tyler

Trinkets

2011-11-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

This single container of industrial glue is over 100 years old. The story of how it made it's way into our home is simple. It's the story's tributaries that are abundant... and more than slightly odd.

A maintenance man at our apartment building in Columbus gave Erica that little treasure. That's the short of it.

DECC

2011-11-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

I actually might like this photo more. They were taken for reference for some signage we're doing.

DECC

2011-11-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hanging at the Convention Center.

Focus In

2011-11-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

I've heard snippets of snippets that suggest this is what babies see for the first few months of life... Christmas trees. Not a bad way to look at the world.

Penny Slots

2011-10-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

Tell me soothsayer... what lies ahead?

'Bout that Time

2011-10-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

Ring Ring

2011-10-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

Coming through.

Projex 3.0

2011-10-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Finally! A battery charger. Yeesh. Things should go a lot smoother from here on out.

Street View

2011-10-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

Northside in the early morning.

Bad news. I can't find my battery charger.

Projex 2.0

2011-10-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

When I would shoot the hoops growing up, I got into the habit of making 10 free-throws in the row before I could put the ball down. Make nine, miss the last? Start over. I got pretty good at it. Rhythm... spin, three bounces, bend at the knees, release and accentuate the follow-through.

I started out with the intent of taking a picture everyday for a month. Clearly, that hasn't happened. Time to start over.

More Shelves

2011-09-29T08:14:00.001-07:00

I. Can't. Stop.

What Goes Around Comes Around

2011-09-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

Every first year photography student at UC has taken this shot. In fact, I've taken this shot.

Not the City, Findlay. Findlay, Findlay.

2011-09-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Had to stop and get some turkey... for tacos. Turkey tacos.

Downtown via The Charles

2011-09-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

It's how I get to work.

That was some serious rain this morning. I went running in it. Felt like I was water skiing.

Hey Hey Hallway

2011-09-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

It's just been that kind of day... a dark scary hallway kind of day.

All You Need is Love

2011-09-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

He/she (?) greeted me this morning as I went to hop in the car to head to work. I have to believe this is the bug kingdom's way of making peace.

Door Frame

2011-09-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

One picture. Each day. No matter how boring or bad it might be. I can do this. I may or may not comment on the subject.

But I will today...

Those pieces of "wood" that make up the frame look a thousand years old. They're only five. I got 99 problems but that door frame ain't one.

Straighten Up

2011-07-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Nothing sobers you up quite like a long walk home up this street. Trust me on this one.

Straight Street is crazy straight and crazy steep (the steepest part is hard to see in the photo). Coming from Piqua, it still makes me a little nervous to take anything down this hill. Now, imagine life without I-75 and add another half mile to the street. I imagine that's the way it was back in the day.

Over the course of .87mi the land rises well over 300ft and most of that rise happens in about .4mi. I'm sure there are cities with steeper streets but I haven't seen them yet.

In Retrospect

2011-07-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

I came across an unpublished post today. Laying in Wait was written on March 15, 2011. Those bumps are now three months old and as it would turn out, Erica was having actual contractions. Three days after I wrote this, we were in the hospital making sure those girls didn't prematurely exit.

Looking back, there was such an air of uncertainty. Everything was about to change but neither of us knew how. The title of the post seemed appropriate. I was present, ready to be a dad... whatever that was.

...

I haven't talked much about our twins. My wife isn't a huge fan of social media/blogging. I don't blame her and actually commend her on the fact that she's about the only person I know without a facebook account. When used, these outlets, just like this blog, are nothing more than a way to express oneself.

I have a second cousin that friended me recently. I accepted the request and while I'm not on facebook all that much, when I am, it's inundated with crap that she says and her friends comment on. If energy is neither created nor destroyed, I feel like her and her friends are thus making some Amazonian insect extinct simply by filling the internet with senseless jibber jabber. The fact is, if you post something, it could very well end up on the screens of God knows who. After doing hundreds and hundreds of google searches for reference material, I can tell you that some people post waaaaaay too much concerning their family and personal life.

But it remains that Erica is now almost 32 weeks along and with twins typically coming 3-5 weeks early, we're pretty much ready to make the drive any day now. At this point, my "anxiety" contractions are daily. When we first found out, I would wake up panicked, about once a month. Finding out they were twins only increased that frequency and now that she thinks she might be having actual contractions once or twice a day (maybe some Brixton Hicks), holy crap.

But I'm enjoying this time. We still are making final arrangements in the nursery and trying to finish up final details in the kitchen, but we always make time in the evening to watch two babies do somersaults in Erica's stomach. You can can see whole limbs protrude and recede. Twitches reverb and disfigure her entire stomach. Recently, they both stretched out at the same time and Erica's stomach would've made for a good crossbar. It's amazing just how sensitive they are to touch. Actually, it's all just really amazing.

So there they sit... head to head at this point. Getting bigger every day. We go for another growth ultrasound this week but judging from the last one, I'd say they're nearly four pounds... if not slightly more. That's a lot of baby. But we'd like it if they got as big as possible so we can take them home sooner rather than later.

Piqua's Finest

2011-07-06T04:31:00.000-07:00

My sister has mentioned several times with more than a little animosity that she's never graced the pages of my blog. Well Meg, be careful what you ask for.

Three Thoughts for Week Ending 06.11

2011-06-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

We'll make this quick.

Conservatives use Michigan as their whipping boy, berating it for being such a waste of a state because it was apparently run into the ground by Democrats. It's possibly, but not quite, as true as its contrasting element, Cincinnati... stifled by the short-sightedness and conservative attitudes of its inhabitants. Maybe? Hamilton County's lovely demographic reminds me of Microsoft Windows 2000.

end of thought one

I was thinking the other day... why do senior citizens vote for things they want to see happen? Things they care about? I know this sounds cruel and unusual, but wouldn't it make more sense for those 60+ in age to align their votes with someone... well... younger? How does killing the streetcar and other assorted public transportation projects affect a 75 year-old that rarely, if ever, drives? Just sayin'.

end of thought two

How does Deters have another job? Those conservatives like to tell you how much they love their God, their money, their freedom and in roundabout ways, their bigotry. You can be racist as hell on the radio in Cincinnati... we'll call it a good way to increase ad revenue.

end of thought three

I Saw This The Other Week

2011-06-09T06:46:00.000-07:00

Heading home via Spring Grove, I saw this shipment of military surplus goods and had to take a picture.

Who uses tanks anymore? That's so WWII.

More Tidbits

2011-05-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Terrible picture, some may say, but I like it... and am, thus, posting it. Since bringing them home, I've found it very hard to refrain from hugging them with all I am.

Tidbits

2011-05-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

It's been weeks, I know. I have excuses, you may know. Babies. Two of them. Girls. Eleven minutes apart on a rainy, rainy afternoon in April. Their total weight was barely nine pounds but one standing on top of the other would've been just shy of three feet. They are impressive. Life is impressive.

Mine, in particular, is different. I still work. I still sleep. I still run. I still internet. But mostly, I worry too much about making sure those two babies are ok. Are they cold? Are they hungry? Are they up to their eyeballs in their own poo? Are they ok? Will they always be ok?

Emma and Arleigh are four weeks old today. 28 days. I'm not going to lie... it feels like 2800. We'll find what works and what doesn't soon enough. At this point, we're pretty content being inundated by babies.

Birfdays

2011-02-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

The weekends keep flying by. So much so that I will start a post and then inevitably have to discontinue said post and when I pick back up where I left off I notice that everything needs to be changed because "later this week" or "this past Sunday" no longer applies so I'll keep this short and sweet.

We celebrated my niece's third birthday on the 18th. It was a casual affair but we had a good time despite the weather. Her and I are forever doomed to lousy weather around our birthdays. Her mom went to the trouble of making that Barbie cake as well. We didn't have nearly as hard a time eating it.

And that's the short of it. Erica and I were both sick at various points last week making sleep tough to come by. I did get a lot done with the house as far as organization goes. I finally got the closet system installed to a stopping point upstairs. I got the second crib set up and the babies' room organized. It's basically one big crib. Insane. There is no such thing as a modest crib anymore... just cheaper materials in the same gargantuan cribs. I wish I would've done a little more research on that end. Now they'll each have full beds when they get older but where in the hell do you stick two full beds!?! That's right, two separate rooms. It's a shame what McMansions have done to standard home furnishings.

We attended a birthing class all day Saturday. Enlightening to say the least. Very good information but all I could think about during the video segment was how awful a hospital environment must be when you're in hours and hours of labor. It's cold and drab. Why can't we make this better. Look at the Dutch... they're look is sterile yet inviting. Nothing we can do about it now. So are we ready? Who knows. I'm getting pretty anxious, watching Erica's every move, every grimace, every labored movement. Today marks the 29th week and those little guys are about three pounds apiece. Three pounds! That's six pounds of baby! I have sanctioned her to the couch at this point. She listens sometimes and she moves things around behind my back some other times.

The butterflies are aflutter more and more. Time is growing short.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

2011-02-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to curb my complaining, I've tried to attach this stipulation to my criticisms...

For every complaint, there must be a solution.

So this solution doesn't necessarily stem from a complaint. It's more like an idea. They happen from time to time... once a year, maybe twice. Never more than twice. This particular idea has been a long time brewing. Now, it could mean that's it's a nasty porridge by now or a well-rounded chili that's ready to be eaten.

Let me just preface this by saying that I didn't fail high school and high school didn't fail me, but I wasn't ready for college upon completion of my senior year at Sidney Lehman Catholic. It's not that I wasn't prepared to take the classes college offered... I just didn't know what the hell I wanted to do.

And I'm not saying what I have to offer is any kind of solution but I know something like it would've been a win-win situation for me and Toby Keith's favorite country, the good ole U-S-of-A.

What it involves is a year of service upon graduation from high school in one of two areas... the job corps or the military corps. Your choice. If the choice is the former, you're placed in a public works program outside of your region allowing you to experience other ways of life in your country. The better your grades, the closer you are to your choice city. Jobs are based on four years of information collected from your high school guidance counselors. You'll work on road projects, provide assistance to the elderly or any other number of jobs that 18-year-old men and women could fill. The military already wants you to make your choice the latter. They spend quite a bit on advertising and recruitment. They could save that cash, at least the majority of it, with a program like this.

Yeah, I know it's got all kinds of holes in it but the bottom line is that it's a mandatory public works program that would employ hundreds of millions for room, boarding and a small stipend. They would get to travel and experience idependence. And I hear everyone saying, "Well, that sounds like college," and you're right but college anymore is about getting out of the house and partying. Maybe that was just me but I feel it's lost it's focus recently. Going to college doesn't hold water like it did 40 years ago. And there's nothing like having to wake up for a 7am start time with a raging hangover. Gets old quick. And if you can't cut it in the job corps, say hello to boot camp.

After their year of service, individuals can use credits earned towards furthering their education so they're not burdened with a mountain of debt after college, cashing them in immediately for a down payment on a home or dolling it out in the form of tax breaks for the next ten years.

Truth be told, this stems from a small inkling of guilt... the guilt I feel for never having served this country. I'm not saying I should've skipped school to go into the military but that was the only option – as far as I was aware – available (our guidance counselor sucked). I didn't learn about Job Corps until I was 27 or 28. No joke.

With all the talk about changing this country's momentum and future, I think it's high time we stop sending stuck up shits to business school (much like myself even though I went to design school) so they can learn to cheat the system. Let's show them what an honest day's work looks like.

Shot Callin'

2011-01-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

My boss's son is a sixth grader in the Sycamore school district. Recently, he and 105 of his peers signed up to play basketball. My boss received an email saying they were one coach short and some of the kids would have to be cut. She bravely volunteered so that all the kids that wanted to play could. Just one problem. She doesn't know a single thing about basketball and she'd soon be a head coach.

Basketball has always been my number one. It was the sport I played the most, liked the most and knew the most about... which isn't saying much... so I decided to help. Why not, right?

Well, I can't make promises about how this season's going to turn out. We have one scheduled practice a week. One! I need one practice just for the wind sprints these little punks should be running. Maybe I was just as big a punk as some of these guys, but I don't remember anyone on my team walking through a layup drill. I do not take kindly to such things especially when it would be far easier for me to enjoy a nice dinner at home with my wife and spend the rest of the evening relaxing. I have a new-found respect for coaches (some of them). I can't imagine doing this every night of the week along with the actual games on the weekends.

But then some kid realizes (you can literally see it hit the back of their brains and bounce back to the front) that the drop step move he learned in practice works really well against a defender in a game and at that very moment, you know why you signed up for this.

Onward young b-ballers! May you forever play defense with your hands up! If not, I have a really taxing drill to help you remember.

Better Late Than... Nevermind

2011-01-11T03:47:00.000-08:00

Ahh Christmas. It's already forgotten... except for the paper shredder and ceiling fan (labor included) I got. Erica's gift was outstanding... a four-pack of tickets to UC basketball games. A friend's wife had the idea and a few of them went in on it. We've already attended one and were treated to a victory. Primo!

Lots lies ahead in this new year of 2011. My mom had some kind of cross-stitched piece of art she'd hang in the house when we were younger. Usually in her bedroom. It read, "Lord, grant me the patience to endure my blessings."

It's a good mantra. I might take it for my own.

Making Mounts of Molehills

2010-12-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

From certain angles, Mount Adams looks tiny... and then you try and drive all up in that piece and you'd be shocked how easy it is for that seemingly little hill to spit you out, defeated. It's almost unattainable at times. It took me several years to get the hang of it and even now, a higher level of concentration is required when navigating its streets.

My sister recently had a surprise 30th birthday party on the main drag and I had a lost aunt and uncle on my phone needing directions. Think about it for a second or two and see if you could give someone directions up to the corner Saint Gregory and Pavilion without Google maps in front of you. But the trick to Mount Adams is to always go up. So long as you're always heading uphill, you'll eventually find what you're looking for.

The holidays have officially snuck up on me again. Procrastination has made this seemingly joyous time a little more stressful. I doubt I'll ever truly be on top of things when it comes to Christmas... no more than I'll ever be able to rearrange the streets of Mount Adams... but this year, I'm going to keep looking up and maybe, just maybe, I'll find what I'm looking for.

But before it gets too crazy, the Envoi crew is headed out tonight for our annual holiday dinner. This year we're celebrating at The Rookwood Restaurant and we'll hopefully get seated in one of the old kilns they used to fire the now famous, Rookwood Pottery. The building is actually sitting right atop that snow-covered hill you see in front of you... with Holy Cross to the left and some apartment building on the right.

So here's to the hope that everyone finds what they're looking for this holiday season.

Shoes and Stalactites

2010-12-14T04:17:00.000-08:00

Can any two individuals agree on everything? Maybe some can. I can't. With anything or anybody. Nothing. If a conversation is initiated, I switch to auto-disagreement. At the end of the day, it terrible... and I regret it, but I'm working on it and may just get it right.

