Playing It By Ear

Wake Up

2011-05-09T20:27:00.003-05:00

Good news, the new cat has fully recovered and is getting stronger every day. She is also getting bratty! She will not let me sleep past 7 am and I am trying to come up with a way short of locking her out the bedroom that lets me sleep a little more.

The issue is that she will start licking my face (lips specifically) which is not all that cute after I start wondering how long it's been since she licked her butt. This morning I tried a number of techniques, none of which were successful enough for me to actually get back to sleep. The first, which I've tried before, was to lay at the edge of the bed on my stomach with my face turned outward such that she couldn't get in front of it without being on the ground. This works okay except that the rest of my body has to be on the edge as well, so I get worried that I'm going to fall off. This morning I also tried sleeping under the sheet (too hot), hiding behind a pillow (she walked over it), and covering my face with my hand (hand drifts away when I started to fall back asleep). Now I am considering making some sort of mosquito net hat/helmet.

New cat

2011-04-06T12:39:00.002-05:00

I am a glutton for punishment I guess. Saturday I went ahead and adopted a cat from the shelter. Her name is Tallie and she is 10 years old. She had diarrhea and flaky skin so I knew she was a little under the weather, but most cats at the shelter are not at their best one way or the other. I took her in for a check-up on Monday and it looks like she is a little worse off that anticipated. Her blood test shows a white cell count of 16,400 and normal is 8,500. So, this is a sign of an acute infection. She is also a bit anemic (26% red cells vs. 29%-48% normal). We started her on some antibiotics to help with the diarrhea on Monday, with a plan to switch to another antibiotic to address the infection after this course was done. I noticed she really isn't eating at all, so I called the vet this morning. If she still doesn't eat by tomorrow morning, we will probably switch antibiotics to attempt to get her appetite back.

Sassy

2011-04-02T22:19:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure I realized how much of my life she was. Last night was tough. I could not fall asleep in my bed and ended up dozing on the couch with the TV on, catching bits and pieces of movies as I drifted in and out of consciousness. I don't have to check where she is before I leave or find her after I get home. I feel so lonely now. Now I remember how I felt just before I got her. Just so lonely to the point of tears. I remember it was even hard to keep from breaking down at the animal shelter as I was completing the process, due to how I was feeling in general. She was in bad shape. She hadn't been grooming, and seemed quite weak. I have proof of that now since back then when I held her for the first time, she did not meow or struggle at all. She was just lethargic and seemed to be barely hanging on. I was looking for a tortoise shell cat. They had a few and I don't think she was my first choice. She was older than the others, and definitely not as animated. But then she reached out her paw through the cage at me, and won me over. She had a bronchial infection and was a little underweight. I don't recall how long it took her to get better, but she did, and put on weight, and became a really happy and healthy cat.

She was a stray, yet she had been front declawed and spayed already so she had been someone's pet. Sassy was the name they gave her at the shelter, probably because she talked so much. (She never used her voice to get me out of bed though, polite that way!) She had been at the shelter for three weeks at least so one would think her owners would have checked by then. She was a fearless and adventurous cat, so I wouldn't be surprised if she got away from her owners and explored too far away to get back. Ha.. now that I said fearless I remember I have proof--she has chased a cat or two out of the backyard before. Pretty gutsy for a cat with no front claws.

She was really the only living thing I had daily contact with in my life, and I hers. There were many shitty days driving home that I thought to myself that well at least she would be waiting for me at the door and then she would tell me about her day. Then she would climb up the cat tree to get away from me, and then end up coming down to ask to go outside.

She was part of my life for almost two years, and I am hoping she enjoyed living with me as much as I did with her.

The death of my cat

2011-04-01T13:31:00.005-05:00

I guess this might help. My cat died in front of me this morning, and I am feeling like it is my fault. Is there something I could have done differently to save her? Did I cause her death because of how I let her live?

Since I will never know what exactly killed her, I will never know the answers for sure. I can go through what happened and what I was thinking at the time. Maybe through this I can try to convince myself that I am just a stupid person and not a bad person.

I woke up to the alarm this morning and my cat was curled up at the end of the bed, which is normal. She has been perfectly healthy. It takes me awhile to find the motivation to get up, so I toss and turn a bit and during this she usually decides to get up before me. I glanced at her a few times as I was waking up and she remained curled up, which is a bit unusual. Eventually she stood up but immediately crouched and vomited some food. This isn't so alarming as she does this occasionally. The vomiting got me to finally get out of bed and get some paper towels to clean up the vomit. When I returned she was done, but still crouching. I cleaned up the vomit and pet her a few times. She was uncomfortable with this and jumped off the bed and crouched by the door. I don't recall if I noticed her trouble breathing at this point, but since she was still crouching I figured she might need to throw up again or was needed some time to recover.

I took a shower, and when I got out she was still crouching. At this point I definitely noticed she was breathing fast, shallow breaths through her mouth. While getting dressed I called my vet to see if it would make sense to take her there or to an emergency clinic. The lady gave me the location and phone # of the Round Rock clinic. At some point, my cat started laying on its side. She was breathing the same way, but looking at her stomach it looked like she was having convulsions as well.

We were almost ready to go and I was debating whether to put her in a carrier or just throw her in the front seat. I didn't want to disturb her so much so I decided on the latter. I couldn't tell if she was breathing regularly anymore, but every so often she would get a big breath out so I figured she was, I guess. I noticed what looked like a stretching motion and took that as a sign that maybe she was starting to feel better. Around this time I crouched down in front of her and she was able to cry to me a few times like she was in pain or calling for help. I left her for a minute to find my keys, wallet, etc. When I returned it took me a minute or two to realize that she was really not breathing. I don't know how long it took me to think to try mouth-to-mouth. I tried that for a few minutes but there was no response.

My guess is that she suffocated. So what am I beating myself up over? Maybe I could have got her to the emergency clinic sooner if I had realized the seriousness sooner. If I knew where one was, I wouldn't have had to make a phone call and waste time there. If I didn't take a shower, I wouldn't have wasted time there. Shouldn't I have thought to open her mouth and see if I could see anything stuck in her throat if she was having trouble breathing/choking?

Maybe by the time she died or shortly after I realized something else that might have something to do with it. I've been letting her out into the backyard, which has six foot high wood fences that she cannot get over. I was just thinking last night as I watched her run around how happy she is when she's out there. Last night she sped inside with a determined trot that I've only seen a few times before. She only does that when she's caught a gecko and wants to play with it inside. She brought it in and dropped it off in the messy bedroom closet. I followed her to watch, but she had dropped and lost it already. I didn't spend a lot of time looking for it and figured I or she would find it eventually, dead or alive. So I went to bed later that night with it loose somewhere. I probably had forgotten about it by then.

I think I heard my cat playing around in the middle of the night, so perhaps it was running around and she found it again. If it was small enough, I wonder if she could have swallowed it last night and then choked while trying to regurgitate it this morning? Or if it could have done some damage to her insides as she tried to eat it?

I won't blame myself for letting her outside. She enjoyed that so much and it made me so happy watching her have fun. But I should have realized that the lizard would be a choking hazard, and made a better effort to find it once she brought it inside. And I should have realized what was going on sooner this morning which could have saved her life.

If I find the lizard in the bedroom I guess I will feel a little better. I mean, I guess she could have choked on food or ate something else bad. But I would still feel that I could have handled things better this morning.

Garden Update II

2009-10-25T20:11:00.005-05:00

Where we last left off in July, my garden was going crazy growing cucumber and watermelon plants. They bloomed, but they never produced any fruit. Below is a picture of the cucumber plants in July, they ended up climbing all the way up the trellis, but all died a month later. You can also see in the lower left some of the pepper plants that I started indoors and transplanted outside.

I previously mentioned that the pepper plant I bought from Home Depot had flowered but also did not produce any fruit. When the cucumber and watermelon plants died, I basically gave up for this season.

I haven't checked on the plants at all over the past few months and figured everything would eventually die. This afternoon I allowed my cat to have some supervised outdoor time in the backyard, and during this I noticed that the pepper plants not only have not died, they have produced some peppers! The Home Depot plant has two small bell peppers. Another bell pepper plant has a smaller bell pepper growing, and a jalapeno plant has one full sized jalapeno as well as a couple smaller ones. So, after only FIVE months (the packages say it should only take 70 days), I may have produced some edible vegetables!

The bell peppers
The jalapeno

Now I just need to decide when to pick and eat 'em. And dig up the carrots to see how they are doing.

Going to ACL festival today!

2009-10-02T19:04:00.001-05:00

Going to ACL Festival today!

2009-10-02T09:33:00.000-05:00

Franken Wins

2009-07-01T01:17:00.000-05:00

I guess I can finally go to sleep, since the November election appears to be over now. Though maybe I should wait until Al takes office, just to be sure.

Good Kitty

2009-06-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

I picked up the cat after work on Monday. She is underweight and had a cough, and wasn't eating much, so I was worried. I didn't sleep well the first night, but that's mostly because I figured I left something dangerous lying around in the house that she was going to get into.

I think she just needs a little time to recover from being at the shelter. She started eating all of her food yesterday and her cough has gone away. The shelter tells everyone to take their new pets to a vet during the first few weeks regardless of their condition, so I took her in this morning. The vet said that everything looks great except for being a little underweight. He was particularly impressed with her confidence. She's not shy and once she's scoped out a place makes herself at home. When she was being poked and prodded she made her displeasure known by meowing (not hissing), but didn't fight to get away.

I have to think of giving her a new name. Her shelter given name is "Sassy" but that doesn't sound like a name a guy would give his cat.

Cat

2009-06-13T18:38:00.003-05:00

I think I may get a cat soon (tomorrow?). Maybe this one:

Garden Update

2009-06-13T07:00:00.001-05:00

I guess it's been five or six weeks since I decided to start a vegetable garden. Well, not everything is dead yet, but it's well on its way. You may remember the picture of the seedlings I started indoors, and how I didn't feel like thinning them out. I've learned my lesson now. A few weeks ago, they all started dying off, so I did two things. I took the stronger looking ones and planted them in the outdoor garden. The rest, I thinned out so that there was only one or two seedlings per pot. Two weeks later, the ones I put in the outdoor garden are barely hanging on (but still alive), and everything that I left inside is dead.

One nice thing is that the plants I planted outdoors initially due to laziness are still alive. There are a ton of cucumber plants and many watermelon plants. I can't tell what's going on with the carrots. I'm not optimistic, because while they are half a foot tall now, they haven't grown hardly at all in the last few weeks. But at least there's still something green.

The pepper plant I bought is still alive, and did something very exciting the other day as it produced a flower. But, the very next day the pedals had fallen off and what's left doesn't look like it's going to turn into a pepper.

Like I said earlier, I'm glad anything grew at all, and didn't put much effort into it. I have enjoyed it though and am a little embarrassed at how much time I've spent looking at the plants after I get home from work. Even if it doesn't work out this season, I'm thinking I will try harder next year.

Trivia

2009-06-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

I somewhat randomly joined up with the old trivia team a week last Wednesday. I just felt the urge to go, and when I showed up the whole old team was there. Everyone had quit some time ago and only one of us was still going on a regular basis, but this night everyone was there. Weird! I wasn't much help at all, but we did manage to kick serious ass, winning both the first round by a few points and the second round by over ten. The beer prices had annoyingly gone up since I played their last, but our $110 in winnings was enough to cover everyone's tab, so I was happy. I went back this last Wednesday but we got humbled... severely.

Storm

2009-06-11T23:05:00.000-05:00

I'm writing a blog post finally because I've got nothing better to do. The power is out due to a thunderstorm so I can't waste my time on all that stimulating educational TV I watch every night. I can't do the other needed stuff around the house because it's dark. So, I am typing away on the laptop.

Right before the power went out, I was checking Twitter to see what people had to say about the weather. I've gotta say, even though I've been on Twitter since 2007, it's only recently that it's become, unexpectedly, useful. I find out things first through twitter than anywhere else now, it seems. For instance, a few weekends ago, I found out about the twenty something inning UT game (only at 18 when I found out) through Twitter and paid attention to it the rest of the night. Now I browse local tweets all the time to see what everyone's up to around here. Tonight, right before the power went out, I used it to check where the tornadoes were. Apparently, I'm being surrounded by them (and hail), but the wind at my house really hasn't picked up and I haven't heard any hail, so I guess it missed me.

I have AT&T U-verse for TV & Internet. The wireless modem plugs into the wall via RJ-11, but needs AC power. I thought it might be interesting to see if I could get online while the power was out, so I ran an extention cord from the modem to the AC inverter in the car. That powered up the modem, but AT&T must also go out in a power outage because it wouldn't connect. It was a fun exercise though. I think I'll try it again right now... nope, still out! No life line for me!

