The Suicide Attempt

Work lately has been quite stressful for me and I often wonder how much more I can take. That combined with the recent snowfall when it is suppose to be spring and the fact that we went out to eat and they only served Pepsi made me realize that life is hard. So I decided it was time for drastic measures and maybe life just wasn't worth the trouble.

So Saturday morning I went downstairs for the final time, put on my sunglasses, shoes, IPOD and Coca-Cola toque and got into my car for what I thought may be the final time. I ended up a the Broadway Roastery, parked my car and went to sit on the bench outside to contemplate what I was about to do. It wasn't long before some people came along that I knew. They stood around me talking like they didn't know the severity of the situation. They were laughing and joking while I sat there trying to stay mentally focused for the task at hand. Then the time had come, I stood up, turned on my IPOD for the final time and....off we went for what would be the longest (and possibly last) run of my entire life.


I am planning on running the 10K this year at the Saskatchewan Marathon on May 25. I have been running a little bit here and there but due to the cold weather I took the entire week off. That apparently was a mistake because some people at church have a running group and invited me to join them this last Saturday. I took them up on the offer and then asked what I thought was a simple question, not realizing how it may ultimately effect my life, "How far are we running?". "Oh, just the Broadway bridge to Circle Drive bridge loop," came the casual retort. They may have well have been planning to run across Canada because either way I realized this may be the final run of life.


As the suicide attempt began that Saturday morning things were going well. I usually run a pace of 6min/km...no gazelle that's for sure but no sloth either (at least not a sleeping one). The four of us were running along and things were fine. I couldn't talk while I ran because I needed every ounce of breath possible just to stop my lungs from seizing up. It wasn't long before we hit the University bridge. 1 bridge down 2 to go. Then as continued we hit the train bridge. 2 bridges down 1 to go. Then I looked into the distance and luckily I had my binoculars with me because otherwise there was no way I could have seen the other bridge it appeared that far away. As I kept trudging along I noticed how the other three people in the group were slowly pulling away from me as either my pace was slowing down or they were just getting into their regular running rhythm.


After what seemed like an eternity my foot hit solid ground on the Circle Drive bridge and we all stopped to walk across. Then someone asked me, "Sheldon, do you need a stretch break?" Hmmm...a stretch break. My entire body already felt like it was going to break and the last thing I needed was to help it out by trying to pull my limbs apart on purpose! "I just need an ambulance," came my reply. That got a few chuckles and apparently they thought I was joking. But before I could insist we had walked across the bridge and they were off running again.


At this point right now I had run further than any other training runs I had done in the past. The only time I had ever run further in my entire life was the previous year at the 10K run at the Saskatchewan Marathon where I nearly collapsed at the end I was so tired. The worst part was, we were in the middle of no where. Circle Drive bridge is on the far north end of town and the only way back to civilization is to run back the way you came. So although my body was screaming at me to call a taxi, the only option was to keep going.


The last 46 minutes is all a blur. The other three members of our team had run ahead as I had told them not to worry about me and that I knew where we were going. They were kind enough to offer that they would occassionally look back to ensure I was still moving. As I plodded along my pace was getting slower and slower. My legs felt like they were seizing up. My lungs were complaining that there wasn't enough oxygen. Everything in my body pleaded for me to not end my life by completing this run. But I plunged on.


Finally the Broadway bridge was there and I was on the last leg of the journey. I rounded up onto the bridge and suddenly realized that with absolutely no energy left I had to run this entire bridge and it was all uphill! I pushed on with the speed of a turtle and just when I thought I had nothing left I saw the rest of the group lying on the grass at the finish area. I jogged up to them and asked if anyone wanted to go for another lap...luckily they had to get going. As I lay there filling my lungs with oxygen, massaging my sore legs, and being thankful that I hadn't actually died during that 10K run, I nearly had a heart attack when I heard someone say "So we'll see you here next week?"

Phantom of the Opera Tickets

A couple weeks ago they had a really great sale on Phantom of the Opera tickets for Saskatoon. The third balcony seats were selling for only $40 (plus service charge). Shiela and I don't go to many shows at all, but we figured that was a pretty good deal and snapped up the tickets as the sale was only on for about 3 days. We picked Thursday May 1 as the day to attend as we figured nothing would be up that day. We were pumped to be able to attend the show.

Then yesterday I got a call from work. Now I have been working from home for over 2 years and very, very rarely does anything actually happen in Saskatoon. And since 2006 I don't think anything has at all that I was really involved with. So you would think that buying tickets to a show is pretty safe. It turns out one of our clients is having an event that very same day and I have been asked to work at it...and it will run the entire day and evening.

Therefore, I now must sell our tickets. We received a great deal on them and I'm going to sell them for the same amount we paid for them. The total cost for two tickets is $106.50 (see below for cost breakdown). The tickets are in Row A (first row) of the 3rd balcony. Leave a comment if you would like to buy them or just contact me if you know how to get a hold of me.

P.S These same tickets to buy on Ticketmaster now are $70 each (Total cost $166.50) so I'm offering a $60 discount!

Ticket cost breakdown: ($40X2 = $80 (Ticket Cost) + $9.75 X2=$19.50 ( Service Charge) + 1.50X2=$3.00 (Facility Charge) + $4.00 Processing Fee) = $106.50 (Total)

Not Entering the Dragon's Den

One of my favourite shows on CBC right now is Dragon's Den. For those who haven't seen it, it is a show where entrepreneurs enter into the Dragon's Den (a basement in some studio in Toronto) and pitch their business ideas to 5 wealthy dragons (aka business people with lots of cash). It's a great show and fun to watch all the neat ideas people have and how the dragons tear them to shreds!

I am a dreamer and always have a lot of business ideas on my mind. I want to own my own business someday and it's just a matter of the right idea (which by the way I currently have a new one that I'm excited about). I've always thought it would be neat to be on that show and present one of my ideas to them. They might hash it to bits, but it would be cool to just be there and experience it.

Well, this past Friday I found out that Dragon's Den auditions were actually here in Saskatoon! Usually I have my ear to the ground with that type of thing, but the tremors didn't come to me and I didn't see this coming. Apparently not a lot of other people heard about it either. There were only three entries in all of Saskatoon. They all presented and then the producers decide who gets to actually come onto the show.

Oh well, missed them this time around. I need to get my business proposal done and be ready for next time when they come here. Then I'll be ready to fight fire with fire...(get it, they're dragons so they breathe fire..ah, forget it)

Unstoppable

I have seen the light...or actually the green. Yes, the green of the greens. Ok, it's actually still pretty brown but who cares because the golf season is now upon us! I am so excited and can't wait to get out on the course!

This year I am pretty much going to be unstoppable on the golf course. I've got all my ducks in a row and am ready for the season. Shiela bought me a new golf glove for my birthday (my old one had so many holes in it I don't even know why I wore it). She also bought me golf rain gloves so I can golf in the rain and they are designed to help me keep gripping the club. We are pretty hard core sometimes and have often been out on the course as the rain starts to fall. I also have two golf lessons lined up as a Christmas present from my sister and brother-in-law and so I will be ITZ.

The best part of this season is the new purchase I made just the other day...golf shoes. I have always just worn my runners when golfing but due to some birthday money I received this year I decided that it was time to get some golf shoes to help improve the game. They are going to be awesome for one main reason...they are waterproof. Since I'm not independently wealthy we usually hunt down the golf deals in town and golf at those times. This usually means early in the morning when often the course still has some sprinklers on or there is dew on the ground. In the past my shoes have always been soaked by the time I'm done...but not anymore. That combined with the cleats on the bottom will at least cut off 4-5 strokes per game.

So Ben and Colin, take one last long look at the golf trophy, because I'm going to be winning the trophy right at the start of the season and you won't be seeing it again. Now, if I could just get my driver to work...

Hospital Visit

Well it looks like I was once again in the hospital. Apparently I just can't get over this sickness I've been having. With so many bugs going around it is pretty hard to avoid getting sick. I got so sick I was basically like a ghost in the hospital.

Actually, I was a ghost in the hospital. Friday morning I found out that I had ended up in the hospital on Thursday and nobody came to see me. There were phone calls though as people phoned each other to talk about my hospital visit. My parents found out I was in the hospital. My brother-in-law checked to see if I was on the hospital list as he left work that night. My sister phoned my parents to talk about my hospital visit. Then Friday morning my parents told my little sister I had been in the hospital. She asked if anyone had phoned to talk to me. No one had. So she phoned me up at home to let me know I had been in the hospital.

And that was news to me because I had not been to the hospital. I had never even been sick (which is amazing because Shiela has had a cold for quite a while). Actually I was at work all day Thursday and then played soccer Thursday night. I found out that someone had heard someone was in the hospital and they thought they heard my name. So the word started spreading that I was in the hospital again. Funny how rumours can do that so quickly.

So just to set everyone at ease. I am back at home...I mean I never left home...except for soccer...so no worries. I guess I should stay in touch with my family more often!