Contest

My friend Peter (drummer for Mister Miyagi) suggested that I enter this contest from Electro Voice to video tape yourself recording a riff. The winner will win a brand new amplifier cabinet from EV. I decided why not? It don't cost nothin'...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6akDfVvUOw

One of my favorite SCREAMING fans!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD2JFsHs2iQ

Quick run tonight

I had two people come and look at my truck today but neither one seemed particularly interested in it. I've dropped the price to $1300 and still no takers. I don't think it's even worth selling for that price. I might as well take it to a demolition derby and try to win some money next summer. Do something fun with it anyway. 2 posts in one day is just too crazy man. Derrinda and Dallas went to the church tonight for scouts/Relief Society presidency meeting. When they got back I decided to go for a run around Bldg. C. I felt really good tonight and ran 3 miles in about 19:30 (6:30 pace). It's funny because I wasn't really breathing hard, but I'm still a bit on the chunky side so that was all that was slowing me down. It feels good to get out and run harder once in a while. I need to start watching my diet again so that I can get down to race weight (165 for me, right now I'm about 180). I still seem to struggle with motivation. I feel like Gaston in Beauty and the Beast when he says "what for, nothing helps..." Me and Jason used to use that line when one of us was down in the dumps and get the other one laughing. Good times. I miss old Covington.

Water Coloring Mary Decker

Had a good run with Juliet this morning. We went the usual 6 miles on the river trail. She was sporting not one, but two winter hats this morning. Needless to say, halfway through the run, she had taken both of them off. It was over 40 degrees. It was funny. Then she showed me her new hair cut that she was sporting. I told her she looked like Mary Decker when she was running. Her hair was bouncing like Decker's when she runs. It must be the layers. Jumped in the Speed3 and drove home. Derrinda is still feeling pretty sick, so I took the boys to school, then I came back, ate some oatmeal, a banana, and some hot cocoa, then came down and opened up shop. Right now it's just me and Elijah partying down in the office. He is doing some sweet looking water coloring. Derrinda had to go write up a food order for a family in the ward, so she is gone right now. It looks like we are back to the usual winter weather in Seattle, i.e. rain and grey skies. Christmas in the Northwest.

Vanilla Ice Ice Baby...

Crazy ice trail prevented Juliet and I from getting our run in this morning. I met her at Stortini's at 7. The parking lot was so iced over that we had to skate down to the trail to see if it was icy too; Indeed it was so we decided it best to scrap the run. The Mazda did quite well on the ice. It is only front wheel drive, but I never even noticed that the roads were slick. The Nova (rear wheel drive) would have been a different story. I once got the Nova stuck at the end of the driveway at 192 in Orem and couldn't move it so had to have help pushing it back into the driveway and figuring another way to travel. At least the weather has warmed up considerably since last week. It was 36 degrees this morning, so I was surprised there was icy road conditions since it was 4 degrees above freezing. Oh well, go figure. It appears to be melting in the parking lot here at BSS now as I look out the window.

Since Derrinda has been called to be the Relief Society President, I now teach my CTR 8 class alone. We also just had a new Primary presidency called, and one of the counselors came and talked to me during sharing time and said I needed to have another adult male in my class, so they got a guy who just got back from his mission to sit in class while I taught. Kind of lame, but I understand why they have to do that I guess. Anyway, I've only got my class for 2 more weeks, and then I have a sneaking hunch that they will put me in as the Valiant 11 boys teacher. I think I'm the only male in Primary.

The gig went good Saturday. We performed well anyway, the audience left a lot to be desired. Nobody was really dancing. I don't think there were ever more than 10 people on the dance floor the entire evening. Microsoft geeks. They hire us and pay us $5000 to play to an empty room. I guess when you've got money to burn, it doesn't matter too much. The highlight of the evening for me was when we had only time for one song and somebody yelled out "R.E.M.!", so we busted into "It's the end of the world as we know it", and we haven't performed that song in probably over a year. Thankfully I didn't have a problem with the words (there are a LOT of them), because Cov-Cov and I have been performing that song forever.

Back to the grind here at BSS now. Thankfully I think we have all our Christmas shopping done. I have a couple of things I still want to pick up, but the majority of it is done. I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!!

Happy Holidays!

Ran a chilly 8 miles with Juliet this morning. It was fun. I love being able to run. I have learned from others that running will not last forever, so I am thankful to be able to do it while I can. The main problem I have is that I also love to eat. So even though I haven't been gaining weight, I also haven't been able to get down to where I like myself to be because I ruin all my running by scarfing down too much food. The holiday season makes it hard also because part of the fun of the holidays for me is drinking hot cocoa and eating cookies and other goodies. But anyway, Juliet and I have been very consistent since August, so we are doing really good with that. But until I decide to get serious and take it to the competitive level, I don't think I will improve much. Winter running is all about keeping the base mileage up though, so that come early spring you can hit the track and start getting the lungs and legs ready to push it.

I'm already missing college football games. I'm so used to the Thursday night game on ESPN and then spending most the day Saturday watching games. Oh well, I guess I need to get out and do other things besides watch college football anyways.

Derrinda opened up the office this morning, even though she is feeling a bit under the weather, and she rented a unit so that is good. Now I'm down here and it's kind of dead, but I've had some calls and a couple of payments already.

I've got another gig tonight for yet another Microsoft holiday party...those Microsoft geeks just can't get enough of us for some weird unknown reason. This will be the 3rd straight year that we've played this divisions holiday party at the Museum of Flight; it's always a fun show because I am staring straight at an SR-71 Blackbird the whole time (my favorite aircraft ever).

So I've been staying busy, which is good because I think if I wasn't busy I would go mentally insane.

Happy Birthday Tam!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister Tammy! Tammy has always been a great example to me. As her younger brother, I have always looked up to her, and I continue to look to her for her great personal and spiritual strength. She always makes me feel better about myself and encourages me through my trials. She is an inspiration to me! I love you Tam! Happy Birthday!

Viktor Frankl

"A human being is not one thing among others; things determine each other, but man is ultimately self determining. What he becomes-within the limits of endowment and environment-he has made out of himself. In the concentration camps, for example, in this living laboratory and on this testing ground, we watched and witnessed some of our comrades behave like swine while others behaved like saints. Man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions, but not on conditions." -- Viktor Frankl

I have been reading "Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. It has been a fascinating read. Dr. Frankl spent almost 3 years in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. He lost his father, mother, brother, and wife to the horrifying death camps (gas chambers). He tells his story with the intention of showing that even when a man (or woman) has literally everything taken from them, they can still find meaning, even in suffering. It is their choice. He survived the camps and went on to have great success in his life, living to the age of 92. It is quite the story.

Even Alligators Cry!

I've been waiting all year for this ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfBH8e4FE-g

An Inspiring Story

I read this article on MSNBC today. Simply amazing. This man has been blessed with a wonderful family who were unwilling to give up hope. I can't even begin to imagine the pain and difficulties this man went through during all this. Well, just read it:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34109227/ns/health-more_health_news/?GT1=43001

Stone Family Update

I left a little early to meet up with Juliet this morning.  It was rainy, but pretty mild, so it wasn't bad.  I ran from here and on the trail up to Mama Stortini's parking lot where I always meet Juliet in the mornings.  We had a good 6 mile run and then I ran back home, so I got close to 10 miles in this morning.  I felt pretty good.  I'm glad Juliet runs with me because it makes the miles go by a lot faster than running by myself. 

