Rooms with views

I promise that this will be one of the last, if not the last post about the recent trip. We switched hotels halfway through the week. The first hotel was a Marriott property and financed through the benefits of all the travel I did last year. The second was the conference hotel, which was also very nice, but there was a lot of construction in the area and I was a little disappointed in the view (they said they upgraded us to "partial ocean view"--I say they couldn't find people that wanted the rooms.) It turns out that everything went really smoothly and other than the disappointing view, the hotel was fabulous.

Let's compare the views from the rooms:


...and the nearby lagoons.


Needless to say, it was a little difficult to adjust to the second view. Actually, for random information, the lagoon on the left (from the first week) is associated with Paradise Cove, the location that the conference took us for our luau. It was really cool and it seemed that the performers were so happy to be there. It was so much more than I expected.

Sternum Dress

I decided to make a dress for a dinner at the conference I attend every year, you know, with all the free time on my hands. Jenn decided that it should be called the sternum dress because, while it was supposed to show cleavage, I apparently have none. It had been a long time since I had sewn and even longer since I had done something for myself. Popular demand necessitated the posting of pictures. The only problem with the dress was getting in and out of vehicles and staying appropriately covered. I think I was successful. If I wasn't, at least the spectators were polite enough to not say anything.

I first had a chance to wear the dress when Jeremy took me out for dinner during the first week in Hawaii--it was an amazing meal at La Mer (and yes, the table looked just like the picture in the link).

The second is for the conference dinner/party. I wore a little more bling for this one (thanks Mom!)

Jeremy's favorite month?

It's National Sandwich Month. Who, aside from Jeremy, cares?

The squirrels, sir, they're organizing.

They're forming an army of toys found in Finnish chocolates. One by one.

I'm afraid I'm developing a new tag.

Equation

Jet Lag + Head Cold = Disaster

Surfing

Last blog said that I had gone surfing and had a great time. The guy that took pictures during the class and surf time, Joel Sadoy of Island Classic Shots, gave me permission to post some of the shots on my blog. He did some really great work and was really patient with all of us when deciding to get the pictures or not (Thanks, Joey!).

This is the second day, before the class, looking out over the huge (ha!) waves we're going to try to surf.

Waiting at the surf truck. We had to travel from the surf shop to the beach and fortunately didn't have to lug our own boards. I think mine was 10' on the first day and 9' on the second. No way would that fit in the Aveo that we rented.

This is my first wave ever! Note the dry hair and the stupid smile I have on my face.

This is sometime later in the first day. Still smiling.

Jeremy took the lesson with my re-do on Saturday. I think he had a good time, too. This was a picture of him heading out to give it a shot.

Trip Report--Midweek

Having taken a day to recover from the trip and let Jeremy get good and burnt in an odd way, we took Thursday and did our obligatory touristy duties. Jeremy went skydiving and I took a beginning surfing lesson.

A few snaps from the adventure so far:

Jeremy in his tandem jump get-up, ready to go.

I didn't get any worthwhile shots of him after. He looked much the same. The sun seemed to be in the wrong place to get a picture of him coming down, and when I figured out which one he was, he was on the ground. We went to Pacific Skydiving. They were really great people. Jeremy was hauled out of the plane at 14,000 feet and had a good, long free fall. They also didn't pressure me into trying it. For this, I was thankful.

At lunch we tried to figure out how far the Kresser initials reached.

This is me getting ready for my surf lesson from Surf n Sea. I thought the rash guard was a bad idea and would cramp my style, but now I am certain that it was a very, very good idea because it kept me from skinning my tummy and upper arms. Plus, it looked cute.

Out of the water...it seems that I was the last one out. There may have been some betting on how long the instructor would be willing to stay out with me. They had a photographer out in the water with us. I'm going to try to get permission to post them. We'll see.

These last couple are just views from our hotel room. It's a rough life.

Squirrels

The squirrels are out in force this summer. The students are gone, pathways are more clear, and it seems that the little furry ones are slowly organizing and taking over. The Ronald McDonald house nearby has a squirrel-sized soccer field set up, complete with small goals and a small ball. I'm growing concerned. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to adequately capture the image in a picture yet. The scale gets all thrown off and it looks like a bad photoshop job.

I saw a woman sitting on a bench the other day trying to feed one of the squirrels. A puffed chip of some sort was held out, the squirrel had already identified it as food (though I would have my doubts) and couldn't tear his little beady eyes off of it, but also couldn't force himself to break the instinct to stay away from people. This had evidently been going on for some time when I approached. I stood and watched, decided not to interrupt and took the long way around, all the time watching the squirrel as he watched me, having sensed a change in his surroundings. I tried to avoid making sudden moves, to keep their little game going. As I passed, the woman finally gave up and threw the chip thing on the path and the squirrel victoriously nabbed it and ran off.

Much like this post, it was oddly unsatisfying and anticlimactic.

Morning Trails

Heather and I went for a 6+ mile run in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest this morning. I haven't been able to find a map of the trails, but it's one that we have run several times. It's a really nicely maintained route (we did have one tree to climb around this morning, but that's unusual) with lots of interesting elevation change and it's really quiet and peaceful. We weren't fast, but it was a great run.

*sob*

Trader Joe's "Two Buck Chuck" Chardonnay wins a gold medal at the 2007 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. The reviews I've heard of the brand are not as positive. At least they can put a sticker on 'em now.

Another benefit of drinking wine...

Hospitality first.

du Dragon

I opened a 2004 Domaine du Dragon on Sunday night and paired it with pan-fried pork chops, spicy corn salad, and roasted potatoes. Strawberry shortcake for dessert. The wine was very dark and had a very soft mouth feel. The flavor was very well-balanced and the tannins were surprisingly developed--it didn't taste or feel like a young wine. Overall, I was quite pleased, and I'm eager to taste this alongside the 2003 of which we're supposed to have a couple bottles stashed away somewhere.

From the website:

The deep colour with almost black hues is a feast for the eye. From the first nose on, the wine immediately opens up. The aromatic spectrum is powerfull: toasty notes; liquorice, candied bananas and pepper flavours; menthol and anise aromas harmoniously blend with subtle oaky notes. This aromatic complexity is then encountered in the mouth with peppery and liquorice dominant flavours. After a velvety mouth, the substance density remains a mystery, and the still young tannins are already melting. The nice lingering finish in the mouth reminds of liquorice.Percentage of alcohol per volume: 14.1 %

A Run (I survived)

I finally got the courage to track down the Nashville Striders group that runs at 5:30 on Wednesday night. The web page advertises that they run three miles, but they really run five, which turned out to be okay, but it was five miles on the road, which I haven't done for a really long time. I survived and had a good time. I'll go back and run with them when I get a chance. Rumor (and their web page) has it that they do a trail run on Saturday mornings. I'll have to check that out sometime.

The five mile route went through some really adorable neighborhoods. Almost made me want to look at the housing market around here. Then I realized that they all had really nice yards and that I have no interest in maintaining a really nice yard.

Library

So, I walk into the library and say to the librarian, "Tell me how this place with books works."

She was very helpful, but it had been a really long time since I had a need to actually use a library with hard copies of stuff and I pointed this out to her and she double-checked to make sure that I had checked online for the stuff that I was needing. I realized that it had been a really long time since I've used a library, especially for periodicals. Fortunately, it turned out that what I was looking for had been archived and I couldn't have, even with full working knowledge of how the library worked, walked to the journals and gotten the stuff I needed. I had to fill out a request for stuff to be retrieved from some dungeon and delivered to the library (also underground), which should happen tomorrow.

It was just a very strange realization, with the library and all...

Words to live by:

87. If the thought of something makes me giggle for longer than 15 seconds, I am to assume that I am not allowed to do it.

--Some Guy's Blog

"The 213 Things Skippy Is No Longer Allowed To Do In The U.S. Army"

A good idea?

We'll see.

Miami

We got back from Miami on Friday. We had a great time, including a couple days of "vacation", something we've not done for over six years. After Jeremy fenced on Saturday in Div. I (he placed 38/65), we had Sunday to Tuesday to relax. We spent some time by the pool Sunday and had a the steak dinner mentioned before.

Monday, we went to the Edison-Ford Winter Estate in Ft. Myers. My parents drug me there when I was a teen and entirely too cool for doing tourist-type things....until I got there and was fascinated with the grounds, especially the trees. It was still really cool. We walked the grounds, checked out the houses, and poked around in the lab and museum. This is the only place that I've been really impressed with the gardens, mostly because there's such a variety of plants and with an eye towards research. Other gardens are pretty, but they just don't fascinate me like this one. This all, once again, confirms my geekdom.

This is the Mysore Fig. Not the biggest one on the property, but still a large tree. The roots stick up for stability (and other reasons, I'm sure), but some on the larger tree are four feet tall.

Banyan Tree, yes, just one tree in this picture. It grows support branches as they're needed. Very cool. This particular tree takes up almost an acre and is the largest specimen in North America. It's theoretically a cutting from the largest one in the world.

We had P.F. Chang's carryout (with some drama-they got my order wrong two times!) and a bottle of wine for dinner. The wine was Ch. Lilian Ladouys, a 2003 St. Estephe, which had a really subtle fruity flavor, and a nice, soft mouth-feel. I would say that it's a typical 2003 Bordeaux, ready to drink now, but will be very good in a few years, too. I really enjoyed it. We actually let it sit for a couple days and it was still very nice rather than adopting that jammy flavor that develops when you let many other wines sit. It wasn't a particularly distinct wine, but would be a really nice table wine, a safe choice for most occasions and something I would be happy to have in my cellar.

The Lilian Ladouys label. Yum!

The Copa America is going on right now. We watched a bit of pool play while waiting for our carryout. On Tuesday, we found a little pizza joint called Archie's showing pool play for the tournament. They were also the only place open on the 4th, so we ended up going back. The atmosphere was great, with people cheering and excited about the games. They also had a convincing pizza rustico. I was pleased. I had a cheese calzone the second night and was surprised that they included a Gorgonzola, which sounded better than it actually was.

Jeremy fenced in Div. IA on Wednesday. We were done early enough that I was able to get to the pool for some more sun and reading.

I fenced in Div. IA on Thursday, I wasn't in as long as I would have liked, but was fairly pleased with my day. A group of us went out to dinner Thursday night at a little Cuban place, which left a little to be desired in the area of service. The company more than made up for the shortcomings of the restaurant.

Oh. Right. One more thing. We took advantage of the concierge services of the hotel and ate dessert in the lounge almost every night. Our good host, Edgar even saved me some chocolate goodness one night after hours. The desserts were amazing. Here we have from foreground to background, a flan, a chocolate mousse and Ganache mini-cake, a little chocolate tart thingie, and carrot cake. We also had, at some point, cheesecake, tiramisu cheesecake, and blueberries. Wow.

It rained.

Written on Sunday...posted significantly later so I could add the pictures:

Jeremy and I are in Miami for Fencing Summer Nationals. He fenced in Division I on Saturday and did a bang-up job. After his tournament, we went out to dinner...errr...lunch...errr...whatever meal falls at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon. The important part is that we went to a place around here called Novecento. It was really good. Started with a Caprese salad that had some (obviously) homemade mozz, which I really appreciated. I had the eggplant ravioli and a glass of non-descript pinot grigio. Towards the end of the meal, it started thundering. We decided to take advantage of the short, mid-afternoon-Florida rain to have another round, but ended up sitting for another two hours waiting for it to stop pouring. Jeremy and I started taking random pictures with our phones (yes, see below) and taunting the waiters while they were trying to poke the tents with the ends of brooms. Physics seemed to escape them. It was a lot of fun. It's been a really long time since I've sat outside, under the protection of a large umbrella watching it rain unrelentlessly. People looked miserable. I was delighted. No place to go, nothing to do. Heaven.

I don't think you can actually see the rain very well, but it was coming off the canvas in a steady pour.

Funny pic with the strange self-portrait function of the camera.

Walking back to the hotel after the rain. It evidently rained hard enough that the city drainage couldn't handle it.

Red Meat

Written Sunday night, about Sunday's meal....posted when I could:

Tonight, on Jeremy's request to have steak, we went out to dinner at Morton's Steakhouse. It's right across from our hotel (trans: within stumbling distance.) We started with cocktails, J with a bourbon, me with a vodka martini. We quickly progressed to dinner and wine. I chose the 1996 Faustino I, a Rioja that I've had before. I also chose the small rib eye. J chose the fillet Diane. Both our entrees went well with the wine. Before we were allowed to chose our dinners, our waitress wheeled out a cart, complete with cuts of beef and a live (!) lobster to explain the menu. She mentioned and described every dish on the menu from memory before handing a paper copy, and the wine list, over to us for perusal at our convenience. After seeing her wheel the lobster out for the dog-and-pony show a few times, we finally asked about its well-being. They had it sitting on a cart, facing the wall. We were assured that it would be dinner to someone very soon, but in the meantime, she would be happy to turn the critter so that it faced the crowd. This made me feel a little better, as it had more personality that way. I thought it was a dummy lobster until she had picked it up during her menu recitation. It took all I had to not break my interested-menu-driven-poker-face when she picked up the lobster while she was describing the menu...and its little legs went wheeling around!! I had actually looked at the little beastie and determined that it was *not* alive, but some plastic thing that was convenient for menu descriptions earlier. The waggling legs did not convince me to have lobster, but more convinced me that it's one, true skill was tap dancing. Unfortunately our hero-lobster didn't have a chance to practice his skills. We asked later. He was dinner for the people across the aisle from us. They hadn't requested him, specifically, but had ended up with him. Such a lively thing. C'est le vie. The wine was spectacular.

