The "no" guy

When I worked in video, I got use to people telling me "no, that's not what I wanted". Its part of what burns you out in a creative field.

When I moved to IT it was first at a help desk. Here, people were mad, but you could be their savior, so it wasn't so bad.

In networking, we were GODS. We ruled. We were cocky. We dictated everything. We said no to everything, no matter what. It was great.

Now, I find myself in a different position. I am an enabler, more or less. I coerce. Everyone around me says no. OH MY GOD.

So now, the realization (where are you TriDi), how do I not be Eeyore. I don't want to be that anymore, but I don't know if I can change. I don't like what I see....

Curiosity

Is there a reason that the bike simulators at the gym don't let you draft?

I got on one for the first time the other day. You know the ones with the little screen with other riders and backgrounds? I was pedaling hard, watching the terrain map. I saw a downhill coming, so I coasted.....and I stopped.

Then, on a flat into a climb I got behind one of the other riders and slowed my pedaling in the draft. I started to slow down. WTF? Where's my draft?

Tell me how this is a simulator?

:-)

Skill

I have discovered a new standard for skill.

Stand at a urnial, pants undone, pee and click on a Blackberry.

That takes skill. I have something new to shoot for.

Overwhelmed

Man, I have been bored at work for quite awhile. The holidays often are in my area. All of the sudden...WHAM. I have quite a bit to do and have not been inspired to write. I also have a number of small projects at home that I really want to finish, and some planning for going to France and Canada hanging in the air. Whew.

Went skiing in lieu of biking on Saturday. Was fun. I hadn't been in 6 years or so. By the end of the day I was starting to feel ok on skis. I had ones that were a bit too long, but I made do. I'm hoping we can get in a few more trips this winter. I'd like my daughter to enjoy it so its something we could all go do. The wife needs to warm up to the whole thing. More trips would help with that.

On the way up to parking, I was noting the road...and the elevation changes. And the fact that I agreed to ride a bike up this "hill". Hmm. Perhaps I've not thought this through. I'm sure I'll do it anyway, but I hold little hope. There are a couple of REALLY steep sections. Maybe if I had Zipps....

I need to get back out on the bike. I haven't been on the trainer either. I have made it to they gym a few times, so that's good. Going to hit the gym tonight, but my legs are still a little sore from skiing. Ah well, don't they say no pain, no gain?

Dull

There really hasn't been too much to blog about. All my buddies here are via biking, and that activity has been sorely lacking. Its pretty easy to blow it off in the winter, too! Oh well.



So, a thing hit me on the way in, so I thought I'd write a quickie.



Music.



My love.



I think it is interesting to think about what has held up well over the years. I continue to follow music avidly, so for me there is constantly changing interests. This doesn't mean I leave everything behind. As a genre, the goth stuff of the college years hasn't held up as well. I still enjoy some of the more original bands, (think Bauhaus, Sisters) but as a whole...its overly serious. Rock and Roll holds up the best, I think. I believe this is because it never really changes. How different is pop idol loser Daughtry from Elvis? Or Jerry Lee? Not so much, really.



On the way in I was listening to one of my fave high school bands (and one of Eric Cartman's obsessions) Styx. Now there's a band. I think stuff like this falls into one of several categories; nostolgia, wow - what was I/the band thinking?, and holds up well. For me, Styx kind of fits all three.



At the core of it, they play rock. Into-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-lead break-bridge-chorus-etc. They were heavy keyboards so you get that in the intros and lead breaks. The songs hold up ok. Their image - a renaissance fair on stage - not as much. I'll give them a bit of a break on the clothing (Heart did it, too), because they're trying to stick out, but man is it silly. Musically, still fun for me.



But its the keyboards. What would Styx have been without Dennis DeYoung? He helped make them stand out, I think, but I think they would have held up better musically without his Arp noodling. That's what REALLY dates the music. As a kid, I liked the song Lady. It was kind of the Nirvana formula, except quiet/loud/quiet was always keyboard intro/loud/keyboard outtro. I still am ok with the song. But the later album The Grand Illusion, with the hit Come Sail Away, is what broke them. There is some great stuff on that album. I saw them on that tour here at the Mosque (I don't acknowledge PC renaming) and had a blast. I have a tape of that show where you can hear me screaming my girly scream the whole time.It was also my first real rock concert.

