Still Alive

We’re settling in here in Germany.  We’ve got a house, some of our belongings and our car.  Now we’re just waiting for the rest of our stuff to get here.

In the meantime, we’ve yet to arrange for cable or internet.  It’s actually quite nice.  I’ve managed to read a few books that I’ve been carrying around for years, relax and spend lots of quality time with Goddess.  The downside is that since we don’t have internet or TV at the house, we do feel a bit isolated and out of touch.  Although that’s not that bad, now is it?

Luckily I have access at work so I can catch up on news.

As far as a house goes, we’ve got native.  We picked a town that isn’t too far from work, nor is it too close.  It’s about 20km, which is a nice cycling commute.  Within a five minute walk we’ve got three beer gardens, a butcher, a baker (nope, no candlestick maker) and several other stores.  If we expand our walk out to ten minutes, the number of beer gardens skyrockets.  As far as neighbors, there aren’t any other Americans that we’re aware of.

Just 15 minutes away on foot is the Hockenheim Ring.  A neat place with events going on constantly.  The neighbors tell us that when the Formula 1 is in town, a few hundred thousand folks show up and it gets quite loud.  We’re looking forward to it.

Speaking of loud, Goddess and I spent the 4th of July with a lot of noise and some fireworks.  At the ring was a festival called Sonisphere, where some 40,000 showed up to see this lineup:

20:45 – 22:45 METALLICA

18:35 – 20:05 DIE TOTEN HOSEN

16:55 – 18:05 THE PRODIGY

15:40 – 16:35 IN EXTREMO

14:30 – 15:15 DOWN

13:30 – 14:10 LAMB OF GOD

12:30 – 13:10 MASTODON

11:45 – 12:15 ANTHRAX

11:00 – 11:30 FIVE AND THE RED ONE

As you can see, that was 12 hours of standing on asphalt in the hot sun.  But overall the show was quite good.  It was my first time seeing Anthrax, who I’ve listened to for 20+ years.  This was the second time for Lamb of God, who does alright.  The second time for both Goddess and I to see The Prodigy – the last time was in Tokyo.  And this makes Metallica show number five for me.  They always do well and never disappoint.

The biggest surprises for us were In Extremo and Die Toten Hosen.  What Great Bands!!!!  I cannot recommend either highly enough.  It was great to see all 40,000 fans (well,  minus us two Americans) singing along to each and every song that Die Toten Hosen played.  Go buy some now.

But now a word for Phil Anselmo, singer for the band Down.  Even though you’ve were the frontman for a great band (Pantera), the fans owe you and the other members of your group nothing. 

Not a damn thing. 

By the time you guys took the stage after 3pm, many of us had been standing out in the hot sun for hours.  Most hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for hours either for fear of losing their spot in front of the stage.  All that any of the folks in audience wanted was a good show. 

You didn’t bring it.

At best, you and your band were lackluster, offering nothing more or better than any other generic American band that throws a few heavy riffs together behind a growling singer.  Meh.  The reason the crowd wasn’t responding to you was because you guys didn’t entertain.

Instead, you stood on stage and whined, even telling the paying crowd at one point that we sucked.  Classy move, telling paying customers and potential fans that they suck.  But it wasn’t the fans.  It was you.

So next time, stay home and pout, leaving that 45 minutes available to a band that really matters.

Like Anthrax.

Who played a woefully short 30-minute set.

Anyway, Goddess and I continue our adventure, sampling as much food, beer and wine as Germany can offer.

Backstep

I promise to not turn this blog into a political soap box.  If I wanted to (actually, if I had the time to) stand on a political soapbox in the blog world, I’d do it in another blog.

But this topic hit way too close to home.

And unlike most sources, I’ll follow up on the topic that I made an issue of last week (http://billanders.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/wait-a-minute/)

Unsurprisingly, the administration realized that this political hot potato was not one to handle.  Hopefully it was because they realized it was the wrong thing to do, not because they were worried about their political situation.  But being the eternal pessimist that I am, regardless of the party, I have my doubts.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-backs-off-plan-to-alter-vets-care-2009-03-18.html

Regardless of the country that you live in, hug and thank a veteran today.

Wait a Minute

As just about every other organization, business and special-interest group in the country is getting a bailout (handout), this news slid in under the radar:

“Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed Tuesday that the Obama administration is considering a controversial plan to make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private insurance, but was told by lawmakers that it would be “dead on arrival” if sent to Congress.“

WTF?!?!?!

So in the administration’s eyes, someone who is sent to war at the bidding of the President (and Congress) should have to pay for treatment of injuries received by privately purchased insurance?

But someone who makes $40 an hour mounting tires on a new car deserves a handout because they work for a company that creates crappy products?

What I can’t believe is that Shinseki, former Chief of Staff of the Army, is still holding his job after having had to pass on that tidbit of news.   As Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs, his responsibility is to advise the president, helping guide him towards good decisions and away from bad.  Apparently he forgot where he came from.

So someone like Staff Sgt. Luis Rosa-Valentin would have had to pay for his own treatment.  And if he didn’t have coverage, probably because his pay raises don’t match the rate that Congress automatically gets, he’d be SOL.

That’s a change alright.  But not one I can believe in.

Anyway, in just 33 hours we’ll be passing the first mile of many (depending on the distance entered) of the LBL Trail Run.  The legs are twitching and ready to go.  Hopefully the weather improves a bit.  We just got about an inch of snow, which will melt tomorrow.  Then another bout of rain tomorrow night, tapering off by start time.  That should make the trails a bit muddy, which is not what I want to deal with for 60K.

