2nd Leg FA Cup Drama – Huddersfield Town vs Manchester City

The FA Cup never fails to disappoint and Saturdays fixture between Huddersfield Town and Manchester City was a classic example of this. The match was a very raw display of how hustle, belief, and grit can outwork skill, experience, and riches. It was great to see a low-profile team like Huddersfield Town hold off a world class team like Manchester City.

Photo from The Huddersfield Daily Examiner – Town’s Rajiv van La Parra & Manchester City’s Fernando in action.

Result – Draw

Huddersfield Town Coach, David Wagner had his squad maniacally press Manchester City whenever they were on the ball. So much so that many began to question whether or not his team had the stamina to keep up the press for a full 90 minutes. As the match continued, viewers realized there was something more to this small town team than meets the eye. Fatigue was not an option. They would continue to press Manchester City all the way to the final whistle.

Review – Measure for Measure @ Winter Garden Theatre

Intro

On the brisky- cold night that was February 17 of 2017.. I, along with a dear friend of mine that needs no introduction, hit Winter Garden Theatre for a Shakespearean play titled, “Motion for Motion.” And allow me to prematurely say, Groundling Theatre Company definitely knows how to put on a show. A lot happened before though, so we’re going to back track to the beginning of my Friday evening. Note that the play was scheduled for 7:30pm.

*this blog is a no spoiler zone*

Review – Kim’s Convenience by Soulpepper @ The Young Centre of Performing Arts

Intro

On February. 14th, 2017, a friend of mine (Sabrina) invited me to see Kim’s Convenience – Live at the Young Centre for Performing Arts in the Distillery District of Toronto. This review will not only review the play itself, but will also cover before and after events. Note that the play was scheduled for 8:00pm.

*this blog is a no spoiler zone*

Pre-Play

Sabrina and I had gotten to the Distillery District at approximately 7:20pm. Toronto’s light festival was in full effect, but we were hoping to get our hands on a pair of rush tickets, so we had to get to the theatre ASAP. We figured we would catch the light festival after the show, as it was scheduled to be running until 11:00pm.

The architectural design of the Young Centre for Performing Arts is absolutely beautiful. From the outside, it looks like a building that belongs in the vintage-looking Distillery District, all while maintaining a modern finish. Once entering a pair of two wooden/glass windowed doors, we were welcomed with wooden tables and chairs, a fireplace, a bar, and of course the box office.

The building was alive. Bartenders graciously pouring drinks for guests, couples enjoying their valentines day night out- as soon as I walked in I felt full of energy and anticipation, hoping to get our hands on tickets to watch the highly spoken upon play turned T.V. show, Kim’s Convenience.

My Morning Routine & The Water Crisis

Cold Showers

Just last week I added something new to my morning routine that I’m starting to learn to love- cold showers. Now if you’re informed on the benefits of cold showers, great! If not, give it a google. Here’s what I’ve found so far..

Mental Strength

Before I hop into that shower, my mind tries to think of any excuse possible to not turn that knob towards the C on the dial. It’s an interesting conversation that I have with myself in my head between two opposing thoughts. A part of me begs for heat, another part of me knows how beneficial a cold shower is. So for 4 out of 7 mornings of the week, I fight desire with reason- which can be extremely difficult, but rewarding.

Deep & Controlled Breathing

As the ice cold water pours over my head, it becomes tough to breath at first! It takes a couple seconds for my mind to realize I need to make a conscious effort to take deep breaths throughout this cleansing process in the shower. I’ve found these mindful deep breaths in the morning really help synchronize my mind and body, which doesn’t happen very often throughout the day unless I’m at the gym or practicing yoga.

Blood Circulation

Contrary to common thought, once I dry myself- I’m not cold at all! As a matter of fact, I feel warmer than I would’ve felt if I were to take a hot shower that day. This is a sign to me that these cold showers are a great way to kick start my body and get the blood flowing bright and early. And might I add that I’ve also noticed my skin to be glowing on days I cold shower. I’d imagine this would be a result of the rapid increase in blood flow right out of bed, spiking blood circulation in my skin for that extra oomph.

It doesn’t End here

I’ve only started taking cold showers this past week and have noticed all of these beneficial effects. It excites me to know that there are even more benefits down the road when I continue to take cold showers 4 out of 7 days of the week.

