2008: Mind, Body, Spirit

Over the past few months, I've been trying to live a balanced life--focusing on my mind, body and spirit. It hasn't gone very well. I've pretty much just sat around playing on the computer.

Sitting around and playing on the computer is fun, but it usually doesn't benefit my mind, body or spirit. Sometimes it tests my mind and rejuvenates my spirit, but usually it just dulls my mind, weakens my body and crushes my spirit. Poker, WoW, and TF2 all come to mind. Reading people's blogs, writing my own blog, and discovering new, funny, amazing and uplifting videos on YouTube are some things I think are pluses in the "sitting in front of the computer" column.

Mind

My mind is going to be tested in 2008, I have no doubts about this one. My first class begins on January 2nd, and I'll be in school until winter break. In addition to school, I would really like to read and write more, but I know any reading parameters I try to set I won't be able to keep, so why bother. As for writing, I am going to try and get something up on my writing blog at least once a week. I might not write every post, but hopefully I will have 60 or so posts on Fun-With-Words by the end of 2008.

Body

I'm a firm believer in the idea that you only get one body, so you might as well make the most of it. Looking at me, you'd never guess. I'm not going to get overweight anytime soon, but I don't like the feeling of being weak. Barely being able to do ten push-ups just doesn't make sense to me, it seems like I am wasting the best years of my body. I've let myself get plenty weak time and time again, then I go on a fitness kick until I get fitnessed out, and let myself get weak again. This time, my method to bodily improvement is to work up a sweat at least every other day. The two exceptions are when I'm sick or injured. Working up a sweat gives me an opportunity to do a wide variety of activities, so I shouldn't get bored, and I don't have an every day goal set, so I won't be drowning in my own sweat.

Spirit

My bane. Not really, but my spirit comes from weird places, not religion. I think going on an overnight hike out in the Olympics or the Cascades recharges my spirit for months at a time. Going on a late-night motorcycle ride through the city recharges my spirit. Heck, even just riding a motorcycle invigorates me. Being in a classroom, whether a student or an observer (and most likely as a teacher as well), makes my spirit soar. Sitting at home, bundled in blankets and reading a good book also puts me in great spirits. Balance is the key to my spiritual well-being.

So there you have it.

2008: Hopefully more reading, more writing, more sweating and more balance.

I'm Home!

It feels great to be back in Seattle, and although there were some amazing spots on my 1,000 mile ride home, the last 100 miles from Enumclaw to Seattle were the best! The Cascade Mountains are just striking, especially compared to all of the other mountains we saw along the way. The green of the forest, the steepness of the mountains, and the blue of Lake Washington--just screamed: HOME!

Yesterday morning, Dad and I checked out the Steens Mountains, about an hour outside of Frenchglen. The mountains are pretty cool, and the result of two glaciers banging into each other thousands of years ago. It is the biggest half-pipe I have ever seen.





Once we got back to Frenchglen, we started the trek to Pendleton, which was about 260 miles. Just south of the small town of John Day was easily the nicest road I've ever ridden on. Fifteen miles of very recently repaved road through a national forest, with shoulders wide enough for bikes to safely ride. There wasn't a bump in the entire 15 miles--perfect for riding my motorcycle around 40mph turns.

North of John Day I decided to take the lead, because the windy roads were just too fun to go Explorer-speed. I was only in the lead for about 10 miles, but in that ten miles I whacked my first bird. One of the first things you learn while riding a motorcycle is S.E.E. Scan, Evaluate, Execute. Well, here I was, riding happily along a road, with a river on my right. I come around a turn and see about five duck-looking creatures walking across on my side of the two-lane highway.

Scan: OK, five bird-looking creatures. I'm pretty sure they can fly, and I'm not sure why they are walking across the road.

Evaluate: Well, I'll probably just cross over into the oncoming lane and avoid them, or slow down and let them disperse and drive through whatever opening they leave me.

Execute: Well shit, a semi just rounded the corner, so I'm not going into the other lane. Slowing down... why aren't the birds moving? Fly away! OK, a few of them flew to safety, but there is one right in front of me, ah crap! Brake! But not too fast to flip me...

The bird finally lifts off when I'm about ten feet from it, going 30mph. It whacks my tiny shield on the front of my bike and I dodge the rest of the bird as it flies over me. The semi is directly to my left, and I hope I didn't bump the bird into the oncoming semi--because it would be game-over for that bird. I don't know if I actually killed it or not, but Dad said he saw some blood on the windshield when we stopped for lunch shortly thereafter. The liquid didn't look red to me, it could have just been bird-slobber... ...right...

Dad and I stayed at a Best Western in Pendleton last night, and it was a very nice hotel. We ate at the Shari's across the street, and I had a gut-busting Double-Stack Bacon Cheeseburger, and added two Widmer Hefeweizen's to wash it down. The hotel had high-speed internet, and I checked email, checked a few blogs and got my WoW fix in. We both got to bed pretty early again, and woke up at 6am this morning.