What would happen...

...if Ann Coulter, Nancy Grance, and Steven A. Smith had a show on CNN all together?

I thinks my head would asplode.

Jeremy thinks it would be righteously funny.

Step 1: Apply Fencing Logic to Softball

Step 2: Get robbed anyway.

I did my best saberist impression while running bases tonight during my softball game. My theory was that if I looked confident when I got on base, then regardless of how close it was, I'd be called safe. I think the theory would work if the ump was being impartial. I was called out on both close calls, one of which I was so sure of, I stood on base looking confused while everyone else was heading to the dugouts. Didn't work. Sigh.

I suppose it's all okay. People from the other team also mentioned (after the game) that I got robbed. I managed to mow over the third baseman, which was satisfying in its own way, too. My only regret is that I didn't drop my shoulder.

I went to fencing afterwards and fenced really well, I think. Next week should be interesting.

Think of the Twinkies!!

The Indiana State Fair is going trans-fat free. This will include all the vendors that sell elephant ears, fried veggies, funnel cakes, and *gasp* deep fried Twinkies.

Is eating deep fried food ever "healthy"? Will this switch make anyone "healthier"? Does deep frying Twinkies significantly change their nutritional value? If not, why does it matter what's used to deep fry them?

I suppose it's a good thought, but the big problem is that people eat the equivalent to this crap every day without regard to portion control. Switching oil type won't change that. It may actually make it worse. I can obviously eat more of this--it's trans-fat free!

Off rant.
I'm going to go eat ice cream.

Ups & Downs

It was one of those days that keeps you guessing about your karma.

Ups:

• I got my shoes! I ordered them Thursday and they showed up today. I would have had them Friday if I had ordered them earlier on Thursday. They're Clarks Carlenes and Thunders. Yea, Zappos and their free overnight shipping and free returns!!
• I had a good fencing practice and I managed to do some armoring tonight and I have 5 working weapons for next week.
• The dress I'm making is almost done.
• I made banana bread which smells wonderful in my apartment. I'll share with the class tomorrow. Maybe.
• Nice thunderstorms.
• A text message from my boy at a very good time.

Downs:

• Nomadshan's bad news from camp.
• Everything in Nashville closes at 6. I couldn't get the last bit of stuff I need for the dress tonight.
• The morning just "wasn't right" and I was off my schedule and routine.
• I found out that there's a show on MTV called Engaged & Underage, which isn't quite what it sounds like, but almost.
• What seemed like a host of really bad drivers following me around, never mind some poor driving direction choices on my part.

Neutral:

• The afternoon fire alarm. Evidently power glitches are triggering alarms. This would normally not be a problem, but the previously mentioned storms were near, which would have put a serious damper on the engineers-getting-fresh-air feeling. We all figured that the stairs down, standing outside, then stairs up was probably to be the best exercise we got and theorized that it was really a ploy by our advisers to make sure we went outside. We figured that we could sue for distress.

Anyway. I'm just glad it's over. I'm ready for a fresh start tomorrow.

Season's Firsts

This weekend, I went for a riding on the trace twice. Saturday marked my season's first road ride, today marked my first brick of the year.

Saturday, I started out at around mile 440 and ended at the Leipers Fork station. It was really bloody hot by the time I got going, around 10 am. The temperatures were in the upper 80s and humidity was such that only Middle Tennessee can provide. I was fairly miserable. I had planned to ride to Garrison Creek, but the hill between LF and GC was too much to stomach at the time.

Today, I started and ended at the Tennessee Valley Divide with Leipers Fork as the midpoint. If you look at the map, you can see that the previously mentioned hill is on this route, but didn't look nearly as bad at the half-way point with temperatures in the mid-70s. It really pays to get up early. After the ride, I ran a horse trail (indicated as a hiking trail, but there was plenty of evidence otherwise) from TVD to almost Burns Branch. The trail was all through the woods (at least the part I was on) and had lots of fun creek crossings and altitude change.

My foot at one of the multiple creek crossings.

The Trace

Having finished the rough draft of my paper, having finished the week of school and the office, having already decided that today was a day off from workouts, and having no better sense than to drive out of Nashville at rush hour, I took off after work this afternoon to scope out Natchez Trace, a 444-mile "scenic byway" that, according to the website, "commemorates an ancient trail that connected southern portions of the Mississippi River, through Alabama, to salt licks in today's central Tennessee." The Trace is a popular biking route--a well-maintained road with a low speed limit through beautiful scenery.

I ended up driving about 50 miles, only 5 of which were on the actual trace, because I had a hard time finding the access points. But, I got a good feel for where I can park my car and what the road feel is and I can imagine the tremendous quads and glutes I could develop from riding the hills. I'm hoping to get out for a ride sometime this weekend.

Then, having no better sense, I went to the grocery when hungry.

Car? Check.
Gas in the car? Check.
Navbitch? Check.
Common sense? Che--umm...

More swimming

Yeah, yeah. It seems that the only workouts that I really post about are the swimming ones. I'll give a little blurb about the muddy softball from yesterday after I post today's swim workout.

• 200 SKPS
• 2 x 50 kick hard
• 4 x 100 @ 1:40
• 3 x 100 @ 1:30
• 2 x 100 @ 1:25
• 1 x 100 @ 1:20
• 100 cool down

2000 yards total. I didn't quite make the 2nd on 1:25 and I had aimed for 1:15 for the single, but it was a good workout anyway.

Muddy softball was...muddy softball. You couldn't see second base. A good time was had by all, though my team lost 5-4 (I think). My batting could have improved, but it was probably better than last time, and my fielding was definitely better than last time. A few more games and, well, the season will be over, but maybe next season. It's been a great time, as little as I've played.

Workouts

I finally decided to buckle down and start with workouts again. It seems that a fencing tournament is coming up and I need to be in better shape. In the last couple weeks, I've managed:

• Swimming
• Fencing
• Salsa dancing
• Softball
• Power workout
• Running (trail, road, and speed work)
• Mountain Biking

Not so bad. Just hope I can keep it up.

Fast Food

Driving home last weekend, I needed a quick stop for supper. I chose to drive through a Wendy's. While waiting to pull up to the first window, I looked in my rear view mirror at the SUV behind me. I watched the guy, while pulling up to the speaker, shift the small, white bag he had on his lap to roll down the window, reach into the bag, grab a sandwich and take a bite before placing his order. I watched him struggle to finish another bite as the attendant asked a question the man hadn't anticipated. I watched him grab a quick drink from a not-quite-finished soda as he pulled forward to collect his order.

