Guinevere.ca

Updates from the Smog

// February 25th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // life

Since my friend Derek demands it

Alright so I haven’t blogged since November. Can you blame a girl? Yes. Yes you can. A lot has happened since my last blog, so this may be a lengthy post.

I normally do an end of year post reflecting on what happened the previous year. So why don’t I start there?

2008 was an absolute banner year for me. It was one of the best of my life. How could it not be? I got married to my soul mate Allen after almost 13 years together. But let me back up and start reviewing from earlier in the year.

The first great event was a road trip up to my hometown of Dryden in Northwestern Ontario for my dad’s 80th birthday. My dad is 80! He’s still smart as a whip (I wish I were as smart) and in good health. My mom organized a public tea for people to drop in a wish him a happy birthday and the place where it was held never had a bigger turnout for a birthday party. My dad is well traveled, but he’s lived in that same town his whole life and almost everybody there knows him. He was smiling a toothless ear to ear grin the whole time. Here he is cutting his birthday cake:

Allen and I were so happy we were able to be there. Making it a road trip was nice also. The drive between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay on the north shore of Lake Superior is the most beautiful part of Ontario. It’s a long drive though, you don’t want to do it often.

Spending time with my family is what I value most, so it was great when we got to see my niece Stephanie even if it was just for an evening when she was down in Toronto. We took her out to the MMVAs where she got to see the celebrities walk the red carpet. She loved it and we loved that we got to provide her with one of the best parts of her trip.

July was the best month of course because that’s when Allen and I got married! My parents were in Toronto for 16 days visiting during this time and my sister Shelby, Aunt and Uncle from Dryden and cousins from out of town all made the trip. Thank you to you all for being there with us that day. We were married in Niagara-on-the-Lake on July 5th, one day before my mom’s birthday. Here’s myself and Allen on the big day:

The next day we spent with my parents, Allen’s parents and my sister. We also took my mom to Niagara Falls for her 73rd birthday. My only wish was that my brothers were able to attend. But, at least I got to see them the following month!

In August, I headed back to Dryden for a quick visit because some family from England were going up to visit and I wanted to see them as well. Here’s a photo of my three older brothers with my cousin Gawain. Gawain is 3rd from the left and the shortest at a mere 6′2″.

Gawain is currently serving in Afghanistan and I wish him a speedy return home to England soon.

Also when I was up north in August, I got to fly my cousin Joel’s plane! Proof:

Too much fun! The August trip was a short, but fun visit.

In late August, effects of the recession hit us and the company that Allen worked for closed, laying everybody off. It came as a complete surprise and Allen who loved his job and co-workers was sad that it ended. He worked very successfully at freelance for a few months and is now back in the corporate world bringing home the bacon.

In September we attended our friends Brian and Melissa’s wedding. It was a huge event! Very different from our low key ceremony earlier this summer, but I love weddings of every kind, they’re all so much fun and getting to watch our two friends get married was awesome.

In October, Allen and I went back to the small town where we got married and stayed a weekend at a fancy hotel (thanks to some free gift certificates). We’ll always have fond memories of Niagara-on-the-Lake and think we’ll make a tradition of going back there once a year.

In November, a new family member arrived. Blaire Danielle Ava Woodworth is our 3rd great niece. I got to see her when I went up north to visit again at Christmas, but you can see a picture of her on the day she was born here.

In December I went back to Dryden to visit my family for Christmas. I spent tons of quality time with all my family, but my parents especially. I did tons of snowkiting with my brother Brad and sister-in-law Margot and rang in the new year at my brother Alan’s bonfire — the same bonfire celebration that Allen proposed to me at two years ago. Do not confuse my brother Alan with my husband Allen.

The bonfire is always a great New Year’s Eve party.

Also in 2008, Allen and I did tons of kiteboarding. He finally picked up the sport after I got him lessons in the spring and really enjoys it, so that’s one more activity we can do together.

