Catching up

Things are kind of busy here with the home repairs going on.  Our roof is getting put on today.  Next will be the new gutters and the trim painting.  Then, clearing out the torn-up flower beds.  All to be done by the birthday party on May 20.

Sunday, I went driving in my friend Gus' Ferrari which was of course an awesome experience.  He said the car "smelled like road" the rest of the day.  A good change from sitting in the garage.

Monday, I had a doctors appointment to follow up on some lab results.  All was well!  We also had a Greeters meeting and my friend/neighbor Brad and I drove over there together.  We're now Chair and Vice Chair of that organization.

Today, I had a confernence call as well as a court appearance.  A busy day.  It was nice to be on the tail end at 4:00 p.m. today.

Earth Day 4/22

This week should be a short one since we leave to go to Washington DC on Friday for Sarah's (and Jack's) Constitution Team National Championship.   There are about 6-7 teams of 3 students who study for questions asked them regarding problems that they solve orally by their Constitutional research.  Kind of extemporaneous, like debate, but with the added study focusing on the Constitution.

This Saturday was the IB Prom so Sarah spent all day getting ready.  Susan's friends came over to help.  It was like Steel Magnolias with the ladies helping the young woman to get ready.  They left here about 6:45 for dinner then the the prom.

Today we had a tough running workout, my first since last Saturday.    We ran up "Green Mountain"which is acutally a respectable hill in McAllen, but man-made from a local road project.  It has turned into quite the recreation area.

Gravick Ranch

Sunday I was invited to go to the Gravick Shooting Academy with a number of friends. Having done a lot of driving the past few days, it was nice to let Henry drive. We left early to get there about 8:00 a.m. There was a group of about 16 of us, ranging in ages from 14 to 60 or so.

We started the morning shooting 9mm pistols. It had been some time since I had shot and I felt I was pretty terrible to begin. But there was a lot of instruction to take in and after a little while I got out of my head and started doing better. Like when my old friend Brent and I used to shoot clays, we had a saying: "Are you thinking?" If you were, then you were distracted. Stop thinking. I did make some better shots. We did all sorts of unusual things, from shooting through a car window, crouching behind a car, shooting a moving rotating star.

We broke for lunch and went back to the hunting lodge, the classic man cave with trophies on the wall, including.. an elephant. We even got to see the video of the elephant hunt.

In the afternoon, we went to shoot AR-15's which rifle shooting was something I was a bit more comfortable with. The rifles have a laser holographic sight which you see a red dot through the scope, you point the dot where you want to hit and shoot. Makes it pretty straightforward. We did some different shooting, crouching, left handed, through narrow openings. My favorite was "clearing the house", shooting while moving, turning corners, and then finishing off with the sidearm pistol. By the afternoon, I was more comfortable with both guns.

Our instructors were very good. One was the firearms instructor for the local Sheriff. Our host was former military (Delta Force, said Henry). So we learned a lot. I look forward to returning.

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday and we are now in Kingsville visiting the family. Once we got here it was a lazy afternoon with a long nap and then watching the Masters on TV. Having been to the course in 2010, it was neat to see it again. But the game the pros play is quite different that the regular game of those with handicap strokes. The idea of hitting a wedge into 13 and 15 for them is a lost art.

Yesterday I did go to the Maundy Thursday service. I always think of Kate as that is one of her favorite services, with the stripping of the altar. Afterwards I met Jeffry for dinner. He's a young guy about 26 and we've got a good friendship started. He's very educated, degree from Brown and on a Fulbright scholarship, about to start working on Wall Street.

My working out is starting to pay dividends. As I told my trainer today, I feel I'm gettting a base now to work from. Getting started is the hardest part.

Tonight Sarah and I are going to see American Reunion, keeping our string of R rated comedies going. Plus I heard there is to be a sequel to Horrible Bosses - score!

End of the Quarter

Today is March 31 so it is the end of the 1st quarter of 2011. I was reminded of that as my client was hurrying to get a loan closed and funded. We got it closed on 3/29 but I don't know about the funding. But a creative CPA can make the books look good anyway.

Thursday night we had a major storm come through McAllen, right over our house. Winds were howling, driving rain and penny-sized hail. I was glad that we were all home and not out somewhere. Conditions were ripe for a tornado but fortunately there was none.