Were there other people in the car that he was trying to appease by making multiple fast food stops?

Was he stocking up for later so he wouldn't have to make another stop?

Is there a good explanation for this?

What's Wendy's thinking trying to make us think that Vanilla Frosties are a good idea???

Swim Lessons

While I've disappeared from the blogging for a while, I've not been completely idle. I finally managed to get back in the water this week. I got a quick swim while I was in DC for two weeks, but hadn't been in the water since mid-May. There's some sort of "camp" activity going on in the VU SRC, where every child in the Greater Nashville area descends on the SRC to learn to swim. Even with this, I didn't have to share a lane (yea!). My workout was pretty straight forward:

• 200 SKPS


• 500 Swim


• 10 x 50 Swim (2 of each stroke, then finished with kicks)

Turns out to be 1800 yards, which was respectable.

With all the kids running about, the other activities scheduled for the pool at that time were a little more cramped than usual. About halfway through my workout, I was asked to move over a lane to make room for the water polo club. I moved and was appreciating the added wave action as an addition to my workout--more like open water, right? I was fine until I started thinking about the potential of stray water polo balls flying into my lane...and swimming backstroke. Naturally, as I was thinking about this, a ball landed at my hands. I decided to avoid backstroke for the rest of the workout.

Off My Lawn!

I had one of those moments this week where I realized that what I was doing was uncool. It happened in slow motion but I couldn't help myself. A little after midnight, I had settled in for a good night's rest around 11:30 and had dozed off once or twice only to be roused by the sound of an elephant (or a gangly teen) running down my hallway or a different teen (less elephant like) sneaking up on a female teen and making her scream. It's really not pleasant being awakened by the shriek of a bubbly teen girl, especially when you have to be up early.

So, I called the front desk. I was evidently not the only one to have done so. The noise stopped immediately, but as I hung up, I realized that I may be the first person to have been carded and to have called the front desk of a hotel to make the kids go to bed in the same week. And yes, the carding was legit. I wouldn't fess up if it was an "we're supposed to card anyone who looks under fifty" thing.

Feeling unhip.

Recent Wine Reviews

I haven't managed to keep up with my recent wine tastings, so I'm combining a few tasting notes. It's been a mixed bag, but I've mostly forgotten the really bad ones, so the good stuff is below:

2003 Chateau Lagrange, Les Fiefs de Lagrange
Reviewed by Wine Spectator in March '06 (Rated: 88):

Some good berry and chocolate character, with just a
hint of fresh herbs. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and a medium finish.
Very good indeed. Second wine of Lagrange. Best after 2007.

I completely agree with the review. I had this at a birthday dinner at Mambu. It was a bottle I had picked up at Grand Cru (can't find the website). I stuck with my usual tuna, but the wine stood out. It's a very smooth and refined wine. It's certainly ready to drink now. I'm working on getting more.

◊ ◊ ◊

Next, while on vacation, I took my hosts my standard table wines (Clos du Bois Cabernet and Montes), and I selected a 2003 Chateau Cruzeau for a first tasting. We had the Montes on the second night with some fantastic ribs--good reviews all around. Before fishing on the last night, I opened the Cruzeau and a 2000 Ormes de Pez. My instructions when I bought the Cruzeau was to open it, let it sit for a few hours, then drink it. I'm pretty sure that heaven is coming in from a evening fishing trip to open bottles of wine. These two wines did not disappoint.

The Cruzeau has very bipolar reviews online--the most varied response I've seen. My wine guys all seem to like it and I was quite impressed. It started out much smoother than the Ormes, but ended up without the oomph. I went back and bought all that Grand Cru had left (unfortunately, they had only three).

The 2000 Ormes was definitely an Ormes de Pez. This is still one of my favorite chateaus of all time. I found a couple wine reviews (below) and I'm a little baffled by the "shoe polish" reference, but I was really happy to have a chance to have this. I've now had the 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2004. I have a couple bottles of the 1999 that I'm eager to have at some point. The thing that I like most about all Ormes I've had is the nose. There's something very distinct that really strikes me every time I drink this wine. Maybe it's the shoe polish, but I don't think so.

By Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wines, Apr 03 Rated: 87--Cru Grand Bourgeois. Cast in the tighter, firmer, more austere style that is the norm for the wines of St. Estephe, this bottling is among the least approachable of the wines tasted and is a touch light on the fruity extract shown by its more highly-ranked neighbors. Still a very solid effort, it requires a good deal of patience, but it is likely to remain more stiff than succulent despite long-term cellaring.

By Stephen Tanzer Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/Jun 03 Rated: 88Deep red-ruby. Medicinal black cherry, shoe polish and mint on the nose. Fairly intense but cool flavors of cassis, mint and shoe polish are supported by a firm spine. Finishes with broad, dusty tannins. Showing well today. Very St. Estephe.

◊ ◊ ◊

1975 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon

I managed to taste a wine older than me. This was one of my goals for the next few years. A fellow wine geek had bought a case of the stuff in the early '80s. He gave away the last bottle in '85, but came across a bottle recently and decided it was time to have it opened. I was very much in the right place at the right time. The wine was very dark and earthy. The mouth-feel was like velvet. The finish was beautiful. Amazing.

◊ ◊ ◊

Finally, my birthday buddy and I (from above) went to Tayst to celebrate the successful defense of his proposal. We had the chef's-choice meal, which changes based on the available ingredients. This week's treat involved fresh salmon. First course was salmon tartare, beet and radish Napoleon, and apricot preserves, served with a French white (I didn't catch a name on any of the wines with the meal and I hesitate to guess from the wine list). Second course was a pumpernickel escolar, served with a French rose. Main course was a salmon fillet with risotto-stuffed morels, served with a Spanish red (I think it was a Tempranillo). Finally, the desert...a flour-less chocolate torte with a chocolate mousse topping, served with stout beer(!) and a creme brulee served with a Sauternes. Overall, a delicious inner. Additionally, the staff was amazing. One of the co-owners came out--almost chasing us as we walked out the door--thanking us for coming in and wishing us a good evening. A very good evening, it was.

Redundancy

From a listing for a wine dinner:
"Young rack of veal"

Lock 4

Jeremy and I went to Lock 4 mountain bike park today. We rode for about an hour and I think we covered a good chunk of the South side of the park, but came nowhere near hitting all the trails. There's an off road triathlon at the park in July that I am considering. Some of the trails were a bit muddy, but I think that's expected with the rain/storms we got yesterday. For the most part, the it was appropriate for me technically (not like Wapahani in B-ton!) and I had a good time. As I got more tired, I lost a little confidence and was ready to call it, but I'll going back soon, I think.