Well, the storm has passed now but the power is still out. I guess I'll work on a few more entries so you'll have something to read for a couple of days.

The Idiot Gardener

2009-05-19T23:23:00.007-05:00

Huh? Yeah, somehow I've started a vegetable garden. I figured I'd try to do it with as little effort as possible, and be happy if anything green at all came out of the ground, nevermind the vegetables. Since I have little grass in the backyard, I figured a minimal effort try would be just to dig a few holes, throw in a few seeds, and see what happens.

I ended up putting in a little more effort, but not a whole lot. I cleared whatever was on top of a patch of my backyard (dead grass I think), and ended up digging somewhere between 6 inches and a foot to loosen up the soil. I found both my old phone line and my cable line while I was doing this (good thing I use neither and I know where my U-verse line is buried). I picked seed types that didn't have to be "started indoors" (too much work!) and planted three rows of watermelon, carrots, and cucumbers. After two weeks, I've got a ton of cucumbers coming up (middle of picture), a few watermelon plants (bottom of picture), and no carrots:

But then I really wanted peppers and started seeds indoors anyways. With way too many seeds for the starter thing that I bought, I ended up putting too many seeds per pot. Being pessimistic about the whole process, I didn't expect anything to happen, but now I have pots with up to eight plants sprouting. I know I need to cut back all the extras and just keep one or they'll all die, but I'm tempted to just keep the whole bunch and see what happens. I don't want to kill any of them yet! Besides, I do have some pots with just one or two sprouts and those should survive if the others die off. How many do I really need anyway? These plants are bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and tomatoes:

I also bought one pepper plant from Home Depot and planted it. It hasn't died in the week or two since I got it, so I'm happy about that.

I really won't be disappointed with how this turns out. I'm seeing green stuff everywhere so this has already exceeded my expectations.

Hot to Trot 5K

2009-05-19T23:03:00.001-05:00

The Hot to Trot 5K was a week and a half ago, and was the last race of the series. That Saturday was miserable, similar to the Round-Up 10K: humid. I expected as much and the only goal I set was just not to walk. I was able to do so, but i had my doubts during the race. Since I'd been sick, I hadn't ran much the week before the race, though I did run pretty hard at the full moon hash the night before. I ran the Hot to Trot a few years ago when it started at the Hula Hut, but this one was held at the Chuy's near William Cannon (one I didn't even know existed). I liked the course which is partly why I was able to run the whole way. It didn't have much change in elevation, but I could handle the gradual uphill the first mile and needed the gradual downhill the second mile. I maintained an astonishingly steady pace at 7:49/M +/- 4 sec, with a little kick the last 0.1 mile, finishing in 24:29.

I'm happy with how I did. Like I said, I just didn't want to stop, and I can't handle that kind of weather. It was good to finish at a faster than training run pace and I wasn't shocked or disappointed that I couldn't match my previous 5Ks. Unfortunately I haven't been running or back to the gym since, though it will happen soon.

The finisher party is in another week or two and it should be fun talking to others about the various races in this series. I'll be getting a finisher t-shirt, but no word yet if beer will be available!

Texas Round-Up 10K

2009-05-06T16:24:00.000-05:00

I've been doing a lot of blog composing in my head but nothing ever makes it online. It appears one person is curious with how I did at the Texas Round-Up 10K. Well, it sucked. It really sucked. It was the weather. It wasn't too hot, but it was plenty humid which just kills my running ability. I kept things at a good pace the first two miles, somewhere in the 7-8 min/mile pace I imagine, but then I had to stop and walked a bit. After that, it was walk/run/water stop the rest of the race. My 5K time was at 26:20, so about what I'd been doing for my training runs. The second 5K was a lot slower and I ended up finishing in 58:05. To add insult to injury, the Governor beat me by just 22 seconds! I liked the course. Some of it was very familiar (the drag, Dean Keaton, Capitol/DT area), but it was nice change of pace to run through the east side.

My Garmin was dead, which seems to happen sometimes when I leave it on the charger too long. This might be a blessing in disguise because at least now I can't go back and review how much walking I did. The two guys right behind me in the ARC sprint series rankings moved ahead of me. Now I am over two minutes behind the next guy, and the guy after me is 20+ minutes behind me. So, while I don't have to worry about falling down in the rankings again, with only one 5K left to go I don't think I'll be improving my ranking either.

Overall the sprint series has been good for me. I mean, I wouldn't have run any of these races except the Capitol 10K otherwise. I'm glad the first three races went so well, and I'm not going to beat myself up too bad over this last 10K or the next race. Running in the humidity is just something I can't do very fast. I doubt I'll do well at the next 5K this Saturday, not just because the weather, but I was sick for most of last week and haven't recovered any exercise routine yet. Hopefully I will run a little bit today and tomorrow in preparation. After that comes the sprint series party, where I'll get a free gift and hopefully some free beer too (wishful thinking)!

Texas Round-Up 10K Goal

2009-04-24T23:55:00.000-05:00

The ARC Sprint Series continues tomorrow morning with the Texas Round-Up 10K. I'm really not looking forward to it since my days of easily beating my previous time are over. Now that I have a decent 10K time, it's not automatic. My runs lately haven't been great. I've only been running 5K every other day or so, and while it feels like I'm running at a decent pace I've only been doing it in 25 or 26 minutes. So, my only chance of beating my previous 10K of 48:45 is if that race-factor that somehow makes me run a few minutes faster is in effect.

The course is at least more interesting for a downtown course. This one starts and ends just north of the Capitol and actually dares to travel east of I-35 for a bit.

I guess I'll be happy with (and therefore my goal is) 50 minutes tomorrow. Eh... I'll be happy with 51.

Coming Back Home

2009-04-12T19:05:00.000-05:00

Huh.. I've been traveling through San Jose airport for how long and I'm just noticing now that they have free wifi? Ah well. This could be the last time here in awhile, though the door is slightly open for more work related trips.

My cold hasn't gone away and affected my weekend significantly enough that I didn't go out last night. I did check out the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown yesterday afternoon, watching a cover band, a Japanese traditional dance group, and a Kendo demonstration. After that I walked up to Alamo Square to watch the dogs play, but when I went back to my hotel at 7:00 I didn't end up going out again. I'd been suffering from a headache all day so I stayed in. I'm trying not to beat myself up over this, I mean I probably would've just felt worse right?

Friday night I did go out to the Bottom of the Hill, one of the music clubs I've been meaning to check out. The band playing when I arrived was the Hormones, which was an all female Ramones tribute band. After that was a heavy metal-ish band that wasn't too bad, and the last group was really talented (if only I could remember what they were playing). I did take a few notes on my phone, maybe I will dig them up later.

My flight is at 6 pm which means I won't be home til sometime after midnight. Tomorrow I'm back to my old routine, or maybe I can find a new one.

I hope you are having a nice Easter Sunday.

Unknown Song

2009-04-09T10:33:00.000-05:00

I'm still recovering from a cold and haven't done much after work this week. Last night I did manage to get in a 4-5 mile run through Guadalupe River Park and back on Santa Clara/The Alameda, and go to dinner with my dad.

A few nights ago I was debating whether to walk down to the Safeway and pick up some stuff. I'm glad I did, because they played a song on their PA system that made me think. "Oh, I haven't heard this song in a long time." "I've heard this song a million times." "What is the name of this song? When did it even come out? I have no idea who this is!" I was surprised I had no idea on any of this since the song seemed so familiar to me. Anyway, I looked it up and it's a song from 1983 from one of the former members of Traffic (not Steve Winwood, but he makes an appearance in the video). Jim Capaldi.

Capitol 10K

2009-04-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

I flew back after Cali week 1 to continue the sprint series with the Capitol 10K. I was more worried about this race than the previous two. My workout schedule had been disrupted by my week in Santa Clara, and I was still struggling to even run 6 miles continuously after getting used to the 5K distance and pace for races and training runs. Thankfully it was the perfect temperature the Thursday before the race and I was able to do 6.25 miles continuously from Santa Clara to downtown San Jose and back in something like 56 minutes. So, I knew I should be able to complete a 10K without stopping, at least.

I didn't post my goal this time, but if I remember correctly I originally thought 50 minutes was a good goal, then revised it to 55 minutes. I've done the Capitol 10K twice before, finishing a minute or two over an hour the first time and a minute or two less than an hour the last time. Those races I stopped at multiple water stops the second half of the race, and had to walk part of the way up the 15th St hill between miles 2 and 3. I figured I could shave some time off this year if I didn't stop for water and didn't walk, and figured if my pace was about the same, somewhere between 50-55 minutes was doable.

I went to Mark's party early Saturday night (happy birthday), and didn't stay out late hoping to rest up for the race. I fell asleep early (before 10), and as is becoming routine woke up around 1 am unable to get back asleep due to race anxiety and fear of oversleeping. So, when the race started at 8:45 am, I had already been awake for over seven hours.

The weather during the race was almost perfect. Perfect temperature (50F?) and dry, a 180 from the previous years which were either warmer or muggier. The only issue was that it was too sunny which made it hard to see running the second eastern facing half of the race. This 10K is really large, so if you're not right up front the first mile is going to be slow since there are so many slow idiots that line up too close to the start line. It was probably a good thing that I was held back because while the first mile felt like forever, I finished it in 8:30 which is faster than I thought it was and probably the right speed for me for the first mile. The second mile I was able to pick up and finished at a total time of around 16 minutes. The third mile is the one I usually end up walking on, and while I didn't do the hill very fast, I did manage to do it without stopping, so things were looking good at this point. I wasn't certain I would be able to finish without stopping, though.

My 5K split time was 24:46, a typical time for a training run and way slower than the two 5K races. That made sense. I knew I had to run slower to be able to do it twice. I started wondering if 50 minutes was possible but didn't think too much of it since I figured I'd slow down on the second half.

Well, I kept running, and I kept running faster. The last three miles were around 7:30-7:40 miles. I got a boost when I hit 5 miles and saw I was at 39:10, which meant my Turkey Trot goal of 40 minutes for 5 miles from last fall wasn't as ridiculous as I thought after my dismal finish at that race. I ended the 10K with a time of 48:45, less than an 8 minute mile average. That's my 10K PR, besting my previous Capitol 10K by 10 minutes plus.

Also, I was the only runner in my age bracket to climb a place (from 7th to 6th of 11) in sprint series cumulative time. With #5 at four minutes ahead of me and #7 at two minutes behind me, I'm guessing I won't be changing places after the next two races. One more 10K and one more 5K to go.

SXSW 2009

2009-04-07T22:55:00.001-05:00

Yeah, haven't felt like saying much lately. I'm on my third and final week in Cali, not really missing home but not dying to stay here any longer either.

My last post was right before SXSW. This year wasn't as good as last year, and I got burned a couple of times by bands/clubs that were late. Everything I saw last year was on time so I was really surprised by this. Taking the days off of work and trying to stay all night didn't work out so well, as I developed a headache by 8:00 a couple of nights and ended up going home early. The free drinks during the day weren't as alluring as I'd imagined. A few places you would have to show up right at noon to get the freebies, and I wasn't motivated to show up that early. Still, SXSW had its redeeming moments, including Louris/Olson at SXSJ (not officially SXSW, and free BTW), members of the Bar-Kays at the Continental Club, and some fun Spanish and Japanese bands at Opal Divine's. I'll have to think hard about how to handle next year. Just the day w/no wristband or just the night w/wristband is probably the way to go--not both.

On Vacaction

2009-03-17T23:41:00.000-05:00

It seems that I wasn't the only one on Sunday that could've set a legit PR, even the winners might have done so. Article here.

I'm on vacation for the rest of the week to take full advantage of South by Southwest. I bought a wristband for the night shows like this year, but this will be the first time I'm down there during the day to take advantage of the free shows and free beer.

I didn't think to download the mp3 torrents of a song by each band until last night. I listened to some today and have picked out a few bands I'm interested in. Of course all the band names begin with an "A" or "B," so I haven't got very far. So much for that idea. At least I will be happy with having the mp3 library on me tomorrow, so if a particular write-up or band name/location catches my eye, I can listen to their song to help me decide if I want to check them out.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has the right idea about SXSW. It seems that a lot of people are all about trying to see the big name bands, which is difficult to do at SXSW. If that's what you want, you're better off going to ACL or just buying a ticket to a regular show. The people on the radio podcasts I've listened to (Sound Opinions, Texas Music Matters, All Songs Considered) all have the right idea, which is trying to discover the next big thing while they're still unknown. For me, it's not even about that--I don't care if a band gets famous so I can brag about seeing them when they were unknown. I just want to listen to some new music I enjoy, and no matter what my tastes are, I should be able to find plenty of it this week.