We had parent teacher conferences last night and they went good.  We found out a couple of interesting things.  Cody is VERY shy.  He was hiding behind us while we talked to his teachers (he has one teacher who he goes to for extra help), and they said that is how he is in class every day.  He must get that from his daddy, I was also extremely shy in early grade school.  But he is doing well with his numbers and letters, he just needs to come out of his shell a bit.  Dallas is doing extraordinary in school.  His teacher was beaming talking about how wonderful it is to have him in class and how she is privileged to be his teacher.  She says he cracks jokes at appropriate times, and that he understands sarcasm already unlike most kids his age I guess.  She said he is a natural leader and has lots of friends and that people are drawn to him.  She also recommended us having him tested to enter a school program for "highly capable learners".  She also said it is totally up to us if we want to keep him in his regular school classes, but she did leave us a pamphlet.  We are thinking we will let him take the test to see if he even qualifies or not, and then make our decision from there as a family.  I would like to see him excel in school, but at the same time I would like him to feel like a normal kid with normal friends.

Things have been going good for us and we are looking forward to spending time with family at the holidays.  Also a great time to dust off some good Christmas songs.

Veteran's Day at Point Defiance Zoo

First off happy Veterans Day to all those who have served our country.  I am thankful for those who have risked their lives and to those who paid the ultimate price to secure our freedom.  Like the old saying says, "Freedom ain't free."  Although our country seems to be headed down hill quickly, this is still sacred ground we all walk upon, truly the promised land.

We had a fun day today.  We took the kids to Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and had a fun time looking at the marine life and all the other animals.  My favorite was the tiger.  They are such amazing creatures.  So be

autiful to look at.  The tiger was pacing back and forth in front of the door to his cage.  He must have been waiting for someone to come and feed him.  He looked like he was ready to tear apart any member of his audience for a meal.  I will post some pictures.  It was a perfect day to go to the zoo.  Nice and sunny and perfect temperature.  

We took the boys to McDonalds afterwards.  They had fun at the play land and Dallas was something to behold.  He ate a double cheesburger, an additional cheeseburger, fries, finished off Brandon's burger, and topped it off with an apple pie.  Oh, and washed it all down with 2 small sprites.  That boy must be growing like crazy!  Heck, I don't think I ate that much as a teenager.

I ran 6 miles with Juliet this morning.  She hasn't been feeling well lately, but we got it in nonetheless.  

Dr. Pepper Commercials

I hate those Dr. Pepper commercials.  For example the Dr. Dre and Gene Simmons commercials.  They say at the end "Trust me, I'm a doctor."  It is a slap in the face to those real doctors who spend years and thousands of dollars getting the education and experience to become doctors.    

40 Amazing Years

40 years together...pretty amazing. I know how thankful I am to have 2 wonderful parents who love each other so much and have shown the world that no matter what they are put through, their love is strong enough to last forever!! I love you Mom and Dad. Happy 40th Anniversary!

Hoaxville

I can't believe I was totally enthralled with that UFO looking balloon footage yesterday when it was just a big hoax by the parents. On Larry King last night they asked the kid, Falcon, if he heard his parents calling for him in the house, and he said "yes". When they asked him why he didn't answer them he said "because you said...because of the show..." . Awful fishy. And now there is video footage of the balloon getting launched by the kid's Dad and his wife. I wonder how long they will continue to deny it? They should be responsible for the costs involved in the rescue efforts of trying to rescue the kid from their balloon when they knew dang well he wasn't in there. People are crazy.
In other news, I am finally starting to notice a difference with my running. It is getting easier every day and my clothes are starting to fit good again. I am not even tempted to eat junk any more. It just looks gross to me now, and when I do eat something unhealthy it makes me sick to my stomach. It's funny how that happens as your body transforms and you start to get tough. If only a runner could stay healthy forever and not have to go through the stages every runner goes through of getting super fit, getting injured, losing muscle mass and cardiovascular fitness, gaining weight, and then starting over again.
We had band practice last night. It was only Me, Greg(rhythm gtr.), Jesse(keys), and Peter(drums). It was good though, we ran through the 2 new songs--"Photograph" by Def Leppard, and "Here I go Again" by Whitesnake. They went good. We also ran through "Jump" by Van Halen and by golly I think Peter finally has it down. We went through it successfully about a dozen times (just the solo part, not the entire song). We worked on the beginning of "Walk this Way" by Run D.M.C. and Aerosmith and it will be a fun one when we get the vocals worked out.
I haven't been blogging much lately, I've been getting kind of bored with it. I guess that's why I have never been very good at keeping a journal either. Later.

New Songs for Miyagi

We have been taking a breather here with a long break between gigs, but we have added some new songs to our setlist. Here is one we are doing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ5bS3_BCDs

Ken Griffey Jr.

I'm not from Seattle, but I did know of Ken Griffey Jr. back when he was in his prime. I was never the biggest baseball fan in the world either, but after going to some Mariners games up here, I have gained respect for those players who excel above the rest. Griffey is definitely one of these players. I was fortunate enough to see him at Safeco hit possibly the last home run of his career. I was there with my wife and sons and saw him swing effortlessly at the ball and watched it sail over the wall in center field. Here is a good article on him if anyone is interested:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/242524-coming-to-grips-with-griffeys-impending-retirement

This week in current events

This made me laugh for some reason. It's a good way to summarize this weeks top stories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-xLtTYoPfw&feature=popular

I like to eat.

Ran 6 miles with Juliet this morning. I feel like running is getting easier, but I'm still overweight because I like to eat too much. If I could just be more careful about what I eat, I could be down to race weight within a couple of months, but I suffer from lack of motivation lately. I still enjoy running. I've been running in the evening with Derrinda for a couple of miles also. Dallas had a cool 8th birthday party the other day and is looking forward to being baptized next month. He is a good boy. He has been enjoying all the great presents he got from everybody.

Puffing old goats

Cigarette smokers are selfish and I hate them.

Roger Federer's amazing shot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37qyvTRVus8

Show off...

Dog Years

I don't know if anybody else saw this, but it's cool to figure out how old your dog is. Apparently a dog ages 15 human years the first year, 9 the second, and then 5 each year thereafter. Dakota is 56 human years, and Willie is 51. Pretty cool.

http://www.npwm.com/mc_pet_age_calculator.asp?menu_id=405&menu_item_id=1

August 29th

Juliet and I had a good run this morning.  We went 8 miles in 1:03.  It was rainy and crappy weather, but we made the best of it.  We are getting in better shape every day.  It's really cool having Juliet live so close by.

Yesterday I spent most the day out at Mom and Dad's.  Dad helped me weld in my new dash on the Nova to replace the old rusted out crap one.  It looks awesome.  We also dropped the drive line.  I'll probably drop the transmission too just to check it out.  If I get a super powerful engine, I may need to add a beefier transmission anyway, we'll see.  

After that I fixed a couple of leaks for Dad.  They had a leaky gutter on the pool house and a really bad leak around the chimney for Tam's fireplace.  Hopefully I repaired them so they won't leak anymore.  Time will tell. 

We're heading out to Graham again tonight for Mercedes 12th birthday party.  Happy Birthday Cedes!!

Nova Restoration

Ran 5 miles with Juliet this morning.  We are getting in better shape every day.  Every morning the run is getting easier and easier.  We always have fun too.  The Nova is coming along pretty good.  Getting close to being prepped for paint; the fenders, trunk lid and hood are pretty much all that are left.  Thanks to Aaron and Dad for their help.

.  

