Cliche: "Repeated regularly without thought or originality"
So rather than saying 'it', I am going to let you think about what the intent behind the message really is. So what will it mean for you in 2010?
The 2009 review goes as follows; I got a new bike, I rode my new bike a lot, Ky and I didn't kill each other or Kona (but probably would have like to at points...kill Kona), I hiked, I camped, I lost weight, I gained weight, I worked, I vacationed, and I remained more or less in the same overall place I began the year.
Yes, it is time for the obligitory holiday post. So why the Meh, Bah Humbug? No nothing like that, it's just that while the world enjoys their Holiday mine has been put on a 24hr delay. So while I sit and make sure 40k customers can get their un-interuppted delivery of television, enjoy your eggnog and cookies, I'll be getting mine on tomorrow! So in the mean time enjoy a little holiday song.
Well in case you haven't heard, I am now 29, yep that old or young depending on how old you are. Age is a relative thing, looking back, at the last nine years which were primarily spent in the State of Oregon, a lot has changed to say the least. On my 20th Birthday I had just returned to AZ from a my first semester away at UP, I had not gotten involved with rowing or cycling yet, I thought that SE 79th was three quarters of the way to Mt Hood, I had not met Ky yet, I disliked Drew (in fact was not so secretly trying to poison him), Verizon had just formed 6 months earlier, and the internet bubble just burst. Yep, a lot has changed, so what will I be reflecting on in another ten years?
The Birthday cake complete with Happy Birthday Candles (German Chocolate cake from Helen Bernhard Bakery).
4.5 lbs worth of local Dungeness Crab for an early unofficial birthday dinner / treat (last week)
My plate, all of that crab is only about one quarter of the harvest, yes that is a dish of butter in the background. Bon Appetite!
Do you remember Thanksgiving, it was that holiday a while back that involved lots of eating delicious pie? Yeah, that one that you ate until you couldn't move and ate some more. Followed up by breakfast pie the next morning, yeah you've got it. So to throw a curve ball in the mix, our Thanksgiving included giving thanks to the Northern sport of ice hockey. The Portland Winter Hawks (Winner Winner Chicken Dinner) were in town (Kent, WA) to play a game against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Yes, they do like birds up here in the NW. Yes, I realize there really isn't a whole lot of thunder in the greater Seattle area. No, I do not know why the Seattle Thunderbirds play hockey in Kent, it seams silly to me too.
So as part of the night's program, they have have an impromptu dancing "Contest" for the fans. It consists of playing bad, 90's music, and putting the single ladies up on the JumboTron while they shake their rump. Speaking of the rump shaking, if you've seen Cameron Diaz doing her butt dance in Charlies Angles, I don't know you nor do I know why you were watching the piece of crap.
(See 0:50 to 1:15) That's approximately what Ky's dance entry was and yes she won (she wasn't in her underwear for the dance).
So here are the photos to document the event, thanks Alicia (or Sheesh as I like to call her).
Ky and her letter of Victory!
Ky posing with the Mascot of the rival Thunderbirds (don't worry the Hawks won that game).
And finally Ky performing the Macarena on the Zamboni as she took her Victory laps/prize.
I present to you my first ever Pecan Pie, a tad more difficult than my traditional Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pies, but definitely worth the effort. I hope? It's been a while since my last posting on this blog, about a month, not much has happened. So long as you don't count being laid up with H1N1 a.k.a. The Swine Flu. Dah Dah Dahhhhhh!!!! It was pretty debilitating, in fact, I lost over ten pounds of body mass just from not being able to eat, pretty sweet diet if you ask me. One more swine flu and I can be at my winter goal weight. Who is feeling a little ill?
I am still job hunting like Steve Irwin looking for Crocks (still too soon?). I have made the transition from cyclocross back to the road and I am stoked about my Feburary trip to sunny Tucson for some winter cycle training or bike practice as Ky puts it. I am sure there will be more to follow about that at a later date, much more.
