Randomness

Meh...

Started the week with one of those blah days, or as the kids say "meh". Yep, I have to agree with the term "meh" as describing my Monday. Don't know why, but it was just one of those days.

Alan & Kyle even brought out the tried and true grin generators.

I mean, who could be grumpy when you've been alligator snow-globed?



or chattered at by an angry beaver?

Life went on and then it was time to drive home. You wouldn't know by my expression that my commute lasts a whopping 20 minutes if I catch all red lights.

Played some Guitar Hero with Kyle while Alan took care of dinner. Don't think I will ever master "hard", but Kyle is nice and lets me attempt to play. (If anyone ever hears me complain about the guys - slap me. I don't know how they put up with me when I'm in a crappy mood.)

Am I old yet?

Tuesday marked 48 years that I have been breathing Earth's atmosphere. Although I tried to play it down, Alan spoiled the game and made sure that everyone at work was in on the secret. Had lunch with a good friend and later instead of dinner out I opted for movie, popcorn and hot dogs - which ended up costing about the same. We saw the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight", but had to pass on the hot dogs as the ones they had out looked like left overs from the first showing of the day. We had popcorn for dinner and pizza for dessert.

10 miles!?! Are you serious?

This morning was Coach Alan's first Team in Training ride for the El Tour de Tucson 109 mile ride in November. In 81 days he'll have his group of riders (that range from experienced cyclists to people that haven't been on a bike since they were a kid) ready for the challenge. Today was easy spins around the local .8 mile crit loop, with the goal being to get in 10 miles... the longest journey starts with a step and today was step 1. I'll be helping as I can (unofficially) as the coach's wife which is alright by me. This way I can ride and help people along, or if I'm feeling frisky I can ride up front with the fast boys.

Ahhhhh

Just got back from visiting Mom & Dad. Had 4 days of doing absolutely NOTHING and it was wonderful!!!!! I don't think I could handle the life of a retiree yet, but it was a nice place to visit for a long weekend. Now I just hope that I can get back into my normal routine.

Status quo

For a couple of my friends...

For some
it is
and will continue to be
the best that can be

All is good
no
better than good
the best - thank you dear

For others
it is
routine
but nothing more

Is there better?
probably
but
day to day isn't that bad
is it?

Then
one day
a spark of what
could be
may be

Status quo
of old
does not
have to be

Rollercoaster WOWs

First off...




Welcome to Harlingen, Texas!



I'm taking what feels like a long needed vacation, visiting Mom & Dad and not dong anything at all... ahhhhh. Now, it's not as exciting as driving around the country and biking/hiking in Colorado, or the Grand Canyon, or even racing at the Nationals in Vermont; but, it is time away from work. The only thing missing is the guys but that's OK, too. I could have gone to Vermont, but decided that there were better options available that did not require sleeping on the floor.


Now for the WOWs:

going up...
First was hearing news that a friend, Micheal, has qualified and is going to UCI Mountain Bike Masters World Championships! I've known about his qualification for a couple of weeks now and I still get excited when I think about it. I've never met Michael - he's a modern day pen-pal that is South African and will be representing SA at Worlds.

We "met" when I saw the logo for Flatdogs, a crocodile, and wanted to see if they had any club t-shirts as Alan thinks crocodiles and alligators are cool and I thought it would make a neat gift. Well several years later (with a lot of emails and several boxes of cycling schwag sent back and forth during that time) I'd like to think that we are friends.

So, the end of August I'll be cheering for a South African at World's.


unfortunately, now we have to go down....
On Wednesday one of our neighbors passed away. Ralph was one of the sweetest guys I have ever known. A true nice guy that always had a smile and a good word. We were fortunate to have known him and I will only have fond memories to keep Ralph alive in my heart.

Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow; I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain; I am the gentle autumn's rain. When you awaken in the morning hush, I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there; I did not die.
-Mary Elizabeth Frye

Today

was such an exciting day that I just had to share...

I woke up early and took the dog for a walk!!! (yippee)

Then, I went to WORK!!!! (yea)

At lunch, I took my car to get washed and the seats cleaned!!! (wow)

After work, I went home!!! (woo woo*)

This is just too much, cuz' we went to Steak & Ale for dinner!!! (can you stand all the excitement?)

Then, then, then... I fixed the pictures from the earlier post!!! (yee haw)

Aren't you jealous???


*as goes the whistle

Picture woes

For some reason the pictures don't look right on some screens. I don't know if it's because I had to adjust the pixels to make them fit, or what. The camera really takes better pictures than what you see.

Camera part deux

Finally decided to actually buy the camera I have been looking at and set my heart on the blue one. Planned to buy from a local store - you know support your local business and all that. Only problem is, I could not find one that had the camera I want. I talked to the manager of the local camera specialty store and he couldn't even order it although it's on their website. So, time to cruise the world wide web and go shopping online. Took some looking to find a place that had the blue one in stock, but persistence paid off and FedEx delivered my new toy on Wednesday.

I went to the track with Alan and took pictures of him and David chasing each other around in circles:



Then I had to annoy the dog:

A little camera dueling with Kyle:

Finally a camera self-portrait: