The annual Standard Life 10K run is on Île-Ste-Hélène this year… and a couple of weeks earlier in the year. Last year they had it finishing by a climb to the top of Mount Royal, and it happened to be something around a thousand degrees that day. Probably the most brutal run of my life.

Once again I’m raising funds for the Foundation for research into children’s diseases. Anyone interesting in contributing or participating in the race can drop me a line. Thank you!

And while we’re on the topic of Why-Oh-God-Why… My hero Saku is out for the series.

For those of you Montrealers who have been living under a rock, our Finnish captain got a stick to the left eye last night (despite wearing a visor).

It was shocking to see him grasping blindly to find his way on the ice, blood pouring profusely from his face.

He is out for at least this series, a great detriment for the team (despite what the naysayers would have you believe). It’s currently unknown if the damage is permanent.

There was no penalty called.

For those of you who may not be aware, Saku won a battle with stomach cancer a few years ago, eventually to come back and lead Finland to the silver in Turin. A friend recently told me, extremely sweetly, that when she’s having difficulty pushing herself when running, she thinks of me. I myself think of Saku… and tell myself to GET. UP.

Once again, we’re holding our breaths and hoping for another triumphal return.

Best of luck Saks.

Nintendo’s upcoming Revolution console renamed Wii (pronounced we). But why?

Then again, I was so against the concept of that console when it came out, and have been so completely won over by it, that I’m sure I’ll soon like the name.

The title of the new Ratchet and Clank title (on PSP): Size Matters.

I’ve always exercised, but the intensity of my current program makes it necessary to find motivators to keep going to the gym, and give it an honest effort, week in and week out. I’ve been discovering lately what makes it easier for me to do so.

- My iPod. I’ve been a runner for 14 years, but it was only last year that I tried running with music for the first time, and it’s something I became instantly addicted to. Such a small change dramatically increased my enjoyment of an already favorite activity. It’s no exagerration to say that it is now very difficult for me to cardio workout without it.

- Reading. I can do a treadmill run without it, but if I’m reading a magazine, I’m always astonished by how quickly the time goes. The open magazine hides the treadmill’s gauges, and it’s only when the treadmill slows down that I know I’m done. This routinely happens when I think I’m only halfway there. This lesser perceived effort allows me to increase the difficulty of the workout, by running on steeper inclines and at higher speeds. I’m convinced that this is what has allowed me to recently shave a whole minute off my lifetime record for the 5 k (Comet did it, too!).

- Boost Nutritional Drink. By keeping everything else equal from one day to the next, but varying my pre-workout snack, I’ve found that Boost allows me to push myself hardest, longest, to do most and heaviest reps. And it’s delicious. So if I’m having trouble motivating myself, I can easily down a can of the yummy stuff; then I feel I have to work out within an hour, lest those 240 delicious calories and 4 grams of fat stay permanently attached to me.

- Workout clothes. I have bought a few articles of attractive workout clothing that I look forward to wearing.

- Journalling. Keeping close tabs on my ever-increasing maximum number of reps, and seeing the results of my efforts, gives me such joy that I actually wish not to improve too quickly so I can keep this happy feeling for a while yet.

By this time last year, I couldn’t wait to be reunited with him. But throughout the summer, I kept hearing rumors that he was drastically changing. Heartbreakingly, when we finally did meet again he was so completely different that I had to break it off for good. This number one fan was never so sorely disappointed as when Ratchet and Clank went from being a platformer to yet another shooter.

I tried to love this new Ratchet, but there was nothing for it. While I had happily blasted my way several times through the first three titles, I could never play Ratchet Deadlocked for longer than 15 minutes. What a shame.

At the top of my E3 To Do list this year was to give the Insomniacs a piece of my mind. Perhaps they’d remember last year’s drooling fan, now foaming at the mouth.

However, I may now have to reserve judgment a little longer, as I hear echoes that he intends to go back to being the old Ratchet I knew and loved. Can it be? Dare I hope that he can change back to a platformer? Will all be forgiven?

Management is an inexact science. You have a team meeting to announce a change you think is good news, and end up doing a week of damage control. You think you give a team a strong talking to, and they are thrilled to be have “pressure put on them”. Employees, bosses, colleagues and clients state their needs and wants, then change their minds. It’s trial, error, retrial, success, returning to error and back to success. It’s not dull.

But today I learned a simple yet valuable management lesson. Buying ice cream for the whole team just when they’re getting the 4 PM munchies is a good idea. I never would have thought that was all it would take to make 35 adults shout with glee, but there you have it.

Funny, you look shorter lately.

I’m sitting at my desk today, and an instant message pops up from my ex (we work together).

“Check your Shared folder, there’s a file called Surprise”.

Three years ago, we spent six days in the Sahara desert, on camelback and by Land Rover. The first day was spent driving along endless hot and pebbly plains. The guide, Ibrahim, didn’t talk much and instead subjected us to his tinny Malinese music tape in a endless loop. It was horrible. We wondered if we’d made the mistake of our lives embarking on this expedition.

It soon became one of the best weeks of our lives. By the end of it, we had developed a wonderful camaraderie with Ibrahim, and knew his tape by heart. There was one song in particular, simply called “Africa”, that stuck with us, and we still sing it once in a while for a laugh.

That song was today’s surprise… And it instantly transported me back to the paprika-colored dunes of Morocco. Ah Africa! Ah, to travel again!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been corresponding via phone and e-mail with a reporter from out west, who is writing a book about women who make the decision not to marry. In our last conversation she was talking about how married people pressure unmarried couples to wed. Then parents pressure non-parents to procreate. She asked why I thought that was.

I said I thought happy people just want to share their own brand of happiness. I can’t stand fish, but for some reason, most people who eat fish in my presence will always insist on my trying it (”no, but this one is so good“). For this reason, I often make up the excuse of being allergic. In recent years I’ve almost completely abandoned this silly tactic, and as a result have resumed being pressured into eating the occasional sushi roll. Ew.

In an e-mail she sent a follow up question: do you have a similar excuse to justify being single? I’ve been thinking about this for a few days. What would be the fish allergy equivalent of not pairing up? Well, when I don’t feel like launching into my whole self-righteous “why do I need to justify it” speech, I say I’m concentrating on my career. It’s not as final and solid as a fish allergy, but it’s certainly as lame, isn’t it?