Far Out Son of Lung...: 12.05

30 December 2005

Lisboa-Dakar Rallye Raid

It is that time of year again, the Dakar Rallye is set to begin. Cars, motorcycles and trucks make up the field for this incredible, 9000 kilometer event.

29 December 2005

Thwap!

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Nearly a New Year

The New Year is nearly here and I suppose that means I need to think about doing a post that will wrap everything up and contain some degree of learned knowledge or self discovery. Actually, that would be a good post because so much has changed between then (January 1) and now (December 29) but I'm going to have to put some thought into that, which means I won't actually do it until later.

For now... I spoke with CT last night and caught up on recent events. She split up with Brian just before Christmas and I got to hear all about the drama while I was driving to Charlotte. I'm glad she and I talk, she's had a rough go of it here lately and I don't quite get why. Smart gal, pretty, personable, easy to approach and certainly well worth dating... but for some reason she's had a hell of a time with dating. Sometimes I think she's too picky, but mostly I think she doesn't get out enough. The girl needs a hobby, she needs to get out and do things and meet more people and have more friends with whom to spend her time.

I went through my own predicament with her and got some very sound advice.

I've found that there's a curious thing about advice. Advice can be categorized, or defined, in one of two ways: Good or Bad. But what is good or bad advice? If someone gives you advice, that you follow, and events turn out badly, was it really bad advice, or was it just a bad execution? Here's my take:
Good advice is what you want to hear. It supports your current position.
Bad advice is what you don't want to hear because it opposes your current train of thought in one form or fashion.
Keep in mind that the idea of good or bad advice also changes with hindsight:

CT laid it out like this: I'm in a situation where I'm attracted to two women, and I'm reaching a point where I need to make a decision based on what is best for me, as well as what's best for them.

One of the women, Rock Gal, is available, atleast as interested in me as I am in her and seems to come packaged without any current complications. We definately have an interest in common and our personalities seem to compliment each other, atleast from what I can tell at the moment.

The other woman, Girl Friday has a variety of dramas in her life that are, in some ways, out of her control. She's coming out of a long relationship, wants to play the field a little and needs some time & room to figure out what she wants.

The nice guy in me, CT points out, wants to wait for her to see what happens. I want to be patient, give her room and hope for the best. If I make my intentions clear I risk pushing her away completely, but if don't make intentions perfectly clear I also risk being there for her for a few months and then losing her to someone else. Which, as I've learned too many times in the past, is a shitty way to be rewarded for your efforts. Of course, there's no point in missing a catch like Rock Gal based purely on inference, or what I think could be going on with Girl Friday, so the only logical thing to do is let life play itself out and see what happens.

I dig Rock Gal for different reasons than those I have for being attracted to Girl Friday, but that is not to say that I'm any less attracted to her than Girl Friday. Mostly, it comes down to availability and, to some degree, who has steaked their claim. Part of me wants to wait, but more of me wants to move forward. I don't want to miss an opportunity but I need to put that out of my mind, because I would hate to not give Rock Gal a fair chance (in my mind) because of some weird hang up I have on Girl Friday.

As always, I'm thinking too much.

Rock Gal called me last night while I was talking to CT. I chimed her back and it was nice talking to her because she's full of compliments and makes me feel real good about me, which is totally kick ass. The best news of all this is that Rock Gal is going to the New Year's Eve party with me.

28 December 2005

Xmas Bounty

After sitting in the car for two(ish) days I thought it would be a great idea to go climbing. Given my standing with Stoneworks I figured I'd shoot over there and get in a couple hours worth of bouldering to wear myself down, then fall in bed and sleep for many hours. Then my phone rang with a pleasant surprise; it was Rock Gal. After getting through the normal course of conversation she asked me what I was up to for the evening (I'm going climbing) and told me, flat out, that she was planning on climbing but was mostly just interested in seeing me. Damn, that is cool! I told her she was sweet (which she is) and we decided to meet at Summit for some much needed physical exertion and good company.

Since I cruised home for a surprise Christmas with my family I had a bounty of presents awaiting my arrival in Dallas. My coworkers had stealthily hidden boxes around my cube so it was a bit of an extra surprise to open drawers and find boxes!

At any rate, I am now in possession of a pocket-sized digital camera. Its an HP, 5.2 megapixel and included a photo printer! I'm stoked. My blog will now include photos. Photos of what? I don't know. In all likelihood, it will be quite random.

I left Charlotte at noon on Monday and made it to Jackson, MS with no problem. Traffic was hit and miss but the drive was simple. After getting up early-ish Tuesday morning I got home around 2:30pm and had planned on cleaning up the Nissan, chaning the oil and rotating the tires. It was 82 degrees. Its December.

The wind, however, would quickly change my mind. With leaves and trash being scattered by gusts blowing directly into my garage I decided it was best to leave things alone for the afternoon. Had I popped the drain plug the oil would quickly scatter all over the ground and bottom of the car, so instead I got my haircut, did some quick grocery shopping and ate dinner before receiving her call.

I really enjoy climbing with Rock Gal because she encourages me when I am up on the wall. She has been climbing for 11 years and can totally out climb me, but she doesn't care (nor do I) as long as we're having fun. There's no competition, no assertion that I need to be better than her or feeling that I need to be at her level of climbing. Other people I've climbed with, especially women, feel that they need to make a point of out-doing a guy. I suppose they need to feel like they're proving a point that they are better than us, which I think is annoying and silly. I'd prefer to just have fun climbing, racing, cycling... But I digress.

Rock Gal is a source of constant pats on the back when I am doing things right, and a source of reason when I'm not. When I get stuck, mangling some climb and putting myself into an odd situation, she just calmly tells me to think it out and solve the problem. If I sit back, consider the situation with my footing and my holds, I can (to this point) complete the climb and feel great about doing it. I really enjoy this aspect and it makes the process more fun. I get myself into binds rather often, simply because I'm not thinking 2 holds ahead (much like 2-3 corners ahead in racing) but she helps me keep a level head and remember that I need to just consider the hold, my footing and my goals.

It is a very cool attitude to have, and it is very attractive.

Things went smoothly all night and she made her way up some pretty challenging routes, though it took some real thought and planning to make them smooth. I had fun talking to her about the moves, seeing her contemplate how she would get past certain spots or even arrange her body to utilize the available (and sometimes scarce) array of holds. Again, all very attractive and she doesn't mind my endless questions and complete lack of knowledge.

I see her in a way that I hope some people might see me in regard to racing. I can go to a track, review a map and get a very clear idea of the proper line and possibly even the entry speeds for corners. Give me 10 minutes with that map and I'll have it memorized, then a few laps and I'll begin working out the fastest line in very short order. I can race a track easily and find some wicked places to pass, but it doesn't mean I'll ace it and set a lap record. Instead, I can find my way around the track smoothly and quickly with what seems like very little effort. This is, of course, not the case as it takes quite a bit of experience, concentration and mental olympics to see these things, but it is second nature now.

