I am excited about this coming Sunday's Super Bowl as it is my favorite team, da Bears and that I get to watch it with my dad! However, I am absolutely giddy that the second editiion of the Tour of California is only a few weeks away! If it is anything like last year's inaugural race, it will be amazing!
I must say, I am as excited as Dave Stoller from the 1979 film Breaking Away when he discovers that his favorite Italian cycling team would be participating in his local race. "The Italians are coming! The Italians are coming!
Okay, it is a bit weird that the primary sponsor of a bike race manufactures EPO. EPO, erythropoietin, is a drug that helps the production of red blood cells, many times needed during cancer treatments. However, it is also used as a performance enhancing drug, especially in endurance sports, uh, such as cycling...but hey, they got us a great race, so...
In the span of one year, this has become the U.S.' premier bicycling race. And this year's line up of teams is incredible! Here is a highlight of the teams that will be racing this February (All are also Tour de France teams).
Discovery: Ivan Basso has confirmed he will race! So has Levi Leipheimer!
CSC: The number one ranked team in the world
T-Mobile: A totally remade team that has the most financing
Quick Step: Had the world champion the last two years
Predictor-Lotto: Americans Chris Horner and Freddy Rodriguez
Rabobank: First appearance in ToC
Liquigas: First appearance in ToC
Gerolsteiner: Levi's old team
Credit Agricole: They might bring American Saul Raisin who was in a coma in 2006!
I am so excited that there will be NINE teams that also have competed in the grand tours. Also joining these teams will be the U.S.' top domestic teams such as Healthnet, Navigators Insurance, Toyota-United Pro, Jelly Belly and the USA National team. This will indeed be an impressive showing.
And check out Discovery's new kit! Awesome!!!
The Tour Of California runs from February 18th through the 25th. It all kicks off that Sunday in San Francisco with the Prologue. Single racers zooming through the streets of San Francisco...
The thing about getting older, it isn't really about the decline in physical abilities. I can handle some of that, as intelligent training is able to lessen the deterioration of my speed and my ego has come to grips that I probably cannot keep up with the 30-year-old cycling stud.
What aging really is about is the recovery. I wake up these days with pains in spots that I did not know even existed. My body seems to creak from the previous day's events, when a few years ago it would not have been a second thought.
My right elbow aches from a work out that I had over a month ago! Not the type of pain that sears, but a slow throb that only exists when I lift something too heavy. The tendons of my knees scream in misery after a relatively short ride. I never knew that my back hurt when riding my road bike for a short 20 miles. Why does the arch of my foot throb so, after a day's work?
Yet, I am not one to take many pills in my day in day out routine. I would rather suffer through some minor aches and pains than fill my blood stream with self-induced chemicals. I believe this is a nod to my Ted Kaczynski side of thinking. We have become a society that is way too reliant on pills, capsules and vaccines. I want my body's own defense mechanisms to be stronger, not held back by drugs. Anyhow, when I ache it gives me an excuse to be grouchy!
So here I sit, entering today's post. My knees throb a bit, my neck is sore from constantly peering up from my bent position on my road bike. I have begun to be more aggressive in my excercise, as lifestyle change (diet) can only take me so far...today's Project Discovery weigh-in? 145.6 pounds!...I'm going to round up and say I have 16 ounces to lose in one week. ONE POUND, one week. I can do it!
I know I'm a geek...a nerd...a goof... Sadly, I can relate a lot to Napolean Dynamite. I rooted for Mark "Rat" Ratner in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. David Spade's Joe Dirt has suspiciously the same taste in music as I.
Having said that, one of my favorite songs comes from The Muppet Movie, 1979. The song, "The Rainbow Connection" is warbled by the little green frog, Kermit. This song was actually nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for best song! Now before you dismiss this as a child's song, the lyrics are really quite conflicted. The beginning and middle parts of the song are rather cynical.
"Rainbows are visions...they're only illusions..." "Who said that every wish, would be heard and answered..."
But at the end, it is about hope and the dream that there is always something better coming one's way. I think I can relate to "The Rainbow Connection" as that's sort of how I feel about life. I can be cynical and a realist, but at the end of the day, I do see hope.
