My Best Friend - Shiloh

Shiloh

As you all know from my previous posts on my blog, animals and especially dogs have a special place in my heart.  I have saved two dogs in the past few months.  Then, one of my worst nightmares played out in front of my own eyes on July 14, 2011.  Shiloh was run over by a car.  As much as I blame myself, there were a chain of events that were not normal for any given walk that I normally take Stormy and Shiloh on.

I’m notorious for letting my dogs run free.  I hate seeing dogs always being chained up and restricted in everything they do in life.  I like to let them explore as long as they listen to me.  We live on the corner of a very busy street in Forest Cove subdivision.  Part of our house faces Chestnut Ridge, which is a main gateway in and out of the subdivision.   Shiloh was a very high energy dog, always bouncing around and full of life without a care in the world.  She had a great personality as well and wasn’t scared of anything.  She even duked it out with a possum one night.  And one thing was for sure, Shiloh was my dog.  She followed me everywhere, about 3 weeks ago I was mowing the grass and she followed me around and around for an hour and half while I mowed.  Constantly barking at the mower but she wanted to be next to me as well.  She even started to dry heave because of the heat so I had to take her inside.  I would go ride my bike on the trainer in our workshop and Shiloh would wait for me in the sunroom while Stormy and Bambi would be in the bedroom.  Shiloh worshipped the ground I walked on.

Trio

On this horrible day, I got home at the normal time I usually get home, but we had contractors at our house working on the floors.  They were finishing up and I quickly changed clothes and put on my sandals.  Shiloh jumps through her skin when she sees me put on the sandals that I always wear when I walk them.  She gets so excited and starts jumping around and breathing heavily.  I usually take Stormy and Shiloh out the front door because it’s the safest route for letting them run free, away from the busy Chestnut Ridge road & down our side street instead. But on that day a contractor was blocking the front door way, finishing up.  So, then I tried taking them through the garage; the other route I randomly take them on their walks.  I usually have them sit and stay before I give them the go ahead to cross Chestnut Ridge & they’ve been really well at minding that.  Contractors were blocking that path as well, using the garage for all the tile cutting.  At this point I start looking for the leash but everything was packed away because of the construction, so I gave up. 

From here I went out of our side gate instead which sits right next to Chestnut Ridge.  I never take the dogs out of this gate.  As soon as I open the gate Stormy heads straight across Chestnut Ridge with Shiloh on her tail before I could even shut the fence door.  I’m yelling at the top of my lungs for them to stop, but no success.  They sometimes play with another dog across the street so that is where they were headed.  We have about 10 ft of fenceline before it opens up to Chestnut Ridge, so I didn’t see most of what happened, but I do remember hearing something and remember me cussing out loud to myself because I knew this wasn’t going to end well.  What I did happen to see was Shiloh coming out from under the front right tire as she was run over, the driver of the Cadillac (the lady had to be her late 70’s or early 80’s) never once stepped on her brakes.   She rode a half a mile down the road before she turned around and came back, and the only thing she said to me was “I saw her chasing the other dog.”  There was nothing for me to say, the damage was done.  But any normal person would have hit their brakes, swerved, or just about any other thing that this old lady didn’t do.  I chalk it up to slow reactions, poor judgment, and an old lady who probably shouldn’t be behind the wheel.  What if that would have been a kid, it would have probably ended the same way with a kid being ran over. 

Look at that face!

So Shiloh gets up and it looks like only half of her body is in working order as she tumbles in the ditch.  It appeared as if she was bleeding from her legs only when I first glance at her, so I leave her in the ditch to run & go grab my keys, phone, and wallet because I was going to rush her to the vet’s office which is probably 3 miles away from our house.  When I came outside I was surprised to see Shiloh standing in the middle of the driveway staring at me when I came outside – I’ve always said she is a tough cookie.  I grabbed her and Stormy and loaded them up in my truck and off we went.  At this point I started to see Shiloh’s eyes going back and forth and she smelled like death.  I never knew death had a smell but I smelled it that day.  I rushed her into the vet’s office and they quickly took her back and connected her to IV.  Bambi showed up to the vet’s soon after and we were ushered into a waiting room with Stormy.  After about 10 mins the vet came in and said it did not look good after the X-rays, her stomach wasn’t where it should be and she could see internal damage to the lungs.  She said it was a long shot and she rushed out to go check on Shiloh.  The next time she came in (2 mins later) she was there to tell us Shiloh wasn’t going to make it and to come say our goodbyes….. one of the most heart wrenching things I’ve ever done (drip drip). 

