Lots o' laughter

Contrary to the laughingstock post of earlier, this weekend was full of laughter.  Great times with both of my families, immediate and in-laws.  A couple more weeks and my parents go to the Philippines for about 6 weeks, so I'm planning on spending some time with them now.

Friday night was International Night at my daughter's elementary school.  Taste of Bethesda has nothing on this--free food from every part of the globe, Salsa band, Tinikling dancing, an accordionist, hanging with the other parents who have become our friends over the years, kids running around--a joyful chaotic cacophony.

Mom was full of beans on Saturday night as she decried young Danny's bogus managerial moves as her favorite 'Skins begin their downward slide into mediocrity.  Meanwhile she fears that Cowher will be hired next year, as she detests all things Pittsburgh (except Dad, who's from there).  So the conversation was spirited and humorous, and good times abounded over steak and salmon.

BP ride was mellow, as I intercepted the group on Democracy and spun through the Park with a few regulars.  Six shots of espresso at the shop and a tight group just joking and yakking, catching up with these people that I've become friends with over the years.  Shimano or Campy?  How 'bout SRAM?  Tubies or clinchers?  Check out the new Prince...it's all about the gear, and talking about it.

Got home in time to go to my sister in law's in Herndon, but the kids wanted to swim at the Y.  We just joined, so it was the perfect time to check out the pool.  Veeery relaxing.  Off to Herndon, and the conversation with the in-laws centered around all of the ridiculous things that happen in the course of everyday, and how funny it all is.  A couple of great bottles of dark German brew and watching the 2 year old nephew imitating his cousin doing yoga while he's eating a chunk of chocolate is an indelible image--guess you had to be there. 

We're all headstrong and opinionated people, no shrinking violets among us.  Sometimes family tensions and headbutting over intractable positions continue to accentuate differences that become fissures over time.  If we're not careful, these fissures become fault lines that eventually separate, and then the Hatfields and McCoys happen...OK maybe I'm exaggerating a bit but passing the time enjoying each other's company is the only way to go.  Weekends like these should be the norm.

Thanks for reading.

JF

Laughingstock

The events of the past few days proves to me that my 'Skins are fast becoming the league joke, once again as they were perceived before Danny hired St. Joe.  Yeah, I know it's his team, and he can do whatever he wishes, and and and.  But this particular owner has a way of myopically shunning the Big Picture in ways that continue to amaze me.  More cogent and thoughtful analysis exists on more respectable outlets, specifically real journalist vehicles like the Post and Sports Illustrated, etc.  I'm just a ranting fan.

To that end, as we peeled off the N2 ride due to respective family obligations, Kathy K and I were riding and chatting on River Road, when I interrupted her and screamed "MAKE UP YOUR MIND, DANNY BOY!" as we passed the Snyder manse.  By the end of the day, Williams and Saunders were gone, so clearly I am influential.  Maybe I need to be receiving some nice caish muney from the Boy Wonder for my insistent advising.

Time to join the BP ride.  It's way late, but I'm toodling today and I'll catch them somewhere along the route...

"Legs feed the wolf"

On the subject of what to watch while spinning base/recovery/rest week miles on the trainer, the only Disney movie that I'll admit to enjoying happens to be "Miracle".  This is the story of the 1980 USA hockey team blah blah blah we all know the drill.

This is a GREAT flick for the trainer.  Meticulously shot and well cast, acted, everything.  Can't say enough good things about it.  Even my distaste for xenophobic patriotism takes a backseat on this one, as sport trumps all else here.

Best line is Coach Brooks saying "Legs feed the wolf" while his boys are doing suicides--I can only imagine how that feels, having never played hockey, though it is my favorite sport.  There's my new mantra.  Right now the wolf has a small stomach, but its appetite grows daily.  That's appetite, not my stomach...oh never mind.  Just see the movie if you haven't already.

The footlocker

As I pulled the van out of the driveway this morning, it was clear that something wasn't right.  The idle was rough, the engined shut down, the brakes were stiff, and the check engine light was on.  Time to go to the shop with this...

Since I didn't have wheels to get home with, the fam came into Bethesda and we had a decent dinner at the Cafe Deluxe, a popular joint for the family set.  As soon as we got home, my son asked me if we had a footlocker.  He's doing a history project involving the personal effects of a WWII airman, I think.

