meaning from abstraction

do you ever stop to consider all of the assumptions we have in the world that allow us to function? just the other day, i wrote down my name. based on that simple action, i got a bunch of tangible, useful items in return.

think about this for a bit. i flexed the muscles in my hand - while holding a pen and touching it to paper - and somebody gave me some valuable stuff. how abstract is that?

the other day i gave blood. again, i had to move my hand in a prescribed manner, to give my solemn oath that i have not indulged in any bad behavior which may have tainted the vital fluids somebody else may need.

what is so special about a signature? you are merely writing your name. anybody could do it, even a monkey. yet the power of a signature is staggering. scribbling out the letters to my name (in proper order, of course) got me the house i live in. scrawling out someone else's name could send me to jail.

very abstract, indeed.

because i'm feeling impish

impish. now there's a word that's not used often enough anymore. that and davenport. when i grew up, the big thing in the living room was called a davenport. now, it's called a couch. folks here also eat breakfast, lunch and dinner; i grew up eating breakfast, dinner and supper. funny how three hours on the freeway makes a significant cultural difference.

but anyway, on to my impishness.

yankee doodle went to town
a-riding on a pony
stuck a feather in his hat
and called it macaroni
yankee doodle, keep it up
yankee doodle dandy
mind the music and the step
and with the girls be handy

there.

enjoy singing that little ditty for the rest of the day.

weekend report: uncle chuck's 70th

the family gathering for this summer centered around chuck's 70th birthday party. as usual, it was good to see everyone, especially the east coasters who seem to have forgotten where the midwest is. most of the family was present, representing factions from duluth, the twin cities, seattle, zion, rochester, and new york mills. unfortunately, we were missing the wichita crew (hope you had a good anniversary).

for everyone's enjoyment, i took a few photos. and of course, have video of the commemorative acrobatics.

i think that was the last of the weekend reports for a while. now i can get back to ranting about stuff.

weekend report: 24 hours of 9 mile

saturday was the national 24 hour championships at nine mile in wausau, wisconsin. it was hot, dusty, and a completely good time. as a bonus, the participating wednesday mtb girls all made it to the podium.

we (me, dana, janet and nicole, in that order) got a respectable 2nd in the 12 hour women's team event. good job us! we came home with some awesome mugs and swag.

i was happy to be the starter; i like running, even if it's in bike shoes. i got off to a good start, only to play the waiting game at the entrance to the first bit of single track. the first couple sections of singletrack were slow, but eventually everyone got spread out and riding was good. there were only a couple of places where i had to get off the bike and walk, so i was pleased with my riding. riding first in the order meant that i was done first; we each did 2 laps, going through the rotation twice. i was really glad to be the first one finished, but then kind of felt like a weenie because i was putting my bike away when some people were racing for 16 more hours. but it gave me time to concentrate on "rehydrating" and cheering, so it was all good.

valerie got an awesome 2nd place finish in the 12 hour women's solo event. to do that, she rode about 100 miles. wow. good job, valerie!

lynn, husband josh, carrie and husband barry totally annihilated the competition in the 24 hour coed open division. they did four more laps than the 2nd place team (note: these are 14+ mile laps). four. wow. if you had blogs, i'd e-stalk you! ;)

as has become custom, i randomly adopted someone to be my pony (think horse racing) and made a concerted effort to cheer for her.* this time it was #2, a women's solo championship racer whose camp was across the way from us. "you finished another lap already? way to go!" "woo hoo! nice job 2!" "you're heading out for another lap?!" "good job!" "go #2!" from the race results, i see i was cheering on stacey la presta, who got 5th place. good job, stacey!

we also provided extra amounts of cheering** for #130, the solo freak man racer who was next to us. race results show that he is adam beien.*** we owe you a cake, i guess; we'll have one for you next year. good job, adam!

artifacts from the race include: sore muscles, exhaustion, dehydration, sore throat (from all the dust and cheering), sunburned ears, black snot and good memories. i can't wait to do it again.


*she actually thanked us on sunday for the cheering, and said it really helped.
**not to be confused with heckling ("we baked you a cake. but we ate it.")
***adam thanked us for the support, too.

weekend report: hope golf classic

if you hadn't noticed, the weather in the twin cities on the first friday of august is always nice, and 2008 proved no exception. thank you, mother nature! we appreciate your support for golf for the cure.

this year, one of our typical foursome was not able to golf, as she is battling cancer. her daughter stepped in and did a great job of helping us celebrate the day. terry, everyone missed having you out there with us!

i took a few photos of the beautiful afternoon. enjoy.