Endurance and Victory

The one thing I love about music more than anything is the messages that you can get from really well written songs where the lyrics make you work a bit, think about what they really mean.  And a really well written song can mean a lot of different things to different people.  I remember being taught to "endure to the end", and when I was young, it seemed such a simple thing, because as a youngster you have no concept of time.  There is a song by the Killers that always gives me hope that I can endure and gain ultimate victory.  The video is pretty hard to figure out too. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXkWW_q_OTM

Shadowplay

Had a good run with Juliet this morning. We ran 6 miles. We were talking and laughing the whole way. It was lots of fun. It's nice having family so close. The nova is coming along great so far. The body is almost ready to prime, the doors are close too, the fenders, hood and trunk lid are next. Hopefully next week sometime the entire car will be covered in beautiful grey primer. I've got a gig tonight at the Shark in Kirkland. I think it will be a good crowd and a fun show. Same old same old. Here is the link to the Killers version of "Shadowplay" I was telling you about Juliet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIe3IgmdSlI

The widdard singer dude in the video is supposed to be Ian Curtis, the late singer of Joy Division. Here is their original performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzTw4PYfROU

1969 Chevy Nova Restoration

Here are a few pics of the beginning of the restoration of my Nova.  I bought this car in 1993 before I even got my license.  It served me well in my youth, but it is in need of some freshening up.  The plan for now is to get a sweet paint job on it and throw in a high performance Chevy small block.  It already has the coveted Turbohydramatic 350 transmission, which is a perfect mate for a high horsepower V8 engine.  For those of you who get queasy easily, these pictures are not for the faint of heart.  It can be hard to see a beloved vehicle in this condition, but just keep in mind how awesome it will look (and sound) when it is done.  Also, Derrinda was formally accepted into BYU yesterday, to finish her Bachelors degree in Business Management, so that was exciting.  I'm proud of her.

Nova Update

My Nova hasn't run right for years.  I have taken it to several mechanics over the years who failed to fix the problem.  About 8 months ago or so I took it to a guy here who thought it was the exhaust manifold gasket (leaking a lot).  So he had the manifold machined nice and level, put the new gasket on, and told me I was good to go.  It did run better, however it still felt pretty rough to me.  Anyway, today it dawned on me that maybe the mechanic (pre- new manifold gasket) had my carburetor all out of whack to make up for the manifold leak.  So I went out and messed with the fuel mixture screw and idle screw and lo and behold, the Nova magically runs like a top again without hesitating off the line and dying at stops.  Time will tell about the dieseling (running after the key is shut off), but when I shut it off, no issues.  I'll cross my fingers and hope the Nova is back in business the next time I fire it up.

My Update

It has been a while since my last post.  Not much has been going on.  I've had a bunch of gigs, busted up my ribs by crashing Aaron's dirt bike at Mom and Dad's in some loose dirt, and started running again this week.  My ribs are still hurting, and even though I had x-rays and the Dr. said everything looks good, it doesn't feel that way.  There is a big bump on the rib like it broke and is healing, and my chest pops now.  I guess it could just be muscle damage or something, but that bump on my rib is super hard like bone, so who knows.  The swelling has gone down a lot and thats when I noticed the bump.  My ankle injury is finally healed too.  I can now run on it with little pain, but it is annoying now because the tendon pops over the ankle bone now every time I roll it around (or run) which causes some pain, but not enough to keep me from running, thankfully.  I have been meeting Juliet at Mama Stortinis by her apartment and we've gone 4 miles on the trail every day this week at 7 am.  It is cool to run with Juliet again.  We always have fun, even though we are both out of shape right now.  I know we won't be for long, we have running in our blood and good genetics for it.  I've been trying to find a class at a local community college for engine rebuilding, but I can't find one.  I want to try and rebuild my Nova's engine by myself.  I am still kicking around the idea of just getting a 327 or 350 and throwing it in there, but that's what everybody does with their Novas.  So I think it would be kind of cool to keep the inline 6 and maybe convert it to fuel injection.  I'm also kicking around the idea of supercharging or turbocharging it.  That gets pretty expensive though.  It might be a good idea to upgrade to disc brakes with power boost also with that kind of power.  It would be freakin' sweet though to take it out on the road and blow people away with a stock looking 4 door sedan '69 Nova!!  Especially if they were to find out it's only a 6!!  I really like things that go fast!

Rock 'n Roll Weekend

I had a fun weekend.  I played a corporate show at the Suncadia Resort near Cle Elum with my band, Mister Miyagi on Friday night.  The speed3 didn't disappoint on the drive.  Very fun driving that through Snoqualmie pass.  Then Saturday evening we played the Bite of Seattle at the base of the space needle.  It's always a fun show.  I've played it 3 or 4 times, but this was the best show we've done at the Bite.  The setlist was good, the crowd was into it, and we performed well.  My favorite part of the show was my guitar solo during "Jump" by Van Halen.  Here it is:  Enjoy!!  If you weren't able to make it, you missed out!!

P.S. -- I think the crowd favorite was "Billie Jean", which isn't too surprising with the recent death of Michael Jackson.  That is on my facebook page if interested.

Laying down drum tracks

After Jason's visit, I've finally found the inspiration and desire to blow the dust off of some old recordings that Jason and I started about 6 years ago and start laying down some drum tracks to them. The album is painfully close to being done, but it still may be luck to get it done before the end of the year. Part of the reason it has taken us so long to finally get to the stage of getting it done is that we debated back and forth on what method to record us. For example, did we want to go to a "professional studio" and put up a bunch of cash in order to get a "perfect recording", if there is such a thing; or did we want to invest in pro tools computer recording software and afford us the opportunity to have unlimited tracks for recording, thus being able to double and triple track and layer guitars and vocals for a really strong recording with power and clarity? The last option was to just use my old Yamaha 8 track and be limitied to only 8 total tracks per song, which really limits the ability to get a really great sounding record, and leaves a lot to be desired. But alas, I have decided to just do it this way for now and at least have SOMETHING for people to hear, and maybe someday down the road we can take our best songs from our entire songwriting and recording careers and take that to a pro studio to get a really great recording. But anyway, that's where we are at right now. I think I should be finished with all my recordings in a couple of months, and then maybe Jason can fly up and finish his vocals and bass tracks and we will just have to mix down after that and burn to CD and call it an album.

Jacko Memorial Service

I had a good bike ride tonight.  I left BSS right at 5 o'clock and it only took me 28 minutes to get there.  I rode 13 miles with Dad on the trail.  He was there in the parking lot at the skate park when I got there.  We had a good ride.  We even switched bikes for a little while.  I made the ride back to BSS from the skate park in 26 minutes.  

Business was good today.  I got a transfer and a 5 x 15 rental which will be long term so that is good.

I got to see most of the Michael Jackson memorial service on the computer today while working at the desk.  I was busy for a lot of the morning, but I still got to see a lot of it.  It was really good.  A great celebration of his music and life.  My favorite part was Michael's big bro. Jermaine singing "Smile".    Here is a link to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJm0eqI28Y8

I thought it was especially cool that all his brothers were wearing his trademark white sparkling glove.  R.I.P.  MJ

Thriller

I had a great visit with my bro. Jason while he was up here to visit.  We even played a gig last night out at Stone Palace and it was pretty fun.  We played "Beat It" as a tribute to Michael Jackson and everyone got a kick out of it.  We also tried to play "Billie Jean" and half way through I started acting out the first part of the "Thriller" music video, and I don't think anybody got the joke even though they were still laughing at us.  So here is the "Thriller" music video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyJbIOZjS8 

Optimistic Outlook

Things are finally starting to look better for my injury situation.  I rode 31 miles on the bike tonight from BSS up near South Prairie and back.  Dad and Juliet met me at the skate park in Orting and rode the middle 13 miles with me.  It was a fun ride.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous.  It could have been no more perfect.  I did however deal with a pretty substantial head wind coming back to Puyallup from Orting.  But that seems to be the norm that time of day.  It was like that yesterday too.  I also was able to jog very slowly for 2 miles tonight, which is very encouraging for me.  I could be running again very soon!