Not only do I have one footlocker, I actually have two.  They are time capsules of sorts, as I used them to store stuff during the summers in college and then they became these vessels of deep dark storage for things that I never want to throw away, even though I probably should.  I figured the smaller of the two would suffice, and I knew it was in the attic.  After banishing the cats into one of the bedrooms so that they wouldn't patrol the attic and force me to wait for them take their cat time to come down, I retrieved the box o' memories.

And this is some of what I found:

A Turkish market caricature - great drawing in pen and ink by a Turkish cartoonist.

My 115 # wrestling warm-up jacket from the International School Manila.

My Zero-stat gun and record cleaner, to keep the vinyl groovin'.

A nice piece of pottery thrown by a very close friend of mine.

About a dozen Iron City Beer commemorative beer cans (I used to be an avid collector).

Superman meets Sgt. Rock comic book.

Superman vs Muhammad Ali comic book.

Spiderman comic book titled "The Day Gwen Stacey Died".  Chills up and down the spine.

My high school home and away baseball jerseys.

My weekend softball league jersey for the team that featured only young guns and two adults who happened to be black (It reads "Youth and Blood" under the number).

A plaque that commemorates Pittsburgh as "The City of Champions" since they won the World Series and the SuperBowl in '79.

A shoebox full of letters.  At least I didn't chuck that bit of personal history.

Various diplomas and certificates.  Boring.

A training diary from my respectable 1987 season and completely putrid 1988 season.

A STACK OF WINNING BICYCLE RACING ILLUSTRATED MAGS.  I especially saved the one with Marianne Berglund on the cover.  The rest of them focused on Lemond, Hampsten, Delgado, and Roche, as well as the trials and tribulations of 7-11.  Definitely cool reading looking back on it, since we had no idea that some teen upstart was waiting in the wings to completely change the sport in the ensuing decade.

That strenuous trip into the attic was about all I could take after 3+ weeks of training.  A day off to start the rest week and maybe I can even muster up the strength to dig through the other footlocker...

Home alone

One thing about being home alone is the incredible opportunity to to absolutely nothing.  The other extreme is to try to do everything.  I have chosen a degree closer to the former.

The rest of the fam is out of town celebrating my mo in law's birthday, and I had alot of work to do so I decided to play catch up.  On my bike, that is.  Great ride today with Scott in the park, nice tempo pace, it was cold.  We saw what we think was the Artemis team ride climbing the hill toward the Nature Center as we were descending, and they were looking pretty unified.  Given that tomorrow's high will be 25, I figured a longer ride and a relaxing afternoon works best and I can go into the office tomorrow morning since only the truly demented will venture out early.

Maybe if I get everything done (work, errands, etc) I'll ride tomorrow, but we'll see how the weather holds and of course the indoor option will present itself at the end of the day.  With that I will have ridden 25 days with only one day off the bike, something I don't think I've done since I was racing in the late '80's.  Not that every day has been a gut buster, but with plenty of easy/recovery days mixed in to the past 3+ weeks, I've been turning the pedals pretty regularly, and the consistency has been quite beneficial, and not just on the bike.  If I can only transmit this consistency to the blog thing...

Life's good these days, and after tomorrow a scheduled rest week will be most welcome.

Bye bye 'Boys

In the last 6 appearances in the playoffs, the team I detest the most has failed to win any of those matches.  Even the heretofore woeful Redskins have a better playoff record than that.  It was with great pleasure that I watched the Cowboys self destruct against the rival Giants.  Now the road to the SuperBowl goes through Green Bay and New England, the probable participants in the Big Game.

Prior to the football fest, the shop ride was a solid 50 miler with good intensity throughout.  Once again the people on that ride make it the most enjoyable (and largest) group ride in the area.  We were rolling pretty well all morning.  I'm feeling it now, and will sleep well tonight.

Ballin'

Instead of the standard Saturday routine, which is the N2 ride at 7:30 AM with a dozen or more (sometimes 2 dozen) fine folks who like to ride their bikes fast for 40 or 60 miles and get back in time to have a Saturday, I ventured to Leesburg with 4 other dads and our sons for 5 hours of paintball action.  The ten of us had a splatteringly good time.

