The ReLaunch

Welcome to the re-launch of SonjaMissio.com! Or, "The Website Formally Known as 90 Minutes of Hopp."

Apparently, some gentleman from the Ukraine stole*my old domain. I emailed him, LinkedIn'ed him, but to no avail, so I ended up with SonjaMissio.com (make sure you update your bookmarks!)

But let's not dwell on that, it’s a new year and I plan to make the most of it; lots of things have been going on and not just online.

For starters, on Sunday Udinese played—quite possibly—the worst game in their 118 year history, losing 3 – 2 at home to Lazio.

On paper, it may not look that bad of a scoreline; sure, they loss at home, but at least it was a close/high scoring game, right?

Wrong.

I will wait while you Google a recap of the match.

*waits*

Now that you know what happened, you can imagine my disgust and repulsion (and my being a little ball of sad). So, what’s a girl to do when her team destroys her and leaves her shattered?

Well, if she's this girl, she gets them forever branded onto her flesh.

Welcome to 2014, the new SonjaMissio.com, and my new (and first!) ink.

Thank you to the wonderful staff at The Society of the Seven Crowns Tattoo and the amazing (and patience, and gentle, and reassuring, and talented) Robyn Lee, who worked on me and answered all of my ridiculous questions. She also had a great playlist on: YYYs, Beck, Jack White, etc. It was meant to be. 

Anyway, the original sketch, an older version of the Udinese crest :

(bonus!: I'm so white, it didn't even need to be filled in with white!) 

Halfway through the session, fun fact: it less painful than Sunday's match:

(tip!: bring your big brother along so he can photo-doc the process, thank you David!)

The crest is simple, but bold. Strong, but shapely. Plus, it points north, #aleUdin

(pre-gold border, no laurels)

And c'est fin! The final product in only about an hour:

(the border is actually gold, it looks orange because my blood started to pool and seep everywhere. OH BOY!)

And I know what you're thinking, "but Sonja! Don't you work in a corporate, business professional world? And you're really pretty!" Well, you're right (on both accounts), but don't worry, I thought of that. Behold! How my arm looks straight on:

(you can't see it! You also can't see it from the back)

In fact you can't see it unless I do this:

(arm twist!)

Thank you again Robyn Lee and Seven Crowns! And to Udinese, who constantly reminds me: Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.

Oh, and guys, please don’t tell my dad.

hopp,

Sonja!

*purchased it when my account expired

SCM v STWM

Hi. It’s been a long time.

Anyway, today I signed up for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon (STWM). Not the “marathon” part of it, but the 5K run.

5K may not seem like a lot to you, but it is to me: I have never run in an organized fashion before. Oh sure, I have played sports (badly) and I’ve ran on the treadmill (badly) and I’ve even been chased by a goose once (it ended badly), but I’ve never really ran in between “START” and “FINISH” banners.

I mean, I’m not totally out of shape, I don’t break into a sweat climbing stairs or yelling at sports on TV. And, I had my first practice run today: I had less than three minutes to make it to my train and I managed to sprint from the subway, through Union at rush hour to catch it (note: I was in a skirt and Toms and I was still able to!); I am not totally useless, just sort of.

Anyway, I have decided to track my progress both for my own amusement and because hopefully my journey may inspire other people to get back on their feet.

Because that’s what this is helping me do: get back on my feet.

With that, I have named my run “SCM v. STWM” and I will be using the hashtag #speedyquick to tweet my progress. I will also be running on behalf of North York General Foundation and if you would like to sponsor me and help the hospital out, you can do so here. (Thanks in advance!)

So, about SCM v. STWM: the run is October 20^th and I will be doing something everything day to prep for it. Today, it was buying shoes:

(they did not come in Little Zebra colours)

Everyone told me not to go to Nike Running, but I did and I’m glad. The employee who helped me was helpful and patient; we went through at least five pairs of shoes before we found the right one… and then the left one. She also measured my arches, how I walk, and took into account my knocked knees; my only problem now is that they have laces .* Regardless, I am pretty satisfied with my purchase, but I still have 30 days to return them just in case.

Tomorrow will be the purchase of socks. I’ll keep you up-to-date on that.

Beyond just shopping purchases, another reason why I am tracking my progress is because I need all the support and encouragement I can get. Like I said, I am trying to get back on my feet but so far, this has been the encouragement received:

"Dad, I signed up for a 5k for October. Be encouraging, not cynical." -me

“Your mother and I will be in Europe for October. So I guess we won't see you fall flat on your face *…* is that encouraging?" –dad

And

“I knew this whole thing was an excuse to buy shoes.” – brother.

And while I love my family, I know that they won’t be supportive until weeks after the run, when they’re bragging to their friends and they think I’m out of earshot.

So, right now, send all the love you can.

In return, I will keep you update on how I am doing. So far, so good—until the reality of what I signed up for sinks in.

(the image I decided to go with for my fundraising page)

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, “does she even write about soccer anymore?” Yes, I do.

Ahem: Toronto FC announced today that it will play a friendly against Roma. Roma, in my opinion, has some of the nicest jerseys in Serie A. That’s about all I have to say about the match.

Hopp/run,

scm.

*I have an inability to tie shoelaces.