Get Your Rear in Gear 5K

2009-03-15T11:30:00.001-05:00

Hmmm, my overall reaction to this morning's 5K? Frustration, disappointment, I guess--but not in myself! I ran great! I didn't think the great weather conditions of the Daisy 5K would repeat, but it was very close--it was just as chilly (50F?), and no wind. It rained right before start time, so the course was wet, but that wasn't too big a deal. The course was easier than the Daisy, only one minor hill. Still, I had a hard time thinking I would do as well as I did at the Daisy 5K.

I knew I ran the first mile too fast and would get progressively slower, but I'm having a hard time convincing myself to hold back at all. I just can't see myself holding back and trying to run faster later in the race and actually finishing faster. So, I had 6:42 the first mile--still way faster than I expected. I started slowing down, 7:10 the second mile, no big deal. The third mile featured the short uphill, which brought my breathing to one every three steps for the rest of the race. I was starting to struggle.

Now was when I suspected something is wrong. My Garmin has me below 20 minutes and the finish line is in sight! I cross the finish at 20:34, blowing away any previous 5K time in my life. I should be ecstatic at this point, but then I look at the Garmin again and see that the course was only 2.94 miles long! That's about 95% of a 5K. How can I count this? I don't expect race logistics to be perfect, but if there's one thing I insist they get right is that a 5K race should be 5K long! In the age of GPS, there's really no excuse for this. It's really frustrating in that if I extrapolate my 7:18 pace over the last .94 miles, I would've finished in 21:56, which would have been a all-time PR (better than my 22:08 in HS). But because the course was short, I can't count it.

The next two races in the series are 10Ks, and the last race is a 5K in May. I'm sure it'll be a bit warmer then, so it'll be that much harder to improve my 5K time. For now, I have to switch gears and figure out how fast I can run a 10K.

Culvers 5K

2009-03-12T21:22:00.000-05:00

I decided to end my 5K tonight at Culver's. They noticed my US Navy sweatshirt and gave me a military discount on my burger basket! I think they're beginning to recognize me. I can't imagine too many people run there.

I'm not sure what to plan for on Sunday. My training 5Ks have been 24-25 minutes long. Tuesday I did two miles in 15 minutes but was wiped out the last mile. Tonight I had 24:30. Seeing as how I did it in 25 minutes just prior to the Daisy 5K, I guess my goal should be to beat the Daisy 5K time. So many factors though, and the Daisy 5K had just about the ideal circumstances.

CNET

2009-03-12T00:11:00.001-05:00

Thirteen or so years ago I started frequenting a website to research recommendations for consumer electronics. I bought my first PC based on their pick. I believe it was called ZDnet at the time, but has since evolved to CNET. A few years ago, I started listening to a podcast they put out that discussed tech news and products. It was shortly before the release of the iPhone, so most of their discussions centered around that product. It wasn't so much that I was interested in consumer electronics that I was listening, but I thought it a good way to familiarize myself with the San Francisco tech community as I was going to be out there for work for a bit.

I stopped listening to that podcast some time ago, but upon realizing I was going to head back out to SF in a few weeks, I started listening to that podcast and a few other cnet podcasts a few weeks ago. My favorite at the moment is "the 404" which seems to be less about tech, but more about the hosts making fun of each other, and poop jokes. And it's recorded in New York, so that doesn't make sense either.

Last week I made a comment about my failing eyesight on their MP3 podcast blog, and they mentioned my comment on their podcast this week. So if you want to hear what PlaysByEar has to say about headphones, check that out.

Yard

2009-03-06T21:06:00.000-06:00

I didn't expect this to happen so soon, but I'm beginning to care about how my yard looks. A few weeks ago I bought my first yard tools--a hedge trimmer and a rake. I have a hedge that follows the sidewalk to my front door. Last week I tried to make it look square, but it needs a little bit of work. Next to my laptop right now is a wad of grass I pulled out of the front yard, and I've been trying to figure out what kind of grass it is online without much luck. It might be bermuda grass, or fescue. It's definitely not St Augustine which I think is what all my neighbors have. Now its long enough now that I need to mow it. I'm seriously considering buying a corded electric mower, even though I have no experience with that type. I just like the idea of not having to deal with gas or oil, and I guess it's better for the environment and quieter, too. And, it will feel like I'm vacuuming the lawn. Not that I like vacuuming, but it I think it will feel odd enough doing it that I might like the weirdness of it. I need to take care of it this weekend or next, because I'll be out of town or have little time to spare for the month after that.

My backyard has very little grass growing at all. That means the options for what to do with it are pretty much limitless. It's all fenced in, so I could do nothing at all and no one would know the difference. A garden could be cool, though. A few weeks back I raked up a bunch (but not all) of the dead leaves and put them into five big lawn refuse bags, but I haven't put them out for the garbage man yet. I guess I'm considering a compost pile, too! I've read up a little bit on it, and I need to find more green stuff to mix in with the dead leaves and get an enclosure that can breathe. But, no rush here either.

I've got a lot of trees in both yards, and some of them are flowering now or showing leaves. I'm wondering if the others are dead or alive, but maybe they don't act alive until later in the season? Hell if I know, this is all new to me.

Daisy 5K

2009-02-28T13:01:00.001-06:00

I met my goal, easily! I am faster than I thought. My mind must still be calculating at 10K or half marathon pace.

The start was at Rogue Equipment, which was also where the Skirt Chaser 5K started last October. That race had me finishing at 22:15, which led me to believe that either the course was short or the timing was screwed up, because I knew I couldn't be that fast. They didn't have chip timing and I didn't wear my Forerunner at that race, so I don't really didn't count it as an official time. At least I can't be sure. This mornings race, however, I can be sure of.

My chip time was 23:02, and that matched the forerunner output. Mile splits of 7:02, 7:22, 7:38. I'm really happy, but now I'm starting to wonder if I need to be puking across the finish line to know that I gave it my complete effort! The weather this morning was my preferred 50ish degrees, but it was really windy. Also, unlike the Skirt Chase which primarily went west-east, this one went down to the river, so there were some minor hills involved. Maybe the Skirt Chaser was correct? Anyway, I will count this one as my new PR (since high school). This was the first of the five SPRINT series races. I've set the bar pretty high now, but I think there's still room for improvement!

Daisy 5K Goal

2009-02-27T10:34:00.000-06:00

I ran a 5K through my neighborhood last night in 25 minutes (just over an 8 minute mile pace), so that will be my goal for the 5K tomorrow morning.

Fat Tire

2009-02-25T10:37:00.000-06:00

Some of us hashers have a trivia team at the Flying Saucer on Tuesday nights. We've been going for the past month or so, and last week we got first place for the first time ($50 gift certificate). They always have a "fire sale" beer on special, and for the last month that has been New Belgium Fat Tire. Coincidentally, that was the beer I would usually drink when I did trivia at B.D. Riley's a few years back. With each beer, they put your name in for a drawing for a New Belgium commuter bike. Last night they had the drawing...

...and I won!

ARC SPRINT Series

2009-02-24T13:03:00.001-06:00

Since I've been wanting to run shorter races, I am going to try to complete the ARC SPRINT Series. I've only done two of these races before, Chuy's 5K and the Cap 10K. The first 5K is this Saturday. I'll have to go all the way to New Braunfels for the second 5K, and I'll probably have to fly back from California for the Cap 10K.

I've been settling into a pretty good routine of lifting weights MWF and running 5K TR and usually Saturday.

ASNH/HB/Buffy Hash

2009-02-22T21:33:00.000-06:00

Wow, I don't know what to say about the hash today except that it was the best workout I've had in a long while! Cream's GPS had us around 11 miles, but I'm sure I ran farther than he did. It seemed like nobody was solving checks except me and Smut Mutt. Padre got lost immediately, which left me and SM trading off as FRB for the whole trail. Eventually he got lucky on a few zen/short-cuts and I had to accept that I wouldn't be FRB. My new goal was not to get chicked, which wasn't easy because the new chick runner would not let up. But, I did end up beating her, if only by a second or two.

So, I ended up running a half marathon practically, and I ran it hard the whole way. I am realizing I'm capable of more than I thought.

Post

2009-02-10T20:27:00.000-06:00

Ah, not much going on. A week and a half ago I had a pretty good gig, lots of people there, but still didn't have a lot of fun. Last week I told the band I was thinking about quitting and trying something new, but I haven't officially quit yet. The next day I did this flash mob thing, which was silly and fun. I am in "Jennie's video" drinking a vitamin water after a run. The indoor videos are a bit more interesting to watch though. I sent away for Levolor swatches, so I can order vertical blinds for my patio door that match the window blinds. I got ten 2" wood blind swatches and none of them match. Now what do I do?!

Switched

2009-01-29T11:42:00.001-06:00

I'm switched over to U-verse now. Installation was a bit of a pain, but I wasn't all that annoyed by it. Last Thursday the install dude came out and we ran into problems at every step. I can't blame the guy, though. It looked as if the previous owner had try a DIY rewiring of the phone lines and cable and screwed it up, which forced the install dude to have to rewire to the couple of outlets I'll use. Also he noticed some evidence of rodent chewing on the lines so I'll probably do something about that (though this could have happened years ago). After doing that, he had to switch out the modem as the first wasn't working. Internet was up at this point after two or so hours, but the TV was breaking up. After that, five hours were spent switching everything possible, including stuff at the local junction box and the one down the street, and bypassing all the wiring in the house. I didn't mind so much because I really needed a day away from work, and with him working on this all day it forced me to stay busy doing stuff around the house. No luck! The dude was really apologetic and said he'd come back whenever and work on it until it's done. We agreed on Sunday after 4, but found him at the house when I got home from the half marathon on Sunday, and he had gotten the problem solved already. I think he had to run a different line from down the street. I could be really angry about this, but he was really professional and determined the whole time. Marines are like that.

It's yesterday that I'm angry about. I had left my Time warner account open partly just in case uverse didn't work out, but mostly because I needed to make sure all my online stuff tied to the rr account was sorted out. I knew I had to turn in my cable modem so I called to find out when their office closed. Somehow I got into the disconnection process over the phone, which I'd planned on doing face-to-face at the office to avoid what I knew was going to happen. He started up with sales pitch for keeping TWC and I had to cut him off three times with "please proceed with the disconnect thank you." I know he was going to offer me some good deal on cable, but I hate having to threaten to leave to get a better deal. How about you just set your regular price/service to be a competitive to begin with? Besides, I'm already switched and I really like it.

Then after he kept on starting with "I apologize, but..." I had to beg him to stop apologizing and proceed with the disconnect. And somehow after its all done I end up feeling bad for having to do that! I have had no problems with Time Warner before, short of having to switching out a bad cable modem which I don't blame them for, but if they want me back they are going about it the wrong way.

U-verse is great! Now I can watch TPiR in HD!

Third Pill

2009-01-23T15:38:00.000-06:00

I'm on my third antibiotic pill and I'm still not hearing better! And because fluoroquinolones put me at a higher risk of tendinitis and tendon RUPTURE, I feel even less enthused about doing the half marathon this weekend. So, I have an excuse in my back pocket in case I want to bail.

On Drugs

2009-01-21T13:57:00.001-06:00

I was stubborn and didn't go to the doctor until this morning. He couldn't even see my ear drum since my ear canal was so swollen. I'm on some strong antibiotics now which are making me woozy as my head is beginning to return to normal size. At least it doesn't hurt. Hopefully I'll be hearing normally soon...

TV

2009-01-18T19:40:00.001-06:00

I get cable TV (or what should I call it since it's AT&T?) installed late this week, but I've been fascinated by my over-the-air TV viewing habits for the last month. A few of the over-the-air stations have added a second digital channel, which means that I have a total of ??? many channels to choose from (FOX, NBC, CBS, CBS2: Retro TV, ABC, ABC2: Weather, CW, PBS, PBS2: Create, and some fuzzy spanish channel). 8 useful channels for free, not so bad.

