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Technically, my first time

This weekend was the first time that I went out on the autoX track alone in my car.
I have done performance driving and autoX three times, and have had someone in my car all the time.

I'm glad I'm over that!

I had always wanted someone in the car with me because I know that my limitations are me and not the car's. When you have a ride-along, they will say to you "gas" "Gas" "GAAAS", and you push through your limitations to get closer to understanding the car.

All week, and all morning, I was really scared about having to push myself. I gave myself all the peptalks I could think of:
you need to be MOVING around in the car
you need to hear your wheels squeal
the car can do more than you!
I gave myself 5 instructions to memorize on the course so that I felt like I had a pattern.

And after all that, I'd have to say, its far more fulfilling to speed up on every run because its you doing the pushing; than it is when there is someone in the car taking responsibility for you.

Now I am excited about practicing more, pushing my limits out, and getting closer to understanding the car.

I've signed up for a 2 day event in December, and I'm hoping that having 2 full days will give me some serious seat time to break through my limitations and really get the most out of my car.




there should only be THREE wheels touching the ground here...


Coming in to the finish

ho hum technology

My computer hates iTunes.

 

the internet connection works fine; and then you open itunes and try to go to the store, or download podcasts, or god-forbid: buy music!

and suddenly - all traffic stops.

 

I've taken to running a "ping" all the time... and you can see the Request Timed Out lines multiply while you do anything in iTunes.

 

Grrr.

 

and, no, I don't have a MAC!

Ah, Marathons.

So, that marathon of last weekend, eh?!
Greg had a mind slip.
Reno was COLD! it SNOWED.
reluctantly, we left the warm hotel room and drove to Susanville, CA - through the SNOW.
We went to check into the hotel - sorry, have to wait until 3pm; sorry, no late checkout because we're fully booked for the marathon.
I said to Greg, isn't that weird that they are fully booked the night AFTER the marathon? People must stay an extra day.
We went to pick up his number and packet - sorry, don't open until 3pm
We went to find a place for lunch - after 2 failed attempts, ended up at a bakery deli which, seriously, seemed like the only place to eat in town.

In trying to waste time, we thought we'd drive down and find the route (this is a trail marathon on a "rails to trails" route so you can't drive on it... just close). Greg went running down the trail to check it out and started having a chat with another guy - who told him: dun dun daaa!!!

The marathon is on Sunday!

There was nowhere in Susanville with availability, we didn't want to deal with fees to change flights; I hadn't been home since Tues and didn't want to be gone another day. So Greg decided to run the 1/2 on Sat. The race director was not happy about the request and went on about not enough space on buses, and no guarantees, etc.
Anyway - long story short - there was conniving, early arrivals, scheming, watching, pacing, planning, and in the end, too many buses! and Greg ran.
He had fun, and decided we would get it right next year and he'd run the whole thing.

Fall, spring, no... fall; whatever... SOME season... in AZ

When the temperature starts cooling off here in Arizona, we don't go running off to the closest pumpkin patch; we don't start mulling cider; we don't start covering plant beds and bringing in the outdoor furniture.
What we do, is take the furniture out. We shake out the cushions. We put up the umbrellas. We make lemonade. And we visit the nursery.

Yesterday, I took all the pots and emptied them out onto a tarp. We added some compost and fertilizer. Today, we bought new pots for the front door, and about 50 little plants to add into the containers. The outside is ready for some quality time.
Here are some photos.

before:


after:


front door:

for those who are interested

here's what last week looked like:

 

Monday - worked in my office until 8pm to prepare two scopes

Tuesday - flew to Fort Worth, drove to airport in Dallas, drove to Arlington office, chaired a project kickoff meeting until 9pm

Wednesday - continued the meeting, did a presentation for the client, flew home, got a call on my drive had to divert to coffee shop to work for 2 hours

Thursday - worked in my office until 7pm fixing things that should have been done right the first time - last week!

Friday - drove to Flagstaff to attend the kickoff meeting for a book where Greg and I have been asked to contribute chapters related to our thesis research, got home at 8pm

 

I am SO glad I have NO plans this weekend!

 

next week looks like this:

Monday - in office again; I hope I can get home at a decent hour!

Tuesday - fly back to TX

Wednesday - attend the client's kickoff meeting

Thursday - continuation of Wednesday meeting; fly to Reno to meet up with Greg

Friday - drive from Reno to Susanville, CA

Saturday - watch Greg run a marathon, drive back to Reno

Sunday - home!

