memorial day game

back again

so i am back again form my northern sojourn. good times were had by all and as always i was able to squeeze far more activities into a short time that i should.

such trips are always a flurry of activity and interaction, rarely leaving time for relaxation and routine. so now its time to relax and return to my daily life as summer begins to show its warm head.

pictures from my trip are up (less than 300!) so have a look at some good family shots; photos from wrigley; and other randomness.

time to catch up on work, check in on job opportunities, and prepare for my pirate feast later tonight.

cheers all,

jeff

another weekend come and gone.

was able to attend val's half sister's high school graduation in fort worth, which was all kinds of entertaining. there's something about that point in your life that is almost perfect: the ability to go in any direction at all with little or no real responsibilities. it only happens once and is usually under appreciated and over dramatized.

this weekend was also the first camping weekend of the year with perfect conditions presenting themselves. afternoon swimming in a waterfall grotto, brief hiking, campfire cooking, game playing, night cycling, kayaking, etc. all this in the wild flower covered fields and spring / fall like conditions. very hard to beat. this thanksgiving camping trip is planned for redwood national park in california - combining two of my favorite things. i can hardly wait: coastal beech camping, majestic forests, AND potential amazing cycling?? yeah, that could be fun.

but the week begins yet again. hopefully i'll progress and get some more info on a job lead i have (hope and praying). other than that - i'm preparing for a fun family weekend up in chicago and the associated pleasant spring northern journey.

unfortunately limited pictures are available from the weekend (limited camera battery; but they would have been magnificent). but all will be well.

happy end of may,

jeff

ah, there's no better way to start a day than a morning cycling commute. i brought my bike along yesterday for a lunch ride and then rode home after work. its a trick i learned from a co-worker: a good afternoon ride home necessitates a morning commute; and the biggest challenge to a morning commute is usually the motivation necessary to get on a bike at 7am. the only caveat today was that some thunderstorms came through the area around 2am. i vaguely recall semi-awakening and thinking that i would have to either call some co-workers and request a ride, or step up and embrace riding through the rain (actually not that bad of an activity if you discount dealing with rain auto traffic). but it turns out that all was well, and this morning's commute was ideal: fresh rain scent, a great sunrise, and the joy of passing people backed up at stoplights. plus the benefit of still arriving at 7:30 and beating most of the office in.

so now its peaceful work time. well, my projects at least; there are some projects i have the pleasure of pitching in on that have become troublesome. but that's usual.

so - a semi-good day. the project manager on two of my jobs is out for the remainder of the month for his wedding and honeymoon; so i get to go back to running my own show & projects for a short while. nice, but it won't last.

and with the return of regular scheduling: lunch rides and bike commuting. it is the perfect weather for it; and there's no better way to spend rush hour - passing stand-still traffic while enjoying a ride, saving gas, and clearing the mind.

well, about time to head out now that traffic has hopefully died down just a bit on the 'fun' parts of the ride.

so - birthday week and vacation week are done; phew! there's only so much fun and relaxing a person can take before it becomes too much.

now its back to work, cycling, and relaxing in preparation for the next two weekends of adventure.

I just have to keep plodding along and job hunting for a chance.

just as always. pics from this weekend should be up by tonight.

time for south austin wonderment and relaxing by various bodies of water.

the day starts with excellent jasmine green birthday tea and reading by the pool. soon moitz and steve shall arrive for transition to adventure. schedule is maria's for tacos; walk the greenbelt and relax at cambel's hole; then barton springs for immersion and respite.

and if the day progresses as planned: juan's naturalization party, p-funk all stars at stubbs, and who knows what else.

good times indeed.

the clouds break

well, through the windows of my office i see the sun breaking up the mass of clouds that have settled over the area for the past several days. the leaves gently rustle and the seen is of gentle pleasantness.

for my 29th birthday the day progresses: early morning work start 6:30 with much accomplished so far (complete runoff quantification for my Dallas VA cemetery project leading into the storm sewer design). i still need to figure out what the after work / evening celebratory events are to be, but perhaps i'll take a moment in a bit to figure that out. likely something on a deck outside.

so the weekend was quite nice: i've finally got the smokey and the bandit song out of my head. and as a side note: it is an excellent movie in its uncut entirety: the first time i had ever seen it that way. that and there is something transcendent about a full house and the sound of people randomly opening cans of original coors (part of the movie event) in a dark theater; comically transcendent.

so i figure i'll arrive home at a decent time, park the car, and set forth on foot or bike for a relaxing evening.

day of birth cheers,

jeff

the great friday birthday week kick-off

so the revelry and celebration begins. not that all days and moments should not include the embracing of life and enjoying of its variations, intricacies, and offerings; but one does have an obligation to gather and celebrate specific events as they occur. honestly, it doesn't really matter what event can cause people to congregate and join in shared moments and happiness: weddings, funerals, birthdays, holidays, and religious events are traditional with harvest, solstice, civic, tribal, and hunting gatherings illustrating the historic gatherings.