Tuesday Morning

I went on a 20 mile bike ride yesterday afternoon.  I rode from here (BSS) up to Orting on the trail and up to the 1 mile mark bridge on the trail.  It was a good ride and I jammed out to tunes the whole way.  It took me about an hour.  Dallas had coach pitch practice last night.  He did exceptionally well hitting the ball, hitting it into the outfield on 2 out of his 3 times at bat.  However, he does struggle with paying attention, as I had to yell at him a bunch of times for kneeling down in left field picking grass, and also watched in agony as he was playing 2nd base and the ball was hit right to him and of course it went right past him into center field because he wasn't paying attention; the center fielder threw it to him and his back was turned, he was staring at the dirt, and it rolled past him a 2nd time.  Luckily he has a good coach and the coach went and chewed him out for not paying attention.  He is a natural athlete but he really lacks focus.  Hopefully that will change as he gets older.

My ankle is still too messed up for running on, but I am really hoping to try it out next week, maybe just for a mile or two to see how it does.  I'm pretty much going to have to start over with my mileage.  Hopefully with the biking I've been doing I will hold on to a little bit of my fitness.

My take on Michael Jackson

The sudden death of Michael Jackson was an unfortunate event that I'm sure will come out could have been prevented if he had not been abusing prescription medications.  He is probably one of the most misunderstood people to have ever lived.  I don't think anybody was ever close to him, he was a man surrounded by people, yet he had no real friends.  He lived as an extremely lonely person.  I try my best not to judge others, but it is hard when someone chooses to live extravagantly and does things that are, quite frankly, very strange.  However, I can usually see the good in just about every person on some level.  As a musician, I can appreciate how truly gifted a talent that Michael Jackson was.  Perhaps my favorite performance is of him singing "She's out of my Life".  You can hear the tenderness, and the loneliness that he feels as his emotions come to the surface towards the end of the song.  Michael Jackson's life was a circus more often than not, but this is how I choose to remember him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF0o-W5uu8o

Rest in Peace.

Chain Saw

I got to fire up my chain saw today. That always makes the day a good day. Chain saws are fun. The items that came into contact with the chain DID NOT FARE WELL!!!

For Reasons Unknown

"I pack my case, I check my face, I look a little bit older, I look a little bit colder ...with one deep breath,  one big step, I move a little bit closer, I move a little bit closer, for reasons unkown ..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW2vE2WTJ3E&feature=fvst

General blabbing (my 100th post)!

We have been having a good week at BSS this week.  We have already rented 4 units this week and it's only Tuesday, so that is a good thing.  We had an incident with some dead mice in someone's unit today, but we let them know we do all we can to prevent rodents, but there is only so much we can do because people bring them in with them and also attract them by storing things they shouldn't be storing (hello people, don't store FOOD).

I have been having fun playing my Father's day present (guitar hero Aerosmith).  It is fun to play, but it only goes to show me how obsessed our society is with instant gratification.  People don't want to take the time to learn how to properly play an instrument, but still want to feel like "rock stars".  I can tell you from experience that tearing apart a solo on an actual guitar on an actual stage with an actual audience is quite a bit more satisfying.  But I digress, it is still a fun game and I can see why the Guitar Hero chain of games is so successful.

I rode my bike to Orting after work tonight and met Dad at the skate park.  We went on a 13 mile ride together and I got an extra mile in before Dad got there, so my total riding distance was 32 miles tonight.  It feels good to ride that far but it still doesn't satisfy me like running does.

We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight.  It was good.  They had a cool lesson prepared for the boys where they used rubbing alcohol in a gatorade bottle, shook it up, and lit it on fire and sucked the egg into the bottle.  It was pretty cool.  Then Elder Potter and I chatted about running for about 45 minutes or so.  He really likes running.  I told him we were close friends with the Prefontaines and he was in disbelief.  He loves Steve Prefontaine.  

I have had a mild sore throat now for weeks, possibly even a couple of months, but this morning it was much worse, I thought maybe I was getting sick, but I think it is just allergies, because I took some medicine and the symptoms were lessened.  

My ankle is still messed up and now I'm hating it because there is another track meet tomorrow that I will not be able to participate in.  I'm not going to risk delaying healing, and causing further injury at this point, even though I really want to get some points for the team.  It's beyond frustrating to sit out during a track meet and watch, when you know you could be winning races.  The life of a distance runner is plagued with injury.

My Sister Lisa

It is my sister Lisa's birthday today.  Lisa is an awesome person and someone I have always looked up to.  When I was struggling with deciding whether to serve a mission or not, Lisa and Tammy were there to help me make the right decision and through both of their examples, I decided to serve.  I remember a long time ago when I first started running, I went running with Lisa up Dry canyon in the foothills.  We were running pretty good, but I thought I could take off and leave her, and thought I would be cool if I did.  I remember pushing the pace on the way back and one thing I learned about Lisa that day is that she does not give up!  We ended up running in a dead heat to the finish.  Lisa is a great mom to her kids and they are so lucky to have her because she will always be there for them, she doesn't give up.  Lisa is a very caring person and always concerned with other people.  I'm very glad she is my sister!  Happy birthday Lisa.  I love you!

My Dad

Happy Fathers Day to my awesome Dad today.  He has always been there for me and has taught me so many life lessons and helped to shape who I am today.  Some of my fondest memories are of spending time running in the mountains, on the roads, trails, and on the track with him.  We were quite the duo when it came to running.  We even came in together to win a race at Wheeler Farms in Salt Lake City.  He helped me to learn a lot of things from running.  I learned the value of hard work, dedication, humility, victory, camaraderie, and so many other things during these runs with my Dad.  He also has shown me how to sacrifice of himself for his family.  I watched him on a daily basis get up super early in the morning and head to the steel mill with his lunchbox in his old Chevy pickup truck, to make a living for his family and fulfill his responsibilities as a father with honor.  I am proud to say I am the son of Myron Hampton Stone!!  I love you Dad!

Being injured sucks

I had a super fun bike ride yesterday afternoon.  I was supposed to meet Dad in Orting to bike with him.  Instead of driving my car, I decided it would be fun to ride all the way there and back.  So I ended up biking about 30 miles by the time it was done.  Dad and I went 12 miles on the trail together, and I estimated the distance there to be 9 miles, it might even be a little more than that.  I'm going to clock it later when we go out to swim today.  I told Dad I would be out there to swim this morning around 6, but I couldn't get out of bed.  That ride took more out of me than I originally thought.  Total ride time was about 2 hours.  I think next time I bike that far I will take some water or gatorade with me because I couldn't get enough to drink last night after the ride.  My ankle was a bit sore this morning so I guess even bicycling was a bit much for it to handle yesterday.  I over did it a bit I guess.  Oh well, I think I will be o.k. to run a couple of miles Monday and see how it feels.

Bike Ride

Swam 1/2 mile this morning and aqua jogged in the deep end for 1/2 hour. Injuries are so frustrating. Anyway, I was able to test the ankle a little bit yesterday as I went on a 15 mile bike ride. I pressed pretty hard going up to South Prairie (parked at the skate park in Orting), and even passed a couple of hard core cyclists on the way up. Neither one of them liked seeing a dude in Adidas warm-ups and a Michael Jordan shirt fly by them, but what could they do about it? Not too much. It took me 22:30 to get to the 7.5 mile turnaround point. I thought that was pretty good for a ride that is slightly uphill the entire way. I figured it to be 20 mph or 3 minute mile pace. Coming back I took it a bit easier. I rode with Dad coming back and his rear deraileur doesn't work and is stuck in low gear, so he had to pedal twice as fast as me to keep the same pace. The total ride was 50:00, so 27:30 to get back. I was thinking about how easy bicycling is compared to running. I run that same 15 miles in around 1:45 or so just running pretty easy, but that is still over twice as long and I am very much more fatigued after the run than the bike. The ankle actually felt pretty good this morning when I went over to swim, so I am hopeful that I can start running again sometime next week.