Here is my favorite version by Jason Mraz...
Here is the original, by the Lean, Mean of Green...by the way, it's my second favorite version! And I did not know that Kermit the Frog plays the banjo left-handed!
THE RAINBOW CONNECTION
Why are there so many Songs about rainbows And what's on the other side Rainbow's are visions They're only illusions And rainbows have nothing to hide So we've been told and some choose to believe it But I know they're wrong wait and see
Someday we'll find it The Rainbow Connection The lovers, the dreamers and me
Who said that every wish Would be heard and answered When wished on the morning star Somebody thought of that And someone believed it And look what it's done so far What's so amazing That keeps us star gazing What do we think we might see
Someday we'll find it That Rainbow Connection The lovers, the dreamers and me
All of us under its spell We know that it's probably magic
Have you been half asleep And have you heard voices I've heard them calling my name Are these the sweet sounds That called the young sailors I think they're one and the same I've heard it too many times to ignore it There's something that I'm supposed to be
Someday we'll find it The Rainbow Connection The lovers, the dreamers and me
Wow this week off flew by in a blink of an eye. Although I was sick for two thirds of it, I must say it was a nice seven days away from the salt mines. I was not able to get out on my bikes like I really wanted, but a little cycling and a great hike with B-boy Deluxe was still awesome!
How odd. A guy I graduated high school with contacted my sister trying to find me. I found it odd as I never hung out with him and he has never crept into my thoughts since '81 (egads, has it been that long?!!!) I contact my friend, Brian, to see if he has been contacted by him and oddly, this same guy has given Brian an insurance proposal.
Oh dear Lord, please tell me this wasn't just a telemarketer who is trying to use our shared high school past as an in!...
Project Discovery Update So I after this week off, that was not filled with the physical activity I thought it would contain, I have broken through the plateau! YIPPEE!!! I have lost five pounds somehow. Hey, by the end of the day, I could give a couple pounds back, but I'm taking it!
A last thought on how I ended my vacation. Although I love San Francisco and consider the Bay Area my home, here are some photos from Chicago prior to and after this weekend's game. Yeah, it would have been a blast being in Chicago this weekend!
And you thought the SNL skit was just a joke!
Hey, ya need to keep warm somehow! You think the city was into the game? Yeah, I think Chicago was into this game!
One of the things that I inherited from my dad is the love of the Chicago Bears. You know, da Bears! He became a Bear backer when he lived in Illinois and he also said that a friend of his, from way back when, played on da Bears. Hey, at least I was born in Illinois. Only lived there for the first two years of my life, but it still counts in professional sports worship. It's in the bylaws, check it out!
Well, da Bears won today and are their way to the Super Bowl. I am excited as this will allow me a chance to hang out with Dad and root for da Bears. The last time Dad and I got to watch a Super Bowl and really, REALLY, care was 21 years ago. Believe it or not, even as the two of us grow older, I still love these moments I get to bond with Dad...
So way to go Bears! Dad and I are looking forward to rooting for da Bears on February 4th!
Brandon had an assignment at school. He needed to draw a character named Flat Stanley. I won't go into why Stanley is flat, you'll just need to go with it. Brandon's Flat Stanley is to the right. As Stanley is flat, he is able to travel easily through the mail. Brandon needed to mail Stanley to someone out of state and to see what adventure Stanley would have.
So Stanley was mailed off to visit my sister Carol in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
Stanley arrives in Oklahoma City in style!
Stanley sees the sights with my sister Carol Stanley arrives at the zoo to a warm reception Argh! Madagascan Hissing Beetles!!! Hey, watch it there Yogi!!! Oh no! An accident with the elephant!!! Off to the emergency room!!! Soon Stanley's healthy again...hey is that a Komodo Dragon?! What's with the Oklahoma City Zoo bug baths?!!! Stanley says sayonara from the Oklahoma City Zoo
Thanks to my sister Carol and her friends at the Oklahoma City Zoo for being great sports! Get information about the Zoo at www.okczoo.com, or check out the link in my Places To Waste Your Time section.
Thank you Carol for being an awesome sister and a fabulous aunt!!!
