Prior to this September, Scott and I have gone on two previous cruises.  I wouldn’t say we’re experts, but we pick up on things pretty quickly.

I can definitely say, cruising with Disney is quite a different experience from cruising with Princess or Royal Caribbean, who we cruised with previously. Here are some things I learned prior to cruising with Disney.  I will also be writing an entry on the things I learned while on a Disney cruise.

I’m going to write this from the perspective as an adult cruising without children.  A lot of people wonder why would adults want to cruise on Disney?  Well, it’s like, why would an adult want to go to Walt Disney World?  I think over the next two blog entries, you’ll see.

Some of these may also be unique to the longer Disney cruises just given the length and opportunities that you don’t necessarily find or have on a shorter cruise:

• While on Cruise Critic, there are “Roll Calls” to connect with other passengers that are taking the same cruise, Disney cruises also create Facebook groups that allow you connect even more with other cruisers.
• The longer cruises like a Transatlantic and Panama Canal definitely drive camaraderie.
• Through the Facebook group, there are all kinds of events created
  • Group get together
  • Mixology classes
  • Chocolate and wine tasting sessions, and many more…
• There is definitely a tradition of decorating your stateroom door.  We had seen it on other cruise lines.  For example, when we celebrated our honeymoon, Princess posted a congratulatory magnet on our door.  Disney cruisers take it to the next level, sharing all kinds of artwork and designs that you can print ahead of time, and post on your door.
• We learned about “Fish Extenders: – being part of a group and trading small gifts throughout the cruise, is definitely a tradition.  People will make hanging pockets to receive mail and gifts hanging from the fish at each door where you would normally receive mail from the ship.
• There was a recipe exchange arranged prior to the cruise that we were part of.
• There are cruises that definitely have more adults on them, versus kids.  The Transatlantic and Panama Canal cruises are definitely more adult oriented due to how long they are, and the length of time.
• There are several events you may want to book ahead of time
  • Princess Meet & Greets
  • Character Brunches
  • Palo Dinners
  • Spa Treatments
  • For the kids, booking the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
• Disney sets up Adult-only excursions/tours, so if you don’t want to be around kids (we had no problem with kids), you don’t have to be.
• There will be a way to book a Palo Brunch and wine package once on board.  Head straight to Lumiere’s on Magic once you board.  As mentioned above, you can book Palo Dinners.  Supposedly you can book Palo Brunches online, but they go very quickly.

That’s probably it when it comes to what we learned.

2016 marked my 20th year of attending Pride in Toronto.

Pride was different this year. Quite the different beast from 20 years ago, and certainly in more recent times.

The one thing that was missing was, what I would consider, community representation. It’s been happening for years. I’m not talking about the parade, but booths for community groups, and even small vendors.

Sure they existed, but NOT in the numbers they used to. And it’s extremely sad to see. Remember when you’d run out Saturday to go see your mate’s at your local Bear club booth, then you’d see what new pride beads there were, and then go see what sport clubs were representing, etc…

Prices have been going up way too high. It’s great that the Toronto Pride committee wants to top entertainment every year, but at some point the kind of growth cannot be sustained. You really lose out on the point of the weekend.

I think it’s time to go back to and to re-find some of our roots. I’d love to see more clubs and gay-owned businesses represented.

From a parade perspective, it was really neat, essentially realizing that probably 50% of the people marching were allies of our community. As long as their hearts and understanding of what Pride represents stands, I have no issue with this. If you’re in it for the big party and not much more substance? For me, this isn’t the party or parade for you.

My take on the #BlackLivesMatter protest – In principle I support their cause, I support the protest.  After all, the GLBT community has done similar things to raise awareness and attention to the cause.  Not unlike ACT UP demanding support for people living with HIV/AIDS in the late 80s.

Silence=Death.

Think of that.