Rock Gal can, in the same way, look at a route and solve problems about it from the ground. Some things require a bird's eye view on the wall, but she can really plan her moves before the climb and this helps her work efficiently without getting pumped and losing strength too early. Again, all very attractive.

By 10 PM we were both worn out and ready to leave. I was more tired than I thought, but having done four climbs and belayed her a good bit, I was ready to be in bed. We talked about the cross-over of skill sets from sport to sport and how all things really can be related back in the same ways, especially in regard to smooth, flowing movement, concentration and commitment. We walked out, talked about getting together for another climb and I gave her a hug. She took me by surprise (a little) and gave me a kiss (or four) g'night. I'd been trying to figure a way into that all evening but wasn't sure until she took the initiative, so that was a nice way to stop me from thinking so much, which I often do.

23 December 2005

The Road Trip

"Are you sure you can't make it home for Christmas?"
"Yes Mom, I can't get off work, I'm sorry."
"Well, ok. It'd be so nice to have you home..."

That was back in October. Every week since then I've had the same weekly conversation with my Mom, Dad and Sister about my desire to not be home for Christmas with my family. I don't like Christmas. Bah humbug. My family has a retail store here in Huntersville and the Christmas season, my vacation, ends up with me working in the store, or hanging out in the store for days on end. As you can imagine, this is an amazing amount of fun and results in some wonderful Christmas memories... Right. Add to that all the traffic, the rushing around and our complete inability to do anything as a family

Despite all the strikes against any vacation time being spent in Charlotte, I made the deiciosn to drive home for Christmans and be with my family. I also decided to take them completely by surprise.

I had been planning to leave Dallas Wednesday morning and arrive Thursday evening. My sister would then be in town Friday afternoon, we'd do Christmas and then I'd drive back to Dallas on Monday/Tuesday. As it was, I got bored in Dallas and decided to leave a day early. So, Monday night I packed my bag (after seeing Girl Friday at the Galeria), packed the car with essentials like cases of CDs, a small cooler and some food and headed out at 10AM Tuesday morning.

My goal for the day was Birmingham, Alabama and a visit to the Barber Motorsports Museum on Wednesday morning before completing my drive to Charlotte. Everything went great on Tuesday and I arove in Birmingham around 8PM. Upon reaching Birmingham I thought it'd be cool to explore the area. I exited the highway and aimed for a large statue on a hillside some miles away. Bad idea. I put myself directly into a very not-whiteboy friendly portion of town. No worries, I'll just get back on the highway and into a better area of... Hm. No entrance ramp. No signs for I-20. Hm.

My adventure was brief as adventures go, but it took me through some rather interesting bits of homelessness as well as a tour of their hospital complex where I attempted to poach internet, with little success. Eventually I found myself back on I-20, but not until after I'd invented a few new cuss words and driven 10 miles more than necessary if I'd just seen the signs sooner... No worries.

Wednesday morning I willed myself from bed and headed for Babrer. Apparently, Birmingham has a "Birmingham Race Course" the exit prior to Barber Motorsports Park and does not feel the need to mark either exit with appropriate signage about the two seperate yet curiously similarly named complexes. I followed signs for Birmingham Race Course. Another mistake. The road snaked, turned and wound its way for miles until I found myself... back in town. Huh? I followed the signs (saw lots of them) but never found the track. The Race Course is, in fact, a dog track. Jerks.

After stopping for fuel and directions I made my way to Barber and the Motorsport Museum.

Wow.

Five floors of motorcycles, a few F1 cars and a variety of classic machinery I've never even dreamed of seeing before. From the earliest days of bicycles with engines to the most amazingly high-tech motorcycles ever created, rare examples and popular trend setters... it was all there. I'll post more when I have pictures developed.

I parted company with the motor-mecha a little after noon, completely brain fried and entirely overwhelmed with information. Truly, I'll post more when I have pictures and more time to rewalk the place in my mind.

So my trip continued down I-20 toward Atlanta. All was well, nothing to worry about and certainly no problems with the mighty little Sentra. I hit Atlanta around 3:30PM, and my trip came to a sudden and rather explitive filled crawl. Five lanes fo traffic. Five lanes of solid, creeping traffic. I'm sure Los Angeles is worse, but this was pretty shitty. I lost at least an hour, maybe more. No worries though, I settled into a lane and just trucked it out with everyone else.

Out of Atlanta but still far from home I got CT on the phone. She's great for burning time because the woman loves to talk, always has something going on worth talking about and doesn't require much advice, just a good ear for listening and a desire to laugh. My trip sped along nicely and I reached Charlotte just as we were parting company on the phone. I had not had the chance to talk about any of my current situation with Girl Friday, Rock Gal or Pierced but I figured it could wait until another day. Most of the time I'm on the phone with people (ie- women) they're doing all the talking, but I was going to need some womanly advice on this one so I knew I'd be calling her back on my drive home.

I buzzed my folks' cell phone to determine their location. I was able to excuse myself quickly as they'd just sat down for dinner. I told them I'd call back later and completed my drive into the city. I navigated to the house, was careful to turn out the lights as I went up the driveway, quietly got my coat from the car and closed the doors and went up to the front door.
"Who the fuck is that?"
There's a little kid sitting in the front room on a computer. He doesn't see me. I slip back to the car and drive next door- to the correct house. Repeat process.

I stood right up against the front door and rang the bell. I could tell my Dad was looking out the windows but couldn't see me. I waited. He cracked the door open and... Viola! Needless to say, they were quite surprised.

22 December 2005

Nothing new, really.

I felt like posting but nothing has really changed.

I think too much, as always, and spent some time thinking about both Girl Friday and Rock Gal... basically just considering the situation with either of them and wondering what to do. Nothing ventured nothing gained, would be a likely train of thought. I don't know where either situation is headed so for the time being its best to just let things play out as they may. I am enjoying getting to know them both more and just want to let things happen. I just don't want to miss any opportunities, or muck anything up in the process. I need to concentrate on keeping me happy and avoid my normal pitfall of keeping everyone around me happy, except -in the end- me.

Time to get my day started.

20 December 2005

A long weekend

Thursday after work I went to Whole Earth Provisions looking for some new climbing shoes. I had my eye on the Mad Rock Hookers because I think they are interesting, though I'm sure I have no use for them in reality. Didn't matter, they were neat-o.

I walked in, found the shoes and started getting help from a rock gal that obviously knew her gear. We talked about the type of climbing I was doing, the type of climbing I was planning on doing and things like that... She helped me determine that, in fact, I didn't need new shoes so much as just a better technique and some help getting there. We talked about climbing, indoor and out, and before long I decided I'd better figure out a way to stay in touch with her. Hey, she's cute! So I gave her my business card, added my cell number and home email and waited...

Thursday night was our company Xmas party. I spent most of the evening chatting with Kim & Terri before going to Boston's for some dinner and drinks with Leighton, Leighton's g/f (who's name now escapes me), Derek and Derek's g/f Katherine (or is it Kathleen?). At any rate, they were cool and we just spent the evening BSing until it was time to clear out.

I got home and popped open email to find a message from rock gal from Whole Earth! Interesting development, and she was looking to go climbing together when the opportunity presented itself. She goes to Austin a lot for outdoor, which is awesome, but also climbs indoor at Summit.

Friday night I went to Stoneworks for more bouldering and traversing work. My ankle is loosening up nicely and I'm building strength and confidence with every visit. It didn't help that I was the only person there aside from resident employee Ryan, but it was a good time I enjoyed burning my Friday night there. I had spoken with my girl friday earlier in the evening as well and we might maybe go to the next Cirque performance in March if we can make ourselves part with the steep ticket price. Its only in town for two days so tickets are not cheap. Would be worth it though.

Saturday I was back at Stoneworks after doing laundry in the morning. Ran into a number of people I've met at the gym bt don't really know from Adam, along with Mark, Blake and the other regulars/employees. Saturday night Mark was throwing a house party for climbers and such at his house down on the M Streets. I ran down there around 9 pm and was pleasantly surprised to see rock gal there a little later with her climbing parter.

We BS'd a little and ended up doing some people watching from the couch late in the evening. She and Steve invited me to go climbing with them Sunday at Summit, and we parted the party around midnight.

Rolled out of bed early on Sunday and headed for the rock gym to meet upu with rock gal, her regular climbing partner and another friend of theirs. We spent the early afternoon scaling routes and I recieved a lot of great advice, tips and encouragement from rock gal throughout the day. It really boosted my confidence and helped me conquer a route that I normally would have had trouble finishing. I felt great mentally but my elbow was acting up again. It started aching Friday night and I ignored it, hurt a little Saturday and I figured it was a little over use... but Sunday it was just getting to be bad news. Discretion was the better part of valor and I decided to just catch rock gal and her partner for the last few climbs rather than aggrivate the injury and make it worse.

On a whim, I asked rock gal to join Mike, Katherine, Christi and I for dinner before they went to the DMA's Xmas concert. She agreed, I was surprised, and after a few phone calls and negotiating parts of town we decided to meet at Cuba Libre (of all places) for dinner. Met up around 6:15pm, had dinner and parted company with the concert goers. Rock gal and I then headed to Trinity Hall for a night cap and couple more hours of conversation about this that and the other thing. She's easy to talk to and personable, has a quirky engineer's personality and things went off great.

Monday night I met up with Lee for a cup of Chai, then met with girl friday at the Galleria for some Xmas shopping. We had a great time pal-ing around the mall, BSing and catching up since I hadn't seen her in about a month. We've been keeping up on the phone, but this was better. In the end she got some shopping done, we'd burned a few hours and forgot to talk about Cirque! I can't tell what's going on exactly, but I suppose it doesn't matter. She's a great friend, but deep down I guess I'm still attracted to her. This is the first time we'd seen each other since our date and it has been a little difficult for me to comprehend what she's told me and what she's been doing in the meantime in regard to what her angle is... She wasn't especially flirtatious last night, but I don't know... some things struck me at the time and I just wasn't sure. In the end I gave her a hug and we parted company, then gave her a call (which was probably a bad idea) and got VM.

Anyway, that's the gist of my weekend, and my current state of confusion.

Holy shit, there's more...

So... you remember the ex-g/f email about how she dreams about me and shit? Yeah, I got another one today. She wants me to... oh this is just so difficult to type on my blog... Good lord. She wants to me join her and her husband for a threesome. Ok. This is the kind of thing that happens in:
1) Weird episodes of 90210
2) Weird episodes of As the World Turns
3) Late night movies on Showtime

This is just, too weird. I mean, who could perform for an audience to begin with? I seriously doubt I could even get it up with another guy in the room... now I know I'm more than partially responsible for being in this situation to begin with, but this is just too much! So, do I just ignore the email? Do I tell her she's nuts? Do I just let it slide and pretend it never, uh, came up?

Ah, the trials and tribulations of life.

18 December 2005

Additions

Aside from the usual ranting and bantering posts I throw on here I have also been making more additions to the Streaming Audio section on the right. WinAmp is a great program and has opened up my access to streaming music both in the office and at home. The stations I find, and have listed, are all pretty similar for a reason. Trance and Continuous Mix get my mind into the most creative mode possible.

Following this holiday season I am also hoping to starting using more photographs in my posts, as well as adding a photo album of recent events and happenings. As a text only site I know it can get rather bland, and I tend to think in motion and photography anyway, so this could be fun. Mostly depends on what Santa provides me with this Christmas...

I'm also going to try and move back away from the political and societal dialogues, concentrating instead on spoofs of current events. It would be a far more effective use of my creative side to write a story that pokes fun at one situation or another, rather than simply getting on here and saying, "I don't like the way...". For the sake of entertainment and experience, I'm sure you'll agree.

I'm not makinng these changes as a result of the new year, by the way. Fuck 2006. As a matter of fact, fuck 2005 and 2004. I thought 2005 was going to be all different and new and bring with it lots of great shit, and it did. But I have no desire to get sucked into making changes only because it is going to be 2006. Get me? Maybe I'll do a year in review post... Most things are not worth looking back on really, but I almost managed to meet all my goals set forth for 2005. Almost.

I still broke a bone and I'm still single (as in unattached). Aside from that I think I did a lot of cool shit this year. I'll save it for another time, however.

Honda Commercial

Speaking of dreams, this commercial is awesome!
Click me.

17 December 2005

In your Dreams?

I can't remember when, exactly, but about a year ago my ex-girlfriend from High School got back in touch with me. I hadn't seen or heard from her in seven years. We split up when we were at Tech and, truth be told, I was an asshole to her at the time. It was a deadend relationship, sex only at that point, and I wanted out. I didn't want to date her anymore but I didn't want to give up the sex either, it was easy and convenient... anyway, she gets back in touch me at random and the next thing I know we're emailing and shit.

She's married, has a kid and lives in Austin. So we worked out some of those old lingering issues and there we were, it was a little strange and didn't much care if we corresponded or not. When I did the first MS150 event from Houston to Austin she met up with me in Austin after the ride. It wasawkward but it was nice to see her again, if only to know that her life wasn't in shambles as a result of my actions.

Then, it started. It being emails about her dreams. Her dreams, or rather her emails about her dreams, consisted of very detailed, explicit sex. With me. I got these emails weekly at first and more or less ignored them. It was a little too much information. Then it was twice a week. I played them off in an attempt to make it go away but she persisted.

Then, in probably one of my biggest bonehead moves of my brief 28 year existence, I decided to respond to one of them. I egged her on. I was playing with her to see what would happen.

-Now, keep in mind I have a rather active imagination. Also keep in mind the fact that I have previously dated a woman who read vast amounts of fantasy books from the fun/naughty section of Barnes & Noble. After what may have amounted to hundreds of late night text messages I had been left me with vast stores of adjectives and metaphors that, to date, had not been utilized.-

The moment I hit send I was damned to perish in a private hell populated by ghoulish beings in lingerie, much like you'd see in an 80's B-movie. You know, the ones where the dead bride comes back to haunt her lovable yet estranged husband to be or, worse still, Kirstie Alley comes back from the dead... I don't know if that ever happend, but if it did it was inspired by this very situation. Nevermind the fact that the movie was written 20 years ago by some pot inspired hack, he got it from me.

So things progressed, as a result of my email, from interesting yet harmless to disturbing and problematic within about, oh... 12 hours.

I'm just going to give myself a little pat on the back for this bit of creativity as well. I mean, c'mon. We all have active imaginations but in the course of one email I think I completely out did myself. I don't know if I could make a career out of smut but it was some damn good shit, if I must say so myself. In retrospect, of course, I should ahve just tucked it away for use at a later date (with a better recipient) but as it stands I think the test run has proven rather successful.

But I digress. I had a reply within 12 hours. It too was steamier than the rest and only proved to make me want to try again. See, I thought of this as a curious experiment. So, I replied. This time I really broke out the smut thesaraus and created something beyond special. This was art folks. If porn could ever be considered an artform, I had just (for lack of a better metaphore) banged one home. Yeah, it was good.

This one pulled a response in even less time, but it also brought about an even more uncomfortable situation. A text message at 6 o'clock in the morning. Ok, its bad enough that I'm doing this with a married woman, harmless as it seems, but to then get a text message concerning her state of being (horny) that was pushing it.

Then I got more emails. And more. And some more text messages.

It wasn't the glut of information so much as the new content. Specifically, her desire to drive to Dallas and let me take advantage of her over the course of some weekend. Yikes. I told it it was a bit much, like all in good fun... and she tells me its ok with her husband because "he's a hippie"... She was then telling me how it was all so harmless and had gotten her out of her Mommy Mode and how nice that was... but I was still uncomfrtable with the situation.

Uh huh. Still... this was getting out of hand. So I stopped responding. She started to get the message and backed off. No more talk of being in Dallas or wanting me to visit in Austin. Phew, disaster averted.

Then I got another email today. More of the same. And another suggested trip to Dallas, even though she admits that I probably would not be up for the idea... I don't know if this would be classified as a stalker, but its the closest thing I have to one and, truth be told, I've always wanted one.

No seriously. I've always thought it'd be great if a woman were so taken by me that she had to sit outside my apartment spying on me and sending me psychotic love letters full of confetti and photoshopped pitures of us. See, I don't think I've ever had someone that completely enamoured with my prescence that she was off her rocker and couldn't think about anything else besides, well... me. I know, I know... that's supposed to happen when you are in love and shit, but seeing as how that situation brings with it a whole host of problems of its own, I thought maybe this would be an interesting alternative.

I figure if I've got some chic in love with me I'm probably having to put up with a lot of her shit. Complaining, whining and then the cost of dates and all, man... that can add up fast! And who knows if all that effort (on my part) will even be worth it in the end or if she'll just turn out to be another flake. So, why not find a flake (or let a flake find me) first! Then, I don't have to wonder if or when she'll flake out, because she already has! No more evenings spent wondering if she's out with someone else or if she's being honest about one thing or another... Just eliminate those awkward face-to-face arguments over nothing, but keep the erotic email and suggestive photographs (those are big with stalkers) and things just seem so much easier! And when things start to get real hairy and maybe she starts thinking about kidnapping me or killing me, just drop the cops a note and get a restraining order against her. Problem solved!

Yeah, so that's the long and short of it. Now, if I could just get someone more desirable to think this way about me, life would be groovy. Only in my dreams, huh?

15 December 2005

Xmas Party

As usual, this post does not concern anything which may be considered important. There are no high-stress situations, life changing decisions or overly elaborate plans being concocted, constructed or devised on behalf of myself or anyone else. Add to the the fact that there really is not a thing happening that I would consider essential knowledge, little known fact or even -perhaps- worth mentioning at all.

As such, I am going to sit here and ramble, rather aimlessly, about nothing.

Tonight is my office Christmas (Holiday, if you are PC) party. We are going to take 70 people and stuff them in the side room of a smallish bar, then ask them to mingle, talk and socialize for roughly two hours. I work with these people. I see them everyday. We have nothing in common. I really do not want to go. I feel that I should go because that would be the nice thing to do, but I don't want to go because then I'm just doing something else that other people want me to do, instead of going to do what I really feel like doing...

To waste time before the party I was planning on going to REI to try on some rock shoes. I had also thought about going to Whole Earth Provisions (near SMU) to check out some of their shoes as they are "phasing them out" and I figured they might have something on sale. If not, its a bit of a wasted trip unless I can meet up with Mike after work or fart around Starfuck's with a latte and my book at Mockingbird Station. Its that or jump into traffic and hit REI as well... Maybe I should call them and save the trip? Hm.

Ok, just got off the phone with Whole Earth Provisions and had a classic climber conversation. The guy on the phone was completely laidback, totally relaxed and said "Dude", "Totally" and "right on" in one sentence. They also carry the Mad Rock Hooker, which is a shoe I have been looking at for quite some time. I'm not so sure the shoe is designed to edge and smear quite as much as I want, but its worth a look just for shits and giggles. After reading some reviews at RockClimbing.com I think these might be good for edging and smearing. People's opinions being waht they are, I just have to see for myself.

After that I'll either go to the party, go rock climbing or go to the party and then go rock climbing. I have yet to decide.

Cross your fingers. Girl Friday has an exam tonight, I think she might need the additional good thoughts and luck to pull this one out.

14 December 2005

Everything but...

...the girl.

I spoke to my girl friday on mutliple occassions throughout the weekend. I called her Monday morning in an attempt to wake her up (since she does same to me), but she didn't answer. She called me back later in the morning and left a lengthy message to eat up VM space and I intended to call her during the day but got busy training Tish & Martin. I returned her call when I got home and chatted briefly with her only because I had exceptional timing and called only seconds after she'd departed the plane and switched on her phone.

