Denver to TX...and i didnt even leave home

Quick Note: 

Hannah and I are both writing blog posts...partly to document our own lives (vanity), but also so that other people can know what is going on (communication...sort of).  The thing is, when people don't write comments, we don't know if anyone is reading our gibberish (well, i know people are at least going to my page, because I am constantly refreshing my page view score...that vanity thing).  So, please...if you're reading this or if you're reading Hannah's blog, leave a comment.  It means the world to us and few things are more great than seeing "3 comments" at the bottom of something you have posted to the Internet.  (i mean for real...even if they end up being bad comments, i am still excited that someone took the time to respond.  i just need a 5-10 word reply...please, please pretty please?)


On to the stories....

At the last writing, Hannah had finally finished training and was headed off to San Antonio.  Some of you are probably saying to yourself..."wait a second.  She was in Denver for like a month.  What could possibly take that long to learn?"  Very good question.  As I recall, much of that time is sort of spent acclimating people to what its going to be like living on an episode of the Real World while still be required to serve the needs of the country.  There is some more concrete training though...resulting in Hannah learning to use a Saws-All.  What is a Saws-All you might ask....

As the name suggests, it saws through almost anything.  Some might call it a reciprocating saw.  Its basically a blade that sticks out and moves in an out rapidly, allowing for some flection.  Its great for cutting out mistakes. 

Sometimes they can be used for crafts...

...which works especially well if your boyfriend loves handmade things...especially things made of OSB.

But anyway, once Hannah's skill training was all done, she got in a van and drove to TX.  Some might say its a bit stalkerish, but I prefer to think its Nick Sparkish, but I followed her.  On the internet.  She texted me where she was and told me how pretty it was.  And from my desk I went there.  It almost felt like I was in the van with her.  Except I was at my desk.  And super jealous.  And wished I was travelling across the great plains of Texas to go work with the large Habitat affiliate in the country.   



So, I did what any man wishing to change his situation would do.  I went to my local Habitat and worked.  Take that!  I totally one upped her.  She was actually still travelling and I was framing...the greatest, most fun task that you could do.  I ended up with blisters, tired arms, sore hamstrings, and a few little nicks from run-ins with materials harder than my skin. 

And although she wasn't there with me, that dang Mumford and Sons song was, which basically means that even if I could stop thinking about her, I cant and wont be able to ever stop thinking about us.

Epilogue

Hannah made it to Texas.  Proof can be seen below.

She is doing part of her work in the office...which, like all office employees in this country, means moving paper.  

Dropped ball...and we're off again!

It turns out that I dropped the ball on this one.  Here I was waiting for Hannah to write something for me to respond to, and she had already done it.  The calls-and-responses on her blog will be tagged as "Who's will?"  Didn't even know categorizing things was possible. 

http://hannahmraines.wordpress.com/whos-will/

So, in response to this post, I thought I might talk a little more about the whole "Will" issue and about what Hannah is going to be experiencing for the next few days.

1) Will- because I'm tired of repeating myself 14 times every 6 weeks. 
In NCCC, you not only travel around, but you work with a variety of people.  And you work with new people at every project.  And you get new projects every so often (6-8 weeks).  Now, as many of you know, the name I chose to use at the age of 4 or 5 was Dalen.  You see, at that age, I had the feeling that William was just a little too formal.  Oh how wise I was.  So, DAlen was the name I used.  this worked well for the next 20 years of my life.  Then, partway through the year, right around our 3rd project, I reached my limit.  NO MORE!  We were working on a fire crew and meeting new people sometimes on every burn!  Easily 10 new people per week.  OH THE HUMANITY!

You see, nobody gets Dalen right the first time.  I have to repeat it.  And nobody ever spells it right either.  This was fine for people who would become friends or family.  I could take the time and be patient with them.  But for people I knew i might never meet again, I decided to go by "Will."  This is where many of you probably become insulted because I wasn't making long term plans with you the day we first met.  But this is also the moment where you realize you have made it to the next level...the Dalen level.  If you call me Dalen or refer to me as Dalen, you are either 1) a long term friend, or 2) family, or 3) Hannah has told you to call me Dalen, because she doesn't like Will.  If you call me Will, then either 1) you only know me professionally speaking or 2) this time next year you wont know me or 3) you agree, that's its just easier, and hey, it sounds kind of strong, and you prefer it, right?

2) Riding in Vans...FOREEEVVVEERRR
As Hannah mentioned before, it seemed like they were prepping and teaching her how to ride in a van. 

http://hannahmraines.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/riding-in-vans-with-corps-members/

She couldn't have been more correct.    As I write this, she is on her first of many long-distance trips in a van.  Driving from Denver to San Antonio is going to take about 17 hours, but must be broken up into 3 days (safety is a huge concern for NCCC).  So, the 1000 miles will pass a little slower than it might in a car, but its all part of the process.  I remember our longest trip being from Charleston to Little Rock.  It was only 900 miles, but it still seemed like forever.  And with all of our seats full, I was ready to never be near another person by the time we got there.  But, alas we persevered, and Hannah will too.  If there's one thing NCCC can instill, its resilience and patience.  Send her positive vibes.  She'll need it in the beginning.  Those van rides are like a war of attrition.  They are like marathons of sitting.  And everything out west is further away.  Hold her in your thoughts...you know, unless you already constantly do.  :) 

The photo edition!

Hate reading?  well today is your day.  This posting is almost made entirely of pictures (which i count as worth at least 1000 words each).

I finally finished up the string.  What was once a jumbled knot of roughly 0.75 miles in length is now a series of wrapped bundles.  I gave some away to some adults during trick or treating, but i have plenty left.  if you need some, let me know.

Speaking of trick or treating...i gave out candy....

...dressed as a donkey!  (i didnt drink the beer until after...which for those of you who KNOW me...is a big deal.  i am trying out this whole "beer" thing.  this one was supposed to taste like pumpkin.  tasted like beer to me.  

Wednesday night, with halloween over and the string done, i was able to focus and get a major task done on my house.  check my fireplace!  it works!

