Sunday, December 13, 2009
Thoughts on Cranberries
I haunt the great halls of Sea-Tac airport. It is eerie here at 4:00 in the morning. I gave the check-in clerk my passport. She scrutinized it carefully for a good 6 seconds. I eyed her very carefully as she did this, trying to savour the moment. What was she looking for? What was going on in her mind as she scanned it? Surely she did not realize the importance of this moment, how crucial this document was to my goal. I promised a picture, here it is:
Saturday, December 12, 2009
The Horrible Horribleness of Being
Someone did it. Someone cast a level 12 spell of Abominable Bad Luck on me. Probably the caster also used empower spell too. Was it you? If so, I will kill you.
Today, I tried to go to Canada. I tried really, really hard. I had driven down to Eugene the day before, as my flight was out of Eugene (Bridget and I are to head there after our Canadian Christmas adventure). I got to the airport nice and early today - at 4:40 am, for my 6:07 flight. I counted myself lucky when I got to the airport and they said my plane would be taking off; The night before, Eugene got a nice layer of freezing rain, which was still on many of the roads. BUT, the plane would be taking off! Yay!
I waited in the very long line, and finally made it to the front. I stepped up to the counter, and they asked for my passport. I said, "I don't have it, but I have my green card." They said "Sorry sir, but we need your passport." "Well, I have my green card..." I explained "...my passport is in Seattle". Then they said "Sir, we need your passport..."
Similar exchanges occurred for the next 10 minutes. Finally, I lost. I had forgotten about the new regulations that require everyone traveling internationally to show a passport or provide proof of citizenship. Apparently my green card isn't enough - even though it is a more secure, harder to obtain, and harder to fake piece of ID than a passport. I *needed* my passport to go back to the homeland, which was in Seattle.
After nearly surrendering my mind into the dark oblivion of madness, I called Bridget. Keep in mind, it's 5:15 am. She provided some groggy but much needed reassurance that everything would be OK. Bridget's Mom then provided some more cognizant help, being an early riser (Bridget did not inherit this skill). I put some thoughts into motion, added more and more elements to them, and came up with a planful solution to my woes. I changed my flight to leave from Seattle tomorrow, took a cab to the train station, and bought a one-way ticket to Seattle. Although this trip was excruciatingly long (7 hours), I eventually made it to Seattle.
With some help from my Dad and Steff, I got a hotel near the airport, where I write this from. It may seem strange to stay at a hotel instead of my own house, but the airport is so far away from the city, and Seattle might get snow tonight, so this is my way of surely getting to the airport in the event of inclement weather. With the luck I have been having, this may be necessary.
What is the lesson here? Is it to remember my passport? Maybe, but probably not. I actually did think about bringing my passport, but then I thought "Nah, I don't need it - my green card will do." So, is the lesson then to try to be smarter? Maybe, but people often tell me I'm smart, so can that really be it? No... what then? The only lesson left is: "You are doomed, so please don't try so hard."
Here's another way of thinking about my recent and coming life:
Day 1: get up at a reasonable hour, spend all day traveling by car
Day 2: get up at 4:15, travel all day by train
Day 3: get up at 3:45, travel all day by plane
But it will hopefully all end up meaning I will get to see my family and friends that I miss so much, visit my beloved country of birth, and spend 2 weeks with my sweet wife. If this can happen, it will be worth it.
Right now I am watching Scary Movie 3 on TV, which has turned out to be pretty funny. Maybe it is because I am semi-delirious. This could be due to the lack of sleep and travel, or it could be due to the Papa John's pizza and chocolate pastries I just ate. On the train, however, I watched something really, really horrible. A movie so bad, it would make your blood curdle. It was called "I Hate Valentine's Day". It starred people I don't know or care about. As you might be able to guess from the title, this movie is a romantic comedy. As a genre, these movies are bad enough, but this movie is despicable and should be banned. I think people who would say they love romantic comedies should watch this movie to know just how bad they can get.
The characters in this movie are so unrealistic they are almost hallucinogenic. The plot is so transparent it will pulverize your mind into feebleness. No events in this movie could have ever taken place in real life. This is the worst honest movie that has ever been made. If you think you have seen worse, you are wrong. What's that? You have seen worse? No, surely not. No, really, you can't have - this movie IS the worst! No, there is nothing worse! NO! SHUT UP!
Ya ya ya, so at this point I am just babbling, trying to make this the longest blog post ever. I think this will somehow make up for my lack of blogging lately. But it won't, because it's all just garbage.
There are good things that happen in my life, I just haven't blogged about them lately. Here are two notable ones: 1) I completed half of an infant study this term, and 2) Greg Toller had a baby! His name is Oscar, and I am going to see him soon. That is proof that life is wonderful, even when you are plagued by the spells of a Dark Mage.
Next post I promise I will post a picture of some form. Goodbye.
Today, I tried to go to Canada. I tried really, really hard. I had driven down to Eugene the day before, as my flight was out of Eugene (Bridget and I are to head there after our Canadian Christmas adventure). I got to the airport nice and early today - at 4:40 am, for my 6:07 flight. I counted myself lucky when I got to the airport and they said my plane would be taking off; The night before, Eugene got a nice layer of freezing rain, which was still on many of the roads. BUT, the plane would be taking off! Yay!
I waited in the very long line, and finally made it to the front. I stepped up to the counter, and they asked for my passport. I said, "I don't have it, but I have my green card." They said "Sorry sir, but we need your passport." "Well, I have my green card..." I explained "...my passport is in Seattle". Then they said "Sir, we need your passport..."
Similar exchanges occurred for the next 10 minutes. Finally, I lost. I had forgotten about the new regulations that require everyone traveling internationally to show a passport or provide proof of citizenship. Apparently my green card isn't enough - even though it is a more secure, harder to obtain, and harder to fake piece of ID than a passport. I *needed* my passport to go back to the homeland, which was in Seattle.
After nearly surrendering my mind into the dark oblivion of madness, I called Bridget. Keep in mind, it's 5:15 am. She provided some groggy but much needed reassurance that everything would be OK. Bridget's Mom then provided some more cognizant help, being an early riser (Bridget did not inherit this skill). I put some thoughts into motion, added more and more elements to them, and came up with a planful solution to my woes. I changed my flight to leave from Seattle tomorrow, took a cab to the train station, and bought a one-way ticket to Seattle. Although this trip was excruciatingly long (7 hours), I eventually made it to Seattle.
With some help from my Dad and Steff, I got a hotel near the airport, where I write this from. It may seem strange to stay at a hotel instead of my own house, but the airport is so far away from the city, and Seattle might get snow tonight, so this is my way of surely getting to the airport in the event of inclement weather. With the luck I have been having, this may be necessary.
What is the lesson here? Is it to remember my passport? Maybe, but probably not. I actually did think about bringing my passport, but then I thought "Nah, I don't need it - my green card will do." So, is the lesson then to try to be smarter? Maybe, but people often tell me I'm smart, so can that really be it? No... what then? The only lesson left is: "You are doomed, so please don't try so hard."
Here's another way of thinking about my recent and coming life:
Day 1: get up at a reasonable hour, spend all day traveling by car
Day 2: get up at 4:15, travel all day by train
Day 3: get up at 3:45, travel all day by plane
But it will hopefully all end up meaning I will get to see my family and friends that I miss so much, visit my beloved country of birth, and spend 2 weeks with my sweet wife. If this can happen, it will be worth it.
Right now I am watching Scary Movie 3 on TV, which has turned out to be pretty funny. Maybe it is because I am semi-delirious. This could be due to the lack of sleep and travel, or it could be due to the Papa John's pizza and chocolate pastries I just ate. On the train, however, I watched something really, really horrible. A movie so bad, it would make your blood curdle. It was called "I Hate Valentine's Day". It starred people I don't know or care about. As you might be able to guess from the title, this movie is a romantic comedy. As a genre, these movies are bad enough, but this movie is despicable and should be banned. I think people who would say they love romantic comedies should watch this movie to know just how bad they can get.
The characters in this movie are so unrealistic they are almost hallucinogenic. The plot is so transparent it will pulverize your mind into feebleness. No events in this movie could have ever taken place in real life. This is the worst honest movie that has ever been made. If you think you have seen worse, you are wrong. What's that? You have seen worse? No, surely not. No, really, you can't have - this movie IS the worst! No, there is nothing worse! NO! SHUT UP!
Ya ya ya, so at this point I am just babbling, trying to make this the longest blog post ever. I think this will somehow make up for my lack of blogging lately. But it won't, because it's all just garbage.
There are good things that happen in my life, I just haven't blogged about them lately. Here are two notable ones: 1) I completed half of an infant study this term, and 2) Greg Toller had a baby! His name is Oscar, and I am going to see him soon. That is proof that life is wonderful, even when you are plagued by the spells of a Dark Mage.
Next post I promise I will post a picture of some form. Goodbye.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Awfulness is a black hole composed entirely of dark matter
Last week, there was a day of awfulness. This day was November 18th, now known as "Wicked Wednesday". So many awful things happened to me this day, that they couldn't all fit in oen day, and so one of them spilled over into the next day.