i guess i bring this up because of this weekend's various events that have significance to me: cinco de mayo, derby day, mother's day, and my birthday all offer memories of gathering and celebration. these same dates and events; because they are annual, afford me the chance to remember all those past times and invite current friends and acquaintances to share those memories and create new gatherings.

so it should be a great weekend and a fun week next week.

i'll update with all (some) of the fun details.

ah, mitwoch

so the week progresses. things have been busy as usual, which prevents me from updating this here blog as often as I would like. but such is the nature of things.

so the last week: I discovered trail running down on the greenbelt. It turns out that my lack of excitement over standard track running is balanced by the excitement and additional concentration required of trail running. Plus I think that it has multiple applications: good exercise plus contribution towards futbol skills and of course the ability to run over rocks and through streams.

also - from last friday's happy hour: I was able to run into some old acquaintances whom I had not seen in several years. its always interesting to see people reactions to the current you. so that was quite fun: and Billy's is still a great venue that is perfect biking distance from home (they've finally added live music as well).

my friend damon had his birthday this past weekend and we were able to hold the first of the south austin tour de taco - an excellent event that consists of biking to various taco establishments over south austin and enjoying some of the best breakfast tacos available. plus we were able to see a camel (local auto dealership promotions are so much fun! - see my photo site for more).

post tour was a great soccer game: we won the game and thus the division which is pretty nice. and after that was a round rock express (AAA Houston) game appropriately preceded by tailgating and grilling.

as for current times, the rains have returned to Austin; and for that I am thankful: it will be nice to have water in the creeks for a substantial part of the year (unlike last year's drought).

work progresses as usual and my job transition continues to dismay. one other thing i've come to learn this past week: recruiters are pretty much useless - they are the real estate agents of people: fit someone in and get a commission. if one does not fit into the simple form-based system, then everything resents to the default position. complex analysis and cross-field corroboration are apparently not in the sector's skill department.

but as birthday week kicks off, I choose to not focus too much on that and hold my usual view that somehow this will fall into place and somehow I will be able to shift to a job where I can continually challenge myself and accomplish something.

So a quick redux: the movie mentioned on friday was excellent - there's nothing like the subtle comedy and smart writing to enliven a film.

A good weekend overall - saturday's soccer game was a tough loss (2-1), but we played well as a team and had a sense of continuity which was nice. This weekend is our last game of the season, so hopefully we can go out with a win. Great wine tasting on Saturday night as well, which reminds me I have to send out a thank you and brief notes. Argentinean wines are quite tasty and varied; with Malbec being the best known. Its nice to be able to do a reasonably priced region for a change; Calafornian and French regions are just too expensive nowadays.

And I enjoyed grilling yet again on sunday with cheap quality ingredients from Fiesta; a local 'ethnic' grocery. There's just one in town which makes it a bit more tough to visit; but there's something refreshing about being able to shop in a market type atmosphere with real, fresh ingredients.

Spring has again brought a front though which while providing needed rain, continues to hide the sun. This, as always, slightly depresses the mood of all. But it does provide for a more indoor atmosphere. I was able to attend my second Engineers Without Borders meeting yesterday. I figure I need to participate somehow in using my career and skills to contribute to areas of need. Our chapter focuses on Central America; with a group traveling to Panama next week to install a water distribution system in a village. The chapter is just getting off the ground, so it seems to offer good possibilities.

As for the job transition: it continues in earnest with no real leads. I know eventually a contact will open up an opportunity; but there is nothing of solid promise I have found.

Today offers more of the same: intermittent work; brief job searches; hopefully an afternoon of soccer (rain is promised); and evening NBA playoffs. Should be fun.

'Hot Fuzz' a different genre of foreign film - Life & Arts

'Hot Fuzz' a different genre of foreign film - Life & Arts

So today's activities: work; greenbelt hike / bike; relax with brew and bbq; a good kickball game; and then the aforementioned movie.

Should be a fine friday. Oh - and thursday turned out great as well. I was able to visit my latest design - a large multi-staged wet pond / storm system that is under construction in conjunction with a elementary school. After that - service awards at the oasis on Lake Travis (it is amazing how different it looks post-fire). Finished the night with a great softball game - it went 11 innings (6 extra innings of tie ball with my team ending up loosing by 2 runs).

Machen Sie zu viel spass on diesen Freitag.

Mid-week ramblings

So work continues to keep me quite busy. I do enjoy the ability to focus on a task and grind it down to completeness without being interrupted; which is a rare thing as of late. But it seems this week has been a productive one for current work at least.