Friday was a good day.  Went on a field trip to the country to look at a biosolids application farm.  Got to see some baby cows.  Sure...cats on the internet can be great.  But nothing beats a real life baby cow.  So cute!

Friday night I went to the men's shelter...where i received the glamorous task of prepping salad.  I ended up on dressing duty.  Somehow, the dressing we had gotten a hold of was meant for single serving use.  I was in charge of fixing that...and fix that I did!

I hope you enjoyed this photo edition.  Keep visiting and tell all your friends.

http://hannahmraines.wordpress.com/posts-are-here/

Holy cow its cold!

Well, I think it finally got here.  Winter.  Its windy and cold.  Leaves have all pretty much fallen onto my driveway and yard and Hannah's car.  Gumballs haven't fallen yet, but I imagine any day now, my backyard will turn into a giant booby trap for barefooted hippies.  So, what do you do when winter gets here?  You take all those various kinds of squash you got, you heat and blend them, and then you top them with Siracha.  Voila.  Squash bisque with fire.  So good.  So Spicy. 

8) Little Brother

I think I mentioned last time about trying to get my little brother to come visit.  I am trying to teach him to ride the bus and the light rail so he can have some autonomy and mobility.  Its important for youth to have the ability to strike out on their own and be the master of their own destinies in some way.  Additionally, I have been putting him to work...which strangely he enjoys.  He says its a lot like minecraft...a game he plays where you build stuff.  He has been asking me all these questions about how to do things.  These are things you apparently do in the game, and now he is curious about doing them in real life.  It would be strange if this computer game inspired him to actually become a craftsmen in real life.  I'll do my best to encourage this, especially since I strongly believe that a man should be able to create with his hands.  I upped his game and skill level this weekend by teaching him to use a power sander.  He now much prefers it to the hand sander.  We also worked on the string (pictured here).  Its almost fully wound.  I'll have to find some new means of mediation once i don't have that to occupy my hands. 



Also while Jahkeem was around, we went and picked up more clay tiles.  I have enough now to finish filling in the corner patch at my house so we can grow viny gourds and squash etc. there next year.  Its going to be pretty cool.  A clay patio with vines in the cracks.  I'll take a picture if I remember. 

If you had told me a year and a half ago that I would probably be in love with an NCCC member who knew how to use a skill-saw, I would have told you that you were crazy because my best friend Hannah (and potential girlfriend screener) wasnt looking to set me up with anyone in NCCC.  She was going to find me a nice local girl, my age who liked the outdoors, liked volunteering, and was in love with Sandy Kohn at the same magnitude that I admired and respected him (which is manquivalent to "love").  I mean sure, I would love to be with a girl who was in NCCC and knew how to use a skill-saw, but my AmerCorps days are long gone. How would I ever meet such an epic woman?   

http://hannahmraines.wordpress.com/posts-are-here/ 

Next time...

9) porch before she gets home!
Now that she is learning to build, I really need to get on this porch idea.  She told me that if I don't build it before she gets back, she is going to help, and the holly bush cant stay where it is!

10) check out my new driveway (project delayed by weather...and well, i kind of wanted my little brother to do it, but he didn't stay over as long as I wanted him too)

11) more pictures from the superphone!

Is it Christmas yet?

Time is flying...until you stop to think about it.  My roommate has been living with me less than a month.  Or at least he has only given me one rent check so far.  Its strange.  The weeks sort of fly by, but they just aren't adding up. 

5) trainin'. bikin', and whatever else there is

Last Friday I mountain biked.  Mondays have become 2 hours of Jiu-Jitsu days.  Tuesday nights are soccer league.  Wednesdays are 1 hour Jiu-Jitsu, 1 hour-ish of running (prepping for a half marathon in a few weeks...ughh).  Thursdays are a day to do some work I have been putting off since Monday.  or work on my house days.  Fridays are "fun days" for cycling, mountain biking, or whatever else doesn't really seem like training...but actually is basically training.  the gaps have been getting filled in with small crafts too (cutting glass bottles, making plant towers, concrete HyperTuffa planters, etc.).  When I want to relax, I attack the string.  Made a lot of progress last week.  Not so much this week.  If you want some string, message me! (it apparently is the string used to pull electrical wire through conduit.  chimney guy told me this). 

Weekends have been busy too.  Lots of workin' on the house.  the occasional standard social diversion.  Went to see the panthers lose last weekend...rapidly becoming a Charlotte tradition. 

At one point during the week, I ate all of this at once. That's a half pound of bacon, a full pound (at least) of sweet potato, and some other peppers and garlic.

 

6) magic eraser

I have rediscovered the beauty of the magic eraser.  It is especially nice since there are quite a few random stains, streaks, scuffs, and other markings throughout my 60 year old house.  So, I have been spot cleaning, 5-10 minutes at a time everyday.  It helps me to feel like I am getting things done, without actually having to devote a lot of time to it.  and of course, everything looks better after you have magically erased it.

7) raise the roof!

Demolition started last weekend.  I am tearing out the wood/ cardboard panelling, ceiling, and nicotine/ fiberglass insulation in my shed.  I am doing one giant garbage can's worth a week.  Once I get it cleared out, I will assess the structure, replace some studs here and there, and begin to figure out how I will chop the roof off, build the walls taller, and reinstall some surface to keep water out but let light in.  Then, I can turn it into a lofted storage and sleeping space.  B&B anyone?   

8) Little Brother

Jahkeem ended up not making it last weekend.  Trying again this weekend.  To Be continued... 



Next time...
  8) Little Brother?
9) porch before she gets home!
10) check out my new driveway
11) more pictures from the superphone!

She is basically almost done

Using my highly experienced skills at rounding (I can round up from both below and above 0.5), I have pretty much rounded up enough to tell myself that Hannah is basically almost done with NCCC. I mean realistically, now that fall is here, its pretty much almost Thanksgiving, which means that its basically already Christmas, which means that the year is over. Once the new year starts, we really are getting close to spring, which means a two month non-stop middle school soccer season from late march to early may. Then once that's over, it will be summer, at the end of which Hannah will be graduating from NCCC and getting her Presidential Service Award (maybe congressional too if they mess up). Like I said...when you really look at it, she basically is almost done.