The things that happened (in order):
- I woke up feeling awful with a cold
- many babies who made appointments did not show up
- the one baby that did make it in was really fussy and had an awful time, which makes us all empathize and feel awful too
- a paper I submitted for publication was rejected **(GRRR!!)**
- a dance performance I was scheduled to go to the next day was canceled
- my car was towed and impounded ***(HOLY @&#%ING GRRR!!!)***
I actually did not find out about the car impounding until the next day (Twisted Thursday), but it was actually towed on Wicked Wednesday. Please, don't ask me any questions about the car. All you need to know is that it was a silly error on my part, and it hardly seems fair, but it happened anyway.
Why did all of this happen? Well, after thinking about it, I may have come up with an explanation. My dear friend Meredith Meyer defended her dissertation on Thursday (which, for her, was actually Terrific Thursday). Bridget and I had made her a gift package/card, and mailed it on Monday. In this package, I made a card with a Dragon on it, and sent Meredith "the luck of the Dragon". I now realize that this was the source of my woes. Sending Meredith the luck of the Dragon indeed imbued her with the felicity of 1,000 men, but this luck had to come from somewhere. I believe I was depleted of all luck, and possibly others around the world were as well. With none of my own luck, misfortune could send her barbarous arrows my way and I would stand defenseless. Alas, it was all for a good cause, as Meredith is now a doctor, my bad luck has passed, and I still have my health.
But, this week should make up for all of the awfulness! I am heading down to Eugene Wednesday morning for American Thanksgiving (it's just like ours, except they do it on a different day!). Bridget is flying into Eugene on Tuesday night, so we will have an extended vacation together in our old hometown. I already miss the Eug, so it will be good to be back, and it is so nice to be able to see Bridget again for a four day weekend.
As a sign that this week is already better, I also received a birthday package in the mail today from the one, the only, Greg "The Bone" Toller! The package was filled with many delights, including terrible movies, crappy stickers, a homemade Mutorcs doll (you can rip him in half or rip his head off), and many other wondrous things. Thanks Bone! By the way, do you have a baby yet? A one word answer will suffice, a sentence is appropriate, and paragraph is welcome, but a document is out of the question.
It is wonderful to still have friends like The Bone from high school. They help me remember my past, and are just darn incredible people. As an example, Greg also found a great website for me, which has graphics from one of the best game franchises ever created, Mortal Kombat. I will share some with you tonight. My teenage years came effectively be summed up with these (and some other) graphics:
The things that happened (in order):
- I woke up feeling awful with a cold
- many babies who made appointments did not show up
- the one baby that did make it in was really fussy and had an awful time, which makes us all empathize and feel awful too
- a paper I submitted for publication was rejected **(GRRR!!)**
- a dance performance I was scheduled to go to the next day was canceled
- my car was towed and impounded ***(HOLY @&#%ING GRRR!!!)***
I actually did not find out about the car impounding until the next day (Twisted Thursday), but it was actually towed on Wicked Wednesday. Please, don't ask me any questions about the car. All you need to know is that it was a silly error on my part, and it hardly seems fair, but it happened anyway.
Why did all of this happen? Well, after thinking about it, I may have come up with an explanation. My dear friend Meredith Meyer defended her dissertation on Thursday (which, for her, was actually Terrific Thursday). Bridget and I had made her a gift package/card, and mailed it on Monday. In this package, I made a card with a Dragon on it, and sent Meredith "the luck of the Dragon". I now realize that this was the source of my woes. Sending Meredith the luck of the Dragon indeed imbued her with the felicity of 1,000 men, but this luck had to come from somewhere. I believe I was depleted of all luck, and possibly others around the world were as well. With none of my own luck, misfortune could send her barbarous arrows my way and I would stand defenseless. Alas, it was all for a good cause, as Meredith is now a doctor, my bad luck has passed, and I still have my health.
But, this week should make up for all of the awfulness! I am heading down to Eugene Wednesday morning for American Thanksgiving (it's just like ours, except they do it on a different day!). Bridget is flying into Eugene on Tuesday night, so we will have an extended vacation together in our old hometown. I already miss the Eug, so it will be good to be back, and it is so nice to be able to see Bridget again for a four day weekend.
As a sign that this week is already better, I also received a birthday package in the mail today from the one, the only, Greg "The Bone" Toller! The package was filled with many delights, including terrible movies, crappy stickers, a homemade Mutorcs doll (you can rip him in half or rip his head off), and many other wondrous things. Thanks Bone! By the way, do you have a baby yet? A one word answer will suffice, a sentence is appropriate, and paragraph is welcome, but a document is out of the question.
It is wonderful to still have friends like The Bone from high school. They help me remember my past, and are just darn incredible people. As an example, Greg also found a great website for me, which has graphics from one of the best game franchises ever created, Mortal Kombat. I will share some with you tonight. My teenage years came effectively be summed up with these (and some other) graphics:
Monday, November 16, 2009
Smackdown!
Goddammit, the rain wins. The weather forecast: 80%-60% chance of rain, for 5 days straight, highs around 45 F. Today was an 80% chance of rain day, and as far as I can tell it rained 100% of the time. Downhill streets had waterfalls! My rainproof stuff is pretty darn rainproof, but with 4 bike trips in the rain and one high wind dragonboating session, they were pushed to the max, and perhaps leaked a little.
This weekend involved another fantastically awesomely super-duper wicked visit from Bridget, which ultimately always ends in a horrible, terrible, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking departure back to SD. This time it was really tough. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and was really confused about why she wasn't there - and then I remembered she had left and got sad. Pooh. I WANT IT TO BE OVER! But, sadly there are many more months of this.
However, while she was up, I got an awesome package of birthday gifts in the mail from my in-laws! The birthday never ends!!! Here is a photo of some of the excitement:
Pictured in the bottom-right corner are the chocolate chip love cookies - I made these for Bridget on Friday (love = pink food dye). They are the first batch of cookies I have ever made! What's next? Digital domination. An especially exciting gift (although ALL of the gifts were exciting) was new rain pants, which will help in crappy weather like this!
It should be noted that I was not the only one who had fun at this birthday party:
Also this weekend, I constructed a Plesiosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex, from Japanese blocks that my brother in law, Jon, got me for my birthday. Thank you, Klest family, for all of your awesomeness!
But otherwise, this week is a busy work week. So, I'd better go do some work.
This weekend involved another fantastically awesomely super-duper wicked visit from Bridget, which ultimately always ends in a horrible, terrible, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking departure back to SD. This time it was really tough. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and was really confused about why she wasn't there - and then I remembered she had left and got sad. Pooh. I WANT IT TO BE OVER! But, sadly there are many more months of this.
However, while she was up, I got an awesome package of birthday gifts in the mail from my in-laws! The birthday never ends!!! Here is a photo of some of the excitement:
Pictured in the bottom-right corner are the chocolate chip love cookies - I made these for Bridget on Friday (love = pink food dye). They are the first batch of cookies I have ever made! What's next? Digital domination. An especially exciting gift (although ALL of the gifts were exciting) was new rain pants, which will help in crappy weather like this!
It should be noted that I was not the only one who had fun at this birthday party:
Also this weekend, I constructed a Plesiosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex, from Japanese blocks that my brother in law, Jon, got me for my birthday. Thank you, Klest family, for all of your awesomeness!
But otherwise, this week is a busy work week. So, I'd better go do some work.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Life is good?
The last two days have been very stormy around here! Crazy winds, torrents of rain, and thunderous claps. I love a good storm, but after a few days it gets a little tiring. Especially because it is interfering with my television reception! Seriously, last night I had no channels coming in. Today I only had one channel, but it was so choppy that it was unwatchable.
Last night, I asked Emily and Karen to hang out, and they couldn't because they had too much work to do! Emily is doing her generals next week, and Karen has a paper due for a class (she is doing her Masters while working full time!). Not only was it no fun that they couldn't hang out, it is no fun for anybody to have to work on a Friday night. So, to alleviate boredom and increase their productivity, I decided I would surprise them with donuts. And not just any donuts: Top Pot donuts, Seattle's hand-made gourmet donuts. I brought them 15 (I asked for a dozen, but since they were closing, he gave me more)! Karen was ambivalent about getting so many, and so I ate two and she made me take two home. I did not mind. Turns out, I like doing things like this for people! It feels really good to put smiles on people's faces. And in this case, I also get to put calories in their belly.
After that, I came home and watched "The Midnight Meat Train". It was an excellent horror flick, adapted from a Clive Barker short story. It was thoroughly disgusting, including scenes of decapitation, evisceration, eyeball pulling, teeth extractions, and fingernail removal. Am I a monster for liking this kind of stuff? Definitely.
Today I decided to sleep in and skip dragonboating. I needed the rest. But, I did go for an 8.32 mile jog, and did it at a 9:10 pace! Woot!!! I haven't run that far and that fast in a really long time. It feels good to be back in the running groove. No more injuries!
So, a good last few days. At work, things are also going well: both of my ERP study and my first infant study are turning out as predicted! Yay, yay, yay! I may actually be a real researcher.
But, even after all of this good and fun stuff, I cannot escape the realization that being away from Bridget is really, really hard. She is the love of my life, and she is 1,255 miles away. I cannot hold her. I cannot spend quality time with her. It just isn't fun. I want it to be over!
Last night, I asked Emily and Karen to hang out, and they couldn't because they had too much work to do! Emily is doing her generals next week, and Karen has a paper due for a class (she is doing her Masters while working full time!). Not only was it no fun that they couldn't hang out, it is no fun for anybody to have to work on a Friday night. So, to alleviate boredom and increase their productivity, I decided I would surprise them with donuts. And not just any donuts: Top Pot donuts, Seattle's hand-made gourmet donuts. I brought them 15 (I asked for a dozen, but since they were closing, he gave me more)! Karen was ambivalent about getting so many, and so I ate two and she made me take two home. I did not mind. Turns out, I like doing things like this for people! It feels really good to put smiles on people's faces. And in this case, I also get to put calories in their belly.
