I miss playing in a wind ensemble.

Yes, for those of you who met me in my college days, you may not know that I used to be pretty serious about playing the flute in high school. (and I will be embarassed to admit that I played piccolo in marching band, if someone has anything to say about band camp, it IS like in the movies. muwahaha) Believe it or not, I still manage to play every now and then. I get on kicks and will practice (although I get embarassed if my roommate hears considering she is a professional viola-ist). Then I find myself whistling songs from high school wind ensemble in the shower and the nostalgia begins.



I talked to my friend Diana and got a list of some songs we played in HS although I'm looking to complete it and download all of them. These songs are just so great. :) It makes me really miss playing in a group. So if you any of you know of "fun" bands or symphonies that get together once a week or so to play, I'd definitely be looking into adding that to my repetoire (being school, 2 jobs, training, getting better at french, trying to have a social life.... but I can fit it in somewhere :)... ) It would force me to play more, which I really do enjoy. It is a little disheartening when I play now though. It's half decent, but I can do nowhere NEAR what I used to do. It makes me sad.

Here's a short list of some of the classical endeavors from high school if you are interested...and those of you who were there, help me remember if you know any more! Itunes has some of these, so if you're looking for some good classical, here you go.

-various Holst Suites(not sure which ones)
-Italian in Algiers by Rossini (a fav)
-Children's March by Grainger
-Lincolnshire Posy by Grainger
-American Guernica by Adolphus Hailstork
-Polka and Fuge from Schwanter the Bagpiper
-Elsa's Processional to the Cathedral by Wagner
-Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna by Franz Von Suppe
-Shepherd's Hey and County Derry by Grainger
-Procession of the Nobles by Rimsy Korsokov
-Pas Redouble(one of my fav) by Saint Saens
-Candide Overture by Bernstein (another fav)

Thanks Diana! :)

Still snowing..... :(

Fortunately for you, the snow means I have extra time to work on my blog. I'm still working on it, but this will satiate you for awhile. :) Well... it is STILL snowing here in Boulder, CO. This is pretty much the worst winter Boulder has seen in a very long time. Which means.... MORE trainer time. YES! It's better than freezing and being miserable outside. At least if I'm miserable inside, I don't have to be bundled up, my core temperature is actually warm, and I can take breaks if need be.

My friend Lara sent me this book to read- The Alchemist. I'm about halfway through. It's a great book if anyone is looking for a winter read.

Meanwhile, I'll be dreaming of the sun and summer, and riding on singletrack in the mountains. That's what I daydream about while on the trainer....that and trying to hammer some bitches at the races :)

Someone please...make it stop.

Sorry for my lack of posts. Blogger has been temperamental and hasn't been letting me upgrade my template or post pictures. Boooo. I'm still trying to customize the colors on the this blasted template but it still won't let me.

I started school this past week. Looks like another good semester ahead of me with 2 biomedical engineering courses (1 about implantable devices focusing on the cardiovascular system and the other is a neural systems/physiological control course--liquid state ionics). It'll be a good taste for my palate. I also started my new research assistantship in the Neurophysiology of Movement lab in the integrated physiology department. I'm really excited about this job. The lab has a great vibe about it and I've already learned a great deal. I think this is where I'm supposed to be! I'm starting to appreciate having my engineering degree because it's a great key to unluck doors to many awesome opportunities I didn't think I had access to.

I have had some Seasonal Affective Disorder. Yes... there is still tons of snow on the ground and it's STILL freezing here. It has snowed the past 5 weekends in a row. When I try to go outside and ride my bike, I freeze since it really isn't getting much warmer than the upper 20s(For you Euros, that's Farenheit...we're talking a high of -6C) . Hence, I've been riding the trainer for several hours on end. It's mid-late January and I want to have some fitness by Nova Norba National at the very end of March. As you'll see below, I've been trying to find other means to amusing myself besides the trainer. I went skiing last week as well, but you know... I'm a warm weather person. I like hiking, camping, running, and biking. Yes, you can do all these when it's cold, but it's just not as pleasant. I like cool rushing streams, green and lush forests, sunshine, churping birds, and clear blue skies. The time will come...I just wish it would hurry up.