I continue to search for a transition into the financial realm; with varying degrees of progress. I have made several contacts in the banking committee, but do not have any solid local prospects. It seems everyone I speak with suggests starting with a major corporate bank and being trained at one of their financial centers. Were I to re-insert myself at the base of that ladder in Dallas/Houston, San Fran, Chicago, or NY; I would have to re-evaluate quite a few things. I am looking to get experience in the field rather than drastically change my life. But in this slow revelation I am considering that if drastic change is necessary, why not strive and create the ideal change? Such thinking leads me to possibilities such as the World Bank and organizations which I have actual interest in that would be of some benefit through my participation. I fear major change to a corporate bank would only serve to mortgage my life for 5 years while I accrue experience that allows me greater flexibility. I have noticed that the cultural question persists: how much effort should be made to make oneself happy in the idealistic future at the expense of current happiness and contentment?

Briefly sequining to the topic of the week: the Virginia Tech massacre. I finally was able to read detailed reports and then digest and briefly contemplate the event. Initially I abhor the sensationalized coverage of today's 24-hour news market and tend to ignore all ''shocking update'' type stories. But after finally reading the Washington Post's narrative [LINK] that focuses on the routines and lives that were interrupted, I have a great sense of sorrow. The Post's account brings the reality back to the story and allows me to relate to the scene; up until the shooter enters the room of course. The description of college life and people are striking, and the classrooms that were hit were of many courses that I took in college: advanced hydrology (my major); german (one of my minors). It saddens me to consider many good people; potential colleagues that most likely had similar interests and abilities as a younger me - now never to be realized; are now gone. And all this by the acts of one person; through an event that no one ever considers possible. So while many now will focus on how to prevent such evil acts, or who is to 'blame' for something so unfathomable; I urge you to visit the above link and scroll down to the full list of those that have left this earthly plain of existence. It is an odd sense of voyeuristic grief; but say a quick prayer and transition back to the drudge of regular life knowing that life is fragile and the unthinkable, while always possible, should never be focused on for too long. Hopefully some good will come of this; although I can think of nothing right now.

Apart from that, the week continues. I think I shall go for a relaxing lunch ride on 360 and enjoy this beautiful spring day.

Post work service awards at the Oasis restaurant should provide some great picture opportunities of which i'll link to tomorrow and then an evening softball game should provide the perfect way to round out the day.

windy spring

so a great ride today. they actually cancelled the 'official' ride which means we ended up riding the route with no support. a very hilly hill country course with crosswinds 60% of the time and headwinds 30%; usually uphill as well. unfortunately I wasn't able to get the full 80 b/c of lack of support; but 30 miles and a brewery tour and bbq afterwards more than made up for it.

plus, i get free registration next year. not half bad.

saturtag

so another early morning and getting ready for a ride-race.

storm moved through last night dropping rain and temperatures. hopefully it isn't too windy today; but i'm sure it'll be great.

80 miles of hill country, blue bonnets, and relaxing to bluegrass music with real ale relaxation.

freitag!

ah yes, another spring weekend. so first the not-so fun part: work.

but then it shall be relaxing and riding the greenbelt (now full with water, which is great!).

and then relaxing and games until I prepare for tomorrow's 80-mile charity / brewery ride. hopefully its not too windy...

should be great weekend regardless.

doh!

i did not win yet again. the sadness is palatable.

i guess it just wasn't meat to be. full price tickets again!

for all those that like to be winners though; here's the link

so the weekend - it is over; eh?

nothing of note; just the typical late january musings and lusting for sunlight. i was able to finish one of my books: Freddy & Fredrika by Helprin, and as always he did not disappoint.

of course saturday was so miserable that no outdoor adventures were possible; well at least by bike. i was able to visit the new brewpub that just opened down the street though. unfortunately they don't have any of their own beers ready and the setup of the space is conductive to patio lounging; but it was still good to get the meet-n-greet in.

other than that, i enjoyed easter: a bit of scripture in the morning followed by neighborhood biking and a futile attempt to get a haircut. but after that tea and newspaper time at flipnotics which was nice.

so i hope tomorrow brings a return of spring and the sun. i plan on lunch biking regardless in preparation for this weekend's fun.

Midnight Thursday

hmmm - so who would be interested in such a show?

ATHF - Movie Link

spring ice storm

well, the possibility exists: so i am quite excited.

of course I scheduled the attendance of an iowa cubs v RR express baseball game; so that should be great. should be some good tailgating.

right now its a relaxing morning watching Liverpool v Reading on foxsoccer. it must suffice because my team has the weekend off due to easter.

so it looks as if it'll be a relaxing weekend; perhaps i'll even finish my taxes!

also - in my morning Internet journey:
ATFH - movie comes out next weekend. it appears to have the mix of evil dead army of darkness crossed with adult swim: it intrigues.

but next weekend is the Real Ale Ride benefiting the Kelly Davidson Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

it better transition back to spring before then though; because 80 miles of hill country climbing in 40-degree temps with wind does not have the appeal of the same route with mid 70s through bluebonnet covered fields.