Is Golf A Sport?

This has been an ongoing debate in our home ever since my brother picked up a golf club at  age five in Palm Springs and drove his golf ball into a nearby water feature.

My initial response to this question is no, golf is not a sport, because it doesn't look like players are physically exerting themselves when they play. In fact, every course I've kept my dad and brother company on in the Palm Springs area requires you to use a golf cart (the most physically exerting that ever got was when my dad once took a tight turn and the cart went one way while I went flying in the other direction).

Also, consider some of the players' nicknames: The Golden Bear and Fat Jack (Jack Nicklaus), The Walrus (Craig Stadler) and Big Momma (Joanne Carner). There's even a photo essay of "golfers with girth" at golf.com. It's obvious that you don't have to be physically fit in order to be a top pro golfer (I'm speaking to you, Phil), although thanks to Tiger's example, it's also obvious that being in good physical condition helps with your golf game.

To further bolster my "gut" feeling that golf is not a sport, the online dictionary defines sport as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against one another for entertainment."

However, I have also read arguments that counter that a golf swing uses at least 17 muscle groups in the coordinated movement of the hands, wrists, arms, abdomen and legs (according to a study in the British Medical Journal). And if you walk the course and carry your clubs, you can burn 721 calories per round (although these calories are literally consumed by the stop at the snack bar for a beer and hot dog mid-game). In fairness, golf does burn more calories than an hour of pool (216), fishing (302) or (dare I write this in Canada?) curling (345).

So is golf a sport? Or not a sport? Popular Science magazine did pose the question, "Is Tiger Woods proof that golf is a sport, or is John Daly confirmation to the contrary?" and determined that the answer "probably depends on whether or you've got a set of clubs in the garage."

For the record, there are two sets of clubs in our garage. And one subscription to the Golf Channel. So I'm going to sit in the golf cart on this one.

Let Them Eat Croissants

I love croissants. They are my second favourite food after a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich. I was in France a few summers ago with my family, and we had croissants every morning for breakfast. They were so good. I couldn't get enough of croissants in France. Then I returned to Vancouver and had one from Starbucks, and I was so disappointed. I thought that was the end of croissants for me, but Thomas Haas opened up a few blocks away from my school. I was thrilled, and all I could talk about was pain au chocolate from Thomas Haas.

Then I received the news I was somewhat gluten intolerant, and I've hardly had the chance to eat croissants anymore because they are full of gluten. I admit that I've consoled myself with many a cup of hot chocolate from Thomas Haas.

Croissants have a long history. A former Austrian artillery office, August Zang, created them in 1839.  He opened a bakery on rue de Richelieu in Paris that served Viennese-style pastries and breads, including the kipferl, which dates back to the 13th century. The croissant is basically a larger and puffier and butterier kipferl, which looked like what we call rugelach today.

Even though the croissant was created by someone who was not French, it is probably one of the most famous symbols of France, right up there with the Eiffel Tower.

Vive la croissant!

What If You Bumped Into God At Starbucks

I tend to take life literally, so this question is a bit too metaphysical for me. But on that plane:

Would he be the homeless man outside, begging?

Would he be standing in line, wondering if he should order a venti gingerbread latte?

Would he be a she?

Would I be too tired to notice?

There is the belief that God resides in every one of us, which would mean that I always bump into God at Starbucks.

That's a comforting thought.

I have to get to Starbucks more often.

[Literally: If I bumped into God at Starbucks, I wouldn't know unless he wearing the purple and white robes and had the long-flowing white beard that I remember from images in bible stories. And if that person bumped into me at Starbucks, I would most likely think that he's some kind of nut or homeless person, and I'd move away as quickly as possible. Not too impressive of me. I definitely need to learn to dig deeper and not take people at face value.]

What Jews Do Over Christmas

Most people think that Jews order Chinese food and go out to the movies on Christmas Day. This is certainly not true for my family, but for others it could be. Usually my family is in Palm Springs (another thing people think Jews do––go somewhere warm, which could be true) because my grandma has a house there and we have a big Christian dinner with most of the family living or visiting there.

