Wurst Tri - New Braunfels

I completed the Wurst Tri in New Braunfels on Sunday. My friend Bill came in from Dallas. He was to participate but had a foot injury so he was there for support. He took some good pictures which will come later.

The swim was in the Landa Park spring fed pool, the distance was about 33oM. I started off freestyle but switched to breast stroke which I did better on. After the swim we ran about 200M to the transition area and got on the bike.

We then hit "California Hill" which was a steep one. It only got harder from there. The course was 14 miles out and back and was pretty hilly. I was pretty spent when done and it was hard to run.

I did my share of walking but did finish running nicely and the final time was 1:58.

That Sat. night we went to visit his friend Rocky who is an FBI agent who lives in Boerne. They lived in a nice neighborhood. I like the house a lot - would be easy to move in there. We drove back on Hwy 46 about 11:30 pm which was very dark, lots of deer out. I kept it slow at 55 and we made it back OK to San Marcos.

Sunday I went to Houston and stayed the night with my parents. My mom invited her cousin Anne, her daughter Katherine and her grandson Justin over and that was great to see them. I am thinking of doing the Malibu Tri in 2010. Katherine said I could stay with them. That would be 23 years after the last time I saw her.

Danielle's Quinceanera

Here we are at Danielle's quinceanera, the traditional Mexican celebration of a girl's 15th birthday. The party was held at Mario's Banquet Hall with a nice dinner. Sarah was in the Court, traditionally made of 14 Damas and 14 Chamberlains. The boys and girls did two dance performances, one waltz and one hip-hop. A nice evening. The kids have know each other a long time so it was a great opportunity to be together.

Craigslist tickets

I purchased 4 tickets to the Texans v. Vikings on Monday, Aug. 31 in Houston. So if you are watching, look for me in the upper, upper deck.

I learned a bit of ticket info. I bought these off Craigslist. As cousin Charlie put it, the difference between it and eBay. "Craigslist is free".

From the broker standpoint, the preseaon ticket is worth about 25% of a regular season game. I bought 4 tickets for a total of $100, or $25 each. Ah, the power of the hundred dollar bill...

Face value of these upper level seats is $35. A season ticket is $35 for 10 games, 8 regular season and 2 preseason. If you look at the preseason as a throwaway, the face value is really underpriced from a scalping standpoint. Perhaps a way of the NFL to create demand or a way to underprice a season ticket.

From my standpoint, it will be a good opportunity to see a game and go to the stadium w/o breaking the bank. Regular season to the new Cowboys stadium were going for $300 each. The last game I went to which was 2 years ago was $175/ticket at Texas Stadium (which is definitely past prime).

Summer winding down

This is the last week before school starts back. Sarah will start the 10th grade and that should be a big event. This Friday is the "Big Q" - Danielle's quinceanera. We're all going and it should be a bit party. Sarah is one of the "Damas" so she'll be performing a group dance with everyone.

Saturday, I will be heading to New Braunfels for the Wurst Triathlon on Sunday. 400M swim,

14 mile bike ride and 3 mile run. I've been training - don't think I'll set any records but looking forward to participating. Afterwards, I'm going to drive to Houston and see the family Sunday afternoon and evening and then drivc home Monday.

Jordan's last day of work is Friday and then he heads off to UT-Austin. I tried to give him some advice about meeting new people since that is never easy as a transfer student. Hopefully it got through. As the old Cathy cartoon once said (through the mother giving advice that Cathy ignored) "Sometimes I feel like an encyclopedia that no one ever opens"

Rocking for a Cure

The Rocking for a Cure benefit concert was last night and was a big success, raising nearly $5,000 for cancer and diabetes research. This was the brainchild of Alex B. Stockton who wanted to combine a school project with his music and band talents. A few well placed words later, the Renaissance Cancer Foundation and the RGV Diabetes Association were on board.

The party was at Alyssa's Acres, which is a nice bit of the country just in the city,about 20 acres. First was the local band LD-50 which was a nice acoustic duo followed by a short electric set. Then Alex's band Unforgiven Grace went on. Many of the Memorial HS kids were there so they had a friendly crowd. I heard they had been playing together for 5 years so they are certainly putting their time in. I'd like to be able to play like that.

After they finished, the Renaissance Rockers had a tough act to follow. They brought the A Game and probably did one of their best sets I have seen. Afterwards, Unforgiven Grace came back on, primarily playing for the remaining students as most of the attendees had left on a Sunday night. There was a new vocalist Alyssa and she did a fine job. It was the last show for a while for Andy who is going off to boarding school but there is a new successor bassist Eric who did a fine job also. Everyone had a good time.

All Day to Do It

There is nothing scheduled for this Saturday. No plans. I slept in and will likely be around the house a lot. It feels like a vacation.

I'd like to watch the Grand Junction town hall meeting by Pres. Obama this afternoon. Its at 5:15 p.m. CST. Susan will be there Monday and Tuesday so it'll be interesting to hear if they talk about the local approach which Susan is going to check out.

Plans for Colombia are firming up as that trip is less than 30 days away. I am going to have to pack my bike so I may go to the bike shop today to find out more info/particular suggested tools and so forth. I have a web site of a place to buy what looks to be a good container (more than just a cardboard box). I suppose I'd better get a list going. Saw where the weather there in Medellin is very good as expected (usually 24C, which sounds like California weather :)

Yesterday I met Susan and Sarah for lunch with several of Susan's co workers. That was fun. Then Sarah and I went out again. Good time.

Ready for the weekend

Tomorrow is Friday and I am ready. Things have been quiet and hot this week. Our office A/C is straining so I've left about 4 each day to get home, cool down and relax before going to get Sarah from band practice at 5:30. That's worked out great. It won't last forever but its made the week OK.

We were going to the island this weekend but now we are staying home so Sarah can work on a history project. We got her schedule straighted out today so she'll be taking health as a computer elective and will only have band at Memorial and will otherwise be at IB so we like that.

Finished the book Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich about Facebook founding at Harvard. Didn't sound like a fun college to be at - cutthroat competitiveness. That author also wrote 21 - like to write about smart people using their brains to beat the system and get rich. This book was right up his alley.

Looking to see the movie District 9 this weekend. That's been the usual schedule the past few weeks. I'll probably do a long run Saturday as well. The New Braunfels triathlon is coming up Sun. Aug. 23 so I'm about ready for it. Bill will not be participating but will be there cheering me on.

I've got a new place I'm interested in going: Aspen CO. I was thinking about that today. I hope to check it out. I saw where you can fly into Eagle CO which is a 70 mile drive away. There is even a direct flight from DFW. We'll see... It's also 125 from Grand Junction CO which is where Susan will be going next week to check out the hospital system there. Pres. Obama will be there doing a town hall meeting Saturday. Maybe he'll get shouted down like the Congressmen?