Mid week blahg

I've been getting quite a bit done around here at BSS lately. Even with my gimp ankle. I just finished fertilizing the front 3 lawns here, and the broadcaster got gummed up with fertilizer/water, so I cleaned it all out and now am waiting for the broadcaster to dry so that I can go finish the last 3 lawns in the back. Yesterday I fired up the leaf blower and cleaned up the pavement area. It still needs to be pressure washed, but it looks way better.
I can't begin to express my frustration with this injury. I was just getting ready to start some more serious workouts (track, etc.) and then I am set back with this. I have not run for a week now and it is killing me thinking of all the work I put in every day and now to be losing it all is maddening!! Oh well, I guess that is the life of a runner.
Dallas is having fun at his Field Day right now. The fire department was going to be there spraying kids with hoses and stuff so he wore swim trunks to school and took a change of clothes. We are excited for him to be out of school this Friday!

Lo and Behold

Wouldn't you know it I have sprained my ankle and am out on injury for now. I hope it isn't too long because I do not want to lose the conditioning I have worked so hard to get. Very frustrating. Track meets start this Wednesday and I'm pretty much useless to the team until my ankle heals. My knee is even a little tweaked from whatever happened to my ankle.

9 Year Anniversary!

Today I get to celebrate a great day 9 years ago when I was blessed enough to be married to a beautiful girl named Derrinda.  It has been a great blessing to have her in my life.  Life can send blows sometimes that are unexpected, and that is when it is good to have someone to help you through the hard times and be there for you to see a brighter day.  I love you Derrinda!

Pre Classic

I took the opportunity to watch the annual Prefontaine Classic track meet this morning on t.v.  I am always amazed at how awesome the distance runners are.  The shape they keep themselves in is unbelievable.  I have a tiny bit of an idea how hard it is to train and put the body through pain day after day in order to perform well, but to perform at the level these athletes perform at is pretty hard to understand for most people.  I saw Bernard Legat win the 3000 meters in 7:35.  That is equivalent to about an 8:10 2 mile.  Blazing fast.  There were several other great performances as well.  

Church was funny today because last week I bleached my hair blonde, and the kids in my Primary class were freaking out.  I guess they didn't realize what a punk rocker they had for a teacher.  I think some of the adults were surprised too.  That's half the fun of doing something like that.  It's like people think just because you change your hair color that you are having issues or something.  "Oh goodness, what's going on with him, look, he bleached his hair!!"  I think it's a good test for my fellow saints to find out how judgmental they can be over something trivial.

Saturday Morning Run

Just got back from a 15 mile run on the Orting trail while Dad rode his bike.  I felt pretty good today but ran pretty slow.  I was just under an hour at the turn and total run was 1:55:59 (about 7:40 pace).  It is pretty gloomy looking today (overcast).  It looks like it might rain a bit.  I got a total of 51 miles this week.  That's not bad for only running once a day.  I should probably be running two-a-days to get ready for these track meets, but I've been enjoying swimming in the mornings instead of running.  I'm quite sure that I won't perform quite as well in races with this method, but I don't really care, I feel more fit overall this way.

Childhood Memories

Something about today reminded me of being a kid.  It must be the nice weather.  I was out fixing some of the sprinklers here at BSS and something triggered an old memory I have of being the new kid at Westmore elementary in Orem, Utah.  I think I was out by myself at recess and I was sitting on the lawn and I remember seeing a guy working on the sprinklers by the soccer field.  Anyway, I started thinking about that time of my life and I remember not having any friends and feeling very alone.  All my older sisters were in Jr. High or High School and I was the only one in the family at Westmore.  Anyway, I met a kid named Jason Covington some time after being a new student there.  It might have even been a few months.  I pretty much never heard much rock music before, but I remember seeing kids at school with band names like Metallica, Guns n' Roses, Skid Row, and Def Leppard scrawled all over their levi jackets.  Jason and I soon became good friends and Jason introduced me to Def Leppard.  I was immediately mesmerized by the sound.  This is where my love of electric guitar was formed.  Here is a clip of Def Leppard that takes me back in time and reminds me of my childhood.  It is one of my favorite Def Leppard songs.

P.S.  - I wish I could find some awesome running shorts like Rick Allen is wearing in this video (drummer)!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1-j9hEPenM

Saturday Morning Run

I ran 12 miles on the paved trail in Orting this morning while Dad rode his bike.  The weather was beautiful and it was a great run.  I felt good the entire way which is a step up from the last couple of days where I felt terrible, but nonetheless got through it.  I forgot to stop my watch until I was half way home in the car and then it was about 1:35, so I guess it was probably around 1:25 or so.  About 7:20 pace or so.  If things go well with my running through the summer, I am planning on going down to Coos Bay this September and running the Prefontaine Memorial 10k.  I ran it way back in 1995 when I lived in Coos Bay.  I was 18 then, and I hope to greatly improve on my time because I hadn't been running much at the time because I had a wicked ankle sprain that I had to take 6 weeks off for.  I only managed a 38:00 10k time then, so if I'm in shape I hope to run around 34 minutes.  These track meets will be a good start to getting back in race shape.  I don't plan on setting any PR's at this years meets, but it will be fun to get on the track again.  Hopefully I'll get under 5 in the mile and around 10:30 or so for the 2 mile.  

I've got a short gig tonight up in Seattle at Pikes Place Market.  We are only playing for 40 minutes, which is 10 songs or so.  It should be fun.  It's almost not worth traveling all the way up there to just play that much, but oh well.  I guess some family will be coming so that will be fun.

Ramones Tribute

A little over a year ago I was trying to think of something really cool that I could do for Jason's birthday since usually it isn't much more than a call or something small. Well, I decided it would be cool to go to my recording studio and record a bunch of Ramones songs that we used to love (still do) and listen to while driving around in the Nova or Jason's parent's hot '91 Dodge Colt (We called ourselves the "roller skate bandits" because we looked like we were in a roller skate). Jason used to accidentally pop the clutch too hard and give too much gas leaving a stop light, and the front tires would squeal. I told him it sounded like a bicycle taking off too fast. Those were good times. Anyway, the songs I picked were some of my favorite Ramones songs and I recorded all parts (guitar, bass, drums, and vocals) myself. I was happy with the way it came out. I sent it to him and then decided to make a Myspace music account. I called it Ramones Tribute, and it is now the 1 year anniversary of posting it, and I've had over 29,000 listens in a year, so that isn't bad. Better than keeping it to myself I guess. Maybe some lost soul of a kid who was wallowing in the world of terrible modern rock music has stumbled upon it and discovered the Ramones. Anyway, here is the link if anyone cares to listen to some freaking awesome Ramones covers!!
http://www.myspace.com/ramonestributemike

Mid week

Just got back from a swim this morning.  I've still been swimming 3/4 of a mile on weekdays, and running 8 miles at night.  I go on a long run on Saturday mornings, usually 12-15 miles.  It feels good to get in shape.  I've got band practice tonight, so I will have to run sometime during the day so I can get up to Lynnwood by 7.  It usually takes between 1 hour and 1.5 hours to get there depending on traffic.  It looks like it will be another beautiful sunny day here in the Northwest.

And we're back!