After that, I came home and watched "The Midnight Meat Train". It was an excellent horror flick, adapted from a Clive Barker short story. It was thoroughly disgusting, including scenes of decapitation, evisceration, eyeball pulling, teeth extractions, and fingernail removal. Am I a monster for liking this kind of stuff? Definitely.
Today I decided to sleep in and skip dragonboating. I needed the rest. But, I did go for an 8.32 mile jog, and did it at a 9:10 pace! Woot!!! I haven't run that far and that fast in a really long time. It feels good to be back in the running groove. No more injuries!
So, a good last few days. At work, things are also going well: both of my ERP study and my first infant study are turning out as predicted! Yay, yay, yay! I may actually be a real researcher.
But, even after all of this good and fun stuff, I cannot escape the realization that being away from Bridget is really, really hard. She is the love of my life, and she is 1,255 miles away. I cannot hold her. I cannot spend quality time with her. It just isn't fun. I want it to be over!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
I was in Disneyland when I turned 30
The last we spoke, I was 29. Now, I am 30. It happened in Disneyland.
This past Friday, I flew down to SD to visit my wife and celebrate my birthday. But, since my birthday was on Tuesday, I had to stay extra long. I did not get home until today! I can do this because I have an awesome job right now, and can take time off whenever I like.
But why did I need to be in San Diego for my birthday? Sure, I love my wife and wanted to celebrate with her, but couldn't we have just celebrated on the weekend instead? Well, we could have, but then I wouldn't have gotten into Disneyland for FREE.
That right! FREE DISNEYLAND ADMISSION on my birthday! An opportunity too good to pass up, especially because they only have that deal for this year. Surely, they must have known I was turning 30 in 2009!
However, while my actual birthday was on Tuesday, the festivities started on Saturday. Let me tell you a tale.
On Saturday night we went out for some Korean barbecue, bowling, and karaoke. Although this sounds like a perfect celebration for me, it was actually to celebrate Bridget's co-intern and friend Denise's successful PhD defense! Korean barbecue is pretty fun - I ate 7 different kinds of animals.
Bowling was awesome too - I won the game for my lane (I am not that good: Our group had two lanes going, and I would not have beat the winner of the other lane). And as expected, the karaoke was fantastic. Bridget dragged me up for "Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard" by Simon and Garfunkle. That was tough for me, since I didn't know the words, really, but super-fun, of course. I sang "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol (again, it's my favourite!). Bridget told me specifically that I did really well, which may mean something? Or not. Here is a picture of Bridget and the girls singing "Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle. I am glad she has such fun friends down there:
On Sunday, I got to enjoy one of my birthday presents from Bridget - a new bike! Bridget bought a functional bike for me to use when in SD, that we will sell when the year is out. What a thoughtful wife I have! This allowed us to go on an awesome bike trip together on Sunday afternoon around Coronado Island, which was really fun:
OK, now to the really really good stuff: my actual birthday! On Monday night we drove up to Anaheim and stayed the night at a Best Western. It had a hot tub. In the morning - my birthday!!! - Bridget gave me a super-awesome wickedly-creative present: a personalized shirt of Koshka (my favourite picture of her, wearing a sailor hat) with one of my favourite book quotes: "I really like this cornflakes thing you have, man. You know?" The pairing of the two is unquestionably perfect! What a sweet wife I have :)
Disneyland was AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! It was pretty similar to Disneyworld, but also unique. Space Mountain was done up all special-like for Halloween, and was called Ghost Galaxy - it was great, though pretty turbulent! Raymond, I now know what you mean about age and roller coasters - I was feelin' it! We went on Splash Mountain twice - it really is the best ride there, hands down. The Winnie the Pooh ride was bizarre and crazy psychedelic. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was similarly incredibly wild! I could go on and on like this like a 3-year-old with all of the tales, but I will let these pictures try to sum it up:
Bridget and I also kicked ass on Buzz Lightyear, but I did better than her:
At around 5:00 the park shut down - some kind of private event! But whatevs, we were all done anyhow (though we did want to go on Indiana Jones again...). Anyway, we had a nice pizza dinner and drove home (San Diego is home I guess?). Being the super-sweetie that she is, Bridget insisted we get some kind of cake on the way home (it wouldn't feel like a birthday without), and we managed to find this crackerjack of a cupcake:
When we got back, I had all sorts of birthday e-cards and Facebook birthday wishes from my wonderful family and friends. I am a lucky man, even if I am old!
And finally, when I got home today, I had even more birthday surprises: Brandon's customary birthday phone message song, a card from Meredith, and a musical card from my Dad and Steff! My very first musical card. Dad, you rock.
Also, my Dad told me today that he really enjoys reading my blog, and in telling me this made an off-hand remark about how he doesn't know where I got such good writing skills. Apparently he forgets that he earned a PhD???
All in all, an AWESOME birthday was had. I AM 30! DISNEYLAND RULES!!!
This past Friday, I flew down to SD to visit my wife and celebrate my birthday. But, since my birthday was on Tuesday, I had to stay extra long. I did not get home until today! I can do this because I have an awesome job right now, and can take time off whenever I like.
But why did I need to be in San Diego for my birthday? Sure, I love my wife and wanted to celebrate with her, but couldn't we have just celebrated on the weekend instead? Well, we could have, but then I wouldn't have gotten into Disneyland for FREE.
That right! FREE DISNEYLAND ADMISSION on my birthday! An opportunity too good to pass up, especially because they only have that deal for this year. Surely, they must have known I was turning 30 in 2009!
However, while my actual birthday was on Tuesday, the festivities started on Saturday. Let me tell you a tale.
On Saturday night we went out for some Korean barbecue, bowling, and karaoke. Although this sounds like a perfect celebration for me, it was actually to celebrate Bridget's co-intern and friend Denise's successful PhD defense! Korean barbecue is pretty fun - I ate 7 different kinds of animals.
Bowling was awesome too - I won the game for my lane (I am not that good: Our group had two lanes going, and I would not have beat the winner of the other lane). And as expected, the karaoke was fantastic. Bridget dragged me up for "Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard" by Simon and Garfunkle. That was tough for me, since I didn't know the words, really, but super-fun, of course. I sang "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol (again, it's my favourite!). Bridget told me specifically that I did really well, which may mean something? Or not. Here is a picture of Bridget and the girls singing "Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle. I am glad she has such fun friends down there:
On Sunday, I got to enjoy one of my birthday presents from Bridget - a new bike! Bridget bought a functional bike for me to use when in SD, that we will sell when the year is out. What a thoughtful wife I have! This allowed us to go on an awesome bike trip together on Sunday afternoon around Coronado Island, which was really fun:
OK, now to the really really good stuff: my actual birthday! On Monday night we drove up to Anaheim and stayed the night at a Best Western. It had a hot tub. In the morning - my birthday!!! - Bridget gave me a super-awesome wickedly-creative present: a personalized shirt of Koshka (my favourite picture of her, wearing a sailor hat) with one of my favourite book quotes: "I really like this cornflakes thing you have, man. You know?" The pairing of the two is unquestionably perfect! What a sweet wife I have :)
Disneyland was AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! It was pretty similar to Disneyworld, but also unique. Space Mountain was done up all special-like for Halloween, and was called Ghost Galaxy - it was great, though pretty turbulent! Raymond, I now know what you mean about age and roller coasters - I was feelin' it! We went on Splash Mountain twice - it really is the best ride there, hands down. The Winnie the Pooh ride was bizarre and crazy psychedelic. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was similarly incredibly wild! I could go on and on like this like a 3-year-old with all of the tales, but I will let these pictures try to sum it up:
Bridget and I also kicked ass on Buzz Lightyear, but I did better than her:
At around 5:00 the park shut down - some kind of private event! But whatevs, we were all done anyhow (though we did want to go on Indiana Jones again...). Anyway, we had a nice pizza dinner and drove home (San Diego is home I guess?). Being the super-sweetie that she is, Bridget insisted we get some kind of cake on the way home (it wouldn't feel like a birthday without), and we managed to find this crackerjack of a cupcake:
When we got back, I had all sorts of birthday e-cards and Facebook birthday wishes from my wonderful family and friends. I am a lucky man, even if I am old!
And finally, when I got home today, I had even more birthday surprises: Brandon's customary birthday phone message song, a card from Meredith, and a musical card from my Dad and Steff! My very first musical card. Dad, you rock.
Also, my Dad told me today that he really enjoys reading my blog, and in telling me this made an off-hand remark about how he doesn't know where I got such good writing skills. Apparently he forgets that he earned a PhD???
All in all, an AWESOME birthday was had. I AM 30! DISNEYLAND RULES!!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Remember the...
This past weekend, I went to the conference of the Cognitive Development Society, in San Antonio Texas. San Antonio stuck me as a strange town. It is very pretty, especially the Riverwalk: a set of pedestrian pathways below street level alongside the San Antonio river. Here are some pics:
However, the town itself seemed devoid of people, save for the touristy parts of town. Maybe everybody lives in the suburbs? Also, I have heard from Americans that Texans would are overly-friendly and chatty. I did not find this to be the case. I felt chattier than the average Texan. Am I a Texan-Canadian?
