The Countdown to Christmas

Christmas is approaching at an alarming rate. We're 2 days away and I'm not ready! The boys' presents are stashed away, but unwrapped. Tonight I guess I'll do some wrapping. Also on the agenda is more house rearranging. Last night I started the process of switching my living room with my dining room. Yeah, probably not the best time to do it with the hectic Christmas stuff going on, but I decided it was a good time to make the change. I only did a little bit of moving before going out last night. So my house is now in disarray, I have at least an hour of moving furniture planned and I have to wrap presents before going out again tonight. The kids are home tomorrow so time is running out. What a crazy, yet fun time of year!

Busy Weekend

This weekend was lots of fun.
First off, on Saturday I had my second of two personal training sessions. This time we did legs. If the first session was any indication what was in store over the next few days, I'd struggle to walk by Monday night. hahaha. Funny, but oh so true.
Saturday night it was a night on the town. We had a good time and ended up watching Dallas ruin the Saints' hopes for that perfect season. I loved it.
When I awoke on Sunday morning, my legs hurt but it was only one day later so they true soreness had not set in as of yet. My plan was to use my legs all day to work out the soreness before it set in. How did I plan to do this? Well, by golf and basketball of course!
I joined friends at Lexington Country Club for a round of golf. I had never played there before and was looking forward to it. Rob suggested that we walk it and since that is just what I needed, I agreed. We had such a good time. My score was definitely nothing to write home about, but we enjoyed ourselves. After the round and a little food it was time to head home. Unfortunately, I only had about 15 minutes at home before heading out to play basketball. I play pickup ball on Sunday nights. Well, recently I have. I'm still one of the "new guys" and I've been trying to find my shot. Last night was my best showing yet. Still a little rusty, but I was able to do most of what I wanted to on the court and my teamed fared very well. After 2 hours of ball following the 4 hours of walking the golf course, I was spent. I had achieved my goal of working out my legs, but was now totally beat.
I made it home in time to watch my Vikings get beat up on by a bad Carolina team. Not a good day for my teams. Green Bay and Minnesota both lost. An unfortunate item for me in what was otherwise a great weekend. Now it's off to a short work week before Christmas. Still have presents to wrap and presents to buy. It will be a busy few days!

Oh My God!!!

I've always said that 2 days after a hard workout is the worst. How in the hell did I forget that fact?! Yesterday my shoulders hurt. Today I would swear that someone stabbed them repeatedly... so much pain... better lead to so much gain!

Personal Training

Wow! What can I say? I showed up last night for my personal training session. Remember, this is was my freebie for signing up at Gold's Gym. Actually, I found out last night I get 2 free sessions, the first of which was the one that I used last night.

A few thoughts I had before showing up.
(1) I've been in and out of the gym my entire life, so I hoped to gain insight into some new exercises that I had not done before more than I wanted a "workout guideline".
(2) Many of those that sign up for the free sessions have never really worked out before and so their sessions tend to be more of an introduction to the gym. Having already been in decent shape before showing up, I assumed my routine would be quite different than most.
(3) To continue the sessions would be expensive and I have no intention of doing more than the free sessions.

I walked in to find Tony, whom I had originally scheduled with. He walks over with a huge smile on his face and said, "I actually have a conflict so I've asked Bobby to handle your session. I told him that he can't wait to see you because you are in phenomenal shape and that he should really be able to break you down pretty good and show you some new stuff." Excellent! That is what I wanted to hear, although I disagree about the phenomenal shape compliment. I consider myself just somewhat fit. Also, if I were the trainer and I was trying to sell personal training to someone, my lead in would probably not be "hey, you are already in phenomenal shape!" ha!

So I sat down with Bobby and talked about my goals and how we could vary workouts to keep my body confused so that I would have continual gains. Meanwhile I'm realizing that although Bobby knows what he is talking, so do I. Due to my past experiences I already know everything he is telling me. Of course it's nice to have it reiterated to you. Oh, back to the subject of my goals. I would love to put on some muscle but not get too bulky because that would conflict with my competitive running. So my ultimate goal is to get shredded, totally cut up. Also, I want to focus on building my shoulders. Even back when I was pretty big and strong during my football days, my shoulders lacked the size I wanted. In addition, I'd like to get my body fat back down in the single digit range. I've only been there once in my life and would love to achieve that once again.

We continued talking and he measured both my weight and body fat percentage. This is key for me because it will give me a basis for comparison. I'll note this and come back every few months to see what progress I've made. For the record, I currently weigh 221 lbs and have 18.7% body fat. Not good by any means, but also not bad. About two years ago I had over 26% body fat (and in men, over 25% is clinically obese!). I'm definitely headed in the right direction!

Then it was on to the gym floor. The plan is to do 30 minutes of weight training and 30 of cardio on an average day. Yesterday was no average day by any means. It took much less time to totally annihilate my muscles.

Since this was a first assessment, he said we'd do a mix of upper and lower body, focusing on shoulders. When he walked up with 15 lb dumbbells I almost laughed but knew what was in store. I wont go into details of the super-sets, but it will suffice to say that rotating multiple exercises, having little to no rest, and doing high reps was brutal. Before I was done, I had dropped from 15 lb dumbbells to 5 pounders. Wow. After multiple stations with almost no rest my arms were spent so we did some leg extensions and lunges. That was it. 25 minutes of weights and I felt like I had completed 2.5 hours. Did it work? Well, I'll tell you this; my shoulders are extremely sore today. I may have been broken off yesterday but today I'm reaping the benefits. Oh, and I did 20 minutes of cardio as well. That was plenty!

In addition to having a great (and quick) work out, I was introduced to some new exercises. I couldn't be happier about that fact since it did address my original intend. Now I have some new items to introduce into my workout routine. I am going back on Saturday for my follow up session. I hope to learn much more!

Oh, one more thing. They gave the sales pitch for future sessions. VERY EXPENSIVE. If you don't know what you are doing or if you lack the drive to make yourself stay in the gym it's probably worth the expense, but in my situation it's just not worth the money. I'll talk to them every few months to get a feel for my body fat percentage, but that's about it.

All in all, yesterday was a great session!

Gold's Update

Working out is going well and it really feels good to be getting back in the groove! I've been a member of the gym for 6 days, and have been in for 3 workouts. Not bad considering I was out of town for part of the weekend. After only a few visits, this is what I see:
(1) After years of half-ass workouts, I feel both invigorated doing the real thing again and blown away by just how weak I've become!
(2) I can see already that my body is responding. Give me 6 weeks and I'll be a new man. That's 3 weeks this year, and three weeks in the crazy January New Year's resolution craze.
(3) 5:30 is a crazy time to work out. Yesterday was my first visit at that time. Not only did I struggle to find a parking spot, but the free-weight area was jam-packed. Wow, I can't imagine how it will be in January.
(4) The future is bright!

Not only do I feel slight signs of progress already, but I also have my free session with a personal trainer tomorrow. That came free with sign-up and I figured, "hey, why not?". I, like many, fall into ruts and do the same routine nearly every visit to the gym. I figure this free session will shed some light on areas of my body that I neglect as well as give me an introduction to the parts of the gym that I don't use often. In reality it's only been a few days, but I'm excited about my progress to come!