That particular aspect of disagreement is something I can help. Something I can't help is my taste in style... or as some might say... lack thereof. My days of purchasing several pair of shoes a year are long gone. I've grown out of my impulsive spending habits so when making a purchase, I think long and hard about it. I came across these shoes a few months ago and wanted them bad. The more they resemble the result of a bowling shoe's affair with a house slipper, the better. I had owned a pair similar to this a long time ago and have been looking for their replacements after they wore out two or three years ago. The problem was they didn't have my size. Seven years ago, I would've bought them anyways, but I was able to, albeit reluctantly, walk away.

There was also something else holding me back. Erica hated them. She hated the shoes prior to this pair as well and fought long and hard to see that they were retired somewhat prematurely.

I'm not fashion-forward by any stretch. Actually, just the opposite. When I find something I like, I latch onto it with a death grip and wear the hell out of it. Sure, I've had my phases. I don't mind slipping on the skinny jeans, but they better have cowboy boots at the end of them. Boot cut jeans were my true savior. Full-length zip turtleneck sweatshirts... I'd be stuck with hoodies if it weren't for you. Athletic fit t-shirts... what took you so long? That red and beige belt I own? Other than when wearing a suit, I've worn it everyday for the last six and a half years.

This is why Erica's disdain of my true taste in shoes is so disheartening. I have nowhere else to turn. I found solace in the trail running shoe/jean combo for a while, but I knew it wouldn't last. So when we were out Christmas shopping last Saturday and swung in to DSW to "look around"... I knew what I was after. And there they were, sitting pretty. Not only that, they were in my size! OMG!

But I knew it would only be half the battle. Luckily, the day's hustle and bustle had worn down my wife's guard. She wasn't on her A game and I quickly stormed the gates and got the answer I was looking for... "Get them if you really want them." Of course, that statement is laced with all sorts of "but you'll never wear them in my presence" innuendos, but that's okay. I own them now. Not only that, I got them for over 60% off because of a couple coupons and an awesome cashier. What a victory.

In the end, they're just shoes. Not that big of a deal.

Recently I read where a scientist believes the aging process is simply the long term effect of millions of tiny accidents your body goes through in a lifetime. Bumps, dings, scrapes that may go unnoticed to us but over time, deteriorate our vessels to the point of failure. Stalactites and stalagmites work just the opposite. Millions upon millions of water drops only build them up... bringing them closer together.

I suppose little battles in a marriage can work either way. I, personally, find it endearing that Erica cares that much about what I look like. Better to care too much, than not at all. I think, too, our differences in style have helped curb any reactionary purchases that, in that past, I was very guilty of. And I'm sure she gets a kick out of rolling her eyes and laughing at me most Saturday nights before we head out... only to have me head back to the dresser in an attempt to make her smile. After all, agreement can't always be such an easy term to come to... how boring would that be?

Ronnie Time

2010-12-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

It may be cold outside, but Ronald is keeping it hot with these shades. Who knows where he got them but they're pretty great.

You Decide

2010-11-29T11:25:00.000-08:00

Tape measure or a contractor's laser pointer? Answer... both.

And Away We Go

2010-11-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

The time had come. It couldn't be put off any longer. We talked about it, put tape on the floor, drew sketches, got a 3D model of what it would look like courtesy of Lowes and even purchased cabinets. The wall between the kitchen and the dining room was coming out. It was the next step. Had to be.

I was awake and working Saturday morning long before the alarm I set had its chance to wedge me out of bed. Erica's dad was coming over mid-morning and I had to get everything out of the kitchen and at least make it look like I had kind of started to tear things apart. He arrived and we immediately got to work taking out the cabinets, pulling trim and ripping out the floor. Day 1 actually went really well. I managed to walk away with a just one sliced finger. Just an FYI, broken tile is crazy sharp and won't think twice about cutting you deep.

Then came Day 2. Don wouldn't be around for Day 2. It was up to me and my buddy, Steve. He brought some tools and all we had to do was knock out one side of the wall and tear down the soffit. These tasks were somehow remarkably harder without the help of the gritty veteran. Not only harder, but messier. In our defense, we were dealing with some incredibly stubborn building material that we didn't have to deal with the day prior. Metal lathe in a plaster wall is beyond the realm of difficult to extract once applied and allowed to sit for 50 years. It borders on impossible. And I can't tell you how many times I missed the chisel with my hammer and instead hit the knuckle of my index finger.

But it's out now and that's all that matters. The studs were left in because they house some electric wires that I don't intend on contending with. And honestly, they toed those bad boys in with the biggest nails I've ever seen. After taking a few out, I was willing to leave well enough alone to see another day or two.

What did I learn? a) Sissies wear gloves when doing demo. Hence, I'm a sissy. b) When employing one of those 25lb crow bars, always know where the other end is. I was trying to pry a particularly staunch nail out of a 2x4 above my head and upon giving it one last yank, I damn near ripped my right ear off when the other end came crashing into it. Gave myself a good gash though and I'm having trouble feeling the entire right side of my head. c) That wall that we just spent a weekend tearing out wasn't original to the house. Someone actually wanted it there. Makes me want to see what it had looked like when it was first built. d) When your pregnant wife tells you that she won't have your child without a dishwasher in the house, just put in the dishwasher. There is no need to knock out walls and knock off ears, simply install a dishwasher and get back to admiring your freshly-built bench. But then again, it could prove to be a great arguing point sometime down the road... "I tore out a kitchen for you when I didn't even know your name."

Yeah, the larger point here is we're going to be parents. That makes us nervous. Mostly nervous that we're not ready to be parents and therefore we would be, by default, bad parents. So we join the ranks of every nervous soon-to-be mother and father in recorded history. It's nice to know we're not alone.

But it seems a waste of energy to be nervous and/or apprehensive. Kind of like that kitchen demo. I didn't know what I was doing at all. Several times a day, I would look at the still intact wall and wonder just how in the hell I was going to get that thing down without electrocuting, maiming or otherwise hurting myself or the house... and yet, there that wall sits, in many many pieces on my driveway waiting to be hauled to a dump (hopefully for a reasonable price). This is happening, whether I'm nervous about it or not and when it does, we'll do what needs to be done in order to be the best parents that we know how to be. Consider this a soft opening. Baby bump pictures (if I can get away with it) and possibly an ultrasound to follow.

Benched

2010-11-15T03:11:00.000-08:00

We moved into our house in May. Since then, I've quietly gone about finding possible solutions to my tool storage conundrum. We have a nice bench in the attached garage that the original owner put in but Erica likes parking her car there and the bench itself would need some upgrades. We have a detached garage but it doesn't have any electric so I'd have to get an electrician to run an extra line from my box, out of the house, under the driveway and back to the garage. And even if I did get it back there, I'd still be cold in the winter.

A couple of weeks ago, I was hanging some sweaty clothes downstairs and the thought of a bench in a nook of the foundation hit me like the pungent smell of dirty running shorts... and that was all it took. I drew up a little sketch, bought the wood and began assembling my very first work bench.

It's exactly what I needed because I built it. I'm a taller guy that's always wanted a desk I could stand at while working so I made the height 47". I acknowledged that I'd probably need an area just a little bit lower for a vice grip or some other yet unknown task, so I put that in, too. All that's left to do is put a 1x4 face on it and secure some of those 2x4's to the wall.

It came in handy over the weekend when I tore the kitchen out. I had everything organized and easy to get to in one localized space. And that circular saw is just for effect. Totally not mine.

FUOH

2010-11-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

(Sorry, forgot to warn folks there'd be cursing in the post below. It's belated, but you've been warned. Also, Brad shared this link with me this morning. Slightly heavy-handed at the end, but read and re-read each bullet.)

In college, Erica and her friend, Tommy, had a saying... Pave Canada. I have no idea the context in which it was used but I like it. It's funny and I wish it were mine. But it's not.

I found this article whilst perusing the Enquirer's site. That saying came to mind except more along the lines of Pave Ohio. Just do it already. And when you do pave it, use the same techniques you've been using. Make it half as thick as German highways so you are constantly resurfacing. That'll create jobs. This Kasich guy is on to something. What an asshole.

On a side note but not completely unrelated, Boehner said something about how the "people have spoken" or something along those lines. What's funny about that is Ohio had less than 50% voter turnout (48.7%). Traditionally, Republicans have fared best when voter turnout is low which means "the people" or "the republic" to which he's referring didn't really speak. And that's unfortunate.

One last thought but, again, not completely unrelated... if I took eight years to totally fuck something up, I'd at least give the next guy eight to fix it. Common courtesy, right? Where were all you tea baggers when we started two wars AND cut taxes? That doesn't strike me as being fiscally responsible.

Go To Glenwood

2010-11-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

I was told about a little piece of herbal Eden when I first returned to Cincinnati back in March by a co-worker that frequents a lot of the Hamilton County (and beyond) Parks, weather permitting. I really do have to commend the park board of Hamilton County for doing a remarkable job in the face of a conservative sentiment. And, by no means, are these vast tracts of wilderness, but for Cincinnati, it's pretty good.

One such lot of land is Glenwood Gardens. I've run there a couple times on the crushed gravel path that meanders up and around the west fork of the Mill Creek and then finally finds its way back to the open field where it began. All in all, it's a little over two miles but it's a great getaway from my regular Simpson Loop.

So I took Erica there on Sunday to enjoy the day. We took our time taking in the sun. It just might be some of the last warming rays we get for a while. They also have a pretty rockin' playground if you've got some kids in tow.

Halloween was a resounding success on Wittekind. Erica has looked forward to handing out candy for years only to be let down time after time by a poor turnout. She was not to be denied in the C.Hill. We purchased 263 pieces of candy and somehow ran out. Accounting for a couple of taste tests and double dippers, we probably had 250 trick-or-treat'rs that night. It was a lot of fun to see the kids. Brought back good memories of our days on Nicklin.

Tyler's Three-Point Promise

2010-10-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

I run. Maybe I've mentioned it... a million times. My biggest pet peeve while running? Suck-ass drivers... drivers that aren't good at driving. Why should they be? If something happens, it's an "accident". I wish we could do away with that term and start teaching young drivers just how dangerous a motor vehicle can be. How quickly and swiftly they can do damage. Oh, and reiterate to them that pedestrians actually have the right-of-way. I know it sounds absurd, but it's true. On the books. For real.

I could go into even more detail about how I really feel about drivers, cars, our infrastructure, but I want to point out the worst offense that the majority of drivers (myself included) are, or have been, guilty of.

Without all the dramatics, I can tell you that not looking right when turning right is about as dangerous as driving gets. The practice includes rolling through a crosswalk – and if there is no car coming from the left – the stop sign entirely and not giving one glance to the right until the turn has already been made. I wish I had a dollar for every time this has happened on a run. It would pay for my lunch. Some folks never see me at all. Some slam on their brakes, mouthing their apology. Others get pissed and wonder what I'm doing in their way.

This is where my "Three-Point Promise" comes in. Like I said, I've been guilty of the same irresponsible tactics, so I've employed a method that allows me to fully know what's going on at every intersection I come to. The above image illustrates the process, starting at the top.

Step 1 (by far, the most important): No matter which direction you're turning, always look to the right first as you're approaching an intersection. Even if it's just a glance.

Step 2: Look left.

Step 3: Look right once more.

And that sums it up. If you're turning left, you'll obviously take a final look in the direction you're turning. It takes an additional second, maybe two, but it could mean the difference in avoiding a very dangerous interaction with a pedestrian.

Doldrums

2010-10-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

All this absence is killing me. I've attributed the lull to my inability to get moving 15 minutes earlier, which would allow me to take the bus and see things, document things and exhibit such things. Not only that but every time I think I've got a green light to employ the 17, I realize that I have to drive a car that day. I loathe that feeling. I had it this morning. Sitting there, icing my right hip with a bag of frozen peas, minding my business. Knowing I had plenty of time to boil water for a lukewarm bath, pour the remainder of the coffee from the pot and take the high road to the corner of North Bend and Hamilton where I would be whisked away without a care in the world.

Boiling waters? Lukewarm baths?

Yep, our water heater is busted. So it was then that I realized the plumber was coming some time between noon and 1pm to take a look at our bum tank and bus'ing it wouldn't have made anyone but me happy.

So all you get is some shots I've had to take for work. It's the Iris Bookcafé across the street. They provide me with a daily afternoon jolt of caffeine. In turn, we'll provide them with a website and some photography.

So if you want to see pretty pictures, go here.

Bad Idea

2010-10-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

I parked behind this car today. Scary to think that this thing might be traveling at a high rate of speed on a highway near me... or you. I almost feel compelled to leave a note. That's a bad accident waiting to happen.

On a side note:

2.52

In the regular season, if a pitching staff averaged that ERA for every series you played, you'd be the most dominant pitching team in baseball. Only three NL starters had a lower ERA in 2010. Now, if you took that team ERA into the postseason, you'd think to fare just as well. Ahh, not so. That's was the Reds' ERA for the NLDS against the Phillies. They got swept. Why? Because their own batting average was .124. That and they committed seven errors.

Yeah, I know I said a while ago that I'd be content with just making it to the postseason... but those three games hurt. Some blame it on a lack of experience. I blame it on a lack of heart... or, dare I say, tread, grit, balls, fight, etc etc.

p.s. – This is a perfect example of why ~~The Thirty Year Mistake~~ GABP's placement and ownership doomed this city. I have no qualms with criticism like this. In fact, I agree with it. But Cincinnati will rally and tell that reporter what's up... all the while, turning a blind eye to the obvious symptoms of mediocre leadership.

Sir Smoke

2010-10-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

It's not often that I pity fools... BUT... I would honestly pity the fool that crossed paths with this dog. His name is Smoke and the last thing he takes is lip. The first? Your lunch.

Needless to say, Beware of Dog.

Unequal Parts

2010-10-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

Replacing front brakes without the T-Man = this. Replacing back brakes in Piqua with the T-Man and his burgeoning arsenal of tools = two easy breezy hours and nary a drop of sweat adorning either of our brows. What a difference a lot of help makes.

Such is the case in life... not just brakes. More than once yesterday, I thought to myself that I'd be one lost puppy if not for the guidance of multiple individuals. I wish I could remember that when I'm making snap judgments of someone.

Anyways, enough of that. Friday night played witness to one of the most epic nights in ping pong history. Ole Gordy came down and we made our way to GABP for a the first game in the Reds' final series of the year against the Brewers. It was a frustrating loss in extras so we made our way to Covington to a bar called the Down Under. Rumor has it that there are some mean games of pong played in the back room past the bar. We found it without trouble and after waiting our turn played for the better part of three hours and almost 20 games. When the smoke had cleared and the paddles dropped, yours truly had El Capitan by a game. Could the feat be repeated? Maybe. Maybe not. I'm anxious to find out and I'm sure Gordonéz is as well. He likes losing about as much as I do.