I had a great time on my trip along the Oregon Coast with Derrinda. I drove the motorcycle down to Salem while Derrinda drove the van with the kids. Mom and Dad Cooper watched the boys for us for a few days and we took off on the bike early Friday morning and had a fun trip. For pictures of the trip, go to Derrinda's blog, she has some slide shows on there. The bike ran great and got over 50 mpg the majority of the way. We had good weather and saw and did lots of fun things. Now it's back to the grind here at BSS. I went through and replaced burned out lights today. I need to buy another box though, we ran out with one stretch of hallway left in upper D bldg. Dallas, Cody and Elijah were big helps doing the lights. Dallas carried the box of new lights, Cody carried the box with burned out lights, and Elijah opened doors for us and pushed the elevator button and things like that. We had fun working together. I need to step up my work out regimen, or at least up the intensity of my runs a bit. Track meets are coming up in just a few weeks. I've got a gig this Saturday at 5 o'clock at Pike Place market. It is a really short set. We are only playing about 10 songs. Hopefully the weather will work out for it. It is getting into that time of year where we play a handful of festival shows. Things are going good.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

My Mom is my hero.  Everything she has done her entire life has been for the benefit of others.  She always made sure us kids had everything we needed, even if it meant sacrificing everything else.  I remember growing up and when I started getting into running, Mom would make sure I had good running shoes to wear, even if it meant some other bill would go unpaid (me being a kid, I didn't understand how bills and money worked real well).  We always had what we needed, and especially when it came to having a Mom who was there for us.  I remember locking my keys in my car at MVHS one morning.  I was comforted in knowing that I could call home and Mom would be there to come and rescue me.  We didn't have another key for some reason, so Mom used her car breaking in skills to unlock the door.  I remember saying something about how I was impressed that she could break in so fast and she smiled and said "Well, I was born in New York you know."  I have never seen a mother care as much as my Mom.  She sacrifices everything to make sure Tammy is taken care of every day.  I don't think anybody can realize how much she truly does.  I am so thankful to have been blessed with such an amazing Mom.  I love you Mom!  Happy Birthday!!

A Beautiful day in the Northwest!

I met Dad and Aaron at the skate park in Orting at 6:30 this morning.  I ran to South Prairie and back.  15 miles.  The time was the same as last week (1:53:something), but I felt much worse today than last week.  Especially after I was done.  Even now I have been done running for 2 hours and I feel sick (fever, chills) but this happens to me sometimes after long runs.  I think it has to do with me being old skool and not drinking anything during the run then tanking up afterwards.  I'm confident I will feel better later, but for now, I can't really do much other than loaf around.

I went with Juliet, Aaron, Kingston, and Dad last night to look at a little 125 Yamaha dirt bike that Juliet was thinking about getting.  I got on it, started it, and took it for a little test drive.  It was a fun little bike and Juliet ended up making the purchase.  She got a great deal on it too.  It is practically brand new.  Everyone was saying that I looked like a circus clown on it though because I dwarfed it.  That was funny.  I know Juliet will have a blast on it though.  It sure looks like it is going to be another beautiful day today.  I wish Derrinda and I had taken off for our Motorcycle trip this weekend instead of next, because the weather is gorgeous this weekend, next weekend who knows?  

My Dad is 63!!

Happy 63rd Birthday to my Dad who I love very much! I have learned so many life lessons by watching him live his life. I have been with him when people's cars were broke down and it was bitter cold outside. Dad would always stop and see if there was any way he could help. I have been with him on intense workouts where we pushed each other to our bodies limits (mine anyway), and I am proud to say that we have even crossed the finish line together in first place at a road race. We defeated every runner in the field, including some runners from my Dad's Alma Mater BYU!! I went out too fast and Dad hung back a little. I finally made it to the front of the pack and started to pull away from all the runners except for this speedy little guy in his 50's who caught up to me and helped me through the pain (I was hurting from going out too fast) and on to victory! My Dad has been an inspiration to me and everyone I know. His dedication to caring for my sister Tammy after her automobile accident is unwavering. Happy Birthday Dad!! I know the screen is looking blurry to you at this point, but you are indeed my hero and I love you!! As a side note, Dallas was arguing with Cody this morning about how he could beat Grandpa Stone in a race. I have much experience in attempting this, so I had to correct Dallas and tell him that he should not underestimate the speed and competitiveness of Grandpa Stone!!

Happy Mother's Day

I just wanted to wish a happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women in my life.  I love all of you!!

Blundering Buffoon

I had an interesting morning today. Yesterday I got the alternator and regulator changed out on the PC800. I've been driving it around a lot to see if the problem is now fixed. Time will tell, I've only driven about 30 miles on it so far. Anyway, I took it out and met Dad and Aaron at the skate park in Orting. Dad put his keys in the trunk of my motorcycle, and in a massive thoughtless blunder of a moment, I put my jacket in his truck and locked the door and shut it. The problem being that my key was in the jacket. So needless to say, I managed to lock my key in Dad's truck and his keys in my trunk. Luckily we were able to find the humor in it all. I ran up to South Prairie and back while Dad and Aaron rode bikes. It was a bit chilly when we started, but the sun was out and it gradually warmed up throughout the run. It is a beautiful day. So I ran 15 miles in 1:53:00, which is quite slow for me (7:30 pace). But I am paranoid about getting injured since I've had a couple of tweaks this week, so just being careful. I called Mom with about 4 miles left to run and asked her if she could find her keys to the truck and have Juliet drive them down to us. I feel bad for stressing Mom out because we had her searching the house high and low for her truck keys that she couldn't find. Juliet was able to bring some tools to us so that I could pull the top cover off my bike to gain access to the trunk release. Then we were good to go. An adventurous morning to say the least. I got back and Derrinda had made me breakfast (pancakes and sausage). It was delicious of course, and I feel bad for Derrinda because she has come down with a nasty cold the last few days. Now I'm sitting here at BSS trying to rent the place up, but it seems like Saturdays I just end up sitting here and making sure people have somewhere to use the bathroom. That's what has happened so far today. 3 people in, and all to use the restroom. Oh well, that's the life of a self storage manager.

It's Friday!!

I got up and drove the CBR over to Mom and Dad's to swim this morning. I enjoy getting up early like that, it gives me a feeling of self satisfaction and it's a great time to reflect and prepare for the day. Last night I ran 8 miles on the trail. My right achilles was bothering me a little bit. I came home and iced it, took some ibuprofen, and rubbed it down with some Sombra. Dad gave me some patches (I think they have aspirin in them or something) this morning and it is feeling better for now. It's hard to know for sure until I start running, so I guess I will know better tonight. I was planning on another long one tomorrow morning, maybe even 15, but I will have to see how it feels tonight. I may only be able to go 10-12. It is far better to take it easy and still be able to run then to overdo it and go out on injury for weeks or even months. It seems like that's always how I go out though!
In other news, I got the parts for my Honda PC800 today, so I will be putting that back together and seeing if the charging system is good to go (fingers are crossed).
I also had a fun ride coming back home. I know people worry about me getting killed on that CBR, but I am a very cautious rider. I do enjoy going very fast, but I consider myself a safe driver and I never go fast unless I can see all around me and am on a straight road. I was behind a dump truck trailer combo and there were also 2 other cars behind it. When we hit a long straight section, I looked, signaled, and passed. I noticed one of the cars was an older model VW GTI. I know about these cars because I looked at them when deciding what car to buy. I decided on the Mazda, but the GTI is also a turbocharged 4 cylinder, and the people who drive it think it is faster than it is. It is a quick car, but not as quick as the Speed3, WRX, or Evo. Anyway, I saw him pull out and pass the truck. I wasn't racing him by any means, but when he got too close behind me, I dusted him. I only had to go half throttle to completely obliterate him. And true to form, when we got into Orting, he went straight at the Eagles lounge and hit the gas hard while driving away from me. I don't know why everybody who I smoke does something like that every time, but I find it hilarious. I also saw a sweet red Corvette on the way out to swim. That car looked fast!