Which means, if I want to get anything done in my free time, I need to get to it.



3) The String

One of the things I have been focusing some energy on lately is the string. One day, a contractor was driving down my road with a bunch of string in the back of his truck. The part that was tied to a metal weight fell off, and the truck proceeded to drag the line out, all the way to the end of the road. We are talking somewhere between a half mile and mile of string. It was bizarre. It took roughly a day of normalcy before the middle school kids who walk on the road began to mess with it. Eventually it ended up in a concentrated mess near my house. Being the opportunist that I am (HEY! FREE STRING!), I went and got it and dragged it up into my yard. There it has sat for about 3 weeks. I have been sporadically un-knotting and winding it, an hour at a time, here and there. Pretty soon I will have enough usable, wound string to rule the world...or to at least tie up a super sweet stick sculpture in my backyard for the birds to play on.



4) rappellin!

Besides messin' with the string, have been pushing hard (i.e. facebook spamming) to raise enough money $1000) for the special Olympics. I saw on a billboard that if you raised that much, you could rappel off of the VUE. The VUE is a twice-foreclose upon, semi-finished, barely occupied glass high rise in uptown Charlotte. Rappelling is a lot like sliding down a rope using technology that prevents you from burning your hands or falling to certain doom should you choose to let go.

SPOILER:   I made my goal.  I rappelled off the VUE.  We then went back up to the top and looked around in some of the un-sold units.  see pictures below.  see altitude pictures at this link.  thanks everyone for the support.
http://specialolympicsnc.smugmug.com/Fundraisers/2012-Over-The-Edge-Charlotte/25977505_qbn6SH#!i=2155850094&k=3xMsZfW




Enjoy the view...errr, VUE. (I had high aspirations of making any great jokes involving VUE and view...but alas, I came up with nothing). 



4) runnin' in 5 weeks!
Well, that was last week actually.  I think now I have only 4 weeks to prepare and run 13.1 miles.  My original goal was to maybe keep going and do a full 26.2, but being realistic, I doubt I can do that.  While I am good at rounding, when it comes to running, that's not a helpful skill. 


Next time:

5) trainin'. bikin', and whatever else there is
6) magic eraser
7) raise the roof!
8) Little Brother
9) porch before she gets home!

Keepin' Busy

When I was a counselor at summer camp, they always taught us that the best way to cure homesickness is to keep busy.  Being busy provides distraction and helps your brain "let go."  Homesickness, or missing a person for that matter, is really just this psychological dependency your brain has fabricated.  Often its not healthy because it really can incapacitate you.  We all have known a person who wanted to be near another so much, that they couldn't live their own life.  They also were so smothering that they drove the other person away.  Its not healthy.  Or we have known a person who cant leave their hometown.  They just get so attached that the thoughts of leaving make them sweat.  They will never enjoy the rest of the world, which has so much to offer.  The remedy is to help the brain to move on.  You gotta redirect its attention.  I ended up having a lot of seemingly strange conversations with kids that went something like this:

Me:  why you crying?
Kid:  i miss my mommy.
Me:  understood.  whats your name?
Kid: Kid.
Me:  What was your favorite activity today?
Kid: sock war. 
Me:  yeah.  that sock war is awesome.  you brush your teeth yet?
Kid:  No.
Me:  okay.  well, go brush your teeth.  then get read for bed.  then get in bed and close your eyes.
Kid:  Ok.

Worked like a charm every time.  Of course, its much harder to self-inflict this kind of jedi mind-trickery.  So, for curing your own heartache induced ailments, you gotta actually physically remain busy.  Luckily I am able to do this.  An expert is a person who can do one thing a thousand times so that they perfect it.  I prefer to try and do a thousand things.  This means i will likely never be an expert, but i sure as heck am going to get a lot done.  I often remark about my results..."well, it ain't pretty, but it will work."  And that's how it is.  I get stuff done....which actually is sort of the de facto motto of NCCC. 

So, what have I been doing?  read on my inquisitive friend....

1) Tuesday night I played soccer in a league.  Did terrible in goal this week.  I usually play the first half.  I mean really sucked it up.  Had a goal go between my legs.  Had a rebound stop on the line until a girl came and bumped it in.  Really ate it hard.  Came out in the second half though and played well on the field.  Almost scored a few goals.  Kept the pressure on.  But in the end we lost.  Then someone told me we were a player down.  Didn't realize that.  Well crap.  No wonder we struggled on defense.  Still though....sucked in goalie.  really really bad.

2) Wednesday night I went go-karting with my little brother.  Quicken Loans was nice enough to rent out the place, open it to the public, do some PR with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and let us kart for free.  They even brought in some real pro NASCAR drivers (Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart) and let some special people they picked out race against them, while the rest of stood in line for the film production they were putting together to no doubt put on their website to talk about how much they were involved with the community.  Ironically, most of the kids who need a Big didn't have any idea who those guys were.  Ironically, many of the Big Bros and Sisses also didn't know who they were. 

Unironically, my little bro, who is in 9th grade, doesn't know how many months are in a year.  I kind of want to strangle everyone who has ever taught him something, because I feel like we all should have taught him that by now.

Stay tuned for more fun descriptions of antics i have been perpetrating...

DAlen




3) string
4) runnin'  in 5 weeks!
5) magic erraser
6) raise the roof!

Soon she leaves

My girlfriend is leaving me.  She is headed out west to Denver to spend a service year in AmeriCorps NCCC.  Having her move away makes me sad.  Having her move away to 1) see how things are outside her current life and expand her worldview, 2) serve others, and 3) to experience an AmeriCorps program very dear to me makes things simultaneously better and worse.  Better since these are basically the 3 top qualities I look for in a woman but worse since number 4 is proximity. 

So, I have no choice but to let her go and hope she will return to me.  Isn't there some metaphor or anecdote about doves that's applicable to this situation? 

She is going to be writing and posting to the Internet, so follow along. 

http://hannahmraines.wordpress.com/

I will be writing and responding, so follow me also. 

be great
DAlen

 

Global Warming

Cant we all agree to just disagree and then move on?