Today's riding was the most difficult, because it was chilly, and there was a pretty stiff side-wind the entire trek. I had to pull over about 50 miles into the trip and put back on the liner in my jacket, as well as a long-sleeve t-shirt. Once we got to about Issaquah, I ditched my Dad and headed home :)

So much to do now that I'm in Seattle. I have a lot of work to do on the teaching-front, and I'm also looking into assistant tennis coaching at my old high school, and also coaching a youth basketball team at my old community center. I've always wanted to, and now is the perfect time :) I've got a month before classes start, and I will be spending two or three of those weeks observing classes from high school to elementary school.

Went out to go see Bourne Ultimatum today and I had a few gripes with the otherwise as-advertised-action-packed movie. First is the bouncy camera. They purposefully made the camera have a head-bob effect, which just got annoying after a while. Second, I sure hope the female lead (from that dancing movie) didn't get paid by the line, because she sure didn't talk much. I think her signature move was the: stare at Matt Damon, then nod and walk away. Lastly, there sure were some no-brainer spots in the movie: "this is the worst possible spot, why would he want us here?" "He's got a reason." At this point I turned to Tyler and smacked my forehead.

Just finished cleaning the spa out with Dad, and it has been raining on and off since I got home. It is good to be back! I love the rain!

Tuesday Update

Haven't had too much to post about recently, but that won't stop me from posting! (You can learn from this, Brandon)

My time in Tahoe is coming to an end, so I've been trying to think of all the things I want to do in my last week here. Parasailing, hiking up Mt. Tallac (9,000ft mountain--3k elevation gain), swimming lots, basketball at Kahle, hitting the casinos, playing with Sacramento friends. Lots to do in my next week, but how have I spent the last few days? Playing WoW. Damnit!

The game is just way too addicting. Especially after I found my old pvp rogue. I'm an orc, and I love the Horde--mostly because I get to sneak around and stab the goodie-goodie alliance in their backs. I love to stalk. I've been watching Ichi from the porch, as he stalks all the little rodents in the forest. He would make a very good Orc rogue.

I've also been playing around with Fraps a bit, and hopefully I'll get a little WoW video up sooner or later, with some of my stupid amazing feats of dumbness skill.

Now, to give myself some credit, I did accomplish all most, of the things I put on my to do list this weekend. I changed the oil in my motorcycle (which reminds me, I need to change the oil in the Explorer before the hiking trip/seattle trek), I wrote up some of the Pirates v. Ninjas finale, and I registered and paid for my two classes this fall up in Seattle.

But, the majority of my time was spent playing WoW, and I had a nice, relaxing weekend. I took a few breathers to walk around in my hiking boots, attempting to break them in. I've used them before, but not in a while, and I want to make sure they don't rub me wrong before our 30 mile hike next week.

This weekend should be a lot of fun--some Sacramento peeps are coming up for their last chance to visit me in Tahoe. Beach and casino fun will be had, and I'm sure we'll toss the disc a bit too. My last day of work is a week from tomorrow, and then I believe we start on our hike Friday down in Mammoth, CA. I'm really excited for the hike--it is a four-night escapade through the Sierras. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, because I'll be moving back to the Northwest for the foreseeable future. Expect lots of pictures.

I should have the Pirates v. Ninjas finale ready for public viewing by the end of this week. I'm working full-time this week, so I didn't have as much writing time as I hoped to have, hence the delay.

The Night I Chose A Door

I really shouldn't still be up. Tomorrow, I have a long day planned with either a six-hour hike up Mt. Tallac, or a 4-hour round-trip drive to Nevada City to pick up the rest of my stuff left at Kristina's. I also have to be at work seven hours from now, which means getting up six hours from now--and that usually equates to a grumpy and yawn-filled morning for yours truly.

But I have a feeling tomorrow will be different.

Tonight, I finally forced myself to answer a few questions that have been troubling me about my decision to try the teacher's path. I eventually tagged on a "Path" label to the bottom of my "To Do" list. I started jotting down what I need to do, and what I want to do in the upcoming months all the way out to the end of the teacher's cert. program. And I was able to put my doubts to rest.

I have from about October 2007 until June 2008 where I can work full-time, if I so choose, which should be more than enough time to save enough money to get me through the "no.way.in.hell.can.I.work.and.go.to.school" Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 schedule of the teacher's cert. program. That also leaves late August and all of September 2007 for me to get my observation hours done, catch up with friends, settle in, and charge my batteries for the long road ahead.

It didn't really hit me until I turned off my computer tonight and my head hit the pillow--but I've finally done it. I've finally chosen one of the many doors I've tried so hard to keep open. I've blabbed about it before, but my whole life from 1982 to 2004 was about keeping as many doors open as possible, and I was pretty good at it (and lucky enough to have lots of doors open to begin with). Then I graduated college and felt lost in a world that I really had no experience with. It was time to chose one of the doors I had tried so hard to keep open for myself, and I had a damned hard time doing it. I knew by choosing a door, I'd be closing other doors for good--and that isn't something I was willing to do.

