The weekend

Today (and last night) have been really nice! Well, for me. Probably not for Chris unfortunately because he has been working :(. His company is hosting a conference in Denver from Thurs till tomorrow. The upside is that it is at a pretty nice hotel and Rachel and I stayed with him last night. First, Rachel and I went out to dinner at Illegal Petes (good food, and margaritas!). Chris met up with us and we had some beers back at the hotel. It was a fun but relaxing evening.

This morning we were all up early. Chris to work, and Rachel and I to go to Veloswap, which is a big convention-type event with a ton of bike-related stuff for sale from any one who has something they want to sell. I've never been before and it was great! I got a Specialized helmet, High Road bib shorts, Chipotle long-sleeve jersey (I love the argyle!), CSC jersey (for Chris), and handle bar grips for $95! Sweet! Rachel got a nice pair of road shoes for $10! It was nice, and we were done by 11:15.

I was feeling good and it has been a gorgeous day, so I went to Cherry Creek Res. for a run. I ran 55 minutes (well, walked for 10 of those)! My longest run since July and I felt pretty good. :) The beauty of where I was running definitely helped. I had some nice views of the mountains, which have a dusting of snow. I ran 3 days this week (about 12 miles), which was my goal, and have felt pretty good for all of them. I am excited about getting back into running! Who knows, maybe I will run tomorrow and make it 4?

I got done running just in time to watch the amazing Georgia-LSU game. I figured that Georgia SHOULD win, but that doesn't always mean anything. But they looked great! I guess the defense could have done better, but other than that I was very impressed. I think they are ready for Florida, which will be an even tougher game. Go Dawgs!

Now I'm hanging out waiting to hear from Chris. Maybe we will have time to eat dinner together. Then I will probably head back to the Fort for the night, although there are a few football games tonight I would like to watch, so maybe I will stay. Who knows. I'm also trying to decide if I should see Obama speak at CSU tomorrow. It will be an all-day affair because of the crowds, but it is also a pretty great opportunity to see the possible future president just a few miles from my house. Hmmm ... I am going to get political for the first time ever on my blog!

I think I am voting for Obama. I was kind of on the fence but you know what pushed me over? I've always been a little leary of McCain because he is old! What if he dies in office?? Seriously. And as I get to know Palin more, I really don't think she could be president. I think it would be a disaster. I think she is probably a fine governor of Alaska, but I can't see her being the ruler of the free world and sitting down with foreign diplomats and using her hockey-mom language with them. So, that is what tipped me. But I like a lot of things about Obama. I like his views of energy and the environment. I like that he wants us out of Iraq sooner than McCain, although I hope he doesn't rush it. I like the idea of universal health care coverage. I don't like McCain's ideas for health care. When was it, 2000, I was hoping McCain would get the republican nomination. I would have voted for him then. But I like Obama. And I don't want Palin to be president. So, there you have it! Politics! Scary! Oh, one last thing, THE SINGLE GREATEST MOMENT in the debates was when Obama and McCain were talking about helping in Darfur. Please, please please, next president, do something to help those people!

ALright that's it. Thanks for stopping by!

Climate Change

I have a little part time job at my department writing content for a website (http://www.cmmap.org/learn/). So far I've written about clouds and climate, and now I'm writing about climate change. I'm posting what I write on my other blog (remember, I am a nerd and have two) http://outwardthought.blogspot.com. I'm interested in feedback. If you are interested in the science behind climate change, you might want to check it out, and let me know what you think!
Thanks :)

"Work"

I haven't had much to do lately. I'm waiting for things to happen so I can make final changes to my thesis and start running a higher resolution GCM on a supercomputer. Today is a prime example of what my life has been like the last few weeks ... very busy & unpredictable at home and just looking for things to keep me busy at work.

6:30 alarm goes off
7:30 wake up, it's 54 degrees in the house!
7:35-8:30 Chris and I planted some bushes and small plants in the backyard. We meant to do this Sunday but instead spent the whole day filling holes in the house/crawl space and cleaning up after some mice who have been visiting us. Turns out Tiger was a great deterrent (way to go buddy!), and we might be getting a new cat sooner than we thought.
8:30-10 Get ready for work, water the plants, ride to work.
10-now (1:15) I'm not sure. Ate breakfast, had some coffee, checked email, bought plane tickets to Georgia for Christmas, talked to my mom, talked to Rachel about Heroes, talked to Nick about the need for a playoff system in college football. Opened a keynote presentation I'm working on - it's for a presentation I'm giving Oct 30. I usually never work that far in advance but I don't really have anything better to do!

