April 2004 Archives

Today is the last day of National Poetry Month (who knew?). Like the rest of the web, I'm (re)posting my favorite poem, by Robert Frost:

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost

What an amazingly shot film with stunning panoramic views of harsh and harrowing landscapes encountered by two young, arrogant, British men. I've been spoiled by the UltraSreen's® size as of late, and thusly frustrated that I was watching such excellent scenery on such a "small" screen. I enjoyed the documentary feeling of the movie, with the voice-over and interviews carrying the dialog of the three men involved. I would've liked to see a bit more emotion from anyone, mainly to validate my own horrific thoughts. However, the filming and story telling overlayed with action scenes of the movie allowed vicious thoughts of myself cutting the rope connecting me to my climbing partner in order to live. Lots of "Whatifs?" and "Ohmygods!" throughout.

Highly Recommended.

Yesterday was The Crazylegs Classic. Fifteen of us from work signed up to participate, and although some dropped out, a good group competed. Overall, there were 12,200 participants. I completed the course in 51:15 officially and finished 5589^th. Slower than in the past, but I'm also carrying a small child. There were many kids running along with their parents, and most weighed about the 30 pounds that I have hanging around my waist.

The funniest moment came during the third mile, when a women starts talking on her cellphone, most likely to her kids whom must have commented on her laboring run, "Okay, you guys just keep talking, and I breathe heavily into the phone."

I am proud to day that I ran the entire course (even though my mind kept telling me to walk), I'm not that sore, and I look forward to participating in some more runs this summer.

This week, The Travel Channel is featuring National Parks. Last night I caught the Denali show, which brought back many fond memories. Tonight it was the Southwest show, featuring Canyonlands and Arches, just in time to kick off our summer.

We'll be in Utah to visit Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, and Zion. There's so much to see in that area, we may not make to all...or we may not come back. I hope to take plenty of pictures, but I probably won't have time to settle down. Two weeks after we get back, it's off to climb Mt. Whitney and recover in Vegas. (That's an oxymoron, no?)

Then, I get about a month and a half off to rest & work to close the summer with a bang with four straight weekends of entertainment: Paul & Jess's wedding, DMB at Alpine, The Great Taste of the Midwest, and Tracy & Eric's wedding. I'm tired just writing about it. To close, it's ten rows from Sarah McLachlan in Milwaukee. (It was a Valentine's Day present for the wife. I'm sure you understand.) Then Badger Football...will it ever end?

Across the street, the new county courthouse has been under construction since we moved in. Since the thaw, the most progress has been made, with steel installation and completion of the concrete elevator and stair towers. Sunday, with the gusty winds, a portion of it came down. That picture shows a concrete form, in half, resting about fifty feet below where it should be. (I would've taken a better picture, but I was lazy.) We thought it was the tower cranes coming down into our living room.

I went to investigate all the hub-bub, but nobody knew anything. The news said that some cars received some damage, so they blocked off the entire block surrounding the site for about six hours. They're only now leaving. But as I type, there's more debris falling. A lone police officer sits near the site and is investigating the noise, and a firetruck returned. Shift change at midnight perhaps?

Update: The Capitol Times has some more information. (Like what actually happened.)

I ran Tuesday and haven't since. It's now two weeks until Crazylegs. I had some great inspirations of being svelte around this time, but it seems like my life has gotten in the way.