It's been a while eh?! :)
My trip to Canada was amazing, long, stressful, fun, exciting . . . and I came home sick. Which is probably why I haven't written anything yet. I'm not even sure what to post or how to divide it all up. There was just SO much.
Canadians are super friendly and I had no idea that was a stereotype that they lived up to.
The PanAm Games were crazy! I'm really not sure if I'd do another honestly. The equestrian stuff was an hour outside of Toronto where the main Games were held. However, I heard there was venue 5 hours away, so we weren't the furthest removed. We stayed in the basement of someone's house and that was very convenient as it was close to the main equestrian venue. But what I didn't expect was the lackadaisical, nonchalant feeling at the venue. First of all equestrian events were SOLD OUT. Yet the stands were rarely over half full for the dressage competition. For cross country. . . they sold out as well . . . all whopping 5,000 tickets! Cross country day at Rolex KY boasts a whopping 30K++++ So this felt super duper tiny. It was also a 2* (though they say a "hard" 2*) as opposed to the 4* of Rolex. I'm so "used" to the environment at Rolex where the press people recognize each other that I wasn't prepared for the notification of camera equipment getting stolen at various press venues (not the equestrian venue that I know of). So while the competition felt much more relaxed and not as important as it should have (due to lack of spectators) the media area felt more tense. Taking your heavy camera equipment to the porta-potty with you because there isn't anyone in the media center you know to watch it is not fun.
Traveling with many people can get. . . complicated. On the first day off from equestrian competition, we all ended up in downtown Toronto at the main media area for the WHOLE day which was not planned. I was not happy about it and all in all it's a day I'd like to forget. I had no way to leave so I made the best of it.
In the "Panamania" area downtown there was an open courtyard area of food, a stage, some sponsors. . . it wasn't nearly as exciting as I expected and there wasn't much to do. But here I am with Pachi - the mascot of the Games. The number of quills (41) represent the # of countries competing at the Games.
It was in this Panamania area that I had my first Canadian beer.
I photographed gymnastics that day and will likely share some photos in another post. It was super fun and challenging. But again the whole day was way longer than I expected and I was unprepared for that. I'd have packed for the day differently. Ending the day eating dinner @ McDonald's at 10 pm is not exactly the "Canadian" experience I wanted to have. But moving on!
I did get to try Poutine - fries, gravy and cheese curds.
It's ok. Not sure I like the flavor of the gravy.
I did get to try Ketchup chips! :)
They were shocking at first. I actually said "just drink the ketchup from the bottle". But they grew on me. I don't know why they aren't sold here. . .
I also got a red velvet oreo McFlurry from McD's. Though it was not during that horrible day mentioned above. It was yummy!
On cross country day, my husband was with me. . . our lunch was corn in a cup. We chose the Canadian flavor option. It had maple syrup, dijon mustard and maple butter. I cannot describe it. It was actually *really* good.
I'll leave you with that for now. I will make another post with some competition photos and another regarding our trip to Niagara Falls! :)
I believe I mentioned in my previous post that I might be going to Canada. The "official" word came yesterday. I'm going to the PanAm Games as a photographer! Specifically for the equestrian sports, but my understanding is that my credentials will include access to all sports.
Applications to be a photographer were due last year. I opted not to apply. Well not to have my friend apply (she organizes the big bunch of us that photograph at Rolex, and the smaller groups that do other events). Why did I opt not to apply? Well I wasn't sure about work. I can't elaborate, but that was near the top of the list. Also near the top was the fact that come hell or high water I want to be building a house this year. That's a topic for another post, but if the house doesn't happen I want to be buying my *own* house. Yes you read that right. My husband will not move off the farm and rightfully so. So it would be me leaving to buy my own house. Again, a whole other topic. So I just declined to apply. This weekend my friend sent me an email that said they may have an extra credential and was I interested in going? I took that as a sign. First of all I know my friend and for her to send an email meant that she was 99.9% sure there would be a credential. So I said yes. I did talk to my husband, but I had pretty much decided. Like I said, it was a sign. My thoughts were also such that I don't expect my husband to commit to building a house this year. So why not do whatever the hell I want? This is in July afterall. I can focus on my house goal in the second half of the year. And if my some miracle the heavens open up, the planets align, humans become immortal, horses can fly. . . . and house plans actually happen, they can continue while I'm in Toronto. The games are July 10-26. I don't know that I would attend the whole time, but a decent amount of time. The bigger question is fly or drive? While this sounds all fancy, this is done on my dime, as is Rolex. There are a million perks to doing this that make it worthwhile so I'm not complaining. But travel, lodging, food. . . nothing is paid for. (Though often times companies feed the press free meals.) But I'll still take the gig.
One of the things I needed for my PanAm credentials was a passport type photo. Well I needed one for my FOID card too. So off I went to Walgreens at lunch yesterday. Their camera was broke. So I go to CVS. I get the photo and I ask if I can get a digital copy. No go. Back at work I scan the photo. But the photo is so small that it's likely not going to work for the credentials. I did send off my FOID card application though. I didn't realize the FOID card is an IL thing. I thought all states had this. I can't buy a gun or ammo in IL without this card. In MO you can buy both apparently without any kind of card. As an IL resident I can go to MO and buy ammo without any issues, but not a gun, cause that has to transfer to me in IL and I need the FOID card for that. Leave it to IL to be complicated. I figure it's just for the money cause it costs $10. Of course IL is still in debt, so . . .
When I get home I dig out one of the last photo backdrops I still have. I'm actually selling it on Sat to a friend. The backs of the paper drops are all white. I hang this on the wall in my house. I ask Roger to snap a photo. That takes about 10 tries. He kept cutting off the top of my head or a shoulder. I pay close attention to composition, but I guess that's from practice. So we finally get one. I email two of them to my friend and she has the scan of the passport photo too. I'm not sure which they ended up using. As they had to size them for the credentials. The rules were similar to a passport photo - no shadows, no hair blocking your face. . . but I was also not allowed to smile. On my passport I'm smiling, so that isn't a rule, or wasn't at that time. So this is the one I hope gets used if I have to walk around with it hanging around my neck during the games. Of course it'll probably be cropped to be mostly my face. Eh - it could have been better and would have been if we had taken it earlier in the day. My hair had been in a pony tail by this point. Imagine that.
Today we have a clinic at my barn. I haven't had a lesson with my trainer since November (by my choice). I made cookies . .. chocolate chip with Valentine's M&M's. I'm sad to say that I had some dough and one baked cookie. :( This was the demise of my clean eating. Ok not the demise, but I felt horrible. More guilty than actually feeling bad. Though it's funny how I was sitting on the couch after I had eaten the cookie and I swear it felt like I was 20 lbs heavier and all my fat rolls were magnified! Funny how the brain works.
As for my comment in the last post regarding Vegas. . . well if you're a horse person you might know what's going on there. I'm still waiting to hear about that. It poses other complications due to timing. But I'm kind of keeping my fingers crossed.
