Quarantined and Bored

    ENTRY 477


Quarantined and Bored

Okay, so, it has been over five weeks of no boxing gym, and that also means over five weeks without sparring.

With no boxing going on, i have nothing to talk about. Therefore, I am going to use this month's entry to discuss something other than boxing. I couldn't let a month go by without an entry.

I would like to discuss the whole reason for why this is no boxing or any other sport.

I realize most are sick and freaking tired of hearing about this whole COVID-19 crap, as am I. 

Allow me, if you will, to shed some light onto this subject. 

this thing has had a very negative affect on the economy. It is said that in Toronto alone, over 375,000 have lost their jobs, not to mention the numerous businesses that had to close and will not re-open.
My feeling on this is that, technically, there was no reason for anything to have to close.
The reason this had to be done is because people were not, and still are not doing what they have been asked to do.

You can have restaraunts open, but just have the tables further apart.
The boxing gym can still be open, we just have to practice distancing. Sparring would be out, then again, you could have two guys standing apart and just practicing, although it would obviously have to be non-contact, but it is still practice.

Some countries have avoided the virus and ddin't have to quaranitine anything, so there is no reason we can't.

Our politicians are doing the best they can despite this is something they have never experienced before, but we need to get moving. We can not afford for people to be out of work for too long.

That is all I am going to say about this. 

Hopefully, the next time I write something here it is about boxing.




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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

LINKS:

MASTERS BOXING ON REDDIT

ANOTHER 'BRICK' IN THE SPRAWL 

This Report Is Postponed Due To COVID-19

    SPECIAL ENTRY



THIS REPORT IS POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19

Hello all. It has been a while since posting something here, and the reason for that is because I have had nothing to report. There is no boxing right now. The gyms are closed, and Boxing Ontario has announced that all sanctioned events are postponed.
These along with a lot of other things. 
Therefore, I am going to use this time to discuss how I feel about all this.

I am going to warn you that some of you may disagree and even be offended by what I am going to write here. However, those who know me well won't be the least bit surprised.

When all of this COVID-19 crap began, I found the behaviour of people to be rather humorous. It was funny to me then, but now it has gone beyond funny. Now, it is getting annoying, and there is no reason for it. 
Let me explain.

This whole 'outbreak' is the result of three things; people not listening; people panicking; greed for money.

I am not in any way denying that something is going around out there. Whatever it is, it is only affecting less than 3% of the population, but less than 1% in North America. More people than that get Influenza every year. Why then, is this situation so much different?

Unreasonably-high media attention is one, but that is not unusual. Remember SARS? Do you remember what stopped it? The Iraqi war. Remember? As soon as the war in Iraq started, we heard no more about SARS, and it just fizzled out. 
The same will happen to this. As soon as a war breaks out somewhere, or the Royal family does something "interesting", we won't hear any more about Corona unless it's a beer.

That still does not explain the craziness that has been going on with this.  Therefore, I will explain it.

Empty toilet paper shelves at the Stockyards Walmart

First of all, people are not listening to what the medical professionals had suggested we do. That was to maintain proper hygiene, maybe a bit more than usual. That was all we are supposed to be doing.
Nobody said to close restaurants, close gyms, close theatres, close other public areas, or restrict travel. Nobody said that we can't sit behind the bus driver, and nobody said to hoard toilet paper.

I have no idea how the toilet paper hoarding began, but it has now spread to all paper products. Paper towels and napkins are now hard to find. The reason it is happening is due to the fact that people are now afraid they are not going to be able to get these items due to the hoarders.
People, relax. The world is not going to ever run out of toilet paper and paper towels.

Notice on the doors of the St. Catharines (Ontario) bus terminal

St. Catharines has closed its bus terminal. Completely. The other day, I had to wait almost two hours in the cold and rain for my bus back to Toronto. 
Why? 
Any sickness I am going to get is a cold from being out in cold and rainy weather for two hours because the city of St. Catharines are idiots.

Coach Canada notice on the seats behind the driver

Coach Canada, along with many city bus service operators, are not allowing passengers to sit in the seats directly behind the driver.

Here is a newsflash: Any chance of the driver not catching any kind of a virus from any passenger went right out the window the moment the passenger passed the driver whilst entering the vehicle.
Viruses move fast.

Keeping passengers away from the driver during the journey is not going to help, and is a false sense of security.