And now Blogger is finally letting me post some photographia:


Trainer set up #1. Ride with a friend. Brian has been riding the trainer as well. Gotta stay motivated. I'm being careful not to burn out, so don't worry! :) The blue bike is a Waltworks, custom made steel frame. Made by my friend and NM native, Walt Wehner. www.waltworks.com


This book is THE spawn of satan, the bane of my existence, and hopefully I will never have to open it again. I took 2/3 power electronics courses and am happy to say that I am bailing on the certificate. There is one class left offered this semester, but I want to enjoy my life, not curse it every morning I wake up. 20 hours of homework a week and 30-40 hour take home exams is NOT my bag... SO I am putting this book to good use.

The usual trainer set-up, me riding solo with my ipod, gazing out at the terrible weather....dreaming of feeling the warm sun on my face.



And at the epidomy of my desire to be outside having fun, I am rollerblading in the house. I am afraid to do it outside anyway since I can't stop, so this works juuuust fine, thank you.

I got a wireless mouse for my laptop....it's phenomenal. I'm trying to get psyched to ride the trainer all weekend, wish me luck.... or send some sweet techno my way.

Under construction

Hi folks. Bear with me for the next few weeks. I'm trying to make my blog look cooler. I'm also trying to get my commenting working since I have had many many complaints! ;) I definitely like my old template better, but if you can't interact with my blog, what's the fun in that? Maybe I need to learn HTML like a real engineer.

Yaaaay Press!

Big thanks to one of our new sponsors this year- Niterider. They specialize in lights for 24 hr racing, night riding, and also motorcycle lights. We look forward to rocking your lights at the 24 hour races and hopefully picking up another National Championship for 2007! Thank you, thank you!

http://niterider.com/toughgirl.shtml

My new year's resolution...

is to stop calling children and animals "it" and "thing." I am going to try to actually call them "him" and "her." I'm weening myself off this by calling kids, "the child."

A nice break (now with photos)

The site of these Sandia Mountains is the site of home. Sandia means watermelon, can you tell why?

It's been wonderful being home for the past 2 weeks. The first week at home, I was still frazzled from the end of my semester, so I spent a lot of quality time with my family and the rest of the time riding my bike. My goal was to do two 18 hour weeks of training while I was here, but that didn't work out! I got one solid week in and then the mother nature put her foot down and didn't want me to do any riding this week. There is still a ton of snow outside, the bike paths are a mess, and some residential streets are still super icy(like mine!). It's really amazing how quickly I forget how tired training makes a person! I was ready for bed by 9 PM the entire week I was putting in the miles. I haven't done too much serious riding since the summer. I didn't really train for cross, hence my embarassing results. :) I feel refreshed and really motivated to train. There was tons of snow in Boulder too, and I actually said to Brian, "you're so lucky you can ride the TRAINER!" It's times of desperation when I'm actually jealous someone is riding on a trainer inside. I even rode the stupid exercise bike for 2 hours at the gym Sunday. I don't want to do that for awhile! I can't wait to get back on the bike, get my NEW mountain bike that's coming, and tear up some singletrack!



Record breaking weather in in the querque.

Coming home means I get spoiled with all this gooood food. That's what I'm talking about! Nice break from tofu and pasta :)

This week, I've been trying to run and hike in the snow. I feel more like I'm doing the Riverdance when I go running. Oh well! It makes me laugh anyway.

This is before we got the second foot of snow.


This photo reminds me of candyland.


Xmas roses.

I made my biggest snowman ever...err..bunny?


errr...Jackalope?



errr...the scariest thing you've ever seen!

Snow ball fiiiiggghhht! I had to show my little brother how it's done.

SMACK!

What's up now?

I've gotten to see some of my friends this week. The weather made me housebound for a few days, so it's been good to get out! I really miss my friends from my past. Most of them moved away from here too, so it's always a wonderful reunion when I come back home. It was great to see you guys! I go back home on Sunday, so hopefully more fun is to be had! I miss my "other" family" in Boulder too-- my friends and boyfriend. See you guys soon!