A Modest Proposal

On today’s New York Times front page is an excellent article on biking in NYC.  I think that it applies everywhere.

Because, as Pogo said:

Many of the issues that Robert Sullivan brings up are exactly the reasons that I quit riding with organized bike clubs many, many years ago, no matter where I am in the world.  I got sick and tired of watching the club pack ride straight through a 4-way stop as if the law didn’t apply to them, then having to deal with irate drivers while riding solo.  And while I applaud the overarching goal of Critical Mass, some cyclists use the events as an excuse to act like a bunch of hoodlums, thereby negating any positive effects their effort may have.

So ride like the wind and ride strong, but ride like your grandmother is watching.

Flu

Who in the F$CK ordered this?

I sure didn’t.

But at least I can watch the Tour of California today.

And reevaluate my taper plan for next month’s 60K.

Waiting for the Shoe to Drop

Well, it’s now been over sixty hours since I finished my 41.5 mile run.  And I’m waiting.

Waiting for the muscle soreness.  Waiting for the pain.  Waiting for the stiffness.

Later that day, after a 4-hour nap, I walked normally to work.  Yesterday, I was bounding up the stairs, two at a time; doing it again today.

I did have a bit of tightness this morning, but I can attribute that more to sleeping on the concrete pad while waiting for the weather to clear so I could catch a helo ride back to my bed.

I even went to the gym today.  Rode the bike for 30 minutes, did some stretching and some strength work.

But when’s the shoe going to drop?

Ode to the HP Man

Thank you, oh man of the honey pot.  If I could drink a beer, I’d hoist one in your honor.  But I can’t have a beer, so the hoisting will have to wait.  Plus, if I had a beer, I’d mess up your handiwork.

Why the homage to the honey pot man?  Well, they are lifesavers in these parts.

Every day, sometimes twice a day, they stop by and pump them dry, replenishing the chemical slush at the same time.

They then spray out the entire box with a chemical disenfectant.  It sure makes it smell good in there.  But one lesson I learned is that while this is a very desirable thing, one should not step inside the box about 10 minutes after they are done.

The direct sun and 110F temperature outside temperature easily turn the inside into a 150F sauna.  Couple that with the washdown and it turns the inside into a steam room of 150F with about 90% humidity.

I’ll hold it, thank you.  And for those who know me well know I can’t hold it for anything.

And the final thank you to Mr Honey Pot Man is for the fresh rolls of TP.

Any race that I’ve ever attended needs to figure out how to hire these guys.

I Want Credit For Trying It

OMG, this is so my situation right now.

Over here, KBR runs the DFACs (Dining Facilities).  Nope, we can’t call them Chow Hall’s anymore.  But we do anyway.

Well, the DFACs have quite a spread.  So good, in fact, that a significant portion of the folks over here actually gain weight.  Nothing like having an all-you-can-eat buffet for every meal of the day.

Quite a departure from 10+ years ago, where we’d deploy folks that were in danger of getting drummed out for weight issues.  Deploy them for 120 days and they’d come back 10-15 (or more) pounds lighter.

So what does that have to do with Frazz’s dilemma?

I have a co-worker here who talks every day, every meal about how he needs to lose weight.  Every meal he pushes back from the table and says that he’s headed to the desert bar because he can’t help himself.

And he’ll talk to every new person we meet about how he needs to lose the weight and control his eating.

So he got a used bike.  Cheap.  Like ten dollars cheap.  But you don’t want (or need) anything more than that.  He got it from someone who was heading home.  Certainly not a bike that I’d race or train with, but certainly something that would do a good job of getting around and maybe cranking a few laps around the lakes.

You know, something that would help burn off some of that dessert.

First ride, he comes back and says that it’s unusable.  Why?  Because the back wheel wobbles.

I offered to go after it with a can of WD-40 and a wrench to true the wheel.  Nope, that’s too much trouble.  Easier to complain about it

So I do feel Frazz’s pain.

Headphones

I had to laugh at this one.  I get this question a lot, especially by the folks at work that try to wrap their brains around running for three hours, riding for six, or swimming for two (not that I’ve done the last two this year, but it’s happened).

I don’t wear headphones.  I don’t listen to music.

Except what’s playing on mental radio.

I agree with Frazz.  I’ve got to hear what’s going on around me.  And music is too much of a distraction.

Every time I run a race, I am reminded of why it’s a good idea to not wear headphones.  Little islands unto themselves, runners with headphones take hard right turns with no warning so they can get a cup of water or get to the curb to tie their shoe.  They cross center lines on the (open) road, not hearing the car on the other side, just so they can jog with a bit more space (even loud screams couldn’t get this guy’s attention).

I understand the desire to distract oneself from the discomfort and pain.  I do wear them when I’m on a dreadmill or trainer.  But never outside.

I must be one of the old diehards that this NY Times article is referring to.

Knowing

I’m not a religious person, by any stretch of the imagination.  But that doesn’t mean that I’m ignorant in the ways of the major religions.

I do accept that there are some things that are not ours to know.

Jim Vance posted an ESPN video documenting Ryan Shay’s life and the impact of his death on his family and community.  One can’t help but be moved by it.

Especially rough is the pain and questioning of our friend’s death, which was just two weeks ago today.  We were glad that Goddess was able to make it to Colorado to help the family attend to his wife and two lovely daughters, aged 3 and 5.  Thoughts of him and his family helped me get through some tough moments during Saturday’s marathon.

We found out yesterday that she’s pregnant with their third child.

Some things just aren’t ours to know.