Friday, 12 August 2016

My Vacation Time in Scarborough, Ont. in August 2016--Wed.Aug.10,2016 (DAY 5 of RIO 2016)

I was really tired since I did not sleep well again last night.  So, I watched the swimming finals last night, but did not write anything down then.

I decided to dye my hair today.  I’d bought some hair dye from Shoppers Drug Mart yesterday and, because I was thoroughly sick and tired of the way my hair was looking, I dyed it light golden brown and it’s starting to look nice.  Tomorrow, I am getting a haircut, so it’ll look even better after that – part of my pre-trip preparations.

Today, I am planning on going shopping at the STC, but that depends on if I can get enough rest to get my energy level back up to where it should be.

Today, I watched the replays of the women’s diving performances and the interview that Ron MacLean had with Rosaline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito.  He also played some clips from London 2012 to show us what they did back then and how their performance in the past compared with their performance yesterday.

I went to the STC to get something to eat for dinner, but I was in for a shock.  The food court had been moved in its entirety from upstairs to downstairs - permanently!  I could not believe it.  I used to know where things were at the STC.  I used to pass through there every so often on my way home from work, but, since I retired, not so much anymore.  That doesn’t mean other things don’t change, just because my life changed.  So, once I got over the shock at how much things had changed there, I finally found the “Jimmy the Greek” food outlet and ordered my dinner.  I thought it was more expensive than usual, but I guess the prices changed too – they went up.  What else is new?

First, I went to Shoppers Drug Mart to go shopping and bought myself a knee support, some heating pads, and some deep-heating cream.  There was no way I was going to spend one more sleepless night because of pain in my knees.  I should probably tell Dr. Ching about this ongoing problem.

After coming out of Shoppers, I saw the HMV store across the hall, and something made me go in there.  I looked for a TV-DVD series called “Suits”, a series I’ve enjoyed viewing in the past year on Netflix and, bingo, it was there!  However, I was only able to get three seasons – seasons one, four, and five.  I will have to check back later on for the other two missing seasons when I have time.  And, I was told by store personnel that I’ve accumulated enough points on my HMV purchase card that I will get $10 off my next purchase.  Very nice!

After eating my dinner, I came home to the hotel – not by taxi this time, but by TTC.  It was pretty easy to get back here by bus and much cheaper than a taxi. 

Tonight, there are swimming finals going on, the men’s individual all-around gymnastics competition, and numerous other sports, which have, for the most part, been running all day.  The only ones that didn’t run today were delayed because they’re outdoor sports and the weather in Rio was inclement.  I haven’t been writing anything down about these other sports today, like fencing or kayaking or tennis or rowing, for example.  I’m too tired (and hot from being outside) that I just don’t have the energy or enthusiasm to do my usual note-taking.  I did see some men’s kayaking though.  And, I will definitely be watching men’s gymnastics and swimming.  I also believe that men’s diving is on tonight and I’ll watch that too.  And, I’ll be taking notes again.  That’s my commitment to myself.

The men’s gymnastics started with the pommel horse – a tricky apparatus to do well on.  You have to have lots of strength, yet elegance, poise and balance.  There are also the following apparatus:  rings, vault, parallel bars, high bar, and floor exercise.  Each of these apparatus requires strength, balance, poise, and excellent execution in order to earn top marks.  Not only that, the degree of difficulty is extremely high.  Multiple twists, multiple somersaults, and combinations of such tricks, as on floor exercise and vault, are required.  Swinging and re-grasp movements are primarily what you see on rings, high bar and parallel bar, but twisting and somersaulting are also often seen.  So far, it’s a very close race between JPN, UKR, GBR, and CHN.  As it turns it, JPN is first, UKR is second, and GBR is third.

copyright 2016 - Anne Shier

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