Yet another lesson I am incapable of learning...

There are some things I just cannot learn. I have some kind of psychological block. I've told myself many times, and I continue to repeat the mistake.

Pretty much every time I vacation in a warm place, I forget to bring any kind of hoodie or jacket and have to buy one there on a chilly evening.

Similarly, when I am guarding the dump/bail, I often over-commit to the swing side and let off the much more dangerous cut up the line. I see this develop in front of me one moment before it occurs in that sickening way that you might realize you are locking your keys in the car a split second before you actually do it, but too late to stop your arm from clicking the door closed. I see that I am out of position and lean in to chase, but the cut is made, and the throw is usually off before I set the mark.

Yet another disappointing recurrence is my ordering of custom kicks, waiting for their delivery with increasing anticipation and my crushed expectations when they finally arrive. I just did this a third time with Mi Adidas. Every shoe company has a program like this. First I ordered Nike ID Dunks years ago. They were shoddily assembled and poor quality materials. A couple years later I remade the mistake again with Puma's Mongolian Shoe BBQ.

Just today I got my CMFK 55's out of the box from China. This is what the website led me to expect:
Hot!

And this is what I got:


Basically the same shoe, but everything is a touch off. The CMFK is a bit too small. The light blue is more smurf puke than robin's egg. The dark blue is more navy than royal. The tan is too dark. The eyelets are metal, not royal. Most bothersome, the assembly is poor. There is a large gap between the body of the shoe and the heel cap. The toe cap isn't actually a separate piece, but a false seam.

Despite my long term love of nice kicks, I don't really have the vocabulary to explain why these are shoddy, but I see it in a second, and it disgusts me. Seams that should be sewn are glued. The synthetic upper is stiffer and shinier than typical material. The seams are clumsier. They look a bit like shoes you would expect to see on a Cabbage Patch Doll.

Today, I've given a lot of thought to why this happens. This could be so great, and instead it is such a kick in the gut. Seeing your dream shoe poorly executed is much worse than never seeing it.

I think it's a function of two causes. One, there's clearly more labor involved in this type of custom shoe and I'm always surprised that the price point is about the same. My Nike ID dunks were much cheaper than any LE dunks I'd purchased. Same price, more labor means they need to make up the margin somewhere, and it guess it's done on shoddy materials. Second, the lego- style swap assembly required to customize every component seems to mean that the overall assembly is substandard. The pieces don't fit as cleanly together as they would on a large scale run.

Ah well. I'll be rocking these. I mean, they are CMFK-55s, but I won't enjoy it like I could. Stay tuned here for me complaining about some crappy custom Reeboks in about 18 months.

In other news, Deirdre has shiny new tires. Jesse said I needed them. I don't really know why. It is probably a conspiracy with the local bike shop and he gets a cut.

At least once a week, I take a flight that takes off at 6:00 AM. This has me getting up at 3:45 AM a little more than suits my constitution, but I do see more sunrises than I would otherwise. Here's one my iPhone camera doesn't quite capture but I thought was pretty:

Next weekend, I am taking the Beacon Girls to the O'Hara Invite. I am very excited for them and also sick with worry about keeping an eye on the girls in the hotel.

There's been more running, SNERTZing and Tabata. I'll let you know when the Mets call me up.

If you love something, set it free...

There’s nothing I love more than my apartment, 29, and that’s why I’m moving out. I spend 4 days a week in a Westin any way, so it make sense to save a little money on rent and since I spend all my time in Brooklyn (practice in Prospect Park, the animal shelter, watching Jesse’s cable) I spend the 3 days I am in NYC getting back and forth to Brooklyn, so this will save me some time as well. I will miss 29, that is for sure, but I tend to think that change is good, and this will be change. I’ll keep you posted.

Deirdre is at the vet. She was not put together properly after I got back from Melbourne and I didn’t use her all winter and when I took her down the chain just fell off, so she’s down the street at the bike hospital. Send flowers or grease.

It is 87 degrees today in NYC. So much for spring.

Last Friday, Jesse and I went to see the new Mets’ ballpark Citifield. The Mets won (over the lowly nationals) and the new ballpark is nice. My favorite part is the Jackie Robinson rotunda. This is the field from the left field stands where we sat:

Saturday I did this SNERTZ workout with Keri and Ali. It is almost impossible.

Then I went to the animal shelter. Uneventful.

I am so excited!!! Kimberly informed me that the first season of The State will be out on DVD on July 14. Sign up to be notified when it goes on sale. My excitement caused me to look up some old favorites, like the Schwam family.

