tommorrow is the day....

....I start training again. I actually even ventured to the Carmichael website last night as I have not even logged in for several weeks. I am going to run for 30 minutes and do my core workout. That is a looong ways from an Ironman!! But here it starts, tomorrow morning...
In other news, I was dropping Matthew off at kindergarten today. I parked in front of the school but there are literally 100 signs in front...no parking, no stopping, 5 minute zone, speed sign, handicapped parking only sign....I get confused. And Matthew has a nasty habit of undoing his seat belt as we are pulling up to the school. So today, again, I scold him that the seat belt should stay done up until we are stopped. I am scolding him and trying to read the signs and figure this all out at the same time...too many things happening at once...so I pull over and get OUT of the car to read the signs as the sun was in my eyes. I did not see a police officer parked and she gets out of her car and walks up to me and (quite rudely) tells me I am in a no stopping spot. I say thanks but I really was just trying to read the sign and figure it all out!! I then had a bright idea that I was going to use this as an opportunity...so I tell Matthew that the officer had seen him take his belt off and we were in lots of trouble.
Remember, he is 5 years old.
He says "Uh....nice try Mom, she was giving you heck for parking in the wrong spot!!"

Bright Lights, Big City

Made it home today from the "big town" with a head full of information and a bit of a hangover. The stress of the last few months all came out last night in downtown Toronto. Headed out with some of the guys from the conference (there are still very few women in the biz, still, so I am constantly around men at these things) We grabbed a cab and asked him to take us somewhere fun. He dropped us off in the center of T.O. and gave us a few directions and off we went. Got a good taste of big city night life as we went into a club and were surrounded by security and patted down and paid our $20 (TWENTY F_ING Dollars!!!) cover charge. But what a show!! Of course we brought the average age up by about 10 years, but holy smokes....it was like being in an episode of CSI before they find the dead body. Boom....boom....boom went the music, funky lights and waterfalls, people dressed to the friggin hilt, actors roaming about in costume, private rooms upstairs...us old folk sat in the corner and laughed and shared stories and jokes and poked fun at a few of the kids. What is with the clothes these days! My guts hurt today from the laughing. We decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and walk back to the Westin...it took us a good hour at an ungodly time through downtown Toronto...niiiice. The good thing is that I got a pic of the stock exchange, mind you it was at around 1:30am but was still a pic. Also a pic of the Toronto branch of AIG...ha ha...for the scrap book...was surprised the lights were still on. Stared up the CN Tour at about 2:00am. Anyway, stumbled into the hotel slept for a bit and flew home today.

SO....my plan for the week is to talk to Justin tomorrow and see what he has in mind for the next few weeks/months. I would be telling the odd person this week about my triathlons and was starting to feel that little tingling inside that comes with setting your sights on a goal...looking forward to getting down to business!!!

Welcome to Fall!!

Can't believe it is October 1 already!!?? Where has this year gone? I can see the riverbank from my office window and it is absolutely gorgeous out there this time of year. And the weather has been fantastic. All is good.

Today was the day I was going to start my official training again. I need a few more days off...gone to Toronto tomorrow and my head is just not in the training mode with all the crap going on at work. Very interesting times we are living in! A fave quote of mine "You do not realize you are making history because you are living it." Someday we will look back, over a few beer and say "Wow, we made it through the fire!" Just like another handful of times in my career.

Anyway, on a more fun note, one of the companies is having a 5km "jog" on Friday morning. Think of me at 6:30am Toronto time (which is about 4:30am sk time) out for a fall run around the waterfront!! Maybe getting out with some others will revitalize me. I hope so!!

Swimming starts up again this week. I am missing the first one which doesn't hurt my feelings much, but actually kind of looking forward to getting back in the pool. Justin says we need to get back into a groove, schedule before the holidays hit. I think that makes sense. And I cannot decide if I want to do Ironman Arizona. Having real trouble making my mind up. I talked to someone the other day that had a friend who did it and apparently the pollution in the water where the swim is held is disgusting....this TOTALLY turned me off!! No swimming is allowed at any other time of the year except for the race, because of the pollution...am I the only one that sees something wrong with this...? If I do it, it will be a very, very fast swim...

work vent

I know...this is supposed to be my triathlon blog. But if you have been following, I have a touch of the lazy. And a sore knee. And work is super busy and incredibly stressful right now. But yet I find time to write on this blog....shhhh!!!

