Packing Paranoia

Oh travel preparations. I am sitting here at 1:47am, in one of the dresses I bought in a second-hand store to wear at a costume party because it is one of the only items of clothing I own that is not packed away in one of three suitcases, and cannot will my mind to rest because it is racing with all the last-minute to-do list items that I under no circumstances must forget. Call credit card company and tell them I am going abroad. Print out hostel reservations. Buy new set of measuring cups and spoons since those are some of the few life-essential items I cannot get in Europe. And I am sure I am forgetting at least one or two important things that -as mentioned - I should not be forgetting. Oh well. Sometimes I feel like the last couple days of preparation are the worst mentally, especially if you have ample time to do things such as packing. With more than enough time to get everything done, either you procrastinate and end up hurriedly stuffing things into suitcases while trying to remember where you last saw your passport, or - in my case the more likely scenario - you are done packing 3 days in advance, and end up prowling the house with nothing to do AND nothing to wear but a couple of threadbare t-shirts originating from grade 8, an old bikini and a ball gown. Plus by virtue of being paranoid about forgetting things your to-do lists keep passing your mind like a mantra, interrupting your concentration on normal dinner conversations (as in "What would you like for lunch tomorrow, Janina?" "Um... wait did I make sure to check the vegetarian food option on my flight and also when does online check-in open and I still need to download some easy reading material onto my kindle" "Janina?" "What was the question?") In a way, it will be a relief once my plane lifts off. Then everything will be done, and what won't be done can't be done so it will be alright. Until then, I shall 

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As well as download all free Kindle books that sound intriguing. 

Triathlons are the new Marathon!

Anybody who has met me knows that I am a bit of a endurance sport - fan. Uttering sentences like 'oh, the 30-km practice runs for my marathon training were so much FUN' probably gives that away. Having battled various foot- and knee injuries in the last months, running long distances wasn't really in the books for me this summer, and I desperately cast around to find another way to get my hit of endorphins  - and found it in the great combination of sports that is triathlon - which links swimming, biking and running together. I had already the most amazing role model in front of me - my dad, who was and still is a pretty good swimmer (I hope you catch the sarcasm - he is training to qualify for the Masters World Championships 2014 in Montreal right now) and competed in various triathlons over the past years. The awesome support of my family made it possible that, instead of signing up for a pricey competition and travelling miles around Quebec, Dad and I (with the help of supporter-extraordinaire Mom) held our own sprint triathlon right in the middle of Trois-Rivieres! 

We started out with 750 meters of swimming which I finished in 14:58 min...

then added 20 km of road biking (in 38:27min) ...

and finished it off with 5km of running (in about 21 min)

for a total of 1:20:57 (including changing from one sport to another)! 

Do you see that my legs are just about to give up?

Man, that was tough, but so much fun! This was the first time that I 'raced' when swimming and I did find it challenging, especially keeping my breathing constant when picking up the pace (as the lifeguard apparently noticed since, after I exited the water, he asked my mom whether I was asthmatic since I was breathing so heavily. Well at least I gave it my all =). 

Also, I was glad I had practiced so-called 'brick'-workouts (basically combining two sports such as biking and running in one workout) because, true to name, your legs DO feel like bricks after dismounting from your bike and starting to run and at least I was expecting that feeling. 5 k never felt this long. And the fact that I thought the end was one road bend earlier didn't help - envision me getting up to final-sprint speed, turning the corner and seeing ... more trees. Ugh. Ouch. Haha. 

I may not have gotten a race t-shirt or a medal, but the awesome feeling of achievement (and beaming faces of my family) is just the same. And now I am all the more motivated for the next step - joining a triathlon club in Bonn and training for the Olympic distance (basically double all the distances above) sometimes next summer. I was also intrigued by the Bonn triathlon, though 3.8km swimming, 60km biking and 15km running does sound a little extreme right now (especially the swimming...). We shall see. Anybody wanna be my long distance-training partner? 

Coding Fascination

Computers and the internet have forever been a total black box for me. Other than getting upset about why some programs would run too slow, or trying to figure out how to format the text of my blog posts by clicking repeatedly on the corresponding buttons of the blog-post-writing interface, I never really found it necessary to consider the workings of my everyday laptop activities, and coding - in my mind - was something only super intelligent and super nerdy programming geeks did. How prejudicial of me. Thankfully, Hillary supplied me with inspiration to keep my brain engaged post-graduation, and one point on this awesome list of free classes (gasp!) was a link to Codecademy, specifically their Code Year track.

