Just about out of time

I know that I've been really bad at blogging lately. I hope you can forgive me, given the circumstances. But I had to get at least one last post up before I lose my internet access tonight or tomorrow morning.

Things are moving right along. Tomorrow is my last day at work. I'm looking forward to the going away pizza party at lunch time. Then I'll spend the next couple of days doing the final packing/throwing away of my stuff and then I'll see how much can fit in my car and how much can fit in my uncle's truck and then I'll hit the road.

As I've said, I'm both excited and nervous. I talked to my parents this weekend and my dad said he already had a bunch of tasks lined up for me. Luckily they sounded really easy, so I should be able to start my new job on the right foot with my boss.

Thanks for sticking with me through this big transition. I'll post when I can.

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A Glorious Day

Right now I'm sitting in a work truck on the Big Sky Spur Road with the sun beating down on me. I am writing this on my handy-dandy Palm IIIe that I found last night while going through boxes looking for stuff to throw away. I haven't used this thing for years. I had it for a while in college, but I accidentally dropped it in some water and it really didn't want to work after that. I guess that five or so years of drying of in a box cured it. I am surprised how well I remember Graffiti.

Anyway, what am I doing in a work truck in Big Sky, you ask? I'm taking advantage of what may very well be my last ever opportunity to survey, at least in Montana. The last couple of days at work have been spent training my replacement as much as I can before I take off. But my old friend Margaret, who I learned almost all of my surveying from, was heading out for a simple job by herself and asked if I wanted to go out and help her. Well, there was really no question of what I had to do.

Phew! I just had to take my sweatshirt off. This sun is killing me. I may even end up with a sunburn. How many of you got a sunburn today? (No fair answering if you live near the equator or in the southern hemisphere or something. No one here is allowed to make me jealous, only the other way around.)

So I'm sitting in the truck--tunes going, sun beating, remote blogging (though I won't be able to post this until I go home and sync--my Palm is too old for the internet) while Margaret is out there with a property owner, trying to figure out where he can move his garage to. All in all, not a bad afternoon.

Well, I better get back out there before Margaret calls me on the radio.

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"Sad to leave, but happy to go"

It's nice to feel wanted. Friends are great are great for that.

For three years my friends (and family) in Minnesota have lamented the fact that I have never come through on my promises that I'm coming back from Bozeman "after one more winter". Now that I've finally decided to go back, people are excited to have me coming back.

But the flip side to the coin is that I've been in Bozeman long enough to make some pretty good friends here. As the news of my impending departure has filtered around the office most of the people here have stopped me and asked when I'm leaving and what I'll be doing and also to tell me that I'll be missed. That makes me feel good about the job I've done and the impact I've had here.

The same goes for my hockey team. I informed the team that I was leaving after our game on Sunday morning. The reaction was mainly one of shock and disbelief. I think this has mainly to do with the fact that I'm not as close to my hockey buddies as I am to the rest of my friends. My friends outside of hockey have known that I've at least been thinking about leaving for a while. But again, the fact that this crazy group of guys that I whack at a hockey puck with is going to miss me gives me a nice warm fuzzy. To see see various stages of dealing with hardships upfold right before my eyes was interesting. There was definitely some denial. "What? You're not going?" "Okay, are you going going? Or just leaving for a while?" Then there was bargaining. "I'm going to call up your dad and let him know why he doesn't need you that soon." "You can leave only if you promise to come back for the tournament next year." Luckily there wasn't too much anger or depressions. But at the end everyone came to acceptance.

In the end the fact that everyone is excited for me and understands why I'm going back helps a lot as well. Everyone knows how nice having family around can be. People are generally intrigued by small business ventures and the opportunities and challenges that they can provide. And everyone who knows me well enough knows that sitting at a computer support desk is not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.

I'm sad to leave the wonderful town of Bozeman and all the friends I've made here. But I'm happy to go back home and be with my even older friends and my family.

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Phew

So I've been out for a week. When last we were together I had scored a goal in a 7-1 win last Saturday. Well, I've had 7 more hockey games since that Sunday morning post. It's been a tiring week. And my life has been a little overwhelming in general right now.

First, the hockey. Including that Saturday game my team had 8 games in 9 days. We didn't have a game on Monday (Happy belated Valentine's day to you all) and Thursday, but then we had two on this Saturday. We had a Saturday-Sunday combo, then a Tuesday-Wednesday pair, and then this weekend we had the Winter Classic Tournament. The tournament was 4 games in 3 days, starting Friday night and ending Sunday morning.

Unfortunately our team isn't very good this year and we didn't have a very good record for the week. We won that first game last Saturday and we won the first game of the tournament on Friday night, but we lost the rest of them. A disappointing week to be sure, but not out of line with the rest of the season.