We adopted Shiloh in November of 2010, but she had come as much a part of the family as anyone else.  Dogs are great because they love you unconditionally day in & day out.  I still get sad and sometimes tear up when I think of Shiloh.  She was around 2 yrs old, full of energy and personality, and loved on everyone.  She and Stormy were a match made in heaven, constantly playing and following each other everywhere.  The thing that hurts the most are all of the “What Ifs” that horrible day.  What if the contractors weren’t there?  What if they weren’t blocking both of my paths?  What if it wasn’t an old lady driving the car?  What if I decided I wasn’t going to walk them that day?  Or walked them just 2 minutes later?  What if it was Stormy and not Shiloh?  All I know is that the stars were aligned and it was Shiloh’s time.  The Truitt Family will miss you Shiloh, farewell.                          

One of her favorite things to do, ride around in the truck.

Marley's Mom

So on Tuesday after work I loaded up my bike and went back out to the same spot where we spotted Marley and the Mom.  I had dog food, water, and a couple of dog leashes hoping I would see the Mom and bring her home.  I rode 13 miles on the trails looking for her, constantly looking and saying “Come here girl.”  I knew it was a long shot but it would allow me to sleep better at night knowing that I went out there and looked.  I searched for about an hour and half and never found her.  I left some dog food behind where we found Marley just in case.  I know there may have been a good probability of her being found as well.  The dogs were along the creek when we found them and the creek is very active with people fishing, hanging out, and kids playing.  I will never know what happened to Marley’s mom and my only regret is not going back out there on Sunday and getting the mom. 

Marley Day #3

Marley and We

I couldn’t capture the whole story by posting a picture and writing a short paragraph to Facebook, so I thought I could tell the whole story through my personal blog. 

Bambi has been talking about riding her mountain bike for the last week and we finally both had some free time on Sunday so we loaded up the bikes and went out to Lake Houston Park.  Lake Houston Park is located in New Caney, my hometown by the way, and is about a 15 minute drive from where we live.  There is a 10 mile mtb loop trail around the park which 6 miles of it is a mixture of jeep road and single track while the last 4 miles is a gravel/concrete road.  Most of the trail follows Peach Creek which always has water and looks more like a river. 

I’ve ridden out there a few times and you hardly ever see anyone on the trails after you get about 2 miles in.  I take that back, I saw some wild hogs on the trail the last time I was out there probably 5 miles out and almost hit a baby hog.  The thing was nested on the ground and I thought it was stump and as I approached the little thing went scurrying off like a bottle rocket. Anyhow, so we were clipping along on our mountain bikes and around 4 miles out I looked up and saw a big yellow lab darting off into the woods.  We would never see the dog again (mom) when we were there.  As Bambi and I got closer there sat a little puppy (we are calling him Marley), all bones wagging his tail and he was very happy to see us.  There were no questions to ask, we quickly surveyed the situation and knew these dogs were abandoned out in the woods to make it on their own.  I knew Marley wasn’t dehydrated because they were right next to the river and he had muddy paws, but he sure was starving.  Poor thing was covered in fleas, ticks, several wounds, a limp leg, and boney as could be.

Marley the day we found him.

So, there we were 4 miles out with 2 mountain bikes and only one small camel back (definitely not big enough to hold the puppy).  The only way we were going to get the puppy back safely was carrying him back in our hands.  Bambi had the duty of carrying Marley while I was pushing the 2 bikes by hand.  The trails are way too narrow, sandy, and bumpy to ride one and push the other.  As we are walking back you could hear Marley grunting/moaning & his stomach turning over and it was very worrisome.  My only concern at this point was to keep the little guy alive until we could get him home & cared for. 

As I said before I never see anyone on the trails and then by chance there was a fellow mountain biker who comes up on us only after a half of mile walking back and he is wearing a backpack.  He was using the backpack for his hydration; it was perfect for carrying a small puppy.  We asked if we could use it and he said no problem, so we loaded Marley up, zipped the pack up with his head poking out, and I put him on my back.  I got to ride 3.5 miles of trails back with Bambi & the mountain biker following me making sure everything was okay.  Marley got tired of the enclosure once and climbed out.  He also got sick on the way back and threw up mud down my back and on the guy’s backpack.  I didn’t care and neither did he.  The sad part was that obviously Marley had resorted to eating mud & weeds just to have something in his belly.  L

Marley day #2, a different puppy.

We finally made it back to the truck and quickly loaded the bikes.  The fellow mountain biker told the park ranger about the yellow lab further out on the trails.  We hauled ass home and stopped to get some soft dog food along the way.  Marley was starving and would have eaten anything we put down.  We only gave him small portions every couple of hours to get his stomach lined with some food.  After a few hours we saw him pee and poop and we were relieved.  He was definitely a sad site to see on Sunday, he barely had enough energy to stand up and the soft moans were heartbreaking.  The next big task was to figure out how we were going to rid of the 500 something fleas he was covered in.  That required two long flea baths on Sunday & Bambi pulling a few ticks out of his ears.   Maybe one more flea bath should do the trick, but definitely a lot better.  Bambi did most of the bathing and cleaning up and has been doing a great job; I think she should work at a Vet’s office. 

