August 17, 2009
~ a grand notion ~
Last night, I had a dream that my mother died. I woke up nervous and upset, temporarily calmed myself by noting that it was just a dream, but then remembered that it wasn't.
I've often thought that my quality of life would be improved by better sleep - - not only because of the better sleep factor, but also with the omission of the middle-of-the-night panicky nervousy worrying about things out of my control. My mind saves its major panicky nervousy worrying for 3 o'clock in the morning, at which point it becomes impossible to go back to sleep. As a result, it is not uncommon for me to receive too little sleep.
I finally went to see the new Star Trek movie over the weekend. I waited until it was at the dollar theater because I can't pay full price for a movie. As I've indicated a number of times, I am a fan of the ST. That I waited three months before seeing the film is a testament to my convictions about the price of movies. It was hard, believe me, waiting those three months.
Anyway, my reaction to the film was different than that of others that I know of - - I enjoyed it a lot, but frankly, I felt that the number of gratuitous action sequences took away from the science fiction. That was disappointing. And don't misunderstand me, I love action movies. I also recently watched the latest installment of the Fast and the Furious and found it decently kick ass. I only wish there could've been a few more explosive car race scenes. You know... like, if during that one kick ass car race scene, the protagonist could have flipped on his nitro and somehow propelled his car over the five lane freeway while at the same doing a Superman Seat Grab over a blazing gas explosion on a dirt bike. Like, you know, totally kick ass but doesn't make any sense. I love it! But then again, F&F is an action movie. As a viewer, I expect gratuitous action scenes. When it comes to scifi, however, I have a low tolerance for gratuitous anything.
Which is my problem. And it might behoove me to restrain my critical and analytical thoughts during a film that I hope to enjoy. For instance, during that one scene where Kirk had abandoned his escape pod to wander the icy wasteland of Delta Vega, instead of wondering if it's standard procedure to equipe escape pods with winter jackets, I should have just gone with the flow and enjoyed the film. And instead of then wondering, if it's standard procedure to equipe escape pods with winter jackets, why Kirk was not wearing gloves as he was navigating through the freezing tundra. Because if it were me, my hands would be so freezing that I would turn around and return to the escape pod and wait to be rescued, thank you very much. AND THEN, as I was all getting my panties in a huff because Kirk wasn't wearing gloves, that gratuitous action sequence with those weird creatures began and ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT WAS HOW KIRK'S HANDS MUST BE FREEZING!
Seriously people, the internets are abuzz over the romantic relationship in the film, but I have not noticed anyone anywhere upset over the contradiction that would be Starfleet equipping their escape pods with winter jackets but not gloves. FRANKLY, I think that the people putting the film together were so preoccupied with the gratuitous action sequence that they totally forgot to give Kirk some gloves. Therein lies the danger of gratuitiousness - - the possibility that a supposedly "minor detail" will be overlooked, rendering the scene to make absolutely no sense. Gloves Starfleet, gloves!!! HA-RUMPH!
In other news, over the weekend I bought a pair of MBTs on clearance at Sierra Trading Post. They are the ugliest and silliest shoes I've ever owned, but they are my new walking shoes and they are comfy and fun to walk in. I can't attest to their benefits at this moment - - I did a lot of weeding in my garden the last several days and my back is vert achy - - but I can attest to their being a very comfy walking shoe.
August 12, 2009
~ tour of trials ~
For the last six months, I have been up to something very interesting. Disturbing, disgusting, but down right fascinating... in a morbid sort of way. Initially, when I was assigned a six month service, I had my reservations. But I found it surprisingly rewarding and I would love to do it again some day.
In other news, I'm such a sucker. Webs is having a yarn sale and the other day I innocently began perusing their listings. You know how that goes. One second I'm removed from the experience, being only moderately interested, feeling confident in my abundant stash at home. And the next second I'm all "OMG, look at that beautiful wooly goodness! I must have!!!" And so, with a few simple clicks, it became mine. Below are my color choices. Aren't they lovely? Yes. Yes, they are. Nom, nom.
In other kinda knitting news, I'm really bummed that school is scheduled to start in a few weeks. I was really getting used to this not-being-in-school thing, and liking it. But, more importantly than school, I've been working on a knitting design project and was hoping to get the bulk of it completed before the semester started. Alas, this is one of those improvising-designing projects that has undergone many frogging sessions. After each frogging, I've said to myself, "Ah well, third/fourth/fifth time's the charm!" Problem is, while each frogging has allowed me to further perfect the design, it has also extinguished some of the fire in my belly.