 

 

The Ultimate Driving Experience

so here's the last event:
The project manager on one of my jobs decided that we needed a team building event. So he organized a driving experience at BeaveRun, a full-service automotive facility.
The day started with one of the local team members hosting a skeet-shooting morning. No, I didn’t take a turn… shooting a shotgun just doesn’t appeal to me.
After lunch, we headed over to BeaveRun. Our first event was go-kart races. We got a couple turns round the track for people to get used to the cars. It was an outdoor track with some elevation changes. After getting comfortable, they did a time run, and then used the results to put us into teams of 3 for an endurance race. The race rules had everyone taking at least one turn on the track, but the order, or amount of time was up to the teams. Of course, the teams with very strong drivers had them take most of the runs. The all boys team came first, and the all girls team came last – kind of predictable since the ladies were the least likely to take chances on the track.
Go-karts are exhausting. It takes a lot of maintained strength to keep them turned, to steer out of one turn into another. It occurred to me after a while, that it would be better to save some energy for the other TWO events of the day.

After the endurance run, we headed over to an autoX course. The instructors took groups through the course in the Mazda 6s, which weeded out a lot of the faint-of-heart. We got a couple practice runs, and then each person got two timed runs. Your times were added together for placing in the results, so you had to have two consistent runs. I messed up on the first one taking a late turn too fast and mushed a couple cones – adding 2 seconds to my finish time. I was the second fastest woman, but a couple seconds behind the leading man.
It took a while for me to get used to the Mazda. Its steering was really sloppy and it didn’t feel responsive – compared to my car. The MC of our event also has an ’05 MCS, and I made a comment to him about how much the Mazda sucked, and he was rolling on the floor laughing.

If we weren’t exhausted enough, we headed over to a full race track. We didn’t do a race event here, we took turns driving a Chevy Caprice (read: BOAT) around the course. The track was a fast one, so the turns were not to technical. They had cones at each turn apex on the side of the track you needed to hit, so it was like a connect-the-dots driving from cone to cone. The track that I drove for the performance driving classes in Vegas was more interesting with some tighter turns, and that was a more fun driving course. Since we were driving Caprice’s, probably didn’t matter too much.
While we were ding the autoX, the project manager (who has been driving at BeaveRun for a year) had been taking some laps on the track in a Formula One car. He races a Porsche that he has race prep’ed with track tires, racing seats, and harnesses. While we were taking turns with the Caprice, he was taking people on rides in the Porsche. After all the crap that we’d been driving that day, it was really nice to be in a car that actually responded. It stopped without shaking, it turned when he moved the wheel, and it accelerated on command. I think the fastest we got was around 120mph.
The photos of that day aren’t the greatest… here’s one of me in a 6:


And there’s the Porsche on the left:

Helicopter

Black Hawk "Down"

One of my projects is in a remote part of Arizona, there are no access roads or routes to get close to the project area. Our client organized for us to get a ride with the AZ National Guard in a black hawk helicopter.

Here we are getting ready to board.


Here's my view on the inside.


We flew from Phoenix to Tucson to pick up more passengers, and then we took off to the border. We flew across the project area a couple times, and then the pilot headed north all of a sudden.
On the headset, we heard:
"is that a flicker? yes, it is. Oh man! not a flicker" and the next thing we knew they were looking for a place to land. Once we were down, I asked them what had happened. Their transmission fluid has a magnet that attracts loose metal bits, and if they are attached, it makes "flicker" in the indicator light. Their procedure is to shut down the engine - which is what they did... so basically, we did an emergency landing with only one engine.

Separate post showing me talking to the "Crew Chief," who is also an engineer, about what was going on.

They sent another helicopter to get us. Here it is landing:








We flew to Nogales and had lunch, and then around the border some more, and then home.

I would have to summarize the majority of this experience as "boring". Stuck in a seat with a 4-point harness; can't move, can't look out too much; too loud to talk to anyone; SUPER uncomfortable seats.

Stop by tomorrow to learn all about the Driving

Experience!

recap - Sunday to Sunday

I'm gonna recap my exciting week in three posts; you know, to milk it as much as I can since I haven't had this much postworthy excitement in one week for a while...

- Last Sunday, I did the Solo II autocross for the first time
- On Tuesday, I took a black hawk helicopter from Phoenix to Tucson to the border and back with some fairly eventful happenings in the middle
- On Friday, I went to Pittsburgh for a full day of driving mania as part of a teambuilding event.

First off, AutoX:

It was a LONG day starting at 6am for walking the course, driver's meeting, novice meeting, and Tech. It was HOT. I took the wheel at 1pm... which means I was heat fried before I'd even started. I had an instructor with me for all 4 runs, which I think helps me to push myself more than I would if I were alone. My time improved each lap...
starting with: 55.648, to 48.461, to 45.774 (with 2 cones = 49.774), and finally 45.103 (with one cone = 47.103).

The best of the stock MINIs was doing the course in 40.443, so by my last lap, I wasn't too far off; which I think is pretty good for my very first time.

Here's the course:



...and here are some pics of me on the course








next up: "Black Hawk Down"

This Week...