Instead of choosing a door--instead of moving back to Seattle and starting a career--I decided to see what other doors I could pry open. I had a blast wandering, and I have no regrets whatsoever with the way I spent my time from 2004 to 2007. I grew. I tried new things, I met all sorts of new people, and all of my experiences have influenced who I am today. If I had gone back to Seattle and started working on a career right away, I would probably still be eating a McDonald's breakfast once a week and drinking copious amounts of Mt. Dew. I also would have objected to that last line I wrote, asking, "What is wrong with McD's breakfast and Mt. Dew?!"

But, I've changed. And it is a change for the better. And now I've changed some more--it finally struck me tonight that teaching is not only something I want to do, it the best possible door for me to pick out of the millions of doors I've managed to keep open. To me, it is the most worthy profession out there. More important than doctors or policemen or firemen. But much more important than worthiness is the fact that teaching makes me happy. And much like frisbee brings out the best in me, so too does teaching.

When I realized all of this tonight, in my pitch-black room with my head resting on my pillow--a smile broke out across my face. And it felt really, really good. I felt as though all of the doubt and worry I had about this whole teaching choice had just been released from my body. While I watched all the negatives disappear, I realized I was left with happiness, excitement and determination to prove that I can be a great teacher.

I'm sure the doubts will find their way back in from time to time, but I am going to hang onto this feeling I have tonight for as long as I possibly can.

Poker! Poker! Poker!

Tonight is the first night in a while that I've played online poker against primarily non-bloggers. I've had a $26 token sitting in my Full Tilt account for a while, and I'm never around to use it on Mondays at the Hoy. I used it this afternoon to play in the $19k guaranteed tourney.

My third and fourth hands were QQ and KK. The QQ hand was brutal. Three limpers to me, I raise it 7x the BB. The BB calls, as do all three limpers. (710)

The flop comes As,Ks,Jc. Three checks to the limper to my right, who bets 220. Think about giving up on it right here, but I do have the straight draw and back door nut flush draw, as well as boat possibilities, so I call the small raise... as does the rest of the table. (1810)

Turn is the Kh, which makes the board As,Ks,Jc,Kh. No more nut flush draw for me! The action checks to me, and I think about making a play, but eventually check, realizing that someone has got to be slow-playing an Ace or King. I might get the Ace to fold, but I'm pretty dead to a king.

The River is the Kc. Which makes the board As,Ks,Jc,Kd,Kc. The BB thinks for a few seconds, then pushes with about 1k in chips, which is what all of us have left as well. We all fold. I'm pretty sure the BB had AK, but he could have made a good move on us. He slow-played a few hands in the next 30 minutes, which leads me to believe he probably did have AK. Either way, it was about as bad of a flop/board as you can see with QQ.

The very next hand I get KK. Third to act makes it 160, and I raise it up to 400. It folds around to the original raiser, who calls. (830)

Flop comes Ac,Qc,Js. Bah. He checks to me, and I think for a few seconds and push for 730 more. He folds. If he had pushed, I would have had a hard time calling off my stack with KK on that board, but probably would have grudgingly called. When he checked to me, it opened up the door, so I pushed, hoping he had a small/middle pair. So after QQ and KK, I come out even.

I fold for an orbit, then get AsQs UTG and raise it 3xBB. Both the blinds call. (270)

Flop comes 7c,Td,Jc. SB min-bets for 30 into the 270 pot. I guess he's trying to keep the pot small on a flush draw, but really have no idea, and the BB and I end up both calling. (360)

Turn comes Qh, for a board of 7c, Td, Jc, Qh. Checks to me, and I fire a pot-sized bet. The SB smooth-calls, and the BB folds. (1080)

River comes 9h, for a board of 7c, Td, Jc, Qh, 9h. SB pushes for 950 and I start to mull it over. Seems like I could have the best hand here, but I'm thinking at least half the time I'm beat here by an 8 or K, or two-pair. I end up tossing my TPTK into the muck, convincing myself he has the king. I've seen a lot of pushing with the best hand lately, and it isn't a half-bad play, because eventually people will play back at you with inferior holdings, like I've been known to do on occasion...

I'm left with just over 1k, and on the next hand I get to see a free flop with Ad8c from the BB.

Flop comes 9c,6c,Ah. SB checks, I check, and the next player min-bets. There is a caller and a folder before me, and I decide to pop it to 270, which is probably around the size of the pot by now. And it folds back to me. I could have tried to get tricky, but any pot was a good pot at this point.

A few hands later I pick up TdTh, second to act. First to act limps in, which always smells fishy to me, so I decide to limp as well and see if anyone wants to try and push us around. I like to mix it up every now and then, and liked this spot. If someone did get frisky, I would get to see UTG's action before making my decision. If UTG limp-pushes, I'm definitely able to fold the 10's. Next guy limps, then we get a few folders, and the Cut-Off pops it 3xBB, which is a kind of weird bet with 3 limpers already in the pot. None of the limpers are going to fold, most likely. Button calls the 120, then the shorty SB pushes for 775 total.