On a different sort of life-opportunity note, sometimes I have to wonder what the universe is throwing at me. That service that I mentioned up in the first paragragh, for example, has given me pause to consider a variety of career paths totally different than what I am currently pursuing. As I am generally someone who is always concoting different hairbrained career opportunities for myself, and then continuing to exist at my boring desk job, it should be no surprise that I would do this. As a result of my recent service, I gave thought to joining law enforcement - - a moment in my life which has caused several people to laugh uncontrollably. Be that as it may, the universe is definitely trying to steer me towards a life of crime fighting - - just last week, one of my classes in school was cancelled because of the recession and the only other class that I was able to get into is being taught by the county sheriff. If that's not the universe telling me to become a super hero, than I don't know what would be.
Speaking of super heros, next weekend is the Tour de Fat and you'll never guess what my costume will be! I'll give you a hint - - an awesome cape is involved.
August 10, 2009
~ Orchard Trail to Ridge Road ~
Route: Orchard Trail to Ridge Road, down 8th Street
Distance: 24 miles
Elevation Gained: 4,000 feet
Climb Time: 2 hours
The ability to hop onto the bike, right after shutting one's front door, and do a sizable ride after work is an awesome quality to living in Boise. On Sunday, Josh and I did a good ride in the evening. After shutting our front door, we rode over to the Military Reserve trails, rode up Central Ridge and connected to Rocky Canyon Road, up Orchard Trail, all the way to Ridge Road, and connected to 8th Street via Trail 4.
When we set out and started riding the Reserve Trails, I was feeling uncomfortably hot and my legs were slogging. I used this section of the ride to get my legs warmed up. This portion of the ride was also unpleasant because of the vast swarms of flies/nats/flying ants that we kept riding through. Bug swarms happen in the foothills, but I don't think I've ever experienced it this bad before. After hitting a cloud of bugs, I'd have them covering my skin, in my jersey, up my nose and mouth, in my hair, and it would be futile to swipe them away because another cloud of bugs was approaching. That I did not intake any extra calories on this ride I attribute to the number of bugs I ate on this first section.
Once we hit Rocky Canyon Road, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was mostly shady and that the temperature was cooler. I fell into the rhythm of pumping my legs and began to feel good. Once we hit Orchard Trail, Josh said that I had been setting a good pace. I gave credit to the hard intervals on the spin bike that I've been doing at the gym.
As a sidenote, this "training" at the gym is going well. I've discovered that Rammstein and Rage Against the Machine provide effective training music - - as they compel me to set the resistence on the bike higher and to also spin my legs faster. Something about training at the gym that I've embraced is that it's not necessary to "pace oneself" or "save some energy for the end" as it is during an actual ride. In this way, it is evident that these "gasket-blowing" intervals on the spin bike have been making my legs stronger for actual rides.
Orchard Trail to Ridge Road has some particularly grueling climbs. That my "training" at the gym is effective was evident while riding these climbs. I found satisfaction both in my ability to continue to tick the pedals over as well as Josh's comments about how awesome I was doing. Riding up a long, hard climb is very satisfying - - when you reach the summit and look down over everything below, knowing that your legs got you there feels good.
Once we hit Ridge Road, it was smooth sailing over to the Trail 4 motorcycle connector trail. That trail was very awesome and fun. It traversed the mountain, had some technical features, and afforded a stunning view over the mountains and valley below. We even saw a herd of elk.
I lost my mojo at some point on this trail and crashed my bike twice where there was no good reason for me to crash. The first time, I must have had too much weight on my front wheel as I lost traction on a very slightly off camber section. The second time, I dunno, I think my handlebar actually got caught on some bushes. So dumb. But all was fine. When we arrived home, Josh was for a second concerned about my knee and leg, but I dismissed that concern because the only gore on me was mud.
Because we got a late start, we were pushing daylight on this ride. We enjoyed the sunset on Trail 4 and rode down upper 8th Street in the dark. My night vision sucks and I wished that I had brought a light for the downhill. Upper 8th Street is severely rutted. Navigating the ruts while descending 4,000 feet in the dark was challenging. Especially after having crashed twice AND that my legs were feeling tired from climbing so much, I did not have the needed confidence to enjoy this downhill. The only grace was that the sand on 8th Street is white, so it was possible to discern the darker ruts from the non-ruts. But discerning sandy sections and off camber sections was difficult.