Starting Anew

Perhaps you see the title of this post and assume I'm going to be talking about Starting anew after 9 years of marriage. Not the case. This is about something much less significant.
I'm talking about working out. Two years ago we switched gyms to join JCC. Why? Well they do have a pretty decent facility, but the real reason we joined was to get a huge discount on their summer camps for the kids. My joining we received the discount and we also gained a gym, which I fully intended to use. Guess what? I was just like a large majority of those with gym memberships; I hardly used it. In the two years, I bet I used the gym 10-15 times. Ridiculous.
Two items prompted my change. First off, the family membership we had a JCC was no longer right for me. I needed a personal membership somewhere. Secondly, I've been watching the new Gold's Gym go up for the past few months. I had full intentions of checking it out when it opened. Well, I passed by there on Tuesday and saw a "now open" sign so I called to checked it out. As it turns out, they were actually opening on Wednesday morning. Excellent!
Wednesday I had the day off from work to play in a golf tournament. This left the morning open as the perfect opportunity to check out the new facilities. I took the tour and was blown away at how much they had available at that location. It was so much better than what I was used to; many more machines, many more free weights, many more options included 160 classes per week. I think I'm going to check out an ab class first, but I digress. I immediately signed up and got in a quick workout before golf. That turned out to be a bad idea in terms of my golf game, but I couldn't be more happy about the new gym membership.
Now the big question: will I use the membership? You're damn right I will. I'll tell you many reasons why:
(1) the gym is right around the corner from my house so it's much more easily accessible
(2) it's top of the line. I was a member of Columbia Athletic Club a few year back which is close, but they didn't have the availability of weights and machines, so this will be much better.
(3) I already have a decent fitness base with all of the running I've been doing.
(4) I've said for years that if I were a single guy, I'd be a gym rat. Guess what? My current situation has provided me the opportunity to prove that I meant what I said.
(5) after so many years away from real lifting, I've gotten soft! I used to warm up with the weights that I struggle with now and that is very disheartening, and equally motivating.
(6) relating to #4, I have the free time to pursue the fitness that I've wanted for years.
(7) very important - when the kids are with me, they have an awesome facility for them too. Cool movie area, Nintendo Wiis, and actually stuff to do to keep them busy and have fun.

All that being said, I'm totally pumped about my new gym. After so many years of not working out like I should, getting back in it now is like starting anew, and I cant be more excited about it.

It Does the Body Good

For years while I participated in athletics I stayed banged up but really never had to sit out of competition or practice. Why you may ask. Well, the truth is that I frequented the Chiropractor. It's amazing not only how much better your body feel, but also how much better it operates when:
(a) you feed it healthy foods
(b) you exercise
(c) you ensure that your body is properly aligned

Many times I read in magazine articles or on websites about the importance of nutrition and exercise, but seldom to you see emphasis on body alignment. I will tell you the truth, if not for chiropractic appointments I would have sat out many a practice in pain. Many people don't give chiropractic work the credit it is due and give more focus on "fixing something" that may not be the root cause... which often ends up leading to pain killers and/or surgery. Luckily I have a family that has always believed in the body possessing much of what it needs to heal itself... but this only works when you take care of your body. I am digressing but I think you get the point. If you have proper alignment, your body works better, feels better, and heals itself better.

After I ended my collegiate sports career I no longer had the strong dependence on chiropractic. Basically I had aches and pains but nothing like when I was banged up from football. That being the case, I quit going. I always wanted to go back, especially when I'd have nagging pains come back, but I was... for lack of a better term, lazy. I didn't make it a priority. If you've been following my blog long, you've heard me mention my hip pains that flare up when I run a lot. Well, those pains, as well as some back and neck stiffness, finally prompted me to return to chiropractic. I went on Wednesday for my first time in years and man did it do the trick. I left feeling so much better and I fully intend to stay committed to going. I owe it to myself to take care of myself. Nutrition and exercise only do so much.

The visit was not just a quick crack or two. It consisted of x-rays, stem therapy on my neck, stretching and cracking all up and down my spine and a discussion of what is needed. Two big items came up. First, my pelvis is rotated. Bang! That is what is causing my hip pain when I run. That issue is what we're going to work on in the coming weeks, attempting to get it rotated back and get full movement rotating both ways. This alone will be worth getting in there.

Also, the doctor noted on my x-rays that I have an old football injury. Many with neck pain from car accidents are familiar with problems with their C5 vertebrae. This is the most common neck injury from vehicular accidents. It just so happens that it is also one of the common injuries to football players due to the repeated head collisions. Anyway, my x-ray showed that this vertebrae was misshapen and causing disc issues. It was not so far gone that it is a huge concern, but it was way too far deteriorated for a 32 year old man. Scary. I had never been aware of this and although there is nothing I can do to revert the injury, I can avoid too much deterioration now that I know about it. I am so happy that I made the leap to get back in there and look forward to a happier, healthier future due to it.

If you've never ventured into chiropractic, it could be very well worth your time to check it out.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Last night was an eventful night in many ways. I'll go into a little detail about three of the items and yes, you guessed it... good, bad, and ugly.

First off is the good one. I cleaned up my middle room in the house and designated that the Christmas tree room this year (since that room was basically empty at this point in time). I climbed up to the attic and retrieved all of our Christmas decorations and after dinner the boys and I put up the tree and decorated it. They had a blast, telling stories about the ornaments they made and previous years. It was very fun and they loved it. I took a few pictures but my camera is at home so pics will have to loaded later.

Next, the bad. A while back, October 5th if I'm not mistaken, a roofer had to fix a leak in our roof. Since then all has been well... that is, until last night. The torrential rain was too much and the leak sprung yet again. I found a small puddle in the kitchen and the ceiling was wet. Unfortunately I did not find this until the rain had stopped and I don't know where the leak is, but the roofing company WILL be coming back to fix it.

Moving on to the Ugly. In this transitional period that I'm in, I've tried to make work on the house a little, making it my own. Although that is great, I've yet to do some of the standard items like get the place straight! I have moved furniture around, but the place is a total wreck. This morning I realized how bad it was. Tonight I'm attacking it and eliminating the ugly!

So there it is; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Until next time,
O

Winds of Change

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Life throws changes your way all the time. The changes themselves aren't necessarily good or bad, however our perceptions of them tends to be. You can take an unforeseen change as an awful occurrence and let it ruin your outlook for some amount of time or....you can accept it, make the best out of the situation and use it as an opportunity. Such is the case with me right now. I did a little of both.
Life threw me a curve ball and I took my medicine. I took it hard at first, but then accepted it. I've spent the last few days using it as an opportunity. This may be somewhat vague, but I intended it that way. Things are changing but I'm OK with it and looking forward to a bright future. Hopefully all those affected will do the same.

Concert Time

It's been a while since I've been to a concert. Actually, the last one was my first blog post... so that was June of 2008. Although that Pearl Jam concert was awesome, this one had to top it.



We headed to Charlotte last Sunday afternoon to hear Metallica live. I really wanted to catch them twice already, but as life tends to pull us many different directions at once, I was unable to see them perform with Godsmack and with Linkin Park. I'm sure both of those bands would have been incredible live as well. This time around Metallica had two bands I've never heard up opening for them. No biggie. I was there for Metallica anyway.

I went in knowing that they have such a catalog that they could fill a few hours with all great songs and I'd still have a few favorites that they missed. At the end of the night I was blown away. They rocked all night, with both their old and new tracks. It was obvious that the crowd favorite is Seek and Destroy. I wouldn't rate it in my top ten, but experiencing live is pretty awesome. My personal favorites of the night were Sad but True, and The Day that Never Comes. I would not have expected The Day that Never Comes to be a favorite, but they totally rocked it.

I hope to hear them again one day. If that kind of music is your thing and you've never seen Metallica live, I highly suggest to get out to see them!

Big Baby

I cant believe it. My baby is 6. Jackson is getting old way to fast. There is no way his little brother, the baby of the family, should be six years old. Time is flying! I dont know what else to say.

For his birthday he wanted to take a second trip to the fair so we did that. Also, we stocked him up on art supplied: crayons, markers, paper. He loves to do art, so he was very happy about new tools to work with. Also, we gave him his own basketball and he later told us that was his favorite present. Nice thought by Stacy to add that into the mix.

After getting the ball on his birthday, the following day he added to the stash. Within 20 minutes of arriving at the fair, both Alex and Jackson won mini-basketballs. That was awesome except the part about me carrying them for the next 3 hours. Not to mention an hour later Jackson won another, full sized basketball. The Owings' house is now fully stocked for basketball season!

Happy Birthday to Alex, my very BIG baby.

The Final Countdown!

No, not the eighty's hair band Europe's big hit. I'm talking about Stacy's training countdown. Back in April training began. She skipped the half marathon and jumped in with a crew from Tampa training for the Marine Corps Marathon. It has been a huge goal in her (and our) lives for the past 7 months. All that training has finally came to fruition! The race is this Sunday morning. Three days and counting!

