Jul 21
2010

I’ve been pretty excited the past few weeks and now it’s the last day of work before vacation. This best part about this vacation is I’m going to see family. Tomorrow Mary and I leave for Erin’s wedding. We’re driving from Tampa to Denham Springs in Louisiana in Egbert (my Honda Fit). The wedding’s on Friday, and I’m a bridesmaid. Then on Saturday Mary and Savio drop me off at the car rental place and take Egbert back to Tampa. I continue on to Houston and home to see and hopefully help out Nathan with house stuff. I hope to see some friends in Houston.

On Monday, I fly out to London, but not before meeting up with Kim, Orson, and Liz at the airport and then we all fly out together. I’m so excited about this trip. Will blog when I can to journal the trip and show pictures.

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Jun 1
2010

Today would have been Mom’s 57th birthday. Time continues to move forward without her; it used to feel like it wouldn’t. But these days come up and I feel compelled to write something.

The other day I was wandering around the aisles of Barnes and Noble, seeing what was new on the shelves, looking for something new to read. When I passed by the Mystery Genre Aisle, the distinctive cover of a new Elizabeth Peters’s Amelia Peabody Mystery caught my eye. Mom loved this series of novels, and it seemed like for many years my siblings, Dad, and I would attempt to be the person who bought the copy of the newest Peabody first so we could give it to Mom for her birthday or Christmas. Not that we didn’t all read the series. When certain new books came to my house you had to be fast before they sneaked off into another’s hands.

The series is set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries during the major archaeological discoveries in Egypt. Mom was fascinated by ancient Egyptian art. During her couple of years at the University of Houston, she had studied art history. I can recall going through one of her old art textbooks with her and her explaining what made Egyptian art unique and interesting.

I had thought that the series though had pretty much finished as the last one was set during the finding of King Tut’s tomb. It actually came out in March 2006, just a few months before Mom died, but I believe my parents had listened to it in the car when they came out for Grandma’s funeral. I remember them talking about it being a good wrap up for the series and how they didn’t think that there’d be any more of the novels.

But then there on the shelves was a new Amelia Peabody mystery. Despite the fact I knew I would buy it, read it and enjoy it, my first thought was how odd it was to not be buying it for my mom’s birthday, because I knew how much she would like it. It’s just one more change in the world that she’d missed. It strikes me that it’s the things she keeps missing that I find hardest to deal with – things like her first grandson to a new novel she would love to read.

But at least when I read a new Amelia Peabody mystery or an old one again, I’ll always remember Mom’s fondness for them and that I read them because she told me they were fun reads first.

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Jun 1
2010

I watched the series finale of Lost about a week ago. Let me just say the finale has sort of preyed on my mind. A lot of folks seems to be upset at the lack of answered questions or disappointed at the oddity of what the show turned out to be. After thinking about it for awhile, it suddenly hit me that this show is something of a meditation on life and death and after life. I’ve decided to go back to rewatch the show from Season 1. I’ve just finished watching Season 1. I was surprised how the themes of letting go and the strength of connections between people are there from the start. To me the finale suggests that there are lot of things in life we place tremendous importance on (pushing buttons, etc) yet these things aren’t really that important when compared to creating connections and relationships with our fellow humans. And that is what I feel like the sideways universe highlights.

Season 1 begins as a way to show the forging of the connections between all these characters. But also I think the series finale firmly establishes that in many ways Lost is Jack’s story. So going back and rewatching the season from that perspective, I think begins to change the way I see the show. I also think watching the show again from that first season and seeing how cliffhanger episodes lead into the next episode aren’t nearly as frustrating as I remember when it took a week or more between episodes. I’ve been kind of surprised at how quickly things move when episodes are watched back to back.

I’ll revisit this again after rewatching Season 2.

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May 18
2010

This weekend I participated in my second MS150 event and my first MS150 event in Florida. This time I attempted to start my own team at USF and ride the ride. I can say that my attempt to start a team was only slightly successful. We did have the required number of members, etc, but just not that many people. I met a professor here at USF, who rode with us and seems committed to the idea of trying to get the team to take off a little more for next year. Fingers crossed, USF will be a bigger presence at next year’s ride.

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Early morning on Day 1

The ride itself went great. Sabrina and I both finished without too much struggle. The route is pretty nice, although some of the roads could stand to be repaved. Bok Tower is actually the highest natural point in Florida so on Day you get to start the day with a long downhill, a section of flats through the country, and then some more hills. On the after lunch stage of the ride we hit even more hills, but the best thing about hills are the downhills. On a couple of them, I made 25 mph sans pedaling. I wound up riding mostly with Stefan on Day 1. We lost Sabrina on one of the uphills. We arrived at the Caribe Royale at about 11:30 AM. Sabrina arrived about 30 minutes later. Unfortunately, they didn’t really have a lunch spread at the end, just some snackage. But they did have a massage tent and Sabrina and I each got a 15 minute massage. I think it helped with recovery for day 2.

We went to the dinner provided that night. Maureen Manley, a former bicycling race champion until she was diagnosed with MS, was the keynote speaker. I was pretty moved by the dinner. Even though I don’t have anyone I’m particularly close to that has MS, the weirdness of the disease and the fact that I still feel pretty helpless in understanding what caused Mom’s death, means that MS seems like as good a disease as any to support.

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Me at the start of Day 2.

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Sabrina at start of Day 2.

Day 2 started early, but the nice thing was we got to sleep in till about 5AM. The beds at the Caribe Royale were really comfortable,  and I slept fantastically. The next day was a bit of a rough start. But I found myself latching onto other folks’ wheels and then passing them later. Sabrina found a group of teachers at the lunch stop that were just at her pace, so I got ahead of her again. I averaged about 14.1 mph on Day 2 and felt really good. At the end I definitely had some struggling getting back up a few of the hills and those last 15 miles were hard, but I finished strong. On the last 2 miles I figured I should just dig deep and pedal fast. It may be Tuesday, but I’m still riding my weekend high.

Thanks to everyone who donated to this event and thanks especially to Mary’s grandparents, Marilyn and Ed for letting Sabrina and I stay at their house on Friday night and use it as a post-ride rest stop on Sunday. I’ll be riding this event again next year and would love to have more people to ride with :)

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Apr 24
2010

I’ve been meaning to post this for awhile. Got a little behind on uploading photos, etc. Anyways here’s a photo album from this past Easter and Eric’s second birthday.


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

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Apr 4
2010

I managed to squeeze in an evening ride this Sunday – just 3 laps around Flatwoods Park. But I was glad to fit it in. I didn’t lose my 2 lbs this week, instead I gained about 1.4lbs instead. I was careless with my calories, so this week I must be both more careful and more active. Two goals, one week = (My new tag line.)

I was pretty happy with my ride this week. I did some bike maintenance on Saturday and finally got my cadence meter to start reading accurately again. My goal for today’s ride was to maintain an average cadence of 80, which meant using lower gears, but spinning faster. The best thing about it was that my average speed also went up and I had a much more consistent ride than I frequently do.

At the end of my second lap, I had that voice in my head saying call it a night, but I ignored it and finished out the third lap, making for a nice 21 mile ride, which was finished in under 2 hours. Definitely seeing some improvement from my previous riding. I think the mountain biking and the personal training is starting to pay off. The only thing I must remember is to use bug spray. Mosquitoes keep eating me.

So the goal for this week is to stick more closely to the calorie counter and fit in more activeness.

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Apr 2
2010

The weather has been so nice lately that I’ve had a hard  staying focused at work in the afternoon. Thankfully, though, the sun’s setting later, and the parks are open longer. Fitting in ride time is much easier this time of year. Today, I headed out to the Flatwoods area again. I’ve mostly been mountain biking on Fridays. I know I can fit an hour or two in on a Friday flying around the singletracks. I went to ride the complete main loop (about 15 miles), which took me a little under 2 hours. Next time I’ll be faster.

What I’ve been loving about these quick mountain bike rides is the adrenaline. I finish riding and feel almost like a super hero, tearing through banked tight turns and trying to jump the larger roots. Although, I did nearly lose it twice today on the trail. My tires slipped a little on one of the turns, and I thought for sure I was going down, but managed to correct myself. Made me feel even more awesome. The second time I nearly went down was due to a slightly muddy turn, a poorly placed root, and me missing it till the last moment. But managed to safely get out of that one too.

I also had one of those moments that are slightly surreal. I haven’t ridden the complete main trail loop in a long time (years), and I don’t know the paths like the back of my hand. This means occasionally I get turned around in the woods. Today, I was in the Flatwoods Park section and was trying to get back on the MTB trails. I turned onto the first off-road marker I saw and headed down, but noticed that the trail marker numbers were getting lower, not higher. After a little ways I turned around trying to find the trail numbers I needed. I came out the same trail entrance and rode down a little further taking the next turn off. This time I rode for quite a ways and wound up coming out again where I’d started earlier. I felt like I was in a cartoon where no matter which way I went I wound up back where I started. Finally, I managed to find the correct trail marker and for the rest of the ride had no more déjà vu mishaps.

The trails out in the area are full of animals. I’m always amazed at how despite being close to the city, there’s still a lot of wildlife. I often see a lot of local wildlife (not just cyclists and motorists). On my ride Wednesday, I saw a bunch of pigs and piglets wallowing in the water and mud along the Bayshore Trail in Wilderness Park. Today, I saw plenty of turkey. Practically, felt like Thanksgiving I saw so many. The first one I saw was so close to my left side that I originally thought he was a very good fake, till he turned to look at me. I could’ve touched his waddle. Later on I came across three deer, looking at me with real horror, unsure which way to run. Two of them jumped across the path, but the third turned tail and ran the opposite direction. Saw at least one gopher tortoise and an armadillo busily snuffling in the dirt, digging some new holes. He didn’t even stop what he was doing till l had practically ridden up right next to him. The rest of the ride I continued to see mostly turkeys, but none so close as those first two.

After my fantastic ride, I headed home to pizza and a shiner and watched The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Fun movie. Tomorrow I plan to head out to road bike. I’m hoping to make it a long one, as I need to get in the time in the saddle. The MS 150 will soon be here.

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Mar 23
2010

I’ve finally had a bit of a breakthrough in my weight loss goals. A friend of mine suggested the Lose It! app for iPhones/iTouchs, which is a free calorie tracker with goal setting functionality as well. I like it because it’s simple, and if I can’t find something on the list, it’s easy to add the item with the caloric amount. I can also add exercise information easily. I’ve programmed it for a weight loss goal of 2lbs a week and over the past 2 weeks I’ve lost 5lbs.

Perhaps, it’s just writing down my food intake. But I find myself making healthier choices, etc. I’m also loving the fact that the app actually lets you type in your goal weight and then depending on how many pounds a week you’re trying to lose tells you a date you can expect to be at that weight. I think that may be the best thing. Because when I start feeling like chucking it in, I realize that I will be the weight I want to be by September if I can stick to it.

I’ve tried some of the other apps and websites to perform this same functionality (like the livestrong site and app, and also the pyramid.gov (but that one’s just a website and I wanted something more mobile), but I found it hard to just had exercises and new foods in easily. I use a heart rate monitor when exercising to determine calories burned, but often i’m stuck with incorrect amounts when using other peoples averages, etc for an activity. Another good thing about Lose it! is that I can use while disconnected from the internet, since I own an iTouch and wifi isn’t everywhere and isn’t free everywhere either.

Lose it! is a simple, but flexible enough app to help me keep track without having to make too many edits, etc. And even better, it’s free.

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Mar 23
2010

I’ve a new addition to my biking quiver and a new blogging goal to write up trail reviews. I found a Ladies Trek Mountain Bike (the Skye SL) in the last couple of weeks, so I headed out to the local trails around Flatwoods this past Friday. I was busy attempting to zip around the trails for a quick ride and was headed back to the car, when I took a turn and another guy was coming around the corner from the opposite direction and then boom. The crash felt rather inevitable. My cheek smashed into his shoulder and then I bounced off and lost my balance, hitting the ground. Fortunately, neither of us were actually injured and the bikes were fine as well. I am now sporting some nice purple bruises on my left thigh and buttock, but nothing more serious.

Florida mountain bike trails tend towards not particularly mountainous, but they also tend to have lots of tight turns and plenty of thick root systems from the palmettos. The trails around Flatwoods are in low lying areas and can get a bit mucky after a good thunderstorm. I almost always see at least an armadillo when out riding, but frequently see deer, turkey, and snakes (small, black king snakes that often look like exposed roots until they move) as well. I had forgotten how much I enjoy riding off road and am really liking this new trek. It’s a women’s specific hardtail (I figured full suspension wasn’t that key to enjoying the trails around here), and I love that the cockpit is smaller than on some of the other rides I tried. I also feel pretty quick on it, flying around the turns and trees, sometimes maybe a little too fast.

If you haven’t tried riding off road out and around Flatwoods, I’d strongly recommend it. There’s 15 some odd miles of trails that create a loop connecting into the paved 7 mile Flatwoods loop. The trails aren’t overly hard, but some of the root systems can make the path a little more technical. And honestly if you’re living in North Tampa get outside and enjoy this ride.

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Mar 1
2010

Katie the Cat ?-2010

She had been sick for awhile (although I didn’t realize how badly until Thursday), but my cat, Katie, who’s lived with me for the past few years had to be put to sleep. I never intended to own a cat, in fact I don’t think anyone in my immediate family had intended to own a cat, but Katie found us. Katie wandered into our yard back in Texas, starving and in need of a place to stay. Kim and I were in college at the time. We’d never been allowed to have a pet any more exciting than a rabbits and the occasional hamster (not terribly loving pets), but then while we were in college the family got 2 puppies, Chiquita and Snuggles and Katie showed up not long after.

My mom began feeding Katie left over soft puppy food, she was so starved and let her move into the garage. Dad had never been particularly fond of cats. There was a bully of a cat down the street, though that kept stealing Kate’s food and terrorizes her. And then one day, Katie disappeared. She didn’t come out for her food, etc. We found her holed up under our wooden back porch. She’d been attacked by the other cat and her belly had a wound that had abscessed. We had to tear the porch apart to get her out and to the vet. It turned out to be a positive, since she moved into the house and Mom got a concrete back porch out of it. And the rest of us had a great time tearing apart the old porch. Swinging a sledge hammer of destruction is fun.

Kate remained in the house, chasing the dogs and keeping to herself mostly. She was always shy of strangers and men. And since the dogs were good at jealously guarding the laps from Katie, she didn’t really get overly close to anyone. She did enjoy playing though with bouncing balls and feathers and attacked Mom’s plants with regularity. She pretty much had the run of the house and enjoyed her space, and then Mom died and 10 months later Dad was moving to London.

Kim and Matt took in the dogs, since they had no pet restrictions where they were living, and I took in Kate. Traveling from Houston to Tampa with a cat is a strange experience, particularly since if left in a crate in the car she would yowl the entire drive. So I had to let her have the ability to stretch her legs and curl up where she wanted on the drive, or I was going to be driven to murder her on the drive.

I never had a pet on my own till Katie moved in, and now I no longer have a pet. It’s strange. The house is much quieter. I’d gotten used to having this creature jump on my lap to nap, and interrupt my Skype phone calls with the family. I’d gotten used to having someone to say goodbye to in the morning and hello when I got home again.

So my favorite memories of Katie:

  1. Hiding inside my old couch.
  2. Hiding under the tub when she first moved in. (She was incredibly talented at finding strange places to disappear into.)
  3. Curling up on my belly, purring.
  4. Using her paws to pull my hand into the correct position for scratching under her chin.
  5. The way she’d meow her demands.

So Katie, you’ll be missed.

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