It was 10:30 by the time that we arrived home. I enjoyed a glass of orange juice before going to bed for a deep sleep.
August 9, 2009
~ Bogus Basin Hike ~
The weather has been crazy for the past several days. In one week, it went from 100+ degrees, to under 70 degrees and torrential thunderstorms. At work, I'm fortunate to have an office with a window - - and last Wednesday and Thursday, I would be sitting at my desk with a view to the outside dark and storminess. There was thunder and lightning, and the rain came down in thick sheets. Very cool.
On Saturday, we weren't sure how the trails in the foothills would be for riding, so Josh and I made the trek up to Bogus for a hike. Despite the mountains being saturated with water, the trail conditions were good for hiking - - not at all muddy. It was also gorgeous outside. The temperature was in the 70s, and the mountain air felt crisp and invigorating. It was a tad chilly, but the chilliness felt wonderful (an excellent contrast to the scorching summer heat).
We hiked up Shindig and down Deer Point. I'm not sure what time we set out, but I estimate the hike took about an hour and twenty minutes.
Did I mention that it was beautiful? For the duration of the hike, we couldn't stop making comments to how nice it was outside. The colors were particularly vibrant, the plants were especially lush, and the sunlight perfect. It was an autumn sunlight - - bright, but not burning.
On the drive back to town, we saw a number of deer along the road. The last time we came down, we saw foxes.
Oh, and the last two times that we've driven up the mountain, we've seen this interesting fellow riding an old cruiser bike. He is in stark contrast to the more serious road cyclists doing the Bogus Basin climb - - wearing casual daily-life clothes (not cycling clothes), he rides up and down Bogus Basin on a rickety old green cruiser, with a messenger bag on his back.
August 5, 2009
~ Deer Point, Elk Meadows ~
I wanted to ride somewhere different last night - - tired of the same old, same old - - and I remembered that sixteen miles away is a mountain with loads of trails that I never ride. Ironicly, I make the trek up to Bogus to hike the trails somewhat regularly, and I always make a mental note to myself about how I should take my bike up - - but then my mental note gets lots amongst all of my other mental notes, and I continue riding the same old, same old foothills trails sixteen miles below. But then yesterday, I was checking out SWIMBA's website and saw that they were having a group ride at Bogus Basin and I recalled all of those mental notes in my brain about how I should ride those trails. And so I made it happen!
Josh and I are accustomed to setting out on rides later in the evening these days, to try and escape the heat and the blistering sun. Plus, we kinda have this after-work routine that involves dinner. As a result, we didn't get to the trailhead until about 8:00. A storm was moving in, so it was dark and blustery. Pretty cool, actually.
We rode Deer Point and Elk Meadows. Distance-wise, it was a short ride - - for one, I kept stopping to take photos in the poor light, and for two, we had to turn around prematurely because we weren't up for riding in the dark and because it seemed like there was a storm moving in.
Distance aside, the fun factor of this ride was excellent. Josh and I don't do much "MOUNTAIN biking" - - rather, we do a lot of hills and high desert riding. Here are some of my observations about mountain biking:
- Mountains are taller than hills,
- Because mountains are taller than hills, their trails tend to have a lot of switchbacks going up, to make it easier for hikers and bikers to reach the summit,
- Ridng around switchbacks is fun!
- Mountains have things like trees and bushes,
- Sometimes those trees and bushes on the mountains form a certain density, called a "forest",
- Riding through the forest is fun!
By the time that we were riding up Elk Meadows, there was a definite chill in the air. The sun was also starting to set. Feeling excited about future exploration of these trails, we turned around for a fun and fast downhill.
The main reason that we turned around, however, was not because of the chill or the impending darkness, but our bedtime. Josh and I are trying to do this morning workout routine. We've been surprisingly successful. We haven't made it everyday - - after all, sometimes shit happens and you can't get your butt to the gym at 6 o'clock in the morning - - but we continue to make it most days. Personally, I think this is making me a stronger rider - - getting a focused intensity on the spin bike in the morning is good preparation for an awesome fun evening bike ride to enjoy the outdoors.
