Captain Phillips (a biopic)

I’m not sure if I’ve ever blogged about a movie before. It’s not every day that I’m moved by a film enough to write about it, but last night’s film made such an impression on me that I still find myself calming the last of my knee shakes, in a racing rhythm with the pulse in my fingertips.

Directed by Paul Greengrass and starring the absolutely, inescapably brilliant Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips is a biographical film of the story of merchant mariner Captain Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage by Somali Pirates while en route through the Gulf of Aden to Mombasa. 

To be honest, when I first caught a glimpse of the preview, I saw: Tom Hanks, ocean, boat, yelling, and this made me think: No, no, no, no.  My Wilson-tried ignorance led me to believe this would be a dud- another capitalization on readily available storylines, resulting from the exhaustion of movies yet to remake, folklores to animate, and the like. Despite its Hollywood appeal (Kevin Spacey is one of the producers!), Captain Phillips is raw, genuine, excruciatingly painful, and the sort of movie that finds one forgetting to breathe. 

Luckily, my ignorance often leads me to miss international news, and I was not aware of the progress-or, perhaps more importantly, resolution- of this story, so I truly had no idea where it was going. Without giving away any of the plot, I’ll just say that it is NEVER over when you think it’s over. Until it’s over, and you feel your body slowly sink into a shock – the next segment of the film. Perhaps the best part of the story is the commitment you’re forced to embark on with the characters, such that you refuse to feel anything but terror when they feel it, decline the moments of saccharine relief because you know better, and dart your eyes around the screen wildly, inhaling every scream, jolt, shot, wave, plea, in a silent submission to the poignancy in this ingenious performance.

Lastly, I was absolutely smitten by the performance of the Somalian actors.  For Barkhad Abdi, this film was a breakout debut, and will hopefully lead to an Oscar. The rest of the actors were just as phenomenal, and I could not recommend this movie enough, if only for supporting these incredible people in what I can only imagine were both ethically and artistically complicated endeavours.

Half-Marathon #2: This Time It's Personal

I can't believe it was just yesterday morning that the long-awaited Ottawa Army Run took place. It seems like it was so long ago, or like it didn't happen at all. Was it all just a super exhausting dream? No. It wasn't.

It wasn't because today I can't walk down stairs, and when I do succeed in walking, I look like Gumby.
But that doesn't matter because I'm so super excited to have had a fantastic experience running and, this time, it was all because I kept it personal, or in other words, I focused on myself.

I sometimes get competitive, especially with people I don't know.  When I first ran the 10K races, or the previous half-marathon, it was so difficult not to feel pressured by the people around me to keep running, even when I felt I needed a break.  If you've ever run before, you'll know what I mean: walk on the side of the road for five seconds, and a hundred people will pass you.  And that pace-bunny you were right behind for the past 10 kilometres is now nowhere in sight.  Comparing yourself to other runners can be good for whipping you into finishing another mile at your best pace, but it can also be really bad if you end foregoing much-needed breaks because you're focused on keeping up.

And compare, compare, compare I always do.  But this time, I focused on my Nike running app, pacing myself as per my training plan, and when I wanted to speed up because senior citizens were zipping by me, I just looked away and at the river on my other side. I looked around and imagined that I was running alone. And when I took my one walking break, I looked straight at my watch to avoid seeing the seven million sprinters passing me. Granted, I resumed running after two minutes of walking, and didn't let myself stop once since then, but at least I'm starting to get it! I was able to pace myself so well that I easily sped up at the end of my race for a last quick sprint, and honestly didn't even realize the finish line was approaching. I felt great after the race, and can't wait to do another one.

So, a new tip for anyone thinking about running a half marathon: pay attention to your body.  It's tempting to follow everyone into a starting sprint, but you don't know these people and their plans! They could slow down significantly mid-way through, or take a ten minute walking break somewhere down the line. Everyone has their own strategy and if you don't follow your heart *cue saxophone* plan, you'll end up confusing your body, leading to exhaustion, cramping, and let's not mention what else, but it starts with a d and ends with iarrhea.
But enough about that! On to the fun part: I finished in 1:55, which, given all the colds/viruses/crappy stuff I've faced this year, is a pretty awesome time!
And once more, I have to mention how incredible it is to see all of the spectators. Standing outside in the freezing cold, holding hilarious posters in their hands, smiling, waving, cheering on people they've never met before- what an overwhelmingly inspiring moment, and one safely in my vault of unforgettable feelings.

Target Ottawa- finally!

I've loved Target for as long as I can remember shopping in the US. The store itself is so cheery, so bright and fun, and always full of amazing stuff at crazy-low prices. Their collaborations are pretty terrific too...I still get butterflies when I think of the Rodarte dress hanging in my closet. 

I've been waiting for Ottawa to get a Target for years, and finally, my budget shopping prayers were answered when the ever-so-cute Billings Bridge announced the arrival of the famous Bullseye...and then my budget blogging prayers were answered when I was invited to a Bloggers Breakfast event just prior to the store's opening! 

It was great to meet some of the Ottawa bloggers while loading up on chocolate...

..and then it was time for Target to open, and for me to head to my fabvorite section: beauty. The lighting is always so fun in Target's beauty department, like you're in a cosmetics spaceship. Destination: concealer. Har har. Anyway, look what they have! Dr.Bronners! No more driving across the border for me!

Thanks Billings and Target :)

Coming up, in running...

Well, it has been about six months of training and at last, next Sunday, September 22nd is the long awaited Army Run! 21 kilometers of running, sweating, smiling (and maybe crying)....but also, a really, really exciting thing is set to happen during that half-marathon: at some point during this race I'm going to hit the blue level (1000Km) in my Nike Running app!!!! Stay tuned for a detailed listing of all the food I'll be eating in celebration...

Liberté Mediterranean Yogurt: yum!

I have kind of a weird thing for yogurts.  I'm not sure where or how it started, but every time I'm in the dairy section of a grocery store, I obsessively look at the different yogurt flavors trying to find one that's unusual or particularly exciting.  I'm so over the usuals: vanilla, strawberry, blueberry- yawn.  Fruit on the bottom used to seem like a treasure, but you know what's an even better treasure? CARAMEL ON THE BOTTOM. Yeah, that's right. And if caramel is too Plain Joe for you...how about, oh I don't know, COCONUT? ON THE BOTTOM? That'll do it, yeah? Though I'm usually an adovactor of Greek yogurts for their fantastic protein content, this Liberté Mediterranean yogurt was an awesome break from the norm.  The yogurt itself was creamy and rich, like they promised, and the caramel had a true caramel taste, as opposed to the 'somewhat flavored sugar' that you can sometimes get from different brands.  The coconut version was also delicious and when I mixed the coconut part with the yogurt, it basically turned into ice cream. Or something equally as delicious.  These yogurts aren't particularly low on calories, but if you're going to indulge in a somewhat healthier dessert, these guys are definitely worth it.