JUNE is the...

...name of the sister and WIFE of Jupiter. Man, funny how those Greek Gods became God-like considering their choice of mate. Maybe somewhere in Arkansas there is a community of Gods and Titans?

June was Cycling Month. First off I rode in the Elephant Rock with John Obering, Matt Sodnicar, and an ex-pro cyclist that kicked my ass (and didnt sweat much). Of all the rides that I do during the summer, E-Rock is one of the more technical (see: climbs)...plus it is the first one of the season, so not quite in shape yet. The third weekend was the MS 150 - this ride is the reason we have a cycling team in the first place. This year we had 25 team members, raised over $22,000 for the National MS Society, sported new bad-ass black jerseys, and totally kicked ass. We couldnt have done it without our friends and family that donated to NMSS, our "support-staff" friends that set up/decorated our tent and provided drinks and massages, and everyone else that supported us along our 150 mile journey through the foothills of Colorado.

Inbetween E-Rock and MS150, the ATX Denver Adult Superfraternity put together our first Charity Golf Event. Knowing us, you probably wouldnt be surprised to find out that we did it a little differently than most golf tourneys... The "hackMasters One Club Golf Tournament of Fury" made participants play with only ONE club of their choice (I played with a 9 iron), and allowed them to buy coupons for various "cheats" (ie: mulligan) and "screws"(make a competing team member play with a left handed club). On the third hole you could buy a hole-in-one for $20 (I got my first ACE that day). The fifth hole? Kegstands for Cash. I think my favorite part was the designated "Heckle Station" at the teebox of the 9th: people just stood in the roped-off area and yelled at you while you took your tee shot. Good times - we raised around $2000 for the NMSS, AND learned some ways to improve the tourney next year.

MAY I borrow...

...a cup of sugar?

Since I actually left in April, I guess I could have filed it there - but I didnt, so you'll have to think outside the box. Craig graduated from Brewing School in Munich, so I headed over there to hang out with him for a couple of weeks and do "cultural things"...like drink beer. And ride bikes. And ride bikes while drinking beer. Last time that Craig and I played around in Europe we DID go to museums and various other historical places. This time we didnt beat around the bush. We drank beer. Lots of incredible German and Belgian beer. We went to the sacred places that they make the sacred beer. Including a little known monastery called St. Sixtus in Westvleteran that makes a beer that you probably have never heard of unless you are a beer snob. But we are beer snobs. And we went there.

Also, I took Jess down to Austin for a wedding. She survived meeting my Aunt/Uncle/Cousin, meeting my crazy mom, meeting my Nana/Grandad, meeting my old hometown friends, lots of mexican food, and a fun 4Seasons wedding. She didnt survive the pedi-cab ride home. I mean, she LIVED through the ordeal - but we got ejected at 5th and Congress at about 2am. I was a little embarrassed, Jess was a little concussed. After a really fun ambulance ride to Brackenridge, we realized we were the best dressed people staying overnight in the ER at the county hospital. That's what Texas is all about: Shiner Bock, Blue Bell Icecream, Mexican Food, Barbecue, and spending the night in a hospital after a really good party.

No updates since...

...April? I understand that some people consider my (very important) blog "the news", so sorry to keep everyone waiting. Ill try to fit volumes of information into paragraphs.

APRIL showers bring May flowers:

Jess and I joined a few new friends and a few old friends for a hike up to a remote cabin in the mountains above Blue River, CO. When you city folks hear "hike", you would probably not imagine hiking uphill with skis/snowshoes in 3 feet of snow in a snowstorm for 4.5 miles to reach a cabin with no running water. We had lots of wine and lots of bacon...it was nice.

I bought a house. It is 105 years old, and in a completely bad ass neighborhood near Downtown Denver. Come visit. But bring your work gloves, this is going to be a constant work in progress. I moved a good, solid 3 blocks away from the house that I shared with Craig and JD for two years...so when I moved my mattress I just threw it up on the top of the car and held on while driving down the hill. "Hey North Country Club citizens, your new neighbor is totally classy." Every day it looks less and less like a hobo is squatting there.

I gave my...

...phone the night off last Thursday. Turned it off, plugged it in, tucked it away. Its not that I didn't have to work on Friday, I did. Its not that I didn't need to get up early on Friday, I did. Its not that I didn't need my phone in order to get some late night work done, I did. [Three consecutive double-negatives...a new record].