There has been a guy that has been my best friend since many moons ago. I have actually known him for about 38 years! His name is Joe. What an awesome name for a person who is at times is Joe, yet is really complex in his inner core.
He has had two Labrador retrievers as canine companions and I could not think of a better animal to describe Joe's basic make up. I have never met a person who is more loyal to his friends (This is a guy who helped me move more times than I can count!) He is sturdy and can always be counted on. When I struggle on my bike, I always think of Joe. Although never the fastest, he always made it up the hill!
By the way, the photo of Joe above is one of my favorites. It is from a visit to see me in Tahoe that Shawn and he made in 2001. Joe was a little annoyed thinking that we were lost. However he never really complained and kept chugging along on his mountain bike.
Yet with this exterior of simplicity hides his inner core of extreme complexities. He cares deeply for his wife and two boys. He worries over his mother. He has deep concerns over his friends' well-being and their perception of him. (Don't worry Joe, we think you're awesome!)
There are not words to describe how privileged I am, and I am sure many of his friends would agree, that he counts me as a friend.
Okay...there is not a whole lot that is suitable regarding the Raiders or Giants other than these two videos on YouTube, so a little Happy Birthday gift!
Well this past weekend it was time to end Christmas in our house. Now mind you, I would have done it the prior weekend, but I was admittedly too lazy. But in our defense, we have not turned on the Christmas tree's lights since the New Year...does that count?
Anyhow, down came the stockings, off came the ornaments packed away for another year. It always seems so fun putting up all these trimmings, but at the end it is one big pain in the derriere . The ornaments that I looked upon so fondly as we hung them, did not have the sentimental value they did some month ago. Hmmm, I think Scrooge was onto something!
And wouldn't you know it. After it was all packed away nicely, stored in our rafters, there in the corner of Brandon's room, a silly stuffed Christmas Light thing that goes on one's head. Grrr!!! Good thing that little kid and I are best buds! (You are too Soraya, so stop whining!)
But were we really that late? Our neighbors to the East, the house that had decorations reminiscent of the Griswold's house in Christmas Vacation, still had their light show blazing. Today I noticed that the house on the corner was still wishing the neighborhood a happy holiday! And our neighbors to the West...let's just say one of the first thing that we noticed when we moved in in June was that their Christmas lights were still up. But, technically, do they count if they don't turn them on after New Year?
At least we had our decorations down before the Super Bowl!
Yeah, I hate taking down Christmas trim. I'd rather have a root canal. It is that painful. Can't we just throw a blanket over the tree and wait until next year?...
My dad has told this tale several times to us, his children.
We were on one of our long road trips, up North I believe, when we stopped at one of our fabulous motels that my dad favored. I would like to think it was at one of my preferred youthful destinations the Thunderbird motel. We were all hungry and being the dutiful father, my dad went and got the family some fast food.
Now, keep in mind, my dad will not eat chicken. It has something to do with being raised on a chicken farm and seeing hundreds of chickens being beheaded on a fairly consistent basis. I guess he will never be sending the Colonel Christmas cards.
So my dad came back with a bucket of KFC for the family and a couple of tacos for himself. Needless to say the kids scarfed up the tacos leaving my dad with...well, who knows. That is the part that my dad doesn't really elaborate about. But being the good dad, he never complained about it...although he would recant this tale many times over to his grown brood. Hmmm, long term anger?
What does this have to do with anything? As I inhaled the sugary scent of the mug of hot chocolate in my hands last night, I felt a presence watching me. I looked down to my left and there was Brandon. "Can I have some hot chocolate Neil?" he asked.
Smiling, I gave him my mug. Being the good boy, Brandon said he would wait for me to make more. I insisted he take mine and that I could wait. Although there was more cocoa to be made (unlike my dad who was left with a bucket of KFC), I felt a common bond with my father. Sometimes the apple indeed doesn't fall too far from the tree. I'd like to think I inherited this trait from my father.
Well, this was supposed to be a good week for me. I'm taking a few days off from work to focus on Project Discovery. Unfortunately, after weeks of dodging those little germies that plague my work, I am sick. I felt it coming on New Years eve, but was able to get rest and recover. This time I could not avoid it. My Purell finally failed me. I guess I should be happy that I never got sick during the crush of the holiday season!