I've gravitated to Create and Retro TV. I've ended up watching Rick Steves' Europe, Globetrekker, some knitting show, some interior decorating show, This Old House, and some furniture making show on Create. But I've watched much more on Retro TV. So many forgotten shows, many of which I've never seen: Bachelor Father, Night Gallery, Marcus Welby M.D., Emergency!, the Bold Ones, Ironside, Operation: Petticoat, Wagon Train, Run for your Life. And, some shows I've seen before but have a new perspective on: The A-Team, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, McHale's Navy, Voyagers, Leave it to Beaver, Knight Rider, Battlestar Gallactica, Rockford Files, Buck Rogers. I saw the premier episode of Buck Rogers last weekend--totally bizarre intro, not like the tunnel intro I remember from my youth. Instead, it had a bunch of sexy women rolling all over giant letters that spelled out Buck Rogers, and the theme song actually had lyrics. It was about dreaming, and what is real and what is imaginary, etc. Really strange, not what I remembered at all.

When I get cable* TV, I imagine I'll go back to my old habits of TPiR, The Daily Show, Mythbusters, etc. But being forced to watch all this other stuff, most of which wasn't half bad, hasn't been... half bad.

Boring Saturday

2009-01-17T21:37:00.000-06:00

Hmmm... can't read Babs' blog because Hooters' wi-fi has tagged it as pornographic. I wonder what she's up to?

My ear hasn't been hurting as bad today, but it's still annoyingly plugged. Being in a smoky bar last night was probably not the best idea. I think I will stay home tonight. I got The Party from net-flix today, which I added to my list after becoming curious about that chick Claudine that had the Christmas song I blogged about awhile back.

I'm on my way home from my first trip ever to IKEA. I didn't get the curtains I need badly for my sliding door, but I did buy an entryway rug and 4 $2 rugs for whatever.

Ear Pain!

2009-01-17T00:42:00.000-06:00

I bet my ear infection isn't due to the cedar pollen anymore. I bet it is due to the fact that I decided to start protecting my hearing with ear plugs last week. I bought the foamies and inserted them far into my ear canal so that they wouldn't be noticed. Probably infected my ear that way. Well I guess that serves me right for trying to be responsible about my hearing.

I bought some vinegar tonight to put in my ear, since that's what they prescribed (acetic acid) when I went to the ER a few years ago. I must've done something wrong because my ear didn't hurt at all today but now hurtss like hell, and will completely close off from the outside unless I blow it open. I think I'll see the Doctor on Monday...

Specs!

2009-01-16T23:19:00.000-06:00

Specs is a little bit closer to my new place than the old one. Last night I stopped by, and scored two unexpected awesome six packs! Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale was there, which I didn't think would be anywhere in January. I've had it before, and of course it tastes very much like pumpkin pie.

Also there was a beer I have not had before--Kona Pipeline Porter. Obviously I love all Kona beers because they're made in Hawaii, but this porter is also combined with Hawaiian coffee beans, and coffee porter is on its way to surpassing IPA as my favorite type of beer. The coffee flavor is very noticable, and there is a hint of chocolate. Very, very good. Better than the AJ Porter I'm drinking now. Yes, I'm posting from LJ's. Must be the longest post yet from my phone!

Cedar

2009-01-14T10:53:00.001-06:00

I think I'm being affected by the cedar pollen. It's the right time of year. Thankfully, I'm not affected as bad as some people. My nostrils feel dry and I feel slightly feverish, but no scratchy throat or voice. As a bonus this year, my left ear feels swollen or clogged and I can't hear very well out of it (maybe it's an ear infection).

Monday night I picked up a growler of LJ's AJ Porter. This enabled me to fold and completely organize my clothes closets last night, and not remember doing much of it!

Stuff

2009-01-08T14:46:00.000-06:00

I haven't made it down for more free week since Saturday, when I saw the Jungle Rockers and The Ugly Beats at Emo's. As planned, I took the bus down and back. The bus down was 15 minutes late, so I almost gave up. I was surprised I was only one of three passengers on the 2:10 bus back home, and the only one from 6th street. I thought this service would be more popular. I liked The Jungle Rockers. They were reminding me of CCR a little bit, and a few songs later they played a CCR cover. So I was right about that. Didn't get too wasted, but certainly enough to act like a fool in front of the Ugly Beats again. I stopped at LJ's on the way to the bus. Apparently Nurse Jen bumped her head and had to be taken to the hospital. I hope she's OK! She was on the phone to the bar at bar time so I think she'll be fine. There's been somewhat of an epidemic of people busting their heads open at LJ's. I may have to start wearing a helmet just to be safe. I'm proud of myself for finally picking up some earplugs, so hopefully that will cut down on the hearing damage a little. I may head down tonight.

Sunday I went to the hash for the second week in a row. It was similar to last week's and featured my favorite things: a bar, cold weather, and downtown. I got in another run this week, and will need to do more since I'm going to do the 3M half. My bpm rules completely fell apart during the moving/cleaning process. I may go back to something like it, but I did make it a bit too complicated.

The house is starting to shape up. I need at least one big rug to put in the main room, but I'm having some trouble deciding which half to put my music stuff in and which half to put couch/TV. I've segregated the moving mess to the two unused bedrooms so I don't have to look at it. The kitchen is almost sorted out. All of my storage unit crap fits in the garage and I can still fit my car and motorcycle. More space will open up in a few weeks since when we have bulk collection. The rogue wireless connection is gone now so I have to use work/bars for internet access for the next few weeks.

Free Week

2009-01-03T17:59:00.001-06:00

Last night free week at Emo's started. This, along with ME Television, really got me into local music last year. I admittedly tapered off on that towards the end of the year, but I plan on using Free Week again to get back into it. Last night I ended up enjoying the Sugar Bowl enough that I didn't get downtown until late, and missed the Mad Cowboys completely (WTG Utah, BTW). I went to Emo's, fearing whatever changes they've made because I'd heard rumors of an outdoor stage expansion. I didn't notice anything, or it could also be because I didn't spend more than half a minute in the outdoor stage area. The band playing there was very loud, enough so that I watched them for a few minutes from outside the stage area through a doorway and could hear them fine. I could also see them fine, and they looked pretty dead on stage. So, I went back to the indoor stage and saw the last band, Pataphysics.

I wasn't sure if I'd seen them before, but I recognized the lyrics to their last song so I knew at that point. I was kind of hoping I'd leave not knowing because I thought it would be fun to compare whatever I wrote about them the first time I saw them to this write-up. I'm still going to do that, but this write up might be subconsciously tainted with the knowledge of knowing I've seen them before. They were a five piece, the lead singer wearing a loud shirt and sang/yelled with a wide-eyed strained expression on his face, and sometimes played lead guitar. The beepy-boopy keyboard (Multivox) player looked to be about 14 years old, and made some great beepy-boopy sounds. The bass player had an awesome black beard and sunglasses. I can't quite think of who to compare him to. It was the rhythm guitar players birthday. Drummer was lanky, but solid. They had a female backup singer on stage for two songs--she had an expression on her face kinda conveying that she didn't want to be there. She was standing near me in the audience when she wasn't on stage and also had that same expression. I think she might be the lead singer's girlfriend, since he was calling for "babe" when her second song was up. The music was fun, and they had a strong following in the audience really getting into the music.

I don't know if this is new or not since I wasn't paying much attention last year, but a lot of venues are having free shows this week in addition to Emo's. This includes Mohawk and a lot of the other venues on Red River. It's great that Emo's, Mohawk, Red Eyed Fly (maybe others?) have two stages. If you don't like one band, you can go check out the other one. Of course this doesn't matter so much this week, but when you have to pay a cover its great that you have two shows to choose from.

The Ugly Beats are playing Emo's tonight, so of course I'll be there. I think there will be four bands on each stage, including What Made Milwaukee Famous and a bunch I haven't seen, so I could stay there all night. But, if I get bored I could also wander down the street. I think I'll take the bus downtown so I won't have to hold back. I will have to be somewhat careful though--the last time I took the bus downtown I ended up having to go on a date with a girl I wasn't really attracted to.

Heavily Impaired

2009-01-01T15:20:00.000-06:00

I didn't transfer cable to my new place and decided to switch to Uverse, which won't be installed for another three weeks. That means the only home internet I have is a weak wi-fi signal from an unsecured neighbor. That may explain a lack of posts.

I started my New Year with feelings of paranoia and regret. Ought to be a great year!

What of it?

2008-12-24T21:31:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! I can't say I'm a big fan of Christmas music, especially from whoever is currently trying to cash in on their cover of a classic or their uninspired original. I guess I would prefer to listen to something tried and true, if I had to. However, I may have found my Christmas music cure. Yesterday, I listened to my regular weekly podcast of Sound Opinions. I've loved this show ever since I discovered it half a year ago or so. They discuss music news and review new and old music. Apparently every year they bring in a guy who spends his time searching for obscure Christmas music. This is his tenth year on the show and his twentieth year of compiling Christmas music, and the mix this year is of the best music from his first ten years. You can find it here. It is all quite interesting, but my two favorites are both at the 11 minute mark of Side A and Side B.

"Santa Loves Rock'n'Roll Music" is on Side B, which I've just now decided is my second favorite. I love what I think is the crazy wah-wah on the clav and the chorus of voices that sound like they have frogs in their throats. And the weak clean lead guitar that tried to convey the "Rock'n'Roll" sound!

My favorite is "Without You". This sounds like a rip-off of "Windy" by The Association, but I love it. The fuzz guitar, quick original I-IV-V switch during the verses, and drums sold me. When I heard the French accent I had to learn more about the singer, Claudine Longet. I can't believe I've never heard of her before! She was married to Andy Williams (who I only know because of his Christmas album we would play when I was young). After her divorce, she allegedly shot and killed her boyfriend while coked up, but only served 30 days for it because the police botched the investigation. Then her defense attorney left his wife and married her! She must've been irresistible. Check out her Wikipedia entry.

Wisconsin vs. Texas

2008-12-23T23:12:00.001-06:00

I was hoping for a repeat of last year, which had an awesome last second three pointer for the win by Wisconsin which I saw in person, but it didn't happen. This time I was at LJ's. I almost left to go The Tavern in case I had the occasion to give Lance a hard time on losing a bet on the game, but am glad I didn't in retrospect since Wisconsin lost and I could drown my sorrows that much quicker.

Home

2008-12-22T12:10:00.003-06:00

Since you're all so curious, here are a few pictures of my home:

Yay Internet

2008-12-18T23:31:00.002-06:00

Finally, the Internet has a useful purpose: watching TV shows. My TV and TiVo have been disconnected for about a week now, which means I haven't been able to watch my regular shows. I was tipped off a few days ago (thanks J) about a once-in-a-lifetime event that happened on TPIR, and I was kicking myself for missing it. Thankfully, you can watch full episodes of TPIR right here on CBS! I watched the episode on my laptop as I cleaned my old apartment bathroom. Knowing how it turned out, I made a guess as I watched the show as to who the big winner was. I was right! It was creepy what happened. The odds are just outrageous. Also interesting that they had to stop taping because they suspected foul play. I suspect the guy is someone who traveled back in time with knowledge of what the showcase price was. I'd also suspect the guy was me, except that I think he's too tall.

Still Moving

2008-12-18T11:36:00.000-06:00

Ah, lack of updates. This week has been rough. So far this week everyday I have been going straight from work to moving the remainder of stuff from my apartment to my house. Last week on Tuesday I rented a U-haul and moved all the big stuff (in the snow no less), but still had a bunch of small stuff to go. I was away last weekend so a lot of the work had to wait 'til this week. I own a dolly but for some reason I decided it was too much of a PITA to use on the stairs and thus I've been carrying boxes down two flights of stairs one at a time. After three car trips per night this week, I finally finished that last night. Fortunately, I'm only moving two miles away so the drive isn't that long, but I've been goofing off enough in between trips that I've had to keep at it all night. I've cleaned most of the apartment kitchen except for the fridge, but still have the bathroom and carpets to go. I was supposed to be completely out today, but extended to Saturday. It'll be good to be done and back to my routine of hanging out at LJ's and watching TPIR. I'm not headed north for Christmas this year, but my family understands that I'd rather concentrate on using that vacation time to get things straightened up at the house.

First Night

2008-12-11T10:52:00.001-06:00

I slept at the house for the first time last night. It was contingent on my getting the furnace working, which I'd never had running. We didn't test during the inspection because the inspector said it looked so old that I might prefer to get an expert in to look at it rather than have him bill me for more time. I lit the pilot and it worked fine, though I made sure to have a working CO detector next to me in case there were ventilation issues. This morning I realized I didn't fire up the water heater either, so I washed my hair in cold water, lit the pilot before leaving, and should have a hot shower tomorrow. It was great getting into my car 10 seconds after locking the door rather than the 30s or more I'm used to at the apartment. I'm getting to know Home Depot well as I've been there three times already to buy door locks, felt pads, fire extinguisher, CO detector, garage door opener, etc.

