…my old high school now has a Wikipedia entry.  Many people are interested when I tell them I went to a Buddhist boarding school in California, and I struggle to explain what it’s like to grow up and go through puberty there.  These entries fill in all the blanks for me.  Check it out here and here. 

Yes, there were peacocks there and they were quite annoying in the mornings. 

I was starting to get sick.  I was still recovering from a strained neck, bruised talibone and a chronically sore lower back.  Yet I couldn’t resist when the call came.  My cousin knows the mascot, and he needed someone to do a skit during a timeout at the Raptors game.  In return, I’d get free seats and would meet someone who I might work with on future house-related projects.

When we got there, we got to prepare in the tunnel where the Dance Pak was getting ready.  The mascot purposely sent for us a bit earlier than necessary so we could ogle at them.  Meh.  I was feeling a bit too sick and nervous to try anything with them.  We put the sumo-wrestling suits on, got a few practice hits in and rushed out.  It all went by so quickly, but the feeling of being on the court in front of 15000+ people is hard to match.  Everything went well — I got knocked down a few times by the Raptor but was still feeling ok.  Just as we were about to leave the court though, he came and knocked me down again — and then he jumped on top of me.  That one hurt.  I felt a  sharp pain in my lower back, the same back that has been bothering me since last August.

Now my body feels like crap, I walk funny and my sore throat has gotten worse to the point where it’s painful to swallow and my ears hurt.

If I could turn back time, I’d do it again though!