up and running for this year's trip - check it out!
http://georgiabreeze2013.blogspot.ca/

New Blog To Follow

It's been a while since this blog was last commented on, but it appears to still receive occasional views. I am starting a new blog, this blog is going to document the 3 or so weeks of training and then the 14 day trip which is upcoming. My mother and I have joined a team participating in a 1600km Bike Ride from Victoria, BC to San Francisco, CA. This bike ride is in support of Parkinson's research. Please take a look at the blog (author's other blogs)!

Back on the Water

         This week is an exciting one for us here at Western Rowing, this is because the temperature has decided to soar to the mid twenties, and the lake is thawed, to allow us to go for a row! These temperatures are quite uncommon here for March. Though at the end of winter, even a mild winter like this one, this extra warmth is quite welcome.  Even if it means global warming, at the moment, we'll take it. Might regret saying that later this summer, but for now, yee haw!
          However, the ability to go for a row is somewhat bridled, given that we all get to enjoy the fun of radar week this week - which is a week of erg testing. Fun stuff. The erg testing is proving to be extra fun due to the fact that the university has so far neglected to acknowledge the warm temperatures and has left the heat on, making the temperatures in the erg room akin to a tropical jungle.
          Copious sweating aside, life goes on and it seems as though people are anxiously awaiting the return to being on the water. Although, it is suspected the Mr Boui is more looking forward to the return to being in the water. I jest of course, but seriously. Things are starting to work their way towards wrapping up at school here. It is funny though, how wrapping up at the end of the year is interpreted by many profs as ramping up because they're not quite going to finish the curriculum. Soon enough we'll be in exams, then it'll be summer.

Can't think of a good title

            Now that I’ve finally recovered from the Gala last weekend, I think it would be appropriate to blog about it.

This last weekend proved an eventful one for Western Rowing. On Saturday we got to try and overcome the conspiracy of the McMaster 2x4 erg challenge being placed on the same day as our gala. Despite some of our teams being missing some players, we managed to pull together, well really switch together, at this event and that lead to a spectacular Western sweep – keeping with tradition. Having never lost at this event before, the pressure was on for us too keep up with this tradition – after all we are the only school with a dedicated spot for the trophies from this event in our erg room. We did, given that we managed to set records in all but two events. And wow, as I write this it feels a touch on the cocky side. For that I do apologize, though we did win, so I try to acknowledge this without being overly cocky.

            We all booked it home, that is to say as fast as we can do it without inviting the interest of our friends at the OPP. So that the girls would have time to get themselves ready for gala, I decided to take a nap instead. Gala this year saw a few cool editions being added on from last year, the most note worthy of which was the addition of a live auctioneer, who, kudos to him, managed to sell off a dozen butter tarts for a whopping sum of $140, I really hope that they were good!

            The after party was good, well at least I think it was. We enjoyed the hospitality of the London Tap House’s upper floor. For further details on the epic adventures of that night, watch the picture montage during “The Hangover” credits. I think you get the idea. Though unfortunately we weren’t in Vegas.

            We received word this week that the lake has opened up, so we will be off the erg soon enough, the end is near! Hooray!

#BlameTheNovices

            This title doesn’t really pertain to what I was planning on talking about today, but one of the novices came up with it after our little trailer ‘incident’ and I thought that it was worth mentioning. While an amusing thought to entertain, it lends itself to shed more light on the highly cordial relations between the novice and varsity teams here. But that’s ok, we’re all one team right? Now before I go off on some philosophical tangent, trying to make a point about togetherness and teamwork, I’ll try and think of something else which may be entertaining to talk about. Not to say that I don’t think that we should all strive to have better relations between the various different teams within out team, but I digress.

            “What dress are you wearing” is getting to be a more and more common sentiment around the team this week. It always seems to be followed up by a conversation which can only be described in one way: an insightfully interesting and engaging 20 to 30 minutes of your life, and no, you can not have that time back, it is gone, forever. Fortunately, I always am able to have a simple answer to this question, “I am going to wear my suit,” if people are really lucky, I might get myself a new tie! But don’t hold your breath.

            Tomorrow morning, many of us will find ourselves breathing in the nice clean air of the city of Hamilton, competing in the 2x4 erg challenge at MacMaster University. This has been discussed previously, so I don’t think I’m going to keep beating this dead horse. Some performances to look forward to from the ATC are: Jill the smoker, the seriousness of Alyssa will be present, our resident Dutchman will be there to increase the multiculturalism of the team, Kristen will be there – don’t worry she’s better at erging than soccer, I believe Jody and Claudia are going to be there too (and myself). 