#BlackLivesMatter not queer?  Did you know that it was started by two Lesbians? #TheMoreYouKnow

Now about those demands.  I read the list, and I have no issue with the demands – though we’ll talk about the police one in a few points.  That said, they’re not that radical:

– Spaces for people of colour have been dwindling for years.  I’ve noticed it for a while.  This does need to change and I agree with continued space for Black Queer Youth, Blockorama, the South Asian Stage and funding.

– Self Determination – Has been a cornerstone of Canadian ideology and our community, yes.

– Increasing representation from marginalized communities within the gay community?  Absolutely

– Public Town Hall – Why not?  I don’t think this is a bad idea.

Now, regarding the demands that police not be involved with Pride.  I’ll be honest, I’m mixed about this one – hear me out.

On one hand, this year, I actually felt okay and somewhat thankful with police active patrolling on the streets.  It was weird to see, but given what’s happened in Orlando and other situations for violence I welcomed it.

On the flip side, you can understand my reluctance to trust police when they raid establishments (Pussy Palace anyone?), when they turn up the heat on gay establishments (The Toolbox, The Eagle, Woody’s and other bars).  I’ve had friends beaten up by police for being a faggot – and yes, I choose my words carefully there.  I’ve got friends in the force, as I’ve mentioned in the past, afraid to come out because regardless of the displays of affection to our community shown on the weekend, behind the scenes it’s still a different matter.

I can guarantee that there are many a queer person who at one point or another, from at least pre-2005 who would to tell the police to take a flying fuck – Again, I pick my words carefully because THAT is certainly what has gone through the minds of every gay person of my generation or earlier.

I can understand the desire to see considerably less to no police presence as requested by Black Lives Matter.  If we think the GLBT had it bad, we all know that Black and people of colour get it logarithmically worse with racial profiling and everything else that goes with being a person of colour.

Back on the flip side of the flip side, you have gay people, people of colour and people who represent both within the police force.  There are people who, I believe, are trying to make change happen.

All things considered, I choose to go with being reconciliatory, and I believe in kaizen.  Ultimately though, reverse discrimination doesn’t work for me.

I don’t consider this a hijacking.  It’s a group with some valid concerns that needs answers and real change. A whole lot of people need change, this change.  Considering it was a relatively short delay versus the several hour delays we’ve had in past years, there’s no reason to get all bent out of shape about that.

So the MINI has gone through it’s first software update. And by software update, I’m not talking about the head unit aka the entertainment system, iDrive, etc…

I’m talking the main computer of the car, the one that keeps the engine running smoothly, etc…

Why did it need to be updated?  Well after getting an oil change done, some MINIs get a Drivetrain Malfunction error.  It comes on and then it goes off if you restart the car.  Concerning, but it’s a well known issue with 2014+ MINIs.  So I called the dealer up, setup and appointment to get it checked out.  I already knew the resolution was more than likely a software update.

I’ve noticed some interesting things since the software update.  Firstly, definitely the car is running smoother.  Not just as a result of the oil change, which certainly did make the car run smoother after 15,000 km – and the oil change is included in the cost of the vehicle for 3 years or 55,000km.

The software update does seem to have made some other changes

• I’m perceiving acceleration and such to be smoother.
• The one that seems more interesting is the green counter, when in Green Mode. In short, it tracks how much further you’re going as a result of good driving habits.

I have never been able to get above, maybe 22km per tank of gas in terms of “gas saved”. Meaning, I went 22km further because of the way I’ve been driving.

I setup a surprise trip for Scott and I to go to St. John’s for the weekend. The trip was more about me getting Scott out to the East Coast as he had never been. In September we’re doing a transatlantic trip but skipping Newfoundland for Nova Scotia – Sydney and Halifax. I couldn’t let go that we were bypassing the greatest province in Canada – Newfoundland.

This trip has been very healing for me, more than I thought it would be going into it.

I’m sitting in the airport where as a 4 year old, in the fishbowl of a waiting area not knowing that my world was about to be rocked. The vision never left me, of my Dad looking through the glass seeing his wife and two kids leaving never to return.