Weekly Update

A lot has happened since my last post.  Saturday morning I ran 13 miles on the trail while Dad rode his bike.  Later in the afternoon, I had planned a surprise birthday party for Derrinda (She is 30 now!!), so we drove out to Mom and Dad's house in Graham for the party.  Derrinda was shocked when she walked in the door and her parents, Desi, and 3 of her friends were there to surprise her.  She got showered with gifts and a lot of attention and it made for a fun day.  I'm glad that everyone was willing to help make her big day so special!!  Then on Monday it was her real birthday and Desi watched the kids for us so we could go out to celebrate our birthdays.  We went and played laser tag and played some games at the arcade, it was really fun.  After that we went out to eat at Red Robin.  We thought about seeing a movie, but it was already getting late, so we went home after that.  Then Tuesday was my birthday so we went out for another party at the Stone residence.  I got spoiled there.  I got a really cool shirt, an armored motorcycle jacket, armored gloves, and a 120GB Ipod.  I loaded every song from my collection that I wanted on there, and it amounted to a whopping 3GB, so I need to get some more music apparently.  I guess you can also put videos and pictures on there, so maybe I will do that.  Running has been going steady, but with all these birthday parties lately my diet hasn't been the greatest.  I've still been swimming every morning too which I really enjoy.  The motorcycle broke down on me again last week, Dad had to rescue me with the trailer again.  There is definitely a problem with the charging system, because I got a new battery and it was drained out after driving less than 30 miles.  I tore apart the bike and am waiting on a new stator (alternator), and regulator to get here.  I think after that I will be set (hopefully).

Dead batteries and legs!

This morning started out good.  I got up and dressed for the motorcycle ride out to Graham, let the dogs out for a minute, started up the bike, and off I drove.  Everything was going smoothly, but I noticed that my turn signals were not working when I turned right on Orville Rd.  Things were going fine until I turned right onto 224th and noticed my engine was starting to misfire a bit.  It gradually became bad enough that I thought the engine would die at any second.  I made it up the steepest part of the hill and then it sputtered and died on me.  It wouldn't restart.  It didn't even try to turn over.  So I put my helmet in the trunk and started the 2 miles that were left to Mom and Dad's house.  I ran most of the way, but walked a little bit because my motorcycle boots were really digging into my skin around my ankles.  It seemed like it took forever, but it must have only been about 20 minutes or so.  Dad was in the pool house and he came out and asked what happened.  I said "I got stranded".  To which Dad replied "something happened to Brandon?".  I said "No, I got stranded."  So that was a little funny.  At that point we pulled the pool cover over the pool and Dad got changed.  We moved the trailer around and hooked it up to Dad's truck.  I was parked on a hill, so Dad parked the trailer in the road down the hill from the bike and I got on it while Dad gave it a push and I drove it up the ramp into the trailer.  I don't know how close I was to falling off the ramp, but it must only be 1 foot wide and it was a bit scary getting into the trailer.  When I was in the trailer, I hit the brakes and slid enough to scare me into thinking I might tip it over, but I didn't.  All was well and we decided the best way to get it to the house was for Dad to pull the trailer with me straddling and balancing the bike while holding the front brake lever.  It worked really well and we decided it was a dead battery.  We charged up the battery while I swam in the pool for 3/4 of a mile.  After that, we took it off the charger and it started up.  Getting it out of the trailer was the next task.  This bike is not light.  It weighs almost 700 lbs.  Dad pulled the trailer off the road and down a grade so the trailer ramp would be level (somewhat) with the ground.  I straddled the bike while Dad pushed it out of the trailer and off the ramp onto the ground.  We were eventually successful and I drove it home.  It ran great the entire way interestingly enough.  I was expecting it to die on me at any moment.  Dad was a life saver.  Thanks Dad!  And thanks Derrinda for opening up the office and getting Dallas off to school all by yourself!  And thank you Honda Pacific Coast for the spontaneous extra 2 mile run this morning!

"Dad, my shoe flew off!"

That's what Dallas said to me on the way home from the dentist yesterday. We were on the motorcycle and apparently Dallas forgot to tie his shoe. We turned around and headed back shoe hunting. We found the shoe in the middle of the road, so we pulled off the road and I got it for him!! Funny story that I had to share.

Saturday Night Madness

Well last night was one of the strangest shows I've ever played.  When we first got there and were setting up, the place was already packed; somebody was having a big birthday party bash.  I thought maybe I was wrong about thinking it was going to be a terrible night.  Then after sound check, tuning up, and changing into gig clothes, we started the first set to about 30 people in the entire place, and only about 3 people that were getting up and dancing.  After the first set, we were even saying how we probably wouldn't be invited back.  Then we started the second set and apparently someone opened the flood gates because out of no where the place was packed and everybody was dancing.  It carried like that throughout the rest of the night.  So that was good.  It sure makes for a late night though.  At least Derrinda was able to come with me, so that is always fun.  We sit there and make fun of all the weird people, and believe me there were some really strange ones last night.  Highlight of the evening:  On the drive up there was this punk kid that got right on my bumper.  He was driving a late 90's Infinity.  Apparently he thought his car was really fast.  We were in the carpool lane doing about 70.  He finally got annoyed enough to swing out a couple of lanes to the right and try to pass everybody.  I let him go, but then I started thinking about him thinking his car was fast and decided to teach him a lesson.  So I accelerated slightly and got behind him.  He tried going faster when he saw me coming up; finally I saw my opening in traffic and Derrinda and I blew by him like he was standing still.  I could see him in the rearview trying in vain to keep up.   Then the real fun began.  I slowed back down and let him get right on my bumper.  I guess some people can't learn too well.  I waited for him to try to pass on the right, and as soon as he would swing over to pass me, I would take off and leave him.  I was laughing my head off.  This happened one more time, and then I decided I had enough fun and had defeated him a sufficient amount of times.  Of course when he exited the freeway he had to speed off on it.  I don't know what people think they are proving after they get beat like that when they speed away down the off ramp.  I think Derrinda thinks I'm crazy because I always have such a blast putting the smack down on punks who think their cars are fast.  It's only fun because they are always trying to race you in these cars that aren't even in the MazdaSpeed's league.  If it was a Corvette or something that would be one thing, but an Infinity?  Try to be serious... good times.

Short CBR 900RR Clip

CBR Pics

I finished the painting on the CBR and since I haven't posted any pics of it or anything, here are some.

The Stone life is a good life!

Had a good start to the weekend by running 10 miles this morning while Dad rode his bike along the river trail (dirt). I went easy today after the hard run yesterday. It's always harder for me to get going in the mornings anyway.
I've got a show at the Shark Club in Kirkland tonight. The Shark is usually a good crowd. But I'm worried about the turnout tonight because we have been having issues with our emailing. We have over 600 people on our mailing list, and apparently there have been some changes in the way large emails can be sent because of stricter spam laws, so we haven't been able to notify any of our fans when we are playing, so I fear tonight will be a disaster of major proportions. I guess we will see.
BSS has been a bit slow lately as well. I think the down turned economy has affected us here as well as everybody else. I am sitting here at the desk now though as I type this, waiting to rent the facility up!
We went out to Joe's Sporting Goods last night. They are going out of business so everything is a bargain. I picked up a couple of decals for my CBR. I will take some pictures and post later. I think they look pretty cool on there.
Things are going pretty good right now for us. Derrinda made a really cool scarecrow cake yesterday for the Seattle Children's Hospital auction. She stays plenty busy with things like that and watching our 4 rambunctious boys throughout the day. Dallas is doing good in school, but he handed me a note yesterday and said I needed to sign it. It said that he left to go to music class in the middle of class and interrupted the teacher or something like that. I think he may have inherited my need for independence and lack of respect for authority figures. I just hope it doesn't get him into trouble like it has me. Cody is learning how to write his name and is very proud. Elijah is always a bundle of smiles and laughs. He lightens the mood a lot around here. And little Brandon is always into some mischief. He is starting to develop a cute personality.

Starting to get fit!

I just got back from a really good run.  It was one of those days where you just feel great the entire time.  I started at the skate park and ran up 4 miles and back while Dad, Aaron, Richie and Chanelle rode their bikes.  I felt good pretty much from the start and made it to the 4 mile turnaround in 27:12 (6:48 pace), I came back even faster and finished the run in 52:31, so that is 25:19 for the last 4 miles (6:20 pace).  So the average pace for the 8 miles was 6:33, which makes me happy because I didn't think I was in that good of shape yet.  I might run well this summer if I can keep up the training without getting injured or sick.  