I have probably been gushing to too many people already about what a revelation this was, but the fact that 4 months later I am still doing my little coding exercises and talking about Java and html is proof enough how fun and motivating, as well as empowering, learning how to code is. The Code Year Track is split up in different sections that will walk you through basic Javascript, HTML, CSS and more - bringing you upto speed on constructing small programs to making your first website all by yourself - and best of all have countless exercises that give you practical experience as well as fun motivation (plus you can compete with your friends for badges and awards! #nerd). All of a sudden, computers and programs have ceased to be the equivalent to sorcery to me and more similar to an advanced math class - I'm not quite there yet to fully comprehend everything, but well on my way.

Looking at the html version of my blog, and actually being able to understand at least half of what it all means, is extremely gratifying (practical example: by going into the html, in this post I finally managed to get my images to the exact size I needed them! and justify the middle paragraph! mini-win times two!), and I would definitely suggest to everybody to dabble at least a bit in coding if only to crack open that black box like I did. And if you are at McGill next semester, make sure to consider AltU which offers student-teaching-students coding classes - I had a fabulous time this summer with our awesome teacher George who will teach another Java class this Fall!

Book Club: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

There are few instances where I watch a movie based on a book before I read the book itself, but through a combination of my total unawareness of popular culture and awesome friends, I found myself sitting in a viewing of Blade Runner last winter, totally immersed in a futuristic society that could not be more dystopian. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick is the (loose) basis of the story line of Blade Runner, and the two of them are so intrinsically linked together in my mind that a review of one while neglecting the other would be futile. What the movie does extremely well is setting the scene for the main plot: the danger of humanoid robots - in fact, so extremely humanoid that even experts have trouble telling the difference - escaping into a post-apocalyptic society where they could potentially go on a rampage since their one main distinguishing characteristic is their complete lack of empathy. Other than that, neither their physique nor their intellect or reactions give them away - except maybe for the fact that they might even be able to outsmart humans since they function much more analytically, free from all these emotions that prevent humans from making rational decisions. This bone-chilling set-up is mirrored in "Blade Runner" by a desolate metropolistic landscape where the isolation and disillusionment is palpable. 

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In contrast, the writing style of "Do Androids" is perplexedly matter-of-fact; in the beginning, the android headhunter seems more disgruntled with his lower-middle class lifestyle than daunted by the prospect of facing murderous machines (though that fact does change over the course of the story). Weirdly, it works though, similarly to the magical realism John described when we discussed A Thousand Years of Solitude - the reader is drawn even faster into the story in which this sort of society is so obviously normal for its inhabitants, and is more closely confronted with the incredible facts the society deals with because it is less easy to shrug it off as fantasy. 

Furthermore, I loved two aspects of the story especially because they were completely absent from the movie and yet provided such added depth: firstly, the obsession with animals that gave the story its title (after nuclear warfare, animals are dishearteningly rare; our hero headhunter's main pride is his electric sheep which, when it breaks and gives away the fact that it was not a real live pet quickly shames him into incredible feats in order to reacquire the social capital that comes with owning a living animal), and secondly the religious aspect (members of the dystopian society all own an Empathy Box which, when utilized, reunites them mentally and physically with the struggles of Wilbur Mercer, the founder of the religion of Mercerism). Both I find introduce important questions to ponder (beyond the discussion on the importance of empathy as distinguishing human characteristic which John highlighted): what is the true value of life, both human and non-human, and is our current society paying it the respect it merits? Will we only learn to do so when it is already too late, as scarcity economics tell us is normal human behavior? And what is the role of religion, any religion, as questionable and problematic as it may be, in helping people to live through their struggles and (as an online web-comic surprisingly poignantly described) helping them "cope with the fact that you are a bag of meat sitting on a rock in outer space and that someday you will die and and are completely powerless, helpless and insignificant in the wake of the beautiful cosmic shitstorm we call existence"?

The National Park a Bike Ride Away

This summer in Montreal, I am repeatedly baffled by the options of outdoor activities available really close to Montreal if one only googles around a little. Case in point: Les Iles-de-Boucherville. This National Park is a mere 20k from downtown Montreal, and thus made the perfect outing location for an extensive bike ride. You (and your bike) can get onto the islands with one of three tiny ferries for $6 per return ticket (including the park entrance fee), and the park has another 21 km of bike paths perfect for exploring. The best part - you can even rent kayaks and canoes there! 

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Though, be forewarned - the "trip through the wilderness" that the Montreal Gazette advertized only starts after you survive what pretty much amounts to a cross between Jersey Shore and the Cote d'Azur of Montreal - tons of pretentious speedboats with equally obnoxious passengers blasting dance music, chugging beer and "enjoying nature". Huh. 

Finally, it's advisable to take note that ferries depart the mainland at every full hour and leave from the islands at every half hour, and that the last one leaves at 5.30 on the dot - my friend and I arrived at the dock at 5.26 and were very happy not to have to swim ashore (since the only road leading up to the islands is the highway.) Happy exploring!