Meredith and I skipped out on the morning talks Saturday and took a stroll over to the Alamo. The Alamo is very pretty! The grounds have been developed into a very nice garden, complete with Pecan trees and giant cacti. The inside isn't really very interesting at all, unless you want to see many varieties of Bowie knives (those things are huge!). View:
The conference itself was fun, and invigourating! I felt totally different being there as an actual DOCTOR. I never would have thought it would matter, but it does. I felt more confident and excited about my research than ever before. Yay!
Tonight, I watched "Gymkata". Strange title? It is a hybridization of gymnastics and karate, which serves as the whole basis for this epically strange film. Gymkata stars Kurt Thomas - a REAL Olympic gymnast - as a secret agent who has to help the US develop a Star Wars defense base in the remote made-up country of Parmistan (sic). How will he achieve this? By winning a deadly Mortal Kombat-esque tournament! Search for the trailer on Youtube if you want to know more.
This movie is so bad, it prompted me to create a new category of movie: W-movie. W stands for weird. And no, not weird in the David Lynch this-makes-no-frigging-sense surreal sense. Weird in that it is hard to fathom how an individual or set of individuals would actually be able to create a movie so epically bad and not realize how bad it actually was. In essence, the movie itself isn't strange, it is the intention behind its creation that is unfathomable. W-movies, are, of course, my favourite kind of movie. I am attracted to real bizzareness.
However, the town itself seemed devoid of people, save for the touristy parts of town. Maybe everybody lives in the suburbs? Also, I have heard from Americans that Texans would are overly-friendly and chatty. I did not find this to be the case. I felt chattier than the average Texan. Am I a Texan-Canadian?
Meredith and I skipped out on the morning talks Saturday and took a stroll over to the Alamo. The Alamo is very pretty! The grounds have been developed into a very nice garden, complete with Pecan trees and giant cacti. The inside isn't really very interesting at all, unless you want to see many varieties of Bowie knives (those things are huge!). View:
The conference itself was fun, and invigourating! I felt totally different being there as an actual DOCTOR. I never would have thought it would matter, but it does. I felt more confident and excited about my research than ever before. Yay!
Tonight, I watched "Gymkata". Strange title? It is a hybridization of gymnastics and karate, which serves as the whole basis for this epically strange film. Gymkata stars Kurt Thomas - a REAL Olympic gymnast - as a secret agent who has to help the US develop a Star Wars defense base in the remote made-up country of Parmistan (sic). How will he achieve this? By winning a deadly Mortal Kombat-esque tournament! Search for the trailer on Youtube if you want to know more.
This movie is so bad, it prompted me to create a new category of movie: W-movie. W stands for weird. And no, not weird in the David Lynch this-makes-no-frigging-sense surreal sense. Weird in that it is hard to fathom how an individual or set of individuals would actually be able to create a movie so epically bad and not realize how bad it actually was. In essence, the movie itself isn't strange, it is the intention behind its creation that is unfathomable. W-movies, are, of course, my favourite kind of movie. I am attracted to real bizzareness.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
FriendZ
Friends are good, friends are fun
Even friends who weigh a ton
I enjoy having friends
And we'll be friends until the end!
That's my poem for the night. Doesn't it sound like a great kids poem? Something you might see on Romper Room or Polka Dot Door (or or Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for you Americans)?
Tonight, Emily and Karen and Linda and I made a meat lasagna! Sausage. I have never made a meat lasagna before - and neither had Linda - as evidence by the fact that we started just putting the raw sausage in the lasagna, without browning it first. Emily came at the right time to warn us before it was too late! So, yeah, cook your meat. Anywho, it was good. DAMN good I might say. It is good to have Seattle friends!
It is also good to have Eugene friends, who are coming up this weekend to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving! Alison, Julia, and Meredith, to be specific. And Bridget gets to stay an extra day - YAY!!!!! - because Monday is Columbus Day, so she gets it off. Since it's also Canadian Thanksgiving, we can pretend. I will be cooking a turkey - my second ever! Wish me luck.
Props to friends everywhere. You are fun! You are far away from me, in many cases, but you will be my friends until the end.
(Next week's plan? Run babies through my experiment!)
Even friends who weigh a ton
I enjoy having friends
And we'll be friends until the end!
That's my poem for the night. Doesn't it sound like a great kids poem? Something you might see on Romper Room or Polka Dot Door (or or Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for you Americans)?
Tonight, Emily and Karen and Linda and I made a meat lasagna! Sausage. I have never made a meat lasagna before - and neither had Linda - as evidence by the fact that we started just putting the raw sausage in the lasagna, without browning it first. Emily came at the right time to warn us before it was too late! So, yeah, cook your meat. Anywho, it was good. DAMN good I might say. It is good to have Seattle friends!
It is also good to have Eugene friends, who are coming up this weekend to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving! Alison, Julia, and Meredith, to be specific. And Bridget gets to stay an extra day - YAY!!!!! - because Monday is Columbus Day, so she gets it off. Since it's also Canadian Thanksgiving, we can pretend. I will be cooking a turkey - my second ever! Wish me luck.
Props to friends everywhere. You are fun! You are far away from me, in many cases, but you will be my friends until the end.
(Next week's plan? Run babies through my experiment!)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
DATAROCK
Last night, I went to my first concert in 4 years. Datarock, my favourite Norwegian electro-rock band, headlined in my neighborhood, at a joint called Nectar. Tickets were only 10 bucks - I had to be there! I went with my new Seattle friends Linda and Barry, as well as Linda's new roommates.
One of the opening bands was a local Seattle hip-hop group called Mad Rad. These guys were pretty wild! They are quite popular with the hipster crowds around Seattle, and I think there may have been more people watching their set than Datarock's. Anyway, these guys are also apparently assholes. They threw water on Datarock's equipment, which brought some tough roadies on to the stage yelling at them. Later they starting falling into some of their equipment, which brought some tough roadies and some very tough bouncers onto the stage. I think this eventually led to their set being cut early. One of Linda's roomates said that that is sort of "what they do", and have been banned from a number of clubs around town for such riotous behaviour. I later rubbed elbows with one of the rappers - literally, as he was wiping snot from his nose with his hands.
The second act was an eclectic little rock outfit that was pretty decent. I talked the lead singer while we were peeing. Nice guy.
Datarock was supposed to come on at 12:30, but they didn't come on till around 1:00. The club has a strict policy of no music past 2:00 (probably they get noise violations all the time), so Datarock didn't get to do their whole set, and it was kinda lame. They kept playing until the sound guy faded them out, and then kept playing until the sound guy started dismantling their equipment, and then finally stopped. But, after that I got to hug the lead singer! A nice, big, shirtless, sweaty, Norwegian hug. I was pumped. I also got 10 Datarock stickers. What shall I do with these? Suggestions welcome.
So, it was totally awesome to see Datarock live, and they definitely a cool live band. However, the sound quality really sucked (white noise with a little bass, but I'm not whether that's the sound guy's fault or theirs), and then the set was too short and awkwardly accomplished. So, it could have been way better, but it was pretty awesome nonetheless!
This afternoon I went for a big long walk around my neighborhood to take in all of the glorious Autumn beauty. Here is a nice photo:
After the walk I was dead tired, I watched M, a 1931 Fritz Lang film. It was really good - creepy in a really intelligent way. An excellent social commentary. Recommended!
Finally, tonight I completed Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon for the SNES. This is probably one of the top-ten worst games every produced, and probably also the rarest game in my video game collection. You play a doctorwho is sent inside the body of a cigarette company exec who is dying of cancer (and also every other health problem that comes from smoking). You are to save his life and rid him of his nicotine addiction. You start in his mouth and clean crap off his teeth, them moves down his lungs to destroy the cancer, then head to his heart to unblock an artery, and then finally head to his brain to remove his nicotine addiction. All the while, the cigarette company has sent in evil robots to try to kill you! An excellent concept, but a terrible game. Good times!
One of the opening bands was a local Seattle hip-hop group called Mad Rad. These guys were pretty wild! They are quite popular with the hipster crowds around Seattle, and I think there may have been more people watching their set than Datarock's. Anyway, these guys are also apparently assholes. They threw water on Datarock's equipment, which brought some tough roadies on to the stage yelling at them. Later they starting falling into some of their equipment, which brought some tough roadies and some very tough bouncers onto the stage. I think this eventually led to their set being cut early. One of Linda's roomates said that that is sort of "what they do", and have been banned from a number of clubs around town for such riotous behaviour. I later rubbed elbows with one of the rappers - literally, as he was wiping snot from his nose with his hands.
The second act was an eclectic little rock outfit that was pretty decent. I talked the lead singer while we were peeing. Nice guy.
Datarock was supposed to come on at 12:30, but they didn't come on till around 1:00. The club has a strict policy of no music past 2:00 (probably they get noise violations all the time), so Datarock didn't get to do their whole set, and it was kinda lame. They kept playing until the sound guy faded them out, and then kept playing until the sound guy started dismantling their equipment, and then finally stopped. But, after that I got to hug the lead singer! A nice, big, shirtless, sweaty, Norwegian hug. I was pumped. I also got 10 Datarock stickers. What shall I do with these? Suggestions welcome.
So, it was totally awesome to see Datarock live, and they definitely a cool live band. However, the sound quality really sucked (white noise with a little bass, but I'm not whether that's the sound guy's fault or theirs), and then the set was too short and awkwardly accomplished. So, it could have been way better, but it was pretty awesome nonetheless!