There is enough money in the pot already for the shorty's range to be quite wide here, I think. The BB folds, and the UTG limper also folds. I'm pretty sure I've got the best hand, and I am fairly short as well, so I re-shove for 1k. The two limper to my left folds, and the 3x popper folds, but the Button who called the 3xBB raise calls both of our pushes.

When I pushed, I thought I'd probably get heads up with the shorty, but after review, it makes sense that the smooth-call of the 3x BB raise could have a pretty decent hand. Probably not a higher pocket pair than 10's, but he flipped over AK and I winced a little bit. I can see playing his hand the same way. The shorty flipped over pocket 4's, which also made sense.

The board ran out Jh,6d,9h,4s,2s. The shorty more than tripled up, and I got the side pot of 680 chips. Damn booby prize.

Then a pretty weird hand happened. I'm down to 580 and there is an UTG limper, then a 3xBB raise with a call. I push with AdQc in a pretty marginal spot to push, but I'm short and willing to gamble. Folds to UTG, who calls. Doh. Original 3x raiser folds (still not understanding these 3x raises after limpers), but the 3x caller decides to play as well.

We see a hammer flop of 7c,7s,2d--but I'm not worried, cause there are no other bloggers around! Hah! UTG leads out for about half of the pot, and the other guy pushes. UTG thinks for a while and folds. Pusher flips over Jh9s and gets berated by the UTG guy who probably folded a pocket pair. Pusher picks up the 900 side pot, and I get the 2k main pot. Thanks :)

Next big hand I played very poorly.

I'm at 1.8k with blinds at 25/50. It folds around to MP, who limps. I've got the Button, and I pop it to 250 with Ah7h, under my assumption that MP limpers don't have shit. The blinds fold and the limper calls. (575)

Flop comes Qs,9d,Kh. We both check. I'm not really sure why I checked, but I thought an extra card couldn't hurt before the action picked up. And, I didn't have anything, so I guess that is always a good reason to check.

Turn is the 9c, for a board of Qs,9d,Kh,9c. He checks to me, and I try to make a strongish looking bet of 350 into the 575 pot. He min-raises to 700, with only 465 behind. I think he's a tricky player from a few previous plays, so I think he might have read my "strong" bet as weak. I decide to push for 1.5k and he of course calls with only 465 behind... with pocket rockets, and I'm dead in the water. Folding to min-raises is something I've been having trouble with lately. It is either a trap, or a fake trap, and ever folding seems like a big waste of odds, unless you know you're drawing dead. I pretty much was drawing dead to any hand at all, so this would have probably been a good spot for me to lay it down. But, this hand did disprove my "limpers from MP have sucky cards" theory. Damn.

I won a race with As6s against KsTc and got up to about 1k, then pissed it away somehow (hand history isn't there for some reason???).

I loaded up the Double-Double tournies on Full Tilt for the first time ever. Two $10+$2 tournies that have some bonuses for doing well in both tournies. Each had about 1,000 people, and I didn't notice the extra juice until after I registered. Oh well.

Both tournies started out very well. I don't think I showed a hand in either tourney, and was up to 3k in each tourney about 30 minutes in, from starting stacks of 2k. In the "A" tourney, in a four-hand stretch I had AsKs,77,99,AcQc. The AKs turned a flush, and I got a call on the turn, but he folded to my push on the river and I only picked up 730 chips. I probably could have played that hand better.

With the 7's I re-raised preflop and got a caller. The flop came Jh,4c,Tc. Guy checks to me and I bet 2/3 pot, he pushes, I fold.

With the 9's, the guy UTG raises it 3xBB and gets one caller before me, so I decide to call from the C/O, and the BB joins in the fun as well. (375)

Flop comes 7s,Ad,5s and the BB bets 240 with 460 left behind. Folds to me, and for some reason I don't recognize the strength in his bet, and feel (again) like he is making a play at the pot, because he's short and needs chips. The other two folds should have been a bit of warning, but I push hoping for a fold, and he insta-calls with ATo.

Not a huge loss, and I still have 1.7k--but this loose-goosey play against short stacks is starting to become a huge leak in my game.

Very next hand I get AhQd and it folds to me in the Hijack, so I pop it 4xBB. Only the BB calls. (255)

Flop comes Th,3c,4c. We both check.

Turn makes the board Th,3c,4c,Ts. We both check again.

River makes it Th,3c,4c,Ts,6c. He bets out 150 and I call, thinking I'm winning half the time here, so why not? He shows KdJd. I think I played the hand very poor post-flop, and let my chip-spewing mood influence my play--not wanting to lose any more chips than necessary. If a J or K hits the river, I'm probably still calling his bet and losing. Not too happy with this hand either.

In the Daily Double B tourney, I hit trip 3's on the turn after it checked around on the flop. Made a sizeable bet on the river and didn't get any action.

The junk-kicking hand for me in the B tourney was getting dealt AdQh third to act. It folds to me and I raise it up 4xBB. It folds around to the BB, who calls. (425)

Flop comes a difficult 7c,3d,Js. He checks to me, and I decide to check and see what comes on the turn.