There is so much talk and disagreement about global warming (better labeled global weirding), which in actuality should be called climate change (because people don't do shades of gray in our progressively stupider society). The thing is that the climate models have so many variables and so many assumptions and so little data to calibrate them that in many cases its no more accurate than a dartboard (the Monte Carlo method of modeling, i believe its called). Of course the people (who like I said are dumb) cant understand the models, much less understand what modeling even really is (it TELLS the future, PREDICTS reality, or verifies FACTS, right?), and even much much less understand that models are based on assumptions, guesses, and simplifications of the much more complicated reality.

For every climate model scientist who thinks we are in great danger there is another climate model scientist (paid or unpaid by corporate devils) who will point out any number of assumptions made and claim this invalidates the model. Let's get past this part of the arguing and focus on something more tangible.

When it was shown that acid rain was devastating our forests and killing mountain ecoysystems, we decided to stop releasing sulphur dioxide. Since 1990, a 40% reduction in acid rain has been achieved thanks to legislation. The goals set for 2010 were achieved in 2007 and the cost ended up being half of what was projected. Why cant we just do more of this?

Thus, the challenge:

1) I challenge you to walk 50 ft in an urban stream and not see a large piece of garbage. Why don't we focus energy on preserving our urban waterways? I can quantifiably prove to you that there is garbage in our streams and i can show you the negative effects it has on us. Think about it this way too: would you let your kids play in the stream? What if the water was clear and there were no car tires in the water? Your answer probably changed to yes, even though the visible pollutants are the least of your concerns. Our urban streams are toxic. Wouldn't it be nice to have streams our kids could play, catch fish in, and generally learn from instead of watching TV shows about streams?

2) I challenge you to look at statistics of asthmas and other respiratory illness occurrence in major cities. Compare those to areas where people drive less and tell me there inst some correlation. Wouldn't it be nice if it literally was easier for us to all breath? Wouldn't it also be nice if our commute could also double as fitness (or even, what if we listened to audio instruction on learning a language, making it a 3-way winning situation)? Our kids would be able to breathe, we would be healthier, and we would all be able to communicate better.


3) I challenge you to visit a landfill, a wastewater treatment plant, or a factory animal farm. Then I challenge you to somehow preserve the shock-and-awe of what we are doing to our natural resources (i feel like senseless rape is a pretty good descriptor, since its not consensual and we don't even appreciate it). Use that energy to waste-less. Consciously think about your power usage (do you sleep with lights on? If so, we cant be friends), water usage (but i NEED to shower in the morning to wake up AND at night to go to bed), and garbage creation (1 bag a day). Then, make some minor adjustments (one light at a time, 1000 gallons a month, 1 bag of garbage a week, 1 bag of recyclables a day).

We may never truly know whether or not we are affecting the climate, but we can damn well be sure we are affecting our waterways, our health, and the local environment around us. The thing is that if we focus on improving areas such as these last 3, then the climate problem, if there is one would go away. And if there is no climate problem, well then, we will have still improved our quality of life...which as it stands now, is not something we want to do. How does that make sense?

Day 1- Ok, the real day 1

The race car bed, while it looks cool, actually feels kind of like sleeping on a race car (i.e. not comfortable). At 1:30, when the rooster crowed, I definitely heard it. He must have been on eastern…china’s time zone. It wasn’t even close to being light outside.

Anyway, when it became light outside, we got up and rejoined the group back at Julietta’s house (oh, I how I love that home). She had some breakfast breads, refried beans, fresh cheese, Jugo Naranja and Jugo Pina (OJ and pinapple juice). So so good. (I pretty much spent the week eating my food and anyone else’s who didn’t clean there plate and who was in arm’s reach).

It being Sunday, we went to the local church. Everyone in the community was so welcoming. At one point during the service a song was playing and people spilled out of the pews to hug and greet each other. It was like the exchanging of the peace except it was way more friendly and way more chaotic.

Post-church we went to the lot next door for more eating, some soccer, and just generally hanging out. More awesome food! This is where I learned a particular something called Tomatillo sauce. A Tomatillo is a small, green, unripe tomato. When you mix it with equal parts Jalapeno, it makes the most potent of sauces…and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Once the gathering was over, we headed back to the house where we assembled a tent for the kids to have class in. then, we basically just had free time. We walked up a nearby hill and found a huge pink church. Then, we wandered around until close to dark.

Colby has brought a camera with him on the trip to take video. Have of his video appears to be random clips while the rest is part of a promo video he wants to make. He keeps saying inot the camera urging us to say the tag line… “You should be HERE!”

Mexico 2010!

Day 1- Travel Day

Another trip was about to begin. An early flight of course meant laying in bed not being able to sleep interspersed with nightmares of waking up 5 hours late. Nonethelss, I made it to the UCF house to get a ride to the airport (Hunter rules!). We got to the airport, checked in (they gave me a ticket with Robbie’s name, so that had to get cleared up), and then met with some other group members. Ally, a new friend, wanted us to all check-in together and do everything together, but we had already checked-in, so we went through security and waited at the gate like good little international travelers.

As departure time approached, we were apparently missing one of our group members. There was frantic texting and calling. There was a virtual play-by-play of her location as she got to the airport, waited in line, and then tried to get a ticket. Alas, they had closed the flight though. Stephanie wasn’t getting to Mexico City today. Once we got on the plane, we met Santiago and his mother. They were on standby, and luckily (for them), someone had overslept. Santiago was a surpriseingly calm and quiet baby up to the point that his mother was filling out her customs form. Robbie successfully aquired the proivelidge of holding the baby during this paperwork part of the flight. He was a whole lot less fidgety sitting in Uncle Robbie’s lap.

Once we got to Mexico City, we had to eat. Oh, and also we had to wait 4 hours for everyone to get there too. So, our first meal came from some strange place called McDonalds, where the two quarterpounders seemed expensive. Of course we didn’t quite understand the exchange rate just yet, so had no idea how much money we had spent. There was much eating, some napping, some wandering around the airport. We found a nicer looking resteraunt with nicer looking hosteses. We asked them some importsant questions in our terrible Spanish. “How many pesos for margaritas?” They laughed and finally answered. “How many pesos are beer?” Another answer that meant nothing (exchange rate problem again). “How many pesos for your phone number?” Didn’t ask that, but you can imagine.

