W's and Ed

Here is the W's, Mike and Ed heading down a run in Park City.

Utah continued

Mike and his family has been coming to Park City for years (about 20 I believe), and I have been coming out for nearly 10 years now. We needed a rest day, but we have done many of the things around Park City several times (Olympic Park, etc). We were losing hope until I spotted an island in the Great Salt Lake with a causeway leading to it. We decided to check it out based on a paragraph in a AAA guide.

It was a state park called Antelope Island. Suprisingly, there are Antelope there! There is a buffalo heard that was introduced in the 1800's. There are supposedly Badgers, owls, tons of birds, and Bighorn sheep there too. There were 6,500 foot peaks on the island. That was a suprise since our drive in was extremely flat. We saw Coyotes, Antelope, Bison, Partridges "Chuckas", and Hawks. It was pretty damn cool and a little surreal.

Latest addiction

When we were in Park City, we saw Aqualung and Pete Yorn. I do not know Pete Yorn, but I do like Aqualung. It was a little place where we were up close. We saw him in his tour bus too! I could have harassed him, but it is not my nature. Anyhoo, I saw that he was on The Morning Becomes Eclectic, and now I have been playing the podcast over and over. I am even considering seeing Aqualung again in March. He was pretty friggin' awesome! It is the Feb 16th broadcast.
http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb

Utah part 2

We skied Park City and The Canyons the first weekend with Ed and Pat. Tracey joined us on Sunday at the Canyons. Our friend Nora was skiing Park City with her kids, so we saw her after we skied. Her kids were taking terrain park lessons. It was actually in the low 50s on the slopes, but the snow stayed good (no slush). Mike and Ed developed a new Olympic sport, Synchronized Snowboarding. It was sunny without any clouds, just great western ski weather. My knee swelled, but it stayed under control. It was really fun to get Pat out in the Champagne powder after bugging him all of these years. I think he may come back. We need to get Lhes and Joshua up on the slopes next year! Taking Pat to the airport was a good excuse to rest my puffy knee. We discovered they sell potent beer in Mormon country, and we enjoyed its effects combined with the altitude. I think my head is still floating. I am still looking for Homer Simpson's favorite run, the Colostmizer. I found Ann and Kevin's run, Shamus (sorry about the spelling).

I had an embarrassing moment on a chairlift on Sunday. Mike, Ed, Pat and I kept lining up in a certain order, even though it really does not matter. We loaded on a chair in a new order, and we all joked about it on the way up. When we came off the lift, suddenly my leg was caught up on side and almost got stuck in equipment. I ended up taking the chair around the corner and hitting the safety bar. It stopped around the corner on the chair about 5 feet off of the ground. The lift operator had to take off my skis, and then he and Mike helped me down. It was so friggin'humiliating, and we should not have switched order! Ed almost got a picture of it. When I got down, his camera was finally ready and he asked me to get back up there. I assure you I know how to use a chairlift and I have no friggin' idea of what happened. I am glad that I did not rip my leg off!

Mike's parents arrived Monday, and we hit Park City again. Finally everyone was able to do some runs together at Park city after lunch. Mike broke his yellow glasses, so we had some fun with that. He still has them and plans to repair them. I did not know he loved those glasses so much.

These pics are at the Canyons on the Gondola, and in Park City. You can see why Mike is now "Helmut".

Mike and Ed

Mike and Ed Chan-Lizardo working their way down a run in Park City.

Pat in Park City

Pat chillin' on the slopes.