Sunday, Keri took me on a tour of Brooklyn’s best Pizza places, with Drew and Adam in tow:
(I missed the first stop.) I went to:

• Franny's (295 Flatbush Ave) - *****
• Di Fara Pizza (1424 Ave J) - *****
• L&B Spumoni Gardens (2785 26th St) - ***
  

I am still full, but it was fun.

This pic is from Di Fara’s where we waited 90 minutes for a pie at 3:30 PM in the afternoon:

This weekend is the first of the Bent tryouts. There are 60 or so women interested so this should be pretty great. I haven’t been this psyched since the training camp for Australian National Team try-outs. I love try-outs because you are bound to learn something new.

Speaking of Australian Disc, congrats to my sisters and teammates from Sporting Team Box Athletico United for making the finals at nationals an nearly getting over on those boring school marms from Wildcard. There’s no shame in second place and I know you will get them next year. It was a great tourney for Victorian ultimate with Honey making semis (yeah, Mama!) and my favorite boys from the Heads of State finishing third, due in some part to hot D from Mikey Stout.

How amazing is this Bulls/Celtic series? This could be the best series until the finals. Every game is a game winning last second shot or overtime. Great Basketball.

I owe you a book review. I finished Roth’s Exit Ghost. It's a painfully detailed look into the implications of aging, of losing your faculties and losing control of yourself and of your legacy, which might have been just an illusion anyway, but a comforting one nonetheless. The book is a quick read and I enjoyed Roth's take on the post 9-11 hysteria in NYC. I struggled with the crux of the main character's struggle. Aging is just such a sick joke, getting more broken and more useless every day, forever. I honestly don't know why anyone over 27 gets out of bed. I'm just trying to stay distracted by sports and entertainment. I hate being 32, but this book was a reminder that it will be getting worse, a lot worse. It's very well written and I enjoyed the characters Roth introduced, but it's hard to recommend unless you are pretty comfortable with your place in this world.

I’m presently reading Faulkner’s Light in August and I love it. I love the descriptions. I am deeply involved in the story and the characters. It is great.

Looking out a ways, I’m going to see my Brother-in-law’s new boat on Oak Island for Memorial day, and then hiking in Zion for a few days in June, and then back to Oak Island in July to see all the cousins.

Sufjantastic

What can I tell you? Things are busy at work. Boo.

Also I had a bout of what the Australians politely call "Gastro" last week so I missed a day of work. I was writhing in pain on my bathroom floor in cold sweats, but I did miss work, so I guess I would call it a push.

I am back in Melbourne. I have been playing some disc and riding Deirdre around. I joined a summer league in Albert Park. I have been hanging out with Joy and Hussey, and I helped my friend Amanda clean her apartment before a move.

Tomorrow I am going to the Australian Open to see Henin v. Sharapova (which is a quarter but could basically be a final) and Tsonga v. Youzhny. I saw Sharapova at the US Open a couple of years ago and I am psyched about the shrieking and grunting.

I am hoping for a 0-0 tie in the Super Bowl. Jerks.

I went to see American Gangster. It was pretty good. I love Common as a brother, and I love the RZA as a cop in the 70s. You can see his WuTang tattoo in one shot and that's a bit of an anachronism I guess.

Last week after the 'bout' I went to see Sufjan Stevens at the Forum. I think it was my 4th time to see him, and maybe the best. He played his tone poem to the BQE, and did some light up hula-hooping. The graphics were mind blowing all show. He wore wings for much of the set. He played 7 Swans, Good God Bird, Casmir Pulanki Day, Predatory Wasp..., Upper Peninsula and lots of other great songs. Best of all, he explained almost each track for a minute or two prior to playing them. Explaining the geography of Michigan in great detail to the Australian crowd, and teaching the HOMES mnemonic for the Great Lakes. He talked about his fear of trees. I hung on every word.

3 Day Old Sushi

Hmmm… What can I tell you? It has been a quiet week. I worked. Ran some. Biked some. Threw some. Pretty quiet here. I’m not proud to admit that on Tuesday I was so bored I watched two successive episodes of So You Think You Can Dance. That was pretty sad.

TV here has every crap American show. For some reason they are two seasons behind on the Ghost Whisperer and that is always on. Why is Jennifer Love Hewatt always in some low cut top talking to dead people’s relatives? Why do I know this? Why is any American show, no matter how crappy, on TV here? I know I should get out more. Australians get a bit of a chip on their shoulder that shows are always on here a few months behind in the states. The local TV stations have started a new promotion that they call TV “Streaming from the States”. It’s for new shows like Californication. The concept is that Australians no longer have to endure the wait of a few extra weeks to see the next episode of American Law & Order, you can see it at the same time as the US. Of course, the ‘streaming’ term makes no sense, as the show is not actually shown at the same time, because that would be in the middle of the work day here. Whatever. Minor details I guess in the grand scheme of progress which is of course defined as getting the latest American TV show as soon as possible.