And Foreclosure Home Ownership

2008-12-08T21:56:00.000-06:00

I don't know what happened, but after I posted that entry last Tuesday my luck finally changed. Bam! Wednesday they reported that the title was clear, and set today as the closing date. I didn't have to extend the contract, and HUD even ended up paying for more costs than we expected. Closing today was... strange... not just to me, but to my realtor as well, but, that's HUD for ya again. Also, we almost managed to flood the house this morning, but we were all lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. I just got back from moving some stuff over and the place has somehow managed to not burn down, collapse, or otherwise cease to exist. I guess I own a home.

Bachelor Party Shopping at Wal-Mart

2008-12-05T21:36:00.003-06:00

There is more to the story as far as the entire wedding situation goes, but I'll limit this entry to the events of tonight. More on the rest later!

Around 5:30 pm today, I realized that I was going to go to a bachelor party (of sorts), and that it would be more entertaining (and feel like something other than just wings at a bar) if someone bought some gag gifts. With advanced notice, I could've gone to a XXX store and bought some really embarrassing stuff, but I could only drive so far and only had so much time, so my only choice was to stop at Wal-mart on the way.

I knew I'd do OK as long as this Wal-mart had a pharmacy, and it did. I let that be my final destination in the store. First, I went to the video section to look for a copy of the Tom Hanks classic film "Bachelor Party." I could either give that to the groom or to the "best man" who quite understandably had no idea what a bachelor party was. They didn't have "Bachelor Party," but they did have "Bachelor Party 2: (some obvious but forgettable sub-title)" so I picked that up. Next I went to the toys section. It took me a minute but eventually I found some handcuffs. I was actually relieved to find them, because its been awhile since I'd been in a toys section and I thought that the simple pretending to be some occupation toys may have been completely replaced by the latest whatever is on TV garbage.

The next item I found was exactly the kind of thing I hoped to find at Wal-mart. I don't know how long ago it was that the department stores starting carrying smart-ass T-shirts, but I figured I'd find something stupid for the groom to wear tonight in that area. I was torn between the "I listen to what my wife is thinking" shirt and the "I look like I'm listening to you but I'm not" shirt when I found the perfect shirt--a stick figurish/traffic signish picture of a bride and groom holding hands, a smile on the bride's face and a frown on the groom's face, groom with a ball and chain attached and a caption below the graphic: "GAME OVER." How perfect is that? And how just like Wal-mart to know that their regular clientèle would love to buy shirts like these.

Finally, I stopped by the pharmacy and picked up three other items... you can probably guess a few of those. I headed to the checkout and was going to be particular about which line to go to, but they were all too long so I headed to the self-checkout and unfortunately had to skip a potential amusing conversation, or so I thought. I scanned all the items, but the last item (the DVD) errored out so an attendant had to come over. She cleared the DVD purchase and I told her what I was up to. She said she normally doesn't pay much attention to what everyone is scanning, but was curious about mine as they were being displayed on her screen, because pharmacy item #2 should really prevent the need for pharmacy item #3. She understood once I told her what I was doing.

When I arrived at the wing place, I instructed the hostess give the groom the shirt when he walked in. Then I revealed the other items after every ten wings or so. There was only five people there for the party (the "best man" wasn't there BTW), and it might've felt like a very normal dinner if it weren't for the gag gifts. Thank you, Wal-mart!

When is the next Cold Front?

2008-12-03T21:37:00.002-06:00

I gotta remember how good my Monday run felt. Nothing beats 50 degrees! Seems slightly cold at first, but feels great running at a good speed in shorts, t-shirt, and a cap. Two 8 minute miles from the apartment to the gym, .5 mile walk and 1 slow 10 minute mile run at the gym, and two 8 minute miles back home.

Renting Doesn't Seem So Bad

2008-12-02T20:41:00.003-06:00

My contract expires December 11, and extending it another half month will cost me up to $375 in extension fees and a bit over $100 for rate lock extension. If I give up now, I'll be out somewhere between $2k and $3k. But, there is no end in sight. No new closing date. The first title company went out of business. I found that out today. That is besides whatever title issues they discovered before they bailed. Everyone has disappointed me through this process. I emailed my realtor today about the contract extension which is due this week. Shouldn't she be on top of that and not need a reminder from ME? I don't think anyone deserves to make any money off this sale. I can't take much more. I'm seriously considering giving up.

By Request

2008-12-01T22:11:00.000-06:00

As I was digging through the piles of crap on my apartment floor in preparation for moving, I finally found this oft requested picture:

Foreclosure Home... Ownership?

2008-11-29T22:21:00.000-06:00

Well, apparently no one has taken the bait to comment on the new blog title. It's not a joke--or is it? Yes, I've been going through the process of buying a foreclosure home. I didn't want to blog about it because I figured the deal could fall apart at any moment. On Tuesday, I was supposed to close, but it didn't happen. I've been really frustrated through the whole process. That's not entirely unexpected. I figured I would have to put my fingers in my ears and yell LALALALALA the whole way to get through this, blindly ignoring all my mistakes and the incompetence of everyone involved in the process. Even after I thought I was about to cross the finish line and nothing else could go wrong, it did and I'm still sitting here without a house.

This entry would've been better if I finished it on Tuesday, when I was really angry, before I diffused that anger by having a good run. I was to the point of considering taking my losses and telling my realtor and lender to take a hike. I still feel that way part of the time, but since I can't blame the latest problem on them I'll do my best to not think about it and hopefully get this thing done this month. I just wish I had some power because it feels like everyone assumes there's no risk of me backing out and therefore doesn't need to care about my situation anymore.

One thing I can blame them on is telling me we were good to go, because when they did, I put in my 30 day notice at the apartment. I probably could see if I could renig on that, but I'm looking forward to getting out of here whether I have a house or not. I could save a bit of money being homeless for awhile, and it might be fun!

I'm trying to decide on Christmas plans, but with this hanging over my head and a gig on December 20 (the day my relatives get together), I may not make it North for Christmas this year.

Turkey Trot Fail

2008-11-29T21:22:00.001-06:00

I knew Thanksgiving morning that it was going to be tough to beat my time last year. Last year, conditions were perfect. It was cold and dry then, and I had to wear a sweatshirt before the race started. This year, that wasn't the case. It wasn't exactly warm, but I was comfortable in shorts and T-shirt. Also, it was sticky. There was fog on the drive down to the start, and you could feel the moisture in the air. I knew that would slow me down. Also, I was still a little weak from Tuesday's awesome run.

I thought I was only a block or so from the start, but somehow I didn't end up crossing the start line until 14 minutes after the race started. I was waiting on a cross street so I didn't actually see what was going on at the start line. Maybe runners were merging in from somewhere else because the waiting runners I eventually joined weren't even inching closer to the start line for ten minutes or so. In any case, I needed to be a lot farther up because most of the people I started with were walkers. I did my best to dodge them, using the sidewalk down 6th street whenever I could, and maintained as fast a pace as I could, which came out to be an 8 minute mile pace. Not bad considering the traffic, but I imagine I expended a bit more energy than an 8 minute mile pace by myself. Keeping up this pace would've broke my time from last year, but after 2 miles I couldn't do it anymore.

I'm not disappointed that I couldn't break my record this year, but I am disappointed that I gave up so completely (significant walking after 2 miles, resulting in a time of 48:35). I may have ended up with a better time had I not set that goal, as I wouldn't have started out as fast and wouldn't have said "screw it" after realizing I couldn't keep it up. I felt great after my five miles on Tuesday, so I'm looking forward to running at a faster pace outdoors this winter.

suck suck suck SUCK!!!!

2008-11-27T11:30:00.000-06:00

Timeline

2008-11-26T15:08:00.001-06:00

11:45 pm Leave LJ's
12:00 am Arrive at HEB
12:20 am Leave HEB with Pumpkin Pie ingredients
12:30 am Arrive at home
12:55 am Complete mixing ingredients for two pies
1:00 am Bake at 475 for 15 min
1:15 am Bake at 350 for 45 min
2:00 am Remove pies from oven
2:05 am Go to bed
8:30 am Arrive at work with one pie
11:00 am Have one slice of pie
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm Have second slice of pie. Pie is gone.
3:10 pm Start feeling very tired
3:15 pm Write blog entry

Turkey Trot Prep

2008-11-25T21:34:00.000-06:00

Tonight I did a practice 5 miler to see if I had any chance of beating my Turkey Trot time from last year, which was 42:07.2 (8:25/M). I might have been in better shape last year, as I think I was still doing the BFL routine regularly. This year I have been running more, but not lifting at all. So I dunno. Last Saturday I ran 5 miles in 41 minutes, but it consisted of a planned 5K at Town Lake, followed by a long break under Mo-Pac, then another 1.9 miles.

Tonight I first looked at my Garmin at 25 minutes and change, which coincidently turned out to be at 5K, and wasn't discouraged. I looked at my watch again around 36 minutes, and I don't remember what the mileage said but after doing the math I almost stopped running because I didn't think I could make it. I must've done the math wrong though, because I finished in 41:27.

So, there's a decent chance I can beat my time on Thursday. The course is different, so who knows what difference that will make. I figure I'll run a little faster than practice since it's a race.

Whoops!

2008-11-25T19:47:00.000-06:00

I forgot to mention that yesterday was the one year anniversary of me beating Brownie at a race!

New BPM Rules

2008-11-20T00:41:00.003-06:00

Dying to know what's up with my BPM plan? I'd been considering dropping it for awhile, as it has served its purpose of getting me running again. Also, I knew I'd have trouble keeping up that last week of October which had two concerts and the BRC. Surprisingly, I made it all the way until the Ben Folds concert (10/25) before I finally went in the hole drinking more beer than miles ran. I disappointed myself a little bit, but I had kept it up for over two months which included the ACL Festival and a four day out of town gig, so I think I did pretty well, considering. My first thought after going negative was to scrap it. Then I thought, well, maybe I should still keep track since I'll have to run even more to erase my deficit. So, I tried that for awhile but still thought maybe I should stop since I seemed to be in a good running routine. I stopped logging every day for a bit, through my trip to SF, but not long enough that I couldn't remember. During the SF weekend I decided I might as well drop it (11/9). SF didn't do all that much damage since I ran alot, but after a few days back home I realized that quitting wasn't a good idea because I didn't run for four days. I reconstructed what had happened and started climbing out of the hole.

One beer per mile has encouraged me to run regularly, but slowly. This is not the routine I really want. I was pretty happy with BFL last year, and I want something more like that. That means I need to incorporate some weight lifting into my equation. I've decided on 3 beers per workout. A workout is somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour at the gym, but it's not constant exursion like running is, so I figure a workout is equivalent to a 5K.

Also, since I am running slowly--much of the time 6 mph (10 min/mile) when I'm on the treadmill (way too slow), I'm putting BPM on a sliding scale with 3/4 beer for 6 mph up to 2 beers for 10 mph (a 6 minute mile, which I can't do). That puts 1 bpm at about 7 mph which is somewhere near my average running pace when running outside in the cold. Also, I need to do more sit-ups so I'm giving myself 1/2 beer for each 100 sit-ups.

I didn't think it was fair to change the rules until I was back at even, so after my 4 miles tonight I finally reached equilibrium. I am now at LJ's, and am comfortably back in the hole, for the time being.

Full Moon Hash

2008-11-16T17:44:00.002-06:00

It's great that I'm in good enough shape now to be an FRB again. That's not without its problems, though. Watch this and check out how that first check kicked my ass:
Austin FMH3

At least I'm checking, unlike most everyone else! It turns out that trail was laid down the median, which I didn't check. There was an angry dog, too, and I would've been his first victim had he been angry enough. I decided to go around the long way. The weather is getting cool which means I can run forever now.

Word Verification

2008-11-12T16:11:00.003-06:00

San Francisco

2008-11-11T22:15:00.000-06:00

Trojan turned me on to a great deal by Jet Blue to San Francisco for the weekend. Why not? After I found a cheap hotel online Friday afternoon, I left work half an hour early to catch my flight. After arriving at SFO, I took BART to downtown and settled in. The hotel was in an old building which was kind of cool--I had a small room, with no obvious form of air conditioning, and a small barely functional heater. The elevator was funky too with a pull outside door and a sliding inside door. I only had enough energy Friday night to make it half a block away to a deli where I had a couple of good beers and a corned beef sandwich which looked small, but had enough beef in it that I couldn't finish it.

I was tired, so I didn't get going until Saturday afternoon. I went to the local Mel's Diner and had Steak & Eggs. B4I was B4me to come to see her but I didn't know if she'd be there when I got there, so I went with the plan I formulated the night before. I walked south past City Hall when my Garmin finally locked on.

