Fantasy football draft Sunday

This weekend we have our 5th annual fantasy football draft. We work on an auction format (different from most leagues). So we can bid on any player we choose, only limited by the need to fill up the roster of 13 spots and use all of the $250 imaginary dollars. The top priced player ususally costs $100-$110 and things go down to the $1 level.

I won't divulge my secret plans for Sunday, but suffice to say I plan to do things a bit differently and a bit the same.

Saturday we have a church school board retreat all day so I'll be busy all weekend. Sarah has a car wash on Saturday.

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?

Dinner with Friends

My friends Frank and Bill came over for dinner tonight. When Bill and I started running we met Frank who has become a good friend. Frank entertained us with his exploits. Next week he leaves for Colorado where he will spend a few days acclimating to the altitude before running a 100 mile run, the Leadville 100. He said he had been training by running several laps - around the City of McAllen. His training run was 47 miles - will that be enough? He's done 50 and 63 miles, so my bet is on him. Should get a nice medal and a lifetime memory.

As we talked about events, he suggested we plan a long trip of our own. Bill agreed that he could do two weeks, so we have some thinking to do. Today was the second to last day for Melissa to cook so we had some tasty stir fried beef and brownies for dessert.

Something new

Here is something interesting regarding opposition to Congress flying on private jets. Get a real job if you want to do that!

I just figured out how to do that hyperlink - that is what is new! Pretty exciting for me...

I like reading those blogs which have those links. Now I can do it myself.

Frank and Bill are coming for dinner tomorrow night. Wednesday is Chef Melissa's last day so all good things must come to an end. Best wishes to her at Texas A&M. Whoop!!

I got up early today for the swimming. For some reason my ankle (left) is a bit sore. I hope it feels better soon.

Today has been a pretty good day. I had to get some old files out to see what I had done in 2001. Its amazing how much I've done that I remember what needs done but it was done so long ago.

Motorcycle Ride to South Padre Island

On Saturday, I rode at 2007 H-D Road King to South Padre Island with my friend Brian. He rode his Yamaha motorcycle. It was a great ride and great day. We got there after riding the back way on US 281 about 1:30 pm. We rode by the famous border fence - neither of us had seen it.

After getting there, we went to the condo and changed into beach wear - shorts and t shirt. It was great to get out of the riding jeans and boots. We then hung out at the Wahoo, eating, watching the water, talking. It was really relaxing. We then jumped in the pool and cooled off a while before getting back on and riding along the Expressway home. That was up close and personal with a lot of cars but we got back fine. I gassed up the motorcycle and returned it to Chico. Great day. I even got a Wahoo Saloon t shirt to remember the day.

Julie/Julia Project

I saw Julie & Julia today and it was a "sweet" movie. A good old fashioned kind of movie, like Nora Ephron does well. The characters were good and it was inspiring for both cooking and blogging. Like in real life, it was hard for the characters to explain the benefits and mechanics of blogging. But as the end credits said, it helped her to do and book which was later made into a movie.

I don't have a great big project to blog about every day, but looking over the previous entries, my life is one big project. :) Raising a teenaged girl is a big undertaking. Being married for 19 years is pretty interesting. Being in the legal world gives a great perspective on business, disputes and life in general. Plus I think my decade-long exercise project is pretty amazing (starting in 2001 with a plan to do the MS 150 that next year - "I'll do it if you will" I said to my friend Jay. A day later, he emailed me "You're on!". Nothing has been the same since. To think, I used to think I could never do those things.

On that note, my marathon training is on track. Sat. morning, I ran about 7 miles with my friend Kristi. I think I may sign up for the San Antonio half marathon in November, as a warm up to the Houston Marathon.

Father John asked if I would play in the Bishop's golf tournament in San Antonio in November. So I answered the call - YES! That should be a good crowd.

Last night Susan and I went to a 50th birthday party for Carlos from the hospital. It was a big event, with 200 people, catered, at the Museum of South Texas History, with 2 bands, the Retro Rockers and the Renaissance Rockers. There was a big tent and it was outdoors and it was a nice night for a party.

Heat Wave

I heard that it has been over 100F here for 38 of 40 days. The other 2 days it only got up to 99F.

So as I've said, outside activity has been somewhat limited. I did make it to the swimming pool early this morning for my triathlon training. It was a good start to the morning. Last night I fell asleep at 10 pm. so I was well rested.

Tomorrow, I thought I needed to increase my running for the marathon training for next January so I'll look to go 6-8 miles. I'm starting at 0645. Afterwards my friend Chico asked if I wanted to ride his motorcycle so I plan to do that during the day. The plan is for me and friend Brian to ride to South Padre Island to his favorite joint the Wahoo Saloon and have ceviche, then ride back.

We are going to a big 50th birthday bash Sat. night for Dr. Carlos who is the Chairman of the hospital. There will be a band the Retro Rockers. It should be fun. I saw his dad Ruben today and Ruben has just bought a new pre-owned Mercedes S550 so he enjoyed showing it off and I enjoyed checking it out. A very nice brown color with rich leather. Only 25,000 miles. Buying off lease is the way to go!

Wed Aug 5

Today was the first day back at the court after there have been no settings of note the past few weeks. So everyone was pretty keyed up but we got it all done as usual. I decided to get the front wheels checked at D&D Wheel Alignment after a recommendation from my mechanic Larry. It was a good one. I was happy to meet DJ and his staff and they did a great job, ended up replacing some front end bolts after recommended getting things checked every 10,000 miles. That's the kind of specific advice I like!

After getting my car back, and having a good day at work, I thought I'd go swimming at the Rowe HS indoor pool, which is open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Bad idea! I went there and it was packed. After waiting to no avail for 30 minutes I bailed out. Swimming at 6 am. is much better at the Boys and Girls Club pool. I plan to go tomorrow and Friday. The triathlon is coming up Aug. 23.

This evening I also returned Oscar's bike which he had loaned me after the April MS 150. I rode about 300 miles on it so I thought I put it through the paces. That was quite nice of him. After riding the bike over there, (about 1 mile) I walked back which was a good trek. Made up for no swimming.

Round of golf

My friend Gerry called me last night to play golf early today. Since we had talked about doing this for some time (and never done it) I agreed, did a quick reschedule of the day and we teed off at 7:07 a.m. That was pretty early. The weather was nice for the first 2 hours.

Then it heated up and I started fading a bit. Amazing how I can go run 6 miles, ride 30 miles on a bike or swim a long distance and feel fine. But riding in a cart and playing 18 holes wears me out. I guess I'm out of golf shape. You don't realize what being in the heat and that fast swinging (the more the better) seems to do.

Upon reflection, I've played golf just a few times this summer. I played in June with Jeremy at his club, I played at Lion's Muni in Austin, today and at South Padre Island with Clint. To think I used to play that much or more in a week.