Hamilton Street Railway bus (Hamilton, Ontario)

The HSR in Hamilton, Ontario has taken it one step further by moving the yellow line back to behind the front wheel wells, and not collecting fares or allowing anyone to communicate with the driver.
Okay, that makes sense as long as the driver remains in the vehicle, but what happens if a driver has to pee, or wants to grab a coffee?

My wife and I waited in St. Catharines outside for almost two hours due to a closed terminal

People are panicking and are doing irrational things because they didn't listen, and are not doing what was suggested to them. That combined with the media circus surrounding this 'pandemic' has irrational people in a state of panic, causing them to become even more irrational. 

Finally, there is the money. You know that anytime something like this happens, especially when the government is involved, money is also involved.

Did you notice that premier Doug Ford called a state of emergency shortly after Ottawa announced financial help to 'anyone who needed it'? How convenient.
Now, all of the business who 'had to close' and all the cities 'affected by the virus', and individuals 'affected by the virus' are all now going to turn to Ottawa for 'financial help'. 
Socialism at its finest. 
Oh, no, It is the evil 'S'-word. 
Well, what else is it?


I am still going about my normal business as if nothing is happening. I am not going to get sick because I am following what the medical professionals have asked me to do and no more.

I think we all need to go back and read "The Stand" by Stephen King. Just to remind us of how lucky we are, and that this has not, and will not turn into the same situation as portrayed in that novel. 

Just do what the medical professionals are advising, and nothing more. 
Relax, you will not get sick and die. This is the 21st century. Our medical care is advanced enough to not allow that to happen. At least to anyone like myself who maintains a healthy lifestyle.
Yes, a few have died, but do we really know the root cause? The media circus is assuming that it is COVID-19, but it more than likely isn't. It is more sensible to believe that it was due to age, an underlying condition, or simply an unhealthy lifestyle.

Relax, and read "The Stand".



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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

LINKS:

MASTERS BOXING ON REDDIT

ANOTHER 'BRICK' IN THE SPRAWL 

The New Kid In (Welland) Town

    ENTRY 475


Congrats To Former Coach Jim

This past Saturday, one of my former coaches from Cabbagetown had his grand opening of his new boxing club in Welland.
I went to his grand opening, and I have to say the place is really large. I'd say it is Cabbagetown times three.
Congrats to Jim Bland on his newest addition to Welland, the Bland's Boxing Club.

Here are some photos from the grand opening:

You can visit the Bland's Boxing Club in Welland at 298 Crowland Ave.


Beaver Boxing Club Invite--Part 3

If all goes well (I am still working at the same building) by August, I will finally be able to make the trip to Ottawa.

It is too early to make arrangements, but I have a good idea of how I will get there and where to stay. 
I have decided to stay 4 days, and visit the Beaver Boxing Club twice. My Boxing Ontario registration will allow me to spar there. 

I will have a couple of additional days to see the rest of the city.

More on that as it gets closer to the date.

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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

LINKS:

MASTERS BOXING ON REDDIT

ANOTHER 'BRICK' IN THE SPRAWL 

The Brampton (Masters) Cup ~ Florida ~ Ottawa

    ENTRY 474


Brampton Cup Summary

The Brampton Cup is over for this year, but I should have registered. The were a 'record' number of Masters registered this year. 19 to be exact. That is a huge number for that division, so much that they had a semi-final. You usually never see a semi-final in Masters.

As I have said before, I am not a huge fan of doing tournaments any more, but it looks like the number of Masters registering is increasing. Maybe I will try for the Golden Gloves. They are in April this year. I will monitor to see how many other Masters register.
Of course, I still have an exhibition in March.


Fundraiser In Florida (??)

I am still indecisive whether I will be going to Florida. My exhibition at Cabbagetown has been moved from February to March, and I really should give priority to my gym. These fundraisers in Florida are held frequently, so there are plenty of chances to go.


Beaver Boxing Club Invite--Part 2

Another one. I have been invited to the Beaver Boxing Club in Ottawa as well (Again). Actually I was supposed to go last summer, and didn't get to it. I would really like to do it this year. Perhaps something to look at for vacation time since I have never been to Ottawa.


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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

LINKS:

MASTERS BOXING ON REDDIT

ANOTHER 'BRICK' IN THE SPRAWL 

Florida on My Mind

    ENTRY 473


First Entry For 2020 and Possibly a Big Year for 'The Brick'

Happy 2020 everyone, and welcome to the first entry of the new year and a new decade.

