Thursday, November 29, 2007

Unbelievable, i slack for just a little while and its over a month since my last post. Well in my defense, nothing too exciting happened for a few weeks, and then i started traveling and haven't had a chance to post. Here goes.

I left Tahoe driving eastward to Louisville, CO (Boulder suburb, sort of) it is amazing how long it takes to drive across a couple of states out here. Googles told me that when he drove it it took him about 16 hours. Well, usually i drive faster than Googles, but when you are going that kind of distance you have to factor in gas and meal stops, Googles somhowe manages to push through without either of these, i hope to someday learn his secret.

Anyway, i arrived in Louisville late on sunday (two sundays ago). Spent the day on monday enjoying the 75 degree sunny day that i was blessed with. I took out my bike and road around Louisville and ate lunch in 'Downtown' Louisville. I me tup with Kelly after she got off work for a ride around Boulder, and it was fun. Fun beause most people struggle when they do activities in Boulder while being out of shape due to the lack of O2 in the air, lucky for me I live at elevation as well, and felt prety darn good riding at 5400 ft. That night i made it out to Boulder to hook up with Dobish and Iesha, whom both used to be coworkers of mine at EMS in Connecticut.

I had an early flight out of Denver to Philly where i would spend a week with my family for thanksgiving, oh and attend my 10 year Reunion. I was that guy who left for college and then never talk to anyone again. Acutally one of my buddies is now in a pretty successful band that plays all along the mid-atlantic coast, and they were playing at a local bar in West Chester wednesday so i decided to go. They were great you can see them here. I saw a lot of folks that i hadn't seen in a while and had a great time.

Now that leads to having to get up early on thanksgiving and play coed flag football with a bunch of guys i went to high school with. It was great to see everyone and we spend as much time bullshitting as we did playing. It was amazing, i didn't think we could even play sports that mellow, we were all super competitive in high school. The teams were made and of course my old soccer buddy Wyeth was on the other team, and we used to always cover each other when we played football in high school, so it seemed natural that we would cover each other. The fact is, no one else on the field could have covered either of us, but we always covered each other pretty well. Well, the only difference now was that he has been playing soccer at a high level since the last time i saw him, he played college ball, and then for a bunch of mens teams over the year, i on the other hand haven't sprinted in about, oh 10 years. Thats ok though, i was able to sprint as much as i needed to and i think living at altitude helped my recover my breath faster than everyone else, thank god :) Lets just say i did my duty for my team, but i was sore for about 4 days afterwards.

So then there was thanksgiving meal, and my brother and sister and law came over with my sister in laws parents, and my nephew matthew, also joining us was both of my grandmothers. That made for 10 people and a good Turkey dinner.

To be continued...

Thursday, October 25, 2007

The Views

Sometimes when you live in a place so amazing like I do you find yourself just driving or riding around and seeing a view like this:

Moon Hanging over Donner Lake

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

East Coast, Revisited

Ok, so I’m currently in the Reno Airport, I know its technically called the Reno/Tahoe Airport, but to be quite frank, the airport is in Reno. Everyone knows Reno is a shithole second to really only Las Vegas. So to sum up, Nevada pretty much has the two biggest shithole excuses for cities. The being said, it is my theory that the citizens of Reno decided to name the airport Reno/Tahoe in order to make it sound majestic. Yes, Tahoe is beautiful, but its also 35 miles away. You live in a shithole of a city, don’t drag Tahoe into it.

But I’m really sitting here because I love the airport in Reno, and sometimes I like to hang out here and write for my blog. No, not really. I’m waiting for my shuttle back to Tahoe.

I flew into Philly last week and spent a day there before heading to New Jersey to see an old Tahoe housemate from two winters ago. Joey has taken it upon himself to buy a dilapidated house in what I would call the NYC suburbs and knock down the whole thing (sparing two walls for taxes, or something legal like that) and then build another one, a better one where it once stood. Pretty big project if you ask me, I was a little overwhelmed seeing the whole thing framed and thinking about all the work that has to come before the house is ready to sell.

After that I made my way up to Hartford to pick up Kelly who had flown in to attend the Shaggy/Michelle wedding, which was also the reason I was making my presence felt on the east coast. We promptly made our way to Niantic to stop and see my favorite canine, Ms. Pana Georgian. Pana my all time favorite dog. By breed a Brittney, which means she is a bread hunting dog. She is agile and aware in the woods, always on the lookout to protect her owner and chase anything that moves. But don’t think of Brittney’s as your typical dumb hunter dog. Oh no, Brittney’s are some of the smarter dogs out there, the Brittney breed is also well know for its showmanship, and the Brittney breed has more Hunting and Show Champions than any other breeds combined. The common denominator with Brittney’s is if you run them, they won’t destroy your house.



Now I live with currently live with a small midsized dog named Bella, she is a mix, but has some black lab in her. She is thin and cute and is just a ton of fun to play with. But she’s not the brightest dog around.