But I was up bright and early for a 5K Walk for mental illness in Hamilton. Something Erica had to be a part of for work. It was a nice morning for a walk and we ended up having a good time. Then it was off to Piqua to watch my two nieces while everyone else went out and partied. It was worth it. Those girls... too cute.

Then it was up early again so I could make it in plenty of time to the Oktoberfest 10K in Minster. This was year number three and while I was hoping for a PR, I knew in the back of my head that the summer didn't help matters. Not only that, but I was seven pounds heavier than last year and I wasn't putting up big weekly mileage numbers like I had been when preparing for Columbus '09. My premonitions were confirmed when I hit the track earlier that week and had a pretty tough workout when it shouldn't have been all that hard. Sooo... with that in mind, I took it easy in the opening miles and that cost me in the end. Not sure if I could've mustered a faster finish or not. Hard to say. I was working hard but there came a point at Mile 5.5 when I wanted to make a move and keep up with a couple of runners that had passed me at Mile 5 as well as keep distance on a fast-closing group behind me. I made the move and found that I had another gear left. Ended up pulling away from all of them. "Where did that come from?," I wondered. Didn't add up. I should've been spent. Makes me a little peeved that I probably left a whole lot out there. Final tally was a 40:14.

Then it was back to Piqua and a nap before tackling the brakes and making the drive home. Whew... I could use another nap. Compliments to Erica for taking the pics while our hands were full o' grease. Also, in addendum to the last post, Bradley's endeavor made cincinnati.com. See for yourself.

Movie Makin'

2010-10-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday, I helped Brad for a couple of hours set up for a movie he was about to start shooting this week (this was the only shot I could get before my battery putzed out). Presumably, he's been busy doing just that because I haven't heard from him... at all. He's also my iChat buddy and rarely does a day go by without some suuuper-witty dialogue exchange.

Simon, or possibly Garfunkel, said it best... Where have ya gone Joe Dimaggio?

Godspeed friendo. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Dig Deep

2010-09-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. I'm lazy. That's a lie. We've been cranking away at work and I've kept busy on the side so it's been non-stop which has its perks but is mostly bad for my brain. Makes it mush. But like any storm, it has moved on and calmer seas prevail which allows me to devote a little free time to such exploits as... oh... making fun of old photos.

Brad and Leah – Breah – came over for an impromptu pot o' chili some weeks ago and Leah had come across some pics of days gone by and wanted to share. The pictures are nice to look at just as they are if simply to illustrate how we've changed over the years. But to me, they tell a thousand stories.

For instance, the flag that Brad is holding and how it came into our possession revolves around picking up a friend in Cleveland, forgetting to shut the door of the UHaul trailer we were towing until a frenzied group in an SUV honked at us until we pulled over and realized our mistake. While pulled over, I found that very flag on the side of the road and stuck it in the latch of the trailer bound for Boston. It was just a couple of weeks after 9/11 and we got more than a couple of honks and "thumbs-ups" from fellow travelers on I-90.

And those outfits? It was Halloween, of course, so we had made a trip to the thrift store that morning and picked up whatever we could find. I have no idea what Brad and Elliott (blue coat) are supposed to be... other than themselves, but I do know I was Dean Witter and we all got really drunk at Elliott's co-worker's apartment in Back Bay. I also know that I wanted to fight Brad over boneless spare ribs from Nan Ling. Yes, I was that drunk and yes, they were that good.

That couch in the very same picture. It's got a pullout mattress in it. We found it on the way back from the grocery store. Hauled it several blocks and up three flights of stairs. My back has never been the same. And what were we honestly doing drinking Red Dog beer? Do they even make that stuff anymore.

The top photo was from our first rented house in Cincinnati on Stratford Avenue. That's Bradley and Nate Williams. I'm not really even sure why this picture was taken, but I grew up with that couch they're sitting on. It belonged to my grandparents, then to my aunt, then to me. It was terribly uncomfortable but was a journeyman and served us well. Everyone else still makes fun of it and its wire frame that jabbed you if you sat on it wrong, but I see that picture and then, inevitably, see so much more.

Oh, those stories could go on and on and in some ways, they still do.

200

2010-09-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

Whoa! That's a lot of life lived in dem dere squares (I'm only showing 101-200 as 200 squares wouldn't fit into the grid well and the images would be even more indistinguishable). This is actually my 201st post but who's really counting? Well, I am.

I won't go on about what's ahead and what's behind. I can't see into the future and who has time for regrets? I'll just keep doing what I've been doing. Sound fair? Good.

I have made a small, yet deliberate, decision to concentrate some efforts on specific locales for the time being. Whether I follow through with it is yet to be determined.

Moon Over GABP

2010-09-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

Got the opportunity to hit up a Reds game last Tuesday night. We've been to a few over the course of the year. Erica had a prior commitment so it ended up being me, my sister, my friend, Steve and his friend, Mike. For as many times as I've been to ~~The Thirty Year Mistake~~ GABP over the years, I've only sat in a handful of locales... none of which were in the Moon Deck. I don't think I'll be sitting anywhere else from here on out... unless they're free. Proof is in the picture. This was the picture I would paint listening to the Reds on 700 WLW in our garage on summer nights. Even then they would leave everyone on base.

While in those pretty little seats, Scott Rolen hit a bloop single that looked headed for shallow right center until my large noggin's gravity nearly pulled it out of the park and into my awaiting hands. Ended up going off the wall for a double. They need me in those seats. We also saw Harang pitch and somehow only give up one earned run. Let's just say we saw Labor Day's beating coming.

Speaking of last Tuesday... what a difference a week makes. Can we beat a team that has a record over .500? Does anyone really want to win the NL Central?

Norris 2K+10

2010-09-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

The annual houseboat (the term is used loosely anymore) has once again come and gone. This has always been a particularly hard trip to come home from. It often marks the end of summer get-togethers and lazy days spent in the sun with friends. You realize it might be another year before you see some of this group which only makes you miss the ones that couldn't make it even more. It's unfortunate, but such is life.

There were three couples, a brother and two babies that rounded out the group. Erica and I never had a problem with sleeping in, but apparently others weren't as fortunate. I guess six-month-olds don't sleep past 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning. They don't drive boats well either. Slouches. Get a job!

I will tell you one thing that was confirmed while taking this trip... vacations are harder than all hell to take. It. Was. Impossible. To get out of here Friday which, in turn, made us hit the stupidest traffic one might hope to miss. I-75 is a hole. I've said it before and I mean it... they should start over. It's not working. It's the perfect example of why there needs to be transportation reform. You can add additional lanes all you want, but until you take the human factor out of it, there will still be X number of lanes to the right filled haphazardly with cars and trucks going roughly the same speed and a left lane with a line of X number of cars lined up behind someone trying to pass the mass of floating debris that makes up all the lanes to the right. It's impossibly confounding to me how we stubbornly trudge ahead as if this is our future.

Whew.

Anyway... the trip was great. There's nothing quite like flying around a lake on a boat, laying your head back and feeling the warm sun on your wind-whipped face.

Prevailing Winds

2010-08-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

Judging from the sweat puddle under my post-run chair, summer isn't going anywhere fast. But each cold front has been stronger than the last. There is a change in the winds... we can beat this. We will beat this.

Before/After... Part Deux

2010-08-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

This will probably be the last of these... at least until the second floor bathroom gets put in. I mentioned that we had a pretty busy week getting ready for my grandma's 90th birthday party and all that hard work paid off. Still lots of little things to do but the images show where it had been (some of which you already saw) and what actually feels like livable space now. For a long time, we were in a weird transition space where progress seemed to actually move backward but now the list keeps getting shorter and the house keeps looking better.

Whitewater

2010-08-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

This rave run has been a long time coming and because of that, I apologize profusely to the Miami Whitewater Forest Board of Trustees... if there is such a thing. So, without further ado... I give you Miami Whitewater.

I got a bit of a late start this morning. The coffee was tasty and the air was chilled to perfection. The sun was high in the sky by the time I hit the beautiful asphalt trail that runs through the park situated off of the Dry Fork Rd exit on I-74 just before you get to Indiana.

There is an inner loop (1.68mi) and an outer loop (7.85mi). I hit the inner loop for a warm-up lap and then took it to the outer loop for what ended up being a marathon-paced run. The shin felt good and the air was cool, albeit humid, so I kept those middle 7.5 miles pretty low. I finished with another inner loop that was even faster to put me over 10 miles for the day... 10.41mi to be exact. I would like to start bumping up those long runs but I don't want to re-aggravate the left leg, so I'll continue where I am until I can easily put three days in a row together. I'm still getting in 30-35 miles a week and the Monumental half-marathon is still a ways off, so I've got time. But I digress.

What sets this trail apart from others in Cincinnati is the terrain. It's relatively flat (only 80' difference in elevation along the route) and that's not easy to find 'round here. It's certainly a welcome break from the larger rollers in College Hill. The path is very rural, too. It begins with a wooded section that runs along the Whitewater River I call the lowlands. There are a lot of wild turkey in here and I also have an owl friend that sets up shop along the same tree line each morning. You then make your way up into the highlands passing corn and soybean fields along the way. There are some decent elevation changes in this section as you head into the wetlands. This is where all the birds are. I have to assume that Miami Whitewater is a bird-watching bonanza. The high grasses and wildflowers make it ideal for them to do the stuff that birds do. It's the only place I've ever seen a real live blue bird. From there, you begin your descent to the river before a final climb to the visitor's center. The inner loop is nice because it allows you to tack on extra mileage when needed.

All in all, a great running trail. Not many walkers venture onto the outer loop so you can really let loose and put in some good miles... much like this morning. It's just nice to not have to worry about cars, lights and crap ass roads. You get out and go. And that bottom picture just became my favorite running photo of all time.

Numero 90

2010-08-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

We hosted my grandma's 90th birthday party Sunday. It also happened to be Erica and I's very first wedding anniversary. We got back from vacation and quickly realized there was a lot (insert understatement) to get done. So what did we do? I made a list. Then what did we do? Got off our asses. Long story short, we accomplished more in 48 hours than we had in a month. We worked hard, got lucky in some cases and in the end celebrated with some family. I learned one thing and confirmed two others over the course of last week. One... lists help me organize my thoughts and there is nothing as satisfying as wiping to-do items off them. Two... I procrastinate. And finally, I learned that screwing down hinges is like David vs. Goliath. The tiny hinges with their 48 tiny screws wait to be fit snugly to the top of a window seat. Oh, that's what you'd like to think. Really, they have no intention of making the process so easy. It would be pointless to go into detail, but I'll just say that at 2am on Sunday morning I was ready to take a hatchet to those hinges.

I can't say enough about Clarabel Eleyet Alberts... and anyways, she wouldn't want me to. For me, she defines a generation; hard-working, humble, courteous, resourceful, respectful. The adjectives could go on and on. She proves to me that technology, after all these years has given us one useful thing; the ability to get to one another faster. She proves to me that it's better to sit on the front porch and talk than to watch TV in silence.

So we had a party for her in our TV-less house and no one seemed to notice... except when Joey Votto hit in two runs against LA in the top of the ninth inning. We tossed some bags full of corn, drank some beer, ate some cake, played with the kids and had a great day.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Alberts.

Pure Tim Allen

2010-08-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Tim Allen's right about all the "pure waters" and "endless coastline." We once again took the trip north for our summer reprieve from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

We celebrated Erica's 29th, spent three days in Ludington along Lake Michigan and then an additional five days in Alden, located on the southeast coast of Torch Lake.

This Torch Lake place was something else. The water is Caribbean-blue and the entire south end is a sand bar, ranging anywhere from two to four feet deep. On a kayak trip, we walked out a quarter of a mile in water up to our waists. Nutso. Apparently locals and tourists, alike, have found it a convenient location to set up shop and party hard on popular summer weekends. The water was just unbelievably clear. On that same kayak trip, it was hard to tell whether you were in 10' or 40' of water... the only difference was the color. The place we stayed was a nice little B&B two blocks from the water.

There wasn't a lack of heat & humidity, unfortunately, but it was nice to have a beautiful lake to step into and cool off in after a run. So that was about it. A relaxing getaway that was tough to come home from.

Training Day

2010-08-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was just one of those days. I began a post that was never completed. I had a corresponding image (top) and everything. This is how it began:

It's been my experience that when it rains, it pours. When you start your day off on the wrong foot, watch out, it will only get worse. Today is one of those days for me.

It really started last night around 6pm. I attempted a run right after a work. A mid-week long run of about ten miles or whatever I could pull off in an hour and twenty minutes. That run was hell. My legs might as well have been attached to my 90 year-old grandma because that's what they felt like. It didn't help that it was 90º with a heat index of a million... combine that with my geriatric legs and you have someone running behind, which put me in a bind in other areas of my life (mostly domestic).

Got to bed at a decent hour, woke up and the coffee was ready to go. Left shin felt o.k. so I was thinking of running for about 40 minutes and finishing up at the track with four sets of 800m or thereabouts. Didn't even make it up the street.

I never got to the part about forgetting to shut my thermos completely and having all of my coffee spilling out onto the contents of my lunch and eventually down my white shirt. I definitely forgot the part about having to work late in order to hit a crazy deadline... or finding out that my "chisel through the window" accident wasn't going to be cheap.

All I know is that I'm glad I didn't post it. Bad days are like farts in the wind. Yeah, they stink... but eventually they go away and give you something to laugh about later.

I wandered around today looking for a specific photo for a specific job. I've always liked this particular spot in Cincinnati. I think of it as the great divide between two very different trains (no pun intended) of thought. Looking south down ye ole Mill Creek and one of the biggest railroad transfer stations in country. The skyline off to the left, Kentucky on the horizon and the western hills to the right.

The first shot was from Ryan's wedding weekend. It was taken from the third floor in the Natural History Museum and overlooked Central Park with the buildings of 5th Avenue in view.

Chair Bears

2010-07-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

My homeboy, Brad, came downtown the other day looking for chairs. Chairs that might inspire one to... oh... make a movie. I wanted in on some of these chairs so I met him down at Elgin furniture. Just a couple blocks from Envoi.

For years I've been wondering just how they've managed to stay open. After some time was spent browsing the first floor showroom, we took it to the next level. Actually, it was the fifth level we took it to and that's when I realized they weren't in business at all. They were a homeless shelter... for chairs. An entire floor of an old warehouse devoted to office chairs. Stacked, piled and strewn about.

The stifling heat aside, it was an interesting trip to a place I've never been. I would simply suggest you go when the weather's a bit more hospitable. I bet it was 110º up there.

Holy Humidity

2010-07-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

I tried my best to make a sweat angel today. Had I not wrung the 15 cups of perspiration out of my shirt beforehand, it would've been a huge success.