But I digress. The album is good. In listening to the better songs from it this AM, I realized it could have been better....without all the keyboard flourishes. I mean really. There's a song on it called Miss America. Strip off the stupid keyboard intro and you have a song with a fantastic riff. The keyboard break in the middle even works. It doesn't hurt that its followed by a guitar solo. Come Sail Away would work better without all the Moog noodling in the middle. Get on with it, fellas! (which is why my favorite band, the Ramones, got it sooooo right. They got on with it). You just don't need all of that, and its what dates the music and stops the movement.
While I now despise bands like ELP and Yes, they at least kept the music moving.

Which brings me to my closing...Dennis deYoung, and his faked accent, is satan.

You've now wasted your break time.
Go listen to some music and waste some more.

Forgive Me

As I sit here, I realize I was wrong. I shouldn't have said it. I posted that I *only* had a Fuji. I sit here, she's just a few feet away strapped to the trainer. She's a little wet from my sweat. She's a fine steed. Its a good bike.

I'm sorry I looked at the prices of Sevens. I shouldn't have. I'm sorry your chain is so greasy, but it is winter. But think, soon you'll get a nice tune up.

I hope she'll be ok.

What do I have to do???

Dammit.
Once, REB60 blogged that I was the fastest rider he knew because I was always there. Well, we knew that was a nice lie.
I now think this of all my riding buddies. No matter what I do, they're right there. Sure, there is a time or to I pass them, or they pass me, but no one ever "drops" anyone.

I want to be able to drop someone.

Considering that I'm going to attempt the Wintergreen thing, you'd think I'd be able to. But no.
REB and I are a tad (ok lot) larger than the Trichicks we usually ride with. I always figure that is to my advantage on the downhills. More mass=faster. I've got mass covered. So, I usually tuck in and coast....give myself a break....andI'll pass folks. I commented this to Tridi this Saturday as I coasted up to her.

We hit the biggest hill of the ride at the end. (btw, why is that? Who plans these routes anyway?) EVERYONE passed me. Not sure how that happened. So, we hit the bottom and start the climb. I roll by everyone. Was truly odd. As we started to get towards the top, everyone caught me. Someone passed, Tridi, I think. Once we crested and my heart found its way back to where it goes, I pushed a bit. Trigirl40 was on my wheel the whole damn time.

Again, what do I have to do??? Buy Zipps?

I will say my pedals didn't bother me this week, and my toes didn't go numb. Maybe I'm on to something.

Truly, I think it boils down to the fact that we're all pretty similar riders. Everyone has their good and bad days. Some folks seem to peak. As I'm not training for anything, I just try to last.

At any rate, it was a good ride. I hope I can continue to meet up when my wife starts training for the Ukrops thingie.

5, 6, 7

7 things? Everything about me is weird. How do I even figure it out?

7 - I'll join the TriGirl M&M train. When I could eat them, I ate them by color. Browns first, the other colors, then the greens. Always the greens last. Now I just wish I could eat them.

6 - Along the eating front, I also eat chips by eating the broken ones first, leaving the succulent whole, fully formed Doritos, Fritos, etc for last. Whole ones hold a better flavor.

5 - When I drive to a bike ride, I could replace most anything on the bike. I have a complete tool kit with me.

4 - I can't leave ANYTHING alone. Car, bike, stereo, camera, PC, doesn't matter. Whatever it is, I have to muck with it.

3 - I like to fall asleep on the couch.

2 - I love awards shows. Any of them. The music ones are my favorites, but I'll watch them all.

1 - I've worked at the same place for 20 years. Clearly I'm a masochist.


That took me all night to write.

I'm still a little bummed that I've only had one tri-girl offer up her bike for marrige. I realize I ride a lowly Fuji, but common...

Open Auditions

My child would like to be a flower girl. I guess what one wouldn't, especially if they are girly. Well, we explained that it really wasn't in the cards because there wasn't anyone in the family to get married.

She came up with a plan.

She decided I should marry one of my TriGirl friends so she could be a flower girl. I'm not sure who Mom is marrying. So, line up ladies. :-)

I was going to give it a go on the trainer tonight...I could really use it. But, I bailed. Instead I decided to once again tackle my troublesome pedals. Since I can't afford to buy Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn any Zipps (I looked at the price....yeah, no), I wasn't going to be getting any Speedplays from her. Best make my Time's work.

So, I flipped the cleats. You can adjust spacing by flipping them (on a mountain bike you do this to adjust release angle...unless you're like me and took a grinder to them anyway). I also mounted them as far forward as I could. I had always had them moved back since that seemed like where the ball of my foot was in the shoe. Guess I was wrong. I was able to clip in every time, without looking, in the dark. I practiced several times.

It does feel different. The possibility exists that this may help my numb toe issue as well. It'll be awhile before I know about that one. Regardless, I'm happy(ish) with them again. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still curious about the Speedplay.

Finally, I came in and adjusted the float. I have them set on medium float instead of max. It seems to feel a little better this way. I'll ride like this for awhile and perhaps tighten them down more later.

So, after all that I backed out the cleat screws, put on a little Loctite, and tightened it all back. Good to go.

Saturday anyone?

Shoe...Foot.....Other

For me it started years back. Slowly. It ended last year in a rush. It was rough, but you manage. My poor child had to learn early. She's done well, but I know its tough. My wife has done exactly the right thing. Always.

Well, now its back. Only its changed. Moved. The kid will have to deal with it again, but now its the wife's turn. Problem is, I don't know if I'll do as good a job as she did. And I have to 'cause this is just the beginning again.

Thursday night I'll need a drink.

Yup

I made it to the gym last night. It had been awhile. Frankly I hate this time of year because all the "resolution" exercisers are there. Not that I wish them any ill will, I just hate a crowded gym. My gym is really small so if there is much of a crowd, its a little rough. Tuesdays and Thursdays seem to be less crowded, so I think I'm going to do my best to plan on those days. I can do the trainer on the others.

Turned out it wasn't too bad last night. I've learned if I leave work a little early, like 10 minutes, I beat the traffic out and get to the gym a little earlier. Often this can make the difference in trying to get some cardio in. Last night I had to use the bike because the cross trainers were full. I did manage to do my 30 min at over 100 rpm. The tension was up a bit as well, so I was pleased. Even the weight machines weren't awful. My legs were rubbery by the end, but fine later on. A good feeling.

The other tidbit was I think I saw my old hotish trainer there. Didn't get to talk to her, but I'd like to. She started me off on this whole thing and I'm in so much better shape. I would think she might like it, too, since it shows someone she worked with continued on and maintained. Natch I'd be further along if I had stayed with her, but it didn't seem worth the cash.

And a quick note before someone yells at me, the hotish trainer was a gift from my wife. When she called to get a trainer, she asked for a hot chick (maybe not in those words). I mean, why would I want a man? Having a girl is just far more incentive. Who wants to look bad in front of a cutie? I mean, even though you know you look like a big in comparison, you still try hard. Maybe its just me. Maybe I'm a dirty old man. Maybe I just admit it.

And yes, Trigirl 40, Out of Shape 45 here was convinced by REB 60 to do a time trial up Wintergreen mountain. You in?

Nooooooooooo

Well, for most tomorrow starts a return to normal. Yuck. Well, the kids need to be back in school, but that morning routine will suck tomorrow. It means I have to get up when the alarm goes off. And get the kid up.

It also means work. People will be back expecting stuff. Its pretty light throughout the holidays. Of course the rest of the week will be spent catching up for most. I'm sure it will be as joyous as it has been.

So, nice day today, but it got cold later. I was supposed to be riding with REB60 but I bailed. Now I feel fat. It just seemed like there was so much to get done. After being gone the weekend I needed to get laundry done and we need to clean up Christmas so I can get the tree out. I'm bad about putting my stuff away. As I mentioned before, I hate having Christmas go away. But away it goes. The new biking socks are on their way upstairs. The sugar free candy will go to work, movies and car stuff downstairs.

I have got to get back on the exercise wagon. Now that I said I'd ride a mountain, I'd be foolish not to. Maybe I need to come up with some sort of plan. Hmm.

Lemme work on this....