I knew I was out of my element when, as I pulled into the venue in the suburban mobile known as the minivan, I had to park amongst the 4x4's and Tundras and Explorers and Scions and all other vehicles that are not emblematic of my style of driving.  While the people were decidedly different, the atmosphere was remarkably similar to that of a road, crit, or 'cross race, in which we all pull into some remote parking lot, register for an event, pay a fee which we justify as the cost of engaging in recreation, prep for the event by brandishing specialized equipment for the specific tasks at hand, eye each other warily, preen about in our "costumes", regard the officials with suspicion, make cutting and joking comments with our competitors, and then throw ourselves pell-mell into a physical activity in which we engage many muscles (some seldom utilized) into an admixture of anaerobic glucose metabolism that does not subside for hours afterward, experience euphoria of small victories and disappointment of small setbacks, and talk about it afterwards, embellishing each telling with the hyperbole that makes the stories memorable.

We played eight games with a break for lunch.  We wore red armbands to differentiate ourselves from the white team.  There were about 60 people on a side, so we had 50 teammates we did not know, but got acquainted with as the day wore on.  Innocuous stuff like:

"Thanks for laying down the cover when I needed to get to the spool from that rock knob"

"Was that you who got nailed in the face ten seconds in?"

"Nice move on the bunker--there were 6 guys trying to nail ya"

"Paint check!"  "You're good, dude"

"Stay on your back, it's easier to see and you don't expose your ass"

My most memorable moment was trying to stave off a nest of 6 marauders while they advanced on our flag.  I was isolated but I picked one off before they finally sent one guy up to nail me at 5 feet.  The barrage of shots on my location was intense, and I came out looking like a Jackson Pollock painting.

When I got home I felt like I had been on a 4 hour ride.  That's some good cross-training.  I think I'll be doing it again soon...

Sidewalk details

WARNING:  Long and boring, unless you are interested in sidewalks.

Sidewalks are no place to ride bikes.  It's actually against the law (I think) to do so.

Speaking of which, next time you're walking downtown in front of a large-ish building built since the '70's or thereabouts, imagine the following: in the months prior to the beginning of construction, one of the many meetings in the city between the design team and the bureaucrats focused on the sidewalk in front of the building.  Such a mundane strip of concrete, nary a thought as one traverses it.

Eighteen of us convened today in a 2 hour meeting to discuss the interface between building (private) and street (public), a meeting which crystallized in my head the rampant territorialism between agencies and within agencies, and the inherent conflicts between owners and their design consultants as we muddled through a "Preliminary Design Review Meeting" of the streetscape in front of a 130 unit mixed use commercial/residential project on the upper portion of Georgia Avenue in D.C.  The details are dry and boring to all except the 18 of us who staked our claims in various ways.

The more interesting aspects of such boring get togethers are the moments of visceral tension that occur when people act human and drop their business masks.  We got off to a smashing start when the coordinator of the meeting frostily stated that he couldn't hear a question "because of the cellphone" that someone was using AT THE CONFERENCE TABLE, only to be followed by a statement that this was going to be a complete waste of time because the preparatory materials were not adequate, but, since we're all together now let's just have this meeting.  Great start.

Two hours later, despite our consultants' "lack of materials", we came away from this with a load of new design problems to resolve and the prospect of a looming battle between the Department of Transportation and the mother of all monopolies, PEPCO.  DOT:  "Where did PEPCO want to put the electrical vault?  In the roadway?  Hello, it's OUR roadway."  Direct quote from the meeting coordinator dude, who couldn't be snarkier if he tried.  Despite the attitude, I've gotta recognize that he did a good job re-directing the meeting and handling the dozen or so agencies that had to dip into this mess, like street trees, lighting, parking meters, curb material, sidewalk paving patterns, etc.  Things we see everyday but don't even think about.

Since this meeting was unplanned (last minute request that I be there, and am I glad I was there), it blew my afternoon apart.  Upon arriving home I changed out the kitchen light fixture and sat on the bike for about an hour, satisfied that I could finish SOMETHING and spin the tension away...