I can't get away from the snow!

Today in Albuquerque:

Record snowfall... way over one foot of snow. I just can't get away!!

Pics and stories from the big snowstorm

Last Wed., I looked out the window at 8 AM. I saw a light dusting of snow, but was not what I was expecting after the foreboding weather forecast the night before, suggesting we'd get 2 ft of snow. I said, "Oh, it's not BAD at all!! I'll make my flight today. NO PROBLEM!" Almost instantly after I said that, huge snowlakes aggressively started to BLOW horizontally. Just hours later, the roads were totally covered and the storm was socked in. Flights were getting canceled right and left with the Denver airport eventually closing down for 2 days leaving 65,000 people stranded. By Wed. night, all of Boulder was shut down. I told the story of the food conquest in my entry "later Wed. night." so see that and some of these pics will make more sense. It snowed more in Colorado today. (I am in Albuquerque) I decided to get a ride with my friend Jack and not deal with the airport BS on Saturday when I was supposed to fly out. I thought I could just take my flight back. I called the airline, and after being on hold for 45 minutes, they told me that they cancel my return flight if I don't take the flight out. And not only that...but they were going to charge me a $100 FEE. total BS. This was Frontier airlines. After spending a lot of time on the phone with this sarcastic agent, I was angry. I tried to find cheaper flights back- 1 way flights. They were 200 bucks. Rental car- 120 bucks+gas. I called Frontier back and after holding, talked to someone else who said I could take my return flight back for no fee. Normally they would charge me 100 bucks, but b/c of the conditions in Denver, they aren't doing that. So all is well, but I could have lost 100 dollars. I'm really glad my dad encouraged me fly back. I was disgruntled to say the least. Now I can relax, but getting here has been a nightmare! I started my training camp too...easing into it with a 2 hour ride yesterday and going big today with a 4 hour ride. I'm shooting for two 18 hour weeks. It is pretty cold here in Albuquerque too, with snow on the ground.

The Dark Horse: where I had my burger. AKA the ghetto townie bar. I actually went there several times last year since it was across the street from my apt.

This is definitely a port in a storm!

They try to play matchmaker. Everyone goes into the wrong bathroom the first time. The door marked "men" is actually not the men's bathroom. The door marked "women" is the men's bathroom.


Ahhh yes. Nothing like a dark beer. :)

Running in the snow! Thigh high... FUN! I dove in head first too.

This is a car

Snow shots! (some I stole from Liz's blog)








My hair was frozen.

See An Inconvenient Truth.... our future depends on us working together.

I wrote this post a month ago, but am going to publish it now. We have been asleep and careless. It's time to wake up and
change the way you live. To make a difference, you don't have to make big changes. Some people think this movie is political, that may be. But global warming is a HUGE issue. A lot of these facts ARE scientific facts. There are a lot of things you can do to stop global warming. Please take a stand.

You can go to climatecrisis.net or just google global warming if you want more info. This is something to really think about.

You can reduce your carbon emmissions to zero:

-Buy energy efficient applicances (Energy star) and lightbulbs (like CFLs)
-Change your themrostat to reduce energy for heating
-Weatherize your house, inc rease insulation, or get an energy audit
-Recycle everything you can, this includes 1 and 2 plastics
-If you can, get a hybrid car
-Walk or ride a bike, you'll feel better too
-Use light rail and mass transit when you can
-Tell your parents not to ruin the world that you will live in
-If you are a parent, join with your children to save the world they live in
-Switch to renewable energy sources
-Call your power company to see if they offer green energy. if they don't, ask them why not. Some energy companies even
offer solar credits if you install a system
-Vote for leaders who pledge to solve this criss
-Write to congress
-Plant trees, lots of trees!
-Speak up in your community
-Call radio show and write newspapers
-Get involved with joint international efforts to stop global warming
-Insist they freeze co2 emissions
-Reduce our dependence on foreign oil, help farmers grow alcohol fuels
-Raise fuel economy standards. Don't drive your SUV around unless you are carrying other people or a load
-If you believe in prayer, pray that people will find the strength to change
-Put knowledge into action, move your feet.