This afternoon I went for a big long walk around my neighborhood to take in all of the glorious Autumn beauty. Here is a nice photo:
After the walk I was dead tired, I watched M, a 1931 Fritz Lang film. It was really good - creepy in a really intelligent way. An excellent social commentary. Recommended!
Finally, tonight I completed Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon for the SNES. This is probably one of the top-ten worst games every produced, and probably also the rarest game in my video game collection. You play a doctorwho is sent inside the body of a cigarette company exec who is dying of cancer (and also every other health problem that comes from smoking). You are to save his life and rid him of his nicotine addiction. You start in his mouth and clean crap off his teeth, them moves down his lungs to destroy the cancer, then head to his heart to unblock an artery, and then finally head to his brain to remove his nicotine addiction. All the while, the cigarette company has sent in evil robots to try to kill you! An excellent concept, but a terrible game. Good times!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Bad Bloggin'
Wow, I have been a bad blogger lately. My last post was 11 days ago! Apologies to the multitude of my loyal fans.
I have been busy with:
1) Awesome weekends! This past weekend was the awesomest weekend ever! My sister and her partner Caroline came down (really up) to visit, as did my lovely wife. We did the Walk to Defeat ALS on Saturday morning all together, which was really awesome. Allison brought shirts for Team Loucks that she made this year for the another (and future!) walks. Here is a picture of us all decked out:
Thanks to all of the readers out there who were able to donate to the Walk. All of the donations made me feel so good inside. The world is wonderful when it is full of wonderful people.
Allison and Caroline and Bridget and I also explored Capital Hill, Greenlake, Downtown, and Gasworks Park while they were up. Pictures to follow (as soon as I get them from Allison and/or Bridget)! Fun timez.
It was very sad on Sunday when everyone had to go - first Bridget and then A & C. Pooh Pooh Pooh. Why is life hard?
2) Institutional Review Boards
This past week or so at work I have been dealing with the UW's IRB. IRBs are always fun, but they're even more fun when you are at a school with a medical centre! My research is completely innocuous, of course - e.g., showing adults and babies really boring videos of me moving a cheese grater - but it all has to be reviewed. This IRB are a lot more scrutinizing than the one I dealt with at Oregon, which is good (nobody wants mad scientists to get their way), but a bit of a pain. Also a pain is the fact that a ton of grants are coming in to the University right now, and the research all has to be approved by the IRB, which means my simple modification will take a few more weeks than usual to get approved. Sigh!
3) Incomprehensibilities
Gfkjgk djkssue eoqwxzocixop xoxo pzoxcivousw. Pdifisd sisid os sissiie wppwisdifu sudsu sidsi soieop pvjcicmgr siow olkcjvo. Soidjsjdofopas oskskd osd sidjfdj sijoswiw opssdkfjv cixoxoo xoospopzp pa psolwqfjwak, nwenjeklaskjsnsj skdk:
Shuhdisa iasiu deh?
And finally, I am super-duper pumped to go to the Datarock concert that is happening RIGHT in my neighborhood this weekend! For those of you who don't know, Datarock are Norwegian electro-rock at its finest. ROCK AND ROLL!
Bring on the rain Seattle! I AM READY FOR YOU!!!
I have been busy with:
1) Awesome weekends! This past weekend was the awesomest weekend ever! My sister and her partner Caroline came down (really up) to visit, as did my lovely wife. We did the Walk to Defeat ALS on Saturday morning all together, which was really awesome. Allison brought shirts for Team Loucks that she made this year for the another (and future!) walks. Here is a picture of us all decked out:
Thanks to all of the readers out there who were able to donate to the Walk. All of the donations made me feel so good inside. The world is wonderful when it is full of wonderful people.
Allison and Caroline and Bridget and I also explored Capital Hill, Greenlake, Downtown, and Gasworks Park while they were up. Pictures to follow (as soon as I get them from Allison and/or Bridget)! Fun timez.
It was very sad on Sunday when everyone had to go - first Bridget and then A & C. Pooh Pooh Pooh. Why is life hard?
2) Institutional Review Boards
This past week or so at work I have been dealing with the UW's IRB. IRBs are always fun, but they're even more fun when you are at a school with a medical centre! My research is completely innocuous, of course - e.g., showing adults and babies really boring videos of me moving a cheese grater - but it all has to be reviewed. This IRB are a lot more scrutinizing than the one I dealt with at Oregon, which is good (nobody wants mad scientists to get their way), but a bit of a pain. Also a pain is the fact that a ton of grants are coming in to the University right now, and the research all has to be approved by the IRB, which means my simple modification will take a few more weeks than usual to get approved. Sigh!
3) Incomprehensibilities
Gfkjgk djkssue eoqwxzocixop xoxo pzoxcivousw. Pdifisd sisid os sissiie wppwisdifu sudsu sidsi soieop pvjcicmgr siow olkcjvo. Soidjsjdofopas oskskd osd sidjfdj sijoswiw opssdkfjv cixoxoo xoospopzp pa psolwqfjwak, nwenjeklaskjsnsj skdk:
Shuhdisa iasiu deh?
And finally, I am super-duper pumped to go to the Datarock concert that is happening RIGHT in my neighborhood this weekend! For those of you who don't know, Datarock are Norwegian electro-rock at its finest. ROCK AND ROLL!
Bring on the rain Seattle! I AM READY FOR YOU!!!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Woot!
Today I competed in my first ever dragonboat race - and won! It was so exciting!!! Our club signed up for the Row for the Cure (breast cancer fundraiser). We were the only dragonboat entry, so that meant we competed against each other. It was green boat versus red boat, and I was in the greeen boat. And the green boat was awesome! We beat the red boat by a lot. I guess that means I am awesome, too.
So, green boat got medals, and red boat got ribbons. And everyone got donuts, and everyone got to feel really good about raising money for breast cancer research. YAY!
But there's more: I won a random prize draw, and won a day at the Pro Sports Club, for two! I had no idea what the Pro Sports Club was, but it looked really swanky from the brochure I got. When I showed it to my teammates, they verified that it indeed is really swanky. It's apparently very expensive, and it's where Microsoft big wigs and other millionaires go to work out, get massages, etc. This place is crazy. Can't wait to take Bridget there sometime! It also came with a $50 gift card for their swanky in-club bistro. I like food.
In less exciting news, a large majority of this weekend was spent restringing my blinds, which was super-lame and very time-consuming. You see, I did something really, really dumb. I shortened the drawstrings on my blinds, but did it while they were drawn up. DUH! Has anyone out there done this before? Probably not, cause it is pretty damn stupid. But, luckily it is fairly easy - yet extremely tedious - to restring your blinds.
I watched Let the Right One In last night, and it was excellent. It is a Swedish vampire flick that I would recommend to everyone who can stomach a little gore (not too much, really). It would have been even more excellent, though, if it hadn't been overdubbed. Overdubbing is so stupid - almost all of the emotional content of people's speech is lost, and was remains is overexaggerated and ends up sounding really weird! Why overdub? Just put subtitles, please.
In 5 days:
- my sister is visiting
- her partner Caroline is visiting
- Bridget is visiting
Awesome or what???
Now I will go to Emily and Karen's, to hear all about their Hawaii trip and eat Emily's famous Nacho Frio. They saw many, many sea turtles, which is good for them, but makes me very jealous, as honu was elusive when we visited. Oh, honu!
So, green boat got medals, and red boat got ribbons. And everyone got donuts, and everyone got to feel really good about raising money for breast cancer research. YAY!
But there's more: I won a random prize draw, and won a day at the Pro Sports Club, for two! I had no idea what the Pro Sports Club was, but it looked really swanky from the brochure I got. When I showed it to my teammates, they verified that it indeed is really swanky. It's apparently very expensive, and it's where Microsoft big wigs and other millionaires go to work out, get massages, etc. This place is crazy. Can't wait to take Bridget there sometime! It also came with a $50 gift card for their swanky in-club bistro. I like food.
In less exciting news, a large majority of this weekend was spent restringing my blinds, which was super-lame and very time-consuming. You see, I did something really, really dumb. I shortened the drawstrings on my blinds, but did it while they were drawn up. DUH! Has anyone out there done this before? Probably not, cause it is pretty damn stupid. But, luckily it is fairly easy - yet extremely tedious - to restring your blinds.
I watched Let the Right One In last night, and it was excellent. It is a Swedish vampire flick that I would recommend to everyone who can stomach a little gore (not too much, really). It would have been even more excellent, though, if it hadn't been overdubbed. Overdubbing is so stupid - almost all of the emotional content of people's speech is lost, and was remains is overexaggerated and ends up sounding really weird! Why overdub? Just put subtitles, please.
In 5 days:
- my sister is visiting
- her partner Caroline is visiting
- Bridget is visiting
Awesome or what???
Now I will go to Emily and Karen's, to hear all about their Hawaii trip and eat Emily's famous Nacho Frio. They saw many, many sea turtles, which is good for them, but makes me very jealous, as honu was elusive when we visited. Oh, honu!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
46 miles, 74 kilometers, 0.0000000000078 light years
Yesterday I signed-up for the Walk to Defeat ALS here in Seattle, this September 26th. And guess what? Allison and Caroline are coming to visit me that weekend, and so is Bridget! We are doing it together as a team: "The Loucksersizers". I have been really touched by everyone's support thus far - thank you to all of you who have been able to donate. I feels really good.