Last year I wanted to be home during Winter Break to work at the stables. My family went to our cousins' house in Vancouver for Christian dinner, and we had fresh turkey stuffed with a quail. Or something like that, I can't remember. Otherwise my famjam didn't celebrate the holidays, except for making latkes during Hanukah.

This year I am crazy busy working at a lot of different barns and housesitting a few places, so I don't have time to go away. But I will be kind of on vacation because I will be sleeping at someone else's house for about three weeks. I will be making money for the horse I have not found yet. But have no fear! I am looking at a horse on the weekend and she looked really good. My trainer and I are super excited to go and see her.

According to my mom, we will be having Christian dinner, but on Shabbat. This is what we Jews will be doing over Christmas.

Storage Wars

I am addicted to Storage Wars. It is a TV show about old storage lockers that get auctioned off. If you're wondering who buys the lockers, it's mostly people who have a lot of money or people who own antique stores. They take what's in the lockers and sell it, or keep it in their stores. The way the show works, the auctioneer opens the locker, everybody is allowed to look inside, but they cannot touch anything. Once all the people have assessed the locker, they start bidding. Some lockers go for $50 and some go for $3,000. It just depends if the bidders see something valuable or not.

On the show there are five main bidders who are in all the episodes: Brandi and Jarrod (a husband/wife team), Dave, Barry and Darrell. Dan and Laura are the auctioneers. My favourite is Barry, because he has some really fancy-shmancy-looking cars but tends to buy the worst lockers. He always says he thinks something is valuable but it never ends up being worth anything. Sometimes he is lucky and makes a lot of money on one locker. All in all he buys crap lockers.

Every Saturday night when I sleep over at the barn there is a Storage Wars marathon on A&E and that is all I watch for about two hours amongst other things, such as eating and doing night check at the barn. I am really excited because there is a Storage Wars: Texas version that aired for the first time last Tuesday. My friend got me addicted to the show when we were on Vancouver Island horse shopping. (If you're wondering how the horse shopping is going, don't ask. Too many people have asked me and I am tired of explaining.)

To sum up, Storage Wars is my favourite reality TV show. But really, no show can compete with Castle.

Going To The Dentist

My dentist's office is pretty cool because the receptionist rides in Southlands so I see her there sometimes. It confirms she is sane.

The office also has a fake fireplace and a huge tank with lots of fish. Plus it's not a kids' dentist's office, it's for adults and teenagers, which means I get treated as if I'm a 15-year-old, not a 5-year-old. Yay! I find it less scary than the doctor's office.

At the dentist's you sit in a chair, and people use tools to clean your teeth and scold you for not flossing twice a day. It's not so bad, except for when the dentist wants to talk you, but you can't talk because his hands are in the way. The doctor's however, well that's a whole other blog post. In one word the doctor is: uncomfortable.

My dentist also tries to make me do yoga to relax my jaw. Jaw yoga, as if I would do yoga in the first place let alone for my jaw. Anyway, he is pretty funny, and he used to be my grandpa's dentist. He is mine, my mom's, dad's, brother's and uncle's dentist. Good family ties at the office. Also his office is at UBC, which is close to my house, and a short bus ride away from my school.

All in all, I don't mind going to the dentist.

My Life As A Grandma

I hope not to be a grandma because I am not planning to have kids. And if I don't have kids, then I can't have grandchildren. Which also makes this blog post kind of awkward because it's titled, "My life as a grandma."

But I do have a brother, and I know he wants kids. And he wants my grandma to have great-grandchildren, so he is definitely on a mission. That would make me a great aunt, which is almost the same as a grandma. If I went 50 years into the future and imagined my life as a great aunt, I think I would be a happy camper. I would have a husband, and obviously nieces and nephews. I'm not sure how many, but hopefully not too many (but that is out of my hands). I would have a career as a volcanologist. Or maybe not. It could be something totally different. Nonetheless, whatever it will be, it will be a successful career. And I would still have some involvement with horses on some level. My husband would have a successful career, too.

I would be one of the best great aunts you could ask for. I would take my nieces and nephews out for a day or two to give my brother and his wife a break. I would like my nickname to be Aunty Yes, because I will always say yes to them.

Seeing as I don't want kids, it would be good for me to have a good relationship with them, because if I get old and sick, I am going to need someone to take care of me.