Facts

-2005 was the hottest year on record
-We release 70 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every single day
-USA is the biggest contributer to global warming
-In 2000, it rained in Antarctica (instead of snowed)
-Polar bears are drowning from lack of ice to rest upon
-There is more CO2 in the atmopshere now than in the last 650,000 years
-Last july, Mumbai, inda had 37 inches of rain in one day
-In 2004, for the first time in recorded history, there was a hurricane in the south atlantic
-If Greenland melts to a certain point, which it is on its way, sea level will raise 20 feet knocking out NYC, Florida, most of
Shanghai, and other countries
-Within the decade, there will be no more glaciers in glacier national park. Glaciers are melting at a rapid rate
-Water around the glaciers heats up and melts the ice around it. The sun doesn't refract after water like it does ice.

All these climate changes we have been seeing and "natural disasters" are not a coincidence. We lost New Orleans, what's next?

for movie lovers...

www.killerclips.com... my favorite site now.

Later Wed. night

I'll have pics of the snow for you later...don't have my cable to upload photos. Anyway, my crazy roommate Brent loves to drive his little Mazada MX-3 in the snow and is quite good at it. He decided to try and go xmas shopping yesterday afternoon with all the mayhem. Nevermind the fact that people were stuck on the freeway and had to spend the night at various establishments along the freeway. He was nice enough to drop me off at Brian's so I didn't have to have an epic adventure with my bike trying to get there. I was supposed to leave last night and had no food. Brian had no food either. So we walked to Wild Oats which isn't too far, about 10 minutes. Closed. We decided to hoof it to Noodles which was another .5-1 mile further. Closed. Wendy's and McD's closed too(Not that I would eat there). So I suggested we keep going and check the Dark Horse- which is this crazy Boulder townie bar that draws a strange crowd. OPEN!! The only place in Boulder open. I ate a hamburger which I haven't done in like 6 years, but it was quite good :) yummmy. Coming home was a blast. There were random people in the street searching for food. Brian and I were singing xmas carols really loud and dancing in the street. Other people were walking around having a jolly old time. I decided to take the path less trodden and was thigh deep in snow trying to run. We cut across this huge field to get back to Brian's apt. There were people playing in the snow, doing snow angels, building snow forts. We were talking to them for a minute and then they randomly started a snowball fight. We schooled them and took off. I continued trying to run in thigh deep snow and had fun. I dove in head first with my hands up like I was diving! I was taking pictures and dropped my camera. Bad news in snow that deep. Fortunately I found it on my first try. It was a fun night.

Check back tomorrow and I'll have photos for you! Oh yeah, my roommate, Liz, has some pics on her blog. leapnlzrds.blogspot.com. Check it OUT.

Airlines...

Ok, I know you guys are all wondering, "What the F is going on up there in Colorado??" Absolute madness. Here are a series of stories for you.

First story. I was supposed to fly home yesterday and DIA shut down. All flights were cancelled. I spent the entire morning trying to get through to United. The automated reservation line would come on, but when I tried to actually talk to someone, it would just go to a busy signal or say, "doo daa dee! We're sorry, your call cannot go through. Please hang up and try again." This was really frustrating because I needed to change my flight. So then I decided to call cheaptickets.com where I got my ticket. I was on hold for...count it... an hour and a half!! I gave up on them. I kept trying to call united to no avail. Then I got the bright idea to call the website support phone line thinking I could get through. After 30 minutes of being on hold, a guy who spoke poor english kept repeating himself like a broken record that he would transfer me to the reservations line. I tried to tell him it wasn't working, but he just kept going and then transferred me, and of course it didn't work. I quit for an hour. Then, I called united again in the afternoon and got through enough to where they put me on hold for 30 minutes. The guy on the other side of the line told me that the absolute earliest flight he could give me was Xmas night. I took it, but was not happy. My plan was to try and fly standby, but after talking to my parents, I decided it was a bad idea. I checked on cheaptickets.com for new flights leaving Saturday since everything previous to that was sold out. I found a Frontier flight for the same price as my United. So I called United back, and was put on hold for 30 minutes again, cancelled my United flight, and bought the Frontier flight. My friend Jack can take my bike one way, and I have to suck it up and pay 50 bucks to bring my bike back the other way. Solid!