So yeah, my sister is coming to visit!!! This is so incredibly super-awesome. A short visit, but it will definitely be a good one. I am starting to get really pumped!
Today I skipped work* (I can do that) in order to take a long bike ride with my new bike. I biked 46 miles!! I went up the Burke-Gilman Trail around Lake Washington, and then along and down the Sammamish River trail, which follows - you guessed it - the Sammamish River. This is an exciting accomplishment for me, as I have not biked for more than 20 miles in over 7 years!
I brought along my camera, planning to take pictures of the scenery along the way. But, I didn't check the status of the batteries, and of course after I took my first picture it died. So, all you get is this boring picture of where I stopped to eat lunch and read my book:
My bike is in there if you look closely. Twas a good ride, on a good new bike. I can only hope I won't be totally sore tomorrow...
AND TONIGHT I EAT QUESADILLA!!!
* = Trying to get used to saying work instead of school!
So yeah, my sister is coming to visit!!! This is so incredibly super-awesome. A short visit, but it will definitely be a good one. I am starting to get really pumped!
Today I skipped work* (I can do that) in order to take a long bike ride with my new bike. I biked 46 miles!! I went up the Burke-Gilman Trail around Lake Washington, and then along and down the Sammamish River trail, which follows - you guessed it - the Sammamish River. This is an exciting accomplishment for me, as I have not biked for more than 20 miles in over 7 years!
I brought along my camera, planning to take pictures of the scenery along the way. But, I didn't check the status of the batteries, and of course after I took my first picture it died. So, all you get is this boring picture of where I stopped to eat lunch and read my book:
My bike is in there if you look closely. Twas a good ride, on a good new bike. I can only hope I won't be totally sore tomorrow...
AND TONIGHT I EAT QUESADILLA!!!
* = Trying to get used to saying work instead of school!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Rice Krispies, Lingerie and Bikes
Heck of a title, eh? Let me explain.
On Thursday night, I made Rice Krispie Squares for the first time! This was payback for Emily, who read my research manuscript over for me. I wanted to make sure they tasted good, so I followed the recipe on the Rice Krispies box to a tee. This meant using 40 marshmallows and 6 cups of Rice Krispies. However, they ended up being really short (only about a centimetre and a half think)!
The evidence:
After discussion with Bridget we decided that nobody actually follows the recipe, and you should just use an entire bag of marshmallows (more than 40) and an entire box of Rice Krispies (more than 6 cups), in order to get the right thickness.
On Friday, I went to see the second ever game of the LFL, between the Seattle Mist and The San Diego Seduction. LFL stands for "Lingerie Football League". Yes, that's right - it's attractive women (most of whom have large breasts) playing football in their underwear. In order to fully understand, head here: www.lflus.com. You can also check out the Seattle Team directly, here: www.lflus.com/seattlemist
Questions you may have:
Q1: The Jeph I know isn't into objectifying women - have you changed?
A1: No. I went to this game mainly to continue making friends with the new people I have met here in Seattle. I didn't know a lot about it and didn't really think about it when I agreed, and then as the day approached it was too late.
Q2: Is Bridget upset about this?
A2: Not really, as far as I can tell. For the most part I think she finds it amusing, as do I. But, maybe she can express her feelings as a comment?
Q3: Did you have a good time?
Q3: YES - most definitely! I cheered for San Diego the whole time (figured it was the least I could do for Bridget), so that was really fun. A huge chunk of my enjoyment was trying to figure out how the heck this happened - a deep fascination and wonderment, you might say. And I am a straight man after all.
Q4: Are they actually playing the game?
Q5: Yes, they were definitely playing a real game of (slightly modified) football! This is why I started to feel a little bad for them - they'd probably be better wearing real uniforms and playing harder, instead of spending half of their time picking wedgies out of their butts!
Finally, on Saturday I got my new bike! The real story is a lot longer than that, but it is mostly uninteresting. I like my new bike - it go fast! I am planning on going on a long bike ride tomorrow: 40 miles! That will be the longest ride I have done in a very long time.
On Thursday night, I made Rice Krispie Squares for the first time! This was payback for Emily, who read my research manuscript over for me. I wanted to make sure they tasted good, so I followed the recipe on the Rice Krispies box to a tee. This meant using 40 marshmallows and 6 cups of Rice Krispies. However, they ended up being really short (only about a centimetre and a half think)!
The evidence:
After discussion with Bridget we decided that nobody actually follows the recipe, and you should just use an entire bag of marshmallows (more than 40) and an entire box of Rice Krispies (more than 6 cups), in order to get the right thickness.
On Friday, I went to see the second ever game of the LFL, between the Seattle Mist and The San Diego Seduction. LFL stands for "Lingerie Football League". Yes, that's right - it's attractive women (most of whom have large breasts) playing football in their underwear. In order to fully understand, head here: www.lflus.com. You can also check out the Seattle Team directly, here: www.lflus.com/seattlemist
Questions you may have:
Q1: The Jeph I know isn't into objectifying women - have you changed?
A1: No. I went to this game mainly to continue making friends with the new people I have met here in Seattle. I didn't know a lot about it and didn't really think about it when I agreed, and then as the day approached it was too late.
Q2: Is Bridget upset about this?
A2: Not really, as far as I can tell. For the most part I think she finds it amusing, as do I. But, maybe she can express her feelings as a comment?
Q3: Did you have a good time?
Q3: YES - most definitely! I cheered for San Diego the whole time (figured it was the least I could do for Bridget), so that was really fun. A huge chunk of my enjoyment was trying to figure out how the heck this happened - a deep fascination and wonderment, you might say. And I am a straight man after all.
Q4: Are they actually playing the game?
Q5: Yes, they were definitely playing a real game of (slightly modified) football! This is why I started to feel a little bad for them - they'd probably be better wearing real uniforms and playing harder, instead of spending half of their time picking wedgies out of their butts!
Finally, on Saturday I got my new bike! The real story is a lot longer than that, but it is mostly uninteresting. I like my new bike - it go fast! I am planning on going on a long bike ride tomorrow: 40 miles! That will be the longest ride I have done in a very long time.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Much better!
While I was in San Diego, my foot finally started feeling better!!! Who knows - maybe all it needed was a little TLC from my incredible wife. Anyhow, with my foot feeling better, my psyche is feeling considerably better!
SD was really nice, even though almost everything we tried we failed at. The details of that statement are mostly boring, but we definitley failed at snorkeling, big time! The waves were too big, and I got seasick within 10-15 minutes, and we had to head in. There was also absolutely nothing to see! Really, I saw one fish, and Bridget saw nothing. We were hoping to see some Leopard sharks - they are out there! Seems like we saw some of the best snorkeling wildlife last time I was there, which consisted of three different kinds of fish. I guess when people say that the snorkeling is not that good around SD they are telling the truth.
There were other non-failing aspects, including a lovely sushi and movie date on Sunday night - I had unagi and spicy albacore, and we watched Cold Souls (very good, if you like Paul Giamatti, like I do).
Last night I watched Gozu - the STRANGEST movie I have seen in a really long time! I highly recommend for any who loves to watch weird and scary films. Really surreal, and really creepy. Based on this movie, I would say this guy is the Japanese David Lynch. I might need to check out some more of his films...
A short post for today, as I am feeling busy and should get back to work.
Remember: eat your veggies!
SD was really nice, even though almost everything we tried we failed at. The details of that statement are mostly boring, but we definitley failed at snorkeling, big time! The waves were too big, and I got seasick within 10-15 minutes, and we had to head in. There was also absolutely nothing to see! Really, I saw one fish, and Bridget saw nothing. We were hoping to see some Leopard sharks - they are out there! Seems like we saw some of the best snorkeling wildlife last time I was there, which consisted of three different kinds of fish. I guess when people say that the snorkeling is not that good around SD they are telling the truth.
There were other non-failing aspects, including a lovely sushi and movie date on Sunday night - I had unagi and spicy albacore, and we watched Cold Souls (very good, if you like Paul Giamatti, like I do).
Last night I watched Gozu - the STRANGEST movie I have seen in a really long time! I highly recommend for any who loves to watch weird and scary films. Really surreal, and really creepy. Based on this movie, I would say this guy is the Japanese David Lynch. I might need to check out some more of his films...
A short post for today, as I am feeling busy and should get back to work.
Remember: eat your veggies!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Super-complain post
Loyal readers will note that I have not posted in quite a while. This is mainly for 2 reasons: 1) I've been pretty busy with various things, and 2) most everything I have to say lately is quite negative. So, today's post is a special extra-negative post, to get all these feelings out.
There are many sources of negativity:
1) My ankle is still messed up. It has been 2 weeks and it still hurts to walk normally! Running, of course, has also been off the menu during this time. It might be getting better - my limp is a little less pronounced, and there are times when I can walk on it and it doesn't hurt too bad. But, then again, there are times when I walk on it and it does hurt. I am getting a little better at accepting my pain, and I have to remember that it could take quite a while.
2) I have been having serious bike problems, right up until this post. Here is the sequence of awful events:
- Saturday: my front gear is not shifting correctly, so I try to adjust the tension. This isn't working, so I think that perhaps the derailleur needs to be lifted up. I try to do this, but fail epically and mess up my bike, and have to take it in to the bike shop.
