Perfect weekend...Family, F1, Bicycle Racing, and Photography

Man, have we ever been on the run… let us count them back again, shall we? Weekend going to Austin on my own for the day… Weekend before Spring Break running to Ranger TX to hand kids off, Weekend in Brownwood picking kids up, then this past weekend in Austin for wedding/family/bike race… I think there is a weekend at home somewhere mixed in there but I haven’t found it yet. Really tired of running every weekend and definitely feeling the effects...Amber and I both are. Weekends coming up are Birthday extravaganza weekend (almost entire family and extended family has a spring Bday) in Austin, and then my cousin Matt is getting married in a couple of weeks so a weekend in San Angelo and that should just about do it. Post San Angelo weekend for Matt’s wedding, there should be no more weekends away for a while. Need to take a trip to an island to get away from it all. Yeah, that’s the ticket. But then, that would probably involve another weekend away…yeah...I give up.


So Family… we enjoyed getting down to Austin to attend Katie’s wedding. This is a cousin of Amber’s and it was really nice to see a lot of Amber’s side of the family. We don’t get to do that often enough. Watching Katie get married made me think back to my own wedding of course and the beautiful life we have built, all the while hoping the best for her, her husband and the start of their new life together. I asked Amber how old Katie was when we started seeing each other and it was funny but she was just about Luc’s age. We have watched all of them grow up and it’s always a little incredible to see life laid out like that before you. Beautiful wedding, great reception at Zilker Clubhouse with a spectacular view of the Austin skyline (nighttime) and lots of fun for all. They even had a swing band playing which was pretty cool. Of course our kids absolutely loved seeing their own cousins all weekend. Its so funny to watch them instinctively pair up and start playing immediately upon seeing one another, even when its been a couple of months. Our kids really love their cousins, just as Amber and I were close to ours. Life really is just a cycle I guess.

On a sad note, one of Amber’s great Aunts passed away last week so it was really good to get Amber down there to help comfort her mother as I know that she and Helen were very close. As I read the obituary that Amber forwarded to me it struck me that not enough is said to celebrate the lives of the people important to us. I had met Helen a couple of times at family events over the years yet I really didn’t know her. Its likely that not a lot of people knew that she had been a lab technician at A&M University’s micro-biology lab. Very interesting stuff. That one simple line started me pondering whether people every really know all the facets that make up a truly unique person. You and I, we are all unique and it just doesn’t seem fair to condense it down to a few simple paragraphs. There has to be a better way. Of course those around her will carry with them all the experiences they have shared with her and that means everything. She lived a full life, was part of a big family and was much loved and while it’s a sad thing, we are all sure that she is happier now watching us from above.


I guess I want to say that we should all celebrate each other, and let everyone in your life know that they mean something to you. All the little experiences we have all add up to something. Something unique. Something special.



Changing gears (I know…cheesy. Its by default)… Formula One kicked back off this weekend and I for one am pleased to no end about it. You could say I was “chuffed” if we were in Britain. In fact, it looks like an Englishman has a real shot at it this year with the emergence of Brawn GP led by Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello (Amber’s fave). They rose from the ashes of Honda like a phoenix and promptly won the first race (Australia) of the year on the trot with an astounding 1,2 finish. I say astounding because if you set the clocks back about 3 weeks there was no Brawn GP, there was no job for Jenson or Rubens… there was only Honda closing shop because of the world economic climate. Ross Brawn who was hired by Honda to step in and design a winning car a year ago did just that, only to be told a couple of months ago that Honda will pull out of F1 effective immediately. He decided to buy the team and make it a private entry knowing full well that he had a good car waiting to hit the track (yet never tested). What a roller coaster of emotions those guys must be feeling to get in the car a week ago for the first time and then soundly beat the best in the world on track this past weekend. Gripping stuff.

How is work you ask? Well, you didn’t actually ask but since you are a captive audience and that is a question often asked… ;] Starting to work on something new up here at GB. This is good because I have been testing the same thing for about 8 years now and it has increasingly been a grind the last couple of those years. Hoping that looking at something new will refresh my take on things. Would really love to work doing something creative but haven’t made the right connections to make that a reality so I am sticking with what pays the bills.

Oh yeah, I am injured. Plantaar Fasciatis issue with foot, both actually but more sever in left foot… may necessitate more riding and less soccer. Probably should be riding my bike more anyway. Need to work on my tan lines so I can embarrass the kids at the beach this year. ;]


Got to see a bike race this past weekend. My long time friend Stefan was racing out east of Austin on all the roads he and I have trained on for more than a decade. Bumped into lots of familiar faces out there as I often do when I turn up for races. Its comforting to know that so many people stick with it year after year.


I convinced Stefan to get into cycling many years ago and it’s been a lot of fun watching him progress through the ranks. He is incredibly strong, stronger than I ever was probably and I still enjoy riding with him when I get the chance. We have gobbled up a lot of miles over the years riding alongside one another… sometimes silently, and sometimes chatting away depending on the pace. I will always appreciate those moments and look forward to more of them in the future. I just need to up my mileage so that I can keep up with him... easy, right?





Luc has the rock star thing going right now… Karah adorable as ever, Max buried in his iPod and Ginger, wait a minute… where is Ginger’s seat belt? ;]

Yes, my boys have been brought up with an existence full of superhero influences... Never more evident than the funny little day to day things you hear when spending time with them. Like the other day when coming back into Dallas just where I-35 hits the skyscrapers and we head west to exit onto the North Dallas Tollway we pass by the W hotel…you know, tall shiny building with a big W on it. Max spots it and says “look, its Wayne Enterprises”… everyone chuckles and I am left wondering which floor Batman hangs out on. The spa Amber likes there seems an unlikely place for the Dark Knight of Gotham to be hanging out at but what do I know.