Football Philanthropy

Note: I never say "football," but I can never pass up on alliteration.

Here’s a little fact you may not know about me: my career, my profession, my 9 -5, is in philanthropy.

I work in a Foundation where my main goal is to help raise money through research. Obviously, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but, essentially, that’s what I do.

Recently, I have become more fascinated with how social media and philanthropy can work together. I am sure you all have seen “for every like, I will donate X amount” or something similar. While there’s a ton of literature and debate around social giving (if you have time, I strongly recommend you check out Slavoj Zizek’s ethical implications of charitable giving, here), I personally don’t believe charity inherently evil.  

Oh sure, people may use charity for evil, but I think for the most part, people mean to “do good.”

I hope to “do good.”

Which brings me to the point of this post. I have used my blog and Twitter before to see how I can reach people through philanthropy (see: 90 Minutes of Fundraising) and a few days ago I decided to take on a new “experiment” so to speak.

Having hovered just under 1,000 followers for a while now, I decided to mark my 1,000^th follower milestone with a donation to The Homeless World Cup:

(Thanks for the RT's)

Mike Shoemaker from Umbro Canada saw my tweet and also gave his support with the following promise:

(Thank you so much Umbro Canada!)

The response and support have been great so far, and not just because I have gained followers. Rather, it is because a simple promise of a small donation has raised awareness for a great organization.

Believe it or not, this isn’t about me. I have donated to The Homeless World Cup previously and it’s an organization I want to support. I figure (maybe arrogantly so) I’d hit 1,000 followers sooner or later, this is just my way of commemorating the occasion.

Like a social media “fun run” of sorts.

However, like I said, not everyone agrees with this method, and that is 100 per cent legitimate. As one person said (and, rightfully so, they are entitled to their own opinion, “holding donations hostage for more Twitter followers is a pretty scummy thing to do” (I’m withholding the handle, as this is not a personal attack), but that is not my goal.

Trust me, I have done enough “silent philanthropy” that I do not feel like this is some sort of self-congratulatory, narcissistic ploy. The reason why I am doing this is because I think it would be a great way to promote something that I find important.

It’s that simple.

I also think that it might encourage other people to become familiar with the Homeless World Cup, something that they may not have realized existed before.

I found out about it through Jerrad Peters' book We Call It Soccer, and recently, I was made aware of Dave Bidini’s book Home and Away (he recently sent me this great Globe and Mail article about it). This is the least I can do to endorse something I find downright cool and worth sharing information on.

And while I know my followers are use to my regular tweets about Toronto FC, Udinese, and the occasional pun, sometimes I want to share a little more extraordinary.

Hopp,

scm. 

A Swiss Soccer Sneak Peak!

It's been a week since I have returned from my Swiss Soccer Sabbatical (you can read my travel journals on Soccer Newsday here and here) and I plan to give you a full write up on my adventures. For those of you who don't know (go read those hyperlinks, geez!) I went back to my roots to fall in love with soccer again. That, and:

1. Watch Young Boys - Udinese play in Europa League
2. Watch FC Zurich - Basel play in the Swiss Super League
3. Tour the Stade de Suisse, home of Young Boys and the Swiss National Team (formally known as "Wankdorf") and
4. To invade FIFA.

Really, that last one was my priority. 

Anyway, over the upcoming week I plan to give you a bit of background on each mini-adventure (the last two points documented by my official photographer/art director), but for this Sunday night, here's a little photo sneak peak of the trip over all.

Warning: they are self-indulgent. 

   Oh, wait, I already lied. This was taken in Germany. Note the lighthouse behind my back and the TFC pashmina around my neck. 

Reason for the Trip #1

Reason for the Trip #3. Note the Toronto Football Club tshirt.

Not a reason for the trip, but a glass of  Prosecco on a mountain top. Note the Toronto FC sweater.

I told you they were self indulgent.

And just indulgent. 

But I did some sight-seeing too!

However, let's face it, this was the real reason for the trip: FIFA invasion.

More to come soon. Promise.

Hopp,

scm. 

Allez

Tonight, during dinner (this was before the blue-cheese-in-the-eye incident), I found myself humming “we’re going to Brazil” without even realizing it. The truth is, I am excited and nervous and terrified and excited and nervous and terrified for tomorrow.

See:

(Sorry Duane, but, you know, feel honoured that you were ‘shopped!)

My journey in becoming a Canadian fan has been a rocky one (pun! …sorta). But, here I am, full fledge. In fact you could say, you have seen thee rise for me to become one:

(pun! And, thanks Umbro Canada!)

This also means, I am far too stressed out to discuss tomorrow's game. And, from 16h00 on wards, I will be a bit of a wreck. But, in the meantime, here’s a couple of things for you to check out while you wait anxiously for the game as well (I am so good to you!) First, as you may know (but, probably not if you don’t live in Canada), Dalton McGuinty, the Premier of Ontario, has stepped down. Currently, we are Premierless, however I will always have this tweet to remind me of all the good times with Dalton:

The second is that my newest article is up on Soccer Newsday. Curious to know how I feel about TFC Fans, MLSE Suits, and finding love in this crazy soccer world? Good news! You can read it here!

Until tomorrow, my fellow Canucks (and Canuck sympathizers). 

Allez,

scm.