But this was the week that I was going to break through the plateau! I was going to lose two more pounds this week. Although this is just a head cold, I don't want it wandering into my lungs. Thus, I need to take it easy. Things I inherited from my parents:
I just read an on-line article that stated some very concerning news for me. It stated that adults (some consider me an adult, acting childish doesn't count!) living with children eat more saturated fats than adults that do not live with children. The study said that it adds up to almost as much as a frozen pepperoni pizza a week!
What the?!!! First I no longer can watch R-rated DVD's during the day and now this?!!! Other than slave labor, what are those two little kids good for?!!!
Okay, so I want to blame my weight on the two leetle ones. Admittedly, I tend to be a human garbage disposal. I grew up during the period when one did not leave food on their plate. Nope, it was just not done. So now when I see the kids leaving an extra fish stick or chicken nugget on their plate, in comes Hoover-boy to vacuum it up. Hours cold?...no problem.
And this leads to my update on Project Discovery. I seem to have hit a plateau. The first few pounds dropped of relatively easily. But I seem to be stuck where I'm at. Diet and moderate exercise has moved me to where I'm at, but I think it's time to start upping the "E".
But the good news is that I survived the major intake land mines called Christmas and New Years. Christmas it was chocolates and other sugary treats, New Years was just tons of food. Luckily there were no adult beverages consumed by me.
So here I am...four pounds dropped, half-way there.
So I was ready to post what a great day at work I had. That I felt the past couple of days I felt I really made a difference in some of my managers' lives...
Then I am informed that Brandon, age 8, has been making fun of some of the learning challenged students at his school. Believe it or not, that really made me sad. A boy whom I think the world of did something so cruel.
I know little kids can be really cruel to one another, but I am not raising Soraya and Brandon to pick on others. I have always maintained that I don't care if either are the most popular, I just didn't want them picked on. Little did I realize that Brandon would be the one doing the bullying...I was crushed.
The hard part is teaching Brandon that was he did was horribly wrong, but that I still love him with all my heart. Does he understand that I will forgive him, yet what he did was a cowardly act? When is Brandon just trying to make me feel guilty for punishing/lecturing him on why what he did was bad? And when is he genuinely feeling like he is no longer loved or supported?
Yeah, I'm really disappointed. I know that Brandon's really a good kid. It's just how do I ensure that he stays a good kid?
P.S. - Once again the wonderful illustration above is from www.pascalcampion.com
Let's just get this out of the way. It's the first official weigh-in for 2007...
I have lost four pounds. The past couple of days have been brutal from a dietary standpoint, so I guess I should be happy. However, I was down by 5.5 pounds a few days ago! This has been a rocky road getting down. Retail, Christmas and weight loss are definitely not great dance partners.
Five weeks to go until Superbowl Sunday. I can drop the extra weight. I know I can.
So here we are the first day of 2007. Yes, it is actually just another day. However I like these markers of time to reminisce and in this case look forward. How to make 2007 better than the prior year.
I used to participate in resolutions with some friends of mine, however, I dropped out as I wasn't having as much fun with it as before. But I do make resolutions each year. Why? I think of them as little reminders that I have my opportunities to grow, not to stay stagnant or stationary.
So here are my resolutions for 2007:
I resolve to continue to learn Japanese and get through the entire course. (akematisheomedetougoziamusu! If this is incorrect...Hey! I'm a beginner!)
I resolve to continue to learn Macromedia Flash.
I resolve to ride 1200 miles on my bikes. Hey you try to have kids and find time to ride!
I resolve to maintain my desired weight consistently (145 pounds).
Okay, I could have put a better person, solve world hunger, peace in the Middle East, blah, blah, blah. I have discovered it's better to try to do a few things well, then tons of stuff poorly.
I am excited about this coming Sunday's Super Bowl as it is my favorite team, da Bears and that I get to watch it with my dad! However, I am absolutely giddy that the second editiion of the Tour of California is only a few weeks away! If it is anything like last year's inaugural race, it will be amazing!
I must say, I am as excited as Dave Stoller from the 1979 film Breaking Away when he discovers that his favorite Italian cycling team would be participating in his local race. "The Italians are coming! The Italians are coming!