No N2 for me tomorrow, maybe a late ride.  I'm shootin' paint balls at my son, his friends, and a bunch of other dads.  YEEHAW!!

Settling into the grind

Wednesday would've been a great day to repeat the noon ride.  I thought the weather was going to go south but it gave us yet another surprise gift, which I unfortunately didn't take advantage of.  Indoor riding makes it that much better to enjoy the road riding when it happens.  Pretty cooked from Thursday night intervals, though.

It's already a barn burner of a year at work, as we have 5 deadlines at the latter part of this month, two by the middle of next month, and a monster project over the top of it all, sucking a lot of air out of the room.

Not that deadlines are anything unique to my work realm to the exclusion of everyone else...

The difference now is that I'm managing these deadlines by utilizing the extremely capable people that I work with, so that I can focus on bringing in more work to keep the beast fed.   For too long I tried to do it all, tried to please everyone, ended up pleasing very few.  So this change is good.

Speaking of which, the blog bug hit my friend/co-worker.  Check 'im out here.

Surprise gift

January 8, and I'm riding in shorts. Record setting weather today, and memorable because it's been too long since I've used my lunch hour to burn calories rather than gain calories.

Knowing that this freak weather day was a gift, I decided to squeeze in a couple of loops of Mass-Sangamore-Macarthur-Goldsboro. I had just over an hour to ride, and the added pressure of a big meeting in the early PM. At first it was just me and Scott from my office, but then the ride grew to a total of 6 as Brian, who works in our building joined us as we met with Kay and Mark who came over from VA. Just as we made the rendezvous on Mass, Eric joined us as well. Or should I say passed me as if I were standing still.

Unfortunately, impromptu group rides that are hemmed in by work or family obligations do not showcase the benefits of the "group ride". If someone flats or gets lost, there is reluctance to wait. Given the limited time, there is reluctance to schmooze and banter. Both were in evidence today, and the ride quickly splintered. Luckily we all understand this and it ain't nuthin but a thing. Regardless, it still beats the alternative, and it makes for an efficient little workout that is high on intensity and sets the table for a productive afternoon. Not much more to say other than getting dropped like a bad habit by Scott and Brian after we had left Kay and Eric to locate Mark. I chased to no avail but got in a decent workout. When we got back to the office one of our coworkers asked us where we parked the tandem. Good one!

So many thanks to my comrades who joined me on my little diversion, even though we didn't really ride together, we were together.

0 fer 2

Well my dream matchup of a Redskins-Steelers Super Bowl is no longer viable...oh well.

So here's a short exchange between me and my buddy from 8th grade, who lives in Seattle, who I haven't seen since we were 20. Last time I talked to him was the last time the 'Skins were at Qwest field. This pretty much summarizes my weekend.

Hey Johnny,

Nice hearing from you , we were actually at the game when you called You sound well and I hope everything is good with you. I do have to say that the skins put a scare into us in Seattle but matt finally pulled his head out long enough to get us going in the second half of the fourth. it was very exiting , hopefully we can beat greenbay next Saturday. Saturday must have been a bummer for you since the Steelers lost at home shortly after the skins loss. Anyway Ill will call next weekend and catch up with you, say hello to your dad and mom for me as well ..late..Al

p.s. this is me and my wife at the game notice the 12th man flag .the green hat was free so that's my only explanation for its intolerable ugliness

So I said:

Yeah I thought a SuperBowl trip was in the cards when the 'Skins recovered that botched kickoff and the mo swung our way...for about 28 seconds. It was a great playoff game. I was a complete basket case by the end, so much so that I could barely watch the Steelers game especially at the rate they were going, so I ended up missing the exciting last quarter. So now I'm ABD (Anybody But Dallas) since my fantasy Skins Steelers Superbowl, which was win-win for me went up in smoke in a matter of 5 hours.I figured that you were at the game--I got your message tonight and it was good to hear from you. Sorry about losing contact 2 years ago (time flies!) but I think this should stick since I've got your mug to look at now (even with that thing on your head). See ya Johnny

Those sure were ugly hats. That's all folks.