Today, my friends are suffering like I was yesterday and calling me for advice. I guess it's really bad at this point(no flights went out today either). I have been hearing that there are no flights on or before xmas. One guy is DRIVING to Kansas City, MI which is 8 hours away, and driving out of there. My other friend got a flight to Seattle and is driving 5 hours from there. Gotta get home for Xmas! Good luck everyone... it's going to be scary at the airport on Saturday. Gotta love it.

Guess I'm not going home today....

Forecast today........


..BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 12 PM MST THURSDAY...

A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 12 PM MST THURSDAY.

SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL WILL OCCUR FROM LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS WITH SNOWFALL RATES UP TO 1 INCH PER HOUR. TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 20 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED IN MOST LOCATIONS BEFORE THE SNOW DECREASES THURSDAY MORNING. AS MUCH AS 2 FEET OF SNOW WILL FALL IN THE SOUTHERN SUBURBS AND PALMER DIVIDE AREA.

NORTH WINDS INCREASING TO AROUND 25 MPH WITH FREQUENT GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ESPECIALLY EAST OF I-25 WILL PRODUCE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND VERY POOR VISIBILITIES.

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. SUSTAINED WIND AND/OR FREQUENT WIND GUSTS OF 35 MPH OR HIGHER WILL COMBINE WITH CONSIDERABLE FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD VISIBILITIES BELOW ONE QUARTER OF A MILE. TRAVEL WILL BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND IS DISCOURAGED IN THESE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED... STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE AND WAIT FOR HELP TO ARRIVE.

A Beautiful Thing.

I didn't use my calculator ONCE this semester. In fact, it doesn't even have batteries. In previous semesters, that thing was pretty much implanted on the surface of my body. YES!

In other ground-breaking news, I got offered an RA appointment(stipend+tuition) in the Neurophysiology dept. It's supposedly 15 hours a week, although I know it will be more time than that(which is ok). And I will keep my job at Xcel and work 5hrs/week during school, and more in the summer. Big thanks to my boss at Xcel, Chris, for being so flexible and laid-back. thank you, thank you!

I'll be done with finals tomorrow and am flying home Wed. Can't wait! Lots of good times with family and friends, training, good food. yaaaay!

NEWS

In the midst of everything going on, namely trying to memorize an entire physiology book(hardy har har), practicing my research presentation on cerebellar electrode stimulation for cerebral palsy, and trying to finalize my OTHER research paper on neuromuscular fatigue, I have gotten news about huge factors influencing my life for 2007.

1) I have been trying to get into the physiology dept to do research with my engineering degree, and have it be like a joint program between electrical engineering and the neurophysiology dept. I've been waiting to hear back if I got the job... last night I heard the good news! I will be doing research in the neurophysiology lab next semester. I meet with my advisor (Dr. Roger Enoka) this afternoon to get the details. He is respected throughout the world for neuromuscular research. yessss! Except now I am a SUPER nerd. Electrical engineering, neurophysiology, and a bike geek... how much worse can I get?? :)

2) Sponsorship results are in. I decided to ride for Tough Girl next year(big surprise). We have a number of sponsors in which the details are being worked out. However, I will be riding a Scott bike next year that I am VERY excited about. It's the Scott Contessa Spark. Scottusa.com. As for components, we are sponsored by SRAM/RockShox... so I'm going to riding a really sweet new bike next year. I can hardly wait!!! I am still hungry for a hardtail too....

Back to work! I'll give you details later about the neurophysiology lab job... I find out this afternoon all the nitty gritty schtuff. LATE!