I am feeling the wear and tear on my body. I have sore ribs on both sides. I can't remember if I've ever had that before. My legs are pretty exhausted. I fell hard on my elbow this morning (I need new elbow pads) and it hurts to rest on anything. But I'm not doing nearly as bad as some other guys on my team. Our goalie got hit in the head with some really hard shots over the weekend. During our Friday game he wasn't sure he was going to make it to the end after a bell ringer made him nauseous. Another guy, who had just turned 41, had hurt his knee skiing, he had a big gash on one of his thighs, got another gash in his forearm, I hit him with a ripping slapshot in the calf, and he got hit in the throat with a puck. He ended up not showing for the game this morning.

As far as tournament results go, we didn't do very well. All of the teams played three games and then were seeded for the "Championship" round on Sunday. Our team was 1-2 along with a couple other teams, but because of tie breakers we were forced back into the 7th/8th place game (out of 8 teams in the tourney). Our game on Sunday morning was a rematch against the team we had beaten on Friday night, who had lost all three prelim games. Well, they came out seeking revenge and got it with a 2-1 victory. So there you have it, the Phatties took 8th place in our own tournament. Oh well, we did have fun and play pretty well except for the Saturday night game.

As for the rest of my life, yikes. For those of you who don't know, I've decided to finally leave Bozeman...for real this time. I'm moving back home to Minneapolis in a couple of weeks to be nearer my family and work for my dad. He bought a small cabinet-making business and I'm going to be Mr. Jack-of-all-Trades at first while I learn the trade and the business. It is exciting and scary at the same time. None of my jobs to this point in my life have given me much responsibility. But as one of the few cogs of a small business my responsibility and accountability will most likely skyrocket. That is a scary proposition for me.

So I guess I'm just saying that some big changes are coming up in my life in the next couple of weeks and it's been weighing on my mind. Like I said, this is all a little scary for me, but it is also exciting. It is going to be a challenge and something totally new. And that combination is something that motivates me.

I generally enjoy a little change, I've always enjoyed doing something new (working as a surveyor) or going somewhere new (living in Germany for 10th grade). But, even so, I tend to resist the change if I can. I'm inertial like that. When I'm settled and comfy, I'll tend to want to rest on my laurels and keep doing what I'm doing. But if I'm already up and doing something new and just going I'll get more into it as I get into it all will be fine.

If I just stayed in Bozeman and worked my computer support job and surveyed part time while living in a small house and eating steak with friends every week or so, and skiing when I can in the winter I'd stay relatively happy (happiness in my life outside of work is more important to me than happiness at my job). But I finally decided it was time to pick my life up, put it in a blender, and see what the Frappe setting does to it.

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He Shoots...

...He Scores!

That's right, I finally notched my second goal of the season last night. We played our best game of the season and won 7-1. It was pretty incredible. It helped that the other team wasn't very good, but we still played way better than we have been. I was +5 on the night, which also made me feel pretty good. Our main thing, just like our game last weekend, was that we played consistantly through the whole game. It was mucho fun.

Then after the game I headed over to Emily's house for game night. Everyone had been there for a couple hours and I got there just as they finished up with the game they were playing. We proceeded into the next "game" by not actually playing and just asking the questions. The game was "Would You Rather..." and it was really fun to just ask the questions and discuss them as opposed to play the game they tried to construct around the asking of the questions.

All in all a fun Saturday night.

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Mmmm, finger steaks

Yesterday Brian left me a message before I got home from work that the whole gang (Brian, Ricky, Amber, Sean, and Heidi) was going to dinner at the Oasis that night and that they (Brian, Ricky, and Amber) were leaving now and would be out there shooting pool and drinking beer. It was the first I had heard of the plan, but it was a good plan. Then I got a message from Sean saying that he and Heidi were indeed going but Heidi wasn't home yet. Then was another message from Brian saying that the 3 were there and would be awaiting the arrival of the rest of us. I gave Sean a call and he said he and Heidi would come and pick me up as soon as she got home.

They arrived and off we went, 30 minutes west on I90 to the town of Manhattan. A left turn at the only stop sign in town and were walking into Sir Scott's Oasis. Brian, Ricky, and Amber were indeed there, shooting pool and drinking beer. Brian and I ordered some finger steaks and Jo-Jos (breaded potato medallions deep fried) and then shot a game of pool while we waited. Brian of course beat me, but that's okay.

Sean and Heidi, in their years of living in Bozeman, had never been to Sir Scott's, which surprised me a little. Sean is a big fan of barbeque and meat and also of deep fried foods. Well, what are finger steaks but breaded, deep fried, strips of steak? He thouroughly enjoyed his meal as did Heidi with her steak.

Afterwards the plan was to head south to the Norris hot springs, which I had never been to. On the way there Heidi missed the exit off of the freeway and since there is really nothing in Montana the next exit wasn't for another 5 miles or so. So after a 10 minute delay or so we were back on the right track. Unfortunately when we finally arrived at the hot springs, the sign said open Wed-Sun. Darn! Unfortunately Brian's vehicle was nowhere in sight. We had lost them with our little detour. So we headed back home.

