You're gonna love my nuts!

Post-election joke

Guy: Did you stock up on bottled water?

Me: No, why should I stock up on water?

Guy: Cuz there's gonna be a lot of salty crackers.

Mondays....

"Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays"

This Monday, October 27th I got a call from my General Manager at Derse. After a few cordial "how ya doin's?" the remainder of the conversation was prefaced with "...this isn't a call I like to make."

AWESOME!

I was then told that "corporate blah blah blah budget yadda yadda forecasting blah yadda..." Unnecessarily long corporate-speak-monologue aside, I was told that I was going to be laid off.

This is the third time I have been laid off. And, I'm actually ok with it this time, as odd as that may sound. The first two times were a real shock to me - that being said, this one was a shock, too - but now I'm going into the situation more comfortable and confident than I have on previous occasions.

We'll see where this all leads. With every lay-off there has been a better job waiting for me. I'm hoping and praying that that will be the case this time around, too. I have connections contacted, resume polished and cover letters drafted and sent.

I'll keep ya posted on the progress...

summer of biking

Hi kids, today we will be having a pop quiz composed of a single multiple choice question:


A: It has been a long time since an update
B: It has not been a long time since an update
C: This blog sucks
D: This blog certainly does not suck
E: Both A & C


Yes'm, it's been a while - so here are some pictures of my main summer activity: mountain biking.

I started off the summer with a new bike - oh the places it will go....

From 'windy saddle' along Chimney Gulch...

A few shots from White Ranch open space...

Yesterday's trip up Chimney Gulch found residual snow from a few days ago...

So, with the end of daylight savings time next weekend, our after-work rides will come to a screeching halt. Hopefully I'll be able to get some lunch-time rides up Chimney Gulch.

And if not, I'll daydream about the upcoming ski weekend.

Slippery when black

It's been a freakishly long time since I've last posted so all of you jonesin' for some run-on sentences and pointless rambling, put away your needles cuz your drug of choice is back on the streets.

From Feb. 28th to March 3rd we played host for my parents first trip here. It was my mom's first time to see Colorado and my dad's first time to ski on a real mountain. We grew up doing some skiing in the quad-city area in NW Illinois, but those 30-second runs were nothing compared to the miles-long trails in Summit County.

After arriving safely, albeit a bit late due to weather issues in St. Louis on Thursday night, Friday came quickly and we headed up to Keystone to ron-day-voo with Rene's family.

:: 5.23.08 :: OK, ... this happened nearly 3 months ago now and I'm just posting pics and updating my blog. The small details that would make the entry only mildly entertaining have since slipped my mind and you're gonna just have to do with looking at pictures.

My mom and dad stop to pose before my dad's lesson...

Noob

My bro-in-law Chris and a jackass

"He's so dreamy...."

Looking upon Golden from Lookout Mtn.

As for the title relevance, Rene and I were walking the dogs outside the condo after the sun had set. I bit it. Hard.

Having trouble breathing?

Then maybe you shouldn't fall so friggin' hard that you knock the wind out of yourself.



Rene and I accompanied Nat and a couple other buddies on a trip to Breckenridge this past Saturday for some snowboarding and....deep breathing.

The trip up to the high country was somewhat eventful this time mainly due to the constant snowfall we were experiencing from about 7000 ft and up. The roads were not necessarily bad per se, but bad enough to witness this in the east-bound lane.





Luckily it didn't seem as though anyone had been injured...and like most moderately-sane-minded individuals I slowed down the speed for the remainder of our commute.


Once we got there we were treated with fresh snow which kept falling the entire time in waves varying from light showers to full-on dumping. The brief commentary is spot-on.

Rene prepared to battle the elements

Rene in action

After a good number of runs it was time to head back. As we made our way down the final descent I soon realized that the mountain was ready to fight me. I was tired, the light was flat due to cloud cover, and I was enjoying my crash-free day to the point where I lost concentration and caught my toe-edge on a small pile of snow. I was moving along at a quick enough pace that when the edge dug into the snow I flew, an olympic-caliber distance, down the hill head first. I got my arms tucked in just soon enough to land on my shoulder which shoved my right arm so hard into my side that it knocked the wind out of me. I sat there gasping and laughing as best as my oxygen-free lungs could allow. Rene came up behind me and asked if I was ok.. and man do I wish I had this recorded: "I...heeeeehhh, kno-uuuhhh-cked the... wheeeuuu... wind...uhhhhhffeeehh... out of....eeehhhhff...I'm ok."


On our way home we noticed some people out on Lake Dillon with power kites. These types of kites, even in 15mph winds, will develop enough pulling force to drag you across the ground. I was awesome to watch people being drug (on their feet) across the lake...

Black Hat

The other day I was practicing up on my dart game when I nailed three double-bulls in one throw...aka, a Black Hat. I was so stoked that I took a picture.