DC. Tomorrow. Nuff said.

Random Thought:: Airports

So... Airports are weird. Like, REALLY weird. You have a shit ton of people, that all woke up in different places, going to different places, and doing different things. Some are coming, some are going, some are just passing thru, you never know.

This is highly evident in peoples clothes. You'll have someone walk by in hardly anything (yeah, I was at the Vegas airport), followed by someone wearing full on winter coat and scarf. Weird.

Second Place

Following up last weeks third place with a number 2. The race was in on of Boulder's 'burbs, at the Rec Center, in what I've heard called the B.O.D., or Bowl of Death, if you will. It basically looked like a dam, sans water (except of course for the irrigation canal running along the side). The bottom was flat with some ancient sports fields in. With my extensive knowledge of urban drainage systems, I would guess that it is a detention basin for 'mega storms'. The course had a little bit of everything, including flat-out fast sections, which a lot of courses lack, but I do a little better in (see last week)

I got a front row start, which was critical, as this start was about as fast as starts can be. It even proved more critical, as the group that started after mine suffered a HUGE pile-up, from what I heard, at least 20 dudes went down, bikes where flying, yeah gnar.


But anyways, I was second at the start, attacked in the first sand section, immediately opened up a gap of about 20-30 seconds, and had some fun. This course was what some would call 'rough', or a 'mtn biker's course', I wouldn't go so far as saying that, but it had its sections.
The highlight of the race was when on the second lap, some chick yelled 'Sandbagger' at me. I chuckled inside and wanted to yell back 'Just wait a couple laps and watch me fade.' I have a 'tendency' to go out a little too fast, and fade towards the end. Knowing this I eased up on the gas a little. I had been sick all week, and was kinda surprised at how I was feeling.
Well... I held the lead for about 3-4 of the 7 laps, and then one of the guys that I knew would catch me, caught me. I hung with him for a little, but he eventially dropped me. I fought off one of the young kids who made a late race charge, and secured the numero dos spot. 2nd out of 85 ain't bad.

The cool thing was that this was a 4 race series, of which I raced 3. The series finale gave double points towards the overall, so I went from sitting in 11th, to 4th. That also meant a bunch of swag, I think about $100 worth. Pretty sweet.

Here are a few links to photos:
Me at the barriers, when I was in the lead.
Me trying to hold onto the first place guy up the super steep hill: One, Two, Three.

Highs and Lows

So today was one of those high stress days at work. I had a deadline that was supposed to be at the end of the day yesterday (FedEx Delivery deadline). Well, that didn't happen. So no need to cry over spilled milk, I just bailed on work and went to my first dedicated hip hop show ever. It was Atmosphere, and it was... different. After a while, I retired to the back (yeah, that's what 29 year olds do at concerts), and just watched all the white people dance to hip hop. Damn, that shit is funny.

Well, back to the grindstone this morning. Crunching on this project but the damn phone wouldn't stop ringing. Hello, it is Friday, people don't work on Friday. It should still be noted that I am still a little under the weather, but yeah. Oh, and there was our first skiff of snow on the ground this morning, wish that would have happened tomorrow morning for the cross race. But, back to the story.

I am AutoCADing my life away, answering phone calls like a man possessed, helping with proposals for new work (which we REALLY need right now), you know, the regulars. As I sit here writing this at 10:15pm, I just realized that I never ate lunch today even... weird. Must have been that awesome breakfast burrito I had this morning.

Well, yeah, so back to this project. it is getting around 1:30, and I start printing the sheets off. This is just a modest drawing set, at around 16-24x36 inch sheets from us. But regardless, our printer is not the fastest, printing one sheet every couple minutes.

So... I the last sheet is printing, I just finished making sure the rest are in order so we can take them to the printer to make 17 sets. (Yeah, thats right, 17 sets, HELLO cities, do you know that we can make what they call a DIGITAL plan set now. Crazy, I know, but we have that technology now.) So yeah, 17 sets of 16 sheets, thats a lot, and we (my boss) gets the privilage of stamping and signing all the sets (yeah, somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 signatures). So, I go set them on the desk (just the 17, not the copies yet), and somehow, unbeknownst to me, there was a little dixie cup full of water on the edge of the table. WTF. So, yeah, water all over the drawings. I even caught the cup before it had spilled all of its contents, and the set was still ruined.

I may have expelled a few expletives. And by 'may have', I mean 'definitely did'. And by 'few expletives', I mean 'one expletive, many times'. And by one expletive, I mean the F-word. Well, OK, I probably said shit once or twice too. But regardless, I was throwing out F bombs like a fireman throws out salt water taffy to the little kids at a Fourth of July parade in Podunk Town, USA.

Well, I regain composure, and save the day, as always. Drawings make it out to get copied, copies come back, signatures happen, I am wrapping up a few loose ends on other projects and about to leave, just in time to make it to FedEx, and what do you know, 100 sheets WILL NOT fit into a FedEx tube. Your going to have to take my word on this. I am pretty good spatially, and I tried everything. No Beuno. So I luckily guess our FedEx password on the first try, print out another mailing label, split the drawings up into two tubes, and run out to the car. Did anyone else realize I forgot to say 'grab the mailing label from the printer', yeah cause neither did I until I got to my car.

And then, I drive to FedEx, and the cut off time is 5:45, and it is 5:55. Shit! I try my luck anyways, and for one time today, the truck was not there yet. Hooray. But wait, not hooray, cause after that, I got to go buy a new cell phone, cause my old one, going on 3 years now, decided to crap out. And by 'crap out' I mean, all the sudden not wanting to get a signal anywhere, or even acknowledge that I opened it.