The nineties show no sign up letting up and neither does the humidity. I can't say I'm holding up well at all. If I've learned one thing from this summer, it's that I'm a cold weather runner... and stubborn. I recognize that this stuff is bogging me down but I refuse to cut it back a notch.

I paid for it recently when I tried to get in a long run on a particularly hot and humid Thursday morning. I pushed it way too hard and then ran a hilly race that following Saturday in the heat. That little combo left me with a pain in the shin/calf area that I'm still trying to figure out and self medicate.

We leave for Michigan in a little over two weeks and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to 1) not staring at an iMac for hours on end, 2) hanging with the misses and 3) running in that beautiful weather. I've waited two weeks for a break in the weather. I've waited long enough. I'm making the break instead.

Brake Check

2010-07-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

My weekend sucked. How 'bout yours?

It was written in the stars that we would hit it hard this weekend and get a bunch of that lingering crap done so we'd let it linger no more. These past couple of months have been a bear. If we're not working on the house then we're running around. There hasn't been much down time in my life. I'm pretty sure Erica doesn't do down time... bad for me. So I wasn't necessarily looking forward to it but saw its place in the overall scheme of things.

One of the projects I had on my plate was to change Erica's front pads and rotors. They wanted to charge her $450 at the VW dealership. No thank you, sir... I'll go this alone. Projects like this are always hard for me to start because I'm just not entirely sure how they'll end up. I'm no mechanic but I'm not willing to spend that kind of money on something I know is doable. It took me the better part of six hours and three separate trips to AutoZone but it's done and I saved us almost $400. I lost my weight in sweat but it was worth it. My supervisor even came out towards the end of the day to keep my company and lend a hand when needed.

In all, it was a productive weekend. The stop board and quarter-round is nailed which meant I got to use a miter box and nail gun for the first time. Pretty rad equipment. The painting, aside from the touching-up, is done. The grass is mowed and trimmed.

Next up are the ceiling fans and blinds. Putting out an APB for TNT.

Clap Your Hands, Say Breakfast!

2010-07-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

25 years ago, the only way you could get me through an entire bowl of Cheerios was to throw a cup of sugar on top of it. No joke. It was a snowy breakfast savior. For a long time, there was a tug-of-war between my parents and I about just how much sugar was allowable. My mom came up with some kind of trick that had me believing she could measure how much sugar had been used that day. Total BS, but it worked at the time.

My, how times have changed. For two years now, I've equated breakfast with Cheerios and a banana. It's somewhat of a science, although admittedly, it was an easy process to perfect. You have to get the feel for your preferred level of ripeness in a banana, the amount of milk (in my case, Silk) you enjoy and lastly, the ratio of cereal to fruit that suits you.

I happen to prefer bananas pretty ripe. Nothing makes me puke in my mouth more than a green, even if ever so slightly, banana. So I lay down a "bed" of Cheerios, upon which I lay the slices of banana (this ensures that I don't eat all the fruit in the first few bites) and then fill the remainder of the bowl with cereal. I usually run in the morning, so the Silk (I... ehh... don't do well with the... lactose) just becomes another fluid and I drown 'dem Cheerios with it. Again, because I often run before I eat, I'm pretty hungry when the time does roll around, so the bigger the bowl, the better. A breakdown of each scoop usually consists of 50% banana, 50% Cheerios. This renders an even, clean finish. Perfecto.

What happened between my childhood and now? Some might argue that my taste buds changed but I don't buy it. Every kid loves sugar. It's like crack. I'm not kidding. It was as if I needed that taste in my mouth for anything to be edible. We certainly don't start out that way. I've seen my nieces eat mashed peas and not think twice. Then we realize we have choices and if we're going to eat something, it might as well taste good, right?

That's probably the way it's always going to be but at the end of the day, we're the ones that are responsible for what we put in our body. I'm still pretty picky about what I eat, but I'm coming around... slowly. I still hate green peppers and the thought of eating a raw tomato without it being on some kind of sandwich doesn't sit well with me but I've come to find that, in general, most naturally occurring foods taste pretty good. Who knew?

V-Ballin'

2010-07-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

I remember playing volleyball in grade school. Gym teachers attempted to teach us the fundamentals of the sport but all we really wanted to do was hit the ball hard. Really hard. This translated into seeing who could serve the ball the farthest and whiffing big-time when the rare opportunity for a spike presented itself.

My freshman year in college, I worked with a guy that played on UC's club volleyball team and he would invite me to the Clifton Rec Center for some open gyms. I was reluctant to say the least and held off on any commitments for most of that year. Finally, after coming back to school in the fall and resuming my shifts at the UC Bookstore, I told Andy I'd give it a shot. Soon after, I was playing every Thursday night and having a good time of it. My sister came to school the following year and I'd take her along, too. I left for Dallas in the spring and ended up playing quite a bit outdoors in my second quarter down there with a few of the guys my brother worked with.

Shortly after I graduated, my sister asked me if I'd be interested in playing in a league via the Cincinnati Sports League. I said I would and we did that for several years, playing with several different teams out at the Sand Bar (pictured). Then I moved to Columbus, but it didn't stop there. I played at Flannagan's in Dublin with one group, then out in Gahanna at Gatsby's with yet another. And now we're back where it all started and I'm playing again with my sister out on Kellogg.

The point of all this is to demonstrate that you can do something for a long time and still not be good at it. Duration is never the only condition required for success. It's precision and frequency combined over an extended period of time that renders the greatest results... but that's not news to anyone and even then, it doesn't always work out. If you don't commit that dedication to an endeavor, then you must accept it for what it is... a hobby.

Not long ago, I got upset and made myself look like an ass because I thought I should've played better on a particular night than what I did. I get frustrated sometimes because every shot I take with my camera isn't what I thought it would or could be. When I don't nail a PR at a particular race, I feel like hanging it up. But then I put my runners back on the next day because I want to relax. I pull out my camera because I find something interesting. I take another swing at the volleyball because it's fun.

Pressures, internally and externally, along with expectations can get in the way of fun. They can get in the way of life. Sometimes we need to take time-outs to realize that. All I know is that I'm glad to be back in the sand.

The Blast

2010-07-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

I made a mistake last weekend. I was going to bring the camera to the Hyde Park Blast bike race on Saturday night. I didn't want to deal with it and therein lies the mistake. I wish I had visual documentation of how cool this race was. So you have to deal with the photo the brightroom folks took of me at the 4-Mile foot race they held in the morning. Sorry.

First, the race report. This was the third or fourth time I've run this race, but the last attempt came in 2005, I believe... so it's been a minute. I ran that race with Erica and it's the closest I've ever come to losing to her. I almost started walking up the hill on Handasyde (an incline that comes a little after Mile 3 of the race... it's notoriously brutal). So 2010's version was a little different due to a course change a few years ago and it's been hotter than hell as late.

So 8 a.m. rolled around Saturday morning and temps were already reaching into the upper 70's with some pretty high humidity. The glaring sun didn't help matters, but the gun went off and so did we. I had an idea in mind of what I wanted to run, but I had forgotten my watch and there were no mile markers on the course, so this one was up in the air... I just went by effort... and it was hard. I thought I'd have to throw in the towel a couple of times but I managed to bring it home in 25:29. About 30 seconds off what I was looking for, but it'll have to do... mostly because I'm not running it again... at least not for another year. It was the first race where I was pretty positive that I was going to puke or fall down when I crossed the finish line. I did neither which was a bonus but all it means is that I apparently didn't push it hard enough. My sister and a couple of her friends ran and did well, so we met up after everyone had finished and ate some donuts and drank some beers (sorry Meg... the picture was too good not to include).

Erica had a baby shower that night for a friend so I headed back down to meet up with my sister and Dan for the elite 5K race and the final men's bike race that night. They ran the 5K on the 1mi criterium loop and they were fast. 14:44 fast... which is still almost two minutes off the WR. Scary. Shortly thereafter, the bike race started and it was amazing to say the least. We set up camp on the south side of Hyde Park Square and you could literally stand right up against the course and these bikes would come flying down Erie Avenue before slowing for the turn. They went about this for an hour and a half. The race itself, as a runner, is still not anything I understand. A race should be the first one to the finish... bottom line. Apparently it's not like that and I don't know how to explain just how it is. But I do know it was awesome and if there's a race near you, attend it and thank me later.

So it was a good weekend. Now onto the 4th. More good times ahead. I also included a little oil spill calculator. I hate how quickly we Americans forget about shit solely because it's not in our backyard. I'm guilty as charged so this is me not forgetting. Not forgetting to try and do something different. I've said it before and I'll say it again... we're smarter than this. We're not this selfish. This is not the only way.

I Spy

2010-07-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Maybe you've heard something about Russian spies on the news recently? Personally, I thought the Cold War was over. Apparently not.

It brings me back to an autumn night in 2001 while I was in Boston. I was heading home from work and made my way onto the green line's C train. It was late and there weren't many people riding so I sat in a favorite niche of mine... the single seat right next to the connection joint. While I went to sit down, I noticed a small piece of paper under the seat that looked like it had been ripped out of a spiral-bound notepad. I picked it up and found it quite interesting. You might, too.

I had decided to scan it a while ago so that if it ever became too deteriorated, I'd at least have proof of it. I can't say I ever took it seriously, but in light of recent developments, I very much do. Although, I've never done much investigating, I did look up Naum Kitzis. He's an actual dentist in Boston and that's his actual address. There are a few Olga Miroshnichenko on LinkedIn. It at least makes you think.

So if no one ever hears from me after this, you'll know why.

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Father's Day and the in-laws had the day booked, so I planned on heading to Piqua Saturday to get a round of golf in during the early evening hours with my dad to beat the heat as best we could. Plus, he doesn't like a whole lot of witnesses around to watch me whip him all over the course.

We went out with my sister Friday night to see Those Darlins. A rough & tumble group of ladies, to say the least, but they put on a great show. I'm just glad I wasn't up at the front. Woke up Saturday and my dad had called to see if I got his text message from last night. I hadn't so he went on to say that his friend, my godfather, Jim Hemm had called to see if we'd want to go fishing. We certainly would.

It's been years since I've dropped a line into Hemm Lake and I've been anxious to get back. Hemm Lake is a 6-7 acre spring-fed pond situated on the south end of town inside Mike Hemm's property on Hemm Road. That's a lot of Hemm's... that's why they named a road after them. Mike is Jim's cousin and was once the judge for Miami County until he retired. The lake was an old quarry long ago and now serves as the centerpiece to an outdoor association that uses the grounds for shooting guns and catching fish. This is where I first learned to fish, even shoot. I worked in the trap house on Sundays. I swan in the lake during parties.

I was a little rusty, but it felt pretty good to step into that same old boat, push off and toss in a line or two. Jim brought his two grandsons along and Hayden pulled in blue gill left and right. TNT caught the first bass as well as the biggest (not pictured). I caught three and Jim caught four or five. It wouldn't have mattered if we hadn't caught a thing, it was just good to be back out on the boat. We fished well into the night and Jim, Brandon and Hayden took three of the bass home with them for breakfast.

Already looking forward to the next time.

Beautiful Ohio? Where?

2010-06-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

This post definitely contains cursing... just a forewarning.

This is a nod to the pr*tty sh*tty design blog I navigate to each morning. I was initially going to throw out a simple rant concerning the new license plate that we Ohioans must endure for who knows how long until I thought of a legitimate comparison... New Mexico's plate.

I'm not sure where or when it was that I stole a glimpse of Ohio's license plate future, but as the spottings increased so did the welling of anger inside me. Okay, I can't say I'm furious... more disappointed. I read that this was simply a trial plate and you could still purchase the old ones. But not long ago, they announced that they officially made the switch. Holy hell on earth will there be a shit storm at the BMV if I can't buy something other than that piece of shit. That's right, I'm willing to drop some dollars in order to protect the ass-end of my car from something that should've been wiped off of it.

The problem is that I find it hard to believe that whoever was hired to do this (I haven't put a lot of effort into finding out either), if they were hired at all, considers this a portfolio piece. I can probably see how this process might've played out. Follow me here...

Step 1: X design firm bids and is awarded the job of creating an updated plate for Ohio.

Awesome! Everyone will see our work!

Step 2: A bureaucratic committee is formed to oversee its creation.

Awesome! We all have so many great ideas! BTW... did you know that I once taught my neice's kindergarten art class? I'm very artistic.

Step 3: Initial concepts are presented which were probably decent enough... maybe even implementing Ohio's newly developed logo which isn't all that bad.

They're going to love these.

Step 4: The eleven committee members gasp silently and immediately begin the assassination of what could've been a good idea.

Well, I think it's important to show that Ohio has cities... AND farms... OH! and a bridge could symbolize the connection between our urban and rural heritage!... some rays of sun... and how could we forget about the Wright Brothers!?! And is there a different font for "Beautiful?" Maybe something more elegant? Can we put a glow on it to make it more legible?

Steps 5-1000: After a year of revisions, lost souls and wasted money, they come to the solution you see before you. An utter piece of shit.

We'll never do design work again.

The biggest problem of all is that the committee is probably very proud of this. Don't be fooled here. This is not art. This is not up for someone's subjective interpretation. Some joe-shmo's opinion doesn't count here... no more than my opinion counts in how to disassemble a nuclear warhead. It's shit. Bottom line and I hope to God I'm able to put something else on my car when the time comes.

Now, please enjoy the simplicity and legibility of New Mexico's plate. Take it in because you won't see but once a year at best. And even then, they've upgraded as well. A step (a very small one) down, in my opinion, but leaps and bounds beyond our state's embarrassment.

So this post did end up being a rant. Sorry.

St. Rose

2010-06-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

I had an early meeting this morning downtown. Early enough that I went to said meeting and when I was finished, I drove out to Lunken Airport for a five-mile tempo run. On the return drive, I passed by Saint Rose Church on Eastern Avenue and swung in to take a picture of the high water marks on the back of the sacristy wall (the white strip running from the ground up between the two windows).

My Grandpa Alberts was baptized in that church and always talked about the painted markings depicting all of the river's biggest floods since the year 1800.

1937 gets top honors with 80' (basically equivalent to the top of the windows). It's hard to put it into perspective but the shot in the lower left shows the river in the background beyond the parking lot and the top of that second story window represents the 80' high water mark of 1937. At its crest, the river was 80' deep and probably upwards of a mile across. That is an unreal amount of water and hard to fathom.

Either way, it's a nice piece of history worth checking out. Here is a list of Cincinnati's biggest floods since 1800...

1. 80'0" (1937)

2. 71'2" (1884)

3. 70'0" (1913)

4. 69'3" (1945)

5. 66'6" (1964) Coincidence?

6. 65'0" (1997)

7. 64'10" (1948)

8. 63'7" (1933)

9. 61'9" (1918)

10. 61'6" (1966)

11. 61'5" (1982)

12. 60'6" (1930)

13. 60'1" (1979)

14. 59'4" (1978/1963)

Spring Grove

2010-06-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

My mom will appreciate this post. This one goes out to D.T. Here's your shout-out.