Finally, around 5, the entire group was in Mexico (minus Santiago’s original seat owner). We somehow just ran into Alfredo and Daniel. So, we loaded up and off we went. The commute was roughly 2 hours. We arrived in the darkness to see that Alfredo’s green truck (that is older than me) appeared to still be sitting on good tires and operational. That thing is amazing!

We ate a small meal and then pretty much just split up and were assigned to stay with local host families. Me and Robbie were sent to live with Oscar and his dad Oscar, or as they say in Mexico, “Oscar y Oscar.” Robbie got the guest room, which meant that I was to be in Oscar’s room. Upon further inspection, this meant that I was going to be sleeping in a bed shaped like a race car!

First Tourny- Budweiser Jiu-Jitsu World Cup 2010

So, last saturday I competed in my first Jiu Jitsu tournament. It was called the Bud Cup, and it was hosted at the Cabarrus Arena. Although I really only ended up competing for 25 minutes total, it took all day and was a long time in the making.

I have been doing Jiu Jitsu now for about 7 months. If you dont know what it is...look it up on wikipedia. The important thing to know is that it is similar to wrestling with submission involved. A submission is when you have someone in a position that will result in extensive bodily damage or unconsciousness unless they "tap out," which is the universal sign for "please dont keep doing that...it really hurts and/or its making me sleepy/ my brain needs that blood." tons of fun.

So, last monday, I started the week by weighing myself. I was planning on competing at featherweight (under 145 lbs), so i had to eat less food that week to make weight by Friday. I love to eat, so eating less while still training was a slow, annoying misery. Come friday though, I had lost about 6 lbs and weighed in at 144 (weigh ins were at this hotel, where they had registration in a conference room and the actual weigh-in was in a room, in a bathroom, with this older guy...yeah, insert joke here). After weigh-ins, i ate a turkey melt, french fries, and ice cream. so good.

So, come saturday morning, it was time to compete. I had registered for two divisions at featherweight (gi and no-gi beginner) and one division at lightweight (145-155). At the NAGA tourny I watched, gi was last, so that is what I was hoping for. On this day though, gi was done first. The thing is, I dont even own a Gi! A gi is a jacket and pants used for jiu jitsu...its actually a weapon you wear, since you can choke people with it. Its as if someone said, "hey, jiu jitsu would be more fun if instead of being strenuous it almost killed you! Let do this while wearing a coat and pants, to help us sweat more!" I only train in no-gi, but the tourny was one price for as many divisions as possible. So, i borrowed a gi from a friend and training partner (mma great Kurtis Cloward) and went to ONE CLASS to learn the basics. So, as of saturday, i was putting on my gi for the SECOND time ever. Luckily, my training friends helped me tighten my pants and tie my belt (which I had to find in the lost and found, since Kurtis' belt was blue, the next level up in skill) right before I was to compete. In my first match, I got taken down and pulled guard at the same time (i am going to bold words to google for pictures of). Nonetheless, I lost 2 points. I had a few triangle choke attempts, fended off some collar chokes from my opponent, but then the 5 minutes ran out. I lost 2-0. Lame

Then I proceeded to wait a small eternity for the gi divisions to finish. There are something like 5 skill levels and 6 weight classes in each Men's, Women's, teens, and Master's division. The combinations are extensive....so it took FOREVER.

Finally, it was time to go again. I checked in for no-gi featherweight, and then was called to check in at no-gi lightweight also. They at first balked at this, since both divisions would be going at the same time. Me and the other guy (who actually had beat me in no-gi) suggested they just schedule us for both divisions, and if there was overlap we would forfeit. turns out, we were first in lightweight, so off we went. Now I was going against the same guy I lost to in no-gi. Lame. Guess what happened. I pulled guard, but they called it a take down. I escaped, and got taken down again. Time ran out with him in my guard. I lost 4-0. He never even attempted a guard pass or a submission. as mentioned...lame. (on the sorta bright side, i accidentally elbowed the guy in the mouth. he wasnt wearing a mouthguard so i busted his lip. he then bled on me. the referee reminded me to shower later, since i had blood in my shirt. would i have forgotten to shower if he had not told me? who knows.)

So, at this point i had competed in two levels that werent really mine, and had lost both. i was getting annoyed. finally, it was time to compete in no-gi at my weight class. So, the match started, and I did a better job defending the takedown. I managed to get under the guy's shoulder for a body lock on his side. I was about to dump him hard, when we got close to the crowd, so we had to stop. then we worked in the clinch some more and he was about to get a single-leg when I ended up in the crowd. Another restart. Finally, with about a minute to go, I got a takedown. I held on and stayed in his guard and won 2-0. It was no submission, but it felt good.

Next, I faced the guy who had beaten the guy who had beat me twice. All the guys were super quick, strong wrestlers. So, he got the takedown. Then, he passed to side control. I managed to get back to half-guard. In the process though, he started working on a submission. He had my arm trapped over my head, so it was not good for me. I got a lockdown on one of his legs, but that didnt alleviate as much of the punch-choke that I would have liked. I relaxed, and eventually I surged up and got my arm free, back to regular half-guard, minus the choke attempt. Then, time ran out. Another loss on points...maybe 4-0, but nonetheless I survived a pretty mean choke and submission attempt. I count it as a morale victory.

I thought I was done, but apparently, the winner that match went on to go for 1st and 2nd. This meant that I would get to compete for 3rd. As I sat in the chair exhausted, the ref asked how much time I wanted to recover. I asked for 2 days. He told me I could have 10 minutes. So, I waited. One of the guys I train with came over and asked if I really wanted to go again. I told him "yes and no." I wanted to get third, but I would have preferred not to move from my seat for a long time. He understood.