Throughout the year, I also spent a lot of time participating in events in the interactive industry that I work in. I attended Podcamp, Third Tuesdays, the ICE conference, a Geek Girl Dinner and even spoke at the Mesh Conference which was an awesome experience. My day job was really fulfilling as well. I got to work on some really interesting projects and feel grateful that I have a job I enjoy going to each day.

Anyway, thank you 2008. I hope to have many more years like you.

So now it’s 2009. Here’s what’s been going on.

Our nephew Josh came back with me after Christmas break and he’s staying with us in Toronto for a while. It’s always nice to have more family around. And speaking of more family, we also got a new nephew in January named Armand. Take a look:

He’s got black spikey hair like Josh did when he was a baby. Daw!

Also in January, my sister-in-law Margot passed through Toronto on her way back from Germany, so we got to visit for a night before she went back up north.

Last week our nephew Cary Jr. had reading week so he spent the week here visiting too. He played on our volleyball team one night and helped lead us to some solid wins.

My life in 2009 has been very scheduled. There’s work, studying and the gym. I’m writing my GMAT in mid-March, so I’m studying hard for it. My free time is small, so I’ve been doing much more microblogging on Twitter and Facebook and less long form blogging here as a result. I promise to pick it up more after my test.

What’s coming next? Well unfortunately my work has basically announced that layoffs are coming, which isn’t a surprise since all broadcasters have been hit hard financially. I’m pretty upset about that because I like my job and the projects I get to work on. I really hope it doesn’t end soon for me.

I do have stuff to look forward to though. Another visit back home at the end of March, my niece Amanda’s wedding this June and my friend Brian’s wedding in September.

Alright, that should do it for now! I’m going to go hit the books some more. Thanks for reading.

Bittersweet Kiting

// March 9th, 2008 // 9 Comments » // sports

Snowkiting today at Keswick was going to be awesome. We just had a 2 day winter storm that dumped loads of pow all over southern Ontario, plus it was sunny with a steady 13 knot wind. Recipe for a perfect day snowkiting. Allen and I trained Natalie for a second time on the trainer kite. That’s a picture of her above flying it. Later, I got out on my 7.5 metre and got some amazing speed. Unfortunately, snowmobilers made our day less than awesome.

First, a snowmobiler ran over the lines of the trainer kite. We were rigging much further upwind than the other kiters, but there was an onshore wind and getting far away from shore is done for safety. I guess we were too much in the snowmobiler’s way though and despite Allen doing his best to wave his arms and yell that the snowmobiler not go that way, one FLEW past him at super high speed over the lines. Arg!

Snowmobilers running over kiters lines is not new. I’ve seen it happen to many other kiters, but had never had it happen to be before today (although came close once). The lines on the trainer are impossible to see. They’re thin, white and laying in white snow, so it’s unlikely he saw them. It still doesn’t explain why the guy buzzed us going so fast.

Later, when I was flying my 7.5 I accidentally pulled a safety release. There’s a bad design decision in this particular kite where one safety release is directly below the spot you can yank to give the kite more power. I’ve pulled that release accidentally before and did it again today. As I did so, my kite crumpled and the lines got tangled. I was right in the snowmobile tracks, so I grabbed my kite & lines and moved closer to shore to undo the knots. I found what I thought was a secluded spot where I could work out the lines again.

I was worried about getting these kites lines run over so instead of rigging them straight out as you normally would, I untangled to the side and piled lines loosely. This kept the bar close (about 10 feet away) while I went to hook up the kite. As I was at my kite, I heard a snowmobile right near me. I turned around to see the guy running over my control bar! Now lines are hard to see, but my control bar is not. It’s over a foot long, black red & blue, with multiple bright red safety releases and a pulley system. Not only that, it was right near me, so the snowmobiler would have been driving right towards me.

I think he would have kept going, but my gear got tangled in his sled, so he backed over it to get them untangled. I told him I may have to replace the lines (as manufacturers recommend when lines have been entangled like this) and the guy said that he wasn’t going to pay for it and took off on his sled. He didn’t care that he ran over my gear. I don’t get that. I would feel pretty bad if I had damaged sombody’s snowmobile. I took down the guy’s snowmobile license number: 959512.

