11.13.2010

Home Sweet Home

After a much enjoyed month in California, I am back in Toronto to get things going again for next year. It will be nice to get back in the sand after almost a month long break. Its time to refine my skills and get physical for the next few months, and I'm ready to work my ass off. But we'll talk about that when it happens.

My major concern at the moment is accommodations. The house hunt has begun. Over the last few weeks, I've been scouring craigslist and kijiji, trying to find the right place for the coming months. Here's what I'm looking for:

Location:
I'm hoping for something centralized. The most promising places so far are located between the two training facilities (beach blast and downsview hangar). If I could find a place that makes it easy to get to both and Ashbridges Bay to boot, that would be ideal

Price:
As glamorous as it seems to be a full time athlete, I need something affordable. I'd like not to have to depend on my parents forever. Since my income will be equivalent to my carding dollars, (maybe a little more, if I can find a job that works around my training schedule) it will likely be difficult to be able to pay rent and still have enough money to eat. Fortunately, I have all my furnishings in storage, so a fully furnished place is not necessary which gives me a little more leeway.

Non-smoking:
Wherever I live, I won't tolerate the smell of smoke every day. If people use the front entrance as a place to take a drag, then that place is no longer on my radar. I had enough of that with the last place. I have not smoked anything my entire life, and I don't intend to. If someone has to smoke, I won't make them stop, but they'd better not expect me to hang around.

I'm not overly picky, I'll take what I can get. And over the next few days I'll be visiting a few places that look promising. If anyone who reads this knows of somewhere, I'd love to hear about it. This will be my home away from home for the next while, as long is it's liveable I'll be happy.


Cheers,
Ben Jammin

11.06.2010

A week in the life

I haven't updated in a week because, let's face it, who doesn't want to look at the glorious beards and mustaches of all our heroes for a few days longer. Also because I wanted to post pictures of Halloween, but the edits to make them extra spectacular are still in the works. Expect them in the near future. Instead, I'll go over what a week on vacation entails. Don't get too excited, it doesn't involve much.

The typical day starts at about 11 and end around midnight. Note how I've included all the important details.

Not entertained? Alright, here's my second effort. I eat all my meals, and I go to the gym every other day or so. Otherwise, my off season is spent in relaxation. If an errand pops up, I have all the time I need to get it done. This past week specifically has seen me spend a lot of time trying to get my phone to work again. No luck so far, but hopefully it gets sorted out shortly. Not that I need it out here much anyhow.

Every so often, I take a bike down to the beach and just take in the scene that I know so well. Its a shame I'll be out of here by the end of next week. After all this time off from volleyball, it'll be nice to get back to the game, but I'd be lying if I told you leaving this California weather behind won't be upsetting.

Cheers,

Ben Jammin