Turn brings the beautiful Ah. He fires out 250. I just smooth call. He's a bit aggro, so I'm hoping to get a bit more out of him on the river. (925)

River comes a 6d, to make the board 7c,3d,Js,Ah,6d. He thinks for 20seconds, and pushes the rest of his 960 stack into the middle, and I call pretty quickly. He flips over 4s5d for the rivered straight. Doh. I steamed a bit after this hand. Whenever I look over a hand like this, I always make the distinction between cash and tourney poker. I don't like milking, when I don't have the nuts or near nuts in tournaments. I think tournament poker is about pushing your edges, using your stack to bully. When it comes down to it, I think it is smarter to win a smaller pot when you know you are ahead, then to risk losing your stack by being greedy and trying to milk more chips out of your opponent.

From this point on, in both tournies I pretty much bleed down over the next hour. It was a combination of things, but the first 30 minutes and the next hour were such stark contrasts, I couldn't help but notice. The first 30 minutes I was playing well, winning pots uncontested, chipping up and not showing down hands. Fun, good poker in my book. The next hour was pretty much fold, fold, fold. I got moved tables in the B tourney, and two of the top five chip stacks were seated there, raising every hand. When I usually see this, I lick my chops and try to steal some of their chips--but my stack was so small, they were pretty much committed to call anytime I raised. I didn't pick up any decent hands, and whittled away to push-fold, and lost my flips in both tournies.

The hands I got to play were also very contrasting between the first half and the second half of each tourney. In the first half, I got high suited connectors in good position, low pocket pairs to play along with limpers from late position, and that run of AK,77,99,AQ. Basically just fun hands to play. In the second half of the tourney, I got frustrating hands to play. When I got to late position, I'd have crap hands and facing a raise in front of me. When I was in early/middle position, I'd get hands like Ad2d, 22, A8o, KTo. Hands I wouldn't mind playing from late position, but with a short stack and at an aggro table, it just didn't feel good to play from EP.

Oh well, I did pick up a few things from tonight's play, so that is always a good thing. About halfway through my 19k guaranteed tourney, I realized I forgot to get Indian Fare packets at Trader Joe's today. I went right after work, because it was 80 degrees and sunny, and I needed to get food. I grabbed some lentil soup and more of those yummy enchilada packets, but I have been craving Indian Fare for the past week (and it was incredibly good camping on Tuesday), so that was the first thing on my mental list for Trader Joe's today. It is 20 miles away, and I don't really feel like going there again this weekend, so I guess I'll have to hit it on the way to or from the Reno Airport in the next two weeks.

Any comments on the hands are appreciated, I don't even mind a little bit of criticism, because I know I spewed chips in quite a few places tonight--and would like to stop those leaks!

In other news, this weekend is looking more and more fun as it gets closer. I might be heading down to Sacramento to play in the end-of-league ultimate tourney on Saturday. I'll probably ride down after work tomorrow, because there is going to be a party here tomorrow night, and I'll be hard-pressed to wake up by 7am and ride down to Sacto by 9am. After frisbee, there is the end-of-league party! Stacey and I went to one of these a few years ago, and it was awesome. They rent out a private pool, and we get to play fliers up in the pool, as well as have a limitless supply of beer from one of the breweries that sponsors the league. It is really a recipe for disaster, but it is very, very fun. I talked with DTran, and he might actually meet me in Sacto for both the frisbee and the party afterwards, so it'd be great to see him again.

Sunday, I'm riding back up to Tahoe, and we're having a going-away party for Jen at the lake I visited last Sunday, Angora Lake. The group of 18-22 year olds I saw there last week gave me a good idea for these other youngsters, and I'm hoping to have a good time floating and cliff-jumping (not diving! learned that lesson the hard way!). There has been talk of bringing a mini-keg up to the lake, hehe. Hopefully I'll get some pictures of scantly clad college girls for all you pervs out there. Yes, I'm talking to you. You know who you are. You'll be the guy at work with my pictures on a browser minimized, only to pull them up when the coast is clear.

Cheers!

Ride to Markleeville

Markleeville, that's right! Population one-sixtieths its elevation. I didn't really know where I was going this afternoon. I started out riding around the coast-line of Tahoe. I found a pretty packed beach, but it turned out to be a pay beach--weak. No idea why so many people were at a pay to sit on the sand beach, but it is the most convenient beach to get to from the casinos--so that probably had something to do with it.

I decided to take Pioneer Trail and bum around on the side roads if any of them caught my eye. None of them did, so I continued on towards Sacramento. Instead of climbing the big mountain between Tahoe and Sacramento, I turned off towards Kirkwood Ski Resort, and zoomed around that more gradual incline. Then, instead of going to Kirkwood, I took a left towards Markleeville. I'm not sure why I remember that name, maybe it is work-related, but I wanted to go check out the town.

I didn't realize the town only has a population of 165. The 30-mile ride didn't seem to have a great destination, but I saw a sign for Grover Hot Springs State Park only four miles away, so I went for it. The road to the hot springs was a lot of fun, 35mph speed limit and lots of twists and turns. I didn't have to gun the engine because of the low speed limit, and I got to practice turning more, which is always good.