I didn’t know if the kite was safe to fly, so I bundled it up and skate skied back to the car. When we got home, we looked everything over carefully. The only damage done was to the bar itself where the snowmobile cut through the neoprene and a bit of the metal. The safety systems all still work, and I’ll ask my local shop if I should replace the lines.

I wasn’t the only one who had their kite gear hit today either according to the forums. It’s frustrating to get your gear damaged, but especially when it seemed malevolent. I snowmobile and there’s NO reason to buzz people. There’s plenty of lake for us all to keep a safe distance and each enjoy our activities.

10 Reasons to Take Up Kiting

// March 5th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // sports

Allen often accuses me of being interested in too many things, especially when it comes to sports. It’s true, I love having new experiences, but trying all different sports can be costly. I’ve noticed though that I’m settling into kiteboarding/snowkiting as my primary sport. It’s the one I plan for most often, try to do most often and try to get new people into most often. If you haven’t tried it, here’s 10 great reasons to pick it up.

1. FUN Kiting is the most fun thing I’ve tried hands down. The first time my brother showed me how to fly a kite, it was like nothing else I had tried. Keep in mind, I have tried a LOT of sports and while I enjoy all of them, nothing was like the thrill of feeling the powerful wind pulling you, even on a 3 metre trainer kite. It’s a rush and I was hooked the first time.
2. EXERCISE Kiting is an amazing workout combining cardio and resistance training. You quit at the end of day because you’re physically exhausted, never out of boredom. Kiters also get great bodies.
3. GET OUTDOORS People spend WAY too much time indoors. Running on the treadmill is good, but getting fresh air & exercise together is great.
4. COOL Kiting is a niche sport and when I tell someone I do it, the reaction is either that they don’t know what it is or that it looks so cool. It does look cool! Even watching beginners just flying the kite looks cool, but check out what the pros can do.
5. YEAR ROUND It’s tough to find an outdoor sport that you can enjoy year ’round in Canada. Kiting is one. The photo above is of me kiting in the summer and me kiting in the winter. Winter & summer kiting aren’t identical sports, but they’re similar and both very enjoyable– so long as you dress for it. Snowkiting goes a long way to making winter an enjoyable season instead of a miserable one.
6. COST Startup costs for kiting aren’t cheap. However, time spent snowkiting is time I would normally have spent skiing or snowboarding at a resort. With kiting, there’s no $50 lift ticket each time. With the amount I go snowkiting, I’m saving money despite the upfront costs.
7. ENVIRONMENT If you’re a wakeboarder, consider kiting instead. Use a kite instead of a boat and minimize your environmental impact while enjoying a sport powered by nature (wind). Getting back to costs, kites are way cheaper than boats.
8. COMMUNITY Kiters are social people. You often need assistance from other kiters on the beach launching & landing, so most kiters are cooperative so someone else will help them. This has created a open community where you can easily make friends.
9. TRAVEL Because of kiting, I get out of the city almost every weekend and discover new places I may have otherwise never visited. Try & carpool with fellow kiters to keep your footprint down.
10. VERSATILITY You can kite in a lot of different places: inland lakes, ocean surf, fields, mountains, the prairies, etc. Plus, kiting equipment is relatively small & portable. You can take it anywhere that there’s good wind & few obstacles.

Sound interesting at all? Want to get started?

• First and most important: take a lesson or two or a dozen! You can never learn too much. I’ve taken lessons and I still plan on taking more this spring. Kiting can be dangerous if you do not have a foundation to learn on.
• Buy some gear from a local kite shop. I shop at Silent Sports where they always give out great advice and you meet new people to kite with. Find a great shop in your area.
• Find some local kiters to kite with. In my neck of the woods (Toronto, Canada), kiteboarders chat & plan trips on SkyPilotKiteboarding.com. Find the forum/Facebook group that locals use.