::out of office reply::

Hey... if your out of office reply email is still on, turn it off.  Nobody believes you went Dec. 22nd-Jan3rd with "no access to email or phone".  Where'd you go for the Holidays, Mars?  Eastern Europe?  It's impossible to go somewhere with no access to email or phone, so just tell the truth: "I'm taking a small break from the unfortunate socially driven need to reply to you within 3 minutes over the holidays this year, so please be patient, and maybe talk to somebody in the same room as you with words for a few minutes".  It's ok, in fact it's better than ok, it's awesome and I wish we'd all do that more.  I wish we could.

So I'm in the mountains of beautiful British Columbia with my friends for a few weeks making my heart pump more and more blood around my body by skiing as fast as I can through the forest.  Their license plates aren't lying, I think this just might be "the best place on Earth".  I can't imagine anywhere I'd rather be, anything I'd rather be doing, or anyone I'd rather be doing it with.  I am so very fortunate, so thanks to all the supporters and enablers that make doing what Canadian Athletes do, possible.  This, and next summer, I want to hear O Canada on the loudspeakers.  It's such a great song, it's our song, and it's a lovely reward for all this hard work.

To quote my favourite author, and in an attempt to live by his wise words just a little:

"I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'"

::Thanks and Props to Chris Cuthbert::

Hey, thanks Chris!

Chris Cuthbert is the Canadian Sports Broadcaster who can be heard here doing the play by play analysis on my Athens K1 500m race with Scott Logan.  He is shown in the above picture with his Gemini Award for best Play by Play from 1998, and he also won sports broadcaster of the year in 2004, and I was honoured to present him with that Award.  I didn't just want to thank him for that, he also called Sidney Crosby's "Golden Goal" in Vancouver, and that is the topic of this 20Questions interview.  I want to thank Chris for his answer on Question #14... I'm honoured that he thought my race was so memorable (it sure was for me too!!)... and his call made it all the more exciting for Canadians too.

So thanks, Chris for being such an important pinnacle of Canadian Sports Broadcasting, and for helping make the sports you call so awesome for those watching (and those involved!).  Canadians love watching your broadcasts because you're a real fan, so knowledgeable and genuinely involved, and it's always about the athletes!

So thanks, and Oh yeah... Happy Holidays everyone!