Extra-Curricular Happenings

First off, I must apologize for my lack of entries in recent weeks. I know some of you have probably been wondering where I've been and have been waiting for a new entry; an entry that is not about work nor school. So how appropriate my title for this entry is. I will be discussing my adventures outside of work because lots have been happening.

Baseball
I was asked by my administrative assistant to play on her baseball team, which is comprised of employees from HRSDC, Service Canada, and Canada Revenue Agency, because there was a lack of girls on her team and league rules stipulate that a certain number of girls must play or else the team forfeits the game. So I decided to play. I've thoroughly enjoyed my time, even though I've only played 2 games. I don't know if I want to join the team permanently, but it's a fun game and I really enjoy playing baseball.

Hockey
Played ice hockey a few weeks ago and injured my funny bone at the end by crashing the net (too much according to Leon). I was a little dazed and confused because of the shock but it's all good now. I'm also playing rollerhockey (weather permitting) with the guys and Steph and Mil on Sunday afternoons. I invested in some goalie pads so hopefully I can play better. I'm still letting in some soft goals but with time and practice, hopefully I can be better.

Baking
One of my goals for the summer was to learn how to bake. So I have asked my friend Andrea who is a baking guru to teach me. So far, I've baked brownies, chocolate cake, and banana muffins. All have turned out really successful :D. I have yet to burn anything, which is a good thing. Of course, none will be done from a box but rather all from scratch. It's very fun, but I'm always confused by the measurements. By the end of the summer, I will conquer something difficult. Baby steps...

Touristing
Another big goal of mine for the summer was to be a tourist. I have done so much touristing, it's amazing! Almost every weekend, I've been out of the apartment and doing something with someone. But the biggest highlights must of been last Saturday and yesterday.

Last Saturday (May 26), Matt, Anna and I went to the Glebe Garage Sale. We walked around the area and saw some pretty good deals (and some not so great deals...right Matt?). Anna picked up a few books including a French dictionary! Hehehe. There wasn't much hot items during the time we went at around 11am. Anyway, we saw some really nice houses in that area. Hehehe. I probably can't afford them at this stage in life. Keep dreaming. After a quick break, we finally went to the place both Matt and I have been yearning to go for since its opening: The Canadian War Museum. Anna already visited it but she wanted to see the special exhibit on Afghanistan and she didn't mind going to it again because it's worth the trip (and money). Anyway, I went snap happy. I think I took over 100 pictures. Craziness. Good thing I brought my extra battery. Hehehehe. Here's a snippet of the pictures. I still need to go through them and hopefully put them on Flickr when I have time.





Next museum to visit is either Museum of Civilization or the Aviation Museum. Although I've been to Civilization already, it's still worth the money to go because there is the Treasures of China exhibit happening :D. And well, no aviation enthusiast's tour of Ottawa would be complete without visiting the Canadian Aviation Museum! I've also been to the Aviation Museum, but that was back when I was 11 years old so I don't have much recollection of the exhibits. And plus, I'm sure a decade later, things have changed in the museum.

My next grand touristing adventure happened yesterday with Anna. Since we're both poli sci nerds and interested in international relations (her more than I am...since that was her specialization, while I specialized in Canadian Politics), we wanted to check out where the embassies were. After 4 years of living near them, I finally found someone as nerdy as I am who wants to see where the Ambassadors lived. And coincidentally, yesterday (and today) was Doors Open Ottawa -- a chance for buildings that are not normally opened to the public to open their doors for the public to see the interior. And a few embassies participated.

So in the morning, I went to the LCC, where Anna lives and borrowed a bike. LCC was also participating in Doors Open so it was quite funny when I went through the side door while everyone else went through the main doors. Anyway, after a workout of getting the bikes off the bike rack and out the door, we were on our way to Range Road in Sandy Hill. Anna went snappy with her camera :D. I knew Range Rd had lots of embassies since our grocery bus passes by there on occasions. We passed by many countries and finally found out what some of the embassies were! It was like a flag quiz. LOL. Then we rode our bikes to Wilbrod and found more embassies :D. Then we actually visited the Embassy of Croatia. It was a really nice but quaint building. They had pictures from Croatia all over the walls. The country looks really beautiful! After some more biking around the area and visited Laurier House (a National Historic Site), we went back to Anna's for some watermelon and then put the bikes away for the day. We walked over to the Embassy of Hungary and toured that as well. Pretty neat. Then we walked to Bytown Museum and then to Chateau Laurier, and then the toured the Government Conference Centre, which was the former Ottawa Union Station. Pretty neat in there!

Well, lots of touristing adventures and lots of exercise, which is really good. I enjoy exercise. Walking, biking, baseball, hockey, or rollerblading. Oh yes, I also bought a new helmet because my old one was falling apart...

The downside to all this extra-curricular stuff is that I rarely have time for myself to do things. I've put off doing a lot of things (like blogging!) to ensure that I gain the most out of my summer in Ottawa. In turn, this causes me to suffer from low energy spouts. Sometimes I feel I'm pushing myself too hard. I need to learn to say "no" to some things. But some things are just "once in a lifetime" opportunities, especially if I will not be in Ottawa after December...