Sorry for my lack of bloggage

HELLO.

Yes, the blogging was been very slack, but for good reasons. This is the last week of school, down to the end of the wick. I can't WAIT! It's been super duper busy with work, starting training again, and all of my school stuff my nutty professors(I wish they were as funny as the real nutty professor) trying to squeeze every last drop they can into the semester with homeworks, huge research projects, final exams, presentations, you name it! I'm feeling good about everything, but can't wait to have a moment to sit back and actually FEEL relaxed. Don't get me wrong, I can get my slack on pretty well if I want to, but I still have nagging thoughts in the back of my mind. I.E. (I should be working on....)

Anyway, you haven't missed too much. The snow is finally melting away and we enjoyed some 60 degree temps this weekend. I made cookies today and my roommate is very appreciative of my mad skillz.... made with love... a love for chocolate. I bragged about my world class cookies. Looks like I backed it up! :) :) Check out her blog(links on the side). I'm deemed the "crazy cookie lady." YOU KNOW IT, UH!

And as usual, here are some photos for you. I promise I'll be back soon.... just like Arnold in Terminator. I'm due to feed my annual Terminator marathon fix. Oh yeeeahhh!!


Adam took me to Carraba's for a very belated bday dinner. I got my favorite pasta. The waiter was entertained when I reacted to my food arriving with a big smile, and moving my arm saying, "YES!"


At least these are fake snowflakes inside!! My place... Bri having some fun

Mmmm. Brian helps me relax and smile!

Snowing....still!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So it snowed over 2 ft in Boulder a few days ago which means many things.

1) I couldn't go to work because my car was stuck from all the snow and I couldn't ride my bike since I no longer HAVE a mountain bike and it was nearly impossible. Fortunately the buses were still running, so I could go to school and do research, etc.

2) BRRRRRRRRR

3) I couldn't really exercise for a few days. WAH! Too icy to run, too icy to really ride...but I did ride the trainer for an hour yesterday, commuted on my bike today, AND went for a run, so things are loooookin up. I don't feel like a fat piece of crap anymore.

4) I finally went to work today and the room I work in used to be a concrete garage meaning....NO INSULATION!!! To compensate, Xcel Energy gives everyone these horrible individual space heaters instead of making a more efficient buidling. Did I mention that concrete bricks actually suck up heat out of the room? I guess when you are Xcel Energy, you can be wasteful and inefficient. (I still work for a good company, just ranting). So...at my computer today, the room was probably 50 degrees. I was wearing..... a shirt, a wool sweater, jacket, scarf, hat, had the heater on, AND a cup of hot tea! If it was any colder, I'd need some gloves too. GOSH!

5) Christmas music actually feels appropriate

6) It's officially winter

7) I need to winterize my commuter bike, frank the tank. I need to put knobby tires, fenders, and get the damn thing in working condition so I don't totally trash my cross bike.

A Looney Thanksgiving

I went home last week and it was a lot of fun. I got home Monday night (Jack and I drove). In a nutshell, lots of good times, good food, lots of drinking,, and fabulous company. The Looney side of the family definitely can party me under the table any day although that really isn't saying much! ;) They successfully got me to drink just about every day of the break...now I'm in detox. ;)

The essence of the break

To paint the picture of my Thanksgiving, over the course of the week, I'd say we'd consumed more than 5 bottles of champagne, many cosmos, beer, wine, and margaritas. And we were even missing some of the Looneys... golly! I got to see my cousin and her parents( MY FAVORITE RELATIVES) which was a real treat. My cousin and I managed to stay out of trouble this time...well relatively out of trouble which is phenomenal. I know you're dying for some photos, so here you go.

G&G....now there's a couple of turkeys!

...and there's a couple of trouble makers! errrr twins?

Look! It's the cosmo fairy... sHE sure looks like my dad.

My mom got the dancing started! Figures...

me with the Dean family (they are Looneys too)

Shake it baby! (from Duke Nukem...) Yeah, my dad does it RIGHT!