Then, I started running south and turned west when I got to lower Haight. I dodged all of the few actual hippies and hordes of wanting-to-see-hippie tourists, and ran into a music store to buy a few souvenir guitar picks. I kept heading west. I was already tired from climbing the hills but then got through Golden Gate park fairly easily. The weather was what I would have expected from San Francisco--overcast, cool, and misty. There was a cool waterfall in the middle of the park, which turned into a stream which I ran beside for half a mile or so.

Waterfall at Golden Gate Park

[I know that short video and picture below are sideways, but I'm too lazy/stupid to fix it.]

I walk/ran all the way to Ocean Beach, where I made sure to touch the Pacific Ocean.
Pacific Ocean at Ocean Beach
Pacific Ocean at Ocean Beach

It's funny, I've been to the bay area for probably ten weeks in the last year or two, but never saw the Pacific Ocean the whole time. I'm struggling to remember the last time I did--probably seven or eight years ago.

Saturday evening I headed to the Marina to say hi to B4I but her bar was packed with USC fans. I had one PBR and left. At this point B4I was thinking I was a creep because she hadn't recognize me after I dropped a couple of hints. I guess I should start posting pictures of myself here. I went down the street with a $2 Miller Lite and $3 Pilsner Urquell special going on, and had a rather enlightening conversation with an old teacher dude as I watched Cal hang in there for a bit but finally lose to USC. B4I had already left work when I got back, so I went back to the hotel with intentions of seeing some music, but the beer specials took hold and I was done.

Thanks to the time difference, I woke up really early, so Sunday I decided to make the best of it by running the Embarcadero 10K.

Start of Embarcadero 10K

It started at the Hyde Street Pier and went along the coast 'til almost AT&T Park before turning around. The race was put on by the Dolphin South End runners club, who holds a race every weekend. Their races are casual (no blocked off streets, no timing chips, a small field, etc). I was kind of worried about screwing myself up by running all dehydrated and hungry, but it went rather well and I still feel fine. There were no water stops so I thought I might have run faster than my last 10K, but I ended up around 55 minutes--still a good time for me. My Garmin's battery was dead so I don't have any specific data. I talked to hasher at the end of the race named Jack the Ripper. The timing didn't work out as far as going to a SF hash, so maybe next time. I was close to the Marina so I made it down to try to say hi again to B4I and was successful this time. I had a nice burger and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had the Packers/Vikings game on, and also had fans of both teams sitting at the bar. B4I was nice enough to call GF to come down and drink with me.

GF and I at bar
B4I at work

They make B4I wear a helmet at work so she doesn't hurt herself.

I then headed to Krissy Field on B4I's recommendation for a few minutes.

Golden Gate Bridge from Krissy Field
Alcatraz from Krissy Field

After that, I went out to eat with my dad and planned to check out some music but failed yet again. I had to get up shortly after 6 the next day so decided to be responsible and crap. Blah.

I enjoyed this short trip, and am now more determined to get up to SF whenever they send me to Santa Clara for work. It's much cooler than Silicon Valley.

Spontaneous Vacation

2008-11-07T15:56:00.000-06:00

It's almost time for my spontaneous vacation. It's not completely spontaneous since I bought my airplane ticket three weeks ago, but the ticket purchase was pretty spontaneous. It still feels spontaneous since I only packed this morning, reserved a hotel a few hours ago, and haven't made any plans for what I'll do when I get there. Spontaneous!

Continued

2008-11-06T23:09:00.002-06:00

Last week was pretty uneventful. I voted Friday evening, but felt kinda crappy so didn't go out Halloween night. I don't remember anything else of consequence that week. But, I still haven't finished blogging about the prior weekend. I left off taking a nap Saturday afternoon after a long band practice. It wasn't easy to motivate to do anything that night, and I wasn't entirely excited about it, but I did have a ticket for Ben Folds at Stubb's so I managed to get down there before he started. I did miss the opening act, though. I haven't bought his latest album, and maybe not even his last, so I didn't know any of his new stuff. I didn't get into any of it that much. I haven't liked hardly any of his stuff since the Rockin' the Suburbs album. Not like Weezer I guess. My wait was rewarded, however, as he brought out a lot of old stuff after the break. Kate, Philosophy, Underground, Fair (with very "Obama" sounding b/u vocals), RTS, Z&S, Annie Waits, the reprise of audience vocals ala Ben Folds Live on Army & Not the Same, etc. Also he gave me an idea for a quick halloween costume that I wore to the hash the next day (see below). Two other hashers that I just met that day actually made the connection of the costume to the show, as they also went.

Wow, a rare political post

2008-11-04T23:29:00.002-06:00

I guess I'm still up cause I'm curious about the Franken/Coleman race. It's close at the moment, but starting to not look good for Franken. Even though I voted for Coleman 6 years ago, I would like to see Franken win so he gets a better appreciation for how tough (I assume) the job is. And I'm generally in favor of celebrity politicians. Ventura was hilarious. Someone remind me when I saw Al Franken on the subway in NYC. I feel special that I did, since it pre-Stuart Smalley (but also post-Al Franken decade, I believe).

Catching Up

2008-11-02T21:12:00.002-06:00

I'm still blogging about events two weeks ago. I stayed home sick the day following the Weezer show--partially cause I stayed out too late but also because I knew was developing a sore throat/flu/cold thing and it felt really bad Tuesday morning. I did actually work a bit from home, though. Wednesday and Thursday I spent freaking out about the upcoming practice on Saturday. We hadn't gotten together for quite a while due to our bass player's new crappy work schedule. We've all been supposedly practicing on our own but I am really losing interest in playing covers. I fear I may not last much longer.

That Friday was the Burnet Road Challenge! It was the fourth year, and ever since I showed up a little late to the first one and ended up with an XL shirt, I spend all day freaking out about getting there in time for the right shirt. No problem this time, though I don't think I'm sold on the wicking shirts. They're not quite as comfortable as regular cotton and they stink BAD after you've ran in them. I was in awesome running shape for this one, so I ran the whole way. Technically I DNFed since I didn't have two beers per stop after the first three stops, but I didn't care--I had to be in some sort of shape the next morning for practice.

The next morning I really exhausted myself. I rode my bicycle from home back to the BRC start to get my car, then had to load/unload the keys/guitar/amp/stand from my apt (four trips down two flights of stairs) before practice at 10am. I was dead by the time practice was done, and didn't play very well. I needed a nap and took a long one that evening.

Weezer

2008-10-30T09:00:00.002-05:00

Monday 10/20 was the Weezer concert, which I'd been looking forward to for a long time. @G and BS were there but in the cheap seats, whereas I had a floor ticket. It is awesome to be so close, especially when ACL-fest (where it's practically impossible to get close) is still fresh in my mind. We met up beforehand and I (probably unwisely) accepted a few mini-bottles from @G to put in my drink. That's hard to resist when beer is $7 each. Unfortunately it also means I don't remember as much of the show as I want to. The set list was a good mix of old and new Weezer. Apparently there's a lot of folks that think the newer Weezer albums are crap, but I don't agree. They might not be as good as the older ones, but I still love 'em. The setlist was a good mix of new and old. "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" is my favorite new song, and the only song that I remember wanting to hear that they didn't play was the new song "Thought I Knew." It was great to hear them play "Susanne," which must only be on the Mallrats soundtrack because I don't own it, but also recognize it. They did play one song I didn't recognize at all and I think it might've been a cover. At one point Rivers rode around the crowd piggyback on a roadie. One thing I'll never forgive myself for is the hootenanny. Fans got to go up on stage and play along to "Island in the Sun" and "Beverly Hills." I don't know the details, but had I done a little research beforehand I imagine I could've been one of those lucky fans. One guy played a great trombone solo during "Beverly Hills." The clarinet solo was not so great. The show may not have been quite as exciting as the first time I saw them three years ago, but I really enjoyed it and I'll see them any chance I get.

Uptown 10K

2008-10-29T21:35:00.000-05:00

Last week was exhausting and I think I'm still paying for it. It started off Sunday the 19th with the IBM Uptown Classic 10K. In a previous entry I mentioned that I might have been stupid to stay out late the night before, but apparently that is the right thing to do because I set a PR of 52:43 (8:29/M), with a negative split 27:33 (8:50)/ 25:09 (8:04). The course was easier and the weather nicer than the Capitol 10Ks I'd done. The IBM-worker band was amusing to watch, which was probably full of talented musicians, but the bass player kept on speeding up and obviously wasn't listening to anything but himself. The whole band didn't sound together at all because of it. I amused myself imagining that the bass player must be some higher level management type that the rest of the band couldn't criticize or they'd risk getting fired. I figured I'd take a nap but I managed to stay up all day doin' useful stuff that I don't remember after so long.

Last Week

2008-10-28T23:20:00.000-05:00

I swear there is just not enough hours in a day, or week, for that matter. I'd like to write about the Weezer concert, the Ben Folds concert, the BRC, the costume hash, and the other stuff I have going on, but it will have to wait some more.

2008-10-20T09:00:00.001-05:00

Braving Beerland

2008-10-19T18:43:00.001-05:00

Against my better judgment--since I was scheduled to run a 10k in the morning and even had to show up extra early since I forgot to pick up my race packet--and since I am still wary of the venue--I went down to Beerland to see the Ugly Beats. There were four bands but went to LJ's during the first two, since I didn't want to be scared off early by any aural terrorism I'd experienced there previously.

I enjoyed Shapes Have Fangs who I've see a bit of before. They feature very reverby vocals, guitars--everything really--but it defines them, in a good way. I really got into their first three or four songs but then I took a bathroom break and none of the rest of the songs were exciting enough to get me back up on the dance floor. Now with very reverby effects going, the sound system is very susceptible to feedback, especially when no one is playing between songs. That's just what the audience was treated to, after the first song, the second song, the third song, and the fourth song. The band was aware that the sound guy was being retarded and tried to start each next song as soon as they could. After the fourth song, the sound guy finally got a clue and started to adjust levels to stop the feedback between songs to keep the audience from bolting.

The Ugly Beats were great as usual, and also as usual I danced more than I expected to. They have plenty of songs now that aren't on their two albums that I recognize from hearing them live so much. I should start taking notes on those songs so I can at least play them in my head. There's the "just don't know" song, the bumblebee song, that new song the drummer wrote. What else am I forgetting that I like? I hope they put out another album soon. Something a little different about this performance were the three go-go dancers on stage. I was a bit puzzled by their outfits because they looked a whole lot more like flappers than go-go dancers to me. I suppose if the band is playing 60's music in the 2000's, the go-go dancers are also allowed to be off by 40 years. I picked one out in particular I wanted to talk with but stupid common sense got the best of me and I left promptly at 2 so I could get up at 6:30 this morning.

Cheap Tickets

2008-10-15T23:31:00.000-05:00

Come see Weezer with me on Monday! Look, really cheap tickets!

Buy Weezer Tickets for 10 Bucks on Thursday

On Thursday, October 16, Weezer/Workforce ticket sale! Starting at 10:15 a.m., tickets are on sale for Weezer's upcoming show at the Erwin Center on Oct. 20. Special price: $10.15 (convenience charges may apply) at Texas Box Office or by calling (512)-477-6060. This is a one day sale and subject to availability.

Senile like Brownie

2008-10-15T21:16:00.000-05:00

Dang I might be getting senile like Brownie because after I packed my running gear this morning I failed to take it to the car. So, I was unable to run at Town Lake. Instead, I got to experience what a normal downtown to uptown commute is during rush hour. I don't know how people do it. Extremely slow stop-n-go traffic the ENTIRE way. I was expecting I-35 to be that way, but not 183 and N Mopac too. I know the wet roads probably had something to do with the slowness, though I'll never get why rain slows everyone down to a snail's pace when only snow should really do that.

Tonight I went for a nice 3.7 mile run through the neighborhood. Luckily I'll also be working in the city tomorrow, so I can still do Town Lake then.

In The City

2008-10-15T12:23:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I've gotten to work in the city. I don't care if it's raining, or hot, or humid--I'm going to run Town Lake after work today!

Weezer in One Week!

2008-10-13T19:54:00.000-05:00

That's it!

Oh wait--double showcase winner on TPIR today!

22:15? Really?

2008-10-12T17:20:00.002-05:00

It can't possibly be true. 22:15? That's just over a seven minute mile pace. Could I really have kept that up for a whole 5K?