I missed the bus Friday... kind of on purpose and took off down Hamilton to Groesbeck, which then turns into Gray and drops 400' down to Winton Rd. Before you get to Winton, there is an entrance to Spring Grove Cemetary... and while I've heard all about it, I've never actually been inside the grounds, so I took a sharp turn to the right and found myself riding through a dream land. It's hard to describe and could really only be appreciated in person. I had to get to work so I didn't have time but only for a quick couple of shots while riding along. The bottom image doesn't do that oak tree justice. It. Was. A. Monster. Its trunk was bigger than our bathroom.

I'm looking forward to leaving a little earlier next time and exploring just a little bit more. But even so, I now have a shortcut through a crazy magnificent piece of history.

And just to note, following a line of heavy storms that came through Sunday morning, I went downstairs to find about 3" of standing water in my bucket and nary a drop on the basement floor. BOOM!

J.Patrick: Basement Sealer

2010-06-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

You know those forwards that have the woman wearing the motorcycle helmet upside down or the mules carrying half a car? Well, this image might make an appearance on something like that if it were ever suited for basement sealers. It's come to my attention that the crack along the wall in my basement leaks some serious water when there are very heavy downpours of rain. With all the heat and humidity the last couple of weeks, those heavy downpours are happening with annoying frequency. So the final fix will be to make a V cut into the concrete at the crack and seal it with some QuickCrete... but until that happens, I've concocted the most ghetto fix ever devised. It's a plastic bucket cut in half, then caulked to the side of the wall to act like a dam. The only addition I really need is a tube running out of the bottom and into a nearby drain. Once completed, all I have to do is wait for the next hard rain and see what kind of skills I've got.

I'm often pretty optimistic about such endeavors, but I'm giving this absolutely no shot of working. None. I've had plenty of run-ins with water over the years and I've yet to win. Narrowly escape, yes... but never win.

Phil

2010-05-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is Phil. He needed images of labels that he created for some Tonka trucks. This was just a quick shot while he set up the subject matter. Our desks are actually connected with a lightbox built into the middle of it. Pretty sweet, I know. I'm just showing the picture because I like it... and not necessarily to put Phil on the spot.

But while we're here, I'll let you know that I hold Phil in high regard. One of the most honest, humble, unpretentious, giving, patient, etc etc individuals I've ever met. Phil is my personal Jesus.

Before/After... Had To

2010-05-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post some before/after pics solely because I'm still pretty impressed with the floors and I wanted to show just how different the place looks without the awnings. The pictures on the left were taken by Erica during the inspection... as I was in the inspector's back pocket for most of the day... and I took the ones on the right this morning. Both days were cloudy and raining, so equal amounts of sunlight are coming in through the windows.

So the first floor is primed and ready to be painted... but with what? We thought we had some good color samples, until those samples got put on the wall. Now we're at somewhat of a loss. We're happy with the kitchen and pretty happy with the dining room, but the living room is really giving us grief. Erica wants to paint the trim white, and while that would put the RealSimple stamp on it, I'm a little reluctant as it would be more work and we'd never ever never be able to get that woodwork back... unless we had lots of money to get it stripped, etc. So that's where things stand now.

Oh, and check out that window seat Erica's dad put in. And that chandelier goes to whoever is last to visit the new place. It's looking like a tight race.

Mom Day

2010-05-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

I'm beat. We've had the house for less than two weeks and I already feel like the work is never-ending. We're onto the painting now. After that, we might get a lull in the action.

All week I wanted to do yard work. I wanted to cut, trim, hedge. I went out and bought grass stain-less lawn equipment Thursday night but got home too late to fire them up. I, unexpectedly, had to work late Friday night and was once again denied the satisfaction of a freshly-cut lawn. After picking up a few things from the west side Saturday morning, we headed back to the CH only to take off some awnings that were riveted to the side of the house. In the process, I broke a window and what feels like every bone in my two hands. We then worked on the yard the rest of the day... at least the part of the day that contains light. So it was off to Lowes to get paint chips, primer and painting tools in general. Hit Bob's for dinner, picked up a six-pack and went to the task of prepping the downstairs for primer and paint.

We were supposed to wake up early Sunday and get work done before heading to Piqua for Mother's Day. Easier said than done. After sleeping in, I continued to take out old screws, blind brackets, etc, etc but we eventually had to hop in the shower and make our way north.

We picked up my grandma in Englewood on the way there and enjoyed a nice little Sunday in P-town with ze family. Everyone made it so we had some pig and chicken on the grill, some baked beans, some salad, some Coca-Cola Classics. I could've used a nap regardless of what time I woke up.

Got home around midnight and immediately got to bed. Another weekend down. Congrats to all the Indy Mini runners this weekend... Matt and Taryn Elliott, Nick and Chris Koon. I was pretty bummed not to be able to make the trip. Judging from everyone's times, it was a pretty decent morning to run. There was no chance of racing it, but running with some comrades would've been fun. It would've also been the 7th year in a row... a streak that is now broken. I also made it into the "A" corral based off my 2009 time. Now it's off to the back of the line.

And just to note... my dad has now decided to grow a goatee. I can't wait to see this new look come to fruition.

Well, Hello Art Deco

2010-05-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

I've been driving down to work for the last month and a half, but the commute has gotten considerably better since moving out of the west side. I know I bitch about that end of town a lot... but it's because there's a lot to bitch about... unless you belong to the Tea Party.

I'll be taking the 17 out of College Hill soon, but I'm in desperate need of lawn-manicuring devices that will be purchased tonight, so the car was my only choice. I got tired of Liberty Street and it's 14 lights, so I started taking the Ezzard Charles exit and I'm glad I did. I turned left off the exit today and while waiting on the light to turn green, I looked in my side mirror to see this gem, sitting all proud and strong.

I can't wait until this is a fully-functioning train station again. It will knock people's socks off and make them wonder why they ever second-guessed such a thing.

1512 Wittekind

2010-05-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

These aren't the best shots, but they'll do for now. Above is our new house... a 1939 cape cod nestled in the tree-lined streets of College Hill. It was a lot of work getting to this point and it'll be even more work getting it the way we like... but, so far, it's been worth it.

I had to take a picture of the floors. These were seriously under that nasty carpet. It was as if they refinished them and then immediately put carpet on top. Unreal. We lucked out but are happy for it. Now I just have to get the yard back into shape and dismantle those awnings somehow. The horseshoe pits in the back had me at hello. Now I just need me a horse so that I may borrow his shoes from time to time.

Ze Pig

2010-05-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

This was my fifth marathon, but my first Pig. I always had intentions of running it, and the spring of 2010 seemed like perfect timing. Well, due to a whole lotta changes in plans, it ended up being a hometown race and kind of a pain in the ass, schedule-wise. We moved into Erica's parent's basement on the 19th of March and closed on a house in College Hill on the 27th of April. That threw a huge wrench into the running regimen... especially since it was impossible to start a run from the door of the house like I had always done in Columbus. Every run required a drive and if I was going to run on the east side, it required an extra bag so I could shower at work. It all felt disjointed and more of a hassle than it had before... but I was committed.

On top of all this, my race weekend consisted of 1) taking a load over to the new house on Friday night, 2) waking up early Saturday morning to clean the bathroom we had been using, 3) loading up a truck and two cars with boxes of clothes, kitchen stuff and other assorted items from the basement of Erica's parent's house and hauling it over to College Hill, 4) tearing out the carpet and padding on the entire first floor and hauling it to the basement, 5) cleaning the new bathroom 6) jumping in the shower and flying downtown to make it to the expo in time 7) weaving through the expo and finally making it up to dinner at P.F. Changs with my sister who was running the first leg of the 4-man relay 8) picking up some items at Bed, Bath & Beyond, 9) grocery shopping because the fridge was bare and 10) finally laying my stuff out and getting a bag of dry clothes packed for the next day and hopping into bed around 10:30pm. But that's enough excuses... now onto the race report.

The alarm went off at 4:30 and since I had been up since 2:45, it wasn't difficult to crawl out of bed. I got everything together, had my PB&J and headed for Oakley to meet my sister at her place. We got downtown amidst lightning, thunder and rain. Honestly, how common are thunderstorms in the morning? The answer... not at all. We end up walking a ways to the start and got pretty wet in the process. It was just a weird, eerie scene at the start. We only had about 10 minutes to go by the time we got to the corrals, it was very dark and raining hard. It seemed somewhat chaotic, but I wished my sister luck and snuck into the chute.

Even before the race, I didn't feel into it... physically or mentally. I just wasn't there. The impending closing ate up all my attention, the talk of the bad weather all week had me a little bummed and my legs didn't have much bounce because of aforementioned reasons, but the gun went off and so did we.

The temps were around 67º at the start with some decent gusts out of the south, but with the crowds in the first miles, they were negligible. I never really got to take in the course in those first miles as I was trying to find my pace knowing that what I was running wasn't sustainable for the next three hours, but I kept at it. The course was hillier than I'd expected in the first part and that took didn't do anything to boost my spirits as the rain continued to fall. The original goal was 3:05, but I backed off that immediately and decided to stick around the 3:10 pace group because I had heard they were going to back off ~30sec/mi for "the climb" and I thought that would at least save me a bit for the later stages. Well, they didn't. They took 7:15's all the way up that damn hill and I got sucked in the whole way. I did see my brother at the first transition area as he was running the second leg and that gave me a boost for the latter part of the big hill. 49:35 through 6.8mi (7:15/mi).

Once reaching the top, some guy yelled that the worst was behind us. We had almost 17mi to go. I wanted to punch him. I wasn't feeling good at all through these miles which only pissed me off so I pushed the pace a bit. It pissed me off that the 3:10 pace group was right behind me as I knew that leader took these suckers on a suicide mission up the hill and I was pissed that I wasn't running my own race. 1:34:11 through the half (7:12/mi). Miles 6.8 - 13.1: 44:36 (7:06/mi).

The hills kept coming once the long downhill on Erie Avenue was through and they did a number on me. I still tried to maintain some semblance of a pace but it got more and more labored and I felt things slowly slipping away and as I entered Linwood, it was gone... I was ready to go home. 2:23:08 through Mile 19.7 (7:16/mi). Miles 13.1 - 19.7: 48:57 (7:18/mi).

The last section along the river consisted of me walking through the water stops and running in between them. Ended up working out well. I was on my lonesome for a large part of this stretch and had a lot of crowds cheering just for me. Kind of funny. Definitely kept me going. And being able to see the stops ahead on the long straightaways helped me push a little harder to get there.

Coming into town was cool. Great big crowd along Pete Rose Way. That stretch seemed to go on forever. Saw my brother and sister at Eggleston. Shrugged my shoulders and shuffled towards the finish line. I had thought that last mile was faster than what they posted on the results site, but when I compared it to the overall pace of the last section, it wasn't so bad. 3:17:07 (7:32/mi). Miles 19.7 - 26.2: 53:59 (8:16/mi).

What did I learn? To go with a proven plan. I'll probably use Pfitzinger's 18/70 plan. And when will that be? Next spring. I'm going to register for the Boston Marathon with my time from Columbus 2009 (so long as they don't pull a fast one on me and change/implement different standards for 2011) and do some shorter stuff over the summer and plan for a half in the fall... maybe even a couple.

All in all, it was a good experience. The course gets a 10 in my book. You really get to see some of the best this city has to offer. If I would've had a better day, I could've focused more on the surroundings instead of making sure I got back to town. The crowds and volunteers were outstanding. The best I've ever seen. The aid stations were long and full of fluids. The finish area had tons of food and I was able to make my way through it quickly. The swag bag was great. The whole thing was put together really well and I was glad to have run it. I'll be back again, but next time it'll be for fun. Hauling 200lbs up and down those hills doesn't translate into fast times. So the Pig may have won this battle, but the war is far from over.

And there was little time to dwell on it. I spent the rest of Sunday pulling tac board up. My knees felt like they'd been used for target practice by the NRA.

Happy Earth Day

2010-04-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

I planted this tree... ehhh... 20 years ago in the backyard of my parent's old house on Mulberry. It's about the most "earth-friendly" thing I've ever done. Pretty sad, I know.

Alien Invasion

2010-04-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

On Christmas Eve, Erica's niece, Krissa, was a very anxious girl awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. Nonchalantly, I began to ramble about how tough he is to get a hold of and how it's just about impossible to meet him in person. You had to adhere to a very particular set of criteria before he'd even consider taking your call. Before long, it had become quite the story and about the only thing I can remember of it was the subject.

The next time I saw her, she asked to hear another story. That gave me this idea: take an empty journal, write a story, include some corresponding drawings, read it to the three kids, then hand it over and have them write and draw one themselves so they could read it to me.

I started it off with my best effort a few weeks ago so the oldest, Bailey, has worked on his own story since then and he shared it with everyone Sunday. It was great. Better than great. Krissa is up next. She can't write yet, but has a wild imagination. I'm already looking forward to it.

I've included the text from Bailey's story exactly as it was written...

Alien Invasion
by Bailey Linkenfelter

One sumer morning in Arizona a little boy named Andrew was busy ignoring another alien story. He never listened to them cause he didint belive an them. About half way through the story he snuck through a tree hole. The story teller ran away. Why did he run away asked Andrew? There right in front of him a real live U.F.O. It was heading for the museum. Andrew jumped out of the tree and ran after it. It shot a beam at the museum roof. The roof was falling on all the 2,000 peapoele inside. Then Andrew got an idea. He pulled out his red water gun. He never went anaywere without it. He shot it at the ship. The ship fell on the wooley mamath sceleten. But that just made the roof fall faster. Andrew shouted exit exit exit. Right when every body exit a museum gaurd said you know you have to clean this up. Just then the alein got out of the ship and used his powers to make the gaurd's close fly off. I come from up there the alein said. He pointed up at the sky.

To be continued...

Blue

2010-04-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

I took a drive the other night. I wound up on Rt. 50 heading west. I turned left on some beat up little offshoot of a road and headed down towards the river. I got to a curve and turned off into a small lot. It was quiet and there wasn't a soul about. The sun set and I would've been content to watch it rise again. The shot is tilted, not for an artistic effect, but because I had to set the timer and prop it up against the antenna of the car.

Babies become aware of their toes. Teenagers become aware of their independence. There's a blue in the sky that presents itself only after the sun has set. The richness of it is unmatched. Everyone's seen... maybe even acknowledged it. I first became aware of this blue while I was working at Kroger in high school. I'd punch out for my break, grab a snack and rest my legs on the bench outside. I just happened to look up one night and I thought, "Wow. That's a really blue, blue."

Then I found a twenty-dollar bill.