Afterwards, because of the mud, the bikes and our legs were nicely coated, so we found a car wash and pressure washed the mud off the bikes. Legs had to wait for a shower.

It was great to get out on the bike. I borrowed a bike last week in Florida and remembered how much fun it was. It was doubly nice to have a bike that fit today. I think I made it without major falls or bruises. I think Jeremy came out unharmed, too.

So, yea!! Mountain biking.

How to Eat an Elephant...

During a motivational discussion of how I was going to manage to get through all the stuff that I needed to do around finals time, it was suggested that I view it like eating an elephant--one bite a time and before you know, it your plate is clear. This is a nice idea, but it got me thinking about the elephant that I was preparing to devour:

1. As you're looking at the elephant on your plate, it's sometimes difficult to start eating because you know that it'll be a long process and once you start, there's really no turning back.
2. Shouldn't I share the elephant with the other villagers? They need to
   eat too.
3. Then again, there could be an excess of elephants and all the villagers are
   busy with their own elephants.
4. I asked for a baby elephant, thanks.
5. Elephant veal?? Eww.
6. Do elephants come with barbecue sauce?

Having devoured my elephant, I can say that while it was a challenge, it was quite tasty and I'll be having several more in the next few years.

It's Contagious

Sent to me today:

From glumbert.com (yet another video server), http://www.glumbert.com/media/laugh

Starts slow, ends slow, the middle is classic. You have permission and recommendation to stop watching when the music starts.

Enjoy!

My Tarot Card

Webhamstress had a survey posted on Free Cletus designed to find your tarot card. I was completely creeped out when I did this because it came up with the same card that I deemed "mine" in the short, dark period of Jr. High. Cue creepy music...

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Step away from the laptop

It's 1:30 am. I need to go to sleep, but I was catching up on some reading, winding down from the day (yes, all, I did finish my math assignment) and stumbled upon this and I thought, "UNpossible".

Then, I found myself following directions and walking 6 steps away from my computer and when I looked back, I thought, "woooah, poahsssible". Weird.

Then I decided to get some sleep.

Well, blog about it first, then sleep.

g'night.

P.S. Having already talked about the daily life of an octopus this week, I thought I might share that there's definitely an elephant post to come, and I think someone mentioned llamas, but I haven't figured out the relevance yet.

Stop and smell...or listen...

...but it has to do with the Metro, so be careful which you choose.

A social experiment with the disappointing, but expected, outcome.
Watch the videos.

Vanderbilt's Dean Richard Memorial Open

Jeremy and I fenced in Vanderbilt's Dean Richard Memorial Open tournament this weekend. He won, but had to go through me first (the first time we've faced each other in a tournament in years). Yes, the Nation vs. Nation joke was pulled out again. It was a nice tournament and has been growing for the last several years. I hope that they'll start springing for grounded strips and directors soon. It could turn into a really nice tournament with those added touches (no pun intended).

Who wants a new pet??

I do! I do! It seems like the octopus could be the new cat. Play, play, play...now leave me alone. Okay, I saw the headline, "Learning octopus can open bottles, squirt keeper. Next up: Finding Sarah Codder" on Fark today. The comments linked to this video (clickie if no luck with the built-in):

Octopuses have an amazing ability to squeeze through tiny crevices, cracks and holes. My fall BIOS independent studies student, Raymond Deckel is investigating just how small a hole Octopus macropus can fit through as well as how long it takes them to squeeze through different sizes of holes. CAABS intern Rowena Day, NSF-REU intern Jared Kibele as well as teaching assistant Abel Valdivia help wrangle the 232 g octopus, Ray times it’s escape through a 1 inch hole while I shot video clips for later analysis. Location: Whalebone Bay, St. George’s, Bermuda. Dr. James B. Wood - BIOS The Cephalopod Page

Trogdor vs. Baby Monster

I got to see, hold, and cuddle with Baby Monster this weekend. He's perfect and quite handsome (except, perhaps, when he's purging after his meal--an impressive sight). I think he's not quite up for slaying dragons, though.

Prêt? Flesche.

My fencing coach didn't mince words tonight. After my warm-up bout, he said, "Your flesche is terrible." For the next 45 minutes, I did nothing but flesche. Flesche to the right, to the left, hearing, "keep your hand up" and "don't stand up before you go". My legs are toast, my shoulder is toast, my brain is fried. I suppose the good news is that I managed to get in a few coach-approved flesches during my closing bout. I am definitely going to feel the workout for a few days.

Finding Directions

While reading on the infoweb sometime last week, I came across a thread about Google Maps. I was completely entertained that someone had found driving directions from Chicago, IL to London, England. Please note the method of crossing the pond.

/Everyone begs for Sarah's classes to become unbearable again so she will stop posting crap like this...

Swimming in Soup

Tonight's swim was one of those where I was sure they replaced the water in the pool with Jell-O or some sort of thickened broth. The latter is probably a more accurate description because on top of the water being a touch too warm, I felt like I had a sack of potatoes tied to my toes. The good news is that I completed 2000 yards. The bad news is that I planned 3000. The good news is that the yards I put in were strength/sprint yards. I'm going to hurt later.

• 200 SKPS
• 4 x 4 x 25 (Each set different stroke)
• 200 kick (butterfly)
• 5 x 100 IM
• 100 Cool Down

So, yeah, that adds up to 2000.

Makin' (tiny) Waves

Swam tonight. I wanted so very much to swim forever, but had to settle for a nice long workout (for me) and accept the fact that I'm not quite able to swim forever, mostly due to time constraints.

• 200 SKPS
• 3 x 500
• Hypoxic 5
• Every other 100 concentrate on stroke
• Swim
• Down the ladder from 400
• 400-Concentrate on turns (no breathing off the wall)
• 300-Butterfly on the 1st 25 of each 100
• 200-IM
• 100-Cool down, last 25 underwater dolphin kick on my back (you know, for fun)

If I count correctly, it adds to 2800 yards. Sigh. Now I'm hungry.

Obvious

This morning's front page news from the Purdue Exponent:
Purdue announces plans to post warning signs on all high-voltage areas

Duh.

Vino

Over the last few weeks, I've had the chance to taste a couple new wines. One, while out to eat at Terra in San Diego at a conference a couple weeks ago was Fiddlehead Pinot Noir. I normally have issues with Pinot Noir because of their over-abundance after Sideways came out (trendy == bad). However, we were having fish and a light red was in order. The 2005 Fiddlehead was ready to drink and was nice with the food for the evening. They have a couple other wines that I think look interesting, but may have to wait until that pilgrimage later in life. The label below isn't of the one we had, but it was the closest that I could find.