The Skirt Chaser 5K was last night at 5 pm, and it was definitely a lot warmer than the 5K last Sunday (where at first I thought I finished at 24:25, but probably mixed up my time because my Forerunner said 25:24). I guess the fact that this course was flat and I was chasing women most of the way might have made me run a little faster, but three minutes faster? The course MUST have been short! Unfortunately I forgot my Forerunner this time so I can't check the distance. Then again, the Forerunner did say that last 5K was 3.4 miles... hmm....

Anyway, since I goofed reading my time last Sunday, I stared at the clock for a good ten seconds to make sure I was reading it correctly. It actually said 25:19, but the men were not allowed to start until 3 minutes into the race. I know I crossed the start line at 3:04. I even confirmed my finish time with a guy from LJ's who was about half a minute in front of me.

For the record, I set my 5K PR in high school CC at Yahara Hills, at a "blistering" 22 minutes and change (something like 22:08) --and I also thought that course must've been short because I never came close to that time before that or since. I was never fast enough to even make the JV team, but it's nice to know that I haven't lost any speed over the last 15+ years.

I had plenty of free beer at the end in celebration. It was also nice to feel relatively popular. I didn't know if I would see anyone there that I knew and I ran into three separate groups of people that I knew--people from the hash, work, and LJ's.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday...

2008-10-11T15:09:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I had a lot of fun Wednesday night. Thursday was a waste. Thankfully my schedule allowed me to keep a low profile at work, and I did manage to get some things done. I went to sleep almost as soon as I got home, though. Yesterday I logged 4 miles after work, but that's about it. Thats OK, because I had to save up for the Skirt Chaser 5K this evening, which has free beer at the end. I can thank Gagger for unwittingly making me aware of this event by having it on her blog schedule, but she has since removed it so I guess she's still having trouble completing a 5K! Or maybe she's avoiding me on purpose now!

Triple Play

2008-10-09T02:35:00.002-05:00

This was one of those days where I have to wonder whether or not the world just might revolve around me. I'll skip the work related stuff (which also revolved around me) and head to the evening. After my 20 min run I headed down to Stubbs. I didn't expect to post about the PUSA show at all, but it was so much more entertaining than I expected that I'll most likely post more details about it tomorrow. I bought the ticket on a hunch, and not only was I not disappointed, but everyone who reads my blog in Austin should regret missing this show. This is play #1.

Play #2 happened when I decided to go to LJ's for a wind down beer. A recognizable face showed up after I was seated at the bar. I couldn't be sure until after he left, but he is a host of the late night talk show on ABC. For once, he looked just like he did on TV, not any shorter or smaller, etc. He stayed at LJ's for a long time and wasn't hounded like he might have been elsewhere. I'm sure he enjoyed his stay because of that. On the one hand I wish I would've talked to him (and gave him sh@t for not being all that funny), but on the other hand I'm glad I behaved my normal Austiny self.

Play #3 happened at Kebablicious. I ran into someone in full "The Onion" garb and had to strike up a conversation. It turns out he is the manager of the Austin edition and talks to AW on an almost daily basis. He is going to fax my name and info to AW tomorrow, and who knows what reaction he'l have after that! I gave the guy all my info and got his 608 cell number too. I can't help but think that there is more 608-512 melding to be done. Maybe I can turn this connection into a part-time music reviewing gig? Because I know what I like and other people should like too!

Even though I ran 2+ miles today, I am completely out of beer now--so it may just be a 10K tomorrow. G'nite!

Dream Mile 5K

2008-10-05T11:00:00.009-05:00

I've been running consistently for almost two months now, and I've been getting anxious to try some races. Last week I signed up for the Vibha Dreammile 5K, which was this morning on campus. The course was a tight loop, so tight in fact that it never even touched what would be considered to be the borders of campus, and part of the course was repeated twice.

It has been a very long time since I've ran a 5K, so I was pretty nervous and didn't sleep well last night. I did the Keep Austin Weird 5K this year, but wearing all the trinkets I could find around the house and stopping for melodica solos with the bands meant I wasn't running that one for time. Perhaps the last one I did was Hot to Trot a few years ago where I finished at 28 minutes. I've been doing practically all of my running on the treadmill since I started running again, and based on my 20 minute interval workout I estimated my achievable 5K time to be somewhere around the 26 minute time frame, though I also knew I would probably run faster in a non-treadmill/racing situation.

I forgot how different a 5K is. Oh yeah, I need to do a warm-up run before the race! I need to start at a running pace, not a slow jog! How must faster can I run to last 3 miles instead of 6? Water stops are for waving at the volunteers, not stopping for water!

I ran a slow half mile before the race, and started the race too fast. I expected I'd do that. It took no time at all for my breathing rate to go to one breath every three steps, which was worrisome because on the treadmill I've been breathing one breath every eight steps mostly, increasing only to one every four when I'm running fast. So that got me wondering if I was going to have to stop and walk for awhile. I didn't, but I slowed to what felt like a slow jog a few times. I also experienced side cramps and damn near threw up at the end of the race. After the race, my muscles felt tighter than they have in a long, long time.

I finished in 24:25, which is great, but it was the award ceremony that surprised me. I didn't win anything, but if I were one month and a day older I would have won second place for my age group and received a medal! I realize this has more to do with the small field rather than my running ability, and that this kind of thing may not happen that often, but it's enough to make me consider getting an award at a race a goal--especially since I think I can still improve my time a bit.

Forerunner confusion: Hmm--it has my time about a minute longer than the clock time. Maybe they didn't start the clock until after everyone crossed the start line? Still, a minute seems a bit long for everyone to get across. Or maybe I remembered my clock time wrong. Was it 25:24, not 24:25? Also, the Forerunner has the course at 3.4 miles, which would make it at least two minutes longer than a 5K. So I guess I have to accept that my result time may be a minute fast or a minute slow. In any case, it was still my fastest 5K in Austin!

TSO at Lambert's

2008-10-04T22:24:00.002-05:00

Last night I went to Lambert's to see The Story Of. The Unfortunate Heads were the opening band. They were OK but they were kind of putting me to sleep. Too quiet, chords and melody were too repetitive. I did enjoy the theremin though, I haven't seen one of those used in a while. I thought it was cool that the restaurant started off the in-between-band music with one of my favorite Ugly Beat songs. I might have enjoyed pointed that out to someone, but she never showed up.

The Story Of set seemed so short! They played a few new songs, but mostly old ones. It was hard for them all to fit on that small stage, but they managed. I still get a kick out of the rhythm section moving around in back of the lead guys. I talked a little bit with a couple, one of which works with the lead singer. I told them that I knew someone who worked with the other singer, but that she was too lame to show up. She even posted on her blog that she was going. I guess I'll stop believing what I read there! Anyway the guy was yelling "Wonderlust" near the end of the set, which is cool cause that's my favorite song too. So I yelled it once or twice as well. They didn't play it, and early in the set they mentioned something about not having their sixth member or something--I believe they were referring to some equipment perhaps because I think the band only has five guys.

After the show I ran into another couple on the street who had gotten lost and were looking for La Zona Rosa. I guided them there and they bought me a beer, but nothing interesting was going on so everyone left soon after that. I haven't been in that particular area in quite some time and it looks a bit different with the remodeled Austin Music Hall and high rise condos.

BPM Update

2008-10-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

I know you're all wondering if I could stick to my beer per mile rule during ACL. Obviously it was a challenge, because what is better than drinking cold beer while sitting in the sun listening to music outside all day? I responsibly saved up 25 by Thursday, which should've been enough for the whole weekend. However, since I took Friday off, I started partying Thursday night. And, going to the Carousel on Saturday cost me a few extra that I didn't plan for. I realized I'd need a few more for Sunday, so that's why I ran 4 miles that morning. That was a good idea anyway, because taking four days off from running is too long. See my updated graph below.

PUSA

2008-10-02T15:33:00.000-05:00

Presidents of the USA ("Lump" "Peaches") and the Black & White Years (good local group) are playing at Stubb's next Wednesday. I'm going! Anyone else want to go?

ACL Sunday

2008-10-02T07:30:00.000-05:00

First I should say that I'm the best music fan ever. After ACL on Saturday, I didn't go home, instead I went to the Carousel to see my favorite Austin band the Ugly Beats. So, that was a late night. The next morning, I ran 4 miles before arriving at ACL around 12:15! I normally show up around 3 or 4, but I had a hunch about Nicole Atkins and the Sea who were playing at 12:30. I'm really glad I made it so early and hope I can do the same for future ACLs. I kind of expected there not to be a big crowd that early, but hadn't really thought how that would translate into a better experience. I saw the last few songs of Sybris, and while I didn't write anything down about the band, it was great to see a band up close without being in a crowd.

Nicole Atkins and the Sea were just awesome. I got to stand in the second row and must say I enjoyed every aspect of that set. The songs were good, the arrangements were clever, and Nicole was very down to earth and funny. And she has quite a powerful voice, full of vibrato. I had seen a video of hers on MEtv, which I recall not liking at first for some reason, but I've completely changed my mind and love it now. I thought there was only one song of hers that I've heard but I actually recognized two. They also did a cool version of the Doors' "Crystal Ship" which highlighted her strong voice. Being the best fan ever, I helped my side of the audience "kick the other side's ass" (her words) in the audience participation portion of the set. I enjoyed the set so much that I also watched her 15 minute set on the Austin Kiddie Limits stage and bought her CD. Unfortunately, I didn't see her at the autograph booth to tell her how awesome we both were.

I caught bits and pieces of band sets after that: The Kills, Neko Case, Blues Traveler, The Racounteurs, Tegan and Sara, but was never close enough to the stage to really enjoy them like that last set. I watched most of Galactic from closer and enjoyed their groove.

Foo Fighters was last, and I wasn't planning on getting anywhere near the stage. I saw them a couple of years ago when they toured with Weezer and thus didn't feel the need to. However, halfway through the set I found an easy way up the left side and managed to get a lot closer than I expected. It was a bit of an angle but I could see Grohl clearly and it wasn't crowded at all. Grohl's behavior on stage is completely opposite of Beck, he just yammers on about whatever, which is fun. They did "Big Me" during their encore, which surprised me because I read somewhere that they never play that one.

That's it, another fun time at ACL. I'll be buying tickets for next year as soon as they are announced!

ACL Saturday

2008-10-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Saturday I made it down to ACL a bit after 3. Even though I reviewed my entries from previous years about transportation, I didn't write why biking can be a bad idea. So I won't make the same mistake next year, here are some notes: if you haven't biked in a year, your butt and back will get sore. Also, it's dangerous to ride in traffic or on the sidewalk while you remember how to ride, you get dirty removing your tires and getting the bike into and out of the car, and you don't really save much time since you have to walk when it gets crowded anyway. On to the show.

I made it down in time to see the last half of the Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings set. Several songs featured great audience participation on stage. The brass section was heavily involved in every song, complete with subtle choreography. The baritone sax sounded great. That deep sax is practically required for a good brass section.
CSS was very good. They're the Brazillian band Apple used in their iPod Touch commercial ("Music is my boyfriend...") The chick lead singer swears and screams a lot, but in a cute funny way. Several members of the band were into dousing the crowd with water from their water botttles. They had one false start, no big deal. No one was bothered by it. They got the crowd to participate by jumping up and down and waving their hands. They also used a keytar for a few songs. You don't see that much. The lead singer was brave enough to get body passed.

John Fogerty didn't disappoint. I'm amazed that he still has the vocal range to sing all of his songs--nothing sounded transposed down. His set consisted almost entirely of his well known songs. One or two from his latest album. He ended it with Fortunate Son and Proud Mary.

Beck was the one act I really wanted to see, thus I skipped the entire Robert Plant/Allison Krauss set to be sure I could get relatively close to the Beck stage. He played all his hits, but I was happy that he played a few songs from the one album I own, Midnite Vultures. He played "Nicotine & Gravy," and surprisingly my favorite Beck song "Mixed Bizness." Surprisingly, because I think the brass is integral to this song. Somehow he was able to get away with performing without brass this time. The last song he played must have been his latest single, because, while I didn't recognize the song, it seemed that everyone around me did. Beck didn't add any to the show in the way of comments or conversation with the audience, but that didn't surprise me. He also finished a good twenty minutes before the end of his allotted time, but that didn't bother me as much as others. I also must mention that the plaid shirt wearing chick guitar player/vocalist was awesome. I need to find someone like that.

ACL Friday

2008-09-27T12:43:00.003-05:00

I took the day off from work on Friday and made it down for ACL early Friday afternoon. I took the downtown shuttle, and was clever enough to skip the wristband redemption line at Republic Square where it would've taken twenty minutes and used the one at Zilker Park that took two minutes.