Me and cuz have a great time.


TINA! EAT THE FOOD!



BLUE STEEL!

Good things to come back to Boulder for...

We are in the final push of the semester meaning I have LOTS to do...projects, finals, blah. It'll make me appreciate having a break that much more. It's been a great semester though... to take classes I actually care about and find interesting. In fact, I had a meeting today with a professor in Physiology and it's looking like he's going to put me in his PhD program...we just have to wait and hear back from the funding person (who is conveniently out of town!). I'm really really excited about this and I hope it works out. I'm going to start training again in the next couple of days too. I'm looking forward to it because I feel like a slug!

Thank you family for being soooo fun! :)

Trippy...

Going home today! Yahoo!!!

That's right! Albuquerque, here I come. :) I still need to go to the doc though so I can get over this nasty sinus infection.

A few thoughts...

Since I've been pushing my body pretty hard for the last month or so, I decided that maybe I should take a weekend off from racing, especially because everything hurts!! School has been crazy the past couple weeks and I'm really looking forward to going home for Thanksgiving break in a week! I haven't been back to Albuquerque since May, so it'll be nice. Plus, I'm getting too soft- gotta have a taste of the ghetto. I've been homesick for the unrelenting sunshine, Sandia mountains, my friends, and of course---the LOONEY FAM!

I have a meeting this week with a professor in the integrative physiology department. With a lot of thought, I've decided that I really would like to pursue a PhD in biomedical engineering. I can still stay in the electrical engineering department, but can do research in another department. Ideally, I'd be doing research under the guidance of a professor in the integrative physiology dept. I won't finish my MSEE until Dec 07, so I have some time. It would be good to get started on research ASAP though, plus my school would be paid for meaning less student debt!

I've also been feeling really restless lately. I have gotten kind of addicted to traveling and am now feeling like I need to go somewhere outside the US. The three weeks I spent in Europe last summer were absolutely incredible and I would love to go back, or even go to Asia. I think Asia would really be an experience. Hmmm...there is a world cup I'd love to go to in Switzerland...pesky UCI points! Too bad I don't have any money... I always keep my eye out for supercheap deals. I also toy with the idea of just picking up and moving to Europe for a year just to get the experience. Maybe I can do my postdoc there or something...or maybe if I decide to bag the PhD, I can get a job in Europe. It's hard when I want to be a bike racer...so much going on and so little time and cash! so many dreams!

Now for a funny story-- so as you know, I go out and inspect the power lines/transformers when someone has a power outage. Sometimes this involves me going in peoples' backyards. I was in Niwot, CO in the middle of nowhere and I had to go in this one backyard. I approached the house and saw various lawn ornaments- almost trailer park style- and a huge fish lure mailbox. I knew it'd be interesting. I walked up to the house and tons of cats were running around, one who was 22 that I found out later. I knocked on the glass door which was open and the TV was on. No answer. I knocked again and suddenly this woman who was in her late 40s, extremely skinny, and had one too many fake tans (she looked like a CARROT) answered the door.... in her BRA. Yes. Yes indeed. She was mad that I had to go in her backyard b/c she had to tie the dogs up. After arguing with her for a moment, she disappeard. When she came back, I thought surely she'd be clothed. Nope...I was wrong. If you want to see a carrot in a bra, let me know and I'll give you the address.

USGP #4... coming soon.

(It went much better!!!)

U.S.G..why didn't I pay more attention to my rear wheel? ....P!!!

A beautiful day in Longomont, CO.

Long ago, Adam gave me the nickname of Schleppy, as of Schleprock from the Flintstones. For those of you who aren't Flintstone saavy, Schleprock always had bad things happening to him and was extremely clumsy. In fact, here's a photo.

Actually, a friend, Joe Ehasz told me about Schleprock and the name got passed down. Anyways....