I figure I'll call her Thursday to wish her well on her last final exam, good fun at a society function and good luck in a race this weekend. With any luck I'll get to see her before Xmas/New Year vacations set in, but who knows. It may be '06 before any of this starts to get sorted out any more clearly in my mind than the present state of muddy fog.

*****

I went back to Stoneworks last night for some more bouldering and traversing. I'm not doing any true routes yet, primarily because they require me to use power in both feet and I'm not quite to that point yet with the right. I had a couple more offers to go vertical but still declined as I just want to gain some confidence and make certain I don't take 45 minutes to go 25 feet on a 120 foot climb... I'm headed back on Thursday and should have some company, which means I'll be going up instead of just around. It'll help having someone there to stoke me into a roped climb, so I'm looking forward to it. That and it should be decent company, though we'll see if she's still flakey or if she's settled down some... belay that...

Just got an email from her and she's backing out. She's got a cold (as do many people) and won't be in any shape to climb tomorrow night. No worries, its almost expected at this point. I'll be there anyway, despite my big toe.

I got up this morning and noticed my big toe (right) was hurting again. I think my toe hurts because the nail is coming off. The nail is coming off because when I climb, I am packing my foot into a small shoe and putting so much energy onto that toe while climbing. I think the nail might have been a little long as well. Primarily though, my right foot is larger than my left, and I don't think this helps the situation, given the compact nature of my Phoenix climbing shoes.

This morning I trimmed the nail back a little and something gross happened. When I squeezed my toe, some rather foul smelling (i checked) fluid squeeked out from under my nail. I squeezed again and wiped up what little was there, but it was off-color and smelled a bit like very old sweat. Yeah, it was gross. Couple that with the yellow color of a brusied nail and the fact that it is only being held on my toe by the first third (by the cuticle) of the nail itself.

So I'm looking for some new climbing shoes. According to La Sportiva, your foot should fill the shoe and be snug, without any pain. When I was at Mountain Hideout trying on any of 14 different pairs of shoes, I found that a size 39.5 La Sportiva Katana fit my left foot very nicely, while a 40.5 Katana fit the right very nicely. The right foot will barely fit into a 39.5 and the left is ok in the 40.5...

The Katana, however, is not my ideal shoe. It is designed for bouldering and overhanging sport, but my primary function will likely be edging and smearing. As such, I need a less aggressive shoe with a flat grippy sole. I think. Reading up on all the different brands and things get tricky, so I'm just going to contact manufacturers directly and ask them for opinions. If there's one thing I can say about the climbing community, it seems like most folks are pretty laidback and honest.

12 December 2005

Its nice to be noticed

I went to Starfuck's at lunch today to do some reading and get away from the office. Rolled up, parked out by the road and got out to a cute blonde.
Her: "Going riding?"
I wish
Me: "Yeah, I ride mountain and road... Do you ride?"
Her: "Well, I did the MS150 a few years ago, but I don't ride now. It comes and goes depending on who I'm with..."
The conversation went from there but, since I'm a bit of a dumbass, I didn't try to get any digits or details from her. She was leaving, I was arriving and I was zoned out for some reason. Two minutes later I was thinking, "dumbass".

So I walk inside, get my Chai Latte and a table near the door, chair facing the place (as usual, gotta know who's around me) and started reading. A few minuts later in walks a very shapely gal in a tight black shirt and cammo pants. I had an eye on her for a little while and she caught me looking once or teice but went outside to eat & drink. 10 minutes later she comes back in and I caught her looking at me before she sat down to my right, but out of my peripheral. A minute later she walks past my table, close enough to drag her hips on the table, to get a newspaper... then back to her seat. Swaying the hips the whole way. Not two minutes later she's up again to put it back.

"Nothing good in the paper?", I ask as she walks past. She smiled, "I was only looking for one thing", and sat down to look out the window. Seemed like a conversation stopper so I didn't pursue. Should have, I suppose, but I'm terrible in these sorts of situations.

She got up a little later to look at the trinkety shit from Starfuck's; the mugs, the cards, that sort of thing. I more or less caught her looking my way a few times but she never came back past the table. So, what now?
Huh. What the fuck am I supposed to say now?
So I let it go and eventually left to get back to the office.

Ok, so nothing came of two reasonable opportunities. The first was a gimme that I passed up, the second was a little less obvious but probably still quite workable. I don't know, maybe if it ever happens again I'll be smart enough, and ballsy enough, to do more about it. Still, its nice to be noticed.

Heard on the Street

A father with four young children was walking past us as we sat at Starfuck's:
Dad: "...well ok, in that case we'll have to flip a quarter. Who ever can guess which side is up gets to have it..."
Little girl: "Triangle!"
Dad: "No honey, there's no traingle on a quarter."

Cafe Izmir.

First things first: This article is hilarious, especially if you are a fan of the Harry Potter book/movie juggernaut currently making an assault on the world's population.

Sunday was the watching party for the Last Man Standing race, which took place a few weeks ago up in Bulcher, TX. The TV coverage was good, they'd done a good job editing and creating a look for the show that was different from most race coverage. The whole thing was set to music, Dave Despain orated the event well and the total package was entertaining. It didn't do any justice for the steep climbs or the really difficult sections, but it gave viewers a decent idea of what was faced over the 160 mile race.

Christine called me on Sunday, too. That was strange. Her birthday was Saturday and I had completely forgotten, not that I would have called her anyway. She didn't leave a message, but I did call her back. No answer, leave a message. Hearing from an ex is always a little odd, especially when it is her. Part of me wants to be nice, to be kind and renew some sort of friendship with her... while another part of me just wants to tell her to fuck off. Is it worth it? I don't know.

Sunday afternoon I met up with Lee and Jyri at a Starfuck's in Plano. The weather was exceptional so we decided it was necessary to be outdoors for at least part of the day, and this worked out rather nicely. Afterwards we made a grand trek of Dallas seeking a place to eat. Nothing seemed apetizing and no one felt like making a decision.

Mexican? No, had that for lunch.
Italian? No.
American Grill? Not tonight.
Something expensive? No way.
Something frugal? Absolutely.

So, as Lee put it, here are three moderately hip guys looking for a place to eat in Dallas and we can't think of a decent solution? Obviously we needed something more than a trip to Olive Garden, but wanted to stop short of dmuping cash at some swank joint in Uptown. Eventually, and I do not use that term loosely, we ended up at Cafe Izmir. Without a dout, this ended up being the best meal I've eaten since Thanksgiving at Amy's, and not just for the food. Lee and Jyri are great company and both seem to keep a level head. Oh sure, the shit hits the fan every now and again and by no means are any of us without our short-comings, but I can't fault them. Well, there is a special place in my book of weird that is reserved for straight guys who get together for a trip to the shoe store, but this is also a product of their blatant and decidely open Metrosexuality.

