Rush, what?!

I never thought this day would happen, but it has. Since it's really late, and since this is probably not a major occurrence for anyone south of the 49th parallel, I'll be brief.

Tonight, Denise and I attended a Facebook-induced (*vomit*) get-together of friends from high school. It was held at a local pizza place that will figure very prominently in my life in the next few years (more on that in a future post). The get-together was fine, a bunch of people doing the reunion dance, gumshoe-like FAQ, etc. The real highlight of the night was about a half-hour before we left.

I've been a Rush head for years now. I'm one of the new generation of Rush fans as I really started listening in the '90s. I always understood that they were a bit of a niche band for the US, with a couple of big hits during the '80s like Tom Sawyer and Limelight. Sure, they still sell out huge concert venues after thirty years of play, but they still wouldn't break the top twenty-five in all-time great bands for most magazines.

So, I was surprised (aka, tears in the eyes) when a Rush song was played in the bar! Sure, it was only Tom Sawyer, but even that is head-and-shoulders above most of the typical fare. It was the first, and probably one of the very few times, in my life that Rush was played in that kind of location. I'll treasure it always.
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Tomorrow is a very long car trip, and another missed Oilers game. At least we beat the Canucks last night.

Digging Out

Just finished carving compact snow and ice out of the neighbor's driveway. She's elderly, lives alone, and I really wanted the exercise. My back will start to scream in about an hour, but for now I feel great! It's that typical high that I get after a workout. The sort of thing that runners get after a couple of miles, but I dont have to destroy my knees to get there.

Anyway, I had great fun chipping away at the leavings of what must be four storms. I was pulling ice chunks out that were way to heavy for the shovel, which meant a lot of up and down. Squats, what?! Everything was over three inches thick, even compact as densely as it was. After about an hour-and-forty-five minutes, I had cleared the driveway so that two cars could park, and half of the sidewalk. Unfortunately, that was enough, I just couldn't take any more pounding on my right shoulder. It'll scream tomorrow morning.

Oh, and I had a lot of fun doing it!
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One of the best benefits was my short break in the middle. A Sam Adams Winter Lager went down very quickly and very happily! I must admit that, if I am forced to reach for a mass-distributed beer, I will grab a Sammy every time. I haven't been dissatisfied yet, even with some of the weird stuff (Cranberry Pilzner, anyone?). Maybe I was really thirsty, but that Winter Lager was about the best beer I've ever had, and that's saying something!
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Obligatory Oilers statement: Last night saw a cheap victory over the Coyotes. I missed the whole game due to a family Christmas party, but that's alright. I Did, however, note that the Tricity Americans are playing in town next week. They are currently listed as eighth in all junior hockey, which is pretty impressive. But then, I could probably be in eighth too, if I had Pickard in goal. It's really to bad the Oilers missed drafting him. I mean, they need yet another goalie prospect, right?...

Snow, Snow, Snow

The ruler showed nine inches of the white stuff this morning, and that includes a quarter-to-half inch of ice rain. Pretty amazing stuff for Western Washington. To bad the temperature's rising, so we won't be keeping this for long. Should be a wonderful mess when it all melts away!

I'm off for the rest of the year, so bring out your snow!

A little clip of last night. Snow coming down like crazy, and the kids having fun. I wasn't out with them yet, but soon would join, heavy ale in hand.

A Winter Wonderland

Whoa! Okay, I wanted a white Christmas, so I can't say I didn't ask for this. Six inches of the white stuff is a little much, even for me! Fortunately, we haven't been cold on a consistent basis (I don't call 25 cold). Of course I realized after the first night that we dropped into the teens that I hadn't blown out the outdoor pipes, so we'll see what kind of watery fun we get in spring.

It's funny how our jobs get in the way. Yesterday, I let the staff go at 2:00, and we subsequently spent the next 1.5 hours helping people get out of the parking lot. Yet today, when the roads are worse (frozen melt-off), we still don't close the office. Essential staff reports, and the building fully opens at 10:00. Did I mention that it's still snowing? All I can say is, I'm glad I'm allowed to use my own discretion.