Last match time. I remembered watching this guy before. He was super fast. I felt like I was in trouble. I wanted to sit down at the start to avoid the takedown. (ala Eddie Bravo) I stood though, and he flew in like M. Bison for the double leg takedown/ slam-my-head-into-the-mat move. The crowd flinched and made noise to reinforce my pain (i did the same actually, in unison). We were near the edge though, so i had to then crawl back to the middle to start again. On the bright side, I had full-guard. So, like other wrestlers, he did nothing from my guard. He put his head low in my chest a couple time, head butting me on the way down. Finally, I sat up, noticed he was sitting up too, and then hip bumped to get the sweep, ending up in mount. He went from strong and flexed to relaxed and weak. Its amazing how much he changed when I was sitting on his chest. It felt real comfortable. I tried some submissions, but nothing really came through. Then, I think he escaped, and in the scramble, we ended up like we started, in my full guard. Then, he sat up too much again, so I did sweep number 2. Man that felt good. Back on top, he decided to roll, so I took the back (back mount). From there, I sunk in a pretty tight body triangle. He didn't like that and I could hear him grunting from the compression of his torso. He tried to roll a couple time, but with a body triangle there is nowhere to go. I proceeded to attempt a rear naked choke a bunch, but he held my hands and tucked his chin, so I wasn't able to get it. I won 12-4. No submissions, but man did it feel good to get third and to win my last match.

This week has been an off week. I am enjoying the down time, working on school, and each day I find a new injury to let heal (the head butts to my face caused bruising under my eyebrows...weird). What an awesome experience. The most fun I have ever had in such a short time (25 minutes of total mat time). BJJ record lifetime: 0-1, 0-1, 2-1

We all should be giving more

Christmas time is about giving, right? But why? Its as if dying for the sins of man really only entitles you to a month (maybe two tops) of behavior in your honor.

Why dont I give the rest of the year as much as I do at Christmas? Many will point to the economy in answering this question and say something along the lines of not being able to afford it. These are the same people who would point to something else, even if the economy was raging and they had just receieved a Christmas bonus. Maybe for me, its just easier to give at christmas, because well, everyone else is doing it. (Disclaimer: although I often try to convince others to follow me by stating "everyone else is doing it," I dont generlly subscribe to that reasoning myself).

Make no mistake about it. I am rich. If you own a car, or have ever even driven a car, you are rich. I own a BIG car. If you are reading this, most likely on a computer, you are rich (if you are reading this printed in a newspaper, let me know....because that would be really cool). I own a computer, have access to 100s more at school, and am still considering getting a new one. I also own a cell phone, which is basically a computer also, and its a pretty low end phone. Even aside from the car and computer examples, if you have never really struggled for housing or food, you are richer than most of the rest of the world. Every night I sleep in a warm bed and eat until I am full. I am rich.

As a rich person, I think I should be giving more. So, I have decided, that whenever anyone not as rich as me asks me for money (or help), I will give it to them. There are obviously some details that need to be established (how rich am I? how rich are they? Whats the maximum amount I will give?), but for now, I can see where I need to be involved. Whenever Bojangles asks me to give to Toy for Tots, I give. Whenever the Salvation Army rings their bell and I have cash, I give. Whenever one of my friends asks me to volunteer with them, I am there.

It remains to be seen whether or not this will cause me to descend into poverty or rise to greatness.

Part 3

Part 3

Jerrod told us that we were going to run down Camden until

its dead end brought us to Tryon. It looked like a small street with no traffic on it, so we figured it would be a short sprint. The short sprint turned into about a mile sprint before I called Jerrod back to find out how close we were. Part of me really wanted to know where the end was while the other part of me wanted to talk on the phone and give me an excuse not to be running. Pretty much as he picked up, we arrived. Inside Dharma lounge we found a bar behind which sat a giant gold Buddha with headphones on. As we entered, we saw some people doing Yoga, and we were invited to join. At this point, we had run a significant amount, so as the instructor gave us poses to assume, I realized that sweat was falling off of me. Also, the cooler floor combined with my warmer body made for a nice condensation spot where I had been. After about 5 minutes of Yoga and stretching, he gave us a secret word, and onward we ran.

Our next stop was a set of 18 ft tall statues that depicted the creatures who used to pull Dionysis’ Chariot in Greek Mythology. The only giant statues of creatures I knew of in Charlotte had to be the Panthers outside the stadium (Jerrod confirmed). So, we hopped back on the light rail. Actually, we hopped on an old school trolley that happened to be driving on the light rail’s system. The old timey guy “driving” even asked us for tickets. We showed him our old ones and that seemed to be good enough for him. Once on the trolley

we realized that it was a sort of special tour trolley and the other 4 people aboard were tourists from out of town. They saw our race numbers and our exhaustion and asked what we were doing. They thought we were running some kind of race, but couldn’t figure out why we were on the train. We explained the whole situation, much to their enjoyment. Then we asked to be let off right when we were back in uptown, for another good 1 km sprint to the stadium. Once at the stadium, we had to count the number of named on the pedestals below the panthers. The names represented people who has donated money. X number of columns of names times Y number of names per column times 2 pedestals equaled 2096 names. Two places left to run to!

The clue talked about “canned” beer. So we ran to Cans, a bar in uptown. Once there we learned of our challenge. Lets back up to the day before. AJ and I were trying to figure out what to expect by looking at what we were told to bring to the race. The list of supplies was fairly simple: 1) water 2) a $1 dollar bill 3) snacks. Once we went inside Cans, we found out what it was that this dollar was for. We gave the guy our dollar and he put it in “The Mike Tyson Challenge”…a punching bag attached to some flashing lights and a hydraulic. We had to get a certain score to be able to move on. The bartender assured us the score wasn’t hard to get, but that we just had to hit it solidly. At this point I am laughing internally. It wasn’t coincidence enough that the cross-fit place mimicked mine and AJs training in jiu-jitsu. It wasn’t further coincidence either that I spent a lot of time at school doing Yoga. Now, I was being asked to punch a bag, something I routinely do for 6-7 hours per week, minimum. To make things weirder, I had been thinking about these

games the week before, wondering if they were accurate and if it was worth the money. So, I was excited to do it! Without any real warm up, I stepped back, raised both of my hands in front of my face (in case the bag decided to hit back), and hit the bag with a right cross. It took a little while to count up to my score. I slowly grinned larger and larger as the number climbed past the minimum we had to achieve. I almost set the record for the machine. (I still grin, imagining if I had tried some exotic punch like a spinning backfist or a switch cross, which generate much more power but are harder to land on a moving target).