... is crazy. I have some truly exciting events going on; but they are keeping me very busy, so I don't have time to download the photos and post. Also, some of them have been threatening to cancel, and thanks to Murphy's Law, I am going to stop talking about specifics until I have completely enjoyed my week.

This is your notice to check back on the weekend (Sunday) when I can give you the full low-down.

Traffic

Yesterday, I got stuck on a different route home, and the traffic was horrific. It was one of those moments when you felt like you were not moving, and would never move. I thought of Blackbird's great documentary posts, and thought I'd give it a try.


starting time 5:41















a minute later, still haven't moved, this is the view















took a photo out of the side window to show progress.

at 5:43 we moved forward. All the way to the light!
















and here's my sideview:
















the guy on my right saw me taking photos, and started motioning to me to photograph him. I rolled down my window, and we had a little exchange about traffic. The sun was at the wrong angle, here he is:















the light turned green, but all these people thought they would run their orange/red to make the left, so it was a good long while before I actually got through the light. Of course, I took a picture of them.















Isn't that illegal to block an intersection?

Finally, I get through all the mahem to my favorite part of my daily commute: The Metered Ramp. This traffic control feature may be a good idea, but for the driver of a stick... it SUCKS!















I got on the highway shortly after 5:47. All of this took place in less than a mile. And my documentation shows that it was only 6 minutes, clearly demonstrating that my patience is worse than the traffic!

Delivery Dyslexia

Sometimes, I think it would be fun to receive a present at work and I give my online orders my work address for delivery.

When the item arrives in our office, it is delivered to the front desk, where the receptionist signs for it, and puts it on top of all the other boxes from deliveries.

This is the same procedure all the office orders go through - computers, office supplies, paper, everything.

They sit at the front desk until the receptionist notifies the recipient to come and get it.

She's pretty slow with these notifications.

You'd think she would want to get rid of all those boxes lying around in the welcome area of our company.

 

When I am expecting a present at work, I sometimes go to the delivery service website to find that it has already been delivered.

Its quite shocking to have that page open up and the status say "Delivered".

 

So, what I'm saying, is that I have to go to a website for an outside delivery service to learn that I have a package at the front desk.

A package that is sitting in front of someone who gets paid by my company to make sure that things (phone calls, reports, plans) get sent to the right person.

 

Come to think of it, a vendor called me this morning to tell me they sent me a fax... this machine is right next to said receptionist.

 

I wish there was a website I could check to learn about those deliveries!!

Year 2 in Black Rock City

you're only a virgin once. That's for sure. And virgin year is very special. The difference between year 1 and 2 is monumental.

The nature of Black Rock City is that its always different. So if you were hoping to go to that cafe on the corner, or hop from bar to bar on that street, it won't be like that this year. Your home will be in a different place, and the people around you will be different.

One thing that really made a difference was the absence of Marty's friend Julia. I didn't realize it last year, but she was really the motivator, the instigator, the organizer, and the creator of home base. Instead of being a small intimate camp of friends, this year we were part of a subdivision of other people who know each other. It was interesting to see these other visitors and how they created their experience, but I missed the intimacy of "home".

Another huge affect on Year 2 - white-out dust storms 2 days in a row. Getting caught in the first one meant that I didn't really want to get stuck in the second. But sitting inside for 4 hours in the prime exploring part of the day, was a damper... a buzz kill.

One more big difference. Last year, the night clubs were spread out - at 2:00, 9:00, 6:00 and on the playa... so you could pop here, pop there, and try everything out before committing. This year, it was either 2:00 or 9:00 and going between the two took some time.

As always, time was irrelevant, plans were impossible to remember, experiences were as they came, other residents were giving. This is the magic of Black Rock City.

Every year there are lessons learned, and every year there is a list of what to do next time. Its like a constantly evolving learning experience. An experience experience.

see you on the playa.

its that time of year again

...time to take on the Pilgrimage to the mecca of non-conformity.

 

I have been planning this undertaking since we drove out of the Nevada desert a year ago. I have a piece of cardboard with green highlighter making a list of things to take to Black Rock City in 2007.

 

Well, the last month has been a slew of lists, spreadsheets have been humming, and all my green words have a check mark.

 

Burying myself in planning and preparation has kept my anticipation under check. But I suppose that with any sort of pilgrimage, preparation is part of the process.

 

We have a week to go.... and I have to mentally force myself to keep the anticipation at bay so that I can function at work, and get through the day.

 

The feeling of excitement is going to start building starting tonight at 11pm when I pick up M&M from the airport; they will be running around in ernest the next couple days preparing and executing their list of pilgrimage items. I will be jealous. I am stuck here looking at a different kind of spreadsheet, beholden to a phone and a computer that require me to focus on processing a different kind of data.