Anyway, I have this conference to go to next week. I got the itnerary today. And the dress codes. Yes...that was plural as each event has it's own dress code. Overall the code is "business casual". This could mean so many things. I have two dress codes....work wear & triathlon gear. There really is nothing in between. I do not own anything "formal".

We have been invited out to dinner to one of the fanciest restaurants in T.O. My manners are going to have to be in high gear. Hopefully, they will come back to me...which way does the fold of the napkin go on my lap? Nothing goes on the table...hands, elbows, purse, nothing. The soup spoon vs the desert spoon. Cut your meat with your right hand, then put the knife down, put the fork in the right hand...do this over and over and over again. Tiny "lady-like" bites. (To me this one, is a waste of time). Never cut your dinner roll. Tear a piece off. blah...blah...blah...

I bore you with this because when we show up from Saskatchewan, sometimes the high rollers think, act like we are straight off the farm. And there are some expectations when you go to a place like that. When we tell them how much money we manage...way out here in Toon Town...they nearly shit their pants. We are the largest firm with the largest dealer in Canada(yeah, right here in the middle of nowhere!) and they tend to trip over us when we show up. We have had so many invites to private dinners, I have lost count. Where were these guys when I was in high school....?

Anyway, here comes the vent. Guess who pays for these things....that's right...the investors.

Our clients.

If you own a mutual fund in Canada, you are paying management fees. Lots of those fees go to research, legal, computers, rent, staff etc...and some of those fees go to pay people like me. I think I deserve to get paid as I do a darn good job for my clients....but I don't need to be wisked around Toronto on their backs. And with the current state of the finanical markets, I am feeling a bit odd about the whole thing.

Of course, your thinking now "Then don't go....decline the invite."

Yes, that is certainly an option. However, 85% of my time in T.O. is in meetings with the very money managers that are responsible for those mutual funds. Not the sales guys...who come through town pretty much every month and I decline every golf invite, drink invite, supper invite, lunch invite, concert tickets etc.

I am only interested in talking to the men and women with their fingers on the trigger. The people making the decisions on what gets invested where and why. And with the size of our firm, we can get those meetings. And with the state of the markets, I think it is imperative that I go and pick their brains for a few days. It is easier/cheaper for me to fly out to Toronto from the investors perspective, than to fly those people out here. Just trying to do my part, however small it may be.

I just get annoyed when I hear others in my business talk/brag about all the "freebies" they get because it ain't free...your clients are the ones paying. Don't forget it.

Vent over.

it's official, I am falling apart....

Yep...it is sad but true. Went to my physio appointment yesterday and in about 2.36 seconds, she says "Your left arch is falling...badly." Really.

You would think I would notice this as it is MY arch!

And "Your left hip is significantly higher than your right hip." Really.

That would be from carrying my kids on my left hip.

Put these things together and my left knee in the middle of the two and the knee says OUCH!!

I am now armed with a bunch of daily stretches and arch strengthening excercises and NO RUNNING for 2 weeks. How? Wha? Oh NO? Really? None?

I don't even really feel all that bad about it...as I have WAY to much on my plate right now.

Host my book club tonight. The book I picked was "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Very good book. Kind of depressing and sad so I bought LOTS of wine!!

Trying to find swim coaches for our local tri club. Had two of them that I thought were good to go BAIL on me today. So we may not have swim coaches for the fall....niice.

Headed down east next week for a big conference. Flattered that I was selected to go but realistically, 4 days away from my kids and their activities to get brown nosed by some fake money manager with spikey blonde highlighted hair, fancy cuff links, trendy tie and manicured hands....really does not appeal to me. I need to find out if there is a Winner's in downtown T.O....