In the meantime I bake pies and hit the mountain. So for your enjoyment a few select shots from our recent trip snowshoeing on Mt Hood at the White River Canyon, it was gorgeous to say the least.
Kona shows off his newest gear, Mush Dog snow boots, no more cracked pads for Kona.
If you throw enough darts you'll eventually hit the board and even a blind squirrel will sometimes find a nut. My Hockey team has won a game, second time actually, but I wasn't on the team for the first one. Some how, with a loaner goalie, we took on the top team in the league and took them in a overtime shootout. Some particulars of the game include my team scoring first and leading most of the game. I scored two solid goals (of four) I served two consecutive minor penalties both for tripping both on the same play. Our team was served up seven penalties to the other teams zero, one might say the refs were not on "our" side. I am zero for three on shoot out attempts.
In cyclocross news, I hate flat tires! After racing four Cross Crusade races, I have finished exactly one without dealing with a flat tire on some level. This week I was able to ride on my flat tire, but every corner I had to come to a complete stop unless I wanted to go superman over my handle bars when the tire rolled off of the rim.
So, now I begin my no whammy no whammy no whammy chant in hopes of making it through the Halloween double header in Astoria.
To say my return to hockey has not been successful is a bit of an understatement, my teams record since I started playing with them has been 0-4. My contributions to the team has been lousy play, a couple goals, and an assist. This is normally where I would insert a photo or two, but fortunate for you, I don't have any. It seems every week that I get slightly better, but we keep on losing, maybe next week we'll get lucky.
Cyclocross, on the other hand, has been going well. Last weekend in Rainier I took a solid 12th place out of 45 racers. With a little more determination and a bit of luck, I feel like I should be able to crack into the top 10. But until then here are a couple photos of my Creamsicle delightness.
Oh and I have shaved the beard, it's time to get aero!
Thanks to Jim at Oregon Bike Shop I have the above photo from the skilled photographers over at Oregon Velo. Probably the only photo that I don't look absolutely hideous in that orange sausage casing. I guess it is a little comforting that I am not the only one that looks hideous, actually more of us look terrible than look good. One astute spectator pointed out the striking similarity between our skin suits and Aquaman. I prefer to think of myself more as a giant creamsicle.
My Crusade result was mixed; I won the hole shot (sprinting to the front off of the start) and held a top twenty spot until the last lap where I hit a pot hole that was hidden in the grass. With the hit (aka a rim shot), I flatted both wheels and was required to run a couple hundred yards with my bike until I got to the pit and changed out my rear wheel (the front still had enough air). I ended up falling 6 spots, really 7 since I was about to pass someone before I hit the pothole, so I finished the day in 25th.
The biggest disappointed was the loss of finishing points, which grant you a "call up" in the upcoming races. However, all said and done 25th out of 60 isn't too bad. Next week I think the course will favor me, I have high hopes and have a nice climb out of the start to work through the field.
Tonight I play hockey and tomorrow I race the third blind date.
It's been a while since my last posting, which seems to be the norm as of late. I am sure you don't really mind so much, I know you don't need to know what I had to eat for breakfast each morning as I ate it. I have been keeping busy and away from work as much as possible. Last weekend I finally came thourgh and took Ky (and friends) to the WA state fair in Puyallup. It is quite nice having a home base a few minutes away from the fairgrounds. No need to eat fried tweenkies for dinner, those are for lunch.
While at the fair I took some photographs, most of them came out in the meh category, but some are worth looking at here.
After reciving the invite to join a roller hockey team I decided sure why not, I used to be pretty good at the game and it's only 7 years since I last skated. The first game back I realized my gear was in pretty bad shape and I was in worse. In my first game I did little more than take up space and play a little bit of defense, with no offensive contribution what so ever. Somehow against all odds, we took the best team in the leauge to a shootout and I managed to wiff on my shot. We lost. In the second game, powered with new (to me) skates, I scored two goals (one disallowed after an early whistle) and we lost late in the game. My body is still hurting almost a week later, we'll see next week how things go.