Turns are probably the most fun I have on Nikki, because the recommended speed signs aren't really meant for motorcycles. We can lean, we can go from the outside of the lane to the inside--motorcycles just have a lot more control than say, an SUV. I wasn't going double the suggested speed or anything crazy like that, but it is good to know that the motorcycle has some give.

The hot springs were again a disappointment. Much like Walley's Hot Springs, it was a pool, not a hot spring! I expected better from a state park--but that state park IS in California... figures they'd turn "hot springs" into "pool". (I like the Euro way to do periods after quotations, deal with it!) Although, to give the state park credit, I did see some natural hot spring-looking slimy rocks--but just no water hole to jump into.

It was probably around 5pm by this time, and I didn't really want to just ride back to Zephyr Cove, so I walked around a bit. Then I stumbled upon this sign:



Well, since I brought my camera, I might as well go see the lake! On the way, I crossed over a bridge, and snapped this shot of the stream below~



Continuing on to the lake, ready to shoot some nice lake shots, I come to this sign:



Weak! Much like Otto from The Simpsons walking out of "Stoner's Pot Palace", I muttered to myself: "Flagrant false advertising!" I continued on the extra mile to the waterfall. It was nice to get out and hike a bit, as I've been feeling a bit lazy by all this biking. I pass a lot of bicyclists who are getting a great workout, and I go whizzing past them just sitting on my ass. Riding to hiking trails is what I want to do this summer, and hopefully will!

I saw this sign along the trail, and couldn't help but snap a picture and try to think of an appropriate title:

1) Giant bikes ahead
2) Beware of bears while on bikes



Here is a shot of the waterfall, then a picture of me and the stream:





I rode home, and stopped at safeway and grabbed Dark Chocolate / Chocolate Haagen Daas bars and some Deschutes Black Butte Porter. A little splurge, but both are so, so good.

Also, I decided against riding my ninja up to Seattle in June. It is just too many miles. I'm supposed to change the oil and re-lube the chain every 500 miles. I'd have to do it four times! Twice while out in the middle of nowhere, which didn't sound too appealing. I do want to keep the bike in as good of condition as possible, and riding it to Seattle just isn't the way to go. My decision was finally made by remembering that I have a $130 Southwest credit that expires in October--so I might as well use it while I can! Sorry no motorcycle ride for you, Stacey! And Andrew, and whoever else wanted to see the bike.

I'll be arriving in Seattle the night of June 26th, going to the Mariners/Red Sox game on my birthday, then out to the coast from the 28th to the 1st of July. Then I race back from the coast to catch the last day of the Potlatch frisbee tourney on Sunday. I'm staying in Seattle until the night of the 3rd, and it'll be nice to have a little down time to spend with friends and family. Before my November/December stay in Seattle, all of my trips were just go go go, and I never really got to spend much time with all of my friends and family--and I'd usually blow off family for friends. Glad I won't have to do that this trip :)

Oh, and here is a shot from just before the "T" to Markleeville or Kirkwood:

To Moto, or not to Moto?

My bank account sure is lucky the California DMV office is closed tomorrow. I'd be $3500 poorer, and one Kawasaki Ninja 250 richer. I've been flip-flopping on this whole motorcycle purchase more than a fish out of water. The last big 'pro' for buying the motorcycle is my current mobility.

Right now I'm driving a SUV, which I needed for the winter in both Nevada City and Zephyr Cove. Without its all-wheel drive, I would have been stuck half a dozen times this winter, which could have possibly led to a lost job. Also, without the Exploder, I wouldn't have been able to move as easily as I have (everything fits in it!).

I've been extremely happy with the ol' Exploder, but looking at my summer schedule, then looking at the current price of gas... then looking back at my summer schedule... I'm in for one doozy of a gas bill.

1) June 8th-11th Las Vegas Trip (900mi round-trip)
2) June 26th-July 2nd Seattle + Coast Trip (~2000mi round-trip)
3) July 13th Ani Concert (200mi round-trip)
4) Hiking Trips (???)

By crunching a few numbers, making these trips with the Ninja instead of the Exploder will save me $505.00 (3500mi, minus the difference between doing that with the 70mpg Ninja, or the 18mpg Exploder@$3.50/gallon).

I would also stand to save over $200 on gas by riding the Ninja to work and putting around town. The way I figure, the amount of money I save on gas, is just about equal to the amount the bike will depreciate when I choose to sell it. The longer I keep the bike, the less I will be able to sell it for; but the more money I will save on gas.

Now, before tonight I hadn't really calculated these numbers, but I pretty much knew the value of the motorcycle is going to be a push unless I wreck the thing (which is no small concern). But tonight, the big thing that has me gunning for a motorcycle is that I'm starting to feel limited mobility in Tahoe, because of my gas-guzzling vehicle. Playing in Sacramento's spring league would have been an amazingly fun thing to do before I move back to Seattle, but at $50 in gas each trip--it was totally out of the question. That same trip on the Ninja 250 would cost $15.