Cafe Izmir was kick ass, and will make for a good date spot whenever that opportunity somehow presents itself, hopefully in the near future. The first thing you notice about this place when you sit down is the art, the second is the fact that there is no menu. You can order meats, vegatables or a combination. Simple. We went with the combo and were served up a large plate of varying foods, most of which I have never even seen before. All of it was healthy, free of grease or fat and tastesd entirely too good for food that was not going to shave 3 months off of my life or make clots visible in my veins.

When we got back to the car I had a missed call from Girl Friday, which is always a pleasant surprise. She's still in Florida and called to chat. We called her back. I say we because Jyri was the first to talk to her, then Lee... then I finally got my turn. She was on her way to dinner so I called her back after dropping Jyri off and plopping down on the couch with the kitties. They needed some attention, as usual, and I needed the warmth. We chatted for another 25 minutes or so, catching up with how great it is to be wearing a tank top in December... I could care less about being in Dallas in cold weather, but not being around her in a tank top has a certain degree of suck to it. I should call Lori, but I already know what she's going to tell me- "Stop thinking so much." -I'm bad at that. I'm always thinking, and it never does me any good.

I like it when things are cut and dry. "Black & White", as Lee put it the other night. Girls think in grey scales and possibilities, guys are either on or off. 1 or 0. Guessing does me no good. Guessing sucks. I just want to know what, if anything, is going on in her head. If there's no romantic interest I'll still be happy, I'm just surprised to be getting calls from her, surprised that she's thinking about me, when she's off walking the avenues in Florida looking for red pants and wearing a cute tank top. See, there I go thinking again. Oh well, maybe I'll just ask her.

10 December 2005

Climb On.

Friday morning I was given the all clear by Dr. Christian Royer of Orthopedic Associates of Dallas at the Tom Landry Sports Medicine Clinic at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. My doctor kicks much ass, actually. Always level headed, trusts me to do my body right and never jumps into things too quickly. Nice guy, too.

So, with my freshly wiped slate and a prescription for physical therapy in hand I headed out with plans to visit REI and Stoneworks. I wanted to be back in the wall as soon as possible. I've missed climbing and figured it was the best way for me to use my ankle and speed my recovery.

I wanted to visit REI in hopes of finding a pair of Madrock's ultra-aggressive Loco climbing shoes on sale. They were going for $49.95 on the net (normally $89.95) and I figured they were a steal for such an aggressive climbing shoe. Unfortunately, the largest size available was a 6.5US, which would necessitate the removal of not only my toes, but also my entire heel enable to fit. The shoe is considered aggressive because of the heavy camber from the back of the shoe to the front. The heel cup is shaped to raise your heel and put maximum pressure on your toes, with a high arch emphasizing this approach. The toe itself is pointed to put max power on your big toe, thus creating a show that will find purchase on the smallest of featres regardless of shape and size. Edging is good but the shoe is designed mostly for steep overhangs (sole is cut to fit snugly into angled gaps while haning horizontal to the earth) and wicked boulder problems. My climbing cannot justify the shoe, but for $50 I thought it would be a fun experiment. All of that, of course, is for naught since they didn't have my size.

I still hit Stoneworks for an afternoon of bouldering to work on my ankle and hang out with the climbing crowd. It proved to be a great day for indoor climbing (26 degrees outside) and I had a blast, even though we had to go outside to warm up. Concrete has a great memory for the weather. If it is freezing for a day or two, the concrete gets wicked cold and stays cold for a long time. As such, we could see our breath inside the building and spent a lot of time gripping ice cubes, blowing on our fingers and wishing we had just one more layer of clothing to fight the depths of cold creeping from the building.

Mark was on staff Friday and the only other climbers were a couple of guys from REI that I'd seen before, but had not formally met. We had a nice time and I took it easy, just bouldering around the silos and trying to work on my mobility.

Today, Saturday, I went back to Stoneworks for another afternoon of climbing. Beforehand I stopped at Mountain Hideout to look at and try on more shoes. They carry a good selection of La Sportiva's, of which I really like the Katana shoes for their aggressive heel cup and velcro closure. The laces on my current Phoenix shoes are nice for snugging the fit, but with tired fingers after a long climb or cold stubbs during winter, they are not easy to put on and take off. I also bought them a little too small and my feet start to ache after bouldering only a third of the full route, and sometimes sooner depending on the size of the foot holds. Part of that is a general lack of strength in my feet, but also the actual shoe sizing. They are supposed to be tight, but if your feet hurt, you can't climb anyway.

I spent another few hours at the gym climbing and now I'm freaking sore. Shoulders, back, abs, ankles, legs, arms... I'm spent. And, of course, I love it. I feel awesome. Racked with pain and aching to crawl in bed is such a wonderful feeling! I also got to chat with Mark, Blake and Ryan all of whom are employees at Stoneworks. Mark is a cool guy that I enjoy talking with because he's laidback, as is everyone that is into climbing, it seems. Everyone is just cool. I have yet to meet anyone that is a dick or an ass at the crag. I don't know what it is, but they all seem like nice people just out to enjoy themselves and do a body good. Ryan is interesting because he's my body type but more built and cut. He climbs all the time, of course and never worksout with weights, but his physique is incredible. We talked some before I left for the day and he was really taughting Joga as a means of building back my ankle strength. He seemed knowledable about what it does for your body and it was great to hear things from a new perspective that doesn't involve doing the usual shit at 24 Hour Fitness.

One of the best parts of all this is that I have a three month membership ($140) that allows me to go climb whenver I want. The membership pays for itself in 10 visits and I plan on going at least twice a week for the next three months, maybe even more! It all boils down to great value, a fantastic workout and a lot of fun!

The best part of it all is that my girl Friday went climbing last week and got hooked. She's stoked about it and has told me several times that she wants to get shoes and a harness so she can go climbing more often. I'm all for it, have encouraged her to go with me when she's back in town and would be thrilled if we can start climbing together regularly, because I need a belay partner. Couple this with a phone call from her this morning (right after I'd rolled out of bed, she's good at that) from Florida where she's on business, and I'm left to read into the situation a little. I can't tell what's going on, actually. I had not expected to hear from her at all until she was due back in town and finished with her exam, so it was another very pleasant surprised. It was a brief conversation, but a welcome one. I enjoy talking to her and she's told me same, it just makes the state of things a little more difficult to accept. Such is life, however, and I'll just have to let things play out to see what happens.