Adventure Race: Part II

Urban Adventure Race: Part 2

“Do you know what Finnish company is the leading cell phone manufacturer?” After taking a picture of A.J. (to prove our existence at the checkpoint) and getting samples of licorice (that unfortunately tasted like licorice), we texted “Nokia” to the special number. The answer was correct and we received a follow up clue, directing us to a place that was famous for “canned” beer (there is a bar in Charlotte called Cans). We knew where that was, and we didn’t want to immediately go there, so we headed off to a restaurant who’s name meant “Life” in Greek.

Jerrod was having a hard time with the clue, but we knew the location. A new development just outside the perimeter of uptown was being built and it was called The Metropolitan at Midtown. So, we ran toward it. Then we jogged toward it. Then we walked. It was crazy far away. A.J. was in much better shape so he could have run the whole way, but he couldn’t carry me at the same time. Just before we got to midtown (and after passing other racers coming from that direction), Jerrod figured out that Zoe was one of the words meaning life. Fortunately, there was a Zoe’s kitchen, just another couple miles off in the distance (or so it seemed). Once we got to Zoe’s, our challenge was to pitch a meal item to the server. Being a server, this was pretty easy. Ironically, “being a server with limited menu knowledge where I work” actually became a skill usable in the race.

The follow-up clue to this challenge was to go back to The Crowne Plaza hotel and find a room that corresponded with a long mathematical equation that was given us. The answer: Room 1126. The Challenge: Paper Turkeys to be given to kids at the children’s hospital. I forgot to fold the paper in half when cutting out the hands, so I had to cut a second set of 4 to make the full set. The people next to us were cutting each hand separately. That must have taken forever. See glorious turkey picture.

Upon exiting the Crowne Plaza, we looked across the street to see where we had started the race. It was now evident we had planned poorly, being back so close to the finish line with so many clues and challenges left. We ran towards the center city to find the light rail to take us to Southend. We hoped that on the way Jerrod would solve the text about a gym, a clown, and our southernmost point.

The light rail was something of an enigma for us at first. We walked up onto the platform and stood there to wait. Then it occurred to A.J. that we were probably supposed to pay. I hadn’t seen any method for giving anyone money, and being out of breath and less patient than normal, I was content to ride the train for free unless it was obvious how to pay. A.J. further insisted that we try harder to give the city money, so we rode an elevator down one story. We arrived at the underpass for a road. No office. No kiosk. No “put money here, take ticket there.” I sprinted back up the stairs worried about missing the train (nothing like a race to make me lose common sense). After much searching, we found a ticket dispenser and we paid and got tickets. Jerrod told me they have troubles with people not paying to ride. Seems silly to me to rely on honesty for public transit funding. Are turnstiles really that expensive?

Jerrod eventually came through with the clue. Before we actually got to the gym though, we got off the light rail in a rather “industrial” area. Jerrod told me on Google Maps it looked like not such a good place. Had it been dark, it definitely would have been uncomfortable. Once we got near where we thought this place was, we saw a kid’s gym and at least two other locations that could have been answers to the clue. We couldn’t find the Ultimate Crossfit (the answer). A group of racers began to amass, all of us sort of lost, but sure we were in the right area. One person would run around a corner and we would all run to the corner to find out where they were going (which was wrong). Then someone else would run across the street so we would all sprint to their location to find another closed business. It was quite comedic. Finally, we saw someone leaving a door at the end of the park, and we all ran there, and we were right

“Pukie” the clown is apparently the mascot of this place called Ultimate Cross-fit. Sure enough, when we got there, we did some crazy exercises that would indeed make me vomit had I been out of shape and doing a one hour workout (which may or may not have been harder than running around the city for 3 hours). Interestingly enough though, the exercises were similar to what I have been doing in my Muay Thai/ Jiu-Jitsu training.

Once set free from this gym, we sprinted back towards the light rail in search of a Lounge that had shared the name of the fictional science project from the show Lost (in hindsight…that’s kind of funny…Lost).

Urban Adventure Race- Part 1

Charlotte Go Urban Adventure Race- The story

Step 1: Recruitment
I got an email from a sort of boss of mine at Venture that there was an upcoming “Urban” Adventure race. The problem was that the email was two weeks before the race, and only a few days before the price increase deadline. So, I quickly called a bunch of people I knew and sent out facebook messages. It seemed like nobody actually answered their phones when I called…as if they knew I was calling with a moderately crazy idea. Finally, a guy named AJ who used to work at Venture sort of acquiesced and agreed to be my partner. Teams had to be two people. Once I got another person to run along side me, I had to find a support crew. The race suggested either carrying a laptop (i.e. an electronic weight), bringing an I-Phone or some other internet accessible phone (umm…sometimes I eat out of the dumpster, so I wouldn’t ever spend that kind of money), or get a friend to look up stuff on the computer for you. Enter Jerrod. He would later become the most important part of the plan. Step 2: The race Race day finally arrived. As I was trying to recruit people and when AJ asked me about what we would be doing, I really had very little idea what was going to happen. Conversations went something like this: “Hey, you want to do an urban adventure race with me?” “Urban? What does that entail?” “Well, I am not totally sure. I have looked at the website. There is text messaging involved. I imagine they will give us points and you gotta run to them. They say there are challenges. Then probably more running. All I really know is it probably takes lots of running.” Well, now that I read it, maybe people were afraid of the amount of running. While I generally don’t advocate for having fear, in hindsight I can recognize that there was an inordinate amount of running.
Anyway, I called Jerrod the morning of the race around 11:30. The race started at noon and I needed Jerrod to use Google to help decipher the clues and help me get from point to point. Jerrod was at Home Depot when I called, taking advantage of appliance tax incentives. He promised he would be in front of his computer though by noon. At 11:50 I called him again, a little worried. He told me he was on his way home, and would get there right after he stopped at Lowes to check some more prices. I pleaded that he hurry because I NEEDED him at the computer at noon. We were going to be helpless, unless we were able to solve clues on our own, which I didn’t see happening. Then Jerrod told me he was just kidding and he was pulling in the driveway. Jenn, his girlfriend, also said hi.
Clue 1:
Once the race started, we knew what we had gotten ourselves into. We were given 4 texted clues. After getting to each of the 4 locations, we would do a task and get 4 new clues for new locations with 4 new tasks. After 8 locations and 8 tasks, we would have to race back to Marshall Park.
Our first clue had something to do with “ScanFest” and a foreign flag with blue and white on it. Jerrod found out that S.C.A.N. (Society for Creative Anachronism) was having a convention at the Wachovia Atrium. So, we sprinted there to get our first challenge….

