Out & About #1015 | Despicable Me, GTA Rainstorm + Revisiting LA Fitness Hurontario

On a sick day off, I leisurely reviewed e-newsletters that had floated into my inbox. Cineplex's limited-time promotion of $9.99 tickets caught my attention, and I proposed an afternoon showing of Despicable Me 4 to my browsing partner, who was not against the idea.

After dallying for some time, the skies outside dimmed to an ominous grey. Upon encountering this heavy rainfall, we resolved to stay indoors instead. The earlier editions of the movie were still available on Netflix, causing me to soon learn that I had not watched the Despicable Me series at all! It was strictly the Minions series (2015 original and 2022's The Rise of Gru) with which I had been acquainted.

The appropriate next course of action was to catch up on the series. After watching Despicable 3, the rain had passed. It was time to forage for supper.

Wonton Express emerged as the eatery of my desires, but we were ultimately unable to make their last call of 6:30 PM. They had ceased dine-in and takeout orders by the time of our arrival, with only frozen wontons and raw fish dace ball available.

Consequently, alternatives would be sought out. Simultaneously serving up wontons and offering store opening promotions until end of the month was Bingz. My browsing partner revisited the Signature Beef Crispy Burger with Smoking Hot Rockin' Fries, seasonings aside due to its makeup of allergens, and a can of Coke. Similar to my own sampling experience, a distinct dryness was declared.

​My order of a Large Pork Wonton Soup ultimately proved too grand a portion for my appetite. Five wontons remained, along with plenty of monosodium glutamate-laden broth. While I missed the Goji berries that the First Markham Place location had included in abundance, my browsing partner bypassed the berries in order to secure the seaweed bits.

​I snuck a few of the Smoking Hot Rockin' Fries from the grease-tainted paper bag, enjoying them significantly more than my excessively sugary Plum Fizz. The beverage was akin to the 酸梅湯 that often accompanied hotpot dinners, but carbonated far more cloying.

​After browsing the retail centre briefly, we returned home to continue filling voids of Despicable Me knowledge, starting from the first movie, released in 2010. Midnight had passed by the time the movie concluded, thus postponing Despicable Me 2 to another day.

The rest of the weekend saw a long-awaited massage appointment and a group gathering at Activate.

Easing into the week, the GTA was overwhelmed with a preposterous amount of rainfall.​

​In fact, the sudden surge overwhelmed the drainage system, flooding many the downtown core and many surrounding suburban cities. Power outages, leaks, transit delays, and drowned vehicles resulted from the incident.

My choice to work from home had been an informed one. At home, I enjoyed a mid-afternoon latte, an Ovaltine Coffee Smoothie, Heineken 0.0 (which proved tastier and even more beer-like than the alcoholic rendition!), my last IKEA Vegetable Medallion, Choco Churro Turtle Chips, and Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls in Ginger Syrup.

Meals of Pork Chop over Rice, Scrambled Eggs with Chives, and Steamed Pork Cabbage Dumplings from T&T would appease my weekday appetite.

​Upon the unexpected notification of a friend contracting COVID but experiencing sinus-like symptoms, I took to my own box of expired tests to verify my condition. The testing device confirmed my suspicions: I was suffering from a sinus infection only.

With time, my permanent Ahgase marking has become more distinct. Nevertheless, the colours and outline have faded tremendously. Kettle shall be consulted for a touch-up during her next venture to the province.

The arrival of Wednesday morning brought anxiety, for there was no telling whether the previous day's rain damage had been mended. The GO train was on time - delayed by two minutes, but generally punctual in my perspective.

I pulled into Union Station relatively on schedule, encountering distinct whiffs of disinfectant upon disembarking into York Concourse. This was much appreciated, given the potential contaminants entering the transit hub as a consequence of the storm.

​Lunchtime saw an excursion to the Eaton Centre. As opposed to my usual steady treks, the mission at hand was to determine sizing for apparel of interest that I had encountered online.

​Due to having sufficient tasks to accomplish over the one-hour period, the giant red slide featured at the centre of the mall would be deferred to a later visit.

A long meeting in the afternoon prolonged my stay in the office. My departure was eventually made at 5 PM, only to arrive at Union and be informed of a train cancellation.
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Instead of waiting for updates, I quickly diverted onto a different train in fear of continued cancellations of subsequent trains, for such situations often result in waiting indefinitely. I finally arrived home some 90ish minutes later, as it neared 7 PM.

When met with the dilemma of practicing choreo at home and the opportunity to try out Thursday group classes, I knew it'd be more beneficial to invest in the latter. After all, access to these sessions would not be perpetually available.

I attended Body Works Plus Abs followed by Zumba At the Hurontario location. The first class was led by the same instructor as Boot Camp Conditioning, adopting a relatively similar format with plenty of equipment: light dumbbells, steps, and a mat. One could liken the session to weighted aerobics, inclusive of a quick cardio boost via speedy shoulder presses and elevated lunges. Frankly, there were far too many squats and lunges for my liking.
The 1 lb hand weights I had brought along with me were a tad light for the lower body exercises, but plenty for repetitive lateral raises and bicep curls. Having strapped them onto my hands, I bothered not with removing them for jumping jacks or shoulder taps in plank. Many of the class participants struggled with maintaining form, in spite of the instructor's reminders and straightforward "Yes"/"No" visual cues. It was precisely due to my fear of veering from proper alignment to injury that I persisted with lighter weights.

During the midway point of the class, we engaged in partner work. One partner would stand and step on the shoes of the other, as he or she laid on the mat and performed weighted sit-ups with a 5 lb dumbbell. This exercise was astonishingly easier than expected. I had expected poor performance, for I don't normally train the core with weights. I suppose my reaction, as well as steady endurance throughout the session, was a reflection of consistent pilates training. I emerged sore in all my limbs, but not the abdomen area.

The second class was led by a smiley, beanie-donning lady with a European accent. Although majority of the chosen tracks were consistent with that of other instructors in the Mississauga area, the choreography was less rhythmic and instead incorporated a mix of squats/lunges with Latin dance fundamentals. Countless hip movements would be woven in between the Cha-Cha and Bachata steps.

Neither instructor did recovery stretches at the end of class. Body Works Plus Abs concluded the class by lying down on the mat with arms and legs outstretched, without stretches of any sort. Zumba terminated with a cooldown dance instead of the typical cooldown plus stretch sequence.

The classes left me feeling enthralled and exhausted, in the best way possible, of course. It suffices to say that I still enjoy group fitness classes. Moreover, LA Fitness has never constituted a bad experience at any of their locations - which is more than I can say for other gyms.

​Nevertheless, the combined number of squats from the two classes was beyond overwhelming. My calves and shoulders were sore enough to warrant rest from pilates the next day.

​When Friday rolled around, so did my browsing partner. After a brief look at my basement cleaning needs, we'd continue with Despicable Me showings and find ourselves up to speed with the series. The fourth movie in the lineup could now be enjoyed, at our leisure, with complete comprehension and context.