 

I get through on one thought -

 

"this time next week"

 

ladies and gents, this year, its NO HOLDS BARRED!

 

I am going to be IN it!

 

 

Coming Along Nicely

Aaron is definately getting in to the mood. Here he is creating outfits for BRC.

just in case

you read my blog through a feedreader...

I accidentally sent an email to my blog instead of to myself (its 'cause I need to pee and I'm not paying attention to what I'm doing).

Well, said email popped up in my inbox: "musings just made a new post"

and I rushed over here to delete it.

but it looks like it got into the feed (superspeedy), and I don't know how to delete it from there.

anyway - if you read my email through a feedreader, you will now know how much we pay for electricity, what I owe on my credit card this month, the cost to have a cat sitter come to the house everyday for a week, and how much the lawn people charged us to mow, fertilize, and haul away two tarps full of palm tree shingles removed by lightening.

thrilling, isn't it!

Harry Potter

BTW - I have put off reading 7. I decided after reading chapter 1 that I don't remember anything; and I have gone back to book 5. to be read between now and the seeing the movie - I'm 1/2 way; maybe I'll make it by next Sat; then 6, then 7..... I am prolonging, procrastinating, and savoring.

 

so - DON'T SPOIL IT FOR ME!

I actually have something worth posting today!

Our house got hit by lightning last night.

 

We were awakened at midnight to a HUGE BANG that sounded like a house fell on our house; Greg had jumped into my arms, and I had yelled "Dad"  (!) we went back to sleep thinking that it was just close;

this morning we looked outside to see what damage there was from the big dust storm wind;

and amongst the litter of palm tree scales on the ground, were broken tiles from the corner of the cupola by the front door. The roof in that area is all blackened. So, I think that it was hit.

 

nice!

"The Golden Compass"

the world went crazy for Harry Potter, and yes I did too. So sometime after the first book came out, I read an interview with JK Rowling where she listed some books that she found inspirational. I decided to try The Golden Compass. I found it in the adult sci-fi section at my library. It took me about three months to read chapter 1, I just couldn't get into it. So I thought, I'll skip over chapter 1 and see if it gets any better in chapter 2.

 

I was hooked.

 

I became intrigued, obsessed, engrossed, enticed, and empathetic to the protagonist, Lyra. I couldn't put it down. I rushed to the library and checked out the other 2 books in the trilogy. The other two were in the children's section, and this is when I realized that these were actually children's books. I had always thought it strange that Pullman had decided to have a girl as the protagonist of an adult series of books.

 

After finishing all three, I declared these to be my favorite books ever.

 

and now there is a movie.

 

Yes, I am one of those people who wished that every Harry Potter movie was 8 hours long, representing every moment of every book; and I tell you... that for His Dark Materials, I wish that even more!

I enjoyed seeing the wizard books come to life on the screen and never felt disappointed with the depictions. His Dark Materials are filled with so many more fanciful phenomena, that I am scared that something will be missed. And also, the message, the strong emotion of bravery and strength in Lyra, I really hope that New Line can capture these tiny nuggets as they tell this story in a children's movie that will probably overemphasize the action.

two things

just got back from vacation, and two things strike me immediately.

 

1. so much disposable income going to the purchase of the iPhone... without any consideration for the exorbitant monthly fee charged by ATT. Ok, I understand, early adopter and all that... but comeon! don't let the service provider rip you off by allowing the charges! They set a price-point, and you fell for it!

 

2. Live Earth. I looked at the line up online, and immediately noticed that artists from different countries were playing in OTHER countries! what!? all that jet fuel! and don't tell me they bought carbon credits! I don't care! that is NOT THE SAME as saving the planet by reducing emissions!

 

 

Oh! Canada

We're in Canada, and its all about Canada Day, eh!

Walked around Victoria, and it was pretty mellow on the south side, then we got to the houses of Parliment and it was a PARTY! It was all about wearing the flag as a mini dress. I have to share...

Happy Birthday, Canada!

Deep Breaths

I am so out of my comfort zone.

 

Every moment is about forcing myself

to do something I don't "want"

to do.

 

 

But this challenge is also something that motivates me.

It is learning,

it is active,

it is new

and I know that I will be happy with myself when I succeed.

 

 

but I am in the moment now and so right now, it is very very hard.

exhaustingly hard

and I am afraid that the confidence and skill I had in youth has left me, making success something less than guaranteed.

 

Am I as good as I used to be?

 

I am starting to worry that I am not.

 

There must be something that you gain from experience.

There must be something that replaces ignorant confidence as time robs you of energy, memory, and patience.

 

I suppose only time and trying will tell.

 

I suppose the lesson

is that

life is about continually learning who you are

you never become, you are not stagnant,

you are always something new.