On Monday you could see him getting stronger and being able to walk around the yard some.  He is starting to look more like a normal puppy being playful and getting a sense of his personality.  He definitely misses his mom; he always wants to be right next to someone.  We have two dogs that are spoiled rotten so it has been weird for them seeing the new dog around.  But they can sense something is wrong and they are very timid around Marley.  Stormy has been watching over him at night at times and it points out that Mother Nature is in full force. 

Marley chilling on the deck.

The plan is to take him to his vet appt on Friday to get vaccinations and a full examination.  We are going to foster Marley until we can find him a great home.  Please pass this story along to any of your friends who could use a loving & very grateful male Yellow Lab.  He would really be great with other dogs as well, as he keeps trying to lay up next to or on our dogs & follows them around.  On Tuesday after work I’m going to make my journey back in the woods, get in a little trail run, and see if I can find the mom.  Wish me luck!

Update on Happenings

I haven’t posted of late due to personal boredom.  I feel my like my life is like Ground Hog Day at times and I need a big change, mostly work related.  But I will say things are starting to get better for the Truitt household.  Bambi got a job at Pacific Drilling and started this past Monday, she is the executive admin to the VP of Commercial (i.e. Procurement, Supply Chain & Logistics) and also supports the entire group of 12 employees.  I know she will do will great at the job with no problem.  She doesn’t lack a work ethic if she really likes what she does!  On other notes, I ordered my crankset last weekend and hope to have my mountain bike by the first of next week.  I will post a pic as soon as it’s back together. 

We met some of our neighbors last weekend as we were staining our bricks around the house.  We actually ended up meeting 3 neighbors this past Sunday, quite a shocker.  We are by far the youngest couple on the street by 10-15 years, but I don’t mind.  There is nothing exciting or drama unfolding around us and I like it that way.  One of our neighbors (Bob and Sheila) invited us over for dinner and told us to bring our dogs on Sunday.  We had met these neighbors just a few days before.  They are both retired and their kids have left the house within the last few years.  You can tell they just like having guests over and they are really nice.  We still have half the house left to stain but it’s not going anywhere, we will get to it when we can.  I plan on staying at this house for the next 20 years so I’m not stressing out over any of the modifications.  Everything costs time and money, which I don’t have a lot of either right now.     

Giving Back

Well it seems I have a soft heart lately.  A lot of my coworkers have tickets to Rockets games and Rodeo performances and they haven’t felt like going.  So instead of me taking them for myself, I had decided to give them away to friends that I know will go and appreciate it.  I’ve posted them on Facebook and emailed friends.  It has worked out really well: 4 tickets to Miranda Lambert, 4 tickets to Zac Brown Band, 2 tickets to the Rockets game on Wednesday night and 2 tickets to this Sunday’s night game.  I know I didn’t purchase these tickets but I could have also let them go to waste instead of offering them to others that would like to go. 

Carrying on this same theme, I was on the way home from the gym last night and ran into a big Husky running in the middle of Kingwood Drive.  The dog definitely looked lost and out of place, he was far away from any subdivision entrance when I came across him.  A couple cars went around him and I got to thinking someone is going to miss this big guy when they get up in morning.  So I turned the hazards on and parked my truck in the right lane on Kingwood Drive so I could load him up.  He was really friendly and jumped right in.  The dog had to weigh around 100 lbs, he was a big boy.  He started licking my face and what not as I was trying to read the phone # off his collar.  The dang dog would not sit still so I had to remove his collar to get the phone #.  The phone number listed was to his vet and not to his owners, so I called Bambi and told her I’m bringing a big dog home tonight! 

Charlie

Stormy and Shiloh were petrified as expected, they are not fond of bigger dogs.  They were scared for their life but the big Husky named Charlie was friendly and just wanted to play.  We had to keep the dogs separated due to our spoiled dogs wouldn’t share their space with him.  Bambi called the vet this morning and found out he was 10 month old Husky named Charlie.  The owners came and got him but they even offered if we needed a pretty white dog.  I was glad we found the owners but not glad they really don’t want the dog.  I’m sure they will remove his tag when they get home so next time he gets loose, he doesn’t get traced back to them.  But a 100 lb. Husky is the last thing we need right now.    

I was asking myself why I’m trying to help others more so lately and I can’t really figure it out.  I mean, we've always been ones to unselfishly give and do.  It may be circumstance or me coping with losing the baby.  Bambi and I try to be really nice people and do the right things.  We live our life that way, I would much rather give than to receive.  I just wish I had more to give.     

Picture of Kid Rock from the Rodeo on Monday night

We went to see Kid Rock on Monday night at the HLSR; not a great voice but a great entertainer.  His show was very patriotic which was nice for a change.  No PC from him.