When Jeremy was down last time, we went on a wine excursion and as an impulse buy, we picked up a 2004 Sangiovese from Luna Vineyards in Napa Valley. I had this the other night and really enjoyed the flavor. I'm a sucker for the Sangiovese grape. It tastes like home. When the wine was sold to me (again, impulse buy), I was under the impression that it was an Italian. I didn't even look at the bottle; I simply heard "Sangiovese" and bought. The instant I took a sip, I knew it was California. It has the forward fruit flavor and a boldness that only comes from California wines. While it didn't sport the home-like taste of an Italian, I wasn't disappointed and may try to make an excursion back to the wine store this weekend for more.

Three Weeks

I discovered today that I can once again form complete sentences at will (applause). Before I slip into my grad-school stupor again, I thought I'd blog a blog. So in that spirit, I thought I would compile a list of things that have been brought to my attention that I think should be brought to yours:

• Willie Nelson appeared on the Colbert Report where they discussed their ice cream rivalry and sang a song. Very hippie.
• A mystery surrounding the disappearance of a Purdue freshman has been solved. In this situation, the answer leads to more questions.
• My bracket got busted because of stupid USC.
• Purdue is gaining some respect in the men's basketball world. Go Boilers!
• Rachel-achel had her baby. Baby Ezra was brought into this world on Sunday, March 18.
• Animal rights activists want to kill this bear. Stephen Colbert weighs in.

Swim (and a bird of prey)

After almost three weeks out of the water, I managed to get a swim in tonight. I took it easy on myself and did the following:

• 200 SKS
• Up the ladder to 400
• 100 Cool down

1700 yards total.

During one of my breaks, I noticed a little 'un running around with her dad. I assumed that she had come in for a swimming lesson. It turns out that she was also in to get a workout for her lungs. I almost stopped on two of my laps because I heard something out of the ordinary. Was it a guard whistle? No. Bird of prey? No, but getting closer. Future teen-girl-saber-fencer? Ahh...yes, that was the sound. I had no idea how that sound developed. Water torture in form of swimming lessons creates future saber fencers. You learn something new every day.

Today's Non Sequitur

Once again, I'm astonished at the emphasis being put on weather around here. There were tornado watches yesterday, which prompted no small amount of discussion around campus. During these discussions, people naturally mention hail. Typically hail is described as being "the size of <enter object here>". Usually these descriptions center around money or sports equipment.

I'm calling for a hail-classification system centered around things we eat--orange, cherry, grape, avocados, etc.

Mmmm...avamacado sized hail...

Biscottish?

I decided once again to make a King Cake for Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, I didn't have my recipe handy. I really think I know where it is, but haven't the energy to go and look through the basket. I found an alternate one on the internet and made my way to the grocery. I made the dough, as instructed, waited the couple hours for it to rise and ended up with this: Not risen. Obviously not risen. The dough still tasted good, though. I think the yeast may have been a little...dead. It was on the top shelf under halogen lights in the grocery store. Maybe a little warm for the little guys. I may mention it to the grocery. I'll try to proof the other package before I do, though. Anyway...to not waste what seemed like perfectly good dough, I used my workout time on Tuesday to do some strength training in rolling out the dough to about a quarter-inch thick and cut it into cute baklava shapes and baked it.
Pretty things came out of the oven. They were lighter than they looked and had a not-unpleasant texture. I figured that if they weren't going to be good, at least they could look pretty.
Bring on the glaze...pretty, pretty glaze...
And viola! A yummy-lookin' dessert! What's better is that they actually tasted good, too. I took them in to the office and while I understand that grad students will eat anything, they won't come back for seconds unless it's at least decent. People came back for seconds.

They ended up like very light biscotti. I kept saying that they were biscotti-ish, which naturally turned into biscottish. I didn't taste them with coffee, but I would imagine that to be the matching flavor.

Quote from the process: "I don't know what went wrong, but I'm trying to make it right. The problem is that I can't replicate it if it turns out really good."

A note from Carl...

I got an e-mail from my friend Carl who put up with me on a bike all last summer. His off-season training is significantly different than mine. He agreed to let me blog his e-mail. Thanks Carl!

The subject line was "So, what happens..."

What happens when:

A) for the first time in over 20 yrs, the college campus you
attend closes for two days because of bad weather (lots of snow and ice).

B) you've built a bike dedicated to riding in less-than-ideal conditions....

YOU GO FOR A BIKE RIDE!!!!!

My classes were cancelled on the 13th and 14th, so I took advantage of the respite to go out and ride! No falls -- but a few close calls. Got in 1.5 hrs yesterday (the 13th), and close to 2 hrs today. As I was finishing up, I went by the bike shop for a latte and to chat with the guys before heading home. I left my bike outside the front door (it was a mess!) and stayed for about 45 minutes. When I was ready to leave, I had to take a pitcher of hot water out and de-ice my bike, because the entire drivetrain had frozen solid!! I hadn't taken into account that it was about 18 deg outside....

Pictures are below...

This is Carl. I'm assuming that it's before the ride because the bike appears to be nearly clean and he's smiling. Okay he was probably smiling after the ride, too, but in a different way. You can see the tires and the beginning of ice on the pedals here.
Oh yeah, definitely gunk on the drivetrain. Definitely ice on the pedals. Look at the bottom of the frame!
The back-end of the bike after the ride. It was a little cold and a little wet, which makes for a little ice.
Gunk in the derailer.
I'm just glad I didn't have to clean it. That's the second-best reason to not ride in the snow.

Swim of the Day

I managed to convince myself that swimming was a good idea for the workout tonight. The pool was relatively crowded and I had to wait for a few minutes before a lane opened up. This is one of the benefits of having around fourteen lap lanes in a pool. I have yet to have to share a lane. The workout is below. I felt pretty good after the first time through the main set, but getting there was a struggle. The first time 'round, I went on a 2:30 cycle, but was able to cut that down to 2:15 for the second set.

• 200 SKPD
• 2 x (5 x 150 in the following order)
• Moderate (to establish pace)
• Hard, Easy, Hard (by 50's)
• Easy, Hard, Easy
• Build up intensity
• Moderate, trying to match the time from the first 150 (should be kinda hard)
• 200 Cool Down

2500 yards total.

1995 Chateau Simard

In a recent wine spree, Jeremy not only picked up nearly a case of my coveted Ch. Ormes de Pez. He found ten of the 1999s in a little liquor store in South Bend and rounded out the case (and then some) with a 1995 Chateau Simard (St. Emilion) and a 2003 Phelan Segur (St. Estephe).

While visiting this weekend, we took the Simard to mAmbu (my current favorite restaurant in N-ville). I insisted that Jeremy try the seared ahi--the only dish there that I've had. Not that I've heard anything other than good about the rest of the menu, it's just that the tuna is that good. The menu for the evening had venison carapaccio, arugula salad with fried goat cheese round, and the seared ahi.