As I was chopping wood earlier...

As I was out in the woods chopping wood earlier...

I know what youre thinking. Two questions. 1) dont you live in the city? what wood are you chopping? 2) Why were you chopping wood?

Well, I do live in a "city," but there is some land around her that hasnt been turned into strip malls yet. Admittedly, it is very little, but there is some. There happens to be a strip between where I live and where my friend Chris moved to. So, as I was walking over to his apartment to get my shovel (I had left it there on accident...I need it for my stream research), I was in a wooded area with trees. He has made a trail, but there are many downed or almost downed trees near the trail that would function much better chopped up and used as trail borders. So, I was chopping some of them up.

Why I was wanting to and thus going through with the chopping of the miscelanous trees in the first place is pretty simple. Men's Health said that few activities are more beneficial and demanding than chopping wood. It takes coordination and strength in almost all parts of the body. The arms, shoulders, abs, and back are particularly used alot. So, yes, I am advocating that all of you go out and by axes and chop wood.

So, as I was saying, while I was chopping the wood, I thought to myself that few things in life make me feel more manly than cutting wood with such a low-tech method as an ax. I feel connected with my frontier forefathers. I feel like I could say hello if I ever walked past a real lumberjack. I feel like a small part of me becomes cleansed, as I bleed out of my left hand (puncture wound from moving a tree). I feel confident that should a woman ever decide to date me in the future, I can uphold my gender role in the relationship. Me and my ax.

As I walked back to my apartment carrying my ax (and now shovel), it occurred to me that I was quite the interesitng site. Its not often you see a guy carrying these two items in our limits. It occurred to me that I must look like someone out of a tv crime drama, coming out of the woods with an ax and a shovel.

I wondered if the people I passed on the greenway and in the apartment complex saw me as maybe some serial killer. I doubted that any of them saw me as just a guy, a guy who maybe likes to chop wood and dig holes. I wonder if this is just in my head, or has society really made it so that a simple man doing simple things is too bizarre, and thus must have something wrong with him (in everyone else's eyes).

No matter really. For to me, using a shovel, or an ax, or a hammer, reminds me of my childhood. A strange peace comes over me. I feel at home.

In less abstract/ emotional/ metaphysical news, I also did some orienteering today. Picture a timed event where you are given a map and told to find as many points as you can as quick as you can....in the woods. Its basically treasure hunting for adults...and its awesome. Google a local club and try it out. Tons of fun.

Be Great
DAlen

New Bike, New Life

So some of you may have heard that a while back, both of my bikes had been stolen. I owned a mountain bike and a road bike, and they both were lifted from my porch on the first floor in what I thought was a zero-crime area. I was wrong. I posted a stolen bike listing on Craigslist, and sure enough my red Trek road bike had been broken and abandoned, between a Jack-and-the-Box and a Tire Kingdom. By the time I went to find it, the lawn service had cut the grass and it was gone. So close, yet so far away. So, I moved on with my life.

Last week, I was running on the greenway, which I have taken to doing much lately. I have a tendency to always look closely at bikes, hoping and thinking that I will see mine. Sure enough, a Red Trek Road Bike passed me slowly while I was jogging. Were those Shimano clipless pedals? Was that a new blue seat? Had the reflectors been removed? HOLY CRAP! it was my bike! I jogged faster, but he still pulled away. He had on headphones and I had on headphones. I couldn't think what to yell. Luckily, he was coming to the end of the greenway, so he had to turn around.

I stopped him on the way past the 2nd time. I looked closer, asked him where he got it, and found out he bought it from a pawn shop. His friend, who worked at Jack-and-the-box, found it behind the dumpster and then fixed it and pawned it. His name was Joe. Joe was a an Iraq veteran, having been sent home after and IED sent shards of metal towards him and almost cut his leg off. He paid way too much for the bike, but had bought it nonetheless. He rides it everyday, and the oversize shoes that go with the pedals fit him. Sort of happy ending at that point. Joe is a good guy...just stuck in an odd situation.

So, later in the week, as I am running the doberman with infinite energy I am thinking about how much I want to do triathlons. I figure I could run to a friends house, borrow her bike, ride, and then run home for practice. Next thing you know, I am walking down a hill behind where we live and I find a Fuji Opus III bike, with a few missing parts and some maintenance required! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!? I definitely feel like I am able to make life change to my benefit if I just think about stuff enough and concentrate on the good. My Karma 401k must be doing pretty dang good.

Day 3- not as much to do

After a day of non-stop EKGs, blood samples, vital sign taking, and the occasional urin sample, Day 3 was pretty dull. We has one more set of tests, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening.

At some point after lunch but before dinner, I realized that we were really only recieving a single dose of the medication. All of this trouble was being taken over a single, 100 mg dose. So, i wondered how bad could the worse case even have been? There were no side effects that I could see, but the dose was so small. How much arsenic can you eat before its really toxic?

After sleeping most of the day, getting a little bit of school work done, and eating, the night came and I found two movies I wanted to watch. It started with The Transporter 2 and ended with Live Free of Die Hard. It was quite the action packed evening of mind-numbing fake explosions. Then, it was time to go to sleep, only this time it was in a bed and not the examination recliners.

I can remember being so very excited about release day. I can only imagine what prisoners must feel like after spending significant time behind bars.