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.

Weight Loss

So after the weekend and eating out all four days; on Monday I got on the scale and saw I weighed 175 lbs.  Everybody keeps on telling I will gain sympathy weight for the baby but I didn’t think I would gain it the first 2 months.  I felt very depressed and told myself its time to get back in shape.  I was down to 167 lbs before we started the whole moving process and living with my parents.  So this week it was back to eating healthy and keeping with exercising at least 5 days a week.  Bambi and I are both really bad eaters so it takes some effort on our part to eat healthy.  We eat healthy at home, but splurge when we go out to eat.  I guess we found a solution, never eat out. 

So on Tuesday night I headed to the gym at 10 PM because we met Bambi’s Dad and his girlfriend at Pappadeaux for dinner.  We had yet to meet with them for Christmas so we looked rather strange bringing in about 8 gifts all wrapped into a restaurant in February.  We told the waiter it was my birthday, but I’m sure he was wondering why everyone was opening gifts.  I remember him making a strange look when he walked by, thanks for the dessert Pappadeaux and it was my birthday.  I went to the gym to ride their spin bike when we got home, didn’t feel like roughing it in our work shop.  So as I am walking up to the spin room I notice this built guy singing and dancing around like some hip hop artist.  There is no turning back so I walk in and he has his music blaring.  He asks me if his music is too loud, I told him no because I would have my headphones on.  It was really strange but he was practicing this same song over and over by singing and using his dance moves.  Who knows, I might have been witnessing the next Justin Timberlake.

So we found another little birdie tonight brought in by Shiloh I think, this is #2.