Anyway, it's alright, I shouldn't complain about not being busy. It's just weird - especially since there is a lot of stuff going on at home with our landscaping project (we are trying to do some xeriscaping) and the stupid mice. Just wanted to post an update. Thanks for stopping by!

Sun Devil's Revenge

Last weekend Georgia soundly defeated Arizona State in the arid, hot desert. After the game, I added my two cents and kicked a picture of the Sun Devil, Sparky. Ever since then, the little nymph has been out to get me and the entire Bulldog nation, and I have proof.



First I got a fever that got up to 101.6 last Friday. It felt like there was fire in my blood. It was Sparky. The fever came with a bad headache and aches and pains throughout my body. It sucked. It also induced some pretty strange dreams, and the fact that I dreamed about a Gator is further proof that the Sun Devil was at work.

In my dream, I was at David and Julia's wedding (which actually took place almost 3 years ago) and Tim Tebow was there. Yuck. I asked him what he was doing there and he said that some of his gang friends were friends with David. I don't know which was more shocking - the fact that my brother (a very good person) was in a gang or that Tebow (who ... well where should I start ... he's found a cure for cancer, captured Bin Laden, worked as a missionary, and won the Heismann ... when he does a push-up, he doesn't push up the earth goes down ... yada yada yada) was in a gang. Anyway, as I pondered this he ran off with a butter knife.

Saturday started out okay. UGA VII is the cutest damn dog I've ever seen. And Corso picked 'Bama, so that seemed good. And, I got to see the quad where I spent two years of my life on College Gameday. But, some strange things happened too. I realized I have no idea what a Hoosier is but maybe it has something to do with cow milkers based on the motions of the fans at the Indiana game on TV.

Sparky's revenge was most evident during the Georgia-Bama game. I don't need to say much else other than there was obviously some dark, evil powers at work during the first half because the Dawgs did not look like their usual selves.

Today Sparky decided he wasn't done with me. I was still feeling a little sick but decided to go to our softball game. Rachel played defense so I could sit out but still get to bat. The game was kind of crazy (starting with the ump being 15 minutes late), and in the 6th inning I got a hit into short right field. I must have been possessed because for some reason, when the right fielder bobbled the ball, I decided to run to second. I was out by a mile, but still felt the need to slide, leaving behind half the skin on the front of my left leg in the process. Ouch.

And now, I am clearly delirious, blaming all these things on a non-existent devil ... or is he???

Anyway, if I had the chance, I'd kick him again! Go Dawgs!

MOAB - slickrock fights back

Sunday morning we headed out for the infamous Slickrock Trail. Last time we were out here, my nerves were completely fried and I couldn't ride more than a couple of miles of this trail. It is serious! Lots of very steep up and downs. And it starts out tough, there is no warm-up. This year was much better for me, although you can see from the picture above that Chris had a little run-in with the Navajo Foundation. He fell over going up one of the very steep sections. Luckily I was behind him, so he ran into me instead of sliding all the way down the hill. Other than that, it was a super ride. Again, amazing views and fun (and slightly unnerving) riding.




As a side note, I had somewhere around 70 ounces of water - and I wish I'd had more. We were riding from 11:00 until about 1:30 and it was pretty hot when we got done.

After that, we lounged around a park on the Colorado River, repacked the car, and ate lunch. We thought about riding again that evening but were pretty exhausted. Instead we tried out the beer at Eddie McStiff's brewery. We were very unimpressed, and we had to sit in a "Beer Den" since we weren't ordering any food. However, I did get a pint of heaven in a cup - Polygamy Porter. Funny name, I know, but it is a really good porter. It is in my top two (along with the Kona coffee porter). We went back to Moab Brewery for dinner again - yum!

MOAB - merrimac & monitor, and arches

Chris and I headed out of town by about 7:00 on Friday, of course stopping at Chikfila in Loveland. We drove over the continental divide, passing some snow on the way, and made it to our stopping point for the night by about 1 AM. We found a great place to camp off I-70. It is exit 1 or 2. If you drive south of the highway, you enter BLM land and we camped in a site with great views, a pit toilet, and no other people. The Kokopelli trail goes right by it, or starts nearby, so it would even make a nice weekend mountain biking destination that is not as far as Moab.

Saturday we woke up early and headed for Moab. We had a schedule to keep because the Georgia - South Carolina game started at 1:30. We decided to ride the Monitor and Merrimac trail because it was relatively short (about 7.5 miles) and on the way into town if you take 191 from I70. It was a great trail for the first half. You wind up some slickrock to great views of the Monitor and Merrimac buttes (not sure what else to call them) and amazing cliffs all around. The slickrock is pretty fun and easy to ride on, but I would recommend turning around when the trail reaches the jeep road. From there it is over 2 miles of sandy riding. It sucked. Even riding by some Dinosaur Trail did not boost my spirits. Stupid sand.