The nose of the wine on first pour was incredible. After I got used to it, I was able to classify it as earthy with tobacco and perhaps a touch of chocolate. The first taste revealed a very smooth mouth feel with a flavor that matched the nose. I didn't instantly fall in love with the flavor. It was a little tight and I think I commented that it would do better with food.

I was extremely disappointed in the wine with the carapaccio. The dish was excellent, but heavy on the pepper. We needed a Zinfindel to stand up to the dish. There wasn't any spice in the wine and it clashed terribly. It clashed so much, in fact that I was concerned that I had missed a corked flavor during the initial taste.

My hopes were buoyed when the arugula salad came out and the goat cheese saved the day. The wine and cheese complemented each other beautifully. I tasted a new dimension to the wine--anise. Very nice. Additionally, the wine was opening more now. Hindsight says I should have had them decant for us.

The tuna finally came and while the pairing wasn't ideal, it was a very nice combination. We finished the wine and went on for coffee and dessert, but that's another post.

Here's the label:

In the news...

I've been focusing on a thing for school the last few days and naturally easily distracted over this time frame. Rather than taking time to blog stuff when I read them, I've been e-mailing articles to myself as a reminder of what I wanted to blog. So, a quick dump of articles...most people have probably already read these.

First, Stephen Colbert is now in the freezer section.

Second, Middlebury College in Vermont steps out on a limb and bans Wikipedia as a citable reference.

Third, Purdue shuts down campus for a day. Sissies. The linked article says that the last time classes were cancelled was in 1994, but it was really sometime in the 1996-1997 school year. Not that it really matters, but I remember it quite clearly, as it involved sledding on Slater Hill at 2 am with the windchill around 30-below. There was no alcohol involved, stupid comes on its own at that age.

Workout -- Core and Flexibility

I didn't have a lot of time last night for a workout and I didn't want to go outside, so I did the 30 minute strength/flexibility video from the off-season. The workout was quite reasonable, minimal chirpy "you can do its" from the unnaturally fit instructor. I'm a lot less strong and less flexible than anyone who would be expected to hold any of those positions.

So, with a reasonable workout under my belt, I had fried calamari for dinner. Yum!!

Workout -- Fencing

I managed to make it to fencing practice with the VU club tonight. There were only four epeeists so it was a short night (probably good for my getting other things done tonight). I ran about a mile for warm up, did an augmented core routine, took my lesson, then wrapped up with some free fencing.

The lesson went fairly well, especially in the beginning when I was able to clearly think through what was being asked. My reactions were more natural, but taking last week off hurt my form a bit. Towards the end of the lesson, Doug was having me make decisions on distance, when to/not to attack coupled with disengages and lunges and I got overwhelmed and couldn't put two motions together. After several frustrating minutes, it turns out that I was watching his arm rather than his shoulder for distance and that was messing me up. Problem fixed and the lesson (finally) continued from there. There's really nothing like standing there, knowing exactly what you're supposed to do, being able to recite what you're trying to do, then having your body do something completely different than what your head is telling it to do. Solution: Stop Thinking.

I'm trying to apply things that I'm learning in lessons during free fencing, so I'm in that frustrating phase of trying to fix old habits, losing a lot of points, and implement things that I haven't mastered yet. On the whole, things went well, I just didn't get as many reps in as I would have liked.

St. Valentine's Massacre

Jeremy went to the annual St. Val's Massacre this last weekend and while I'm still waiting on results to link to, I'll go ahead and brag a bit. He won the tournament and renewed his "A" rating. This is helpful in that he'll get a better seeding with a "fresh" letter and should be especially helpful in the seeding at Div. I events (like Tucson coming up in April).

In other news, his blog has linkies for Jamie Tolston's Webshots pages for a few tournaments that she's photographed. Below is one of my favorite shots, which links to the IU Spring Open album. Excellent job, Jamie!

Swim du Jour

I managed to drag myself to the pool tonight and got wrapped up in a set that took me longer than I expected, but was good, nonetheless. Basically, I did a ladder, building from 100 yards to 500 yards in 100 yard increments, then working back down. I've done a simple breakdown of what I was working towards below.

• 200 Warm up
• 100 hard -- I did this in about 1:15, which is not bad for an old lady like myself.
• 200 concentrating on finishing the stroke and not breathing off turns
• 300 relax and enjoy the swim--no breathing off turns
• 400 I was going to relax, then a guy in the lane next to me started at the same time and I decided that I couldn't let him be faster than me, so I swam the first 250 faster than expected, then I relaxed for the rest.
• 500 hard. My legs were cramping as I was pushing off the walls (still not breathing until the third stroke). I think my time for this was 7:05, which isn't fabulous, but I'll take it.
• 400 easy
• 300 relax and concentrate on quickly deteriorating form.
• 200 IM--I was bored.
• 100 cool down

2700 yards total.

A note from the "relaxed" swims where I wasn't breathing off the walls: This involves taking a breath when you see the flags (5 m from the end), usually 3-4 strokes, the flip turn, a glide, then 3 strokes before taking another breath. I can feel the lack of oxygen as I'm coming out of the turn, but can usually control myself long enough to finish the extra strokes without the extra breath. In contrast, when I'm running, I panic when I start breathing hard and usually let up a bit rather than get that "I can't breathe and I might keel over right now" feeling. To me, they're completely separate--one is scary, the other is not. I think it's odd that the one that has the potential for me drowning is not scary. There's got to be a way to get over that feeling when running.

Yes, friends, when I'm not trying to keep track of laps, this is what I think about when swimming.

Today's Non Seq

I had a 15 minute conversation today that fits in with the blog theme.
Transition points:

• "You're like a chipmunk with those books."
• "Have you heard George Carlin's take on environmentalism?"
• (more on G.C.) "...and they read the program and I heard them say, 'Oh! He's a comedian. This'll be good.'"
• "I told her that I considered leaving at intermission. She told me that she had also considered it, and I told her that I was never going to get those three hours back."
• "I've tried to edit the HTML but they just won't go away."
• "They tried to bully me into giving up the URL for free. It was short and pronounceable--a valuable commodity."
• "...and the lawyer said, 'I can't believe two companies would fight over a stupid name like Visteon.'"
• "...but the companies have these guys that go out and try to smooth things over in the dark of the night."
• "I can't wait for the day I don't need to carry my computer to work"

Workout--Trainer

I pulled out the workout video/plan for the off-season training program that Mom and Dad got me for my birthday. I had intended to start on Monday, but was a little distracted then so I finally got on track today. What I did slightly differed from the scheduled plan. It seems that I've overestimated my core fitness...a painful lesson...every time.

