Day Three

So here I am on day three of the vacation. It’s been pretty good so far.

This morning, I woke up, and something to eat, and had the honest intention of going down to the gym and working out.  Sadly, when I get there, I find that it’s not what I had expected.  Everything else around here is so nice, I figured that the gym would be too, however, I was wrong.  All of the equipment is rather outdated, old, and broken. The elliptical machine has a problem with its fly-wheel, the treadmill resets your speed and incline each time you’re done the interval (and since I do a 1:1 interval), which requires me to reset it every minute. The universal machine needs oil and possibly servicing, and there are no free weights. As such, I guess its body weight and outdoor running for me. 

Instead of working out, I lazed in the pool for a while.  I’m happy it is a salt-water pool, and my eyes appreciate it as well. I’ve figured that the best times to go are during the morning, or the eve as most of the children are not there yet. During the day, it’s just a mad-house of children running around.

While on the drive down, I noticed a rattling coming from the front passenger side of my car.  It would seem, in my unprofessional opinion, that the heat shield is loose. So, as I bought an American made car (a Pontiac), I figured that I could take it in here and have it serviced under my warranty.  I was wrong. The first problem experienced was the disparity between miles and kilometers. My car was manufactured for a Canadian customer (me) and has everything in metric, which Americans don’t use metric.

Then, I was told that my car is no longer under warranty. I told them that I bought the extended warranty (so, up to 120k KM), but instead of argue it, on James’ advice, I decided to leave it until I get back to Canada, and my dealership can deal with it. If it is the heat shield, it’s a simple fix. If it’s not, well, we’ll deal with it when that comes. I’m not overly worried.

From that adventure, we went to an outlet mall.  I decided that I was going to buy a few things that I needed. So, after a few hours, I walked out with 2 pairs of shoes and some jeans. Not bad. I also, on umm, loan, got a camera so that I can take some pictures. I’ll be seeing if I can attach them here, of if I need to add them somewhere else.

We came back and decided that an afternoon swim was in order. James, being the post-surgical gimp that he is, was only able to wade for fear of getting his dressing wet. With the amount of kids in the pool, however, no serious swimming was able to be done by me. Instead, we lounged pool-side sipping pina coladas (which weren’t all that good). As well, we learnt that we should not eat at the on-site restaurant as the food is not so great.

We spent the eve at Downtown Disney. I’m amazed at how big this place actually is. Apparently, there’s a whole city just for Disney. Craziness!

We ate at a place called the “T-Rex” which, in reality, is just a rainforest café with dinos. Really nothing special. While on Pleasure Island however I was able to pick up and couple things for people back home. I’ve not done all the shopping, however, I’ve begun it at least!

While I’m enjoying myself here, I’m feeling somewhat homesick. Maybe it’s because I know I have a 24 hour drive ahead of me, or maybe it’s just me being a little moody. I really don’t know.

This time down here was to be time for me to think. The last month has been a rather crazy rollercoaster in life, and had set me back a little. It was, and is, a time to think about what I want, and as well, what I want in a relationship with someone, whenever I meet that someone. In all honesty, I know what I want, however, it’s getting it that has, in the past, been a little of a mystery.

My biggest thing is that I want communication. I want to be talked to, to understand, to be listened to, and to listen to. If there’s a problem, I want to know. I don’t want to know when the problem has snowballed into something unrepairable, but rather before that, when something can be done (if indeed something can be done).

In one of our many conversations, Wendy has told me that I need to sit down and think about what I absolutely require from a relationship, and from a person that I want to be in a relationship with. To think about things that are a non-negotiable, things that are negotiable, and things that are just my own idiosyncrasies, for me to sort out later. I’m not going to post them here, but I am aware of these things.

As I was somewhat in a mood, and just because I wanted to, I went for a run around the area.  It’s somewhat spooky running around, trees on both sides of me, no lights, moonlight and just roads around me. I don’t know if I will go running again at midnight while I’m down here. I’ll probably try to do it earlier.  I did, however, find a course that takes me about 30-45 minutes to complete (roundtrip), so I’m happy. I can at least keep up some level of physical fitness while I am down here.

As always, feel free to comment, or email me directly!

I’m going to go read, and then go to bed.  What are you reading you may ask? (Don’t kill me if I cite this wrong mom!) “My Stroke of Insight,” Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph. D.

It’s a wonderful book about a Neuroscientist who experiences her own hemorrhagic stroke. It takes us through everything that she is feeling, and experiencing.  I rather like it so far, especially since I care for these patients frequently throughout my job. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in neurology and the patho-phys of a stroke. Its rare that a scientist gets to experience the very thing she studies, and write about it!

Well, I’ve received an email that I want to return, then I’m going to read and sleep.  Until tomorrow!

Shane