Update on Bike Frame

So mid last week I decided to take matters in my own hands in regards to my damaged bike frame.  When I discuss my bike frame issues with others it tends to get people upset and it seems they are more upset than I am on the situation.  It really provoked me to do more, so I went to Trek's website and they don't have a phone # to call.  But they do have an option where you submit your contact information and they contact you.  So I submitted my info and was surprised to get a call later in the day.  I explained the whole situation to the guy and he seemed to understand my frustration.  I clearly explained to him that I understand the second frame I cracked was most likely my fault but still felt I got screwed on the first one and would like them to make it up to me.

He looked around in their system to make sure they had a frame my size and sure enough they did.  He said he will contact his warranty rep that handles Bike Barn and will get it taken care of.  So I'm getting a new frame at cost from Trek, I believe it will be around $225.  I definitely feel like they did the right thing in this situation now.  I know there will never be another Trek frame in my future but I will ride the new one while it lasts (undamaged).  I know I'm hard on bikes, but so is most everyone else who races and rides.  It's the nature of the sport.    

Eco Lonestar Wrap

This past Saturday was the Eco Lonestar Adventure Race put on by Terra Firma Racing.  I’ve done quite a few 12 hr races but this is only my second with Terra Firma.  I usually do most of their summer sprint series AR races.  I was racing with Werewolves of Houston (Austin), Ashley Edwards (who has been participating in Adventure Racing the longest in Texas) and Doug Mammoser, a great navigator out of Austin.  Ash and I went back and forth whether or not we wanted to drive up Friday night and get some sleep or make the 4 hr drive early Saturday morning.  We checked the weather on Monday of last week and it looked very promising, low to mid 50s at night and high of 65.  We ended up getting on the road around 7:45pm Friday leaving Houston and got to Reveille Peak Ranch around midnight. 

We were supposed to meet Doug at the Ranch since he had a three person tent, all we had were our mats and sleeping bags.  We drove around all the tent sites a couple of times and did not see Doug’s car or tent.  We tried calling him w/ no answer and texted him but we got no response.  We found out the following morning he had a campsite reserved at Inks Lake and had no cell phone reception.  So Ash and I had a decision to make, do we sleep in the car or under the stars?  I opted for the stars, meaning mat and sleeping bag only, no cover at all.  Ash lasted for 20 mins, I lasted for 2 hrs or so.  I slept fine until the winds started to kick up (20 mph to 30 mph) and blowing sand all over me, so I moved into the SUV as well.  At this point all of our gear and clothes are outside because we are sleeping in the SUV.  Sometime around 5:30 AM we start to hear clunk, clunk, clunk.  Ash screamed “its hailing outside and we need to get our clothes and gear; we don’t want to get wet”.  So I jump out of the car and she called me a Frogger (how I was bouncing around trying to get everything inside).  After this ordeal we couldn’t help but laugh, the race hadn’t even begun and we had quite a story to tell. 

So Doug calls us around 6:30 AM to see where we are at.  We tell him so he can park next to us and start getting ready.  I was in no hurry thinking boat drop was right at TA.  Doug tells us that boat drop is 11 miles away and I’m thinking: crap that is a long ways a way and we need 2 people to offload the thing.  So Doug and I left TA around 7:10 to head towards boat drop, race started at 8 AM.  Ash stayed back to get ready but most of her stuff was in the car.  I had yet to do much of anything to prepare for the race.  I hadn’t packed my food, camelback, or changed up to this point.  We got back to TA at 7:50 and I had 10 mins to get ready for a 12 hr race.  I managed it quite well and thankfully Ash let me borrow her rain jacket. I didn’t pack any cold weather clothes, as I was trying to travel lightly with car pooling.  So the race started off with a 5k run.  It was a nice run but I think I was still asleep because I don’t remember much of it.  We were the first 12 hr team right in front of iMOAT and knew this was going to be a close race all day. 

Next leg was a short bike to a Nav leg - this is where the teammates could split up to get 4 cps.  I was sent to the windmill while Ash and Doug got the other three, I made it back fairly soon and waited around till they got back.  We lost some time on this leg but nothing that would hurt us.  The next leg was the 11 mile bike (all road) to boat drop, we knew the route because we had just driven it a couple of hrs ago.  I felt really strong on the bike and did my best to pull most of the way for the team.  Once we got to the boat drop we had 3 cps to get on the paddle.  

We knew the paddle was going to be very difficult because of the wind and we didn’t have the best boat for the conditions.  Kayaks are the weapons of choice for windy conditions, 3 out of the top 4 teams coed teams all had canoes along with us.  So we did our best to paddle to the first cp, portaging across a cove.  From the cove, we walked the shoreline until we finally reached the 1^st cp.  I walked in ankle deep water the entire way with the boat attached to my camelback, this was actually faster than paddling.  iMOAT was the first team to first cp on the paddle and we saw them punch it and start heading back to boat drop.  The other two cps are a long way away and we are thinking they just took themselves out of the race.  No top teams usually skip checkpoints 3 hrs into a race especially with no hard cutoffs.  The Masters of the Universe, fellow HFAR members Scott, Gabe, and Helena; along with Ike’s Vengeance (Scottie, Kenny, and Kip) and our team all continue on to the remainder two paddle cps way out.  We had to portage, stop numerous times to let water out of our boat, more portaging, and so on.  These were the toughest 2 cps on the day.  The paddle leg took us 3:30 hrs for 3 cps, I will come back to this topic later.