The Piqua Bike Path

2010-04-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've talked about this run many times and have attempted to photograph it even more than that, but for whatever reason, I've been foiled in each attempt. I was finally able to pull it off over the Easter weekend. I woke up early Sunday morning and hit the trail. I've attached a map of my wee hometown for reference. The thumbnails correspond to the points on that map and are in order from left to right, top to bottom... but I'll take a stab at walking you through it.

I head east on Park Avenue from my parent's new house on Beckert. Nearly a mile down the road, I turn right onto the Canal Path trail. I immediately come to 1) Frantz's Pond which I've written about previously. Actually, if the image were larger, you could see the moon hanging in the sky over the treeline. I then continue on across High Street and into 2) French Park. When I was growing up, this was a junk yard. You wanted nothing to do with this area as the train tracks were behind this and off limits. According to my dad, this was a popular place for hobo camps back in the day. A left turn takes you down the hill and into downtown and eventually to the 3) Great Miami River. This stretch goes on for a while along the levy and under the 4) 25-A bridge until you eventually make it to the overgrown tree section of this trail. We would hunt for crawldads under that bridge and along the cement embankment into the river. Did a lot of fishing here as well growing up. Our first house was basically a block away from the Miami. Once you've gotten into the wooded part, you see that the path you're running on was actually the old tow path for the 5) Miami-Erie Canal. Segments remain along with the remnants of old locks along the way. I come out of the woods and into a roadside park, under State Route 66 and up into 6) Swift Run. We spent a lot of time up along the canal in our younger days. Fishing, swimming, riding bikes. You couldn't construct a better, more elaborate playground than the one we had in our backyard. How lucky we were. There are three 7) overflows that allowed the canal to empty down into the river during heavy rain. They came in handy on hot summer days. The path runs through the middle of Forest Hill Cemetery and then butts into 8) Fountain Park. Again, many days spent riding our bikes in and around this area. Before turning right onto Park Avenue and making my way back to Beckert, you pass by 9) Echo Lake. Still a nice view.

So that's that. Still my favorite run to date. Heading back Saturday for a wedding and plan doing the loop with a couple of friends.

Back to Work

2010-04-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

I've come full circle, back to the OTR... where the cars look like covered wagons and parking is difficult to come by. Once I get into my routine, things will undoubtedly feel more permanent. At the moment, I feel like a lost dog. I hate the feeling. I've chosen to live in a way that needs footing. I need to be grounded or stuff like schedules just go to hell and you run yourself ragged trying to keep up.

The prospect of an actual home is looking more and more real. The fingers are still crossed and I knock on wood more now than I did this time last year.

Happy Opening Day. What was the reason for keeping Aaron Harang?

Travels and Travails

2010-03-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Now that the snow and slush have receded, it's time to move beyond fire and ice. A lot has transpired... two weddings and a move to be precise. My cousin, Andy, was married on the 5th of March in Cincinnati. My roommate through school, Ryan, was married on the 13th in New York City and we packed everything into a 17' UHaul truck (with the help of my folks) on the 19th and drove it to Cincinnati. It was exhausting. It still is. We're knee-deep in the house hunt. I think we've looked at 15 houses in four neighborhoods across the area with several viewings scheduled for this week.

I always thought this would be a bigger deal than what I feel it's turning out to be. There's a code amongst my demographic that dictates the biggest and most important events of your life. You're told from a very young age (via media outlets for the most part) when and where you'll feel the most overwhelming feelings you'll ever experience. I hate that. It's stupid and predictable. It's a house... an object. If buying a house turns out to be a defining moment in my life, then I want to quit now.

I haven't taken pictures in a long time. I need to think of a better way to carry this camera around without non-verbally screaming "I have a camera and plan to shoot candidly because those are the best shots, right!?!" I shot some with the mini digi at the ceremony in NYC which I'll share once they've been downloaded, but for now all I've got is the groom holding an Emmy that he owns. I touched it and felt famous. I was able to take advantage of this rare photo-op because of a canceled flight while trying to return home. The extra night turned out to be a really good time even though we smelled like a terminal. Many thanks to the gracious newlyweds for opening their doors after such a tumultuous weekend.

Fire & Ice

2010-03-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

With the warm weather, it's hard to imagine that less than two weeks ago, we were on the frozen waters of Rocky Fork Lake warming ourselves around a bonfire. That's right... a fire on a frozen lake. Seems counter-intuitive, I know, but all present were adults and more importantly, men. The photos are courtesy of Brad's Uncle Steve. We had a blast and it will definitely go down as another night to remember down at the RFL.

I even had enough left in me to wake up early the next morning and gut out an 18-miler that I'm aptly naming, "The Butcher." This is only the second running route I've ever named but rest assured, it's deserving. I'm honestly thinking of making this my last long run before I taper for the Flying Pig. My 21-miler the following week felt like a walk in the park comparably. And since you asked, the only other named route is in Cincinnati and is known as "The Grizzly." Let me know if you'd like to run it sometime. It's a kick in the pants.

But it's back to packing. We'll officially be in Cincinnati full-time on the 22nd of this month.

Sooner or Later

2010-02-24T04:40:00.000-08:00

There seems to be a lot going on but very little to talk about. One item to note is that March appears to be our last month in Columbus. It hasn't sunk in. It slowly is, but not to the point of being panic-stricken with things to get done. It certainly throws our lives for a loop. Moving, of course, is going to be our biggest task. And where are we moving to? We want a house but know that making a smart purchase on a house in the next 30 days is impossible. I thought we were supposed to have until August!?! As with everything else, life happened and now it's up to us to make the most of it. We'll still get that house... probably even before the summer... which is even sooner than what our previous goals had in mind.

Will I miss Columbus? I will, even though I never really made the transition into full-fledged citizen. I kept my job in Cincinnati, which meant I wasn't able to experience a real "work" atmosphere. I dove into a sport that isolates you more than just about any other sport out there... besides swimming. We traveled on the weekends a lot, but that's not unusual. I feel like I tried to try... maybe that's the best way to describe it. I played volleyball for most of the summer. I played dodgeball with that same group for a winter (one sport I'll never try again). I attended CSCA events as much as I could. I ran races all over the city... a lot of times by myself. I even volunteered at a couple. I got an office space outside of the house (that failed miserably). So, did I give my best effort? Probably not, but I worked five to six days a week, ate dinner with my wife and took care of all the other things that life throws at you in the course of a week... not to make excuses, even though that sounded a whole helluva lot like one.

A part of me is bummed that it didn't work. I could continue on with the excuses as to why it didn't, but I'd rather run a few more of my favorite routes while I'm here and have the time. I'll say goodbye to my old friend, the Olentangy. She told me stories while my legs ached on the many long runs I ran next to her. The sycamores that lined the banks and kept the heaviest of rain off my head. The squirrels, the hawks, the ducks, even... the geese. I'll say goodbye to the Scioto where it had been dammed up at Griggs Reservoir. The boats that would silently glide atop the water before there was a light in the sky. Their bow lights like ghosts in the dark. I'll say goodbye to the quarter-mile stretch that cut through a corn field and got me over to Beekman Park. How a 90-degree turn to the right could completely change one's perspective, I'll never know. Some routes I grew to loathe and I could never got enough of others.

So we'll try this one more time. I remember standing on my brother's deck staring out onto McMillan Street and at the glow of Hughes High School in the night. I was smoking a cigarette and thinking that this was it. I was 18 and in a week, I'd be a college freshman. I'm sure the same glow radiates off Hughes on early September nights, but instead of feeling so far away, I'll realize just how close I am.

The pictures above have nothing to do with moving at all. We spent Sunday at my brother's house celebrating my niece's 2nd birthday. My sister bought the girls sunglasses which were a hit. I wish I had gotten a good picture of the both of them, but this one of Kendall sums it up. And their snowman still cracks me up. The weekend before that was spent on the west side celebrating my birthday, along with Erica's sister's and brother-in-law's birthdays with crab legs. Yessir.

Lunch on the Run

2010-02-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

Snowed harder today than I had expected... so what else is there to do but get out and mix it up!?! I took off for 4.25mi in the soft stuff during lunch. I have to remember to take my sunglasses the next time. Snow in the eyes gets annoying after a minute or two.

The schedule called for a tempo run so I got home and hopped on the TM for another 5mi at a much faster pace than several inches of snow would allow.

But man, I love this stuff. The more adverse the elements, the better.

Snow Showers

2010-02-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

My friend is getting married on the 13th of March and his fiancée's wedding shower was this past Sunday in Piqua. My dad suggested we head down to Hemm's and take a hike along the creek in all that snow while my mom and Erica attended the shower. Fabulous idea, I thought.

Piqua got trounced compared to Columbus. Easily a foot of snow... maybe upwards of 15 inches. The last time it snowed like that, I stood toe to toe with three mustachio'd men at some bar off of I-75 in Dayton.

What a day for a hike.

Hit the Ball Already

2010-01-28T09:26:00.000-08:00

Main Street's favorite son, Ronald, created this image of Obama shortly after the 2008 election.

I do like complaining but I also see the need for solutions sprinkled in amongst all that bitching. On a side note, the more MacGyver-esque the solutions are, the better. I don't care to hear about how something won't work and neither does Mac.

Talking about solutions at length is like leaving a putt short. You're guaranteed to fail 100% of the time. Instead, walk up to the damn ball and give it a shot... a chance! And if you fail, then try it again from another angle, but dammit, you have to try.

If you don't think it's broke at this point, and I am referring to the health care system, then please read this and reconsider the facts. The rise in premiums and the lack of available care is unsustainable. It is. Bottom line. And the longer we take to make a change, the more money we're set to lose.

I create solutions to visual communication problems. That's what I get paid for. I would expect to be fired if I ever stood in the way of those solutions. I would expect to be fired if all I ever did was complain about possible solutions and never having any viable ones of my own. I would expect that others in their respective fields would feel the same heat for obstructing the solutions they're paid to create.

Last night, I heard a call to come up with solutions, not obstruct them. We should all follow suit.

Rant 012710

2010-01-27T14:29:00.000-08:00

While I don't want to make a habit of this, I witnessed something today that I had to get off my chest. This won't be the last time, so behold the new face of "holding your tongue."

I had to run to the bank at lunch and decided that I'd pick up a sub while I was out. The closest Subway was down 5th in a strip mall... very close to the bank. I usually shy away from this location unless I'm on my bike. There just aren't many parking spots available and it's always chaotic but I was close and thought I'd give it a shot. Upon pulling into the lot I watched two women getting out of a terribly-parked Honda Civic to my right. The edge of the lot was to their right giving them no chance to blame a poorly-parked over-sized truck next to them. Not only was it crooked, but it was two feet into the empty spot next to it. I watched in disbelief as the driver looked back, not just once, but twice... knowing that her stupid ass was blatantly taking up two spaces in an already crowded parking lot. I couldn't have been more furious as she turned and continued to waddle towards the Subway entrance.

There were no spots available so I eventually looped around and found a spot on Northwest Blvd. I wanted to do something. I felt the need... to say something... anything... but I didn't. It would've been rude and caused a scene. Instead, I walked into Subway and silently passed them on my way to the back of the line. But it's not right. I was raised not to cause a commotion, but dammit, you can't always hold your tongue. You can't! Honestly, the real question is, "Who raised her?" Who raised such an idiot stick of a person. Go ahead and steal my spot in the lot, whatever. I'll get over it, but to walk away when you see a car wanting to park in the only available spot which is no longer available because of your poor, mindless parking job is inexcusable.

We're too nice. We've been raised to be too nice. When someone forwards me an email telling me to boycott a US Stamp with Arab text on it because "MUSLIMS" have bombed this and that, I should reply with big fat capital letters telling him what a moronic dickhead he is for the lack of understanding and general intelligence he possesses. Such a request might be equivalent to boycotting BYU for atrocities committed by its founder, Brigham Young, against humanity in the 19th century. Muslims aren't the only humans to have murdered in the name of God. Or better yet, boycotting the United States entirely for atrocities committed against First Nations People throughout its history.

But instead, I deleted it. Didn't want to cause a scene.

Too Cute

2010-01-26T12:26:00.000-08:00

Work has been busy. Toy Fair time. I've never been. I'm not sure what the excitement is all about, but I do know some of our clients are excited which is always good for business. I had to be in Cincinnati for meetings on MLK Day. We decided to spend the weekend there and look for houses... errr... neighborhoods, rather. It would at least give us an idea of where we wanted to look and it was good to get to know the city a little bit better.

Got to eat at Terry's Turf Club Saturday night with my sister and Dan. I had heartburn until the following Wednesday. My brother and Leslie were down in Tennessee for a long weekend and my parents were watching the girls. We spent the night in Milford to help them out. Was able to wake up, have some coffee and hang out with my nieces until it was time to neighborhood hunt once again. Just an FYI, if you've never driven through Bellevue, KY... do it. There are some very cool places if you search long and hard enough.

Last week was more of the same with work. Training for the Flying Pig is just about to commence. I'm looking forward to being back in a schedule. This is going to be my last marathon training cycle in Columbus. I'll miss some of this rolling terrain, but not the wind. Ugh... I hate the wind almost as much as I hate mangoes.

Yesteryear

2010-01-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

While celebrating the Tyler Family Christmas, my Aunt Ang called all the nieces and nephews into the room because she had something for us. She carried out several Ziploc bags and handed each of us one with our name on it. The contents were an assortment of pictures, drawings, clippings, etc etc that she'd saved over the years and she wanted us to have them.

For the next 30 minutes, we all flipped through our respective bags, laughing at old photos of days long since gone. It was a great gift. My Grandma and Grandpa Tyler passed away more than 20 years ago. You forget what people sound like, even what they look like. These pictures remind me a little bit that they still impact our lives. Makes me happy that someone took them. That's why I'm a little peeved that I didn't take any pictures over the holidays. The pictures I take shouldn't be for me... they should be for my nieces, (hopefully) nephews and (hopefully) my own kids to look back on and laugh. Not every picture is going to be a great, or even good, shot but it's not about that. It's about capturing that moment in time and preserving it... proving the vulnerability of it all.

From left to right... my Grandma and Grandpa Tyler holding a very young version of myself; my gun and I not taking any lip while my Aunt Ang and sister, Meghann, play in the background; a letter I wrote to my Grandma... probably after I couldn't have a 15th ice cream sandwich (I'm certain my two-year-old niece can spell better than I could at age seven); sitting on the couch with my brother looking dirt poor and corn-fed; and finally dropping a deuce or maybe I peed sitting down, who knows.

Inundated

2010-01-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

Quick question...

Why are there 1000" plasma screens in just about every restaurant anymore?

Anybody else notice this trend? One more question...

Am I the only one that has a hard time carrying on a conversation when a TV is on in a restaurant?

Our favorite Skyline has two of them. My favorite breakfast place now has three. Even our go-to Chinese restaurant on the corner has a newly-installed flat screen right in the middle of the dining room. I haven't noticed it until recently and I can't say I like where it's going, but apparently, I might be the only one that feels this way. And to tell you the truth, I can't think of a bar other than the Blind Lemon in Mount Adams that doesn't have a television set. This is scary.