• 10 minutes warm up, spinning on the trainer 80-90 rpm
• Core video 1--the same torture I endured the other night. Something about the last sequence where the guy, propped in a plank position on his elbows and toes, cheerily says "hold this until you can't anymore" that, in hindsight, makes me want to cry. Owwww...
• Core video 2--This was more reasonable. It involved the equivalent to deep knee bends, push ups, the traditional "bicycle" ab thing (feet in air mimicking the cycling movement), and other tolerable things.
• I skipped video 3 because I'm a sissy.
• 10 minutes on the bike, eventually hitting 105 rpm, and cooling down.

Overall, a decent workout. I am not currently happy about supporting myself in a sitting position, so I suppose it was effective.

Found

I stumbled upon a twenty dollar bill on the ground this morning. I walked past it, turned around, picked it up and pocketed it.

In the 15 seconds that it took to do this, the thoughts that went through my head went something like this:

1. (notices money on the ground) That's money. How much? Is it worth picking up?
2. (after pattern recognition kicks in) That's a twenty!
3. Someone's going to miss that later today--I wonder if it fell out of their pocket.
4. I wonder if they're looking for it right now. Should I pick it up?
5. I could just leave it for someone else to find.
6. (turning around) This could be a setup. How often do you find a twenty on the ground?
7. I wonder if I could find the owner. What's the threshold amount that you make any attempt at finding the owner of money?
8. The VA hospital is right there. Someone might check at the front desk. No. They'd pocket it.
9. What a pain. Someone else should have found this.
10. (bending down to pick it up) I could give it to one of the homeless people around--it'd make their week! No. they'd spend it on (enter vice here).
11. There's a guy doing a run for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, that'd be a good use for it. No. I was going to donate anyway.
12. (hand in pocket) There's surely a video camera posted somewhere and someone's going to stop me any moment and harass me for being a selfish bitch.
13. What are the chances that someone would go actively looking for $20? Not me. I'd just assume that someone would have pocketed it by now.
14. (hand out of pocket, walking on my way) What are the odds? Lucky me.
15. (smiling) I can have ice cream for a week on this.

At the Opry

I had the chance to go to the Friday Night edition of the Grand Ole Opry last weekend. Essentially the same show as the Saturday night, still broadcast on the radio, still very good. The show was held at Ryman Auditorium, the previous "official" opry house, but now is the winter home of the show.

The whole show was pretty amazing. It started with the obligatory reminder that it is a radio show and there would be a bit of prompting for the audience. When the announcers clap, everybody claps. The music was consistently good and there was a variety of types of country--from Western to Bluegrass to Cajun. Some of the acts that stood out to me were the Del McCoury Band, Emmylou Harris, John Starling & Carolina Star, Joe Nichols, Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys, and Riders in the Sky. I ended up downloading John Starling's new album from emusic. It's scheduled to be released on February 20 on Amazon.

There's a certain casualness to the atmosphere that I really enjoyed. The folks performing were very much "on" while they played their numbers, but from my vantage point, I could see all of stage right, including the comings and goings of the artists. People would roll in about a half-hour in advance, perform their set, and leave. Those who weren't performing stood around nearby, listened and talked near stage. During "commercial" breaks, there was some interaction between the audience and the performers--flash photography was allowed (read: encouraged) and some of the artists would ham it up a bit. Very fun.

I had flashbacks during the show of sitting in the middle of Granny and Pop-Pop's living room floor, wrapped in a blanket watching the Opry on television. It seems that it was on every night (and may have been, had they also televised the Friday show). We would make popcorn, drink soda, and stay up late--you know, until 9:30. I think Pop was watching with me.

Idiotarod--Phoenix

I got an e-mail this week from Shawn. The mail was to four of us and said something along the lines of "check this out--Sarah, you're in the cart". I had been volunteered for a race that none of us could actually attend due to its location across the country, but was really tempting. We all geared up for a theoretical trip to Phoenix to participate in the first running of the Phoenix Idiotarod. Basically, four people pulling a "borrowed" grocery cart while someone is riding in or on said cart. There can be modifications to the cart, but it must ride on the crappy hard rubber wheels that take it through the store it was originally intended for. It's everything I look for in a race--short, convoluted, and had the potential for me to participate without running a step.

It seems that there would be a lot of potential for "creative gaming". The rules suggest bringing along a bike lock for the mandatory 20 minute delays at the checkpoints. It has been suggested that you bring along several bike locks for the mandatory waits--for other carts. Other thoughts? Anyone??

Shawn says that he's going to try to get one set up in B-ton. I'm all for it.

Workouts...a bit late

I haven't been a complete slacker, just the blog posting part of me has been slacking. The workouts since the last post are below.

Thursday--did a quick core workout video from the set that Mom and Dad gave me for my birthday. It's an off-season cycling training program that came with yoga and core DVDs. I'm planning to start the 12-week cycle on Monday and try to stick with the program in hopes of improving my bike for the tris. The workout I did was a "bonus" on the core DVD, which included various crunches, leg lifts, and other terrible things that your body isn't intended. Owwww....

Having sorta recovered from that, I had a bit of time on Friday to get a bit of a brick workout in before heading to the Friday Night version of the Grand Ole Opry for the evening. I ran to the gym at a good pace (about 3/4 mile), swam 1200 yards (200 warm up, 1000 swim), then ran back. I think the workout continued when I got home and was ready for the show in 20 minutes. The long swim for the evening was nice in that I was relaxed and I tried to concentrate on finishing my stroke and not breathing off the walls, that is to say that after my flip turns I was trying to not breathe for two strokes into the length. It was a good workout.

Saturday morning, I finally got back on the bike (on the trainer) and did about 45 minutes of spinning at 90-100 rpm while listening to Car Talk. It was an unremarkable workout, but made me tired enough to necessitate a nap in the afternoon. I'll not mention that I was feeling the core workout from Thursday in a pretty major way all day. Gotta love the two day pain delay.

I'm taking today off. I think.

SNOW!!!

With the promise of bad weather, the local forecasters were only off by 24 hours. If you will recall, there was the mad dash to the grocery Wednesday night; schools were called off on Thursday in anticipation (or the flu, no one will really admit). No snow Thursday morning. I was very, very disappointed.

Friday morning, a mere day late, I look out my window and see...

Real snow!!! ...and a town that comes to a standstill because of it. I didn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. It was a mere inch. There were people out taking pictures of the snow. Had I been faster, I would have taken and posted pictures of people taking pictures of the snow. Vanderbilt still held classes. There were snow angels on campus and a small child throwing "snowballs" which could best be described as handfuls of snow in the general direction of his mother. No shaping involved. These people need help, or more snow to practice with. I vote for the latter.