Now when I see Pana, after not seeing her for months she looked huge, her strong torso and powerful legs surprised me, and the was so excited to see me that she bulled me over and made me trip backwards over a step.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have painted a perfect picture of Brittney’s, but Pana in particular is one of the most stubborn dogs I have ever encountered. You put her on a lease and you will have a sore arm before too long. It doesn’t matter if you have one of those metal choker collars or not, she deosn’t care. You see, Brittney’s are not made to be on a lease. Nor are they made to wear stupid little booties, or sweaters, or anything else that would make them more of a fashion statement than a wonderful creature. But that being said, she is stubborn, but I always justify it by saying that she is stubborn enough to do what she wants, but smart enough to not get into too much trouble doing it.

Oh, Pana does have a mom and a dad, Luke and Isabelle, two of my good friends who were away for the weekend at a mountain bike race, so they let Kelly and I crash in their crib. So I took care of Pana for the weekend.



But enough about my secret canine crush, I had a wedding to go to. Shaggy and Michelle are my family, or as close to family as an Armenian guy and a Chinese girl could be to an American white boy.

They decided to have the wedding at their house in Old Lyme. They had a nice huge tent set up and did it up nice. The ceremony was led by Shaggy’s Armenian priest from Trumble, CT, and he did a great job. The ceremony was nice and Michelle looked amazing in a Chinese dress with gold designs ( I don’t even know the name for this style of garment, but think Meryen from Big Trouble in Little China).

The ceremony ended just in time for a little rain storm that lasted about 5 minutes and then the rest of the night was drinking and dancing in the tent, or at least that is what the rest of the night was for me. I think some of the people there were eating dinner and cake, but I was drinking and dancing. Did I mention I was drinking?

It was good to see a lot of old friends from Connecticut and meet some of the people whom I had heard so much about over the last few years.

It was interesting meeting people and rather than saying, “Wow, you flew in from California”, they were saying “You’re the guy that everyone was in shock that you actually wore a suit”. Yes, very nice to meet you too. For the record, I DO HAVE SOME CLASS!!

And by the way, having class has nothing to do with the suit you wear or the gloss on your shoes, but the strength in your character, but I digress.

Ok, I’m gonna go get some Gatorade because I have a splitting headache, and I’m thinking its from dehydration.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Who is your Hero?

Moving right along from that idiotic rant the other day i pose you a question...

Who is your Hero?

You want me to define hero? No, you define hero for yourself.

You see, we all have people who we look up to, people we strive to be like, people we love spending time with, people who make us smile, and support us, and believe in us.

One thing that impresses me about certain people is their ability to be steady. You see, because steady would be the last word on earth that anyone would use to describe me.

People have often asked me who my heros are. My answer has always been 'my friends', i am very selective and they are all heros in their own way.

But today I'm gonna talk about one of these people in particular. His name is Jeff. He has been through a lot over the last two years. In fact, he has been through more pain and fear, and shock and uncertainty than anyone should ever have to go through in an entire lifetime. He has also shown more strength and courage and optimism then most people show in a lifetime.



One word I would use to describe my friend - no, my hero - he is steady. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with Jeff during the first week of his journey. He was very quiet, he was just hit with a ton of bricks right square in the face, steady.

You know what I would have done? Me neither, but most likely it would have been along the lines of screaming at the top of my lungs, eating until my stomach exploded, and drinking myself into a stooper for about 6 months. Unsteady.

Jeff then preceded upon his journey, and was always positive everytime I talked to him. People would ask me how he was doing. I would always say, "He sounds great and he is in good spirits." I didn't know if that is what he wanted me to believe, or if that was what was really happening. That is what I wanted to be happening, but the reality of it is that I knew deep down that it was a cover. He was in a living hell. But he wouldn't let me see it. Steady.

Me? I would have been acting like a 12 year old girl who just saw her secret crush kiss the popular girl. That is right, I would have been pissing and moaning and feeling sorry for myself. I would never have been able to hold it together. Unsteady.

Jeff decided that while the treatments he was receiving were no doubt his best option at the time, he was having a hard time sitting back and waiting for them to work. He decided that a little research on his part could lead him to make lifestyle changes that could have a positive impact on his health. Taking action. Steady, no doubt.

Anyway, before I make you buy the novel and read the book, I just want to say that you don't know what is going to happen, but that in order to handle life's ups and downs sometimes you just need to be steady. Rock-steady. You never know, you might even end up being someones hero.

Read Jeff's blog here:

http://jeffhartnett.blogspot.com/

Leave him comments, email him. I promise he will read them, right after his nap :)

Monday, October 15, 2007

"What" doesn't make you happy?

So here's the thing, people tell you all the time, love to say it, think its the greatest fucking thing to talk about. "Money doesn't make you happy". I'm so sick of hearing this. Well let me tell you a little something about anyone and I mean ANYONE who fucking says this, THEY HAVE NEVER NOT HAD MONEY.

I hear it all the time, "You're so lucky, I wish i were you, i've got all these paychecks weighing me down".

Go fuck yourself.