Utah Part 1, the journey

I flew out on friday the 16th which is a heavy travel day. It was pretty stressful. It took us 2 hours to get to Kennedy, park and take the airtrain to the terminal. By the time we got to the line to check our bags, it was 7:15. Unfortunately our flight was at 8. I have never been so happy over a flight delay in my life! We took off really late after the flight attendent threatened everyone to board and sit down by 9:30 or the flight was cancelled! That made the New Yorkers panic allright! Needless to say, we missed our connection (although only by 10 minutes!).
We ended up sleeping on the floor of the airport in Vegas. It was loud in there with slot machines and huge TV monitors going. We carefully explored all the dark and quiet corners, and there would be other people camped out. We felt like homeless people who did not want to get on somebody else's turf. Thankfully it was warm and a trash can fire was not necessary. Our flight was scheduled for 6:30 the next morning, so we got in line (see that Pat, IN line!) at 5:00. They had transferred airlines so we thought an early start would be helpful. Of course after standing in line and watching the lady type forever, there was a problem (I was not in the mood for that). We had to go back to our original airline and get the tickets reissued. We found a special empty line, they took care of us, and we returned. Our flight was being called up in the line, so we were pulled to the front. Some lady who was mad to see us pulled ahead started complaining about being on time, etc. Mike asserted himself with her. After all, we had been in line since 5, and now it was 5:45. Sleeping on the floor for about 2-3 hours does not put you in a tolerant mood. Of course we ended up in a special security screening! My stress free morning at the airport was changing. The TSA lady told me that "half the people in this line miss their flight" after I told her I was anxious about missing the plane (what a bitch). We ended up jogging to the gate after having to take a tram there! We did arrive in SLC without incident at the same time as Pat. We had breakfast at our hotel we paid for but did not sleep in, and headed to Park City!
Park City was warm, and we skied there the first day (they stay open later). We skied with Pat and Ed Chan-Lizardo (or they rode while I skied!). Park City is always the best warmup. PS, if you click on the pics, you can get a blown up picture and be able to see who everyone is with all their gear on.

Back to Reality

I am reeling since we just got home at 7:15 after travelling since 5:45 AM EST. Here are some Utah pics. Debriefing to come later!

Gettin' out of town!

We are leaving today for Utah! My knee is much better (finally), work seems under control, and I think I packed everything I need. It will be a long flight tonight, but it is a small price to pay in order to be in Park City!!!!

Mike got home late Wed night. He ended up taking Amtrack home since his flight was cancelled. When we woke up yesterday, we did not have any water!! He took off to the store to buy gallons to use to wash(you need a shower after a long train ride!) We discovered the garage door was open! When clearing the driveway, the snow/ice would make a block like an igloo, and it was under the door. The safety mechanism did not allow the door to shut, and we did not notice. Hopefully there are not any critters in there since it was really cold! Thankfully we did not burst a pipe! The water was running again by noon.

Gotta go! I am sure I am forgetting something!

Morning Becomes Eclectic — KCRW | 89.9FM

Morning Becomes Eclectic — KCRW | 89.9FM

I forgot about this radio show, but I have been going through the archives all week. If you are longing for new music, this is good show to listen to. He has live performances every day in studio which are really great.

The The - Uncertain Smile

The song with one of the longest out-tros ever! I still love it!

50 metre sprint underwater swim with fin

This used to be my calling! I found this accidentally while avoiding work just now!

Ice Ice Baby!

I was expecting anywhere from 3-12 inches of snow, but when I got up, there was only about 2 inches of snow. It started to sleet hours ago, and it is not letting up! I thought I would go see my homecare kiddos, but that does not look likely anymore. I am cool with driving in snow, but I hate ice storms! I went in the driveway to assess, and the snow was so weird! It felt like sugar due to the ice, but it was slippery! Usually you get a hard layer of ice. So it is a funky storm indeed.
I was also going to take the new car out, but I really do not want to ding it. We took it to the city after debating and worrying about it on Sunday. I told Mike he was paranoid and what was the chance it was get hit. When we were leaving, we got stuck in a traffic jam for the Lincoln Tunnel. Then bump!! Some jackass bumped us. Fortunately it was so low speed there was not even a scratch, but it was pretty ironic indeed.

UPDATE:
It is still sleeting!! The lights have flickered once, and I hope the power stays on since I am getting work done!!!! It has been sleeting almost non-stop since about 10 AM, and it is 2 now.

The final push

I have not been posting too much in the last couple of days. Sorry about that! I am very busy trying to get ready to leave for a week. So far no known exposures to nasty colds (the usual kids that always are sick are the same!). My knee is settling down, but still not 100%. I will try to be nice to it in Utah (maybe lay off the moguls!) Since I have not been hitting the gym, I am filling out too much, but I will address that when my body quits rebelling. This is the busiest work time for me since I am writing annual reviews, but I am making good progress.

Saturday we cruised around our area to scout out areas to live that would be a good commute for both of us. The housing has dropped in Westchester for the first time in 12 years, so our home shopping procrastination will help us out some. I have been half heartedly looking, but then I hit some places on a website that were cool looking, only 10 minutes north of here, priced well, and had some land. It made me want to make offers even though Mike has only been working for 1 week. I guess I am getting sick of being crammed in here, not being able to have friends over easily, and having to go to the laundromat. It gave me hope that when we have to enter the market here, we may be able to get a decent house for our huge amount of money.