Of course any talk of my kids and superheroes reminds me of one of my favorite stories when they were younger. Stop me if you have heard this one ;] Max, Karah and Luc all used to ride the bus when we lived in Pflugerville and I think they were in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades respectively. There was a boy on the bus that seemed to bother Karah more than she wanted. Max told her, “just give me their names Karah and I will take care of them…”. Now keep in mind that Max is just 7 years old, waist high, has a sweet innocent little face and only about 45 lbs soaking wet. Luc overhears all of this and promptly reminds him… “Max, you can’t use your vengeance on them!” …I might have liked to have seen that. So along with those superhero influences I am hoping they are left with a real grasp of the principles of right and wrong. That one I really want them to have down before going into high school and subsequently life.

Take care everyone. Talk at you soon.

bb

Are we not men? We are D E V O

I should have titled this... Whip It! Whip It GOOD!...

Amber and I did something fun last night and I am dying to tell whoever will listen about it... uhh, that didn't come out right. OK, bear with me, I will try to clarify in a minute.

So what have we been up to the last couple of weeks? Lets see...

I went to Austin and back in under 12 hours a couple of weekends ago. I had to check over a bicycle for my cousin Bob who is training for a triathlon and also to pick up some tires for the Audi. I found a guy who had a full set of Goodyear Eagle F1's with 80% tread for 250$ on craigslist. They are that much for a single tire new and these were pristine. Maybe even 90% tread left they are so good. I combined the two reasons into a quick run down there and back on a Sunday. It was a new record for me as I didn't even leave until 10:30 am because I was waiting on a couple of emails to confirm. Crazy day. Tore out of here just before 11am and got back at 9:55 pm... got tires from the guy as soon as I hit town, had early dinner with my brother in Cedar Park, and then looked at Bob's bike out at Steiner Ranch and was back in Plano less than 12 hours later. All in the name of saving money and helping get someone else into cycling.

Last weekend Amber and I met my Mom in Ranger for the grandkid hand off. She wanted to take them back to her place for Spring Break and Amber and I couldn't come up with a good argument against the idea. No seriously, the last couple of years my Mom (bless her) has wanted the kids to come to her place for their week off and it ends up a great idea for all. The kids get a different environment to explore for a week and my Mom gets to have them close by... and Amber and I get a quiet house all the while. Not a bad deal at all. I started missing them almost immediately. In fact, by Tuesday I was already complaining to Amber that we hadn't heard a peep out of them. This in fact was a good thing and a couple of phone and email exchanges later and we were satisfied that everyone was having a great time.

My Mom even wanted Ginger for the week. Stellar idea but this makes the house almost too quiet. Its bordering on spooky when you are used to the sounds of three pre-teens, an active young dog and the din that all that entails. Amber and I did our best to cope though. Last year was an incredibly difficult year, one that we would both like to put past us, so getting the gift of time with just each other is really appreciated. During the logitical phase, I had sent my Mom an email that said I felt blessed and she screamed back (all caps, bolded, and lots of exclamation points ;] ) the she was the one who felt blessed. Sweet huh?

I think Scrappy made it into town mid-week and surprised the kids by being there a day early. Everyone loves Scrappy and the kids are no exception. He is the only grandfather they have known on my side and he loves them like they are his own. I think they probably brighten his day as well. I think when he arrived he might have laid on the airhorn as he drove over the bridge at my Moms place and I am sure the kids ate that up. This is vintage Scrappy... he likes to announce his arrival and he is nothing if not loud but we love him that way. I am hoping that he can give them a ride on his truck at some point during the week. We thought we had a plan in place where the kids could hop onto the truck with Pat who was unloading in Roanoke (nearby DFW metroplex) on Friday. It ended up that he had to make another short run assigned to him last minute and he had no option but to load up and head out... he did make it back home on Tuesday to enjoy a much deserved week at the house, now complete with kids, dog and all. Looking forward to seeing him and everyone else this weekend when we pick up them up.

So what did we do all week? Hmm. Lets see. We ate at restaurants that didn't serve food wrapped in paper... we saw a couple of movies... we caught up on Tv shows... Amber caught one of my indoor soccer games (we didn't have any subs and subsequently didn't play well)... we also went to a concert and just generally enjoyed spending time together. What concert you ask... wait for it... DEVO. Yes, we donned our flower pot hats (in spirit...) and joined the other local DEVOlutionists who were headed over to the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas for the show. I think I had my doubts going in but it ended up a far better concert than I expected. I came away with ringing ears, a new found appreciation for DEVO's ability to rock, and a new favorite band (opening act) called Odis.

How was DEVO you ask? Those old guys in coveralls can really put on a show...synchronized dance moves and all. It is funny but if you listen to them on CD the music is really synth heavy but seeing them live was completely different. I am a fan of electronic music and I had trouble picking out any of the synthesizer sound because of the really guitar heavy feel they have live. It was really cool to hear them add thickness to songs that sound so thin normally. The really deliberate moves and quirky showmanship that everyone associates with DEVO was on full display as well...and not just on stage. Watching the crowd was an equal part of the experience as several people showed up in the full on yellow radiation jumpsuits and there were lots of those flower pot hats. Awesome spectacle.

The opening act was called Odis and they are definitely going places. The first song or two of the set had Amber and I trying to figure out who they sounded like. We both came up with a pretty good cross between Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Maroon 5, and Lenny Kravitz. They had a rock/funk/blues thing going that worked really well and I have a feeling they gained more than a couple of new fans that night. Sounds like an oil and water mix for opener/main act but it seemed to work. Amber and I had a blast and it was a highly entertaining evening.

All said and done we are both looking at the clock dying to get out of town so we can hug our kids this evening.