I could hear Vampire Weekend as I was walking in, but didn't go to that stage to get a closer look. Instead I sat down at the BMI stage in time to see the last few songs by Sunny Sweeney and plan my next move. She's got a video on MEtv now, and she played that song last. I remember seeing her several times at the Poodle Dog Lounge a few years ago and it's cool to see she's going places.

Jamie Lidell is a British guy doing soul music. Most of it was very minimal, with just his vocals and either piano or electric piano on the nord. They had a guy playing two saxes at once. I've never seen that before and it was kinda cool. Also I couldn't tell but it looked like Jamie was humming some bass parts.

Mates of State was just OK. They also have a video out that I've seen a few times. The drummer is as gangly as he appears on the video. This band is a husband/wife duo. That usually bothers me for some reason. Their disco beat was excessive and their vocals were out of tune with each other a bit.

I wasn't close enough to Hot Chip to really hear and enjoy them. That AT&T Blue Room stage is too quiet this year. They used a lot of keyboard effects, and got jammy/repetitive too soon, so I got bored.

Jenny Lewis at the WaMu stage was great. I got close enough to see her facial expressions, and her vocals were amazing. She used what looked to be a real piano, but with only four or so octaves. What do you call that? Also, the cool pedal steel didn't actually have pedals at all. It looked extremely portable. Maybe this is the kind I should get.

David Byrne was much better than I expected. I'd read some reviews of his latest stuff that weren't too great. I didn't expect any, but he did several Talking Heads tunes "Once in a Lifetime" (my favorite) and "Life during Wartime." I really enjoyed watching the weird dancers. They were dressed in white and doing some really silly looking moves. I worked my way up to the side of the stage so I could see better.

I watched a little of the headliners Mars Volta and Manu Chao but didn't get into either, so I left early. Walking back to the car took awhile with pit stops at Uncle Billy's and Shoal Creek Saloon.

There were a few early bands I would've liked to see today (Old 97's and local band Black and White Years), but I got going too late. I'm going to try my bicycle, but I'm in no rush now. I'll get my normal Saturday migas and probably be down there between 3 and 4. Tomorrow I really do want to get there early to see Nicole Atkins, but we'll see. That would be a really long day if I watch the whole Foo Fighters set.

Ike Blew My Sail

2008-09-25T07:30:00.001-05:00

A few years ago, I went to a dedication of a monument composed of the sail from my first submarine (blog entry here). It's located at Seawolf Park in Galveston.

Below is a picture of what's left of Seawolf Park. The sail is at the far right. Ike rotated it almost 90 degrees! The full video is here.

Turning into Trojan?

2008-09-24T07:24:00.000-05:00

I purposely did not run yesterday as I knew my legs needed a day off. Of course, then all I could dream about last night was getting my run in. And then all the stupid complications of having to be in a suit for work and not having everything to change into, etc. And flirting with that nice girl at work, but I digress...

And now I am posting an entry at 7:30 am? Very Trojanesque.

TPIR New Season!

2008-09-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

Monday was the first day of the 37th season of TPIR! They changed the set a little bit, with a box theme on the backdrops and new shiny numbers on the wheel with a slightly different font, I think. Wheel bonuses are now $10,000 and $25,000, up from $5,000 and $10,000, which is nice.

Gas Money is a new car game they premiered. It's not bad, but not that exciting either. At least the guy won it! Lots of cars on this one. The showcase winner had been on TPIR before 34 years ago when she was only a few years old, and she won two cars and two trips with a $50,000 bid on a $52,000 showcase. Good show!

B.P.M.

2008-09-22T22:34:00.000-05:00

I've known for awhile now that when my beer vs. exercise ratio got out of whack (i.e. too much beer, not any exercise) I end up feeling horrible physically and mentally, and also look bad and act (too) grumpy. This rut had been going on too long, so over a month ago I imposed a beer per mile rule on myself, and it has been working well so far. I went from running zero miles per day to 2-3 miles per day immediately, and my beer consumption fell off accordingly. I need to start lifting again and am in danger of settling into too slow a running speed, so I need to figure out how many beers to earn for a weight lifting workout and should probably modify the formula to account for speed. I've been saving up beer for ACL fest this weekend. See below for my progress.

Weather

2008-09-21T20:21:00.000-05:00

The weather last week was delightfully mild. I was actually able to run outside several times. Thursday I ran through neighborhoods near my apartment on a route intended to scope out a few houses for sale. Monday I did the full moon hash in east Austin, on which I was able to maintain FRB status for most of the trail and solved many checks that the lazy hashers couldn't be bothered to. I've been running a helluva lot lately due to a rule I imposed on myself a month or so ago. More on that later.

Shows

2008-09-01T22:48:00.000-05:00

This weekend went quickly. Friday and Saturday were fairly uneventful, while yesterday I ran the Human Race 10K and watched Ben Harper perform in front of the Capitol. LJ's DJ put on some great soul music last night, so I hung around there for awhile last night too.

Our next scheduled gig is opening for Bob Schneider in November, which means I'll have plenty of time to practice. Our four day fair gig starts on Friday, which means that this week is a three day work week and so is next week.

September/October I'll be partying like it's 2005, with Foo Fighters headlining ACL fest and Weezer coming to the Frank Erwin Center. The Weezer/FF concert in 2005 was the best concert I've been to, with the possible exception of Ben Folds Five in 1999. Ben Folds is also coming to Stubb's in October, so I'll probably see what he's been up to as well.

Micron

2008-08-28T23:52:00.001-05:00

Ah, it's nice to have a gig-free three-day weekend. Maybe I can catch up on some stuff I've been neglecting.

I bought the 37 key 2 ft wide beepy boopy Alesis Micron I've seen bands use a few times off of craigslist a few days ago. I'm hoping I can use it instead of my 55 pound 88 key Fusion for the ZZ Top set gigs. The Fusion is overkill for this band, and carrying it up two flights of stairs to my apartment all the time is getting old (as am I).

TPIR Report

2008-08-28T20:17:00.000-05:00

Good Race Game today. She didn't take long to put the first try up, and didn't spend too long consulting the audience (unlike Bonkers the other day which was just frustrating to watch). She was obviously thinking about the prizes and the prices as she got it on the second try.

I'm afraid I may start liking Cover Up less since it's been forever since I've seen anyone play it correctly. When the choice for the first number is 1 or 3, you know 1 is the correct choice. So get the second number wrong on purpose already! Pick the 0! Pick the 4!

More Gigs

2008-08-20T23:36:00.003-05:00

I have been busy with gigs lately--an average of one a week since the beginning of July, and they are often outside of Austin. Tomorrow I have a gig in town, and on Saturday I have a gig in New Mexico which will pay at least four times more than I've ever made on a gig--so it will cover gas money and then some. I'm starting to feel guilty for not being as good a guitar player as I should be. The guilt is finally motivating me to practice more, which is good. It looks like I'll get a little bit of a break after a four day fair near the beginning of September, which will be nice since it'll give me the chance to see some more music again rather than play it.

Don't fret, I have more TPIR updates coming. I missed a few more car games!

Sorry

2008-08-13T20:01:00.001-05:00

I'm so sorry, I missed another car game.

Pass the Buck - I like how you guess the prices on this one. Two items are shown and one price is a dollar less than actual price. So you have to "pass the buck" to that item to win a chance at the car. Its original and I like how the game name is used literally.

I would put this one in between #8 and #9 below.

TPIR Car Games Ranked - UPDATE!!!

2008-08-06T23:32:00.002-05:00

Whoops! Thanks to everyone who noticed I missed some car games on my list. I'm a bit surprised at some of the games I've missed, especially since I've realized that two of them are my favorites! I've made an update below--new games since last entry are underlined.

FYI, if you can't remember the game, visit the COMPLETE Pricing Game Directory for more info.

Here's my ranking of TPIR car games, from favorite to least favorite. Did I miss any? What is your favorite and least favorite?

1. Switcheroo - This one has a couple of aspects I really like: it's timed, and you can win stupid little prizes instead of the car if you get it wrong. It's got wacky music, and a lot of numbers to switch around so there's potential to look really smart or really stupid.

2. Cover Up - What I really like about this one is that there's a strategy you can use to improve your chances of winning, but it's not always obvious to tell that the contestant is using the strategy. The strategy is to purposely get one of the first two numbers wrong to get another round of covering up.

3. One Away - I like the involved process of having to ask the sound effects lady how many number you've got right

4. Money Game - it's fun how they occasionally go "el cheapo" with the last two numbers of the car being relatively low like the first two numbers. I like the reveal on this one, and I always like it when it's possible to win a paltry sum, in this case probably less than $300.

5. Golden Road - the game is really simple (not easy, but simple) still I have to love this one since the car is always super expensive and they rarely play it

6. Any Number - I love how you can end up winning the piggy bank (less than $10!)

7. Spelling Bee - nice design with the hexagon shapes and bee colors. Nice temptation option with $500 per card

8. Ten Chances - the way people can screw up writing the numbers down makes this one fun and difficult to watch at the same time

9. Pocket Change - This is a pretty new game. I like how the price of the car goes up with each wrong guess, but you get a new price card after each right guess. It can get suspenseful adding up the change at the end to see if you've one.

10. Let 'em Roll - good dramatic ending as the dice go down the slide and hopefully land on CAR. Also nice option to take the $

11. 5 Price Tags - the set on this one is so big, it makes the game feel big

12. Hole in One (or Two) - nice that it involves the actual physical skill of putting, but I think the hole is too big and it's too easy now that you get two chances

13. Pathfinder - fun to try and figure out the whole path from the first square before they start

14. More or Less - This game is so new that the verdict is still out. But much like the next entry, nothing about it excites me much.

15. Stack the Deck - this one is pretty new and it's not too long, but nothing about it excites me yet

16. Temptation - either the temptation prizes are too nice or the car isn't nice enough, because I usually think it's crazy to go for the car

17. Dice Game - all numbers in the price of the car are 1-6? boring

18. Three Strikes - used to like this one but it's too hard and can go on for too long

19. Lucky $even - way too hard

20. That's Too Much - too long and too difficult--shouting out "that's too much!" seems like it should be fun, but it's stupid. I fast forward through this one

21. Card Game - this game is so boring and it takes forever. I fast forward through this one

TPIR Car Games Ranked

2008-07-30T23:42:00.002-05:00

Here's my ranking of TPIR car games, from favorite to least favorite. Did I miss any? What is your favorite and least favorite?

1. One Away - I like the involved process of having to ask the sound effects lady how many number you've got right

2. Money Game - it's fun how they occasionally go "el cheapo" with the last two numbers of the car being relatively low like the first two numbers. I like the reveal on this one, and I always like it when it's possible to win a paltry sum, in this case probably less than $300.

3. Golden Road - the game is really simple (not easy, but simple) still I have to love this one since the car is always super expensive and they rarely play it

4. Any Number - I love how you can end up winning the piggy bank (less than $10!)

5. Spelling Bee - nice design with the hexagon shapes and bee colors. Nice temptation option with $500 per card

6. Ten Chances - the way people can screw up writing the numbers down makes this one fun and difficult to watch at the same time

7. Let 'em Roll - good dramatic ending as the dice go down the slide and hopefully land on CAR. Also nice option to take the $

8. 5 Price Tags - the set on this one is so big, it makes the game feel big

9. Hole in One (or Two) - nice that it involves the actual physical skill of putting, but I think the hole is too big and it's too easy now that you get two chances

10. Pathfinder - fun to try and figure out the whole path from the first square before they start

11. Stack the Deck - this one is pretty new and it's not too long, but nothing about it excites me yet

12. Temptation - either the temptation prizes are too nice or the car isn't nice enough, because I usually think it's crazy to go for the car

13. Dice Game - all numbers in the price of the car are 1-6? boring

14. Three Strikes - used to like this one but it's too hard and can go on for too long

15. Lucky $even - way too hard

16. That's Too Much - too long and too difficult--shouting out "that's too much!" seems like it should be fun, but it's stupid. I fast forward through this one

17. Card Game - this game is so boring and it takes forever. I fast forward through this one

Amp

2008-07-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

I bought my first guitar amp on Sunday!

Fender Reissue Blues Deluxe

Previously I had been playing it through my small old keyboard amp, my PA, or through just the club PA, none of which I could hear very well. I was a bit worried that an amp this size might not be powerful enough to compete with our lead guitar player's amp, but now I am glad I went with this size. My first time playing it at home I was afraid to raise the volume about 1.5 (out of 10) for fear of pissing off the neighbors. It sounds great and it should make me a better guitar player--I can hear both my good and bad playing so much better through this thing, so I am able to pay better attention to what I'm doing right and wrong.