As time goes on, we rebuild ourselves and what I see in St. John’s is kind of a metaphor for this trip. That fishbowl of an airport no longer exists, it’s been torn down with something better a monument of a city and province taking pride in itself, and in it’s aviation history.

This trip, I guess, was about as much as getting Scott out to the east coast where he had never been, but it also turned into me being able to take ownership for my feelings about the city and province of my birth, and have a great time

A bit of reclamation of identity, healing, making more good memories that build on trips in 1995 and 1998, and reliving some very good memories.

I’ve always been a proud Newfoundlander, but given I’ve never really grown up in the culture, I didn’t totally really understand what it meant to be a Newfoundlander, a townie (what they call us from St. John’s), etc… Despite living in Ontario for 36 years out of 42, I don’t consider myself to come from Ontario. I’ve always been a Newfie first.

It’s been hard to really take on being proud of coming from a place where there’s been so much hurt and pain generated, with very complex emotions as a result of a very complex set of circumstances. A place in many respects used as a weapon against me and my immediate family – my mother, father and sister.

St. John’s is an amazing city, and Newfoundland, at least the parts I saw of it from 1974-1979, 1995 x 2, 1998 and today in 2016 is spectacularly beautiful. How my grandmother could use it as a weapon as she did, is unfathomable and was unacceptable. I’ve known that for years, I’ve even felt that for years, but my resolve is now even stronger.

In many respects, this trip was my way of saying, “Fuck you” to all of that pain and replacing it with something amazing, with Scott. Needless to say, it was an amazing time we had.

This place has changed so much in the 18 years since I was last year, much more so than in the prior 16 and then 3 from my previous trips. Just as I have. It’s a fantastically beautiful place.

I’ve been here in winter, summer and now spring, and I think this is the first time where I feel like I could actually move here and be happy living here. Even Scott likes it here. No we’re not rushing to move, but hey, we have our options and housing is considerably cheaper than it is on the west coast. 😉

This past Christmas marked the 20th anniversary of my Dad passing away which happened while I was living in England. I don’t have a lot to be able to honour the memory of my Dad while I’m in Toronto, other than some pictures that I have. Today’s drive to Torbay, Flatrock, Pouch Cove, Bauline, Portugal Cove, St. Philips and Conception Bay South and most notably stopping in at the Ocean Sciences Center, really helped me to relive some awesome memories of driving with my Dad and Step-Mother giving me a tour, and to honour those memories which are far and few between. The whole time I was wishing Dad could have been there with us.

Most of all, you can take the b’y out of Newfoundland but you can’t take the Newfoundland out of the b’y.

We’ll be back, and it won’t be as long in between. 18 years is too long.

When life throws you lemons, make lemonade. *GRIN*

Just in case the Untied Lawsuit shuts down the site:

Over three weeks ago, I had my last weigh in with the weight loss clinic I’ve been going to for over a year.  I had an appointment with my doctor the same day where I told him that I was pretty much done with the diet – well, the weigh-ins, and that I didn’t feel it was benefiting me, and it was probably staring to cause more problems for me including:

• The start of weight gains again
• Hitting my self confidence
• Feeding into a bit of depression

Me saying, “Enough”, is actually a win.  I’ve always hated feeling like a quitter, but this really isn’t about quitting.  It’s about being able to take control of how I feel, and trusting that I now know better how to look after myself.

And so far so good.

Since leaving the program I’ve dropped 5 lbs, and more like 7lbs after a brief “hurrah” celebratory meal, where while I ate out of plan, it wasn’t hugely off of plan to cause significant weight increase.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve decided to run a bit of an experiment on myself.  I picked up a scale and I’ve decided to weight myself twice a day.  Now that’s not how someone should really regularly weigh themselves, and Scott has threatened that if I got into this kind of routine that he would take the scale from me.