Let me give you my little piece of advise. Next time someone tells you that "Money doesn't make you happy" drop this piece of knowledge on them "Try not having some for one fucking day and let me know how goddamn happy you are."

Here's what it is like...

Waking up everyday stressed out to the max about how you are going to pay your rent. Busting your hump at multiple crappy jobs to make sure you got food. Forgetting how to have fun because you are so delirious over your bank statement. IT SUCKS!

So money may not be the key to happiness, i agree, but there is a certain level of financial stability below which life is certainly not happy.

What is that you say? Money doesn't make me happy?

Fuck off!

Friday, October 12, 2007

So....You're a really great guy...

So this last week has been pretty uneventful, so to speak. My roommates have gotten me hooked on two new television shows. Entourage and Lost.

First Entourage, great show. I must say Johnny Drama is without a doubt my favorite TV character of all time, yes he beats out George Castanza. The Vote, A-, great show, lots of hot chicks, and fantastic character development.

Next, Lost, fast paces and super intense. This show never lets up, i'm watching the first season and it is out of control, i'm yelling at the TV, and on the edge of my seat non-stop.

So I came home from work in the rain ready to set up my trainer and ride for a few episodes of Lost, when to my dismay i noticed that my trainer has a broken plastic part which renders it useless. Not only that but i decided to look up the assembly diagram on the internets and called up the company and apparently the only customer service rep is out on vacation for like a month and i have found no way to get ahold of anyone else.

But enough about TV.

I am a frequent member of a certain local coffee shop. The coffee is ok, the atmosphere is wonderful, the staff is enjoyable, and the place just has a really good vibe. Over the past month or so I had started chatting with one of the baristas. She is really cute and quite friendly. We started hanging out a little bit and I was enjoying her company. Just when I was starting to get interested, i got the "So.... You're a really great guy..." Yeah, yeah, fun times.

The weekend is upon us and a buddy of mine who is a Patroller at Squaw just called me to let me know that he's throwing a party at his new crib up in alpine tomorrow night. Should be fun.

I've been getting some harassment about my infrequent posts, it turns out I have quite a following, so I'll do my best to get some cool pics up and keep the blooger updated.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Snow and Xterra Nats

This is what I woke up to yesturday...



Today I headed over to Incline Village Nevada to volunteer for Xterra Nationals. I had a few friends racing and I wanted to check it out. One of my season goals for next year is to be racing in that race. Anyway, it was a chilly morning, which led to a sunny warm clear day. I'd love to give a real detailed analysis of the race, but I was stuck giving out water bottles on the bike, and i only saw a little of it. I can tell you that the pros are fast. Also of note a friend of mine named Emma was the first amateur female finisher, so she is really stoked about that, and my buddy Dane reached his goal of qualifying and racing in Nationals and then his race day goal of completing the bike course in under 2 hours. So congrats are in order for both of them. I've been spending a lot of time thinking about all the gear i need to sell in order to pay off my bikes and get some xc ski gear for the winter. Oh and for those of you who i haven't talked to in a while, i started working part time as an office b!tch for a construction company. With the bike shop season slowing down that will get me through the slow season, and then i will get started working at the ski resort again, and hopefully pick up some shifts waiting tables. Really I'm just trying to save up enough dough to pay for my next seasons races, and i'm thinking i'll be doing at least 4-5 xterra's, wildflower half IM, and IMLP, so that will keep me pretty busy.

Also coming up is my 10 year, that's right, 10 year high school reunion. I'm planning on going, however, i'm not really sure what to expect, but hey, what fun would life be if you knew what to expect all the time?

Well, its getting late and i'm getting tired...

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Late nights with Lights!

Well, I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but an the advice of a few friends, here I am.

Last night I did a sweet ride under the beautiful near full moon of Tahoe. I swear we weren't riding on the PCT, because that would be illegal, but lets just say we were in the vacinity of the PCT in the Tahoe Donner area. The night was incredibly clear, and there was not a trace of wind for most of the ride. I think we started around 18:45ish (6:45pm, and yes i'll be using the 24 hour clock in this blog, so get used to it), and we got to the shuttle vehicals at 23:30 by my watch. It was a great ride, lots of ups and downs, lots of bonking (at least by me) do to lack of food, and the fact that i didn't eat dinner. I rode my new Specilized Epic Expert that i recieved just before I went to Whistler (which by the way was amazing and the kind of place i could see myself living at some point in this life of mine). Let me tell you, I've been riding my Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC (which is for sale by the way, check out the link below) all season and going from a big travel all mountain bike to an XC race bike is a big change. I had forgotten how rough bombing downhill is on a race bike. Good times, oh yeah, i once again learned the lesson of don't go on a big ride with brand new pedals if you haven't adjusted the clip out force, can you say rolling down the side of a mountain in a barrel roll with my bike still attached to me! I wish I had a camera to show the pics, because the night really was spectacular, some had a camera, I'll see if i can get some pics to post later. (Plus i haven't even figured out how to post pics anyway.)

Well, that's enough for now. Thanks for reading my first attempt at something interesting.