Year in Review

Only seven posts this year, how sad is that? Here’s what I’ve been doing while I’ve been not blogging:

• Last December, I joined the INETA Speaker Bureau. During 2005, I spoke to user groups in New York City, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Sacramento, and gave a talk at the inaugural Portland Code Camp.
• Due to my increased .NET evangelism, I was reappointed an MVP.
• On May 1, I changed jobs. Same employer, but I’m now the Internal Training Manager. I don’t actually manage anyone; I educate employees and contractors (and occasionally customers) on Corillian’s Voyager platform and products.
• Did a couple of nice bike rides this Summer: Cycle Oregon: The Weekend in June (I wasn’t feeling well, so I only rode Day 1), and the Vine Ride in August. Managed to not expose myself to any strangers this year.
• Also in August, did the Portland-to-Coast Walk with a team from work.
• Finally, in October, Cheryl and I celebrated our 20th anniversary in China.

That’s my year in a nutshell (an appropriate container). How was yours?

 28 Dec 05 1:26 AM · Comments (1) · Tags: Career, Cycling, Personal

Great Moments in Cycling, Vol. 2

For Cycle Oregon: The Weekend, we camped at Sisters Junior High School, showering in the gym locker room. The showers, therefore, were a prison-like communal affair. By the time I finished the ride on Saturday afternoon, the locker room was full of paunchy middle-aged men (the young, fit men, I assume, having finished much earlier), trying to avoid eye contact. We'd all spent the past 6 or more hours crammed into spandex cycling shorts; on top of that, there was no hot water. As you might imagine (or try desperately not to), none of us looked our best.

I finished my cold shower in record time. As I made my way toward the lockers across the wet, soapy concrete floor, my feet suddenly slipped out from under me, and I lay spread-eagle, naked, in front of a dozen farmer-tanned new friends.

The funny thing, in retrospect (I didn't laugh at the time), was the reaction. As I hit the floor, I could hear several of them groan sympathetically -- "Owwww!" -- but as they inquired as to my well-being, they all maintained a healthy distance: "Are you OK... over there?" Yes, I'm fine, and thank you for not touching me. :-)

 21 Sep 04 5:51 PM · Comments (0) · Tags: Cycling, Humor

Great Moments in Cycling, Vol. 1

In June, a 20-mile training ride took me through North Portland, one of Portland's more ethnically-diverse neighborhoods. At one point, I experienced some groinal discomfort, so I reached down and, uh... put my affairs in order.

As I stopped at the next signal, a young African-American woman rolled down her window, stuck her head out and asked, "What was you diggin' fo'?"

I just smiled and ran the light. :-)

 21 Sep 04 5:41 PM · Comments (2) · Tags: Cycling, Humor

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Last day of Summer! For those of you who care (Hi, Mom!), here's what I've been up to:

• Work: I was laid off on May 21, so I spent most of June looking for a new job. Received two offers during the third week of June; accepted a position as a support engineer with Corillian Corporation. (We still have an open position, by the way, so if you know C#, VB, SQL Server, ASP/ASP.NET, XML, Javascript, DCOM, systems troubleshooting and Star Trek trivia, send me a résumé.) Didn't start the new job until July 12, however, because I was scheduled to go on...
• Vacation: Went to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to visit my wife's family and friends. It was nice to see everyone again; I hadn't been there for over 10 years!
• Cycling: Did Cycle Oregon: The Weekend in mid-July: 120 miles over two days. Beautiful scenery and great company, but it was over 100 degrees that Saturday, which made the 75 miles we rode that day feel like a hundred. The Vine Ride, in August, was less arduous: my butt gave out before my legs did.
• Music: I can go years without seeing a concert, then I'll see four in as many months. So far this year I've seen Don Henley, Prince and Tears for Fears; I'll see Sting on Oct. 7. I've also been playing bass more regularly: Met some fellow musicians at work and have gotten in touch with my inner Tito (Puente, not Jackson).

 21 Sep 04 5:15 PM · Comments (0) · Tags: Career, Cycling, Personal

...and boy, is my butt tired!

This is what I did today. I rode the "65-mile loop" (according to my cycle computer, it was closer to 71 miles). It was a beautiful day, and I felt surprisingly good for the first 40 miles. But then we turned into a headwind for the next 20 miles, and I struggled a little. I ended up averaging about 15 mph, which isn't too bad for an old fat guy. ;-)

 16 Aug 03 6:34 PM · Comments (2) · Tags: Cycling