One Week

Just over a week has passed since we returned back to London and we’re truly loving the switch back to erging. Let’s be honest here, why wouldn’t we, our hand’s aren’t getting torn up, our sit bones have never felt better, we don’t have to go outside in the sun – instead we get to sit in the basement! What’s not to love about that? Back into the swing of homework and studying (or as other’s like to refer to us the Western country club lifestyle), so that creates terribly comedic and entertaining things to blog about.

Life back here isn’t so bad though, as we are also one week from the esteemed UWO Rowing Gala night, which isn’t at all an excuse for our alumni to come back to Richmond Row to party a little bit, or a lot, depending on if there’s a spirited game of pass the mickey after the banquet again. Should be a good event, even better for those who remember what they did the next morning.

Some members of the ATC are ramping up for the MacMaster 2x4 erg challenge this weekend, teams formed and gauntlets thrown. This is one of the more interesting erg events in which I’ve had the fun of competing, and by fun of course I mean it in the way that ‘special fun’ is fun (thanks to Volker for ruining my definition of fun!). This year’s 2x4 challenge is however fraught with conspiracy theories. As the undefeated champions at this event, we always must send a team. Somehow, this event has managed to be put on the day of gala; a day normally reserved for preparing (for the ladies), reuniting with old alumni and parents, and being useless at homework because let’s be honest, we’re all thinking about the night ahead anyway. Oh yeah, and a few of the Western rowers have to hang out at the Great Hall all day to decorate it and what not. The coincidental timing of these two events means a fair number of our athletes are unable to participate in the 2x4. This could be a completely innocent coincidence, could not; but really who am I to pass judgment, after all I may be a touch biased. Word on the street is mixed. Your call.

And yes, the title of this blog post did come from the Barenaked Ladies song, random I know, but that’s what happens when your ipod is on shuffle, things that you haven’t listened to in a while will pop up – sometimes for better and sometimes for worse (I really enjoyed a little “my heart will go on” the other day while studying for a midterm – bit ironic wouldn’t you say?), and that song popped up and it struck me as an appropriate title for the entry given that we’re one week away from a various different events and there’s nothing spectacularly better for me to talk about. Now if you’ve actually read this entire post and are still reading, thank you for putting up with some tangential rambling, hope it wasn’t to tedious.

I’m now 1 for 3 on Roll up the Rim, so beating the odds, so, on that bombshell, it’s time to end! (Thanks Jeremy Clarkson for the sign off line!)

A Tribute and Quite a Story

        Yesterday I received official word, by boat is finished and will have to be replaced. However sad, it does mean that I will end up with a new boat – assuming the insurance company doesn’t do something weird. Which who knows, they might. Though it is my insurance, not UWO’s (don’t let me start on that one), so it is covered. Before I go off on too much of a tangent here, I am putting a request out to the blogosphere. Later this month , it is expected that I will get the remaining bits and pieces of my single back; I am trying to think of creative ways to give my boat a proper sendoff. My request is that people comment on, or message me with ideas. Currently I have the following ideas:

1)      21 gun salute as we throw the flaming wreckage off of Fanshawe Dam

2)      Mount the bow deer-head style on the wall of my living room.

3)      Use the cockpit to create a really cool coffee table .

I look forward to hearing some creative suggestions!

            On a completely different note, Volker told us quite the story about how the Lake Lanier rowing club was so quickly able to give us boats to use down in Atlanta. Apparently, when the trailer accident occurred, a rower from the Gainesville area drove by and saw the accident. This person knew that we were coming down to Gainesville to train at that time. He/she (I’m unsure) phoned down to parents/others in Gainesville and told them what happened, they phoned on to the boathouse manager. The boathouse manager then phoned Dan to tell him that we would be able to use their boats. He hadn’t even left the accident site yet.

            This is a true testament to the athletes in this sport, in that the support that a athlete who didn’t directly – or even indirectly, know any of us, put him/her self out to help us out and make sure we would still be able to have a trailing camp. This type of support would likely be substantially harder to find in other parts of the world/sports. For this, we are devoutly thankful.

            Again, a special thank you is extended to the anonymous rower who saw the accident and decided to help us out!