Shifting priorities

Sometimes my life is all about shifting priorities from the top of the deck to the bottom or middle or wherever.  Family, work, bike, drawing, guitar, this new blogging thing, the NFL/NHL/MLB, friends, extended family, coaching, hangin', watching the Godfather for the umpteenth time, cooking, honing useless skills like juggling and pencil spinning and catching grapes in my mouth, satellite radio, finishing the addition drawings..the list goes on.

Depending on who you are, these cards have different positions in the deck, and depending on the state of mind at a particular time, these positions don't necessarily coincide with the wishes of those around me, much to their dismay.  In other words, if I want to justify the time I spend on two wheels,  I need to finish the addition drawings so that we can start tearing out some walls and enjoying a transformation of living space.

For some reason I can't seem to move past the design stage, as it's done in my head and mostly drawn.  This is where this shift needs to happen, as finishing the permit drawings are the next step and lining up subs soon follows.  Once it gets started I think it will roll.  For a while my office was plastered with trace sketches of plans and elevations and sections as I worked through the design, though Mrs. Frites astutely pointed out that these were being replaced little by little with my race numbers from the 'cross season, an obvious indication of where my priorities have been.

It's time to get back to the drawing board.  Literally.

 

Sensory non-deprivation

If you just don't want to watch the Thursday night lineup, or, for example The Apprentice Celebrity Edition, try one of these two activities:

Turn on a hockey game, mute it out, and listen to Back in the Saddle (on Rocks by Aerosmith - Side 1, Track 1).  Not quite like Dark Side of the Moon and the Wizard of Oz, but close.

Another good one:  Primus -  Tales from the Punchbowl in its entirety while doing intervals on the trainer.  Not that music and training is this cool discovery of mine but for some reason tonight it all clicked.  Especially since this you really need to be doing SOMETHING when you give this album a spin.

Speaking of albums, Santa brought the fam a turntable that has an integral CD burner.  Yeehaw, now I can get my vinyl digitized without shoveling any more money the general direction of our friends at itunes (at least not as much as I would've).

G'night!

Last ride of 2007/first ride of 2008

Today was the first day back at work for almost 2 weeks--something I haven't done in quite a long time.  I even lost track of the days...that's how vacation is supposed to be.  Even though I'm an optimist I tend to fret about the end of vacations when they're just beginning(i.e. "This time next week we'll be going home wah wah wah")

I figured that I could get some serious miles in on the Eddy but the influx of visitors and the visiting that we did gave my bike a chance to collect another fine layer of dust.  It was a great Christmas--my sister was in town from Ohio with her family; in-laws stayed with us a coupla days; Christmas was celebrated 3 times (Christmas Eve with my in-laws, Christmas morning with my family, and Christmas day with my extended family).  Mix in our 17th wedding anniversary in which 18 of us had a sumptuous Chinese feast at Hollywood East.  Sprinkle a few parties with friends and neighbors (and even the prologue New Year's Eve party at the bike shop) into the mix, including the weekend before New Year's, and we have a bona fide recipe for a memorable time.  

So I finally get back on the bike 2 days after Christmas after 3 weeks (mostly) off (since the last 'cross race)--3 weeks of don't even think about the bike time, and I've been on it for 8 straight days, both indoors and out.  Not too shabby, considering that inconsistency is the only consistent aspect of my "training" regimen.  Last ride of 2007 was virtually identical to the first ride of 2008--alone in Rock Creek Park, spinning a comfy gear, and just happy to be out.  I saw a few of my riding comrades, exchanged the good wishes, and kept on rolling.  Didn't go to the annual Hains Point New Year's Day mass gathering, but I got out anyway.

So that's what I will do.  Keep it mellow and consistent, and suddenly these 8 day stretches of riding won't be so irregular anymore.

Happy New Ear

We just got home from a New Year's Eve party at our neighbor's house, with the requisite celebration and overall good cheer.  I get a call from my mom and dad, who pass on their best wishes.

The real reason I'm happy is because my mom, after undergoing two separate surgeries to replace one of her middle ear bones with a piece of titanium in early December, is regaining the auditory function of her left ear which had been deteriorating due to some unknown cause since her teens.  By this stage in her life she was almost deaf in this ear, and the process of hearing again (ever so slightly) for her is nothing short of remarkable.  She is giddy with excitement, as are we.   

Happy 2008!