Leave key under mat

I arrived at the lock & key party a little late on purpose in hopes that more people would be there and less awkward wandering until folks showed. I figured a good strategy would be skipping dinner in hopes of meeting a woman with whom to go eat with afterwards. At 7:45 pm I walked in the front door and found the bar populated by 10 people, 7 of which were 35+ year old men. I signed in and hoped for the best. Bite foods were available, but amounted to assorted cheese cubes and humus.

My first conversation took place with Michelle, a pleasant woman in her mid-30s. She was a little talky, a bit hungry, eager for raffle tickets, about 4 feet tall and nearly as wide. I shouldn't knock anyone for being of any certain body type, but I'm an asshole and I judge people quickly based on their body composition, especially when they are large. Hey, at least I'm honest.

From here out the evening progressed rather predictably. No one else showed up, the woman were old and almost everyone was boring. One guy was an art critic for the FW newspaper, Andrew something... he was somewhat entertaining but had this look and air about him that made me think he was 1) pretentious and 2) forced. I don't know, call it the look in his eyes but I kept expecting him to start laughing like Phyllis Diller.

There was some guy present that was entertaining, I think his name was... no, I can't remember. He was Jewish, he was talkative and a great story teller. Of course, this didn't do me any good.

Tasha was 26 and attractive, but difficult to engage in conversation and ultimately proved to have an annoyinf personality. She reminded me of Roxanne, actually. She just had this sort of aire about her that made me think it was all rather put on, and I don't know... just the way she talked. It wasn't that I didn't like her, well no, that's it exactly. I just flat-out didn't have any way of relating to her.

At 8:15 PM I was ready to leave, but I didn't. I stuck it out until 8:45 PM, at which time I decided to turn in my last key (like I need it) and skip out. This proved more difficult than I anticipated and I ended up having to make up an excuse about getting a phone call. I felt bad for lying but the alternative was to suffer through another forced conversation with someone I had no intention of ever talking to again. Ever.

At this point I got on the phone (no really, I did) and had a conversation with Anita. I needed something to do and figured there was a good chance Childress would be up for a beer and a bite to eat. I was in luck, though he was still enroute from the office.

We ended up meeting at his house, chatted with him and Anita for a spell (always fun) and then went to Fireside Pies for pizza and beer. The evening ended up pretty well but I'm still not the most talky S.O.B. on the planet and relating to Greg can be difficult, seeing as how we're 30 years apart in age. Still, always a fun time.

08 December 2005

My wall.

I hit my wall tonight. Every few weeks, maybe four, I hit my wall. My wall is the point at wihch my body reminds me that everything I am trying to do in my life is not actually possible. Go the the gym for three hours, three or four days a week. Stay up late on the net, reading or thinking too much... Once I start climbing again I'll be pushing pushing even harder but for now this has been enough to wear me down over time and I was left more or less with nothing in reserve. At work I felt like I was going to just collapse on the computer! Craziness, but it hits me once a month. Get home, get in bed. I slept until 8pm before getting a second wind and decided to pop up and see what was happening in the world of the internet.

Should be a busy weekend. My last Dr. appointment is tomorrow morning (8:15...) and I've taken the day off work so I'll probably go to the gym for a few hours or possibly go climbing at Stoneworks! Tomorrow night is the Lock and Key party, then Saturday night is the TSBA Xmas party at Ben's (gotta be there!) and Sunday is the Dust to Glory and Last Man Standing watching party at Robby's.

I sure hope I can sleep tonight. The kitties are wanting attention... Frodrick is currently sitting on my back while I slump forward off the couch to type. He keeps rubbing his head on my galsses so its harrd o seee nd tpe. Damn it. Sounded like he nearly yacked something up on my head just now.

I'm also polishing off my brandied peaches. Yummy. Speaking of which...

I was supposed to get together with my girl friday to polish those off on Friday, but she ditched me. I was expecting it, and the evening turned out better anyway (bong, blow, wilson post) so I'm not terribly disappointed. She called me Tuesday night around 10:30 on her way home from class and we chatted for an hour. She said she didn't want to wait any longer to call me, which I sort of took as an apology given her inflection, but who knows. She needed the time for herself and I imagine it just would have been awkward for both of us anyway. She says she wants to get together before the Xmas/New Year holiday but that remains to be seen. I more or less figure it'll be 2006 before we get together again, but maybe I'll be surprised. Its just a hard read because she ends the conversation by telling me how much she has enjoyed talking to me and how she always enjoys talking to me on the phone... again, tone and inflection are big in this conversation. I'm sure there's no romantic interest anymore but I think too much so I always read into things.

Mmm. brandied peaches.

Frozen-ness

Toby and I had a great idea the other day and finally got the opportunity to capitalize due to the icey situation. They've installed a putting green behind our building and we thought it was a prime location for relaying messages to the rest of the office building. Toby also organized the GCC Winter Open, an officewide putting tournament, even though most of us do not play golf or have any ambition to do so any time in the future.

The cryptic message Martin is our Hero! appears written on the putting greens for the entire building to see... though when the sun came out it melted away rather quickly.

Last night the roads were not as bad as the news made them out to be, but Dallas drivers were paranoid enough to let it hamper their driving. Luckily, I left the office early and beat the main crush home. After going to the gym and the grocery store I decided to do some donuts in a large, empty parking lot. Mostly I wanted to see how I could control a spin in the Nissan, since I only picked it up in May. The FWD layout makes it necessary to use the throttle judiciously, and I found myself doing same lane spins for about 20 minutes until I managed a few nice 360 drifts around light poles before calling it a day.

07 December 2005

Lock & Key

Well, I've decided to do a Lock & Key party. The concept is a little new to me but Nancy has done them in NYC and had fun, even if she only met an aging Hipster and gaggle of $50,000 millionaires. Still, I figure its worth a shot and it'll give me a new experience.

So, what is a Lock & Key party? An excellent question. Based on the website, my impression suggests that it is a mingling event (something I am terrible at) that is motivated by the lock/key concept. When you arrive and check in at the party guys are given keys and women are given locks. You walk around the bar and simply talk to as many women as possible to see if your key will fit their lock. If it does, you mingle with this person and make small talk, then go to the table and get another lock or key. When you do, you are also given a raffle ticket. Obviously, this continues through the evening until the end of the party, at which point they hold the raffle and people win shit, but I don't know what kind of shit they win.

So, what is this a big deal for me? Primarily because this is not normally my scene. Of course you are saying, "Greg, you don't have a scene to begin with...", which is entirely true. But if I did have a scene, and I was going to be associated with some sort of event, this would not be the likely choice. Normally, I am not the one to go diving into idle chit-chat, but there really isn't anything to talk about except idle chit-chat until you get to know someone. I am also not normally prone to just go up to a woman in a bar, but seeing as how this is a singles event, it is expected. So, no worries there either.