 

 

 

 

 

get your GROOVE on

Yowzers! did we have fun last night!
M&M alerted us that one of their friends, Lorin aka BASSNECTAR, was playing at the Goat Head Saloon in Mesa. I was - to say the least - shocked. I've been waiting for one of these SF DJ's to come to the good ol' valley of the sun, and was expecting said DJ to show up in Snobsdale. But, no, its a hole-in-the-wall dive, this Goat Head.
The opening DJ was a local. I was excited to hear him based on his page, but his set was nothing like his site's. But, we danced up a storm to the tracks he laid. Of course, since he wasn't the headliner, the floor was EMPTY! which is just the way I like it.
Lorin started up by saying to the crowd "get up here close to the stage! if you stand in the back like 6th graders, I'm gonna play 6th grade music all night" one-two-three: floor is PACKED!
It is SO cool to be live while a talented DJ is putting it altogether, responding the the crowd, the mood, and the flow. TOTALLY getting down with the music. It was like watching a painter create, or a dancer choreograph, it was visceral.
The concensus was to leave in the middle of the set (1am, so not too shabby for these 9pm bedtime peeps), but I really felt like that was sacrilege to "waste" the end of something so rare.
My consolation is that the man with be in BRC come August with the rest of these creative souls - so I will get to be awed again.

Do you know... are there DJ's in Phoenix who make music? and to be explicit, what I'm talking about here, is not just "mixing" from one song to the next, I'm talking about making music!

O' Buddha, leave me alone!

Greg always tells me that the Buddha is trying to teach me patience; and that's why so much of my life tries my patience so.

Today, the Buddha threw the book at me.

I don't really want to vent about the what's and the why's

I just want the universe to know, that I am trying very hard to keep my voice calm, to not snap, to not snap at people, to be nice.

I think, though, that I failed.

I walked out of the dry cleaners because I was about to bite off the heads of the people and scream as loud as the loudest monster while my hair stood straight up and my face turned green, so loud that it formed wind and storms and hurricanes, and the people in the buildings next door cowered in the corners shaking.

 

speaking of screaming green monsters.... here's a story.

My maternal cousins are girls - two of them - when they were little and I was babysitting, they sometimes didn't buy that I had the authority to tell them what to do. So they would resist. I would tell them that if they didn't do as I said I would scream and shout and turn into a horrible scary monster and all the people in the world would get scared and run away !

and they would comply immediately.

 

My half-brothers, on the other hand, got wide-eyed, and started jumping up and down with excitement taunting me:

"do it, do it, do it".

 

how funny, that even before the age of 4, the girls were scared and the boys were adrenaline junkies!

traveling tidbits

I learned today that they put the TSA-in-training in the ELITE line at Sky Harbor. Yes, that's right, all of those people with racked up miles from never being home think they can have a smooth and easy time at the airport; but no… they have to help the TSA agents do their jobs!

 

Why, oh WHY do hotel's have to put the full length mirror in a location that forces you to be looking at yourself on the toilet?! I have found this to be true in so many hotel rooms, that I think it's a wicked joke at some hotel design firm.

Two reviews: a book, and a movie

Wicked
I finally finished reading Wicked. I had put off finishing it for a long time because I didn’t want the witch to die. Obviously, I knew she would, but I had gotten attached to her. So, now that I’m done, I have to say, that the ending of this book is weak. weak weak weak.
I think that Maguire set up a great protagonist. He gave the Witch an incredible character. She had causes, she was strong, she had a will, and a focus. Then she had an affair, and it ends, and she completely looses focus and doesn’t gain it again. She is killed because of her own delusions in what Dorothy represents. I was very disappointed. There were a lot of threads in this book that also disappear, like the animals that can talk. Why did he create then in the narrative? There is no closing of that circle. There is no reason to it that I can see that comes back at the end of the book. Also, she spends all this time working on making the monkeys evolve, and then that storyline disappears – its like it was convenient to explain the flying monkey army, but that’s it.
So, anyway…. I really enjoyed the development of the characters and plot, but the end sucked.

Children of Men
Oh. My. God. Can you say S.U.C.K.
We were totally excited about this movie.
We thought that the premise – people are no longer fertile, some people save a pregnant woman – was intriguing. But you know what, this was a CHACE movie. That’s it. People running and chasing. I don’t know where the “deep” was; the implication, and of it. You know Gattaca? And that movie with Tom Cruise where he bought an eye, with the precrime? Now, those were both chase movies where they worked in the sci-fi concept. This movie WAY dropped the ball. It was actually boring.

more of those universe alignments

my desk phone rang; it was my financial advisor, saying she wanted to take some of my "cash" and buy part of an "international real estate trust"... and I said: that's one of those things where they buy and sell land all over the world, right?, and she said yes - but commercial, and I said: that's funny 'cause my brother is signing the paperwork to sell some of our CR land today; and we laughed, and as we were saying goodbye, my cell rang - it was my brother... saying that the deal was done and he was at the bank!