Well, enough of my ranting. I think it's just been to long since I've been on my bike, but alas, it's the weekend, and I get to go race my bike in circles for 45 minutes, or until I'm cross eyed and bleeding out my ears, whatever comes first.

Keep on keepin on.

The non-podium podium

So... I was able to figure out why lap 284 was so much slower than lap 319, and put that knowledge to work last sabbath (Sunday) to pull out a 3rd place. The course was flat and fast, and although it wasn't the most fun, it did suit my strengths of letting me open up the wattage cottage for business. Get it? wattage cottage? Power output, yeah... that's it. I also used my abundant smarts to use a sealant in my tires, EVERYONE was getting flats, but guess who didn't? Me.

Oh, yeah, they didn't have a podium, so no prizes or podium girls or anything. Shucks. I should have worked harder to win the first lap so I could have won the 6 pack of beer.

On another front, I raced myself right into a head cold. hmm...

And yeah, I knew my legs are white, but comparing them to the dude behind me in the photo above, they are mega-white.

Over the Hill

So, yeah, today is my day, and by that, I mean that it is the day of my birth. Well... actually, twenty-nine (29) years ago was the day of my birth. But you know what I mean.

So it is only 10:19 right now, but let me tell you how my day has gone so far:

• woke up at 2:39am to pee.
• Mandy, who has been my roommate as of late, wakes up at 5:something to go to yoga.
• My alarm goes off at 7:30, and I have a sore throat.
  
• Since it is my birthday, I press the snooze button till 8:06.
• I go to get in the shower, the water is cold.
• I postpone the shower till after breakfast and hope that it warms up.
• I eat breakfast (Raisin Bran Crunch)
• I go back to the shower, it is warm now.
• My mom calls, wishes me happy birthday.
• I open her present.
  
• I go to work.
• The throat is still soar.
• I go to get a coffee downstairs.
  
• For some reason, my Vanilla Latte tastes like herbal tea.

So, not the best morning so far, and then I check my friends blogs... and find this.

Thanks Christy!
Not thanks creepy dude in the photo!

p.s. I was feeling really good on Lap 319. yeah, that's it.

Wow...

So, yeah, I don't really have a lot to say, but I'll try to get it out. I have never, in my life, really had any belief in the whole political system. Growing up in UT and not being part of what I would call the 'in' crowd, I would say my vote or opinion never really mattered. I know a lot of people would object to that statement, but it is what it is in my mind.

After watching the debacle which was the 2000 election, it was pretty clear to me that the system was messed up if someone could win the majority vote, but not the electoral vote. I never voted until I moved to Colorado in 2004. Although the state, and election for that matter, didn't go how I voted, it still was significant to me.

Now, after tonight, I can see what can come out of the process. People spoke out. People cared. People... Thats what its all about...people. Of the people, by the people, for the people. People just didn't whisper, or speak their thoughts, they yelled, they screamed. Their thoughts were heard.

Now I've never lived anywhere where we had a professional sports team win any kind of title, so I don't really know how it is to experience that kind of celebration, but as I drove home from where I watched the results, and the speeches, EVERYONE was honking, EVERYONE was cheering, EVERYONE had hope. Maybe that's not saying a lot, cause I live in an extremely liberal town, but it meant something to me. And as my mom said in a text message that she sent to me tonight, "It's one of the first times I've been proud of our country!"


That just happened! -Ricky Bobby

Fix Push

This is funny, I don't care who you are...

Eye Candy

So, a lot has happened since we last talked:

• Jessica came to visit, and wrote a post about it here.
  

This is Jessica giving the creepy eye.

We went to the Red Bull Soap Box races and tried to watch people go fast down a hill and wreck into hay bales. We also ate a lot of candy corns and pumpkins, you know, the autumn mix.

• I had a bike race where Jessica was my pit crew and passed me off some water bottles and watched me trip over a barrier and get a little dirty. She filmed some of it. Another stacked field (97 racers), and I secured an 8th place finish.

Gotta get the warm-up on.
Me tripping on a barrier:


Long and painfull sand run:

• We went for a hike and found Lost Lake.

• And then Mandy returned and joined us as we got our art on at the Denver Art Museum. It felt kinda like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, as I called into work sick that day. However, we did not participate in a parade.

I played the Cynical card.

• I carved a pumpkin on a pumpkin.

• Mandy and I dressed up and went out for Halloween

• I may have done approximately one load of laundry
• I did another race, this one was a really big one, whereas all the big pros were out racing. Very fun to watch the big boys annihilate the course that just put you in the pain cave.
  

I was able to ride that sand about half the time.

Me, post race, after I left everything on the course. I outsprinted a guy for 15th place. It hurt. A lot. I almost left half a bagel with peanut butter on the course as well, if you know what I mean. That is one of the things I love about 'cross racing, you give it everything, EVERYTHING, and you turn yourself inside out, just cause. I had a lot of spectators at this race, which was rad, but the funny thing is, I rarely am able to actually 'see' who is yelling my name, I get this tunnel vision where I can only see the course, all the faces on the sidelines are an aneroebic, lactic acid induced blur. Once in a while, I'll try to muster a smile when I here my name, but more often than not, they are probably only getting a slobber-faced, concentrated, oxygen sucking look.

This is right before the pro men went:The crowd was awesome!

• And last, but certainly not least... I voted. Colorado is one of what many are calling "The Big Three" states, next to Pennsylvania and Virginia. This will mark only the second time I voted in a presidential election, and to know that my vote may actually 'swing' something or other is pretty cool. I can only sit back and watch now. If you haven't voted, get off your ass and do it. Now.