On Sunday, we hit the city to meet our friends Tracey and Marcello for brunch (great place, can not remember the name). It took a long time, so we skipped the museum we planned on and walked an hour instead. It was cold, but a beautiful day. We then met with the inlaws for dinner. I am still full. I received many birthday messages on Sunday which I really enjoyed. I think the new family tradition since we are far apart is to sing Happy Birthday in answering machines. John even sang which was a treat! I have not taken off my gifts from my mom or Tracey yet. I guess the blow of officially being in my late 30's was softened a bit.

I worked all day and got my hair cut last night. Yes, I do get my haircut in NY now! In fact, I see my NY lady more than Peggy now. My NY lady is really good, and she does it at her house so I save some cash. She moved further away, but she is really worth my extra 10 minutes on the road. Sooo, that is my eventful last few days. I am really excited about Park City, and they are getting snow!!!

I may get a snow day tommorrow. There is finally a Noreaster heading our way. Mike is likely to get stuck in Richmond again!

The Lives of Others

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7238828

The link above is to a podcast interviewing the director of "The lives of others". It opened here last night, and we went to check it out. It is a film set in East Germany.
It is the story of a Stasi officer who is monitoring a writer during the eighties. We went to the 10:10 showing, and when it ended at 12:30, I was wide awake (I am never like that for late shows). If you feel that warrantless wiretapping of American citizens is OK to protect us against terror, you should see this movie. It will change your mind.

Fame becomes me

I recently opened one of my mass emails I get from triathlon sponsors to advertise events. I glanced at the picture on the side of the email, and here is what I saw. I thought, "That looks like me, but I do not want to be presumptuous". Mike inspected the picture, and before zooming, declared it was me. I did one of their races last year, and I start in the front of the swim, and the cap color was correct. See if you can find me.

I also was featured in my YMCA class sign up cover. I had no clue I was on it until one of the lifeguards showed me. I remember them taking pictures during open swim, but I did not know what they were for. I need to start getting some cash for my imagery.
http://www.ryeymca.org/classes.htm

Students Wear Masks to Try to Stop Flu - New York Times

Students Wear Masks to Try to Stop Flu - New York Times

I was planning on doing this next week to stay healthy for Utah!

Alpha Diogi Tibetan Mastiffs, 2004 Scheduled Breeding

Alpha Diogi Tibetan Mastiffs, 2004 Scheduled Breeding

Here is where Anita is getting her dog. It makes us want one too!

DMSR live 1983

sweet outfit! Who needs pants to play a concert?

THE JOURNAL NEWS

THE JOURNAL NEWS

At least I have never done this. I have nearly hit a deer while mountain biking though. Of course most of you know my history of my sports collisions with animals, the most famous being the groundhog. I used to my sister a really hard time due to her cat vs bike collision years back. I could not understand how that was possible. I have had numerous near misses with groundhogs and bunnies prior to my incident. On my groundhog day, I was mountain biking with Heather and Norm, and I managed to survive the trails without a scratch. We were crusing down a sort of a sidewalk when the groundhog appeared suddenly. Despite my best efforts, I hit it and screamed horribly while I went down. I got a nasty road rash that resulted in some permanent scarring, and I had to see the doctor 'cause my leg ended up swelling up. The groundhog seemed fine and just ran away. I was really embarrassed to tell the doctor how I was injured, that was for sure. Lately I have had a great track record with the natural world in this regard.

Designer Dog-Fights - Jon Mooallem - New York Times

Designer Dog-Fights - Jon Mooallem - New York Times

After reading this article, I would never get a pug. The breeding is barbaric!

MIAMI VISITORS SAY ...: We liked Detroit better!

MIAMI VISITORS SAY ...: We liked Detroit better!

Good for you Detroit.

Keane in Berkeley - Your Eyes Open

I never really paid attention to this song, but now I really like it since I heard this acoustic version. The other bonus is that the chords are easy enough for us to master.

Hooters fight gives city 2 restaurants - Yahoo! News

Hooters fight gives city 2 restaurants - Yahoo! News

Hey mom, now you can all the wings you could ever want!!

Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring - Yahoo! News

Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring - Yahoo! News

That little bastard! As you know, the ground hog community does not seem to like me (as well as the Canadian Geese community). I guess the ground hog is still upset about my bike versus groundhog collision of 2000.

Millions Of Americans Travel To Kentucky To Attend Barbaro's Funeral