I have no doubt that she'll do great. I've been shocked at not only how many long runs (as far as 22.5 miles) she has run in preparation, but also the ease that she seemed to do it in. I'm sure it wasn't easy but she tackled it like a champ. I have all expectations that she'll do awesome. I cant wait to talk to her afterward and hear all about it. Although I'll be awaiting that post-race call, I wont have to wait until then to see how well she performed. One of the coolest things about this particular marathon is the ability to track runners progress. All long races may have this, but this is the first I've heard of it. Anyway, I signed up, so I'll receive both emails and texts of her progress every 5K of the race. I cant wait. If I'm this excited, I cant imagine how excited she is!

Oh, and once more, 3 days and count. It's The Final Countdown!

The Fair

The Fair was another great time this year. We did the family trip on Saturday morning. They didn't have the pay-one-price deal that day (wrist bands), but they did have buy-one-get-one, which basically means the boys could both ride for the price of one. They rode for about 2 hours and had a blast.

Since Alex just turned 6 on Tuesday (hurray Alex), he said that he wanted to go back to the fair. Last night we headed back. Stacy had to do some last minute packing for her trip (first marathon. Go Stacy!), so I took the boys. It was a pay-one-price night so we got wrist bands and had a blast. I kept up with it and they boys rode so much that it covered the price of the wristbands 3 times over... and they enjoyed every second of it. Only the first line was long. After that we realized that there was a backlog of people near the entrance. Once we ventured farther away, they flew from one ride to the next... for 3.5 hours. Also, a small milestone; they rode their first adult ride. They insisted on riding "the spaceship". They were both tall enough so I let them give it a shot. By the way, the spaceship is the Gravitron. I was hoping they wouldn't come out of it looking like the one guy I saw that probably had a few too many beverages before entering. The mix of his late night drinks and the spinning ride made his attempt at walking hilarious. But I digress. The boys came out having a blast and screaming for more, so I let them do it once more. Isn't it fun to be a big boy!

Also, a trip to the fair is never complete without stuffing one's self with fatty foods. The boys and I split a foot-long corn-dog and a turkey leg. They were both spectacular. Also, we hit up the fried dessert stand on the way out. Fried Snickers for me and fried Oreos for the boys. If you've never heard of fried desserts, as crazy as they sound, they are incredible. They freeze the candy bar and dip it in donut batter and fry the thing up. By the time you eat it you have a donut stuffed with a melty candy bar. Incredible!

Dam Run Results

Not a bad race. It turned out to be a great day for a run. It had rained all night, but cleared off before the race. It was cool and slightly misted both before and after the race.
I fell short of my goal, but I knew up front that my goal was a tough one. I'm still happy with my time. Rather than averaging 6:59 per mile, I achieved a 7:09 pace for a 44:21.
At this point, I'm enjoying all of my runs but I see them all as practice for the Bridge Run. One day I'll venture into longer events, but for now I'm really enjoying the 5Ks and 10Ks that I've been doing.

Oh, for the record, here were my splits:
Mile 1: 6:30
Mile 2: 6:49
Mile 3: 7:10
Mile 4: 7:06 (still nearly 25 seconds ahead of my goal at this point)
Mile 5: 7:35 ( It was obvious @ mile 4.5 that I didn't have enough left in the tank)
Mile 6: 7:25
last .2: 6:10 pace

Dam Run

Tomorrow morning is the Dam Run. I feel unprepared, but I'd still shooting for a goal. I broke the 7 minute mile pace for my last 5K. It's time to shoot for that pace in a 10K. To reach a 6:59 pace, I'll have to post a 43:23. That is no easy task, but goals aren't supposed to be easy now are they?

Wish me luck!

* results to come after the race.

To be a South Carolinian

I actually like where I live. There are a lot of great things about South Carolina. I have a great job at Southeastern and I love the workplace, including both the work and the people. My kids attend Satchel Ford elementary school, and to be honest I am very impressed with education that my kids have received thus far. I enjoy South Carolina beaches and Myrtle Beach specifically is a huge draw, having more golf courses in one area than any other place in the country.

South Carolina has it's high points, but why is it that we tend to look so bad?
(1) Education: South Carolina is 42nd in Academic Achievement (this may have changed. that was based on the 2007 Report Card of Academic Achievement)

(2) Unemployment: 11.8%, ranked 46th overall

(3) Governor in the news - Sanford and his affair was not favorable in the media, but even worse was his handling of the situation after the news came out. You all know the details so I wont bother elaborating, but it made him and us by association look pretty bad.

(4) Joe Wilson - the latest of the SC bad points. There are certain rules to follow according to the situation.
In sports, if you're at a football game you can cheer all you want. However when you watch golf, there are times to cheer (after a great shot) and times to be quiet (during a shot). In much the same fashion, in the political arena there are rules or norms to follow. At a town hall if you don't like what is said, by all means, speak up. However, during a presidential address hold your tongue. It's not the right venue to bring attention to yourself. When Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" at Obama when he disagreed with the accuracy of a statement that was made, he made himself look bad and once again made SC look bad. No, he didn't throw a shoe at the president, but were just as inappropriate. Why did the person making the comment have to be someone else from SC? ugh.

How about we start making South Carolina look good for a change?

Labor Day Fitness Challenge - Results

The races this morning went well.

Stacy enjoyed hanging with us and cheered us all on. She had a good morning.

Alex was in the 6 and under race (1/4 mile). He ran/walked it and enjoyed it. The field events after the race appeared to be his favorite part.

Jackson was in the 7-9 year old race (1/2 mile). He started out very slow. I didn't realize at the time that he was pacing himself, but it was evident during the second lap. He went from near the back to bust through the crowd and ended up finishing in third place. He is very fast. Oh, and he also really enjoyed the field events.

My race offered a few challenges. First off, let me say that Ben Lipen ran a well organized event. That being said, they used Strictly Running for their timing and such and that was NOT done well. Not only were all the times for the 5K reported incorrectly, but the course was not set. Those of us in the front group (top 15 or 20 people) ran too far. There is one point that the route doubles back on itself and the dude on the bike that tells you where to turn around was in the wrong place. After a group of us went too far, he realized it and cut the course back off to it's regular length for the rest of the group. What a SNAFU. In the end, the extra distance turned my 3.1 mile race into a 3.31 mile race (proved by my GPS watch). No biggie, but it did effect my goals.

Ok. Enough rambling. How did I do? Well, I didn't finish in 21:41, but my course was longer so that worked out ok. I finished in 22:50.... which comes out to a 6:54 mile pace! Awesome! Not only that, but when it came time to award the age group awards, I was happy to find out that I WON the 30-35 males division! Double Awesome!!

Success!!!

Labor Day Fitness Challenge

Tomorrow is the race. I posted after the Hot Summer's Night race that I was torn as to whether to run the 5K or 15K on Labor Day. I opted for the 5K. After all, I did fall short of my goal last time. Let's give this thing another shot!

A year ago I sat watched Stacy run the Labor Day Fitness Challenge 5K. She did very well and is now totally hooked on road races (as you may have gathered from my previous posts). Last year I kept the kids during the race and then we let them run the kids race, as well as some other "fun races", like a 3-legged race etc... They loved it and actually walked away with some medals from the fun races. Tomorrow the shoe is on the other foot. Stacy is keeping the kids and I'm doing the race. Of course the boys are back for more, hoping to repeat as champs in the 3-legged race. It should be a very fun day. I know the boys and I will enjoy it. I just hope Stacy has a good time too. I know it's tough sitting and watching!

My race goal is once again to break a 7:00 mile pace. A 6:59 pace comes out to a final clock time of 21:41 or less. I want to keep a stady pace again, but this time I wont stop at water stations. Instead I'm taking my hydration belt. That should really help. Wish me luck!