Of course, then there's the question of what I should wear... Wow. I can't believe I'ma ctually thinking about what I should wear.

05 December 2005

Friday with Bong, Blow & Wilson

My phone rang on the drive over, it was Leighton.
"Hey man, uhm, I think I need to warn you."
Ok...
"See, when I was in college we did some pretty stupid stuff, but I think I've grown up since then. You know, I act like a 25 year old now. But some of my friends, well... they haven't grown up yet. They still think they're in college."
Obviously, this could shape up to be an interesting evening. Excellent.

I'm not normally the type to go out for an evening at a pub. Normally, I'd have a fairly laid back night with friends, and I have not been drinking any alcohol for the last two and a half years. I never had a problem with alcohol, nor did I have a strange addiction. I stopped drinking because I was always on the motorcycle and the last thing I needed in my system was alcohol when I was on the SV. After the racing accidents last year I stopped riding for a spell but didn't resume with the beer simply because I was working my ass off to get in shape for cycling and just didn't feel like spending the money. Recently, I decided to put myself back in the nightlife scene.

Seeing as how whatever it was I had been doing to meet a nice woman and turn her into a girlfriend wasn't working, I decided that it was time enough to start getting myself out into a new crowd and see what happens. Over the last 12 months I've managed to date any number of cyclists and triathletes, all of whom were either 30+ years old and divorced with kids, or possesed some flakey personality trait that created all sorts of fun issues like, "Oh, and by the way, I already have a serious boyfriend", or some such thing. As such, Friday night was a little different.

Friday afternoon I emailed Leighton and Derek to see what was planned for the evening. Leighton sits directly behind me. Emailing someone that is 3 feet away carries with it a certain degree of fun that can only be appreciated when you are bored, want to go home and need a beer. Derek had already planned a quiet evening with his Fiance, but Leighton was in the mood for a brew.

Steve Blow and his wife have a nice little place on the M streets and it was there that I met Bong, Blow, Nate, Hal and two women that I cannot name because I wasn't paying enough attention when I was introduced. That, and I'm bad with names. Standing out in front of the house when we rolled up was Nate. Nate has a problem. Actually, Nate has a variety of problems but at the moment he's on the phone and it seems like one of those terse discussions where the person on the other end of the line thinks he's one place, when he's actually somewhere else. I figure its a girlfriend that he's blowing off for the evening, but no. Its his grandmother.

"Do you gamble?"
No, I don't play cards.

We walk around back and I'm introduced to a variety of people I would not expect to see sitting together on a Friday evening. There were the two women, Hal (very gay), Blow (the owner of the house) and Bong (exhausted, slumped in a chair), Nate (very redneck) and ourselves. Leighton reminds me of me from say, 4 or 5 years ago. The reason I say I wouldn't expect to see them together is because I hadn't anticipated such an ecclectic group. Nothing against any of them, they were all great. Aside from Nate peeing off the deck (while we all sat there) it was a pretty normal evening. After being treated to quite a few stories about the night before, Leighton and I decided to head over to The Corner Bar to meet up with another friend of his, though his name completely escapes me. He works for Blockbuster and does some sort of marketing. Outside of that, I know nothing. A free round of drink (thanks to two random chics at the bar) later we're winding through the crowd looking for his friends. We find them, and nothing memorable happens.

All of this is, of course, fluff. I just needed something to write about.

04 December 2005

Karkis

This is hilarious.
Click here to read about the band. And, most definately, click here to see their latest video: Secret Satan...

03 December 2005

Enduro in the Park ii

Enduro in the park was not quite what I had anticipated. Based on the website I thought they would have set the course up on the soccer field, but this was not the case. Instead, racers would be using only the area set aside as the stage at the North end of the stadium. At first glance the circuit is extremely tight, twisting and puts incredible technical demands on the riders. After a few conversations with racers, this was a fair assessment. What I did not understand at first was the diffiuclty of the course brought on by this compact design, and the pains that organizers had gone to in developing a challenging atmosphere for riders who are accustomed to racing 50 or more miles on tracks that wind through open country side, thick forests and ankle breaking rock gardens.

more to follow...

02 December 2005

Weeble Racing at Mid-Ohio

This video is from Cathy's trip to Mid-Ohio for an AMA event. Video was shot from Jeff Duke's bike as he races Cathy for position during one of their sprint races.

She slams the door on him continuously and the whole thing is worth watching. Not a bad choice of soundtrack, either!

01 December 2005

Enduro in the Park

This weekend is an event called Enduro in the Park at the FC Dallas stadium in Frisco. They're constructing a technical course within the stadium and are holding the event as a sort of non-motocross motorcycle race. I'm not sure how much promotion it has gotten but I seriously doubt it amounts to very much.

My idea is to go out and cover the event just as I did with Last Man Standing, but with a little bit more of a plan. I need a new angle, as well. I thought of maybe covering a couple of riders and their weekend at the race. I'm not sure how to pick them out, but I imagine I can find some factory rider to chat with and cover. I contacted the orgainzer to ask for a press pass but have not heard anything back yet. Even as a spectator it should be interesting, but I'd rather not pay and have more access! We'll see how it goes...

Some folks from the TSBA are talking about racing there on Sunday, which is when the amatuer riders will be competing. I could cover some of that as well, but in terms of a magazine picking it up I think it'd be stronger from the pro's perspective.

I just don't want to do the usual race report you see in magazines. I don't want to talk about who lead which race and who passed who on what lap... I get bored with that crap and need something different, so I figure most other people do as well. The tough part is coming up with a new angle that works and doesn't read or look exactly like what I did last time. Don't cover one spot or a fan's POV, as I did with LMS, but find some new manner of bringing out the emotion of the event. I want people to experience it on paper or on their screen, not just read what happened to other people.

I also need photos, which means I need to get ahold of Mike. I shot him an email but nothing back yet. He might not be interested so I might need to try and borrow his camera or something, not sure. If, that is, I can even get a press pass. Man, that would rock... I can still get good access to the pits and stands, but I'd prefer full access to the track and hot pit enable to do it justice.

Warning Label Generator

This is the Warning Label Generator and this, my friends, is my saviour. Never before have I been able to razz people on forums with so much customizable ease! Flaming and Trolling has just been taken to a new level.

Local Reporter Subs for Turco

This is actually a very well done report about local morning news anchor Doug Dunbar seeing what its like to take Marty Turco's place as Dallas Star's goalie. They show some incredible saves by Turco to open the piece, then go into Dunbar getting geared up and Turco taking some shots on him in goal.

Normally, this sort of thing ends up being a lot of cheese, but this is actually a pretty well done report. He's obviously a big fan...

Far Out Son of Lung...