In the morning it looked like winter: all the leaves on the ground, ice piled up, cool and overcast.

School was cancelled and work was shortened.

Today we worked hard to get everything cleaned up. We had to make an insurance claim for maybe a new roof and fence, and to repair damage on the car that was outside. With 2 cars, one is outside. Guess who usually parks outside? Damage not too bad, looks worse in the bright sun.

Tonight was getting a little back to normal. We went to the Vipers game but we lost big. Only 2 more home games for the season. We also participated this morning in the Hoops for a Cure fun run/walk and all 4 of us were there: Susan, me, Sarah and Jack.

Another successful recommendation

I just heard that my recommendation for our friend Luciana was a success as she got the job she wanted for the summer with the Heritage Foundation. I was please to hear of her success. And of course pleased to be asked to assist her.

They say that the rising generation is going to change the country. If she and Katherine from Stanford are any indication of the upcoming students, it can't happen fast enough.

Olympic Club

Today, Sunday March 11 was  the start of daylight savings time in San Francisco and we were ready for a game of golf at the home of the 2012 US Open, the Olympic Club.

Olympic was originally called the Lakeside Golf Club since it is located by Lake Merced. Originally it was out in the country and today still is on the far side of San Francisco. I heard it would take 20-25 minutes to drive there from downtown.

Olympic is part of a larger athletic club with thousands of members. It as a result is a happening place with a lot of people there. It had a younger, more diverse vibe than many places I've seen.

Because we were meeting our host Dave, we got there about 10:30 a.m. It was a very short drive from the airport area. We met up with Dave, and decided to walk.

We headed to the Cliffs which is a par 3 course. It was not your typical par 3 with most of the holes being full length holes. Only 1 could be looked at as just a wedge. Living up to its name it was right on the coast and on the cliffs. As a result it was quite a challenge. If Torrey Pines were all par 3s it might look like this.

A highlight was the "Burger Dog" that we had at the snack hut. This concession was run by a local burger stand that used to be so popular that the golfers would go across the street for the burgers. Kind of like how the golfers used to go across Lake Austin Blvd. to the old

Sigmor station for a beer run on the second hole at Lions Municipal, or the liquor store by the 15th tee there. The burger was a classic drugstore burger: Ed would love it.

Our tee time on the Lake Course was 1:40 and we headed out, picking up a 4th in a cart, Billy. He was quite interesting, 6'7" and a fine player. He could really hit the driver. I enjoyed riding some in the cart with him.

One reason I enjoyed riding was that... Olympic is an long, uphill-all-the-way course! Now that may be an exaggeration, but in general, each of the greens rise up from the fairway to add a club'[s distance to just about every second/third shot. Plus, the greens are heavily bunkered and generally small.

The first hole started off somewhat tame, but then they warned me that 2 through 6 were difficult. That is when the long, uphilll-all-the-way pattern began. Not impossible, just quite challenging. Two separate holes I hit a good driver, only to leave a 3 wood to the green. And I never thought of myself as a short hitter.

Seven was a short par 4 that was a nice break, but the green was quite a challenge. 8 was a straight (but uphill) par 3.

After losing a ball on # 10, something must have finally clicked, for I figured out how to play the course:

Hit a good drive in the fairway

Take an extra club into the green

Fly it directly at the pin

That at least led to some improvement. I did have the highlight of fininshing strong with pars on 15 ( par 3) and 16 and 17 (par 5's). Here's a photo of # 17 which is quite typical of the greens:

On the famous 18th, the (perceived) hole of Ben Hogan's collapse, it was hard to shake that ghost. Not a long hole, but everything said "Put this in the fairway". Even that was not enough, as the tree on the right comes into play and it is a long shot uphill to a tiny, blind green. It should make for a tough finish in June.

Upon reflection it is no surprise that Olympic is a hard course. The USGA does select challenging places for their golf, even at the local level. A friend of mine who qualified for the US Amateur at Oakmont shot a 90 there, after going through local and sectional qualifying. So that should tell you how hard these courses can be.

Overall, the 27 holes there were as good as anywhere. And they've got another 18 holes there, the Ocean Course. A great spot for golf - well deserving of its high praise.