Happy Victoria Day everyone!
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Today is a holiday here in Canada. While most people have the day off today, I do not.
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I know, I told everyone in my Friday musing that I was looking forward to the long weekend, but at the end of the day Friday my boss dropped the Monday bomb on me and here I sit at my desk. Normally I would have protested but there are a lot of things going on today that require my attention and I don't want to disappoint. I'm a little bit angry that I don't get to enjoy the long weekend with my family but I plan on turning this coming weekend into a long weekend so that should make up for the loss.
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As I mentioned, today is Victoria Day. I was listening on the radio this morning to an interviewer going around and interviewing people asking them what Victoria Day was. I was surprised to hear some of the answers people were throwing out there. This one guy actually thought Victoria day was the day Victoria's Secret was founded. Imagine, a day off work for that!
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I'm afraid I'm going to have to set the record straight today and give everyone the real meaning for Victoria Day and it has nothing to do with women's underwear. Victoria Day is celebrated on the last Monday before May 24th. Why May 24th you ask? Because that is the day Queen Victoria was born; it is her birthday we celebrate each year. You're sitting in your chair right now going, "So what?". For us here in Canada, however, we also celebrate something in addition to Queen Victoria's birthday; we are celebrating the current reigning Canadian sovereignty. This holiday has been celebrated on the last Monday before May 24th since 1901 folks, that is 108 years and counting we've been doing it this way.
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So who cares right? We still celebrate the birthday of a queen who has been dead a long time (since 1901). What about the current Queen? Why don't we celebrate her birthday? Well, Queen Victoria holds a special place in Canada. You see, she was the first sovereign of a confederated Canada. This means Queen Victoria was heavily involved in the creation of Canada and was there when Canada became the federal Dominion of Canada back on July 1st, 1867. The later half of the 19th century was a proud time for what we know as Canada today. That is where it all started and it was thanks to Queen Victoria that we became the country we are today.
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Queen Victoria lived a long and busy life. She was appointed Queen at a very early age (18) and reigned for 63 years. She was nicknamed the "grandmother of Europe" and has quite and interesting history. If you're interested in reading up on it, head on over to Wikipedia and check it out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_of_the_United_Kingdom).
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Some of you may have noticed the number at the end of my musing subject line today. No, that isn't a typo; that number is the number of days my wife and I have been doing P90X. That's right folks, time to batten down the hatches there's a fury of a storm coming. This morning at 10 minutes to 5 AM my wife and I woke and made our way downstairs; we fired up the TV and put in the P90X DVD for Day 1 and the next hour and a half are history. There is a lot to be said about going to bed after midnight and having to wake up at 5 AM to work out for over an hour. We plan on spending the next 90 days doing this routine, following the meal guides, following the diet plan, following the exercise plan and get ourselves in shape. Day 1 was Back and Shoulder which lasted about an hour followed by "Ab Ripper X" which is an INTESE abdominal workout that made me cry like a little child when it was over. We chased the workout down with a muscle rebuilding drink and a healthy breakfast and now I have nutritious snacks and a lunch with me at work today to help be burn the fat and build lean muscle. This is Day 1 and I want to curl up into a ball and cry.
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I'm sure it will get easier as time goes on and by the end of it I'll be looking for ways to challenge myself. It is quite amazing to get down on the floor and try to do a simple push-up only to find you can barely lift yourself off the floor. This too will become easier as we push forward (I hope). I'm actually quite motivated to make this work. If my wife is reading this she's probably saying something like, "Yeah, you looked motivated at 5 AM this morning when I dragged your sleepy ass out of bed!!" but I really do want this to work and I want to see my wife and I both shed pounds and get in shape. She deserves this workout and I hope I can be the motivational support she needs to succeed.
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Well folks, even though it is a holiday today I still need to get some work done. In fact, I think I'm going to be busier today than I normally am on a Monday which really sucks. My arms feel like jelly.
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Cheers,
Al
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