The only plus side to Australian TV right now is a little something I call Tuesday lunch football. I’ll be watching my Eagles on Fox sports here live. The game starts at noon. The Eagles will try to make something out of the season. Let’s all hope they can beat the Washington Racial Slurs.

This week in the survival pool, I was going to go with the Steelers, but I was afraid that the miracle Bills might pop up and win one for Everett, so I decided to wait on that a bit.

The drought is still quite bad here and all the crops are failing so food prices are on the rise. Of course, this won’t really affect me, but it is bad news for poor Australians. All the banana crops died in the drought and as a result bananas are almost impossible to find here and like $6 each if you can find one.

I bought a new flashing light for the front of Deirdre. I hope she doesn’t get all bling conscious and materialistic.

I had a Footy Semi-finals game party on Saturday. The “semi-finals” are a round played when 6 teams remain. Next week, with only 4 teams left they will play the “preliminary finals”. Then, just after my parents arrive, they will play the Grand Final. The ‘party’ was quiet but fun. I had about 10 people over to eat sushi, cheese, TimTams and watch the game.

Thanks to Kimmie for this shout out to my CSI addiction: Fact Checkers Unit

Have a good week.

How many times did the Batmobile catch a flat?

Catastrophe has struck! Deirdre is out of commission. Today is the Queen’s birthday and a state holiday here in Victoria. I was planning on spending the day on a 50 K bike ride with Liz along the coast of Port Phillip Bay. About 5 K into the ride, luckily still near major roadways, my left pedal came flying off. We tried to put it back on, but the threads were completely stripped and it wouldn’t turn. Disappointed about missing out, I had to hail a cab and put Deirdre in the back seat. She just barely fit. I’ll have to take her to a bike shop next weekend. (Unless you have any suggestions…)

Back at 301, I rang up Joy and Hussey and we took the tram down to Port Melbourne to walk around. This is us on the pier. It was windy out and 13 degrees (about 55F).


Here’s my favorite Australian road sign.

Another thing I really enjoy about Australia is a nightly call in radio quiz on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation.) Below is a typical exchange:

HOST: Question 2: In what year was the American President John F. Kennedy assassinated?
CALLER: {hem and haw for 60 seconds, mention Jackie’s clothes, and perhaps that Bobby was also Killed, and that you have a neighbor named Bobby, etc.}
HOST: I’m going to have to ask you for an answer. In what year was the American President John F. Kennedy Assassinated?
CALLER: Can I have a clue?
HOST: All right. The decade was the 1960s.
CALLER: {repeat extended hesitation. Recount where you were when you saw the news.}
HOST: I’m going to have to ask you for an answer. In what year in the 1960s was the American President John F. Kennedy Assassinated?
CALLER: I wonder if you could tell me if the year was even or odd?
HOST: All right: Odd. So there you go. An odd year in the 1960s. In what year was the American President John F. Kennedy Assassinated? 1961, 63, 65, 67 or 69?
CALLER: {Profess that it is all coming back to you and you can recall the year. You almost have it. If only you knew if it was in the early or later part of the decade…}
HOST: Right-o. I would say it is in the earlier half of the decade. So 1961, 63, or possibly 65. Are you ready for a guess?
CALLER: Can I ask my friend/husband/wife/neighbor?
HOST: Of course.
{Sound of the phone being put down on the kitchen table. Sound of the caller hollering down a hall.}
CALLER: {to host} What is the question again?
HOST: {Polite sigh} In what year in the was the American President John F. Kennedy Assassinated? 1961, 63, or 65?
CALLER: {Shouting down the hall} In what year in the was the American President John F. Kennedy Assassinated? 1961, 63, or 65?
HALLWAY EXPERT: {repeat the question, repeat above hemming and hawing, and mention Jackie’s clothes, and perhaps that Bobby was also Killed, and that you have a neighbor named Bobby, etc.}
HALLWAY EXPERT: I’m certain it was 1961. That was the year we redid the roof.
CALLER: Ok. I’m going to go with 1961.
HOST: {Genuine empathy} Oh! I’m sorry. That’s not it. Let’s go to our next caller.

REPEAT ENTIRE PROCESS WITH NEXT CALLER.

Let’s just say the host is no Alex Trabek.

In other news, this week was pretty good. On Wednesday, I went to the National Australian Frisbee team try–outs (a long shot but tryouts were fun). All week work was crazy, but perhaps in a promising way. Friday night I went to the Mountain Goat Brewery with Jess, Joy, Liz and Hussey and then back to their house to watch a close match of footy. On Saturday, Chris and Liz came over to watch a movie and eat pasta. Sunday I went for a long run and then I went to a birthday outing (Happy Day Esther!) at a bar in Fed Square a block or so from my apartment with much drinking and dancing.

Dad, I put a Father’s day present in the mail to you. Keep an eye out. It’s up to the whims of the Australian postal system if that’s your Father’s day present for 2007 or 2008.

On the NBA: Is his name LeBron or LeBroom? Tim Duncan is such a boring, dominant superstar.

Mailbag: Thanks to Ali for the postcard from Tuscany. Apparently there is something more to Italy than beach ultimate. Who knew?

And finally, here's a link for my sister Lynn. You're not alone, sis! Then again, she might not get it...

Tralfamadore and Beyond

What can I tell you? Work is work, almost ceaselessly. A correction/update from a previous post is that I may not be seeing Paul down here after all. We are still working on it, but suffice it to say that circumstances have changed. I previously mentioned that I won’t be blogging about my employer, so I’ll honor that. But reach out to me directly for more #@&%! than Andy Capp.

My heros keep dying. First Hunter, now this:

My favorite author died. I don’t have anything sage to say about that. Breakfast of Champions was always my favorite but Sirens of Titan is great too, along with everything else. If I have a world view, it is plagiarized from him. I think he’s right about many things: being a humanist, that a two person unit is not enough for anything, man’s illogical drive to survive and most importantly, “Dammit, you’ve got to be kind.”

Speaking of Kindness, I’d like to thank the most recent visits from the mail fairy: Mara and Jax. Mara is all world traveler on me, sending a postcard about her time in Israel, penned while visiting Athens and posted from Oxford. Whew! Jax, sent me a PERFECT care package with what I miss from NYC. Thanks Jax. Much love.

There was an article about the dance night at the Guggenheim and PS1 in the Melbourne Age weekender this week. The point was that if New Yorkers can dance in an art museum, Melbourne should do that too, challenging local museums to open up. I’ll keep you posted on if they do. I got to feel a little smug about myself reading that. “Oh yeah, that’s my home.” Though I went to the Guggenheim dance night exactly once and PS1 maybe 3 times in 4 years, so I can’t exactly claim to have patronized said venues. Maybe you could go for me next time on my behalf?

Did I mention that there is an international comedy festival on? There is. I’ve gone to good shows. I’m going to see the British and Irish guys. Very funny. My favorite bit so far has been about mild super powers. What are yours? You know mine: I can see well in the dark and I have excellent oral hygiene. The Australians do impressions of people I’ve never heard of (probably famous Cricketers) and talk more slang than is intelligible, so I am avoiding their shows.

Deirdre and I did a GREAT bike ride today with one of the Team Box captains, Liz. We followed the Yarra trail on a 30 K ride around the city. It was wonderful. The ride went through a number of city parks, past great modern art both planned (sculpture) and volunteer (graff) and by the zoo. The city is very bike-able and likeable.

I am starting to get a bit nervous for Nationals which is next Sunday- Wednesday. I don’t feel ready yet, but the time is here, so here I go. Go Team Box! I will let you know how it goes.

Reunited!

Deirdre is all in one piece. She works great. I'm thrilled.

I had the best night in Melbourne yet last night. I hung out with an awesome girl from TeamBox and her boyfriend. Jess is a Physics PHD with sic speed who makes a lot of our long cuts. She showed me a bar close to 301 called Hell's Kitchen which made me feel at home. The bar has Cooper's Pale Ale on tap and is a close to a dive bar as Melbourne can afford.

Then we swung by 301 where she suggested letting the air out of the front wheel and pumping it back up, which saved the day and allowed me to put the front wheel back on. Apparently all you need to reassemble a bike is a Physics PHD. Maybe I would have studied harder if I'd known that.

Then we went out to dinner at a great Tapas place also about 1 minute from my apartment. We were joined by her boyfriend who is Luc Longely's cousin. No joke. The Tapas was great and then he showed us one more great little open air bar on one of Melbourne's many 'little street' alleys. I'll be heading back to all three places when I have a little more time.

Tonight is Team Box Practice and packing for Tasmania. I'll be flying out Friday after work and back Monday evening as Monday is the end of summer Labor Day holiday here. I'll be checking out Tassie (as it is called by Australians) for an extra day after the tourney. I have 1 day to explore an Island the size of Ireland. I'll let you know how it goes.

All the King's Horses

Here are some photos of Deirdre in pieces. I can’t figure out how to get the front wheel on through the brekes. Suggestions?
Tim? Jesse? Marc?



This space is too narrow to fit a bike tire through. I need to open it some how. The front brake is connected to the wire off my left handlebar.

Let me know if you need any other views or angles. Deirdre is a lot less fun without a front wheel.