Another thing - I'm going to steal this from Stacy's blog. My running play list.
Tomorrow's list is below. Keep in mind that although I'll only be running 20-22 minutes, my list is about an hour long. That is because when I loose interest mid-song, I scan for a good song to get me pumped up. Anyway here is tomorrow's list:
Enter Sandman - Metallica
Nookie - Limp Bizkit
One Step Closer - Linkin Park
Boom - P.O.D.
Stupify - Disturbed
Lord Give Me a Sign - DMX
Anything, Anything - Dramarama
Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
O.P.P. - Naughty By Nature
Bullet With A Name - Nonpoint
Bodies - Drowning Pool
Smack My Bitch Up - The Prodigy
Becoming the Bull - Atreyu
I Get Off - Halestorm
Between Angels And Insects - Papa Roach
Gives You Hell - The All-American Rejects
What Do I Have to Do? - Stabbing Westward


Results to come after the race...

Motivation or Lack Thereof

I am a motivated person... however, that motivation changes day to day. Lately, I have been totally unmotivated to blog. Hence, this lackluster post. So what motivates me these days? Well, to be honest I am really focusing on two things right now: (1) trying to get better at golf! and (2) making my transition to my new job. Despite the promotion happening weeks ago, I'm still in the transition period. Maybe 4-6 more weeks of training Renee to be my replacement, then on to a new world for me? Perhaps. Then again, it may take longer. Until then, I'll focus on my other motivation - golf. Today was not what I would call a stellar performance. In fact, I struggled awfully. Hopefully next time will be better.

Lame Duck or Transition?

I have to be honest. I am attempting to wrap up my current projects and to train my replacement for my old job, while also doing some reading to prepare for my new job. I feel like I'm in limbo or something. Totally weird. To accept and job and then have a "transition period"... Is this what they call the lame duck session? Perhaps.

I'm going to do my best to tie up all loose ends and learn as much as possible to fully prepare for the real transition... when will that be? Soon. Patience is a virtue, right?

Running Hot

It had been a while since I'd run a road race, so I decided to participate in the Hot Summer's Night run in Columbia on August 1st. Stacy brought the kids and they did the fun runs which consisted of a 100 meter dash, a 400 meter run, and a 800 meter run. My kids did great and the ever confident Jackson lived up to the hype and won the 100 meter, defeating what appeared to be a 4th grader. He was pretty happy... even after that "4th grader" kicked his butt in the next two races. I was proud of both of the kids. Alex right in there too. They had a great day and received 3 medals for completing each race. Awesome.

On to my race. Oh, but first, while the boys and I were stretching we heard a number of people talking. One conversation was a group of 3 high school kids. One of them sounded like he was really a deep thinker. Get this. He says, "you know, the thing about this race, this Hot Summer's Night, is that since it is at night, it's really hot." With brains like that, he is sure to be his class's valedictorian.

So anyway, in case you're not up to date on my running pursuits, I tend to go out way to hard to start a race and then crap out with some really slow splits to finish up. My goals for the Hot Summer's night were:
(1) Keep a steady pace.
(2) Break 7:00 per mile.

And the results:
(1) Steady Pace? Booya! I kept my pace better than ever before. My watch (GPS enabled if you are just catching up) was my guide. I kept an eye on it better than I usually do. When I noticed I was speeding up beyond a 6:50pace, I slowed a bit. When it crept above 7:15, I kicked it up a gear. The only exceptions were the two water stations. Perhaps I should have skipped out on the refreshments for a mere 3.1 mile race, but it was refreshing so I slowed to partake. Anyway, I kept a good pace and was very happy about that.
(2) Break 7:00 per mile? As you might have imaged due to my mentioning the slowing down for the water stations, I actually fell short of my 7:00 mile pace. I finished with a 22:00 race time, which comes out to 7:05 per mile. Close. Very close but this is neither horseshoes, nor hand grenades, so I get the big thumbs down for this one.

Goals - 1 of 2 achieved is not bad, but I want to keep improving. Next running goal? hmmm, time to pick a new race. About a month from now is the Labor Day Fitness challenge. The only question; 5k or 15k? There is no doubt that Stacy will do the 15k, but then again, she reps out miles on the pavement like that every weekend. No big deal for her. For me, however 9+ miles is a long way. More than I ever run. So back to the question? 5k to improve on the 7:05 pace?... or... test my endurance with a 15k? I'll ponder that one for a while.

While I ponder, I'll leave you with that gem from the modern day Einstein. Try to wrap your head around it. "you know, the thing about this race, this Hot Summer's Night, is that since it is at night, it's really hot."

Life Lessons

After having such a wonderful high from the anticipation of my new job and the announcement of my promotion last week, we hit a new low today. Well, actually late last night and dealing with that low today we've run into many life lessons. What am I talking about?

24 hours ago all was fine. We had experienced a good day; Stacy had a nice long run, we got some work done around the house and started a family movie marathon (Harry Potter, the plan was to do all the movies this week). During family movie night, we decided to watch in the bed and even let the dogs on the foot of the bed while we watched. In retrospect, I was glad we did. That was the last quality time we had with Athena.

She was fine after dinner. Later that night wasn't doing well and before the night was over, she was gone. It's hard to believe. Athena suffered from the same thing Marley did from Marley in Me: basically the Bloat. Enough about that.

2 of the Life lessons...

(1) Dealing with death. Death is hard enough to deal with, but seeing a child deal with it is another story all together. Jackson is taking it hard. We tried to have a fun day and both the boys enjoyed the fun stuff, but any time there is quiet time, Jackson is upset again. It's understandable, but it breaks my heart.

(2) It's ok to cry. This morning we were all upset. Hours later, out of nowhere Jackson told me that today was the first time he saw me cry. I think that was very important. I want him to know that it's ok to cry, even "tough guys" as he sees me to be. That was very important.

Ok, let's move on. Athena. We loved and love her. Here are some great pics of her over time; from baby Jackson dropping scraps for her to the recent gray bearded Athena.

Promotion?

In an earlier post I mentioned that I'd talk more about work soon:
Actually I said:
   "Work - I'm really enjoying what I'm working on and have more exciting work coming down soon. I wont bore you with details, but I have to touch on this one."

So what did I mean? Well, first off the database projects that I've been working on are really worthwhile. I've enjoyed working on them, but more more importantly than that was what I knew was on the horizon.

A few months back I was called in and told about an opportunity. I had high hopes and effective Monday, July 20th... the opportunity will be realized. It's an amazing opportunity; not even really a promotion as much as it is a career change. As much as I enjoy my job as a Database Administrator, I cant wait to transition to my new role as...... Assistant Director of Corporate Planning and Development. Thant has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
There will be a huge learning curve and according to management, it will take years to get up to speed. It's a big jump but I'm ready for it and I'm certain that I'll enjoy the work. But first I'll be spending some time training my replacement as DBA. It should be a fun, but crazy next couple of months in me training someone else and me starting my own training. I cant wait!

Anyway, that is the big news that has me totally ecstatic. Now you know!

More Running

Well, to catch you up on how running is going...

I have to touch on a negative first. My "tendinitis" in my hip (if that is really what it is) is really flaring up again. It pisses me off, but I hold steadfast. When in pain, I run less. When I feel good, I run more. It's no perfect science; just good common sense.

Anyway, as I mentioned in my last post, Stacy Incorporated a half marathon into her training last weekend. I have to give her major props for that one. I aspire to run a half by the end of the year... that is THE GOAL. It's not a step along the path. It is THE goal for 2009. She did it as part of her training. Awesome! I have no doubt she'll reach her goal of finishing the Marine Corp Marathon.

Me? Well, I've established better habits and have been running more than in the past. I'd say that I average 10-12 miles per week. However, this past week I had gone about a week without running (hip issue again!) and I decided to go out for a run. As I was about to finish my 3.9 mile route, I decided to make a turn into another neighborhood. I had intended to extend my run to a 5 miler... turned out to be a 6.3 miler. Booya! On top of that, I averaged 8:00 minute miles. Without having run for time, I was quite happy with that accomplishment. Now I just need to build on that one. I'm trying to decide.... Myrtle Beach half marathon? Kiawah half? or maybe even a trip back to Vegas for a the Rock and Roll half marathon? I'm pushing for the last one, but we will see. Right now I'm just pumped about having thrown in a 6.3 mile run without it being a race day!

