Look what arrived in the mail today!

I've been eagerly waiting for this for a while, and it finally arrived. It was sitting in some bin in a Canada Post warehouse while they were locked out by management that appears to have cooked up a sweetheart deal with the government. What do you think it is?

Come on, surely you have some ideas.

It's been a month since my last ART session, and it all feels pretty good. He was impressed by how my knee has continued to improve, and how well my back was aligned. There were some minor snicks as he manipulated my legs and one hip, but nothing like the first few times. Those really took it out of me. Tonight I was thinking of going for a run, which is a first for after an ART appointment. I've never even considered it before, since just walking was enough. In the end I decided not to, mainly because I'm trying new things, and don't want to over do it.

Besides, there was another first for me. I moved to Calgary in 1980, and I wasn't what you'd call a Stampede person. My first few years here I took vacation then, and went out of town. One year I made a point of wearing a suit every day of Stampede. With a tie, out in public and everything. I got some strange looks, since I was probably one of maybe a dozen people that would do so. However it's gradually been growing on me. One year when I was at BP a group of us scored rodeo tickets, and I actually had a pretty good time. At any public event I like watching what doesn't get shown on TV. All the organizational, setup, or problem fixing sort of stuff. No shortage of that at the rodeo.

Wandering around the grounds was interesting, especially on the eye candy front. There is no better time or place to be a guy or lesbian, than during Calgary Stampede. The women I talk to don't have any complaints either. But I'd typically go to one event during the week of madness. Maybe. A big year would be two events, and some years I wouldn't do any. This year is a bit of a breakthrough. Four days, four events. Yeehaw!

Monday is a breakfast put on by the company I contract through. Good professional networking and all. Tuesday is Linda's work breakfast. This group puts on a good one, and they're actually nice people.
Wednesday is Talisman Energy's breakfast. Gotta go to that, there are a surprising number of people I knew there, considering I've only been there a few months. Again, a good networking opportunity, and there are some people I need to "bump into".
Thursday afternoon is a BBQ at Heritage Park put on by Talisman. This is a must! Good grub, and I'm told a good time will be had by all. I can't wait to see how one of my co-workers makes out. He's fresh from Norway, and simply doesn't believe the stories people have been telling him. Even though it's different examples of the same stories. I hope he doesn't learn the hard way, but there are a couple people that have volunteered to chaperone him.

So there I am, hitting a new record of Stampede events for one year. I even went to buy a pair of proper boots so I'd fit in better at so many events. Who knows, I might even get invited to more. I think Calgary is finally rubbing off on me. I'd never quite imagined there were so many boot choices. I got a pair dressy enough to wear to the office with dress pants, and yet not so flashy I wouldn't wear them if I was going some place such boots would be appropriate. (I'm talking to you, polo Amanda!) Here's a pic.

They look much darker than they really are, almost black. In fact they are only a bit darker brown than the wood floor. I wore them to work, figuring if my feet protested I could take a break and put on my dress shoes. Wore them all day and they felt fine. But now I know why cowboys don't walk fast. They mosey along. It's because you can't really walk fast in these boots, at least I can't yet. The heel has no padding at all, and I'm still learning to walk with a higher heel than I've ever worn.

I haven't forgotten the training. I was downstairs for some stretching and a bit of core, including the dreaded plank. Note to self, next time, do plank before the knees to elbows thing.