Once we got back to boat drop, we had one cp to get on foot.  Doug found it quickly and we headed back for the 11 mile road ride back to TA.  The next leg was a long nav leg and such legs (most of the time) determine the winners of the longer races.  Doug was a man on a mission on this leg. I have never seen anyone get so focused on naving when it comes to navigation.  He gets dialed in and we went to all of the cps without a hitch.  The next closest team to our nav leg was 28 mins slower for this leg.  Freaking Awesome Doug…  As we were headed back to TA we saw iMOAT going out on a trek and we started worrying about how many cps were on the last trek.  As we came into TA we had a 9 mile bike and I asked how many cps were on the last leg.  Of course there were 3 cps and if they happened to get all 3 and beat us back to TA they would win the race due to the remaining amount of time for race cut-off.  We couldn’t do anything about it at this point.  We road the 9 mile technical bike and we were gassed, Doug took a hard spill and toughed it out.

When we got back to TA we had 45 mins to get 3 cps on the last nav trek.  One cp plotted real close to TA so our plan was to go get it and hopefully beat iMOAT back into TA.  The other 2 cps were way out and we couldn’t have gotten them in the allotted time.  We got in the area of the cp but we couldn’t find it, a team comes a couple of minutes later and goes straight to it.  We eventually find the cp, we headed back to TA to stop the clock and find out it was iMOAT afterall who came in just 3 mins in front of us with the last cp.  iMOAT was declared the winner of the race, even though our team and other competitors disagreed completely.  Here are my reasons on why iMOAT shouldn’t have won the race, this is not personal but for the integrity of the sport.

·        They managed to skip one of the major 3 disciplines of an adventure race, the PADDLE (well….majority of the paddle).

·        It took the fastest team 3 hrs to get the 3 cps on the paddle, it took iMOAT 2 hrs and 14 mins to get 3 cps on the last trek.  They made up 45 mins on this leg alone (by skipping the paddle).

·        Its unheard of winners of Adventure Races not clearing the course and still able to make up those cps later in a race to place ahead of other teams.  You clear the course as each leg progresses; you don’t bank that you will make it up later in a race.

·        I feel like Werewolves of Houston (Austin), Masters of the Universe, and Ike’s Vengeance didn’t get a fair shake on Saturday from Terra Firma. 

In adventure racing, you never know what to expect when it all shakes out in the end – good or bad.

Werewolves

First TMBRA Race of 2011

Sorry this is a long time coming but I’m getting out there now.  The first TMBRA race was last Sunday at Bluff Creek Ranch in Warda Tx.  Warda sits between La Grange and Giddings.  So after working the rodeo all night, I got home at 1:00 AM and got 3 hrs of sleep before Bambi and I made our journey to Warda.  I had borrowed a bike from Jason Maloney, a full suspension 26er since I have a cracked frame that has yet to be resolved.  I’m use to riding a 29er hardtail and the bikes ride very different.  We got there in plenty of time to setup properly and warm up.  I kept on questioning my seat height because there is a very fine line between too high or too low when it comes to biking.  So I get to the starting line late and I think they have already called up my age group (19-29 Cat 2) and Cap Carter sends me up to Tobin.  Oops, they are calling up the single speed division and I thank Cap for making me look like a fool, it was funny actually.

So my expectations going into the race was top 10, but there were a lot more riders this year than last.  I only recognized one other person in my age group from last spring with 25 riders toeing the line, pretty crazy.  I lowered my expectations due to borrowed bike and working on my feet for the last 3 days and no sleep.  We got started off and I usually blow myself up at the start.  This race I was patient and slowly moved my way into the 10-14 before we hit the single track.  I felt good on the technical stuff with the 26er but could definitely tell I couldn’t just rollover stuff like I was use to.  I also had a major problem clipping numerous roots with less ground clearance.  My race was pretty uneventful from then on, I caught a couple of riders in my group throughout the 3 laps and was only passed by one person in my age group.  I ended up finishing 11^th, 45 secs behind 10^th.  I did start to fade at the end, which I'm use to at the mtb races.  I have a hard time keeping my heart rate down, I burn all of my matches fast in mtb race.

I asked myself would have the results been different if I had my bike, maybe 1 or 2 places.  But I still have a long way to go to place in the top 5 in Cat 2.  But that is one aspect of like about mtb racing, there are always people there pushing you to be faster.   

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Well I haven’t posted in while due to many things going on and not all good.  We found out last Thursday that Bambi had a miscarriage. I’m not going to post any more on this topic due to this being a public forum.  I did spend all day with her on Thursday & as much as I could through the weekend, as we grieved and coped with our sudden loss.  We've had tons of family & friends support -- thank you.