That said, I wanted to prove a few things to myself.  There were many times while on this program that I thought I was losing weight, only to end up at my weigh in much higher than expected; or I’d go off on a business trip and gain weight after feeling like I hit a new low.

I have pretty much confirmed that, yes, I was hitting those lows, and that I have a much better grasp of being able to determine my own weight gain or loss by looking at myself in the mirror.  This is a huge win as, prior to this program, I was completely unable to see it.  Heck, when I was 317 lbs, I truly had no idea I was that big!

I’ve also changed my diet to be more compatible with my lifestyle, and the lifestyle I want.  This does counter some of the guidance from the program that I’ve struggled with. Here is what I’ve changed:

• Regular cheese is back in my life.  That said, for the first week or so I let myself have cheese as a snack and in my morning omelett.  The jury is out but this may have been one thing that was stopping me from getting into the goal I wanted (230ish lbs).  So for the time being, I’ve eased off, however I still allow myself to have cheese once in a while.
• I am having a fair bit of 0% Fat Greek Yogurt that has about 6g of sugar.  I am having this at least twice a day and I am not gaining or maintaining my weight, I am losing.  This is a huge win as it is helping considerably with my dairy and sweet cravings.
• Fruit, specifically berries are back in my diet stating this week.  I am adding them to my greek yogurt when I have it.  While fruit is relatively high in carbs, there is a big difference between refined sugars and natural sugars found in fruit.  There are lots of benefits that, I think, outweigh the carbs.  It doesn’t mean I go hog wild in the berry patch.
• Mixed unsalted nuts from bulk are now a regular part of my diet as a snack throughout the day.

Because of these changes, I’ve actually found it much easier to stay on the rest of the diet, and as of this past Sunday, I hit a new low of 241.9 lbs; and as of Friday, 241.8 lbs.

So something is working here. And that’s with going to an all you can eat Korean BBQ on Tuesday!

I have been able to see the impacts food has on my weight in near real time.  For example, if I go to Mr. Tonkatsu on Bloor St and order the Chicken Tonkatsu meal and eat everything except the rice, within two days I will put on 2 lbs of water weight which then comes off after two days.

I will be able to determine if cheese is something I do need to be careful with.  I can tell that other dairy I have added to my diet has not had a significant impact, in fact quite the opposite.

Fruit in the levels I am having has no effect on my weigh gain or loss.

I’m not saying the diet I was on was full of shit, quite the opposite.  I had to go through the various phases to get where I am today.  That said, I think that with the changes I have made after the sacrifices of the past year and a half, is a good compromise.

Interestingly, while I never had to track my food intake while on the diet, I decided to try tracking my food intake, which amounts to between 1600 and 1900 calories in a day.  According to the FitBit software I am using, I am regularly eating under my target calorie range, and I have actually been wondering am I putting my body into a starvation mode in that it’s still holding on to the fat rather than burning it.  To be honest, I’m not sure how much more food I can eat in a day.

Will I see 239 lbs this weekend?  That’s still 2 lbs away.  We’ll see.

The past three weeks have been non-stop travel for me between Orlando & Bahamas with Scott, Waterloo for an on-site, and now Manila.  I have one more week here after this and then it’s back to either Toronto or Waterloo – I’m not sure which.

I am a creature of habit.  Routine is something I crave wherever I am, and if I can get on one, then life is peachy.

The first time I was here in December, I really found my groove.  Up at 5:45am, breakfast with the client at 6:00am, pickup at 6:45am, arrive at the office at 7:30am, check-in call at 8:00am, lunch at 12:00pm, pickup at 3:30pm, gym or swim, dinner at 6:00pm, free time and sleep, doing it all over again.

That routine seems to be working well for me, and I can somewhat replicate it, though I admit, 9:00am meetings seem to mean late dinners, which then means I might not get the gym time – especially in North America if I have to drive to the gym, etc…

I could be a morning person here in Asia. I was in Japan, Hong Kong and again in Manila.