My phone is always on. Always. Its the curse side of the "blessing and a curse" part of my job. Of my life. I don't think my phone minds too much...maybe at first it was a bit of a transition to be on call all the time, but it has become accustomed to it. And with new technology, my phone gets to do lots of fun things like ski with a bluetooth enabled helmet, fly fish in the Colorado rivers, and bike for hundreds of miles on end.

But my phone is always on. Its always taking calls, making calls, missing calls. Its always receiving emails, sending emails, reading emails. Its always reading texts, sending texts, reading texts. I sometimes question the sanity of my phone. I question the circuitry. I question the battery power.

On Thursday, a peculiar thing happened. My phone acted as though it was operating normally. There was no error message. No strange beeps or noises. No funny vibrations or messages. But the rings stopped coming. The emails continued. The texts continued. The voicemails continued. But no rings.

Strangely, it was comforting. It was relaxing. Soothing.

It was then that I realized that my phone was not receiving calls. It was receiving all other forms of communication. It was sending all forms of communication. It was browsing the internet. Checking emails. Sending emails. But it was not receiving calls. Not listening.

So I gave my phone the night off.

I soon realized, after feeling naked and disconnected suddenly, that I had not turned off my phone in weeks. The reality settled in that I had not turned my phone off in months. Years. Three years. I turned off my phone and plugged it in. Then I slept. I slept not in my own bed, but on a familiar couch. But I slept. Well.

A new toy...

...came in the mail today. A Nikon D90. I had been planning and talking about buying a new rig for a while now. Did some research, checked out prices, etc. But I really couldn't justify spending that kind of money on a camera...especially since I dont shoot pro anymore. Okay, rarely. But alas, my buddy Ryan Eaton was in town last week. Other than having a grand old time catching up, drinking beer, and skiing - he asked if he could buy my camera.

1. I could provide Ryan a sweet camera for a really good price. Heck, indirectly I am paying for the camera that I sold him...so might as well give me a good deal.

2. It gave me an excuse to buy a new toy.

3. Ahhhh, might as well grab a new lens with it.

4. Ohhhh, and a new camera bag.

5. Annnnd a new reflector.

Whoops. Had to stop there though. Gotta buy a house while Obama will give me 8 grand to move into that puppy.

I'm pretty excited, I love to capture my friends expressions and personality on film (sounds better than "on digital bytes"). As soon as I got the battery charged we went on the front porch and snapped a few off. One cool thing about the D90 is that it shoots HD Video with a SLR lens - so that means zoom and focus capability, ah the bells and whistles. I've kind of put photography on the back burner...but now I have an excuse to go out and play. You should go do the same.

It's all coming...

together. The merging of the seasons. The utopia that is Colorado. Check it:

1. I skied on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday last week. Yup. I don't think it ever dropped below 30 degrees at any given time...for those not familiar with the dry-mountain cold, that is warm. 25 degrees is balmy. 30 is like the summertime.

1a. Er, correction...I mean I was at my desk working diligently all week. Grueling grueling paperwork. Sitting at my desk. Working hard. Work, work, work.

2. Many of my Texas friends were up in the Aspen area for a little trip. I joined and slept on a mattress in the mud room for a couple of nights. Because that is what I do...sacrifice. The longer I live in CO, the more I realize that all the stereotypes about Texas skiers are absolutely true. Nice fuzzy snow boots, ladies...Love to see those guys in Colorado every once in a while.

3. I wore chacos yesterday. Not just any chacos, but new chacos...figured it was time to retire the ones that I have been wearing for 6 years now. As a testament to the quality of the shoe - they are still in great shape (although they have been resoled).

4. KICKBALL season started last night, and the Little Lebowskis did it up right by commanding a 16-6 victory. Suck it, other team.

5. Jess now has a bike. A pink bike. Perhaps the pinkest bike ever created. AND I participated once again in "Bike Manipulation Monday" by sawing off some drops and putting new(old) bullhorns on my singlespeed. Apparently I am the anti-hipster hipster. "Check that out! A republican with no gears?" So now I have all three bikes functioning properly, and we added the pink baby to the collection...thus our house is becoming overtaken by bikes once again.

Summer, hurry.

kpm

I am not...

...freaking out right now. Okay, I am. Not going to tell you why - but I will leave you with this for now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mDeXC6lGjg