I am a volunteer at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and this is my 5^th year to be on the Transportation Committee.  I made sure Bambi was okay before I decided to fulfill my obligation this year.  She thought it would be good to get my mind off of the baby.  I had to work Thursday (5pm-midnight), Friday Day (10am-4), and Saturday night (5-12).  The Transportation Committee helps transport visitors and patrons of the show in and around the Reliant Complex.  When you show up to the Rodeo, you will be doing a lot of walking.  The Transportation Committee tries to take out some of the long walks in and around the show - we are NOT in charge of the Metro buses. 

Now my 3 shifts take place during the craziest times of the Rodeo, the BBQ Cook-Off.  This year was pretty tame for the BBQ cook-off until Saturday night.  I was working on what we call Rodeo Way which is the drive between the Astrodome and Reliant Stadium.  I was stationed right at the entry of the carnival doing crowd control until I grabbed dinner.  After dinner I was stationed where the tram was loading people at the entry gate.  Well around 10:30PM gun shots off very near were I was standing just a couple of hrs later.  I was glad I wasn’t around and it happened to be a gang related thing.  I know a group young black people were jumping another individual and then 6-8 gun shots went off.  I followed up on the story last night and saw where they had caught all of the people involved and made two arrests.  No one was seriously injured as well, one person was shot in the butt and another person was shot in the foot.  Now I ask myself why one would bring a gun to a cook-off but nothing surprises me anymore, I’m just thankful no innocent bystanders were injured.  That would have really have pissed me off, I was surprised we kept operating after the incident but 90% of the people never knew that gun shots went off Saturday night.  We can’t let a small group ruin the experience for everyone.

Hopefully next year the BBQ cook-off is really boring, we only had 1 ½ hrs left but then the gun shots rang out.

Cracked Frame #2

I’m pretty terrible when it comes to bike maintenance so I finally pulled my mtb out from the Excruciation Exam and started to give a good cleaning.  As I was starting to dry it off I saw a huge crack in the chain stay.  Granted I should have discovered the issue back in January but I had been riding my road bike for training purposes.  Not sure when the frame finally cracked but the aluminum frame had been worn down at that spot due to chain suck issues from previous races.  I believe this problem was caused by me but we will see Bike Barn comes up with.  I also cracked my carbon fiber seat post, I am very hard on my mountain bikes

My first cracked frame is a different story, I had spent A LOT of money for a carbon fiber Gary Fisher Superfly.  I had it for about 2 months and as I was going to clean it I noticed a crack in the chain stay as well but further back towards the derailluer.  I took the bike into Bike Barn and they said it was my fault due to me crashing the bike.  I was speechless, I had never wrecked the bike but their mechanic pointed the finger at me and said he would call the warranty rep and of course he said the same thing.  I was pissed, I dropped some serious dough and only had for 2 months and here I was going to buy another frame.  I called Lee, the owner of Bike Barn to get something worked out and she did her best but I still had to buy a new frame at cost, I decided to go with the aluminum paragnon.  It was the best decision I ever made until today, just kidding, it has been a great bike and we will see what Bike Barn does this time around.    

Hopefully the new frame I will be receiving soon.

First Gig

Wednesday night was Jason Pritchard’s first solo gig, he was playing acoustic at Blue Moose Lodge on Washington.  We had known about it for a few weeks and we weren’t going to miss it.  I’ve known Jason since the 8^th grade, so we have known each other now for 16 years now.  We became really good friends in high school mainly through playing football together.  We both were crapped on when freshman and sophomore’s in high school so that really brought us together.  We both played on the B team as freshman and played on JV as sophomores.  We both had chips on our shoulders and were determined to prove our coaches wrong and we did.  Our senior season, Jason won Defensive of player of the year and I won Offensive player of the year for New Caney.  Hard work does pay off and we both put in a lot of time and effort to get to where we were at.       

Back to Jason’s first gig, my brother Casey joined Bambi and I for the occasion as well as Chris Bowes (Adventure Racing friend).  Jason was really nervous during his first set and you could tell he was frustrated.  I think he dropped a couple of F bombs and was ready to take some shots so he would loosen up.  Jason’s Mom and sister showed up as well, it was good to see Mrs. Pritchard.  Jason did really well and I was happy for him, he has a great voice and would like to see him with a band.  Another thing that I’m impressed with Jason is he is writing his own music.  He has some great lyrics and I have a lot more respect for artists who write their own music, no offense George Strait.  I would be curious to see where he could go if he had all of the tools.  It ended up being a late night and we didn’t get home until 1:45 AM, we have a designated driver now so that definitely helps. 

Pretty Cool Pic

I think I was starting to get on his nerves with the pictures, oh well.

