2 exciting things, one massive hill climb....

So, this week, two pretty neat things have happened...

1) i have been labeled a "premium chocolate lover" by a marketing company, and will be receiving a large crate of chocolate...  the beginning started on facebook, when i got this message:

Hi Amelia,

My name is Ana, and i came across your facebook profile when searching for fashion lovers in vancouver. 

I work for Marchstick, a word of mouth marketing agency working on behalf of Dove Chocolate to launch their all-new line of Milk, Dusk, Dark and 71% Cocoa choolate.  we're selection 100 social and influential women in the Vancouver area to receive a free Dove pleasure kit containing the full line of Dove chocolate!  All we ask in return is your feedback about your experience.

If you're interested, and would like additional information, please visit our website...

*followed by contact information*

so, there we go. i filled out the survey, then answered a few questions on the phone the next day, and apparently i qualify as a "premium chocolate lover."  I could've told you that.  but, i like how it how this lady was searching for "fashion lovers" and "100 social and influential women in Vancouver."  I had no idea that i was under those categories!  but sweet action. large  chocolate crate, i will not deny. 

2) in my tri training, the realization that I *Cannot* do tri's here in canada without a wetsuit, dawned upon me.  then, the realization that they are super expensive also dawned upon me.  so, to make a longer story short, my dad is going to get me one for my birthday.  his reasoning? the following: "well, i figure you can afford the entry fees; even if your bike shoes are old and stinky and aren't totally comfortable, you can still get the race done.  but, with out a wetsuit, you will die of hypothermia.  and, i don't want to deal with that."

thanks dad :) you rock my socks.  i am so excited to race these races.  

and, on that note, today i did a bike-run workout... it was hard, especially with the fact that my bike ride was the grueling "Cypress hill climb" 

here is a map, of approximently the main part of the ride i did:

it was amazing, and difficult, and challenging, and exhilarating all at once. I don't think that there is a ride in Vancouver, other than the sister mountain, Seymour, as "iconic" as this one. Cypress bowl road is approximently 15km long, with 13km of the road being a relentless 7-9% grade, climbing from elevation of 215 metres, to 916 meters.  although the hill is not ridiculously steep, it does not let up.  after the viewpoint at about km 5.5, it seems a lot harder, and, i distinctly remember moments of blackness as the edges of my eyes, and another moment of wanting to throw up, and still other moments of euphoria.  

once you hit the top, you turn around put your head down, squint your eyes (in my case, b/c i dont have sunglasses), and hit over 60km an hour, and cruise back down to the highway; eventually to start to head back to van city.

the run following that was short, but necessary. following the run, i went home and proceeded to collapse.

just another day of training.  

finally, yesterday, i went to a forum at my church about homelessness.  it was the day after i was riding home on the bus from the downtown eastside, and had to deal with this man who was either a)drunk, b)high, or c)both.  i spent the ride telling him to stop leaning on me, and telling him that i will not go the a washroom with him.  i eventually convinced him to get off the bus, at the stop closest to the hospital.  but, the one thing i think about when this happens, is how poverty, mental illness, homelessness and the such is rarely comfortable.  i also rarely find it dangerous.  but, sometimes i wish that seedy men would realize that they aren't going to get what they want, and to learn to just leave people alone. 

 i also wish that we could all learn to love more and more.  and not just learn to love the ones that we are comfortable with, but the ones who also make us feel uncomfortable.

this weekend, i will have my "summer solstice birthday bash at the beach...."  (even though by birthday doesn't occur still for a few weeks, it is the best weekend for this!)  come one, come all.  i would love for you to be there.