I also finished the painting on the CBR today and drove it there for the run.  It was a BLAST riding that beast!  The acceleration is amazing; almost scary even.  But that's what makes it so exhilarating.  

Karma Police

We reap what we sow.  I believe in Karma.  Here is my favorite Radiohead video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSKmYC0mHXI

Paint Project

The CBR painting I've been doing has been pretty good, but I did run into a problem when I tried to touch up a spot that had barely sanded through. Somehow the paint reacted with the clear coat and it wasn't pretty. Soon all my beautiful paint had crevices and valleys throughout. Time to strip down and start again. Not cool. But I did completely finish one fairing panel, and am on course to have this panel finished by the weekend hopefully.
The running has continued to go well. I ran 8 miles last night while Juliet and Dad rode their bikes. We went on the dirt trail that starts by Ptarmigan in Orting and up to the lumber mill and back. It took about 55 minutes. I ran the last mile or so pretty fast. I probably finished the last 1/2 in under 3 minutes, so that was good because it didn't feel that fast, I felt pretty relaxed and controlled.
I will post some pics of my project later. The bad thing is I forgot to get before pics!! Oh well.

Beautiful day in the Northwest

Met Dad and Aaron at the park in Orting at 6:30.  I ran 12 miles on the paved trail while they rode bikes.  It was fun.  I can't think of a better way to start the weekend.  I felt pretty good this morning.  I drove the Speed3 and had a fun drive coming back.  I went to pass some slow poke that was doing about 10 mph under the speed limit and the Mazda was accelerating so fast that I was squirming all over the road.  It was exhilarating.  Super fun to drive, especially on windy roads.  Anyway the run took me about an hour and a half.  I went nice and slow today.  That is about 7:30 pace or so.  It looks like it will be a beautiful spring day here in the Northwest.  Maybe I will get my project started for adding some color to my bike.  I'll post some pics later when it is finished.  Don't hold your breath though, it could be a week or so.

Happy Thursday

Up this morning at 5 and drove the motorcycle over to Stone Palace to go swimming.  I felt good this morning.  I went 3/4 of a mile in the pool.  The ride was kind of cold, but it was sure pretty on the way home.  The sun was just coming up over the hills, and with the budding trees and views of the river, it was very beautiful.  There is something about riding a motorcycle that makes you notice these things more.  

My running has been going good too.  I have been running 8 miles while Dad rides his bike in the evening.  It's been fun and I'm getting in better shape every day.  I have really been enjoying the sunny days the last couple of days.  It's been a while since I last blogged, but it seems like all my posts were starting to sound the same (much like this one).

Dog Breed Mutation

This post will not get near the action that Tam's Bulldog post did. But I thought this was an article that was interesting and along the lines of the mutation debate.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30088069?GT1=43001

Our dog Dakota is part Australian Cattle Dog, I believe she would survive too. Some breeds are a bit more durable than others (no I'm not picking on Bulldogs).

Friday Morning

Band practice went well last night.  It looks like we will be adding about 4 songs for this weekends show.  The drive up was crazy with all the rain on the road.  I hydroplaned a couple of times just a bit, nothing too scary though.  I got back at about 11:15 and Derrinda was just finishing a run.  Got to bed around midnight and was up bright and early at 5 this morning for a nice swim.  Now I'm just enjoying the morning with my beautiful wife and sons.  I've been enjoying having Dallas home for Spring Break.  Dallas and Cody have both been pretty helpful around here at BSS helping me dump stuff and clean.  I'm on track for about 50 miles this week with my running, so that is good.  I'll continue to put in base mileage probably until mid-May when I will hopefully start some intervals to get ready for track season in June.

Fire in the Sky

Well yesterday I met Dad as usual at the trail head in Orting. We went 8 miles on the trail. Dad took his mountain bike across the street from where the trail head is to the bike shop to get his deraileur fixed. The guy put some air in his tires too. Well on the way back with about 2 miles to go, I heard something coming from his rear wheel. I told him to stop and I noticed a gash in the sidewall of his rear tire. It appears the guy put a little too much air in there. He left me in the dust to try and make it as far as he could before it was unrideable, which was about 1/2 mile. So he still had 1.5 to go without a bike. I told him to give me the keys to the van and I would come back and pick him up. I covered my last mile in 6:30 and hopped in the van and picked him up about 1/2 mile from the finish. He ran with his bike most of the way I think. So that was somewhat of an adventure. I then hopped on my motorcycle and had a rainy ride home.
Today I cleaned out the last junk from the auction that the lady (who will not be invited back) dumped on us. The dumpster is already 3/4 full and it was just emptied this morning. Lovely. There is always something here at BSS to keep busy with. I had a good swim this morning. I did the usual 1/2 mile.
I have band practice tonight up in Lynnwood at 7, so I think I will get my run done earlier so I can make it on time. I need to quickly brush up on the songs we've been working on too.
I read all about Travis Walton and his controversial UFO abduction from Snowflake AZ back in the 70's. I just happened to read about a UFO hoax that a couple of kids pulled off earlier this year and it got me thinking about the movie "Fire in the Sky" that I saw back in the early 90's. I remember seeing it at Movies 8 back in the day with Jason and becoming fascinated with the thought of extraterrestrial life forms and UFO's. It was interesting to read some of the facts about the case. The crazy thing about it is that to this day, all 6 men who were involved have stuck to their story and say it is true, passed several lie detector tests and what not. Pretty interesting stuff. O.K., enough for now.

Early Week Update

I haven't posted for a few days so here it goes.  The weekend was good.  The auction went really well.  We were able to sell all of the units that were up for sale and recouped about $500 of the money that the delinquent tenants owed us.  We had one lady who ended up dumping a bunch of stuff on us from the unit she won.  Par for course.  Everyone had a good time visiting on Sunday.  I played quite the game of "freeze tag" with all the kids.  I was able to eventually catch all the kids and freeze them without getting freed.  I have to admit, it was much harder than I thought it would be.  Everyone enjoyed having Uncle Aaron up here too.  He was up to bring the household belongings and his 4Runner with the Uhaul.  

This week is off to a good start.  I had a good run last night.  I went 8 miles on the trail while Dad and Mercedes rode their bikes alongside me.  Aaron ran the first couple of miles with me and then he and Richie headed back.  I ended up doing my last mile in 6:30 and my last 6 miles averaged under 7 minutes per mile.  I felt really good.  I have been eating a light snack around 3 p.m.  the last couple of days, and I think that has helped me with my energy during my workouts.  Tonight I ran 7 miles from BSS on the trail.  It was super duper windy today.  There were some gusts that about stopped me in my tracks on the way out.  I managed to get over to Graham to get my swims in the last couple of mornings too.  I could sure use some nice warm spring weather any day now.

Rainy Saturday Morning

Dallas woke me up at 5:30 this morning and asked me if we could go swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I told him I was running 10 miles while Grandpa rode his bike.  He said he wanted to come too, and I told him the farthest he had rode his bike with me was 7 miles and if he thought he could make it 10, and he said yes.  So we put his bike in the back of the truck and drove to Orting to meet Dad.  It was pretty nice weather for the most part until about 3 miles into it when it started raining lightly.  It continued for most the run.  Dallas did great and made the entire 10 miles with no problems at all.  He arose so early today because he was in trouble for some stuff and went to bed early yesterday while the rest of us ordered a movie and ate popcorn and stuff.  He was pretty sad about that.  He had the table set and 5 bowls filled to the top with fruit loops with the milk out and spoons for everybody this morning.  He even had yogurts out for me and Derrinda.  It was very thoughtful.  We have the auction in an hour and Aaron will be here with the U-Haul around noon.  Should be an exciting day!!