Putting 2009 in the Rear-view

2009 was an awesome year for Susan and me. It started with the two of us sitting on the gorgeous Orient Bay Beach in St. Martin. It ended with some competitive Jenga sessions and great company in Toronto. In between, I turned 30, competed in 2 triathlons, played a lot of squash and got some quality snowboarding in. I started playing drums again after a 2.5-year hiatus. I didn’t realize how much I missed drumming until I got back behind the kit. I spent 2 months on Saba with Susan doing my masters practicum with the Saba Immigration Department. I graduated with an MA in October and had my dad come from England, mom from Calgary, uncle from Vancouver, cousin from Halifax, and of course Lex from a couple blocks away. Susan’s year was a plough of 3 difficult semester of medical school, but as usual she rocked! Needless to say, putting 2009 in the rear-view comes with mixed feelings. However, 2010 is already shaping up to be a big year for us.

Most New Year’s start with resolutions, but we don’t do them for whatever reason, never have and probably never will. We’re more Chinese New Year’s fans. That being said, we are big on goal setting. The past few New Year’s, Susan and I have set some yearly goals that we wish to attain. For instance, in 2008, Susan set the lofty goal of getting into medical school, which she did. Now she is close to finishing the Basic Sciences portion of her MD training. The 20 months that seemed like an eternity in September 2008 have evaporated and she is now 3 months away from leaving the classroom and applying her knowledge in practical settings. Her first 6 months of rotations will be in PEI, after that we’re not sure. Either way, April 2010 dominates our goal calendar for the moment. In fact, April has exclusive rights to the giant red sharpie for crossing days off.




For me, I have some fitness goals that I want to share. The first is to do the 4.5 km Nevis-St. Kitts channel swim at the end of March. I’m assured that the water is calm, warm and clear. Time will tell. In late June, I want to participate in the Tip-to-Tip ride in PEI. I’m going to have to look into renting a bike because my beloved cruiser won’t hack it. Finally, I want to add 2 triathlons to my fitness goals. My first triathlon was on Toronto Island in August. It rocked. I loved the competition, but was surprised by the camaraderie of the event. So July 31st, I will compete in the Triathlon By the Sea in PEI and I would like to return to Toronto for the Island triathlon again. Maybe in 2011 I’ll get ultra competitive and get an intimidating bike helmet like the dudes from Star Wars…