- Sunday: I take it in to the bike shop, and the guy there fixes it, but not very well, so he has to fix it more, and then finds other issues, and then fixes it more. One of the issues is that he thinks that my back wheel might be the wrong size. He also has me pump up the tires, as he says they are low.
- Monday: at 3:00 am, I am startled awake to the sound of air rushing out of my back tire (I keep my bike in the house). This is a terrifying thing to wake up to at 3:00 am! In the morning, I check it, and see that it has a little hole next to the valve (this happened before, after I took it to that same bike shop...). Anyway, I take off the back tire and begin pumping up a new inner tube. I try to pump it up to the pressure that the guy at the bike shop (and my tire) say I should pump it to. Suddenly the inner tube EXPLODES! Yes, EXPLODES, right next to my ear!! My ear is ringing for about 10 minutes, and I am screaming in pain. The inner tube exploded open a foot long hole. I may have permanent high-frequency loss.
Extremely frustrated, I decide two things: 1) I am never going back to that bike shop, and 2) I want a new bike. This would generally be an exciting thing, but it is stressful spending money. I am also sad to be giving up on my old green Peugot - my special Canadian only bike!
So, I go and buy a new bike (I need a bike soon, since it is my main mode of transportation). It's a nice bike, and a big improvement on my old bike.
- Tuesday: the new bike is considerably bumpier than my old bike. I look into why, and realize that it is because I don't have a suspension seat post (or a comfortable seat). I decide to buy these.
- Wednesday: I get the suspension seat post and new seat installed (and it's a huge improvement). But, later that day, it dawns on me that this bike is too small. I remember back to what the guy said at the store, and I think he mentioned that it's a 19 inch frame. A quick comparison with my old bike shows that it is a 23 inch frame. That's a big difference! The boy at the bike shop really doesn't know what the heck he is talking about.
- Today: I go to the bike shop to switch out my 19" for a 23". They are out of 23"s, and will have to order one. In a small bit of good news, I find out that my bike got cheaper in the meantime by about $150, so I get it for cheaper!
I bike back to work, do some work, and am heading out on my bike to have lunch with Karen. I notice my back tire is flat (staple)! I have inner tubes (just bought them from the bike store), but do not have my bike pump with me - it's at home. It was not attached to my bike because I was planning on returning my bike today. This means I have to take the stupid bus home, which is annoying, cause I don't like buses :(
3) I really miss my wife. If all of this crap were happening to me with Bridget around, it would not be so crappy. That is fo sho.
Well, that's it for now. That felt good! It is good to express your feelings. That is something I probably learned from Polka-Dot Door. Here is a picture of some of those feelings:
In the most exciting news this side of the Virgo Supercluster, tomorrow I am going to visit Bridget in SD, and it is a LONG WEEKEND, so we get to spend MORE TIME TOGETHER! This will be very fun. The excitement alone is getting me to forget all of my woes. No woes!
* = diligent readers know this issue really stems from an earlier incident this past July.
There are many sources of negativity:
1) My ankle is still messed up. It has been 2 weeks and it still hurts to walk normally! Running, of course, has also been off the menu during this time. It might be getting better - my limp is a little less pronounced, and there are times when I can walk on it and it doesn't hurt too bad. But, then again, there are times when I walk on it and it does hurt. I am getting a little better at accepting my pain, and I have to remember that it could take quite a while.
2) I have been having serious bike problems, right up until this post. Here is the sequence of awful events:
- Saturday: my front gear is not shifting correctly, so I try to adjust the tension. This isn't working, so I think that perhaps the derailleur needs to be lifted up. I try to do this, but fail epically and mess up my bike, and have to take it in to the bike shop.
- Sunday: I take it in to the bike shop, and the guy there fixes it, but not very well, so he has to fix it more, and then finds other issues, and then fixes it more. One of the issues is that he thinks that my back wheel might be the wrong size. He also has me pump up the tires, as he says they are low.
- Monday: at 3:00 am, I am startled awake to the sound of air rushing out of my back tire (I keep my bike in the house). This is a terrifying thing to wake up to at 3:00 am! In the morning, I check it, and see that it has a little hole next to the valve (this happened before, after I took it to that same bike shop...). Anyway, I take off the back tire and begin pumping up a new inner tube. I try to pump it up to the pressure that the guy at the bike shop (and my tire) say I should pump it to. Suddenly the inner tube EXPLODES! Yes, EXPLODES, right next to my ear!! My ear is ringing for about 10 minutes, and I am screaming in pain. The inner tube exploded open a foot long hole. I may have permanent high-frequency loss.
Extremely frustrated, I decide two things: 1) I am never going back to that bike shop, and 2) I want a new bike. This would generally be an exciting thing, but it is stressful spending money. I am also sad to be giving up on my old green Peugot - my special Canadian only bike!
So, I go and buy a new bike (I need a bike soon, since it is my main mode of transportation). It's a nice bike, and a big improvement on my old bike.
- Tuesday: the new bike is considerably bumpier than my old bike. I look into why, and realize that it is because I don't have a suspension seat post (or a comfortable seat). I decide to buy these.
- Wednesday: I get the suspension seat post and new seat installed (and it's a huge improvement). But, later that day, it dawns on me that this bike is too small. I remember back to what the guy said at the store, and I think he mentioned that it's a 19 inch frame. A quick comparison with my old bike shows that it is a 23 inch frame. That's a big difference! The boy at the bike shop really doesn't know what the heck he is talking about.
- Today: I go to the bike shop to switch out my 19" for a 23". They are out of 23"s, and will have to order one. In a small bit of good news, I find out that my bike got cheaper in the meantime by about $150, so I get it for cheaper!
I bike back to work, do some work, and am heading out on my bike to have lunch with Karen. I notice my back tire is flat (staple)! I have inner tubes (just bought them from the bike store), but do not have my bike pump with me - it's at home. It was not attached to my bike because I was planning on returning my bike today. This means I have to take the stupid bus home, which is annoying, cause I don't like buses :(
3) I really miss my wife. If all of this crap were happening to me with Bridget around, it would not be so crappy. That is fo sho.
Well, that's it for now. That felt good! It is good to express your feelings. That is something I probably learned from Polka-Dot Door. Here is a picture of some of those feelings:
In the most exciting news this side of the Virgo Supercluster, tomorrow I am going to visit Bridget in SD, and it is a LONG WEEKEND, so we get to spend MORE TIME TOGETHER! This will be very fun. The excitement alone is getting me to forget all of my woes. No woes!
* = diligent readers know this issue really stems from an earlier incident this past July.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Odysseus is a goddamn maniac
I only have one chapter left of The Odyssey to read. In the last chapter, Odysseus killed dozens of men - the suitors - just because they were trying to marry his wife while he was missing and presumed dead for 20 years. He was merciless, and slit people's throats as they begged forgiveness and innocence. He also tortured and mutilated one guy (hung him upside down, and while he was alive cut out his eyes, cut off his ears, hands, and genitals, and then fed the genitals to the dogs). Then, he rounded up all of the serving women that had had sex with any of the suitors, and ordered his son to kill them (but not until they had cleaned out the dead body's and the bloody mess of their former lovers; Also, his son elected to hang them, so he could watch them twitch, instead of giving them a clean death by the sword). MANIAC!!!
But, as Bridget reminds me, these were very different times, and more importantly, these events probably didn't actually happen.
In other news: Karaoke tonight at the Rickshaw restaurant!
But, as Bridget reminds me, these were very different times, and more importantly, these events probably didn't actually happen.
In other news: Karaoke tonight at the Rickshaw restaurant!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
I can see clearly now, the pain is still here
I am wearing contact lenses! I decided to give them a try again, for 3 reasons: 1) when I'm biking in the winter, I don't want to be wearing glasses that will fog up, 2) I can't wear glasses when I'm snorkeling in San Diego, and 3) it's kind of nice to not have glasses on your face.
Tonight I am going to see District 9! Everyone who I know who has seen it (Jenni and my Dad) say that I will love it! AND I MAY JUST HAVE TO AGREE WITH THEM! It looks pretty darn cool.
OK, now it's time to try to figure out how to get Matlab to a) draw me a circle (easy), and 2) move it around the screen (hard).
But first, you all deserve a good picture, for being diligent readers:
Tonight I am going to see District 9! Everyone who I know who has seen it (Jenni and my Dad) say that I will love it! AND I MAY JUST HAVE TO AGREE WITH THEM! It looks pretty darn cool.
OK, now it's time to try to figure out how to get Matlab to a) draw me a circle (easy), and 2) move it around the screen (hard).
But first, you all deserve a good picture, for being diligent readers:
Monday, August 24, 2009
Das Golem
My foot/ankle is still injured. This stupid injury has made me limp for the last 5 days, made me miss another night of dragonboating, keeps me from jogging, and in general just pisses me off! I can only hope it gets better soon.
Bridget came to town this past weekend, and guess what? It was awesome! I bet you didn't know I was going to say that! We had fun. I finally showed her ILABS and my office, and I also took her to the huge REI downtown. OOOOOH and we went to Mollie Moon's handmade ice cream, where they have crazy flavours, and I got salted caramel. It was REALLY good, and really salty! I am an old salt. On Sunday we went on a walk through the Washington Arboretum, which was pretty, but probably not good for my foot.
Tonight I watched The Golem, another silent German expressionist film. It was pretty cool. I learned a lot about Judaism from this movie. Did you know that Rabbis have the power to bring clay statues to life? And the power to create illusions? And the power to put out fires using the power of Jehovah? Incredible. I don't know why they don't use these magical abilities more often.
