幾鬼秘的部落格

Last weekend I went auto-crossing for the second time, again with AL and AN.  I’m not sure if the
novelty is wearing off, but it didn’t feel as much fun this time.  One big reason must be the length of the course, which was only about half of the one from last time.

I brought my camera this time and asked MK to come check us out as well as to take some photos for us.  Check them out here - I think they’re pretty good, especially since we didn’t even use a long lens. It was a good opportunity for us to practice doing panning shots, where the camera follows a moving subject with a slow shutter speed, creating a blurred background while keeping the subject in focus.

The Miata that was behind me in the lineup was driven by Jeff, who also happened to have logged the fastest time that day.  He came up to me and asked if I worked in Mississauga, a curiously accurate question from a stranger that could only mean one thing - he’s spotted my car many times on the road.  Everyday he chugs along the 401 @ 105km/h in his Echo and many a time saw my Miata zooming by (he even recognized the year of my car!).  I told him I’d keep an eye out for his Echo, and he told me that he’d flash his headlights if he ever saw me again.  Well, just this morning I was flashed by an Echo as I passed it.  I slowed down and of course, it was Jeff.

Here’re some dizzying video clips of our runs for you to enjoy:
Miata run 4, 5, 6
RSX run 4, 5, 6
Mini run 5

As promised by the doctor, my finger is trying to push the splinter out on its own.  The area has been bulging out, quite uncomfortably, recently, so much so that I could not take it anymore and tried to squeeze the splinter out.  Although I could see the tip of the splinter as I squeezed my finger, I could not take it out since I don’t have a third hand :)  Not really expecting it to work, I used the needle that the doctor gave me to try to pick it out.  Surprisingly the splinter came right out after just a few picks!  I guess it helps that my skin around the area has hardened and the needle is extremely sharp.

I was really surprised at the length of the splinter, and decided to take a photo.  I was really impressed by how much my 105mm macro lens can see better than my eyes, which reminded me of the top article that resulted from the google search on "how to remove wood splinter from finger".  It’s quite funny, and impressive.  The search also returns some other pretty relevant results, as well as an ad for some specialized tweezers.  Sometimes one cannot help but be truly impressed by google

A new season of bowling started last Wednesday.  I didn’t start so well with a dismal game of 114.  Luckily I recovered quickly and ended up with an average of 158.  DF finished even better with an average of 168.  Since MJ, who was our anchor last season, didn’t do so well, it was now a fight for anchor position between DF and me.

Individual scores aside, we didn’t fare well against our opponents last week, and ended up only with 4 points, placing us only at 27 out of 32.  Last night our opposing team was a no-show, so it was a good chance for us the clean up all 20 points by scoring better than 90% of our averages.  90%?  How about 120%!  After a poor start with 3 open frames, something clicked and I was on fire, getting as many as 5 strikes in a row!  Even my worst game of the night (162) was higher than my average.  We ended up winning 19 points for the night.  That should move us up to a more respectable position next week, when I will be the anchor for the first time!

Last night a bunch of us went downtown to check out the Chinese Lantern Festival.  It was quite a hellish drive towards the Ontario Place, as there was a dragon boat race as well as a Black Eyed Peas concert taking place there.  As if that’s not enough, they charge $19.82 for the parking, making either the drivers scramble for $19.82 or the cashiers scramble for 82 cents change, creating the long backup of cars on Lakeshore in both directions.  If someone can tell me the reason behind that pricing I’d love to hear it.

I sent my friends my photo album from the night, and many of them were quite impressed.  But I think it’s because they’re mostly closeup shots with the lanterns filling the whoe frame.  These lanterns truly defy my understanding of what lanterns are.  In fact, the most interesting ones are the few "untraditional" lanterns that are made of porcelain china (plates, bowls, spoons, etc.).

The event goes on until the end of the month.  I’d recommend it if it wasn’t for the steep parking and entrance fees.  Try to get discount tickets if you do go.

Since my visit to the ER just 3 weeks ago, I suffered the following… A wood splinter lodged in my index finger, which is still there as I was told to just let it push itself out, in a few months time! An ear infection that luckily did not last very long and healed on its own.  An eye infection that is just about to completely go away.  And most recently, a fish bone lodged in my throat from dinner last night.  I was still trying to swallow gently all this morning until I’ve forgotten about it during lunch, after which I noticed that the bone was no longer there, thank goodness.

While all these ailments, in addition to the frequent stomach upsets that I experienced during the last few months, cruelly remind me of how my body is aging, they also teach me to be grateful when I am healthy.  Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to check my horoscope and feng shui to make sure that this bout of bad luck is ending.