Re-Traction

2010-01-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

So I need to rephrase something I posted earlier this week. I stated, blindly, that I liked running in the snow. Let me clarify: I like to run when it's snowing. Completely different from running in the snow.

I headed out to Antrim Lake early this morning with my "screw" shoes in tow, prepared to... I don't know... frolic along the snow-covered pond for an hour and a half or until I got tired. What I actually did was struggle through one of the toughest runs in recent memory.

The snow was more like sand than actual snow. The weather's been so cold since it initially fell that there wasn't any melting/refreezing to condense it so the snow wasn't really packed down... it was just flatter than what hadn't been walked on yet. I'm sure the screw shoes helped some, but it didn't really feel like it. I was ready to hang it up after the first lap (1.18mi).

So one might look at the situation, elect to make today a short run and go about the business of a long run tomorrow morning on some cleared streets. That wasn't going to happen. I drove up there, said I was going to do at least 10 laps and dammit, I was going to do 10 laps and because I had disrespected running in the snow, I was going to throw in an 11th lap to teach me a lesson. So, 13 miles later, I finished with some new found respect for Mama Nature. I shain't do it again.

Cut It Up!

2010-01-05T09:21:00.000-08:00

I like to run in the snow.

Erica takes forever to get ready for bed so I roam around downstairs, locking doors, preparing the following day's coffee, turning off lights, etc etc. I sat on the coffee table last night before heading upstairs and admired the quiet scene outside knowing I'd have some fresh powder to run through in the morning. Gnarly!

2010. Bring It.

2010-01-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

I'd be more pumped if I wasn't so tired. Deciding that it's OK to sleep past 10am one day doesn't make or break a schedule. Deciding to do it for a week does. I couldn't believe how early 6am felt. But a great trick is preparing the coffee pot the night before and setting it to start about five minutes before the alarm goes off. Nothing gets me out of bed like the thought of a nice warm muggajoe. I also had the recently-purchased Communication Arts 2009 Design Annual waiting on me. Mmmm... piping hot coffee and the potential for idea thievery... how couldn't you hop right out of bed!?!

And my resolution for 2010? "Get Better." That's it. Apply liberally and see what happens.

The holidays were good. Low key. Erica got me a turntable. It's pretty great. I've been listening to Tchaichovsky's Piano Concerto 1 pretty much non-stop. The Tyler Family gift exchange got a shakeup in the form of a white elephant and that seemed to go over well... here's to one more year. New Year's Eve consisted of a nice dinner and watching the ball drop... realizing it's best to keep the TV turned off for all but the final five minutes. I can't believe that mess of a show brought in advertising dollars.

Some memorable moments of 2009: got married on 08/22; my niece, Kendall Marie, was born on 09/15; ran three marathons and got my "Boston Qualifier" at Columbus; had my first run-in with a car, albeit the door; designed a "collectible" item; ran 1861.2 miles altogether; Oscar and Boomer, two of the finest dogs to have ever graced us with their presence, passed on; my parents moved from the house that I'd known for 23 years; found out that Maine is a pretty rockin' state... at least the parts I saw; found out that Jersey is... well... not a rockin' state; designed a headstone; and I kind of helped put together a shed. All in all, it was a great year.

The holidays ended up being so low key, in fact, that I didn't take a whole lot of pictures. After finding a relatively close "trail" to run on at Antrim Lake in Worthington, I took to the task of making my first pair of "screw" shoes so that I could still get a good run in despite the snow and ice that often hangs around. I took 5/8" sheet metal screws and drilled them into the bottom of some old runners... 15 on each shoe. They work unbelievably well but were a complete pain in the ass to get in there. Getting a screw into the sole of a shoe, even with a vice grip, is no easy task. The other shot is just our door. I was really really bored yesterday, but did get a Bruegger's bacon, egg and cheese on everything bagel. Dang, it was somethin'.

1332 Main

2009-12-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

Nothing to note. Just my boss's office at 1332 Main Street in Over-the-Rhine. It's a cool little place to hang out and drink beers when time permits. I was there Wednesday to finish up a crazy book project. Finished in enough time to go out and visit my nieces before heading home to Columbus. Rolled in around 11:30. I was beat.

Monopolized

2009-12-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas is near. I could've taken the opportunity of a free weekend and gotten all of my shopping done... but I didn't. We, instead, played more games of Monopoly in a three-day span than I think I've played my entire life combined. Did you know they had Monopoly tournaments? Most games went quickly... usually me dominating the upper echelon markets and commanding top dollar because of hotels and other assorted property ventures. But we're now in the throes of a long, drawn out struggle that saw one player nearly bankrupt and another with nothing to build on. After some risky deals, the two foes seem evenly matched. We'll see how it all unfolds... tonight... after dinner. DaDaDa-Dummmmm.

Say, who's this Tiger Woods guy they keep talking about? I've avoided the stories, pictures and voicemails for about as long as I could. Seems like everyone and their mother is offering this guy advice and telling him what he should and shouldn't do and how terrible a person he is. Well, I saw that dude hit a shot out of a bunker that went 200-some odd yards and ended up 5' from the pin... when it mattered. To me, he's a golfer. I read this article on the Dispatch today. I also started to spiral out on the topic and read this article on a gossip site. I've never bought aftershave because I saw Tiger slathered in it. I've never and probably will never buy a Buick regardless of how well Tiger handles the power steering during a commercial. What and who is Accenture? I play Titleist golf balls when I can steal them out of my dad's bag... and when I can't, it's whatever I pulled out of the pond back on #7 because it's just going right back in the pond on #13. At the end of the day, is the PGA going to bar him from their tournaments because he cheated on his wife? No. Sorry Rick, but Tiger doesn't owe me an apology and he sure as hell doesn't owe you an apology. Of course he owes his wife an apology (and his kids once they're able to understand the brevity of it all) but she came after him with a golf club. I'm thinking that woman might be able to handle her own without you and every other PR/marriage counselor chiming in. And if she can't, it's not anyone's business to tell her so.

Believe me, no one's condoning what's been done but my guess is that the guy feels pretty horrendous. It may have even knocked him down a notch or two. Chances are, things will be different and it won't be because 100% of us have passed some other-worldly judgment down on him... it's going to be because of how he feels right now, in his own home, with those that he cares most about. Maybe they'll split, maybe they won't. I don't really care because again, it's none of my business. All I know is that he'll continue to impress me with crazy good golf shots on the course because ultimately he's the best golfer in the world.

And to the kids out there that looked up to him... maybe this is a good opportunity for your parents to teach you the reality and vulnerability of human beings. We are flawed. We make mistakes... even the ones that get paid more in an hour than most of us will make in a lifetime. Then they can teach you about forgiveness. He's not the first role model to do a public face-plant and he won't be the last, so why do we keep step to the same song and dance?

First Snow

2009-12-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

I wimped out this morning. It wasn't the cold that sent me to the dreadmill in the basement, it was the wind. Well, the wind combined with the cold. What a storm this was. Hello winter. I do hope this increases my chances of skiing over the holidays ten-fold.

My niece was baptized over the weekend in Minster so I was able to get to back to Piqua for their Holly Jolly 5K on Saturday morning. I was wrastlin' a decent head cold, but still came away with an 18:56... a PR by about 21 seconds. I got a glass ornament for my efforts. The key is to run these local 5K's in the fall when all the high school and college cross country runners are in season. Come December, they're running sub-16's and making you wish you stayed in bed. But it was fun and I got to talk to some people I haven't seen in a while.

Because of the baptism, I had to skip the trip over to Pittsburgh for the UC/Pitt game. If you want to know what I missed, read here and here. Not here. But hey, family comes first, unless they're incarcerated. The worst part was that my cold prevented me spoiling my two nieces. I've already got dibs on Kendall come Christmas time. Lauren, unfortunately, can walk and doesn't trust me farther than she can throw me. Being continually passed up for the likes of my sister starts to hurt over time.

Come and Get It

2009-12-04T10:18:00.000-08:00

In a small town south of Columbus lives a gentleman who's ready to offer you the world. In order to protect identities, we'll just call him Carl. At first glance, it would appear that life may have passed this old boy on by. But do yourself a favor and take a closer look. Opportunity rarely makes it up the walk before he's got the door open, a steaming cup of coffee in waiting and a lifetime of ideas to share. You could say that Carl likes to take the bull by the horns. Any other man would've stopped at satellite television. Few would venture into the realm of the dial-up internet service. Only Carl could combine those two mind-benders with rental trucks... and you might as well throw carpentry in there because wooden benches don't make themselves.

No Boston?

2009-12-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

Some suck-ass news on the running front... no Boston in 2010. Sadly enough, the event reached its maximum number of registrations at the beginning of November. To be honest, I couldn't have gone anyways. It was either Boston or a wedding in Jamaica for a good friend of mine and that would be tough to say, "Hey, listen. I can afford to go to one or the other... and... well... I'm choosing something selfish. Have a great time." But honestly, destination weddings look good on paper but suck when it comes down to logistics. Turns out I'm glad we didn't go through with ours. Music Hall ended up being the bee's knees. It just sucks when you have to choose.

So here's to 2011, right!?! That could depend on a number of things. First, 2009 was the first year EVER that Boston sold out and it did so at the end of January. Registration usually closes at the end of March. This year, registration got capped in November which is an obvious result of it being capped early for 2009. But November!?! At this rate, it's going to be a frenzied registration war if they don't do something about it. Which leads me to believe that they will do something about it. Could be a number of things, but one idea folks were tossing around would be to eliminate the "mercy minute". The mercy minute is the :59 added to BQ times (ie: 3:10:59, 3:40:59). It would save thousands of spots and make it much less confusing, but then my 3:10:02 wouldn't count. I'd need to shave 0:00:02 off my PR to qualify. There's also talk of eliminating the opportunity to use one BQ to enter two consecutive marathons. After a certain date (somewhere in September) your BQ counts for the next year as well as the year after that (ie: my time in Columbus could've gotten me into Boston '10 as well as Boston '11). Seems like one BQ should get you one marathon and that's it. But again, I get the short end of the stick because I'd have to qualify again.

Now, I know that a lot can happen in the course of a year, but I plan to continue running for a long time and my hope is that a 3:10:02 is not my PR by a long shot, but you just never know from race to race. Some days you've got it, others you don't and there ain't a damn thing you can do when mother nature rears her ugly head. It would've been easy to get pretty pissed if I would've opted out of Columbus in order to have a better race in Indy only to be greeted by a 20mph headwind at the turn. It makes it pretty tough to train for 3-4 months in some cases and encounter a humid, 88º day in October... in Chicago. It's impossible to plan for something like that. So if they change the rules, which I'm sure they will, I'll just have to get faster. So, Boston in 2011? I'll see what I can do.

Turkey Day '09

2009-12-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving has once again come and gone. Bring on Christmas, right? Maybe. Maybe not.

What's happened to that holiday spirit? What's happened to the appreciation of everyone gathering around you? Thanksgiving was great but it was pretty low key. Ran in the Flying Feather 4-Miler on Thanksgiving morning. It was a fun race and probably one of the best schwag bags I've ever come across... l/s tech shirt, gloves, stocking cap and a bottle of wine. It was worth every cent of the registration fee. And there were a ton of people. Nearly 2700 finished. On a side note, I know I should've gone faster, but my legs felt stiff and I settled for a 25:40. I did, however, get 3rd in my age group, but I don't think they hand out the big checks for that.

The Tyler side celebrated Thanksgiving in Dublin this year so there were no trips to Piqua planned as it would've made zero sense to fight traffic Wednesday night just to turn around and head home Thursday morning. I was in charge of the mashed potatoes. Erica was in charge of the cranberry sauce and whip cream. My first mistake was underestimating how long it would take to peel enough potatoes for 20 people. So that led to my second mistake, which was trying to stuff peelings from 22 potatoes down the disposal at once. After that, the mistakes just kind of spiraled out of control but we did make it to the party at 2pm with some pretty fluffy potatoes. The only problem was that a clogged drain waited for me at home. We headed out around 9pm (lame that we were the last ones to go) and found the drain as we'd left it. Erica had the idea of using a plunger and I immediately got to work making a complete mess... but IT WORKED! I was able to suck enough peelings into the side sink that the water drained and the disposal worked like new again. So, after many a lesson learned, it was off to bed knowing we had a long drive to Cincinnati the next morning.

Cincinnati was pretty uneventful. Stayed up Friday night playing euchre. Ran out at Miami Whitewater Saturday morning, Thanksgiving dinner Saturday night followed by more euchre. We did hop on over to Western Bowl – Home of the Hoinke Classic, for a few friendly bowling matches with Erica's friend, Brandi, and her boyfriend, Doug. In the five years I've been with Erica, we've never gone bowling despite my pleas and that finally changed Saturday night. It was a great time even though we all did pretty terrible and I now have sore muscles in places I didn't know muscle existed. Got a little work done Sunday and it was back up 71 to Columbus.

To be honest, I've yet to recover from two pretty lousy nights of sleep in Cincinnati. That may be the reason for the foul mood. It might be the lack of a Turkey Bowl appearance that's got me down, but dammit I need to snap out of it and start rockin' out this Christmas spirit. There's so much to look forward to in the coming weeks... like leftover turkey.

James Nicodemus Gustof Tyler III

2009-11-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

With all these choices on the brand new blog editor, I'm a little more than confused. The last post didn't format very well, so I'm hoping this stab at things is a bit smoother.

I went home Saturday to help my dad put together a shed. I learned three things: 1) I'm lousy at being a carpenter. 2) I'll never trust measurements and angles on pre-fab anything. 3) The new section of the bike path that heads south to Troy is hot-diggity.

Concerning the first, I don't know how this has passed me up. Well I do, but it bothers me slightly. Craft was one of the biggest things they beat into our heads in school. Be precise. Make sure your shit looks good. I just think I get myself in a hurry. Eager to keep up. My dad is well versed in the arts of fixing, building, handy-manning... and I am, well... not. So I guess I was trying to keep up and do my part, but as they say, haste makes waste.

Concerning the second, that's common sense. Thanks doctor.

Onto the third... it really is a nice piece of path they laid down there next to the river. I intended to finally take pictures of the path on this trip home. I even remembered to pack the mini digi, but upon leaving the house and making it down the hill, I once again found myself empty-handed. Geez J. This was only my second run post-Monumental and an hour would've been all I'd have in me. I underestimated the distance from 1913 Beckert to the end of the trail at Peterson Road by about four miles, so 10+ miles later, I was back home and pretty beat. Oh, but it was worth it. I even saw a year-old buck along the trail. So that piece combined with the northern half could comprise a pretty decent long run in the future.