I had to get up first thing on Thursday and head down to the George R Brown convention center for the NAPE Expo.  The NAPE Expo happens twice a year and it’s where oil and gas companies put on display their prospects and possible deals to sell all at one place.  I heard there were 15,000 people there yesterday and it was crowded.  I was tasked with one of my coworkers to cover half of the aisles looking for South Texas prospects.  There weren’t many deals for us to look at and it took us around 3 hrs to cover our aisles.  The oil and gas industry is at a major flux right now due because I don’t know of many E&P companies turning a profit in the domestic scene.  The costs are really high and commodity price is really low, mostly referencing natural gas.  I know it will all work itself out over time.

Gen Y

A topic that I believe in completely is a work/life balance.  Now I work with mostly the baby boomer generation.  Their motto, in general, is live to work.  I’m considered Gen Y and our motto is work to live.  I’m a total believer in this philosophy and I have a discussion with someone up where I work at quite regularly on this topic.  We don’t debate the topic, we both see the differences in the generations and just discuss it because it is so easy to observe in the work place.  I work with someone (late 60s) who works almost every weekend and I feel sorry for him.  We are paid salary, he isn’t getting compensated for his time.  Nor is he getting ahead, it just takes that much longer to do the same tasks that it takes for me to get done in ¼ of the time.  So I drove by the office last Saturday and saw his car at our office building.  He was the only person from our company working.  I hope in my later stages of life my work isn’t my only outlet to occupy my time.

Cartoon on Gen Y, but not me.

So we decided to stay in for Valentine’s Day this year.  Do dinner was on me.  We had received some back strap from a deer a couple weeks ago from Matt Postel and the back strap is suppose to be the best part.  Bambi likes steaks and she was on board for having back strap for dinner (her real name is Bambi so of course she likes steaks and deer).  Haha.  I got home and marinated the meat, milk and hot sauce and let it soak for an hour.  From there I lightly battered the meat and fried in hot vegetable oil.  It only took about 10 mins and it was done.  We had sweet potatoes as well to go with the meal.  The back strap turned out great, it was a glorified chicken fried steak.  We didn’t have a Netflix movie in so I found a movie (The Man in the Moon) on the TV in which Reece Witherspoon was the leading actress.  She was very young in the movie; I looked it up & she happened to 15 years old when the movie was made.  It was a very simple movie, but still good and sad. 

The way I prepared the back strap.

Weekend Wrap Up

Well I’m so busy during the weekend there is no way I have time to sit down and write a post.  I guess that is a good thing.  Friday night Bambi and I headed to Spring Creek BBQ in Atascocita, we had never been there.  Bambi was craving ribs all day Friday, have to keep Mrs. Prego happy if you know what I mean.  The BBQ was really good and I definitely liked it better than Pappa’s.  Saturday I made an hour long drive to ride 70 miles in a MS150 preparation ride.  I’m not doing the MS150, trying to get my motor (aka legs) ready for the TMBRA mountain bike season.  There are rides closer to Kingwood but I definitely like the safety factor of riding with 500 people instead of 5 to 10.  It was called Pedal Across the Prarie and it was put on by Houston Cycling Centers.  They did a great job and even got a t-shirt and a cheese burger after the ride. 

After the ride I came home and Bambi and I headed to Sharky’s on Lake Houston, it was a beautiful day.  I had just burned 3,000 calories on my ride so I got the fried catfish and fries, ate it all.  Bambi got their fried shrimp, overall the food and service was good.  From there I headed to off to meet one of my bosses to go to the Rockets vs Mavericks game.  He wanted it to be a guys night out so Bambi toughed it out home with the doggies.  Of course the Rockets lossed but we didn’t stay around to the finish, my boss was ready to head to Downing Street.  If you are into cigars, Downing Street is the place to go in Houston.  They have a huge humidor and you are allowed to smoke inside.  Not sure how they pull it off but they do.  I don’t mind smoking a cigar every once in a while but I’m not into smelling like an ash tray after leaving any establishment.  These guys I was with do it every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.  They drink the finest scotch and smoke their favorite stogies, I guess I’m not old enough yet to be into that kind of stuff.  

   

Sunday was dedicated to house work.  Spray painted some gold mirrors and made them bronze, it turned out really well.  Cleaned the road bike, checked the chemicals for the pool, another coat of paint in the living room, etc.  We ordered our Superman an outfit, check it out.      

Weather Days

Yesterday we were sent home early around 1:30 PM due to the freezing conditions after the cold front blew in.  I can’t remember ever being sent home for freezing conditions before this year and 2 within one week is pretty staggering.  Some people at work can take work home but I need too many software packages installed locally on my machine to work from home, I’m not complaining.  Any free time Bambi and I have we usually spend on working on the house these days.  I finished off the living room paint job last night, good ridden.  I have never spent so much time on one house project, ever. 