 

I'm sorry, but that's TOO weird!!

Bad Blogger

I think I may have made a blogging faux pas...

When people leave you comments, I think blogging etiquette calls for you to email them back.

Is that right?

Well, since I post via email, because my work blocks anything with "blogspot" in it, I don't have access to my blog's comments or the profiles of my readers... so I usually enjoy the comment and move on.

 

Well - I'm going to try and be better about acknowledging comments, even if it means remembering turn the computer on when I get home!

 

 

What can you fit in your MINI?!

scene: Friday night, trip to Ikea.

Lisa: should we take your truck? or the MINI?
Greg: we're only getting the 3-drawer unit - MINI.

Later that night...
Lisa and Greg standing in the Ikea warehouse looking at the VERY long boxes on their cart, laughing hysterically because they don't want to go home and get the truck, they want to risk getting the SIX-drawer Malm and this ladder into the MINI.











I'm really surprised that people didn't watch us in the parking lot making snide comments.
Yes, there was a moment, or two, where I thought I'd hear the cracking of my back window...
The ladder had to go on top of the dash, and we couldn't click the boot all the way...
In the end, we made it home.
















Greg was a little smooshed behind the driver on the folded down seat

Weird

Greg ran another marathon on Sat. He improved his time by 10 minutes, which is really impressive, considering that I can't even run his pace for 1 mile without being exhausted. So, I've been wanting a massage for a while, and a friend recommended a guy from her chiro's office who does housecalls. Well, that's just too weird if I invite this guy over to give me a massage, so I thought it would be less weird if he gave one to Greg too. So I scheduled for Sunday after the marathon. Greg was pretty adamant that he wanted to be outside in the shade, so whatever, the massage therapist was down with that. And I let Greg go first 'cause I figured he needed all the guys strength more than I did. We traded places pretty seamlessly, and I lay outside listening to the birds - man there were a lot - and feeling the breeze, and thinking about the backyard in general.

We want to redo the whole thing and we've decided to get a designer to help us. We want to make the patio, pool, and yard cohesive and divide it up into garden rooms that make you want to wander around and have discovery experiences. That's all "one day" stuff. For some reason, I got to thinking about this little metal shed that's in the corner of the yard near the house. We have the pool supplies in there and some of my brother's stuff. I started thinking how since we don't have a basement the garage is stuffed with junk, and that maybe it would be better to have a more efficient storage space in that yard corner. Something that could fit all the bikes. This shed is too small to stand up in, so it makes it awkward to go in and out, and you can't really put a lot of stuff in there because its just difficult to maneuver. Also, the door has come off its rollers, so it doesn't really stay open, or closed, it just falls down and we have to prop it up from the inside with a chlorine bucket. whatever... its just not efficient. And so I lay there getting my massage thinking about how we could improve this situation, and thinking that I should say something to Greg about it 'cause maybe he would have an idea.

But then, as massages go, I was relaxed and my mind went on to the next thing.

After the massage therapist left, and we had continued on with our day, I realized that Greg had been at the computer for a really long time. I went over to look at what he was doing and it looked like he was surfing for gazebos, or pagodas, and I thought - geez, he's going to come up with some scheme to put a ramada by the pool - which contradicts the whole master plan/garden room designer thingy... so I asked him what he was doing.

 

He told me that he'd been thinking that the shed in the corner of the yard wasn't very efficient and that it would be nice to have something that you could actually stand up in, with a useful door and a way to store all the bikes that we have in the garage.   (!)

and he was looking at these prefab sheds that would look really nice and be very functional.

 

I was pretty much in shock. It was just too weird that I came inside and he'd been sitting at the computer figuring out what to do about the shed thing the whole time I'd been outside thinking about the shed thing.

 

I mean, I know that they say when you've been with someone for a while you can finish each others thoughts and know what the other person is thinking, but this was just too weird.

 

Then, after measuring and talking about styles, I decided to let him keep going without me, and went to watch TV. It occurred to me that instead of a white siding metal roof "cottage" thing, maybe it would be cheaper to just lay a slab, put up some cinder blocks with a glass brick clear story, and french doors, stucco the outside and tile the roof to match the house. I figured I'd wait until Greg was done with his processing before I broached the subject. He was going in and out, measuring and looking. And then he stopped, came over to me and said: maybe we should just put up a cinder block room that we can stucco with a glass brick row for light and french doors, and a tile roof to match the house.

 

Now come on. How can it be that we have the same thought at the same time without any connective discussion - twice?!

That's just Weird.

Why can’t there be a another airport for these people?

Why do you have to put 20 metal clips in your daughter's hair? So that every time she walks through the metal detector she beeps, and you have to come back and take out some more. Do you think that this is your personal attention time from TSA?

 

You know how the moving walkway has that annoying person saying "The moving walkway is now ending", that useless PSA that you always wonder about because, hello, you are on the moving walkway, and you are looking ahead and you see that its ending. Because you've gone up escalators before and you understand the concept. Well, hello lady on your cellphone, so engrossed that you a) don't notice that the moving walkway is ending, b) don't hear the annoying announcement that the moving walkway is ending and you trip and fall and yell loudly causing a human pileup of everyone else coming off the moving walkway that is ending because you are so unaware of the world that you inhabit that you don't get that the stupid moving walkway is ending.

 

The mom with the stroller, that she wants to push through the metal detector. Are you serious?! Do you not understand the concept of metal detector? Or is your world so ensconced in plastic that you forgot that your stroller is indeed metal. And why do you look so shocked that you have to now carry your child through the metal detector? What were you thinking, that you could put him through the x-ray machine with the stroller? I mean come on, how much time do you need to process this conundrum? Just take the kid out – hold him – and put the stupid stroller on the stupid belt.

 

Ah – you know the sign at the beginning of this queue that says "preferred", you know the lady who was asking everyone in this queue if they had preferred status? That was for a reason! So why do you look shocked and appalled that the TSA ID checker is telling you to go in the other line, and come on! why are you arguing with him?! It's a pretty clear situation. Don't you understand that we have this status because we are ALWAYS on airplanes and we want to be able to avoid the people like you who are trying to slow down our process of getting home?!

The rough part of DINK

him: I have so much to do today, I'll probably be home late.

 

me: I'll probably be late too.

 

him: I might have to work this weekend to keep my head above water. I feel like a Lisa.

 

me: let's build a cube environment in the living room so we can be more productive!

some things that have happened lately

I'm going to resist my nature and not make this an organized list.

 

I got my new tires installed yesterday, and its taking some getting used to. Who would have thought that run-flats were so yucky?!

I don't feel the bumps of cat-eyes, manholes, uneven pavement like I used to.

I don't "loose control" in road ruts

It almost feels like my car is bouncy!

I REALLY want to take them somewhere where I can test the corner handling!!!!!

 

This is Daniel's last week at ASU. We are going to help him move out of his dorm tomorrow, and on Sat, he and 5 friends are going to camp in our back yard.

I think we'll lock the cats in the bedroom with us and leave all the doors open so that they don't keep us awake coming in and out to the bathroom etc.

I can't believe that this time has gone by so fast!!!

I didn't see him nearly enough... but I have to say, that I like the changes that I have observed from his first week to now. I hope they stick when he goes home.

 

Yesterday was the MOST incredible work day I have had in a long while. I do not believe there was a single moment when I was in control of the task I was performing - I mean, I didn't select what I was working on; every moment was a reaction to someone who came in to my office; and there were always two people waiting in the hall.... I got home at 7:30, ate a burrito that Greg made for me, and went to bed and asleep at 8:30.

 

I have been tracking what I eat - calories, fat, protein, and carbs. My trainer wants me to eat at least 1500 calories with 40% each protein and carb, 20% fat. Let me tell you how hard that is! all three of those criteria! I am most typically 1000 calories, 20% each fat and protein, and 60% carb. EVERYTHING has carbs except straight MEAT. So you are always adding to the carb column and usually just a little to the protein - unless you eat MEAT!

 

that's it.

I crack myself up

My stepmother LOVES to shop. While she was shopping here, she accumulated a lot of those nice square-bottom bags they give you at boutiques. She asked me if I kept them. I thought this was really weird 'cause why would I want a bunch of Victorias Secret bags lying around! She says she keeps a stash under the bed to carry things in when she needs an extra bag, because they have nice handles, etc. I thought this was a strange concept because I have actuals BAGS for that. It occurred to me, that if you have value for the Gap, Macy's, Burberry, Juicy, you might want people to see you walking around with one of the bags for random stuff 'cause it meant you'd bought something there. Whatever, I don't have that way of thinking - I thought to myself...
Until, I was in my closet, looking in the back behind the dresses, and I found THIS,



A shopping bag from the MINI dealer! Saved, I suppose for another use... to carry around other stuff so that people know I bought something there! I guess its all about the image you want to project.
=)

Was it the right decision?

Sometimes, I guess, you get a chance to go backwards in time and reevaluate a decision.

 

This past weekend, we went to THE American archaeology conference. I gave a paper and Greg had a booth. The last one I went to was 10 years ago. Isn't that crazy?

 

I was expecting to sit in my session, give my paper, and spend the rest of the time waiting for Greg.

Well, that didn't happen.

I ran into so many people that I know, from so many different contexts, it was insane!