Well we got done riding by noon and then set up a campsite off Kane Creek Rd. The place we camped with Jeramy and Christine last year was gone - all the trees chopped down and no more campsites. But we found another nice sight that is stuck inside this narrow canyon with big cliffs on either side. It is a beautiful place to camp. The only downside is you have to walk in, but that makes it more private. It would be very convenient for Moab rim trail and Amasa Back.

Next we went to the Moab Brewery. We love this place - it has really good beer (I recommend the Wit), wings, and food at a good price. We settled in to watch the game and there happened to be 5 other Bulldogs there watching it too! It's a Dawg nation! The game turned out to be a nail-biter but luckily Georgia hung on to win (or I should say, luckily South Carolina screwed up twice to basically hand the win to Georgia).

After the game, we went to Arches, hoping to ride our mountain bikes on some of the dirt roads. We checked at the entrance gate first to make sure this was okay and were assured that there were plenty of places to ride. Then we went into the visitor center to get a map. This is how the conversation went ...
me: "We are interested in riding on some dirt roads. Can you recommend some?"
woman: "You can only ride on the paved roads, and not on the trails."
Looking back, I wish I had said:
"Damn, we were really hoping to ride up Delicate Arch and practice our jumps in Devils Garden"
Instead I said
"Oh, we were told we can ride on dirt roads."
She said: "Well, there are a few but most people can't ride on them because they are sandy and very difficult."
Now, again I could have said several things, like:
"Mam, we are not most people." or
"Did you see our legs when we came in?? Bring on your measly dirt roads." or
"Check out the gun show, lady."
Anyway, she begrudgingly told us where these roads were and we headed off. We decided to ride on Willow Flats Road, which begins just opposite Balanced Rock. Chris and I read some of Ed Abbey's Desert Solitaire on this trip and I am pretty sure this is the original road into the park and the first visitor center was off it. The road was fine. Everything was ridable. It had great views and gradual grades. I don't know what that woman was talking about. We watched the sunset over the park and then headed back to our campsite, completely exhausted but very happy to be on vacation.

Too Much Fun

Life has been so good lately, and it looks like the good times will not slow down for at least several months. Yesterday Rachel defended. She did a great job, I think her research is really interesting even though she seems to think it's boring. We celebrated in grand style last night. I went to dinner with her group at Stonehouse, then we went to the Rio. I had 1-1/2 margaritas, which apparently was more than enough. I guess my tolerance is not as high as I would like to think, because next we went to Elliots and I had 2 beers and was done. It was a pretty silly night. I didn't realize how geeky our conversation was until Chris pointed it out. For some reason he does not find talking about things like particle accelorators, derivatives, and non-linear vs. linear geophysics interesting. Geez. JK, I know I am a dork and am glad that he puts up with me! I am really happy for Rachel. Now all of my friends should be relatively stress free, at least for a little while. Yay for having a life again!

Tonight Chris and I talked about our trip to Utah and Arizona. We are leaving Friday night, so time is really short! We came up with a route through the Needles district of Canyonlands that will take 5 days and is around 50-60 miles. It sounds really incredible and I am pretty excited about it. I'm also a little anxious because this will probably be our biggest backpacking trip yet (minus my Outward Bound trip but I didn't have to do the planning for that!). But we have the whole week off so we might as well take advantage of it! The biggest concern to me is how heavy our packs will be with 5 days of food, plus the first two days we can't count on water so we will probably have about 16 pounds just for water. Yikes!!

We also finally started unpacking from last weekend's backpacking trip with Mollie and Rob in the Flat Tops. That trip was unbelievable. I should do a summary of the hike, I would definitely recommend it!! The highlight was hiking over the Devil's Causeway. It is a narrow ridge that is 4 feet across at the narrowest, very rocky, and has sheer drop-off's (maybe 100 feet?) on either side. I was very very scared, especially after Chris jokingly said, "Don't worry Anna, it's only certain death if you fall." For a while I wanted to just take my pack off and cry, I was so scared! But we all made is safely across and the views were well worth all the nerves.

Anyway, I should go to bed, but I am pretty excited about our trip. I'm also anxious and feel like we have A TON to do between now and Friday afternoon. I also have a lot of work to do. I feel bad for not doing any work tonight but it was a busy evening of cleaning and planning. It might be a late night tomorrow!! Thanks for stopping by!