We worked well past dark Saturday night and so the dogs were out keeping us company. This is my sister's dog, Jimmy. Just Jimmy. I added the flourish just because he looks so astute under the spotlight.

Monumental Marathon Race Report

2009-11-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. 2009 was only the second year of this race's existence, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had a general idea of the area and really thought it would be a great race. Originally, this was my goal race of the fall marathon season and even after Columbus, I still thought I had a good race in me. In the 20 days leading up to the race, I tried to stay sharp with some speed workouts, but not overdo it on the distance so that my legs might recover faster from Columbus. I'm a novice when it comes to marathoning, so with two of them in three weeks, I was wandering into a realm I wasn't at all familiar with. After racing the Mini and subsequently flubbing Sunburst, I took a good month off of any long distances before my legs felt fresh again. I figured I'd put in some good miles and while I "raced" Columbus, I still left some in the tank hoping for an even better time in Indy.

So Friday afternoon we took to the road for a three hour trip west. I would've liked to have gotten there in time for the expo but that just wasn't going to happen. So we rolled in around 8pm, got unpacked and immediately hit the streets looking for food. Downtown Indy, in case you've never been, is hopping. No joke. All the time. Hopping. We tried to get into P.F. Chang's only to be told that we could have a reservation for 10pm. Whaa!?! So we finally landed at Rock Bottom Brewery. Ugh. It wasn't too bad, but not great and we didn't really eat until 9:30pm which was later that was I had planned. Saturday races are great because you have the rest of the weekend to enjoy, but they suck if you're traveling to said race. So I got to bed and slept reasonably well. I had to wake up early to pick up the packet I wasn't able to nab the night before, so the alarm went off at 5:00 and I was ready to go in no time. I've got a pretty good system for race mornings and ended up having a lot of time just to relax. We stayed at the Sheraton downtown which was very close to the start line. The weather was mild for the first of November, but I hung around the lobby for as long as I could and finally made my way for the start around 7:15am. There wasn't a ton of runners so I was able to move around the corral pretty easily and ended up chilling on the curb for about 15 minutes. But 8am had arrived and it was time to go.

The gun went off and so did we. From the start I found it difficult to get comfortable. The first miles were easy, but again, not very comfortable. The plan was to take 7:05's through the half and see what I felt like. The first half of the course took a mostly northern route up to Broad Ripple before turning south for the finish. The temps were mild, yes, but the wind was anything but. My guess is that they were 15-20 mph from the SSW at the start and only got worse as the day wore on. The wind was at our back for the majority of the first half. In retrospect, I would've rather had it the other way around.

I can't say I paid much attention to the course. I was just focusing from the 10K mark on. I knew it was going to be a long day. I waited for my legs to show up but they never did. But for the most part, it was a great course. Great neighborhoods to run through... tree-lined streets, parks, rolling hills. The time of year may cause problems with registration, but the course will definitely be a draw for return runners, myself included. The traffic was an issue but the cops kept the angry motorists at bay. I got cheers and jeers from some in their cars. From the looks of it, they could've done a better job of letting the city know what was going on that morning... but from the way I understand it, people rarely listen.

I hit the 10K mark at 43:48 (7:02/mi). Unlike Columbus, I didn't have a pacing group on the horizon to keep me in check. As a matter of fact, some little guy came zooming past me in the first couple miles with a 3:10:00 pacing bib on his back and no one else around him... probably because he was more on pace for a sub-3 rather than a 3:10:00. I made the turn up into Broad Ripple and started to look for my friend Nick. It wasn't too long before I saw him and I gave him a high five, he wished me well and it was onto another group of friends that said they'd be by the halfway mark. I soon saw the Elliotts on the left hand side of College Avenue and dropped a head band and arm warmers with them. I'm beginning to be spoiled by my on-course bag drops. It was before this that I made the decision to take the rest of this race and gauge it by effort. I knew there would be no PR and nothing remotely close to a BQ. I was content with that and just rode it out. Seriously, my legs were trashed at the halfway mark which was scary. I hit 13.1mi at 1:33:05 (7:06/mi). By that time, I was probably running 7:30's and now it was time to turn into the wind.

The rest was pretty grueling but fun it it's own weird way. Unlike the three previous, I wasn't as focused on the task at hand. I knew I'd finish without walking so it became just a regular long, slow run. I shuffled along talking to fellow runners, spectators, cops, whoever. The wind sucked bad, but every step got me closer to home, so I just kept at it. Somehow I passed a lot of folks. People were cramping up badly even before Mile 20. My legs were going, but they never seized up completely. The final tally was a 3:22:18. So after running a 1:35:00/1:35:02, I ran a 1:33:05/1:49:13 three weeks later. I was more than a little naive to think I'd bounce back that quickly or think that I hadn't beat myself up pretty good in Columbus. My times would say otherwise. But it was fun. No doubt about it. And a great course. One that I hope to do well in next year or maybe even the year after. I gave myself a quarter of a point because I never stopped running and after feeling the way I felt from Miles 11 on I'll at least take it as a moral victory.

So I'm taking a week off and enjoying the rest. Probably going to take part in the Turkey Trot here in Columbus... not sure to what capacity, but at least for a jog. It's been a good year and I'm ready for 2010.

Some Light Reading?

2009-10-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

I bought eleven items at Kroger the other day. The subsequent receipt was 24.5" long. When did this trend start? There was even a credit card application on the bottom of it.

Absurd.

In the scheme of one shopper, no, it's not that much. Big deal, right? But there's thousands upon thousands of shoppers that go through not only that store, but each of their stores in the span of a day. It just seems like such a waste. Not only the paper, but the energy needed to create the paper, ship the paper, the ink on the paper, the energy required to print on the paper, roll the paper out and then cut the paper. When considered on the scale at which they print receipts, it's slightly mind-numbing.

Wouldn't it be something if everyone took those receipts, clip the 10% that's important and at the end of each month, return all the unnecessarily printed paper to their respective store's manager?

2009 Columbus Marathon RR

2009-10-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

I'll try and knock out a RR here, but I've never been very good at these, so bear with me (believe it or not, my mind tends to wander).

2009 Columbus Marathon:
This would be my 3rd attempt at the marathon distance with my 1st attempt coming exactly one year prior at the 2008 Columbus Marathon and the other coming at Sunburst in South Bend, IN. I would consider each of those preparation for what happened this past Sunday. In the prior two, I had not fully "conquered" the distance... at least that's how I felt. My training over the summer and this fall reflected my desire to truly run a marathon. The miles per week were much higher this year compared to last year. I put in several more runs of 18 miles and longer. I wanted to take "the wall" out of the equation.

Due to scheduling and travel, the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon was my intended goal race with Columbus playing the part of last long run... but as stated in the last post, things felt good... everything felt right. But there was no taper and I already had over 40 miles logged by Wednesday of last week. Was it smart to test myself now? Well, it ended up being easier said than done. Not sure if that's a good quality to have.

The weekend started with a night of cleaning Friday night. Woke up Saturday, ran around a little bit more, watched those Buckeyes show their true colors and then headed home to meet my sister and Dan as they made their arrival. We all got ready, headed downtown to pick up our packets, check out the expo and have some dinner at Martini. There were eight of us eating pasta preparing for the run in the morning. Myself, Erica, my sister, Meghann, Dan, my sister's friend, Jay, another friend, Marie, Marie's sister, Susan and Marie's friend, Brenda (I think). We got out of there at a reasonable time, made it home, prepared tomorrow morning's outfit and hit the hay.

I slept decently enough and the alarm went off at 4:45am. I was up and getting ready in no time. The coffee was done brewing by the time I got downstairs and took it slow getting ready. Was nice and prepared by the time the cab showed up at 6:30am. It was cold outside, no doubt, but all we had on was what we were wearing for the race. I went with Nike DriFit shorts, Nike DriFit sleeveless top, arm warmers, white cap, black headband, work gloves and the adiZero's I've come to love (they've seen me through an amazing 2009 and I refuse to turn them into a football field when their racing days are done). I had a long-sleeved throwaway shirt that I ditched at the start, but I felt very comfortable for the entire race. It ended up being perfect weather once again. The wind was a bit chilly at the start, but I can't get picky.

I lined up near the start... in between the 3:10 and 3:20 pace groups. I was going to go with what felt comfortable and I wasn't going to feel compelled to stick with anyone. I wanted to run my own race and based on how I was approaching this thing, I knew I had to stick with the plan or I'd screw up Columbus and Indy. So the gun went off and so did we. The first miles were easy, breezy. Just punching along at 7:15's. I let the 3:10 balloons open a lead and kept them on a horizon. There weren't many folks to talk to, so I just kind of took it in. Noticed a lot of things I hadn't noticed last year. I got to high-five the governor which was cool. Took in the crowd more. As the 3:10 group is pretty large, I was kind of in no-man's land with the stragglers, but it was fun. I ran alongside a woman for a long time and she was having a great time. She really got the crowd into it and talked up everyone around her. The first 10K went by in 45:18 (7:17/mi).

Heading into the halfway mark was about the same... pretty uneventful and still gauging how my body felt. I was well aware that I had run 13.1 miles, but still felt like I had a lot left in my legs. I crossed the 13.1 mile mark at 1:35:00. I was sticking with the plan and was glad I did. Up ahead, I saw the balloons and knew I'd have to let them go soon.

Miles 13.1 through 17 take you through campus (sucked again this year) and down to the Olentangy by the Horseshoe and then begins the climb up to the 20 mile mark... the course's highest elevation. It's really not much of a climb at 130-some feet, but it does come at a precarious part of the race. Last year, I tried to stick with the pace group and wore myself out. This year, it was all about even effort. It meant that my pace would slow, but I'd be prepared to bring the last 10K in strong. It was here that I was going to decide what to do about the rest of the race. If I felt good by the time I got to Hoffmann's (Mile 19.5) I'd take that momentum into the last part of the race and if I didn't feel it, then I was walking/jogging the rest of the way. When I turned left onto Berkshire I still felt good, so I ditched the gloves and headband with a toss into Hoffmann's yard (it floated on me and Brad ended up catching that nasty mess - sorry Hoffmann!). Those miles did end up being the slowest at 7:20/mi.

I couldn't see the 3:10 group by this point, but that didn't bother me. It was always part of the plan. So I picked it up a bit and just focused on the task at hand. Grandview came and went, then onto the steep downhill on 1st Avenue and the 23 mile marker. Just a 5K to go. Turned right on 5th Avenue and headed uphill to Neil. The BQ was well within sight and with a mile and a half to go, I wasn't about to let up. Took a gulp of water at Mile 25 and turned left onto Buttles which again rises slightly on it's way up to Front Street. Took the turn around Goodale Park with tons of crowd support. It was all fairly drowned out at this point. I wanted to make sure my legs didn't let up. As I approached Nationwide, I saw Erica on the right and got pretty pumped up. Another 100 feet and there was my mom... another high-five. Turned onto Nationwide and pretty much coasted to the finish as I knew I had a BQ time... 3:10:02.

I took it in for a moment and kept moving. I felt so much better than what I had last year and 10x better than what I had felt at the end of Sunburst. I met up with my dad and then Erica who gave me a huge hug. We met the rest of the group and got out of there pretty quickly and back to the house. My mom had brought over her famous chicken and noodles for some deserving runners. We enjoyed a pretty lazy afternoon with each other before they took off later than evening. We got to bed pretty early and I was out like a light. What a day.

So congratulations to Meghann, Dan and Erica who all ran great races. And it was just nice to hang out. I'm pretty pumped about the BQ and am looking forward to Boston 2010. I'm also looking forward to the Monumental on the 7th of November. Like I said, I feel good and am ready to get some miles in and possibly lower that 3:10. We'll see how everything goes in the next week, but I'd still like to consider Indy my goal race for the fall. Thanks to my parents for making it to Columbus and once again acting as our bag drop. Thanks to Hoffmann for buying a house at the 19.5 mile mark and being out to support everyone. Can't wait for next year.

Rave Run #2

2009-10-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'll take part in my 2nd Columbus Marathon in as many years. I still have no idea how I'm going to approach this thing. Up until last week, this was going to be my last long run (run 22, walk/jog the rest) before the Monumental in Indy on the 7th of November (my brother's birthday!). But alas, the competitive bug may have gotten the best of me. Bottom line is that aside from some inflammation in my IT Band (should be taken care of by Sunday), my legs feel really good and strong. I feel like I'm in 3:04-3:05 shape, so what's wrong with carrying 7:15's through 20? Oh, I should know better by now, but I've got a thick head and am inclined to being stubborn. But the jury is still out and common sense may prevail in the end.

However, whilst in the middle of indecision, I was thinking about a run this past winter. It ended up being a contributing factor to me bringing the mini digi on a couple of my longer runs as I trained for the Indy Mini. I started out as I usually do on Friday mornings... early. It was a cold morning with snow on the ground. The intended route was Griggs Reservoir. It's a favorite of mine for the mid-length long runs as well as a great place for sledding in the winter. As I entered the park and turned right along the paved road, a beige Honda came quietly from behind and passed me as it continued on around a slight turn and out of sight. As I made my way around, I saw the Honda pulled over to the side of the road with the trunk open and its driver leaning an old wooden rail sled against a nearby tree. He quickly made his way back to the car, closed the trunk, jumped inside and eased the car to a stop in the open lot. I passed by but was curious about what would happen next. The man I'd seen leaning the sled against the tree had to be near 60, if not older. He wasn't going to seriously sled down that hill, was he? The road takes a sharp left and then a sharp right under Fishinger Road. I stopped under the bridge to look back. He had gotten out of the car, grabbed the sled and was making his way to the top of the embankment.

I decided to let him have his fun and I went on to the end of the park road before turning around to make my way back home. When I came back under the bridge at Fishinger, the car was gone, but the sled stood against the tree. But how freaking cool was that? Some old guy taking the sled out for one last run before passing it down the line. I feel like you only do that when you, yourself have gotten so much enjoyment out of something that you can't imagine putting it out to the curb. He probably took his kids to the very same spot years ago with that same sled. And then again, maybe not, but I'd like to think he did.

Happy trails.

Ronald English Here!

2009-10-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

An Over-the-Rhine resident and street artist. He often announces himself upon entering the studio. Yes Ronald, you are definitely here. I hope you're here for a long time. I noticed a huuuuge mural of Jim Tarbell at Central Parkway and Vine Streets the last time I was in town and had some mixed emotions about it.

I've never been a big fan of Tarbell, so why not Ronald English? Ronald has no financial commitments in OTR. He doesn't own property, nor does he have his hand in some of the recent developments that have taken shape in the area. He's the most un-biased embodiment of OTR I've ever known, but it's Tarbell that gets the mural.

I've always hoped for a renaissance of Over-the-Rhine, but the idea of what it might look like has changed over the years. If development wins, Ronald will eventually lose. I don't want to see that. I'd feel bad for Ronald, but also because I know who would take his place.