Cyclecross is in full swing, we've done two night races and are starting the crusade this weekend. my results in a 140 man field have been around 35th place, so I am happy. More or less I am racing at a category above my crusade category. I have high hopes for the crusade, I'm bringing my B+ game, watchout!
The Things we do for love, Ky is often trying new things in order to spend more time with me and share my interests. So in reciprocation I occasionally will do things that she wants to do, occasionally. This summer I have been attending concerts with her that she is dying to see and I am not. It's not that I don't like the music that she is into, it's just I don't feel like spending a ton of cash on seeing a band that is better on a really good stereo, a lawn chair, a nice sunset, and a beer in the backyard. So last night we went to The Killers and endured three opening acts for 2 hours and 45 minutes to watch the Killers for 75 minutes. Seems a little skewed to me, the good news was that it was easy to be an arms length from the stage with minimal aggravation. A little bit different from the concerts I am more accustomed to attending (See Family Values Tour). The first opening band is so new, it was their first show and they don't have an online presence (nor should they). The second and third bands were much better, but I am yet to decide on how they had anything to do with The Killers such that they would open for them. Maybe you can figure it out, here is last night's line-up. I must warn you, even though the lead singer for the Mariachi band was stone and drunk, I like the music more and more each time I hear it. I think it could be part of next summers soundtrack.
It's been thirteen years (aside from a trip to REI Seattle a couple years ago) since I have stepped into a harness, thrown on small uncomfortable shoes, chalked my hands, and put all four to the wall. So when the Bakers (NoPoGirl, BarkerNews, and Hazel) invited me and my family to come climbing I said absolutely, let me check with Ky.
Fastforward, I loaded Drew and Ky into the car and headed north for a glorious weekend.
As seen above, we were treated to an amaizing view of the South East side of Mt Rainier. It has taken me almost 10 years, but I finally got a photo worthy view of Mt Rainier. You would think a 14,000 ft mountain would be easy to get a photo of, well it's not, it likes to hide in clouds when I have had a camera and an angle. It took 3 years before I even knew that you could see Mt Rainier from I-5 South of Seattle.
Back to the climbing, here is Ky working her way up a nice and hard crack route, I don't care what the raiting was, crack climbs are hard. Especially for your first climb ever. Good work Ky!
Here I am, biting off more than I can chew after recieving enough peer pressure that I had to give it a go. It was a very successful weekend of climbing for me, I wasn't as bad as I thought I would be, but it still kicked my ass. There is a reason why you don't see 200 lb climbers on the cover of Outside Magazine.
Victory, our motley crew stands atop our final climb of the weekend, with wild fires burning the canyon nearby.
Thanks to OBRA race director Kenji Sugahara you too can know what a cyclocross race looks like from outside and inside the action. This video is from later in the day in the master men's B race.
First off, watch this YouTube clip to set the mood...
Now take a look at these photos...
So what happened? It was Hot, Dry, and Dusty! I got tag teamed from in front and behind by a couple of dudes weighing in at over 200 lbs. I pulled a superman over my bike into the dirt when I hit a rut in the course. I felt like I was going to die for a solid 45mins. I took 3rd place in my category! I won a couple shirts, free coffee drinks, a medal, and a hat.
Cyclocross is guaranteed to make you cry, sometimes it is a good cry like a painful race, sometimes it's a cry of a painful fall. Last night the legendary NoPoGirl and her squeeze Barker News both took their turn on the later of the cross cries. With Pain on the Peak coming up tomorrow, I am guaranteed to be in serious pain come 10am west coast time.
So here is a little reminder of what that S.O.B is all about.
Okay now say it with me, No wammy, No Wammy, No Wammy...