Well, time to go! My loyal fan awaits! (Bridget)
Bridget came to town this past weekend, and guess what? It was awesome! I bet you didn't know I was going to say that! We had fun. I finally showed her ILABS and my office, and I also took her to the huge REI downtown. OOOOOH and we went to Mollie Moon's handmade ice cream, where they have crazy flavours, and I got salted caramel. It was REALLY good, and really salty! I am an old salt. On Sunday we went on a walk through the Washington Arboretum, which was pretty, but probably not good for my foot.
Tonight I watched The Golem, another silent German expressionist film. It was pretty cool. I learned a lot about Judaism from this movie. Did you know that Rabbis have the power to bring clay statues to life? And the power to create illusions? And the power to put out fires using the power of Jehovah? Incredible. I don't know why they don't use these magical abilities more often.
Well, time to go! My loyal fan awaits! (Bridget)
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Preventative forces
Evil spirits are wreaking havoc in my life! They are perventiving me from exercising this week! Here is the rundown:
Monday: can't go dragonboating cause my hips were really freakin' sore from my 15 mile hike the day before.
Tuesday: took a walk instead of a jog, cause my hips were still on the mend (15 miles is a lot, I guess!).
Wednesday: had an eye appointment where they dilated my pupils so much that my vision was messed up for 4 hours! Could not be out in the sun, and had no close-up vision. Decided not to go dragonboating for fear of accidentally hitting people with my paddles and giving them brain damage. Just biking home was itself a challenge.
Today: started out on a jog, and then 1/4 of the way through my ankle suddenly hurts like a mofo! I stop and strech my foot out a bit, and it felt a little better, so I started jogging again. Then the pain returned, and I had to stop. I had to walk all the way home, at times limping.
Luckily, my foot feels a little better now. But WTF?! Why can't I get any physical activity in this week? Have I sinned???
Since I couldn't go dragonboating last night, I decided to get an old German silent film from Scarecrow Video. Turns out it was 2-for-1 night, so I got TWO silent German films: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), and The Golem (1920). I watched Dr. Caligari last night:
It was pretty good! It was my first silent film, and the oldest movie I have ever seen. It was definitely really, really weird for its time, but it wasn't super weird by today's standards. An interesting watch. It's at least worth it to try to figure out what's going on with this guy:
Bridget is coming tomorrow!!!
Michael Jackson is dead. The marmots are taking refuge inside the mountains.
Monday: can't go dragonboating cause my hips were really freakin' sore from my 15 mile hike the day before.
Tuesday: took a walk instead of a jog, cause my hips were still on the mend (15 miles is a lot, I guess!).
Wednesday: had an eye appointment where they dilated my pupils so much that my vision was messed up for 4 hours! Could not be out in the sun, and had no close-up vision. Decided not to go dragonboating for fear of accidentally hitting people with my paddles and giving them brain damage. Just biking home was itself a challenge.
Today: started out on a jog, and then 1/4 of the way through my ankle suddenly hurts like a mofo! I stop and strech my foot out a bit, and it felt a little better, so I started jogging again. Then the pain returned, and I had to stop. I had to walk all the way home, at times limping.
Luckily, my foot feels a little better now. But WTF?! Why can't I get any physical activity in this week? Have I sinned???
Since I couldn't go dragonboating last night, I decided to get an old German silent film from Scarecrow Video. Turns out it was 2-for-1 night, so I got TWO silent German films: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), and The Golem (1920). I watched Dr. Caligari last night:
It was pretty good! It was my first silent film, and the oldest movie I have ever seen. It was definitely really, really weird for its time, but it wasn't super weird by today's standards. An interesting watch. It's at least worth it to try to figure out what's going on with this guy:
Bridget is coming tomorrow!!!
Michael Jackson is dead. The marmots are taking refuge inside the mountains.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Loucks Skywalker
On Saturday afternoon, I drove to Deer Park campground, in the northeast corner of Olympic National Park, to camp the night and hike a 15 mile trail on Sunday. It was INCREDIBLE! Sit down a while, and I'll tell you all about it
Although I wanted to go, the Gods seems to have determined to discourage me from going. First, there was the horrible 1 hour wait for the Edmonds to Kingston ferry. It cost $14.25 for an hour long wait and a half-hour ferry! I could have just headed south from Seattle and headed back up with roads, but I though that would take longer; I was wrong. This angered me. Then, when I finally got the campground, the park ranger said that it was full! You can imagine my dismay as I heard this news! He thought that there might be one spot left, but he didn't think so, but I should check to be sure. Luckily it was available!
So, it all turned out, and I set up camp and ate dinner. I forgot something about camping at high elevations: it gets freakin' cold at night! I was freezing cold, and I just barely packed enough stuff to keep me reasonably warm. Luckily I also had firewood to build a fire, so that helped a lot. In the morning it was just as cold as I was taking down my tent, but luckily I packed my "Little Hotties" that Bridget gave me a few years ago - I don't know how they work but the are little pockets of warmth.
Anyway, the next day, bright and early at 8:30 am, I headed out on the Grand Ridge Trail. This 7.4 mile trail starts out at 5,380 feet (the elevation of the campground), climbs to a maximum 6,650 along the way, and ends at Obstruction Point, which is 6,150. What they don't tell you is that there a lof of additional ups and downs along the way! You are basically walking along the sides of many mountains/ridges. This was a tough hike, but is one of the coolest hikes I have ever been on. The reasons are many:
Reason #1: Mountains on one side
Reason #2: Ocean on the other side
Reason #3: Flowers
Reason #4: Marmots! (I saw many birds, bunnies, and deer as well)
Reason #5: Mount Olympus
More pictures are posted on Facebook. Meredith, get Facebook and enjoy all of the photos!
Since I started out so early, I was the only person on the trail for a good 3 hours. That was really neat, and very peaceful. Another cool moment was, on the way back, looking out to the ocean, and seeing Victoria, British Columbia! It was barely visible at that distance, but I definitely saw it, across the straight from Port Angeles. It made me think of home and how much I miss living in Canada :( Will I ever return?
The last 2-3 miles of that hike were very hard on me - I was so tired! Going downhill is really hard on your legs. But, I made it, and felt very accomplished. I went to Port Angeles for dinner, looking for a rewarding and hearty seafood meal, and instead got a really crappy crab cake sandwich at a restaurant that was really just a Red Lion (and it was expensive!). I was really disappointed, so I got a Snickers DQ Blizzard to even things out. That felt good :)
Although it was a super-cool hike, it would have been much more fun to do with a friend, or a WIFE! So all of you readers out there should really consider coming out/up here to visit me. I can make you waffles. I can show you the city. I can take you hiking. In short, I can give you the life you've always wanted.
Although I wanted to go, the Gods seems to have determined to discourage me from going. First, there was the horrible 1 hour wait for the Edmonds to Kingston ferry. It cost $14.25 for an hour long wait and a half-hour ferry! I could have just headed south from Seattle and headed back up with roads, but I though that would take longer; I was wrong. This angered me. Then, when I finally got the campground, the park ranger said that it was full! You can imagine my dismay as I heard this news! He thought that there might be one spot left, but he didn't think so, but I should check to be sure. Luckily it was available!
So, it all turned out, and I set up camp and ate dinner. I forgot something about camping at high elevations: it gets freakin' cold at night! I was freezing cold, and I just barely packed enough stuff to keep me reasonably warm. Luckily I also had firewood to build a fire, so that helped a lot. In the morning it was just as cold as I was taking down my tent, but luckily I packed my "Little Hotties" that Bridget gave me a few years ago - I don't know how they work but the are little pockets of warmth.
Anyway, the next day, bright and early at 8:30 am, I headed out on the Grand Ridge Trail. This 7.4 mile trail starts out at 5,380 feet (the elevation of the campground), climbs to a maximum 6,650 along the way, and ends at Obstruction Point, which is 6,150. What they don't tell you is that there a lof of additional ups and downs along the way! You are basically walking along the sides of many mountains/ridges. This was a tough hike, but is one of the coolest hikes I have ever been on. The reasons are many:
Reason #1: Mountains on one side
Reason #2: Ocean on the other side
Reason #3: Flowers
Reason #4: Marmots! (I saw many birds, bunnies, and deer as well)
Reason #5: Mount Olympus
More pictures are posted on Facebook. Meredith, get Facebook and enjoy all of the photos!
Since I started out so early, I was the only person on the trail for a good 3 hours. That was really neat, and very peaceful. Another cool moment was, on the way back, looking out to the ocean, and seeing Victoria, British Columbia! It was barely visible at that distance, but I definitely saw it, across the straight from Port Angeles. It made me think of home and how much I miss living in Canada :( Will I ever return?
The last 2-3 miles of that hike were very hard on me - I was so tired! Going downhill is really hard on your legs. But, I made it, and felt very accomplished. I went to Port Angeles for dinner, looking for a rewarding and hearty seafood meal, and instead got a really crappy crab cake sandwich at a restaurant that was really just a Red Lion (and it was expensive!). I was really disappointed, so I got a Snickers DQ Blizzard to even things out. That felt good :)
Although it was a super-cool hike, it would have been much more fun to do with a friend, or a WIFE! So all of you readers out there should really consider coming out/up here to visit me. I can make you waffles. I can show you the city. I can take you hiking. In short, I can give you the life you've always wanted.
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