So for those of you who don't know me that well, I'm not what you call "smooth" or "graceful." I trip on my own feet, somehow manage to hurt myself doing stupid stuff(i.e. stitches in the foot running away from a huge moth(MOTHRA!) or falling down,ripping my knee open trying to kill an idiot guy who pinched my butt at a graduation party and crying in the car at 2 AM on the way to the ER because I wouldn't be able to race the Iron Horse), having my cassette come loose, or the most recent- having my back wheel fall off at a USGP Cyclocross event. You get the picture.

So yes today was the USGP #3. The course was pretty cool and there was a lot of competition at the line. I knew I wasn't feeling hot when I woke up this morning with my knee STILL hurting from last week, my rib still somewhat fractured from a mtb crash 1.5 months ago, and general aches and pains in my shoulder and hamstrings. This was confirmed when I was preriding the course. The event was huge-- I never knew cyclocross was this big. The start was fast and furious, a real cluster#*@%. I was already off the back anyway, so when my wheel all of a sudden came out and I had to stop to fix it, I was WAAAAY off the back. I tried to fight my way back in with my rotten meatstick legs, and 2nd to last place girl was shouldering me when I tried to pass her. I gave it right back, but she attacked on the road and I decided I was too lazy. Oh well. I didn't have my heart in it today, but that's ok. I still had fun. I tried to take it kind of easy and am hoping I'll feel better tomorrow. There was a GREAT turnout of spectators. Thank you to all of you guys who cheer people like me on even though I'm bringing up the rear. thank you thank you!!! My goal after I gave up was to smile smile smile. I will repeat this quote by Floyd Landis(Yeah, I know he's a doper, but I still like this quote) : "The best thing to do is just keep on smiling and pretend you're okay, even if you're not. That goes not just for bad weather, but for any time you're suffering. Sometimes it helps if you smile, even when it hurts." I think people enjoy watching you when you show some expression other than the pain face and you make noises now and then. haha

yeeeeahh. that's a sweet mullet. 3 in a row.

The mens race was really exciting to watch. Ryan Trebon was way off the front, what a talent machine! It's amazing how much faster the guys go than we do! During the first lap, there was a dust cloud from the madness. A lot of my friends came out to watch and some to race. It was fun. Brian Fuentes was definitely representing looking like he was straight out of the early 90s. Everyone was serious and trying to be all pro and here's Brian. He purposely didnt' shave for a week AND let his hair get outta control for this weekend. I'll say AMEN when he shaves his shit and cuts his hair! ;)

This is how you get the ladies. MMMMM.


Mike West and Bryan Alders killin it

Is this guy fo' real? Collin, Brian, Grinch.

Also, props to Nat Ross, the 24 hr master, for racing these furious races at a super anaerobic level. He was sporting a black and PINK TGP skinsuit. ahhhhhh yeeahhhh!
Mr. Nat

and now, I'm exhausted, but burning a short fuse. I have a big exam and a paper to write for Monday morning at 8 AM. Gotta love being a student, bike racing, and working. It definitely keeps me on my toes. I really admire and dream every day for the lifestyle that the real deal pros have where their job IS riding and that's all they have to worry about.

Depite the rough day, I'm looking forward to USGP #4 tomorrow. It's in South Boulder, my backyard! I can ride there in less than 5 minutes from my house. YES!

No mad skillz.

You know it's bad when....you're watching instructional videos on cyclocross skills and realize that you don't have any... the night before the USGP!!!!!!! Zoinks!

They don't know who they're messing with.

As a 6th year college student (don't worry, I'm not an undergrad... thank god), I have perfected my methods of creating the ever lucrative "crib" sheet for an exam. These fools really don't know what they are saying when they let me use both sides of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. My professor exclaimed that the people who write microscopically to fit their entire set of lecture notes on the paper rarely get very far, and usually tend to do worse on the exams. Oh Mr. Professor, I BEG to differ. At least, that isn't the case for me. I create these masterpieces which have helped me be successful on exams. I thought I'd share with you the one I spent 4-5 hours making yesterday.

No, there are not a bunch of ants on crack all over my paper....




One of the greatest posters of all time. It brings a tear to my eye. I love the determined look on the chode's face. He's ready to rumble.

Actually...this is why I get up in the morning.