I still probably wouldn't play in spring league if I had the Ninja, but that example illustrates a very important point for me. I'm too much of a cheapskate to be able to hop down to Sacramento for a day of frisbee and friends--knowing that it will cost me $50 every time I make the trip. I can see this issue coming up for visiting Sacramento, Nevada City and maybe even Dtran in San Francisco. I don't want to handcuff myself for my last four months in California/Nevada. Chances are I will stay up in Seattle for quite a while when I move back around September, and I don't want to look back on Tahoe as time spent wasted not wanting to spend money on gas.

I hope to go on dozens of day hikes this summer with my great part-time schedule, but I would find it very difficult to mentally block out both the pollution I'm causing and the dollars I'm burning every five miles I drive in the Exploder.

Realistically, if I do decide on getting the motorcycle, I'll probably go out more, and I might end up spending just as much money on gas as I would have without the motorcycle, due to all of these trips. I'll be able to take that spur-of-the-moment trip to Emerald Bay for picture-taking. I'll go to Sacramento and Nevada City more. But this is exactly what I want to do. It would be worth it to still spend $1000 on gas this summer if it means having an unforgettable time with friends and hiking.

The other big question I'm struggling with is what happens when I move to Seattle. With no motorcycle, I've been planning to take maybe half of my stuff up to Seattle when I go in late June. Skiis, Snowboard stuff, and all of the boxes I rarely ever use. By moving a lot of stuff in late June, the chances of me selling the Exploder down in Tahoe (where people value all-wheel drive more than Seattle), and getting a smaller car would greatly increase. I'd also likely be able to fit the rest of my stuff in the smaller car for the trek up to Seattle. I'm quite liking this little plan of mine.

Add a motorcycle into the mix, and things start to get confusing. If I have a motorcycle, I'd want to drive it to Seattle to save on money, but then I wouldn't be able to move anything up in June. I would have to either sell the motorcycle, sell the Exploder, or figure a way to get my stuff and one (or both) of the vehicles up to Seattle. Having a motorcycle as my only means of transportation in Seattle entering rainy season isn't a great prospect to me. And I guess unless I fall deeply in love with riding a bike, I'll probably be selling it when my time in Tahoe is up.

The final question looming on my mind has to do with how this motorcycle purchase will affect my living during my attempt at getting certified as a middle school teacher. Worst-case scenario is that I spend the $3500 on the bike, crash it, and have to say good-bye to that money. I'm not really sure how that will affect me. I already know I'm going to have to get loans from somewhere for school, and I'm still not sure how I'm going to make money while I'm doing this full-time school gig. If it comes down to me living on my savings while I'm doing the teaching program, that extra $3500 would be a tremendous buffer. Including rent, food, and everything else I'd spend money on, I bet I could stretch $3500 to five months.

Wow, hadn't really put that into consideration yet. Five months. Five months staying alive during my teaching program, or four months down here in Tahoe having fun? That isn't a terribly difficult decision for me, but then again, the motorcycle could end up barely costing anything at all if things work out well. Bah humbug. It feels very selfish to get this bike right now, considering how tight money will be in the near future. Hmm...

ponderponderponder

Teacher Man

Good book! I got it for Xmas and finished it in a few weeks. Great book from a high school teacher talking about his most memorable experiences teaching in New York. I've been terrible about reading since then, and I haven't finished a book since. I started, and enjoyed, "A Confederacy of Dunces," which I got from my sister for Xmas--but didn't finish it. I should.

I've been doing lots of online reading--blogs, news and the like, but book-reading gets my creative juices flowing more than anything else. If anyone has a good book recommendation or two, please let me know!

I just sent my parents an email about my plans to travel down the education road. The application deadline for the 5-quarter Bothell UW teacher's certification program is January 1, 2008. School is part-time the first Spring, then it is full-time school until Spring 2009, when I'd student-teach at a school, then receive my certificate. Sign me up!

With tuition, books and other fees, I'll probably be looking at somewhere between 11k-13k all told. That would cover what... a semester at UPS? lol. gah! But it sure seems like a lot to me. The money situation is going to be tricky. Ideally, I'd like to work part-time while going to school full-time--but I don't know what time of day the classes are. If the classes are during the day, I'm not really sure what I can do on an off-shift schedule with my experience. I'm sure I'd be able to find something.

2008 and 2009 will not be easy. But that challenge is what I'm looking forward to. This is what I want to do, and it is something I really think I'll enjoy doing. There will be a lot of trying times, but there will also be a lot of amazing times. I've never had that "fire" in a job or with school before. I've been a B+ student my entire life. It is time to bump that up a notch (futurama, anyone?) and see what I'm capable of!

...until then... I'm going to relax in Tahoe :) I've got Vegas coming up in five weeks, Seattle at the end of June, then an amazing 30-mile hike in August with my Dad along the John Muir Trail in the Sierras. Those are the biggies, which I can't wait for, but I'm also excited for a lot of other things this summer.