The best part is that Caelyn and Jonah are getting a taste of real winter! It won't be around for long (probably into next week), but the experience still counts. To bad I haven't been able to get out with them, yet. Denise had them playing for about an hour yesterday, and apparently a great time was had by all.
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I shouldn't even mention that the Oilers are back to their consistent inconsistency. A magnificent pair of games over the weekend were followed by a 9-2 and 3-0 loss. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

On a related hockey note, we'll be in the Tricities for the Christmas festivities at mom and dad's new place. I should check to see if the Americans will be playing in town, but am reluctant. I don't need the disappointment of seeing no games due to the holidays. We'll postpone that for a little sense of sanity, should the Oilers win before Christmas.
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Got the Digitech Jamman last weekend. I'll post a review when I get a moment to actually use the thing.

Kansas City, for Shame

To understand this rant/post/whatever you want to call it, you have to understand something basic. I manage an IT department for a large Internet security company. We have offices all across the United States, including one near Kansas City, where I have two employees. You also need to understand that at this company, we review our employees' performance during January.

Why is all of this important? Because I get the pleasure of going to Kansas City in January. Now, typically weather doesn't bug me. I spent some time in the '80's in Anchorage AK. I would gladly shrug on the mantle of Canadian citizenship to live somewhere insane like Edmonton (but not Calgary). The fact is, though, that Kansas City in January is simply a pain in the neck! Yes, they get cold, but they are in that middle region where, when they get cold, it's just infrequently enough that everyone goes half-way crazy. Three inches of snow could be difficult for drivers in Florida, but Kansas City sees it every year. Get over yourselves and your weatherpeople that crystal ball their way onto the nightly news.

Okay, that part of the rant got out of hand. I'm going somewhere with all of this. I apologize, but we're about to jerk this train back on the tracks. Chug-a-chug.

So I thinks to myself, "Hey! What is good about KC in the winter? It's cold, it's full of big, strong, beef-fed conservatives...They have to have a minor-league hockey team, right? I could go take in a game!"

The Googles shows me all kinds of amateur and junior leagues. (Dear Lord, what will I do without a junior league around here when Jonah/Caelyn get old enough?...No, no, wait. Two rants is enough for one posting.) It looks like a pretty good hockey town, with rinks and everything.

So why don't they have a minor league team?!!!!!!!!

Stupid KC. I'll have to console myself with barbecued beef and Boulevard beer. It's a tough life.

Strength Training and Other Such Nonsense

IN America, an astonishingly low number of people get excited about exercise. If the years since WWII have taught us anything, it's that the sedentary lifestyle is the way to go. It makes us feel comfortable, contributes to the oh-so-shallow pockets of television network executives, and causes all kinds of mental/religious/health dilemas. What a wonderful society we live in!

And so we all blithely come out of our twenties, heading into a middle-age of growing waistlines and back pain. That is, until that fatal day that we decide enough is enough. It's time to start to exercise.

For me, exercise has been an on-and-off thing. High school was really active. College wasn't. Mid-twenties were really active. Late twenties weren't. And just this year I decided to get back into a regiment after several years off.

Fortunately, the body remembers. It knows the muscle it once had, and thinks that it can be that strong again. The mind remembers the euphoric hormones generated during and after a workout (ever heard of a runner's high?). And what remains of the muscles remember the motions of each individual exercise. But this phase in my battle against the bulge is going to be different.

I've been at the gym for about five months, and I'm seeing results. I'm stronger, fitter looking, and generally happy with my progress. I'm using a regiment that I've used before. It has always worked in the past, for a while. After a few months, however, I tended to plateau permanently. And I feel I've reached that point again.

So I looked for something new. I decided that doing what I've always done might not be the right decision. The exercises I've always done need to be abandoned. They work, but they don't trigger my sense of experimentation and drive for personal improvement. In other words, I want to do all those exercises that I have never liked. We often don't like to do things because they aren't easy. And when you are trying to better yourself, the easy path rarely leads to the highest reward.

I stumbled upon a regiment on StrongLifts.com that seems to fit the bill. The premise is simple: Start with very low weight on a very basic rotation of compound exercises. Learn technique. Raise weight gradually at each workout. Focus on the squat. In other words, build strength properly, consistently, and comprehensively.

I'll check back into this discussion in a few weeks. To start out, all of the core exercises but one start with an empty Olympic barbell (45 lbs). We'll see how far I get.

I'm excited about exercise again!