1) Open beer (or other adult beverage)
2) Look in the mirror, smile, and say the following phrase like you mean it: Hashing is fun!
3) Take a good size sip/chug of your beer.
4) If beer empty, open another.
Repeat 100 times.
Have a good weekend everyone. Hope to see you at the hash on Sunday.
Heavin'
Shortly after I arrived at work today, I was introduced to someone that we were interviewing today. WTF? Thanks for the notice. Good thing I'm wearing my nice jeans today! I finally get a look at his resume and his background is Java. There was one porting project on his resume that could appear to be relevant, but since I did that same port to a different OS, I know it really isn't. So, I ask the oh so important questions that at any normal company I wouldn't have to ask:
1) Are we hiring and what position are we interviewing him for?
2) Why are we interviewing someone with no relevant experience?
The answer, of course, is that this guy worked at my Boss's previous company and they think he is a swell guy. (My wording, not theirs). After asking the relevant questions above, it was decided that I didn't have to talk to him, but if they decide that they want to pursue hiring him, I'll get a chance to talk to him then.
Nice.
A. Go write 6 weird facts/things/etc. about yourself on your blog, then tag six more people!
B. Then leave a comment that says 'You are tagged' in their comments telling them to read your blog.
Everyone has already been tagged, so I'll just dispense w/ the facts.
1) I used to not like having my food touch on my plate. If it was touching, I would move it around to create space between the different items. I would even ask for multiple to go containers in restaraunts to keep the different items from touching. I made myself stop this craziness in my mid twenties.
2) I never drank/partied in high school or college. I didn't start drinking until I was 25 or 26.
3) I do not like having my naval touched or poked. I have become violent to those who have attempted it.
4) Despite #3, I had my naval pierced for 4 months. I had to take it out because it didn't heal and was still hurting 4 months later. I think because of #3, I squirmed and the piercing happened too high. When we removed the ring, it was enlongated.
5) I didn't care for vegetables much until I became vegetarian.
6) When in Europe last year, I laughed my ass off when I saw the Mona Lisa . It was MUCH smaller than I expected and surrounded by around 100 Japanese tourists snapping pics at a furious rate.
Met w/ the tri training group at a track last night. We did:
3 laps warmup
Drills (butt kicks, high knees, skipping, etc.)
The exercise was 4 800 meter repeats with 10 pushups, 10 situps, 10 supermans, and 10 lunges on each leg in between.
2 laps cool down.
This wasn't that difficult, but I haven't gotten my brain back to the point where it thinks it enjoys running. I hope it gets there soon.
This has caused me to think back on the adventures I have had with Tiffani. We used to take her to the Crossed Eyed Bull (now Shenagans) when she was 19. For some reason, they never carded her, despite the fact she looked 15. This was during the time that Have a Nice Bitch was the Karaoke DJ on Tuesday nights. Free Meat tried setting her up w/ a friend of ours named Trevor. Didn't work out at all, but that tubing trip was very memorable just the same. A group of us went to Colorado over New Years so that she could try to meet up w/ a guy she met there the previous summer. He told her a few days before that he had gotten back w/ his ex. But it all worked out. We had a great time on that trip. She managed to get us free ski rental by talking to some guy at one of the bars we hung out at (while she was still < 21). We all went to Vegas to celebrate her 21st birthday. There was one REALLY scary night during that trip that involved an Excursion limo decked out as a dance club. Complete w/ dry ice machine and lights. It was the only night of my life that I felt being shot and found lying in a ditch somewhere was a very real possibility.
Congrats Tiffani!
Sunday at 8:00 am I met my tri training group for our first group brick. We did a time trial. 9 miles in 39:26. We followed that with a 1 mile run. Didn't take too long for my legs to come back during the run.
After that, Just Mav and I went out and finished scouting trail for next weekend's hash. It will be dog friendly. Just Mav thinks it would be a cake walk for Puke Thief, but Puke Thief probably won't be there. He will be competing in the Buda Wiener Dog R*ces. Wish him luck!
I never did make it to the pool. That's on my agenda for tonight.
Anyone know of a good bar (preferably w/ food) in the Slaughter Rd area?
We started by doing a few warm up laps, so the coach could see what she had to work with. Then we did drills. I don't know what the names of any of them are, but they focused on breathing and getting accustomed to rotating your body while you swim instead of swimming flat. Then we did more laps applying what we learned from the drills. The drills made a huge difference. It takes a lot less effort to swim a lap and I'm now breathing on both sides. Before, I was only breathing on my right. And my legs are at the top of the water. Can't wait to swim again this weekend.