We also went to a few stores looking at their options for staining our bricks.  Our house is completely bricked on all four sides.  The current bricks on the house are white with a yellowish orange tint, the house definitely needs a face lift.  We have been going back and forth whether or not we paint the brick with actual concrete paint or use a stain.  I definitely like the idea of staining it but not sure how it will hold up and last as well.  So we bought a gallon of semi-transparent paint last night to try it out on some of our loose bricks that we have lying around the house.  I will post some pics once the experiment is done, I hope it works.    

1st Trimester

Living through the first Trimester with Bambi has been an entertaining experience.  They need to add a new chapter to every pregnancy book and title it “Walking Disaster”.  Over the last two weeks she has been a klutz and a danger to herself.  She has knocked her head on the pantry door, tripped over the gas hose to fill up her car, tripped over the AC line on the backside of our house, drove off with the back hatch open and never noticed until someone flagged her down, left a water facet running unknowingly, and I’m sure missing something else.  I’m not sure how many more pregnancies she can go through at this rate so early (lol).  Hopefully she gets thru this one with no injuries.  I keep on telling her I’m going to wrap her in bubble wrap - it’s the safest alternative I’ve come up with so far.  The only other side effects I’ve seen so far in the pregnancy that she is very sleepy, frequent bathroom visits, and needs to snack every couple of hours.

No, this isn't Bambi.

Houston Fit Adventure Racing (HFAR)'s Spring Season 2011 got kicked off last night and had a good showing for the first practice.  I think it sucks we can’t practice at Memorial Park but I also understand the dilemma from HFAR’s prospective.  Cleveland Park is a disaster for parking, but it seemed to work out okay yesterday.  I’m assisting Kelley Simmons - The Guy, Vet Head Running Coach this season and I'm his assistant coach.  I’ve never seen anyone do so much preparation for their practices as Kelley puts into his.  He is very knowledgeable and I’ve learned a great deal from him when it comes to training.  After practice everybody went to El Rey Mexican Food joint on Washington and Shephard.  I always like interacting with the new members to see the bewilderment in their eyes because they really don’t know what to expect.  Adventure Racing is a great team sport and you can learn a lot about your personal limits.     

Kelley & Cody (Kelley on the left with a funky helmet on.)

Weekend Update

I’m finding it hard to get myself to write something down every day but I will work on it.  This past Thursday was the second visit for Bambi with the baby on board and my first visit.  I got to see the baby for myself with the sonogram, the doctor couldn’t find the baby’s heart with the ultrasound.  It had me scared but when I saw it on the computer, I was very relieved as was Bambi.  Dr. Shroeder told us everything looks great and see you in 4 weeks. 

Friday was Ice day so I didn’t have to go to work.  I have plenty of stuff to do around the house but I have a hard time getting anything done when it’s so cold out.  I just want to stay in bed bundled up.  Saturday Bambi and I went to see the “The Color of Purple” play in Galveston at the 1894 Grand Opera House.  Bambi’s Dad and girlfriend had bought us the tickets for Christmas and couldn’t have asked for a better date.  We had very front row seats to the show, we couldn’t have gotten any closer.  I was very impressed with the acting, dancing, and singing.  It was great and would recommend the show to anyone. 

After the show we headed next door to Rudy and Paco’s, they specialize in grill Seafood and Steak with a South American flavor.  It is an expensive restaurant but the food was very good.  I tried Escargot for the first time, Snails for the people like me who didn’t know what Escargot was.  It was good and I would get it again, the snails were covered with garlic and butter sauce.  We wrapped up the weekend yesterday watching the Super Bowl and more housework.  I thought the Steelers were the better team but they didn’t play like it yesterday.  Congrats to the Packers, good story.      

What we Ate

Luckily this is how it was served.

Goals

Sunday was the Houston Marathon and I was glad to say I didn’t do it this year.  Running the marathon is one of the most demanding mentally and physically thing I have ever done.  There must be a thousand times were you tell yourself I can just stop now and walk the rest.  I’ve done a 30 hr adventure race and never felt like quitting, but a marathon, I’m encouraging myself every mile.  The day after the run you have a hard time walking and getting around.  It takes a full week to recover and you should still take it easy.  I heard of horror stories of this past Sunday’s run, wet socks, blisters, torn off toe nails, just to name a few.  I will come back and run a marathon in a few years, but I’m not putting it on my calendar anytime soon. 

You have to have goals in all aspects of life and right now I’m kind of stuck at work from a progression stand point.  I will know more where I stand related to work after October 31^st, 2011.  From a racing stand point, I plan on doing the entire Spring TMBRA series except for the two Dallas area races.  I will be racing Cat 2 19-29 age group.  My plan is to have 5 top 5’s so I can cat up to Cat 1.  It is definitely easier said than done.  I will have to spend a lot of time on my bike over the next month to get prepared and hopefully keep it going until May.  I better make it count this year because once the baby arrives it is going to be tough to get enough ride time in.      

Speaking of the baby, Bambi is going to the doctor for second visit today and I’m going with her!  I wonder who the baby is going to look like more.