My three houseguests came back later after they had gone to the Bozeman hot springs. Quite the backup plan indeed. All in all it was a fun night.

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A win!

My first hockey win since before Christmas! It felt pretty good, and made having to leave early from the Super Bowl party I was at a little easier. The game ended up being 1-0. We didn't play all the great, but we played consistant throughout the whole game. And that's what I've noticed from hockey and volleyball over the last couple of years. At the level of competition I compete at it isn't that important to be great very often. If you are consistantly okay, you'll do well.

Our goalie didn't show up because he was getting drunk at a Super Bowl party. Luckily, before he started drinking he called up a substitute, who pulled out the first Phatties (my team) shutout since last year's playoffs.

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Crazy Dream

I never usually remember my dreams, I really wish I could, but I just don't. So it is a nice occasion when I wake up from one and I can remember it. Especially when it was as crazy as the one the other night.

First of all it was connected to a dream I had had a few days prior. I don't remember the earlier one, but the common thread between the two dreams was that my brother Brian's new dream was to become a master carpenter. That's right. He was taking classes and attending seminars, all unbeknownst to the people he was working for in TV, since he didn't want to quit or be fired from that just yet. Evidently wanting to become a carpenter involved a lot of other more down to earth activities, like contests at State Fairs. The dream began with my whole family at a State Fair like environment hanging out at the animal competition barn. Everyone was inside watching but I went to the basement (I know, barns, like the Alamo, don't have basements) where there was a snake's pit of wires and cords going everywhere. I was stepping over and under lots of them until I came to one particular tangle of cords all plugged into one extension cord that was hanging in the air because the cords coming from the ceiling weren't long enough to let it rest on the floor. Well, I got it in my mind that this wouldn't do at all so went about trying to rectify the situation. I unplugged everything, telling myself that I'm sure the cords weren't for anything important, and pulled and corralled them all so that the extension cord could rest on the floor. Except for one cord that couldn't reach. I just left it unplugged and again told myself that it wasn't important. That is until my brother Matt came down and asked me what was going on. I showed him and he told me that the cord I left hanging was to his refrigeration unit. (I don't know what he was cooling) So we jeri-rigged the whole mess again with that one extension cord hanging in the air. Matt then told me I better get upstairs because Brian was competing. So I did a few more things and headed up. I didn't make it in time for the competition and I met up with Matt outside the barn and asked how Brian did. He pointed out Brian stomping away in disgust and annoyance and said "How do you think?". It turned out that Brian had only gotten second place in the goat competition and he was pretty mad.

Right about then I woke up and a second later Brian came in the front door after hanging out with his friends. I looked over at my alarm clock and it was about 4am. Great, I thought, I'm never going to fall asleep now. Luckily that is about the last thought I remember until my alarm woke me up three hours later.

I was talking to my mom last night and we discussed the possible meaning for a little bit. One of her ideas seemed to fit really well. Brian actually represented me, and his longing to become a carpenter instead of working in TV was symbolic of my really wanting to go back to Minnesota and work for my dad's cabinet making business instead of heading to LA and work in TV. The goat...I don't know. Second place? Maybe that I'll be a second fiddle to my dad...ooo, and maybe that will make me mad or something. The tangle of cords? Maybe represents the computer/IT work I've been doing for so long that I need to walk away from and just let it be. Matt's refrigerator? I don't know either.

So that was my crazy dream. What is your analysis?

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Hockey changeup

I had a hockey game a couple nights ago and it was actually pretty fun. As usually there was a time during the game where our defense just kind of fell apart and we let in a few goals which was our downfall. We ended up losing 7-5, with their 7th goal being an empty netter after we had pulled the goaling being down only 6-5. Our main difficulties this year have been untimely defensive breakdowns and a lack of offensive production. We tried to combat both of these last night by switching up our lines. We moved a few of the guys who normally play defense up to forward and then brought a few forwards back to D. The guys we moved forward have not been playing defence with the mindset I like to see back there. First, they make lots of mental mistakes, and they make the same ones over and over again. Second, most of them seem to have an offensive and aggresive temperment which leads them to be out of position more times than is necessary. The difficulty was finding people to move back. The choice of defensemen was made by basically putting most of the best skaters and most experience hockey players back there. This worked very well last year but this year it hasn't helped because we haven't had any offensive power.

The first period went really well with the new lines but the second period was the same old story. A few timely defensive breakdowns (by the defensive pair that *wasn't* me, I might add) led to 4 goals. So late in the 3rd period we were down 6-2. But then, the line switches paid off as we scored 3 quick goals to make it 6-5. Then of course we grew a little timid when we pulled the goalie and they were able to
bag the empty netter. But all in all the game went a lot better than normal.

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