Long Time, No Post

Wow. It has been nearly 2 months since I've posted. It's crazy how:
(1) One can lose the motivation to do something (in this case, blog).
(2) One can get so busy and wrapped up in one thing (or multiple things) that you forget about something else.

Honestly, when you get wrapped up in lots of other things, that creates the best topics for which to blog! That being said, I have to get to work, but some topics that are on my mind that will be blogged about in the next few days:
(1) Running - I'm getting better and Stacy is putting me to shame. btw, she did a half marathon on Saturday... not as a race, rather as part of her trainig program. Wow!
(2) Work - I'm really enjoying what I'm working on and have more exciting work coming down soon. I wont bore you with details, but I have to touch on this one.
(3) Beach vacation # 1 - Pawley's Island
(4) Jackson's birthday - he is 7!
(5) Beach vacation # 2 on the horizon - Myrtle Beach.
(6) house projects, they never end
(7) Family in town. As I mentioned before, Matthew and Laura just moved to Columbia. I'm very happy about that.
(8) Who knows? Getting back in the blogging mix will surely inspire me to write something else too.

Ok, off to work...

TGIF

Thank God it's Friday!

The past 3 weeks have tired me out. When Stacy travels, one aspect that I actually enjoy is the extra time with the kids. So often we get caught up with other aspects of life that we do not give enough time to those things which deserve it most. Being single dad for a night here and there gives me a lot of time with them and they, as well as I, enjoy it. That being said, as enjoyable as those days are, they are also tiring.

Single dad days include getting the kids to and from school, covering meals, homework, and play time. Not to mention having to put in extra hours at work to cover the screwy schedule created by covering the kids before and after school. Stack a few days like that in a row and I'm beat. Luckily Stacy's travel is usually spread out a bit. Not so for the past month. The last 3 weeks have included 3 trips, Monday through Wednesday each time, but it's the last travel for a few weeks. Whew. Time for a break! This weekend couldn't get here soon enough. TGIF!!!!

I have to mention two things:
(1) I have the utmost respect for single parents that have to pull full time work and parent duty 365 days a year. My 2-3 day spans are quite enough.
(2) I have an awesome wife. When she returns home from her travels, she always urges me to get out and play some golf to give me a break. Of course, I don't hesitate to take her up on that.

Speaking of which... time for some golf!

A visit from a fairy

Our family had another first today and it will be topped off by a visit from the Tooth Fairy. A few of Jackson's teeth have been loosening for weeks. The front two bottom teeth were competing for which would be the first to go. It was obvious about a week ago that the left one would win.

Yesterday we discussed pulling it, but decided to wait until mom got back on Wednesday. Tonight there was no holding off. He wanted it out so I obliged. He couldn't have been more excited that he lost a tooth and that he was a big boy and didn't cry. As he put it, "I didn't even have one drop in my eye." I was proud. Check out the evidence; a few pics and one video.

23 days

That is how long it's been. 23 days since my last post. Why? I have no idea for what reason I've lost my inspiration to share, but I just don't feel inspired to elaborate on any one subject. So, for tonight I'll make a few short comments on a number of subjects (10 to be exact):

(1) My boys
I can't believe Jackson is nearly done with first grade... and Alex is nearly finished with daycare. Wow, how time flies. They're getting so big and they're a strangely independent duo for a 5 and 6 year old.

(2) Family
I'll finally have family in town and I'm very excited about that. My brother Matthew and sister-in-law Laura are moving to Columbia and I couldn't be more pumped about it. They won't be living next door or even down the street or anything like that, but having bought a house near Sandhill they will not be too far away. Not to mention, there is always a reason to head out to Sandhill. Now we'll have one more.

(3) American Idol
I think that this season, America has been choosing well. My two favorites are still in, and nearly everyone has been voted off in an order I approve of. There is a good five left. I'm still not a fan of Kris, and I hope he goes this week but even he has done well. Danny Gokey deserves to be runner up, and if Adam Lambert doesn't win it will be a total farce and as big of a shock as it was to see Daughtry voted off early a few seasons back.

(4) Stock Market
I've recently opened an eTrade account. I am enjoying learning the market and doing a little investing. It is really amazing how volatile the market is and it's crazy that something like the swine flu even has an impact on financial stocks... go figure. Anyway, I'm learning and I like it.

(5) First hundred days
There has been much press for Obama's first hundred days. I guess we'll here more tomorrow during the address, but my take so far is that I'm impressed with what he is getting done for the most part. I'm also impressed the he is getting congress to pass the spending he wants. I am, however, not impressed that congress has yet to buy in to his revenue building or cost cutting ideas. There are two sides to that coin. If you're gonna spend more, you'd better bring in more too....

(6) filibuster-proof?
Arlen Specter pulled the old switcheroo today. After serving 5 terms as a Republican Senator, he decides to head to the other side of the isle due to his "moderate philosophies" being more in line with the Democratic party.... or more importantly, he didn't think he could win a sixth term as a Republican. Either way, with his becoming the 59th Democrat, when/if Al Franken takes that crazy Minnesota seat... well, do the math. With a united front, those numbers are Filibuster-proof.

(7) Golf
I had an awesome golf weekend a few weeks ago. Three fun rounds, 16 guys, 3 beautiful days in Myrtle Beach. It was awesome. Although I didn't play fantastically, I definitely have the bug. This weekend I'm playing in a Captain's Choice tournament with some friends. 2 of the 3 of my teammates were also in Myrtle so we should be well-practiced, and the fourth can hit the ball a mile so I think we really have an opportunity to score well. We will see.

(8) Travel
Stacy is traveling again. I lose track sometimes. She goes through long periods without leaving Columbia, but when the travel starts it seems to happen quite a bit. Last Monday through Wednesday it was Pensacola. This Monday through Thursday it's El Paso (which happens to be where I was born). Next Monday through Wednesday she is on the road again... I forget where. When she is on the road I think I play the single dad role well. It's tiring but also fun. I tell you what though, it's always great to see Stacy return home. Anyway, at times it is a lot of travel and I think she enjoys it. I wish I could work in a little travel too (in addition to my golf outings!)

(9) Work
It's amazing how much work I get done without actually accomplishing any goals. On Friday afternoons when I look back at the week I typically feel like I spend so much time working on the small things that pop up, that I rarely actually accomplish what it was that had intended to knock out on Monday morning.

(10) Running
Stacy has signed up for her first Marathon. It's the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, DC. I have to say that I'm impressed and a little jealous. We have both jumped into running road races over the last year, which we are both really enjoying. So far, we only have 5Ks and 10Ks under our belts. I fully intend to run a Marathon...one day. I have a short term goal of a half marathon before the year's end and I feel like that goal is plenty for me. Stacy on the other hand is taking it to the next level. She has already worked her mileage up quite a bit. Before long her Saturday runs will be over 10 miles! All I can say is... wow.

So after 23 days, those are my 10 subjects. I hope you enjoyed.

7:14 ?

Well, how did it go?

Did I achieve my goal? Nope.
Was I happy with my run? Absolutely!

I did not average 7:14 miles. The large crowd could be an adequate excuse if I were searching for one, but I dont feel the need. I'm happy with my performance. I ran a 45:51, averaging a 7:22 mile. That is easily my best time, which in and of itself is a reason to be happy, however there is so much more that I'm happy about. Unlike in past races, I did not overexert myself early in the race. In fact, my slowest 3 miles were my first three. I finished fairly strong and that is what I'm most proud of. My splits were:
      Mile 1:   7:59
      Mile 2:   7:27
      Mile 3:   7:25
      Mile 4:   7:00
      Mile 5:   7:16
      Mile 6:   6:59
the pesky extra
 0.2 miles:   6:36 pace

I'm very happy with the results and my best time ever. On top of all that, Stacy also had her best time ever. It was awesome for both of us to continue to get better. May the progress continue!

It was a great day... and a great weekend.

7:14

That's that goal. Lofty? Perhaps, but aren't goals supposed to be?

If you're just catching up, the Cooper River Bridge Run is this weekend. Although I've done it numerous times, I've never been in great running shape. I am getting better though. It seems that each time I make the trip I'm in slightly better shape. Last year's race was the best so far and I felt really good about my time. I finished in 47:03, which comes out to a 7:34 pace.

This year I have a lofty goal of breaking the 45 minute milestone. What pace is needed to achieve that feat? 7:14. That is the goal. 20 seconds per mile faster. That doesn't sound so hard... does it?

Wish me luck.

Idol - Top 10

Tonight little changed in my eyes. My two favorites had good nights, although Adam definitely edged ahead of Danny. Lil is still third, but Matt and Allison are closing in fast.

More importantly, the bottom three. No doubt, the bottom spots belong to Michael (oiler) and Scott. Joining them in the bottom three will probably be Megan, although I do like her funky style. If I had to choose I'd put Kris in the bottom three, but for some reason the judges seem to love that guy. I just don't get it.

Anyway, my current rankings:
(1) Adam "Jim Breuer doing AC/DC" Lambert
(2) Danny "hey I look a little like Robert Downey Jr if you squint and tilt your head to the left" Gokey
(3) Lil "not Little" Rounds
(4) Matt "I'm really not Elliott Yamin" Giraud
(5) Allison "16 with pipes of 25 year old" Iraheta
(6) Anoop "I wear 4 layers of clothing in the summer because I'm cool" Desai
(7) Megan "Funky Tats" Joy
(8) Kris "I just don't get it" Allen
(9) Scott "vote for the pink pants" MacIntyre
(10) Michael "I'm only here because I got tv time in the early rounds" Starver

The Glass is Half Full

After a solid week of warm weather, this turned out to we a very dreary weekend. It was cold and rainy and it would have been easy to sit at home and pout about the weather and being trapped in the house... but what good is that?

We had a great weekend. Since we were stuck inside, we found much to do indoors.

Friday Stacy and I enjoyed a night out. We so infrequently get out without the boys that it really didn't matter what we did. We knew that it would be very enjoyable. The night ended up being dinner at Arizona Steak House and a movie, The Watchmen, at Sandhill. I'd have loved for both to have been great, but one out of two isn't bad. In reality, I'd suggest you keep Watchmen on your to rent list (and make sure the kids are in bed before you watch it). It was ok, but rather disjointed. Dinner, on the other hand was wonderful. I'd visited an Arizona's years ago for lunch, but for some reason we'd never been for dinner. Now it's on our short list. The food was amazing. I know for sure that my ribeye was and Stacy claimed the same of her fillet. On top of good taste, they came cooked correctly. Nearly every restaurant overcooks their steaks. These were perfect. Also, the atmosphere was great (for night out without the kids). We will go back. You should give it a try as well.

Saturday avoiding the rain, we got the kids out of the house by going to Leapin' Lizards. That turned out to be a great idea. They played hard for 2.5 hours, while Stacy and watched and did some reading. Many other parents had the same idea. I guess great minds think alike.

Sunday I was supposed to have played in a golf tournament. Mother Nature had other plans. No big deal though. Cracker Barrel and EdVenture Children's Museum added up to great day with the kids. They loved it and raved over what a fun weekend it had been.

I love it when the best is made of a less than promising situation. Who cares about the rain when you can have so much fun inside?!

Idol - Final 13

I was very impressed with the top 13. Most of the performances were excellent, however not all of them lived up to the hype. The way the show began, I was beginning to think that they would all rock it. Alas, that did not happen.

I could go into a boring talk about each of the contestants, but I wont. I'll hit the highs and lows.

I have really liked Anoop up until tonight. To me he crashed and burned with Beat It. I hope he gets through to next week to show what he has, but he didn't get it done tonight. He could easily be bottom three, but based on previous performances I hope that he survives.

So who will go? Who knows how the voting will go, but I'll tell you who I think SHOULD go. The bottom three should be Jorge Nunez, Chris Allen, and yep - Anoop, with Jorge going home.

And who are the best? There are a few that were good tonight, but without a doubt there are only 3 that deserve to be in my top 3. My favorites.... I hate to agree with Paula, but I must... Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert are my favorites at this point. Lil Rounds rounds out my top 3. No others compared. Matt Giraud and Alexis Grace could be mentioned in the same breath, but really didn't hold a candle to those top three.

Work, work, work

All week we work so that we can go home and work some more. Isn't that fun?

I can't wait for this time of year. The temperature is finally going up, the grass is beginning to grow, and the yard needs much work. Today we started on that work. It wasn't just the normal straightening and grooming of the bushes. This was hard work. We have a few bushes and small trees that we have been wanting to get rid of so I attacked them. They're now gone, but not before being real pains in my as.... I mean, in my hands. They're covered in blisters, but it was worth it. Now the boys have a larger yard to play in.
Tomorrow we finish the job that is the yard. However, before we start I have some golf to play, which may be interesting with blister-covered hands...but I digress. The yard is coming right along and we should be at a good stopping point tomorrow. The yard work will be done just in time to go back to real work on Monday morning...

That's Heavy!

Doc Brown from Back to the future:
"There's that word again...'heavy' - why is everything heavy in the future? Is there something wrong with the Earth's gravitational pull?"

If I were to step back 15 years and see today as the future, would today be heavy? hmmm. I don't know about everything, but "I" am heavy. Why?
Blame fatty foods.
Blame super-sizing.
Blame the boob tube and my hours of lethargic reverence and over-all worship of it. Find any excuse for being overweight.
Pathetic.

10 years ago I finished up my football career. At my top playing weight, I was 265 lbs. On the football field that may be fine, but in the "real world" that is a bit much to haul around on a regular basis. I told myself that I'd lose the excess, and I did. The next year I was 225. I was proud of my loss... then let myself go. Not 18 months later I was back up to 250 and stayed around about there for the next 8-9 years, with random exceptions when I lost a few pounds before putting them right back on.

Last year told myself that enough is enough. I was set to lose the weight... again...
and I did...
again.

Strangely enough, 225 now is not what 225 was then. Meaning, I'm still to heavy. That was never more evident than at the Race Against Hunger. I was too heavy to run the way I wanted to, so I devoted myself to losing some more weight. My new baseline is 225.

After a week I can tell I've lost a little weight already. How much, I don't know. It really doesn't matter because I'm not going for a quick fix. I want to make a permanent change. I arbitrarily picked out a race weight of 205. I'd like to get down to that weight, but I'll have to wait and see if that works out. I really just want to look and feel healthy.

Follow-up to come later, but I'd really like to see noticeable difference by the Bridge Run. Wish me luck and hopefully my future wont be "heavy".

Idol, Group 3

I'm starting to lose interest in this season. It happens every year. Once we get to the final twelve it gets much better. That being said, there were some good performances tonight and the performances seemed to once again get better as the night went on. My opinions are not as strong this week. I thought this group had less differentiation between the good and bad, but for the record my favorites were:

Guys:
Scott MacIntyre (known as the legally blind guy that Ryan missed the high five with. Hilarious. And even better tonight when Scott made Ryan give him a high five successfully this time around. If you saw it, you know what I mean. lol. Oh, and his singing was pretty dang good too!)
Ju'Not Joyner (Smooth R&B guy that changed up Hey There Delilah).
Jorge Nuñez (sang Dont Let the Sun Go Down On Me).

Girls:
Felicia Barton (didn't make the top 36, but due to a conflict of interest one contestant was booted and she filled the spot and she filled it well.)
Lil Rounds (sang a Mary J song and sang it well. No, sang it incredibly!)

Too Slow

Concerning my goal of 45 minutes....









To describe the race in it's entirety... It was wet. I started out entirely too fast for the first two miles, hit the wall so hard that I actually had to walk for a little while to keep from hurling everywhere, then finished the race with a monkey on my back (for those that dont know, this means that it felt as if I were carrying a lot of extra weight....like a monkey on my back). Not a good race. It was fun for the most part, but not good. I fell more than 2 minutes behind my goal pace. bah!

Enough of the negative though. On a happy note I did improve my time from last year by over two minutes. I'm happy about that part and intend to do even better next time. Now it's time to start preparing for the Cooper River Bridge Run. I hope to be a few pounds lighter by then and in better shape. I cant wait!

Lexington Race Against Hunger

This morning is the Lexington Race Against Hunger. It's pouring rain outside, but the race is a go. I guess the weather will test who is really in to running and who is not. Stacy and I are, we're awaiting the sitter and we're ready to go.

I have a tough goal today. I'd like to break 45 minutes, which would mean a 7:14 pace. I'll post my results after the race. Wish me luck!

American Idol, group 2

I have to say that group 2 started off pretty poorly. Fortunately the show progressively got better finishing up with Adam Lambert, who totally rocked it.

To start the night, I had high hopes for Jasmine Murray and Matt Giraud. Both were extremely good in their previous face time. Both totally bombed last night and do not even deserve mention for making it through unless they make the wildcard show.

Nick Mitchell (aka Norman Gentle) was hilarious. Should he go through? Absolutely not. I was shocked he was invited to the top 36, but he is entertaining so I guess that is why he made it. What gets me though, is that before making the final 36 he commented about wanted to use the Norman character to perform. The judges loved the idea and said they expected it. Then last night they bashed him for doing just that. Maybe that is what they wanted; someone to bash. Who knows? He was entertaining, so kudos for that.

16 year old Allison Iraheta had a good night singing 'Alone', by Heart. She can really sing and showed it last night. Megan Corkrey gave a great performance as well with Corinne Bailey Rae's 'Put Your Records On'. She has a really cool vibe. To me, these two will be vying for the top female spot of the night.

The top male performer was definitely Adam Lambert rocking The Rolling Stones 'Satisfaction'. As Simon said, he did have some parts that were not good, but for the majority of his song he was in a different league that most of the group.

I did disagree with the judges for one performer. Matt Breitzke (the welder) sang well doing Tonic's 'If You Can Only See'. The judges didn't think he was good enough, but he was at least honorable mention in my book. Kris Alan's rendition of Michael Jackson's 'Man in the Mirror' was much better than I expected. He and Breitzke are arguably fighting for the number 2 spot for the guys (beating out Kai Kalama, who wasn't bad but didn't perform as well as he had in the previous shows). Unfortunately for Breitzke and Alan, I think the three that advance should be 1 guy and 2 girls.

For the record, my prediction is: Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta and Megan Corkrey

Being a Coach

Back at the point in time that I was choosing a career I considered teaching and coaching. It can be very rewarding making a difference in kids lives in the classroom and on the field. Not to mention, the though of staying involved in athletics on a personal level was very appealing. I think the job would have been enjoyable. Not to mention the perk of vacations, but that is another topic altogether.

In the end, I passed up what I thought would have been a fun job, for what I deemed to be a more lucrative path. I’m happy with the decision I made and I do enjoy what I’m doing now. That being said, I do miss involvement in athletics. Luckily for me, Jackson just completed his first sports league, which opened up a new door of involvement for me. I happily volunteered to coach the 5 and 6 year old Upward (church league) team - the Lions.

It was trying at times; making it to practice every Monday night and games every Saturday morning, keeping the kids in line during both practices and games, and attempting to teach at least a little basketball along the way. Trying? Yes, but so fully worth the time and effort In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I intend to coach again next year. Throughout the season we saw the team come a long way. They grew by leaps and bounds, showing improvemnets every week and they had a great time along the way. In addition, Jackson told me multiple times every week how happy he was that I was his coach. That meant a lot... to him and to me.

Last night was the Upward awards night. They announced all the kids individually, they got something for participating (a cool Upward book bag), and they had entrainment (a magician; a magician with a Christian message). The kids loved it. It was a nice end to a great season. When we returned home and got ready for bed, the boys reaffirmed how much fun this season had been and how they intend to play next year. Then before I left the room, Jackson told Alex that "Dad can still be my coach". I asked if he was referring to next season, to which he replied, “No. The season is over, but you’re still my coach in my heart.”.
How awesome is that?! Kids can really bring you happiness with the smallest comments. Having both Jackson and I involved in basketball this season meant a lot to both of us and his comments like that one make me even happier about it all. Before I left the room, I reaffirmed his belief and extended that comment to include Alex as well, telling them that I can always coach and help them.

Next year Jackson intends to play again, and Alex is preparing to step onto the court as well. This paste season, during the preseason and even mid-season Alex had no interest at all, but by the end of the season I think he enjoyed it almost as much as the team. Not to mention that he practiced at home with Jackson and improved just as much as the team did. He is so ready and plans to play, and he told me last night that when he plays he “want(s) mom to be my coach”. I thought that was cool, but asked “so you don’t want me to be your coach?” He thought for a second before telling me that he wants us both to coach. We’ll see how that goes, but we’ll definitely be involved in both teams. I cant wait.

Idol

Since I've been lacking inspiration to blog, I'll give my take on Idol last night.

I like the new format of only 3 advancing from the 12 that sang last night (top male, top female and the next person with the most votes). That being said, the contestants made it easy to have that perspective. In my opinion 7 of them eliminated themselves before voting ever started, leaving only 5 to compete for the 3 spots. Of course, as in the past, there could be a fan base out there to push someone through despite a terrible performance. We will see.

Highs and Lows of the night:

Lows:
- If any of these three make it through, I'm going to assume that friends and family put them through by repeated voting. They were absolutely dreadful.
Stevie Wright
Brent Keith
Casey Carlson


Highs:

To me, these two were on the bubble.
Ann Marie Boskovich
Michael Sarver

Both are likable and can really sing as we've seen in the past, but just didn't do it justice last night.


The hands down best three (to me):
(1) Danny Gokey - last performance of the night. He was the best male, so he should advance. I usually agree with Simon, but this time I thought Randy, Paula, and Cara nailed it. Danny blew everyone off the stage.

(2) Tatiana Nicole Del Toro - As much as it pains me to say it, she was by far the best female, which should advance her to the next round. Her downfall could be her personality in Hollywood. People may not vote for her for that reason alone, but she was the best female performer last night.

(3) Anoop Desai - Anoop has been great every time they've shown him. Although last night was not the best that we've seen from him, it was still better than the rest of the bunch (besides Danny and Tiatiana).


Take my opinions with a grain of salt, but that is how I see it. Michael or Ann Marie could sneak in and I'd not be upset about it, but Danny, Tatiana, and Anoop should advance.

Helping those in need

You never know when you will be down on your luck and may need help. One day it may be me with the broken down vehicle and I'll be the one needing help. I hope others will offer assistance. Likewise, I tend to offer help when I think it's needed. If nothing else, maybe I'm creating some positive karma.

A situation presented itself last week.
I was filling up my truck at one of the local gas stations. As I was finishing up, I saw a guy that looked pretty upset on his phone. He walked over to a girl that I assumed he knew, spoke for a moment, then walked away. Then as I was finishing up, he walked over to me and hung up the phone. He gave a sob story about his vehicle being on fumes, the computer inside warned it was 2 miles to empty, him being 20 miles from home and his wallet being left at home. He swore that he wasn't one of "those people" that beg and he said that he was a hard worker. He was actually fairly distraught. Anyway, I dont usually carry cash, but I did have three bucks on me. I gave it to him. He seemed so grateful. Either he was really happy for the kindness of a stranger, or he was a conman that just scored three bucks. Either way, I didn't mind taking that risk of $3.

I had nearly forgot about that encounter, when I was filling up again. This time I was at the station directly across the street from the one the previous week. I noticed the guy across from me looked kind of like that other guy. He was better dressed and not upset. Maybe it was the same guy. Maybe not. I continued to fill the tank. This guy pops his hood and leaves it popped after checking the oil. He walks over and says , "excuse me sir, I'm having a bit of trouble." He looks at the car and says, "oh, not that. I'm just checking the oil". He is not at all distraught. He calmly tells me that his light is on that says 2 miles to empty, that he is like 20 miles from home and he left his wallet at home.