This new year could very well bring new possibilities for me.

I don't want to go into too much detail right now, but I will drop a few hints.

First of all, it looks like I will be participating in another exhibition sometime in March. 
More on that as it gets closer.

Secondly, I have been invited to box in another exhibition...in Florida.
The interesting part is that I have boxed in Florida before. Before becoming a Master.
Let me tell you something about boxing in Florida, there were practically no rules. 
That was a while back, and maybe things have changed by now.
It might be worth checking out, although I don't know how the Boxing Nazis will feel about it. -- I mean Boxing Ontario. It just seems that they don't like anything I want to do.

Thirdly, there is a small chance right now that I may be going away for the summer. Away from Toronto for the entire summer, from June to September. To work at a resort.
I'll just leave this here for now, but I have been called for a second interview.


New E-Novel In Progress

The service that I use to publish my novels, called Wattpad, (Based in Toronto by-the-way), has this new service where you can have a bot read your novels and then provide feedback based on various factors such as sentence structure, use of adverbs, sentence length, and complexity of words used.
According to this system, I use too many adverbs, my sentences are too short,and I have a "script" style of writing (non-descriptive). That makes sense, since I am used to writing scripts from when I worked in broadcasting. However, I don't want my novels to be like that.
My latest novel, "Aftermath", is currently in the works. It is a post-war apocalyptic science-fiction. It will take a bit longer to complete due to the fact that I am trying to avoid all the things the bot found in my previous novels. 
I will let everyone know when it has been published.


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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

LINKS:

MASTERS BOXING ON REDDIT

ANOTHER 'BRICK' IN THE SPRAWL 

Happy Holidays, Last Entry For 2019

    ENTRY 472


HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM 'THE BRICK'

We are closely approaching the end of 2019.

This past year went by fairly smoothly for me. Although,there were a couple of mild hiccups, they were nothing major.

Although, I did not officially compete at all in 2019, I did get in two exhibition bouts.
The next one is scheduled for February. 
I do want get at least one competitive bout in for Cabbagetown in 2020, as I want to add to my trophy case, but there is no hurry. I like the exhibitions. They are fun and less stressful.

This will be that last entry for this blog for 2019, and on that note, I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season.

The next 'Blue Corner' entry will be in mid-January.


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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

LINKS:

MASTERS BOXING ON REDDIT

ANOTHER 'BRICK' IN THE SPRAWL 

Cabbagetown Fundraiser

    ENTRY 471



Cabbagetown FUNdraiser

This past Saturday, the Cabbagetown Youth Centre held it's annual fundraiser at the Cabbagetown Boxing Club, and I have been told that it is going to be semi-annually starting in 2020.
I was asked to participate in an exhibition match for this event back in October, and I had worked very hard. I had been told back then who my opponent was, and had a lot of time to get prepared.
I just wish I could always have that much notice.
My opponent was Ryan Taylor, and he likes to use the Southpaw stance. Although, he did switch on me a few times, but I was surprised at myself for having absolutely no problem handling it. It just seemed that I knew exactly what to do when he switched. 
I have to say that a year ago, that would have confused the crap out of me.
It is all thanks to the great coaches at Cabbagetown.

Ryan Taylor and Paul 'The Brick' after a friendly battle on December 14.

Heather was helping in the corner between rounds. She gave some really great advice.

I like this photo. It was the way I was standing. It was an almost-perfect boxing stance. My right foot was planted, but that could have been because I was in the middle of resetting. 

My jab, that all my coaches think is great, but I don't use enough. How's this?













I am not sure what I was doing here. I think it was an odd defensive move. Although, the coach will probably correct me on it. I definitely look off-balance.

It was fun. 

As I have mentioned previously, I enjoy doing fundraisers. 

I am not sure how much they raised, but if you would also like to help save the Cabbagetown youth programs, visit the gofundme.

One thing I would like to say to end off.

I really find it rude when people are talking while the boxing is going on. If you are there to watch the boxing, then watch the boxing, otherwise talk outside. 

That is extremely disrespectful to the athletes who train really hard. 

That is all for this post.

There will be one more "Blue Corner" entry later in the week as the last entry of the year.

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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

LINKS:

MASTERS BOXING ON REDDIT

ANOTHER 'BRICK' IN THE SPRAWL