Busy Week of Valentines and Birthday

This past week brought much busyness celebrating Valentine's day and my birthday. For Valentine's day we split the celebration into two separate events: on the Saturday before, we ate dinner at the same restaurant where my youngest sister had her reception meal, and then saw a play at a theater in Lake Oswego; on Tuesday we dined at Burgerville and watched the Blazers get their butts kicked by one of the worst teams in the Association. Two days later I was back at the Rose Garden with my friend Brent, who drove all the way from Capital City, jinxing the Blazers into another embarrassing loss. And finally, on Saturday, the Huntingtons (also of Capital City) met us in Westmoreland for dinner at a fancy-pants restaurant and then a Shakespearean comedy in SW PDX.

Phew, now that that's all over, I have had time to reflect what has changed in my life since I last celebrated a birthday. Not much, it turns out.


Hair Color: I love my wife more than anything (despite us attending schools that rank as one of the greatest rivalries in college sports--by all accounts, we should hate each other!), and she recently wrote that "my love for you is as big as the Golden Gate Bridge." We both see eye-to-eye on this important point, but that hasn't stopped my hair from graying under her influence (let's ignore the fact that my dad's hair also began turning gray at a young age). We both like the distinguished look, so here's to more stress in 2012!

Cycling: I now ride my bike every day to work. I used to ride only when there was no threat of rain, taking the bus on all other days. I freely admitted my fair-weather riding habits, but it wasn't until BikeSnobNYC began mocking a guy, who commented on his book, for writing that people should just ride the bus when it rains. BikeSnobNYC holds a huge influence over me, so after letting this soak in like a good shampoo, I rinsed myself of my bus-riding habit and ride my bike every day no matter what. Oregon's had a mild winter this year, but I have still ridden through one snow storm and many a downpour.

Running: This one has nothing to do with my increase in cycling, but I now run about as much as I did as a middle-schooler. Outside of the running I do while coaching (which is at a very slow pace for me), holidays are about the only time I run on purpose. I still feel fine running in my FiveFingers, so don't worry that I've abandoned any of my weirdness. Last year I started a tradition of running a mile time-trial on the track,and the scoreboard explains the story well: 2011--6:02; 2012--6:33.

Dad's Inappropriate Movie Night: I started this new tradition with my oldest boys, and our list of "approved" movies is growing as they mature. The latest installments have been a buffet of Fred Savage with The Princess Bride and The Little Monsters--and just last night, Flash Gordon.

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