I'm looking forward to playing lots of basketball at Kahle, and hopefully becoming friends with a few of the guys there so we can go out for drinks on the weekend. I'm looking forward to starting up ultimate frisbee in the South Lake area with Dirk. Frisbee, combined with basketball at 6200ft elevation is a sure-fire way to get in great shape. I would also like to get down to Sacramento as much as possible while I am still so close, because there will be a lot of great people I'll miss when I move up to Seattle. I can't wait to go hiking this summer and find little, out of the way places to sent up a tent, take some pictures and just live it up. And of course, I'm looking forward to swimming in the lake :)

I'm also looking forward to keeping this blog updated and alive throughout the summer (and hopefully longer). This is probably the best effort I've given so far to blogging, and it feels pretty good (and a bit addicting..). I really enjoying the community of poker blogging friends, as well as the other friends I've been able to keep in touch with from UPS and Seattle.

I stumbled upon poop and boogies for the first time today, and I really enjoy the last part of the 'about' column, which says, 'and hopefully this blog will keep friends and family back home informed about our lives here in Florida.' The purpose of this blog was never really to keep in contact with friends back home, it was more to just remind my future self of what was going on at this point in my life--like a much more detailed photograph. But this blog really is a great way to keep in touch with those I can't see all the time, whether those friends are in Seattle right now, or they are in Tahoe and Sacramento when I move back to Seattle. All while still being a great diary for my future self to look back on.

My goal for the next week is to try and find a middle school I can observe classes in before the end of the school year. One of the application requirements for the teaching degree is to have 60 hours of classroom observation. I'll need that regardless of what school I choose, and it is probably just a smart idea for me--to make sure this is something I'm really interested in doing. I also need to check and see which math classes I will need to take, if any, to be eligible to apply. I'm shooting for 6-8th grade math. I love pre-trig math, and from what I've heard, there is always a shortage of math teachers in middle school.

Here goes nothing!

Five Years From Now

For fun, why not? I've always said, and will continue to say, that the millions of possible ways I choose to live my life I will be happy with. A world traveler? Making a living being a photographer for swimsuit calendars, or living from bank-heist to bank-heist--I have very few regrets once I actually decide to do something.

Deciding is the hard part.

I can list the truly difficult decisions I've had to make in my entire life on one finger. I have much more practice keeping all of my possibilities open.

Get good grades in school and do well enough on the SAT so I can get into a college of my choice, check. Graduate college so I can get a better-than-minimum-wage job, check. Be a nice person to most everyone I meet on the chance I run into them again, check. And... that's about as far as I've gotten.

As a single, nearly 25-year old, half-decent human being-- the world is my oyster. I can go back to school, I can travel, I can do just about anything--but WHAT DO I WANT TO DO? Where do I want to be 5 years from now?

Well, here's the current answer:

--I want to be living in Seattle, preferably not Greater Seattle, but Actual Seattle.
--I want to be in love with a witty, intelligent, sporty, family-wanting, friendly, optimistic and nerdy woman. Possibly working on starting a family, but that would have to depend on the situation (I've always thought between 30-35 would be a great age for having children--but my Dad was 40 when he had me).
--I want to be teaching middle school or older, or at least make a serious attempt within 5 years. I kick fucking ass at temping, but I want to make more of a difference. And I want benefits.
--I want to be active. This could be riding a bike to and from work; playing in various city-league sports teams; playing ultimate; coaching youth sports.
--I want to keep my great friends and add a few more, to have an amazing network of friends to grow old with.

I could just end up being a perfectly content hobo in San Francisco, who knows--but the above is what I've got my eyes set on right now. Also, who knows about kids? The more I think about it, the more I would like to have kids, but I also realize how much of a life-changer it would be for me, because there is no way in hell I'd ever be a bad, neglectful parent.

So, where do YOU want to be 5 years from now? It doesn't matter if you already have children, or if your future is as uncertain as mine, I'd love to hear it. Heck, even if you love where you are right now, and you just want things to keep being perfect let me know...

(so I can punch you in the face! hah!)
(also, feel free to put *do not make public* if you just want to tell me without telling the world, and I won't publish the comment)

1 year

Things I want to do in the next year, starting today.

1) Go camping.

I want to go camping a lot. I want to see the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. It is a very basic need of mine. I don't want to be 80 years old and have the forests gone and regret seeing them in their majesty.

I want to take a lot of pictures while I hike.

2) Get more into photography.

This could easily get put on the back-burner, but it would be fun to take a class like Stacey did and mess around with more than a digital camera--or at least more than a crappy digital camera. I want a SLR.

3) Find something or work towards doing something I love doing.

First thing that comes to mind is teaching or coaching. I would love to coach youth sports sometime soon. I would also like to work towards getting a master's degree.

4) Travel.

Somewhere outside of the US. If it is only Canada, so be it. If it is Mexico, all the better. Thailand, Australia, maybe??

I also want to go to Tahoe in the next year.

5) Have fun.

Easy peazy!

6) Read and write.

Done! hah! But seriously, writing and reading go a long ways when it comes to my happiness.

7) Surprise Stacey