Well it's here again and after I blink it will be gone, the weekend. Not much on tap, I have finished another job application for BPA. The only thing longer than writing the suckers is waiting for all of the interns to read them and score you. I am five weeks into the first application without hearing anything, which is kind of a good thing. With BPA you only find out when you are dropped out of the bucket.
It's another rainy day, actually it's supposed to rain all weekend. While that makes me sad to say that my weekend plans are on hold now, I actually wish it would rain all week as well. You may ask why I would like it to rain all week, well that is because Saturday is the first cyclocross day of my year. Last year it was a somewhat dry event (see dust bowl).
Cyclocross should be mud, cowbells, and beer...not dust!
Some amazing drift wood in front of Proposal Rock, keep in mind that log is a good 30' long and 10' high. The last day at the beach was completely fogged in, similar to the previous days, hot in Portland means cold at the beach.
Abby (a.k.a. Little A) playing fetch with Kona and Ky, he usually beat her to the ball, but she still loves "Puppy".
Jack trying to take "Aunt Kyween" swimming in cold salty water.
Sorry it took nearly a month to get the photos up, let me know if you would like anything in particular.
Ky, Drew, Kona, and I made a great decision to get out of town over the weekend and into the deep back country of the Mt Hood Wilderness. Unfortunately we were not the only ones (by far) to make that decision, but as soon as we got more than 3 miles past the trail head the Freds were dropped and the real backpackers started to shine.
All went well except for an altercation Kona had with a couple of Huskies and their clueless owner.
During one of many river crossings, Ky and Drew demonstrate the proper technique in rock surfing/checking.
Elk Cove, our final destination for the evening and probably one of the most beautiful views of Mt Hood that I have ever seen. After a hard weekend the team headed down the mountain back to the car and off to Sandy to have lunch at Calamity Jane's, home of gigantic hamburgers and milkshakes.
Okay, so I already posted today, but this is too unbelievable to wait until next week.
Please watch this Jack in the Box Commercial poking fun at Costco (and other big box stores).
Now for the truly pathetic part, what was supposed to be mockery, is really reality. Costco Offers different TV "Twin Packs" on their Costco.com website.
So I haven't had much to say lately, I am "sure" you have been checking for updates daily, sorry to keep you "hanging".
Since we have last spoke I won my first Prime (a prize given away to the leader at a mid point in a race).
As you can see it is a lovely Jersey coutesy of Intel, albeit a little small (congrats Ky you have a bike jersey now).
This weekend Ky, Drew, and I are heading out to Mt Hood to do some backpacking arround the Timberline Trail. Our destination will be Elk Cove, I should have some photos early next week.
Should be a blast, hopefully next year I will get a chance to do the whole loop arround the mountain. It's on my list of things to do before I leave Oregon (no, don't worry, there isn't anything and I mean anything indicating a departure).
On tap for next week, hopefully, will be my long awaited interview with Verizon Wireless.
Maybe this time you can wish me luck and will mean something.
Meh is about all I can say about Tuesday, it's not the first day of the week, it's certainly not the last day of the (work) week, it's not even hump day. It's Tuesday or forevermore it's Meh-day.
Last weekend was a change for me, it was a weekend for me and the rest of the working world, but I didn't have anything to do. I had a few things scheduled if I felt like following through, but for the most part I could do as I pleased. I have become so accustomed to having something dominate 75% of my time on any given day that I have forgotten that most people wander through weekends from one odd task to another.
Saturday I slept in, took Kona for a walk with Ky and got coffee and pastries. Drove to the nearby golf course to turn around when my playing partner canceled (lame), tooled around my house and did some work on my cross bike (yes the crusade is nearly here), and went to a family function. Sunday I had a 35 min crit, an awesome breakfast at Jam with Ky, an expensive shopping spree at the Nike employee store (thanks Legacy), and did some grociery shopping.
A ton more things done, but nothing signficant, I almost didn't even do my bike race.
In other news there is no news, I continue to look for jobs without getting anywhere. VZ is laying off another 8000 management employees in Nov, no worries about me, I am fine.