This morning I did a quick 30 minute weight session. Hit all the major areas, but not too hard.
I have a busy weekend lined up. Hopefully, I can find some time to just chill. Have a good weekend everyone!
Need to change into my swimsuit now and head out to the pool. Hope everyone has a safe night.
Tomorrow is the first meeting of my tri training group. We are running. I probably shouldn't have done the Runtex group tonight, but tonight will be my last night until the Danskin is over. Once I start w/ the tri group, Monday should be my off day. I 'should' be doing something every other day.
The second lap when much better. I gained a lot of confidence and was experimenting w/ using the gears. I was going between 15-17 mph through a lot of sections and even hit 20 mph going into the big hill out there. Unfortunately, there is a turn going into the hill that I didn't navigate well and I almost bit it. We started later than planned, so we only had time for 2 laps before I needed to head home to get ready for Easter at my cousin's. My legs felt fine when I was done and I definitely felt like I could have gone much further.
When we were heading back to the car, BC asked me if he could make fun of my first lap. That's how bad it was. He had the outward appearance of being supportive, but he must have been laughing his ass off on the inside. Last kid picked for gym class manages to entertain the more athletically gifted once again!
The parent meeting went well. I clammed up, as expected. Dinner was delicious. We had Inari Sushi (?), miso soup, pickled cucumber, and pickled radish. Yum! I wish my Mom could cook like that. Just Maverick came along too and was a hit. I showed BC's middle daughter M that Mav could shake and high five and she had him doing it all night. She kept telling Maverick that he is the most awesome dog ever. I hope it doesn't go to his head.
Happy Easter/Passover/Sunday to everyone!
My workout was:
3 patterns
1 lap back
3 patterns
1 lap crawl
For a total of 32 laps in a 25 meter pool, which is 800 meters total. The Danskin is 750 meters, so I'm off to a good start.
Caveat: During some of the crawls, I switched to breast for part of the lap and switched back to crawl. Good practice for when I need to do that during the Danskin. I also rested for a short time (< 20 seconds) between laps. Besides catching my breath, I had to fiddle w/ my goggles. New goggles are on my shopping list!
That's one I've only hit once or twice. The last time I hit that one I ended up hiding in a dark corner of my house waiting for a locksmith to show up to change the locks and install a keyless deadbolt. And all that despite the fact he returned the key. But, I digress.
What's the next one? Parents. His parents are coming into town today and he would like to introduce me to them this weekend. That's right folks. It hasn't even been a month and I'm already meeting the parents. Keep your fingers crossed that it goes better than the movie did. I won't claim to be able to milk cats, so I should be fine.
Have a great weekend everyone!
In some industries, it is customary to have your picture on your business card. Thankfully, that is not the case in the tech industry. Can you imagine how many cards I would have of smelly, Dr. Pepper consuming guys w/ greasy hair wearing gaming t-shirts?
Even though I'm on their mailing list, I didn't get the email about the $35 tics. :-(
Update: Just bought mine! Hope to see everyone there. Hope that Body won't have his birthday hash that Sunday
What have I been doing so far in preparation?
Swimming:
I had Fish look at my swimming and he gave me some excellent advice on my form. I've swam once a week at Gold's Gym (Round Rock) pool since then. Each time, I try to swim as much as I can for 30 minutes. I've improved quite a bit since I've started. My rest between laps is much less, I'm keeping my head down and I don't feel like my legs are sinking. I just need to figure out how to regulate my speed and I think I will be fine.
Running:
I've joined a free Runtex running group that meets on Monday nights at McNeil HS. The coach is Donnie McNeal. He is a pretty nice guy. We always do warm up laps, followed by form/connective tissue strengthening type drills. He then has two workouts to choose from for the beginners and advanced. The weird thing about this class is that there is an extremely wide range of abilities. The description of the class is that you should be able to run a mile w/o stopping. The range goes from me (I'm in the last 3 in terms of speed/endurance) to a young kid who can probably run a sub 3hr marathon. I would recommend this group to anyone who can run a mile w/o stopping. The group is pretty close knit and very welcoming and friendly. It's almost like being at Cheers, but without the beer. I've also been down to Town Lake once and have run on the treadmill at the gym.
Biking:
I've mostly biked at the gym. Brrr is lending me her bike for the Danskin and I will start riding it this weekend. My weekends have been packed, but I think I will get out on the bike this weekend.
Strength training:
Lift once a week. Sometimes twice. Nothing crazy here.