The Water Crisis

Now in light of the less-spoken water crisis that the world is experiencing, with a blog about the benefits of cold showering it wouldn’t be right to not address the issue. Water can be so simple of a need for some of us that it becomes a want. But for many, especially for families in Africa, this isn’t the case. Every single day, women around the world spend hours of their time daily to walk miles in order to collect water for their families. Water.org is an organization dedicating it’s time and finances to changing this. With innovation, creativity, and a simplistic approach water.org is leading the charge to fighting the Global Water Crisis. Unfortunately in the more developed parts of the world, this crisis is often ignored. News coverage seems to care more about what President Trump had for breakfast rather than the fact that there are families in the world who simply don’t have access to clean water. And so it’s important for people like myself, an upcoming professional to spread word on the crisis at hand so that those with the resources can take action. I understand the fortunate circumstance that I so luckily live in. I am ever so grateful and take nothing in life for granted. I hope, I really, really hope that one day I find myself in a situation where I’ve developed the skills and resources to help fight the Global Water Crisis, if the fight has not yet already been won.

Spread love. It’s your way of resonating through people to reach the world-

Nilan

Memories- Capture Now with a Bottle of Wine

I had a great idea when I was at the liquor store a couple of weeks ago buying a bottle of red for my brothers birthday dinner. I decided to buy an extra bottle (when is that ever a bad idea right?). Okay but this extra bottle isn’t for drinking.. yet.

I ripped off a page from my notebook and wrote point form notes on what was going on with the crew. For example:

• Brother’s 21st birthday
• Dip’s trip
• etc.

I then taped said paper onto the bottle. I will now keep this bottle for a very, very long time. I look forward to sharing this fine bottle of red with my friends and family when we’re older. When things have changed. It’ll be great to enjoy a bottle that I know I purchased when I was 23 years old. Imagine.. being 50 and drinking a glass of red from a bottle you bought when you were that young. Amazing.

I’m definitely not saying I’m in a rush to grow up. If I could I would freeze time right now. But time doesn’t freeze, life keeps moving. So I keep moving, trying to make the best of every situation, every moment. There’s a quote from a movie I used to love watching with my Dad as a kid,

“Life goes by pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.” – Ferris Bueller from Ferris Beuller’s Day Off.

Great movie, if you haven’t seen it and you’re looking for a fun movie to watch one day, this is it.

That’s all for now. It’s Sunday afternoon and Toronto’s going through a snowstorm (when is it not). I think I’m going to watch a movie called, “La La Land” today- starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. After that I’ll shovel, and then hopefully head to the gym if the roads are plowed!

Till next time.. live, laugh, love

– Nilan

Kim’s Convenience @ Soulpepper, Toronto

This coming Tuesday Sabrina and I will be checking out a play turned TV Show, Kim’s Convenience. We’ll be catching the show at Soulpepper which is in the Distillery District of Toronto. We don’t have tickets yet, but we’re hoping to get our hands on a pair of Rush tickets!

For those of you new to the arts, rush tickets are tickets that theatres sell to 20 year olds an hour before the show at a reduced price. These tickets are sold at a seating availability basis, so if I don’t happen to post a review of the play on Wednesday, you know why.. It’s going to be valentines day, so let’s hope the couples stay away from us. Regardless if we manage to get tickets to the play or not, I’ll be sure to write about the night we made out of our time at The Distillery!

Oh and that’s just the start of next week. On Friday (Feb 17th) we’ll be checking out a Shakespearean play at Winter Garden! I had surprised Sabrina with these tickets for her birthday a month ago.

Winter Garden – Toronto

So yea, this week is going to be fun! I can’t wait to hit the city with Singing Sabrina and soak in the Toronto winter blues. Stay tuned everybody, I’ll be writing every single day.

try something new –

Nilan

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Let Go & Love- A Valentines Day Yoga Routine?!

Tina, my Yoga instructor on Thursday evenings guided us through a Valentines Day Yoga routine. It was a heart warming experience, and right in time for Valentines Day preparation- which by the way if you’ve forgotten (especially my guys), is in 4 days. Along side me last night was my good friend Willy, he will be joining me every Thursday! Him and I are great friends from high school, we played Volleyball together for our school team, The Knights. Enough with the introduction, let’s get right into it!

“Let go and love.”

Was the thought that Tina told us to wrap our minds around as we went through the motions last night.

My Experience with Yoga & Cannabis

Alright don’t judge me. I’ve been enjoying Yoga and I finally understand my body and mind in a way I just can’t put into words. It’s more of an awareness and feeling. With this new found comfort I’ve found in Yoga, I felt like experimenting a little bit..

So I ate a piece of chocolate an hour before Yoga class.

It was so sweet and creamy, I loved it!

Might I add that there was a hint of THC inside of the piece of chocolate that I consumed.

Yes, I had an edible before Yoga and right around the time I sat cross legged on my mat for the evening, I was “uplifted.” Yoga was great that night (it always is), I felt as if I was in a deep deep state of being and I could hear the blood flowing through the veins of my body. I would definitely recommend any Yogis to try a Yoga class with a subtle amount of THC in the system. If however, you have little to no experience with cannabis, don’t bother.