The courses that I hated in grades 7, 8 and 9 was Physical Education. I didn't mind exercising or learning sports, it was that my teachers were sadists. In my opinion, a teacher should inspire their students to want to participate in sports after they graduate. This time of the year, they would have us don our shorts and t shirts and play North American Football or soccer. The only concession that they would make would be to allow us to wear a toque and wear gloves. This time of the year the temperature is between -10 and -20 degrees. Exposed skin (as in your hands) starts to ache within seconds at that temperature. To get a sense, fill a bowl full of water and ice cubes and keep your hand immersed for about 15 minutes.

One time a friend forgot his gloves, so I shared mine with him. It was excruciating. I had hoped that when we matriculated to secondary school, that particular teacher would be a memory. He moved to the secondary school as well. Eventually I was able to quit Physical Education and took typing instead (it was an allowed option). I didn't mind that I was one of the few boys in the class (I like being surrounded by women) and it is satisfying that typing was something I would need to do all the time when I started working with computers. To give you an idea how long ago that was, I first used punch cards to program the computer.

I've done a lot of typing. I have never played football again.