And Michelle and I are starting a formal training group this Saturday. It will be good to have some structure to my workouts. It will meet Tuesday/Thursday nights and Sunday mornings.
Sunday, I went to the Cactus Challenge triathlon to cheer some friends on. It was at the same location as the Danskin will be. It was good to go and see how everything works. The bike and swim course won't be exactly the same, but it looks like the transition area is the same. I've taken away that I need to run some hills, as you have to run uphill to the transition area after the swim and I need to swim more! The swim has me worried. I'll probably try to swim more than once a week now.
My goal is 1:50:00. Wish me luck.
Mocha is on my mind today. Eight years ago today, I adopted Mocha from a rescue group that was having an adoption day at the PetsMart on 183 & Ohlen Rd. Looking back, I was extremely naive and really had no idea what owning a dog entailed. At the time, my only requirement was <= 25 lbs, since at the time I lived in an apartment. Mocha was probably the worst dog for an inexperienced dog owner. As a puppy, she had an abundance of energy that had no end. I would walk her for 45 minutes/night after work and let her pull me on rollerblades on weekend mornings just so I could tolerate being home w/ her. She chewed holes in my walls. She ate my couch. I bought baby gates so I could keep her in the kitchen while I was at work. Within 10 minutes, she figured out how to climb over them. She could jump up onto the dining room table from the floor. She chewed up my carpet. She chewed up sunglasses, shoes, clothes, and her dog beds. In all pictures I have of her from this time, she is either a brown streak running away or struggling out of my arms as I try to hold her still for a picture. The only time she was still enough to get a picture during her first year is when she was sick. (That picture is on my mantle. It is an awesome headshot of her.)
I'm going to list random memories of her that seem to run through my head. One of my friends at this time re-wrote the words to the Barbie Song for Mocha: I am a Mocha girl living in my Mocha world... An ex-boyfriend nicknamed her 'Mocha Loca'.
I took her to obedience classes in an attempt to have a somewhat 'normal' dog. One of my fondest memories of this time was something that the 8 year old son of the teacher said. "My Mom says that dogs become what you named them and Mocha is so hyper because you named her after a coffee drink." Of course. An 8 year old gets it and I don't. Typical.
We were riding home from an agility trial one weekend and she tried to run out of the ring every time. One of the times, she scaled a five foot wall and almost went out the door. On the way home, I told her she didn't know how lucky she was because anyone else would have dropped her off at Town Lake years ago. :-)
She was affectionate like no other dog ever known. She had to kiss everyone and on the lips. I always had to warn people to keep their mouths shut or else she would clean their tonsils. Pity those that didn't heed my warning. They quickly learned that I meant it.
One of her cutest tricks was high-five. She would high five me and when she did, she would cock her head to the side. Anyone that saw it would respond w/ a Awwwwww!
On the sides of her neck she had little swirls in her fur. Not quite sure how to explain it. If you closely at these pics, you can kind of see it.
She had ears that she could manuever around like Yoda. One of my co-workers at the time I adopted Mocha would always tell her in Yoda speak: "Pee pee on floor, pottied trained you not".
Playing fetch. I discovered when she was about 6 years old, that she LOVES playing fetch. Once I was able to teach her to bring it back and drop it, it was game on! We eventually got to the point, where I could ask her to sit and stay, throw the ball while she maintained her stay (this was a big deal, since she is known for not having any self-control). She would sit there and quiver until I released her. Once I released her, she would belt out this little half-assed, high pitched 'ruf' to express her frustration with being made to wait. Of course I enjoyed the bark, so I would make her do it just so I could hear it.
Curling up on her favorite chair. I bought a big comfy chair from a coworker and she claimed the back cushion as her own. She would get on top of it and curl up in a little ball. She wasn't allowed on the furniture, but by this point, I gave up. Plus it was so cute.
Whining. Mocha has a whine that is just ingratiating. When she wanted something and she wasn't getting it, she would whine. It would start off nice and soft and end up like nails down a chalk board. Not that it would give you the chills, it was just that annoying. It took close to 7 years before I could ignore it and not give in.
Agility. Hundreds of memories and many friends made over the years. The show of support as Mocha and I tried to do agility was just amazing and the outpour of support when she passed made me realize how lucky I am to be part of this community.
Mocha taught me a lot. Most importantly, she taught me to laugh at myself. She outsmarted me so many times, it was all I could do.
I'm blessed that she was part of my life. My life hasn't been the same since she entered it. The funny thing is I don't remember what my life was like before. Here's to you Moch and I'll catch ya at the Rainbow Bridge.