I never broke eye contact, pointed to the station across the street and said, "that's funny because you told me that exact story at that station just last week." I didn't look away, but he did. He said, "uh, I dont remember that." Then he looked at his feet and walked away talking to himself. "I swear. I really dont remember that. I just dont remember...". He closed the hood, hopped in the car and drove off in the blink of an eye. Question answered. He was a conman. I assume he worked one station for a day, then moved on. Only he moved to the other station that I use. People like him are truly pathetic. I have mixed feelings about him. I feel kind of sorry for the guy, however I also hope somebody else catches him in scheme and breaks his nose. :-) I guess I'm too nice and composed to do so myself, but I wouldn't upset to know someone else did it.

or⋅gan⋅i⋅za⋅tion

Over the past few years we've attempted to organize our lives, or at least our house. One place that has been missed in the move toward an organized house is my closet. It started with one shelf with some clothes stacked upon it. Before it was over, I had tons of shoes piled on dirty clothes, with random crap all on the floor. Among the shoes were my last three pair of black work shoes. That's right; my current black shoes, the one's those replaces and even the pair from before that pair. Ridiculous. Then there was the single shelf, which consisted of a mix of clean and dirty clothes, cds (most are years old), a few movies, and a random can of chicken (not sure how that got in there. It was a total disaster. I wish I had taken a picture. The best description of the closet was, well...it was a shit-hole. A mess or a disaster doesn't do it justice, so we'll go with shit-hole.
After months of putting off the project, I found a little time on Saturday to remedy the problem. I took some scrap wood from our basement and made some shelves in the closet (of course this was after removing clothes, balls, shoes, cds, movies, and that can of chicken). I moved the one shelf down for more shoe storage and added two for clothes. I'm happy with the result. Have a look. It may still be a hole, but now it's an organized hole. :-)

Terror or Fashion? (what a distinction!)

Some pictures are worth a worth a thousand words. What about these pictures? What do these three make you think of?


# 1


Undoubtedly, you know this first face. It is not uncommon to surface on any news segment on terrorism. Of course this is Osama Bin Ladin.


# 2


This second picture is the standard guy in a mask holding a gun. We've all seen such pictures and/or videos. He must be a terrorist, right? I really have no idea. The picture just fit the mold, so I grabbed it from a google search, but we'll assume he is until I'm corrected.


# 3


What about this third and final picture? What kind of terrorist wears a head lamp? Perhaps a coal mining terrorist? hmmm...lol.
This is no coal miner or terrorist! This is my wife before one of her early morning cold runs. Every time I look at this pic I have to laugh.
Functional? yes.
Terror invoking? maybe.
Fashionable? Well, definitely more fashionable than anyone I've ever seen wearing a balaclava. :-)

Here is the full picture. Awesome! And yes, funny.

Busy and Tired

I haven't posted much lately. It's not that I have nothing to talk about. It just that I've been busy. When I haven't been busy, I've been to lazy and tired to post. So there you have it. This is a post of less than 10 sentences about the fact that I'm too tired and busy to post. More posts to come in the near future, but right now I'm too tired...

When it's hot it's hot, but when it's not...

This is the story of my morning.

This morning I got up as usual, got my shower and was about ready to walk out the door when I heard Stacy say "I have no hot water". I thought to myself, "hmmm, I didn't take that long of a shower, did I?". In fact I had not. I went outside to check out the situation and saw water spraying from the bottom of our hot water heater. Crap!

My task: Assess the problem and stop the water flow.

The ground was soaked, but warm. It is obvious that the pressure change during my shower caused it to burst and that I was lucky enough to have been finishing my shower before it became cold.

We have an ancient enclosure around our water heater. Not to mention the heater itself was sold in 1983. Yeah, it's time for a new but hopefully not today. I worked loose some screws in the ancient crypt of an enclosure and found the source of the water. I couldn't stop it. What to do next? Turn off the valve right? It was rusted shut and all the tools I could find wouldn't budge the damned thing. All of my large pliers were missing, so I headed to Walmart. At this point it was 6:35, which is usually my deadline for making it to work on time. I would not be on time today.

Walmart is only one mile away, so it was a quick trip. I grabbed what I needed, bolted home and turned the valve. No water stopped. Surely that was because the tank was emptying..... Nope. It never stopped. The valve did nothing, so I cut off the water to the entire house, called a plumber, and proceeded to removed the crypt covering. It took my for ever! Not to mention I got my work clothes all muddy. But in the end I got the enclosure removed and threw it aside.

I went inside and attempted to wash off the mud. No go. Remember, I cut the water off. This would be the first of about fifteen times that I reached to turn on the water, yet none flowed. I managed to get semi clean, changed into fresh clothes, and headed to work. The Plumber was supposed to give me a 30 minute heads up. Of course I was about 1 mile from my house when he called. That would have been quite fortuitous had he actually been on the way. Unfortunately his message that he would arrive in about 30 minutes was full of false hope. About an hour and 15 minutes later I get a call from their dispatcher that they are running behind but it will be another 30 minutes. I tell him that is fine. An hour later; same call, same apology, same delay.

The repairman doesn't arrive until after 10:00. He walks around back, sees the dilapidated crypt remains and the 1983 heater and immediately launches into a sales pitch for a new tankless heater that he can install...only about 3 grand. WTF!!! I said, "so you cant fix this one". He says, "oh, I can fix it". Then he looks in his book and finds a page that quotes $475 and says "oh, that cant be right". I'm about to laugh at this point. He then finds the correct page. Quote is $94. That is more my speed. I tell him that if you can do it for $94, then do it. It takes him a long time, but then he finishes. I pay and ask him to help me put the crypt cover back on. He does and it almost falls apart. I then take the next 45 minutes screwing them damned thing back down. I'm once again covered in mud....work clothes covered in mud. Since it's already past lunch time, I decide I've had enough crap to deal with today, so I decide before finishing that I will call it day. The morning and early afternoon totally sucked, but that decision to call it day was the best decision ever. It turned out to be a very productive day around the house...and I even got to take a hot shower when it was done.

Signing Your Life Away

Today, yet again, we signed our lives away.

With interests rates having dipped, we decided to refinance to lock in this great rate. Wait a minute... Is this deja vu?

Four months ago, after the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae fiasco we seized an opportunity to get rid of our "high" rate mortgage, which had previously seemed like a fairly low rate. We locked; we closed; we were quite happy with ourselves. That was September of 2008.

January 2009, a mere 4 months later, what happened? Our amazing rate from 4 months prior suddenly doesn't not seem so good anymore. With the financial markets in a mess, companies lining up for government bailouts like kids for ice cream in the middle of summer, and a crunch for mortgage companies to buy up and close on "good mortgages", we found ourselves in a situation to improve our situation yet again. So what did we do? Since we have no plans to move any time in the foreseeable future, we refinanced yet again... at an even more amazing rate.

Two separate deals in 4 months may sound ridiculous, and to be honest it kind of feels that way when you look at 2 sets of closing costs, yet when I look at the money saved over the life of the loan, it's a no-brainer. Seize the moment! That is what we did and once again we are pretty happy with ourselves.

I dont know about the rest of you, but we're sure doing our part to stimulate this economy...and all we had to do was sign our lives away....twice.

Let it Snow!

We didn't tell the kids last night that school was canceled due to a chance of snow. To be honest, after having lived most of my life in South Carolina, I know that there is typically a huge overreaction when there is the slightest chance of snow. I didn't want to get Jackson and Alex's hopes up for snow when it may not come.

It turns out that my boys were able to see their first snow today. We woke them up at 7:20 to see the flurries start. They spent most of the day going out and playing, then coming in to warm up. They loved it. Oh, and by the way...none of it stuck. It was just fun to be outside while snow was falling. It has fallen off an on all day long, but the ground was too warm so it didn't stick. Who cares? Not my kids. They played basketball most of the day, ran and played, and tried to eat flakes as they fell. It's awesome to see how much fun they have. I hope that soon they'll see real snow on the ground to make snow balls and snow men, but for now this will do. Here are a few shots from today: