Monthly Archives: August 2008

Everyone and their second cousin is writing about Sarah Palin, McCain’s ridiculous Vice President pick from Wasilla, Alaska.  I don’t really want to write about her non-existent executive experience, her scandalous history, or hyper-conservative ideology; if you know my left-leaning tendencies, you know my comments won’t be positive.  However, I do want to write about Wasilla and the neighboring “valley” area – a place I’ve lived near and passed through a few times in my life…

When I was a younger child living in Anchorage, Alaska, my family would take day trips out that direction.  Wasilla is about an hour and a half North-east of Anchorage; we never really had a reason to go there, because there was simply nothing of interest.  Just a small town of 5,000 people.  Continuing down the road in an eastern direction would eventually lead to a few cool places.  There was a Muskox farm, which was always a popular field trip destination for my elementary school.  (They’re a pretty cool animal, check out the Wikipedia page for more information.)

Traveling a little ways down the road, you would eventually run into Matanuska Glacier.  Matanuska was the first glacier I ever walked on, and would hold that distinction for quite a while.  As a kid, walking on all that ice was very surreal, and I could never wrap my mind around how the glacier runoff water could be so blue.  The crevasses were always an awesome sight too, extending so deep they appeared to be bottomless.

When I returned to Alaska in the summer of 2007 – over a decade later – it was fascinating to see these old sights again, reliving the memories of my youth.  We rode our bicycles in to Anchorage on the Glenn Highway, the same route my family would take to the ox farm and glacier.  Seeing and riding past Matanuska was pretty amazing, and I was pretty happy to see the Muskox farm was still alive and going strong.  As a kid I never realized how beautiful the Glenn Highway gets as you get closer to Anchorage; perhaps traveling that road by bicycle just opened me up to less obstructed view.

Then I went back to Alaska in February of this year, it was nice to see the same sights in the dead of winter, blanketed in deep snow.  The landscape is truly transformed in indescribable ways.  I traveled the exact same route, again passing my favorite glacier, on my path North-east to Glennallen, Alaska.  The area is definitely lacking in human life and activity, but this distinction is taken to an entirely new level in the winter time.

This isn’t a place for political talk, but just something to note.  John McCain looks like he’s only a few steps away from the grave.  He’s 72 years old.  Sarah Palin has an incredibly high chance of stepping into the presidency in the next four years if McCain is elected into office.  This beautiful and desolate area is where she’s honed her executive experience.  Does the logic make any sense?

I wrote a little while back about my plans to hang a hammock in my living room.  Well, those plans are now complete.  My old roommate dropped by yesterday afternoon to pick up the last of his furniture, and coincidentally, my hammock arrived from the REI distribution center yesterday as well.  What a perfect transition, right?

Hanging it was interesting, since I opted to put the necessary hardware directly into the wall instead of using a stand or something along those lines.  I bought two big eye screws – nearly a 1/4″ in diameter – and a decent stud finder to insure I’d be putting them into solid wood.  It takes a surprisingly large amount of leverage to screw a 1/4″ bolt into the side of a 2″x4″, but I was finally able to drive them in securely.  They’re both mounted higher than you would think – about 7′ off the ground, because the hammock itself is designed to hang fairly low at the middle.  Connecting bolts to hammock are two fancy Black Diamond carabiners.  It was pure luck that the hammock fits as well as it does, stretching wall to wall with the perfect amount of sag and no need for further extensions.

The hammock itself is really beautiful, with bright blues, yellows, and reds adding a splash of color to my living room.  And, being off the ground, it takes up absolutely no floor space, leaving the area nice and open.  At the height it’s hung, it could be clipped up against one wall without touching the ground, making cleaning easy and allowing mingling room if there’s ever a lot of people over here.

Lying here is ridiculously comfortable.  It’s nice to be able to push off the wall and swing freely.  One positive side about hammocks you don’t hear about is how great they are with temperature regulation, especially in warm weather.  Because air is circulating around the entire body, you’re cooled more efficiently, and you can generate your own airflow just by swinging back and forth a bit.

As much as I like having this piece of furniture, I’m pretty sure the cat enjoys it even more.  She’ll climb and claw her way from end to end, and then flip around to the underside and try to do it that way too.  And when it’s not filled with a body, she’ll jump in it and stretch out at the bottom.

Everyone should own a hammock…

Leonel just finished running in the 1500m semifinal and did not qualify for the finals.  In fact, it looks like none of our US runners will advance to the finals…  Oh well; the feat is still marked as amazing in my book.  I do wish I could have watched the race live, but NBC’s coverage has been a huge disappointment.  In this day and age of computer OS diversity, no streaming video should be restricted to only Microsoft.  Definitely a dickhead move.

I spoke with Mike Casey, one of the recently finished Texas 4000 riders, on Friday as they were rolling into the Anchorage, AK city center.  Mike and I were friends before he joined with Texas 4000, and the two of us worked together this year as he prepped his teammates’ fitness and prepared for his ride guide position.  We kept in touch every so often as he and his team worked their way North, and it was exciting hearing from him as they were going through the final miles.

Talking with him, I would always try to get updates on host families we’ve shared, as it’s difficult to keep in contact with a few, seeing how some live in very small and rather remote communities.  Especially since a number of people we connected with along the way were fighting cancer or had loved one’s fighting cancer, these updates are so appreciated.  I’d been waiting for one update in particular, from a church pastor in Sutton, AK, the very last stop on the journey before hitting Anchorage.  Just a month or so before my team arrived, Pastor Dan’s wife was diagnosed with an aggressive nerve cancer, and was only given a few months to live.  I’ve never experienced anything more grounding, and after 69 days riding to fight cancer, this was the day it all finally came into picture for me.  This amazing family has been such a huge inspiration.

The third question I asked Mike on the phone was about Pastor Dan and his wife, and he told me some of the best news I’ve ever heard.  Pastor Dan’s wife is still with us – not cancer free, but still fighting back with a vengeance.  She was even feeling well enough to join the team that evening.  I’ve put this entry off for two days searching for the right words, but I still can’t express my happiness.  Chances and time estimates mean absolutely nothing.

Before we disconnected, Mike asked me where and when on earth he would ever have an opportunity to meet such amazing people again.  I couldn’t give him an answer.  I’ve been working on this question for nearly a year now, and still don’t know.  Such powerful human connections can only be forged over the fire of selfless and truly extraordinary actions, and I haven’t yet found the chance to extend myself in such a way.  Opportunities like the ones we were given with Texas 4000 are incredibly rare – that’s what I’ve learned in this last year of searching.

Anyways, a huge congratulations goes out to the 2008 Texas 4000 team!  If you get a chance, please check out texas4000.org to read more about their efforts.

It’s 8:00am on a Saturday morning, and I’ve been awake for about an hour.  I work around 9:45am this morning.  Saturday mornings have always been important times for me – usually I’m out early to ride my bicycle; unfortunately work obligations sometimes go against that preference.  I do try to salvage a bit of personal time anyways, which is why I’m awake now writing, instead of rising at the absolute latest moment and hurriedly trying to beat the clock on my way to the office.

So I’m sipping some coffee and reading the news outside of Whole Foods, right across from my workplace.  It’s nice here, and it’s still relatively cool outside.  There’s something about being in the city before everything and everyone wakes up that appeals to me.  When I used to live in Europe, during my travels in that part of the world, I always loved being up early while the streets were completely empty, all except for the locals like me right now.  The street cleaners would still be sweeping, the shops would just be opening up, and the new sunrise always seemed to light up the buildings in interesting ways.  Amsterdam at 6 or 7 in the morning, with a little bit of fog over the canals, was absolutely stunning.

Interesting people seem to gather at Whole Foods in the early morning.  I see a lot of older folks drinking coffee and reading the paper – a few I see nearly every morning I’m here.  I wonder if they live nearby – like walking distance, in one of the high rise condos or maybe the neighborhood west of Lamar.  This just seems like an odd location to drive to in the morning, especially for people who are obviously not on their way to work.  A lot of people also seem to migrate over from Pure Austin gym, all sweaty in their workout clothing, to continue on that ever elusive path to healthiness.  There’s a gay couple that falls into this category; they’re a mirror image of Doug and Steve Butabi from A Night at the Roxbury, and they always buy an assortment of high-protein foods.

The coffee here isn’t bad, but I still haven’t found a variety that I like.  It’s either too dark, too light, or too acidic.  Caffeine is caffeine though, and in this regard it serves it’s purpose well.

I’m slowly acquiring some new living room furniture to replace the heavy, bulky, and generally over-bearing furniture I currently have.  Something to open up some spaces and add some color, while still being functional and comfortable.  Sofas and other similar seating solutions have a difficult time accomplishing these objectives – a more minimalist style sofa just isn’t that comfortable.

So, thinking outside the box, I looked to our Southern neighbors for a solution.  For centuries indigenous peoples of Central and South America have utilized hammocks for seating, sleeping, baby cribs, and everything else.  Interesting idea, yes?  So I have a really big and really nice hammock on order from my work – handmade, deep hanging, and large enough for 2+ people.  My living room is the perfect size for hanging it up, and thanks to Breed & Co. all of the necessary hardware is ready to go.  With two climbing carabiners on each end, the whole thing will be easily portable for outings to the lake and such.  Dual usage at it’s finest.  If it works out really well, I might grab another one to replace my bedroom futon.

We have lots of crickets in Central Texas right now.  I kind of have a thing against bugs.  I don’t like them, especially when they have tendencies to jump or run in sporadic patterns.  Crickets and cockroaches – I hate them both.  The cat living in my apartment on the other hand couldn’t be happier.  She’ll totally mutilate one when it sneaks inside, batting it around the floors for twenty minutes or so, picking it up in her mouth and tossing it in the air.  And then, like every other toy, she’ll pick it up and place it in my lap.  How cute.

The ’08 Texas 4000 team rolls into Anchorage tomorrow, ending their four thousand mile journey.  I wish I could describe that feeling, but the truth is, by that point in the road I was entirely too exhausted to feel much of anything, let alone be able to put it into words.  I couldn’t be happier for them; they definitely had their ups and downs along the way, but they pushed through and persevered in the end.

I’m happy right now that there are no crickets attacking me on this porch.  It’s nice and breezy tonight; it almost feels like it’s beginning to get cool again.  I won’t disillusion myself though – tomorrow will be back in the 100s, and I know we have another one to two months of this heat, at the least.  Could be worse I guess.

Last summer, during Texas 4000, we had a running joke involving my Marmot Precip rain jacket.  It was said to possess magical powers – whenever I was wearing it or packing it, the rain clouds would almost always go the opposite direction.  And of course, if there was even a 20% chance of rain and I wasn’t near my jacket, it would usually pour.

Well, the joke has been adapted a little bit, this time involving my bicycle and the context of my new workplace.  I don’t usually like commuting via bike in the rain, so I’ll usually take the bus when the forecast is over 40%.  And of course, every time I leave it at home, it never rains.  That’s what happened yesterday evening.  And half jokingly, one of the girls I was leaving with playfully joked that it would probably rain this morning instead, on my day off, just in spite.  Like clockwork, I woke up early this morning to ride my bicycle, and of course it was raining.  Nice.

Today starts a four day mini-vacation for me.  My schedule has a lot of variability, usually swapping out light and heavy weeks one after another, averaging out to around 30hrs/week.  I think that’s a good number to shoot for; the American standard of 40+ hour work weeks is just too excessive.  I like having big blocks of time off too.  I’m thinking about heading to the lake tomorrow, or maybe a cycling epic.

I haven’t been on my road bike since Saturday morning.  I went riding with a girl from work and had a whole lot of fun.  It was nice to just relax and chat a bit, instead of spending my time alone and lost in thought.  There’s a lot of happiness to be found in both, personal reflection and haphazard human interaction.  Sometimes it makes sense to strike a happy balance between the two.

I really do think I’ll be leaving Austin in about nine months for a while.  I need some wide open spaces, stars at night, maybe some snow, and a place with less people.  Wyoming is really sounding appealing, and if I were to land in that area, I could continue graduate studies with one of the many Native American communities residing in the region.  It sort of has everything I want and need.  By the time I get tired of living up North, it’ll be time to ride through South America; timing wise, it should work out perfectly.

To start things off, I have two recommendations.  As you may know, I eat books for breakfast and sometimes lunch, usually going through a new one each week or two.  Right now I’m reading Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs.  It’s a collection of interviews and personal accounts from a gaggle of different folks working in different jobs, from waitresses to media executives to professional hockey players.  And that’s it.  No authors making over-generalized assumptions and conclusions – the message you eventually take away is of your own creation.  And it’s such an interesting read; each personal account works to highlight the complexity post-modern capitalist society.

Second is a music recommendation – Flobots: Fight With Tools.  Politically charged hip-hop from Denver, CO.  Powerful lyrics, good beats, and fitting instrumentals.  Check it out.

I work this afternoon at 5:00pm; it’s kind of nice having the morning and early afternoon to do as I please.  I thought about riding my bicycle this morning, but just didn’t feel like it for some reason.  I did feel like some coffee though, so I cleaned myself up and headed down the road to Clementine.  Life is good.

My bartista this morning is wearing these incredibly colorful low-cut track shorts – sort of an abstract floral pattern or something.  It’s odd, because he’s always struck me as a more conservatively dressed rocker type, not quite into the black women’s pants stage, but really close.  I guess everyone likes to mix it up sometimes.  And our crazy hot weather here creates a valid opportunity as well.

Also of note is the man sitting across from me – he’s voraciously attacking his salad and panini with an odd amount of force.  He’ll clench his fork with a full fist and stab his poor salad like he’s trying to murder something.  And when a cherry tomato fell out of his sandwich, he picked it up and slammed it back between the two slices of bread.  He’s probably pissed because he just busted the keys off his laptop keyboard.  Quick!  Somebody get this man a protein shake!