People I haven't seen in over 10 years.

I even decided to go to some sessions other than my own and see what research people are working on.

 

So what was the decision I got to reevaluate?

 

About 6 years ago, I decided to stop pursuing my career as an archaeologist. I decided to go into management in a general sense. So, I stopped doing research, I stopped reading research, I stopped going to the regional conferences, and I stopped staying in touch.

 

Sitting in these meetings, I got to think about whether or not that was the right decision - for me.

 

I would expect that some of the people I ran into thought that it was a loss that I am not doing research and contributing to the field. I know that people thought I was really good at that.

 

I have learned that there are a lot of things I am good at. There are a lot of things that I could spend all day doing. Starting with being a school teacher, being a mom, baking, cooking, sewing, being a research archaeologist.

 

But you know, just because you're good at something, doesn't mean that its something you should be doing all day.

 

I don't want to do any of those things above all day.

 

In sitting in those sessions and reevaluating my decisions, I realize that I have made the right one. Being a Project Manager uses my strengths, uses my skills, and provides me with challenges that I want to take on, and that's the difference. I know what the challenges are for the listed items above, and I don't really care to take them on.

 

What I'm doing now gets me out of bed in the morning and makes my commute in traffic worth it.

 

That may be a change from some of the posts I've put up in the past - so I'll tell you that a couple months ago, I started working with a new project manager on projects for a different client. And I am having fun. Last week, I was officially moved over to the Civil Department. I am no longer a group lead, I am no longer a division head, I am no longer responsible for business development in a field I think is STUPID! I no longer supervise the emotionally unstable girly boy who yelled at me!

 

and yes, I am happy about all of the above.

Adam works magic with the universe

My youngest brother, Adam, was scheduled to return to Australia on a Thursday.

He really didn't want to go.

He wanted to stay the weekend and continue the merrymaking with his two older brothers.

My Dad told him that the cost to change the ticket was not worth it, that he had obligations to his soccer team on Sat, and that he should be in class on Monday.

 

We took Adam to the airport for his evening flight during a CRAZY wind storm that had come out of nowhere. I was almost afraid of driving my little car in the gusts. Adam was scheduled to fly to SF to catch an 11PM flight to Sydney.

 

About an hour later, he called us to say that his flight was delayed two hours, he'd miss his connected to Sydney, and the next flight they could get him on to cross the ocean was on Monday !!!

His options where to fly to SF and spend the weekend in a hotel, or come back to my house and take another flight to SF on Monday for the international flight - which coincidentally was the same one his parents were on.

 

And I'm sure you can guess what he decided to do.

 

PS

I just reread that last post...

it should be pretty easy to "type" my personality from that in case you hadn't figured it out already.

 

I'll call you attention to two items:

1. no adjectives

2. no emotions

 

and now you have a list!

Knock Knock

is anyone there?

 

oh! Aaron! hey, Hi! good to see you again!

 

Yeah, I haven't been around much lately... SO much has happened, and the thought of going through it all is daunting, and so I avoid.

 

and to briefly summarize the last 3 weeks:

Dad and stepmom + youngest brother + oldest brother and wife (M&M) all in my house for two weeks

WHERE IS THE KOSHER-FOR-PASSOVER MATZO IN THIS TOWN?!

Middle brother and all his college friends over for Fri Night - thanks to Dad and the Italian place next door, I didn't have to cook!

MORE kosher-for-passover matzo !

BBQ party for the whole family gang + all my close Phoenix friends + all of milddle brother's college friends; again! thanks to Dad, Greg, everyone who brought food, and my oldest brother, I didn't have to cook, or clean up

Everyone left except M&M and he cooked an INCREDIBLE meal everynight for a week.

Now they are off to Coachella, and we are alone in the house - good and bad - if you know what I mean.

Sat: Flamenco show in Gilbert at 11, lunch, drive to Flagstaff, late for tech rehersal at 4pm, show at 7:30, drive home, bed at 11!

Sun: LAY ON THE COUCH

 

 

I just sent this to my mom in an email, it kinda captures today:

 

Today my new rate starts, and I feel under extra pressure to be "worth" the extra $8/hr.

Plus one of the guys that I've been "shadowing" is being assigned to TX for a year, so I will be 100% in-charge of a bunch of engineering projects where I'm just winging it at every moment.

 

so - all the pressure and stress just escalated.

 

Greg and I are going to Austin on Thursday for the Society for American Arch conf. DeAnn is coming too, and I'm giving a presentation on Friday AM (!!!)

I intend to spend the rest of the weekend in the hotel room watching TV and maybe make an appnt for a massage - instead of going to any sessions !!!!!

 

I am also trying very hard to not let work interfere with my working out!

and one of my flamenco fellows asked if I would like to do semi-privates with her as well as the Tues class; I said yes.