Top 10 top 10 lists from the last 10 years as we head into 2010

I'm working on 10 lists to highlight some of my experiences over the last decade. I'm afraid that some of my lists are going to be more heavily weighted to the last few years because I don't remember stuff that well. I don't have all 10 lists yet, but I'll keep at it. Some of this may spill into next year.

Top 10 books I read in the last 10 years
10. Pistol: The Story of Pete Maravich
9. Count of Monte Cristo
8. Jitterbug Perfume
7. Harry Potter (I'm just lumping them all together, but I preferred the ones with Quidditch)
6. Ender's Game
5. Interpreter of Maladies
4. Prodigal Summer
3. The Perfect Mile
2. Bel Canto
1. Time Traveler's Wife

Top 10 years of the last 10
1. 2004
2. 2009
3. 2001
4. 2005
5. 2006
6. 2008
7. 2000
8. 2003
9. 2002
10. 2007

Top 10 songs played on iTunes (This is obviously skewed to the mid to late aughts)
10. Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly
9. Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz
8. Pale Moon by Shannon McNally
7. Screaming Infidelities by Dashboard Confessional
6. These Boots Are Made for Walkin' by Jessica Simpson
5. Gracie by Ben Folds
4. Age Six Racer by Dashboard Confessional
3. Half Acre by Hem
2. The Comeback by Shout Out Louds
1. 1B by Yo-yo Ma, Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer

Top 10 Athletic Achievements (I really feel like I'm forgetting something)
10. 6k victory
9. making HOV and contributing in the early season
8. consistent weight training (165 front squat!)
7. Return to Ultimate after the year (?) of the psoas
6. The Golden Cup from Wildwood
5. Sectionals '02 game-winning Callahan
4. Pacing MB to a 5-minute mile on the first try
3. breaking 30 minutes in a 5-miler PRs including 15:46 5k, 29:36 5-miler...
2. 4:41 mile, the fastest in quite some time by bunches
1. The training and completion of the Marine Corps Marathon in '04
1a. MUtants and the Peter L. Offense Sectionals '01

Top 10 TV shows (some on DVD)
1. Gilmore Girls
2. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
3. The Office
4. Friends
5. Project Runway
6. Coupling
7. Flight of the Conchords
8. Sports Night
9. Ed
10. Alias

The Christmas letter you didn't get from me

Dear Friends and Family,

I am going to share with you my year in Facebook status updates. I thought it might accomplish the same thing as a good letter, but I'm really quite vague.

Love,
Dave

Oh, yeah, the updates:

January:
David is looking for the team to come together after this.
David feels his philosophy shifting.
David is going to make popsicles… on the track.
David is kind of pretty sure we can. Maybe.
David is trying to fathom 1.8 million people.
David was on the wrong side of 15-14.


February:
David cannot think of a fitting superlative for Evie’s cookies.
David feels the sting of beard-ism.
David sends bearded kisses in your general direction.
David is wondering if anybody wants to go with him to support Kyle in the 24 hour musicals?
David's favorite moment of the day was entering the darkness on the first turn of the first 400 meters.

March:
David is frisbee crush on Sam, dance crush on Anne, general crush on February 28.
David is no longer amused by the Not-so-great Depression.
David is aw yeah.
David thinks marriages shouldn't last forever just so there can be more weddings.
David really just wants more parties with families, dancing, and love, not divorce as the genie named Aaron has pointed out.
David has a theory, will never tell, and walks through the fire.
David has a lot to learn.
Whatever it is, it isn’t here.
David just asked a squirrel, "Are you ok?" after it fell out of a 25-foot tree. The squirrel didn't answer, but scurried away.

April:
David has already been fooled.
Sometimes you get what you deserve and even though you want more, you can't be too sad about that.
David is on the verge of creating a series of surveys about himself to send to his friends.
David thinks a run is in order. Wishes Borman lived up the street.
David was in second place for about three steps, fortunately they were the last three. Yeah.
David is 2nd again.
David’s legs didn’t quit, but everything else is striking on their behalf.
David has auto-tuning on his mind.
“He lives vicariously through himself”

May:
David saw two pirates making out and couldn’t resist shouting, “Pirate love!”
The rain will not deter us. It will only moisten our spirits.
If I achieve nothing else, at least I taught Tedward to dance.
The intensity got fixed but the mark got broken.
David wants to make out with this weather.
David suspended “your mom” jokes for the day. No need to thank me.
David is quietly rocking the red.
David is quietly watching the red get rocked. Ouch.
David needs Parks and Rec to go away or needs some self control. Both seem unlikely.
David is all about the slow start this weekend.
David had a dream about cleaning and is now making that a reality. Hopefully, that’s the start of a trend.
David might become a loyal customer of Southwest after all.
David wonders if overreaction might be the right reaction.

June:
David is pretty sure his hamstrings are tuned an octave too high.
David is no match for an armored King Hippo.
David blames it on the al-al-al- weather.
David hopes Betty bounced back and was glad to spend time with familiar faces.
David is warming up his weirdness. The leftovers will be slathered in BBQ sauce.
everything but the canoe
David is going for an unofficial tubing record today. The late start won't do us any favors.
dodging rain drops and responsibility.
David would rather be night-tubing.
David experienced a glitch in the Matrix.
David would like to auto-tune father's day. I'm not sure it would do anything, but it makes T-Pain and the news better, so maybe it would work for Dads.
David is alive. Thanks for asking.
David laughed and cried at "The Proposal". That's one perfectly predictable romantic comedy.
Wait? What? Michael Jackson is dead? Inconceivable. (Also, Billie Jean. Not my girl.)
David wants to shed material possessions in theory, but not in practice.
David is whaddaya know? 2nd place again (This time in my age group).

July:
David is trying to hold off a thunderstorm with just an outstretched hand.
David is in the promised land of leftovers.
David was not second, but is feeling a little fast.
David has got the beach vision, but still needs the beach attire (half of it anyway.)
David can't believe it. Turns out I was second in my age group on Friday.
David is in the peloton, but always considering a breakaway.
David wrestles with the age-old Sunday night question: watch low quality Lohan movie or do something productive?
David enjoyed downtown Fort Worth and is now headed to the land of diving in the sand!
The faux-Brits DO drink from a faux-golden cup!
David has finished his championship laundry and grocery shopping. Next up: Championship bathroom cleaning. There's nothing like glory.
David is not happy with non-confrontational double-speak. Make a decision and mean it, punks.

August:
David is watching his own every move on the Internet in a mirror. Don't raise your eyebrow at me, mirrorDave.
David is unable to handle his rock and roll lifestyle; considering something more bluegrass-y.
It takes very little to create the illusion of security: just a few pieces of wood can do it.
David has the best non-roommate ever and I'm not talking about the giant dead beetle.
the modern amateur philosopher inside of me asks, "If I cannot tweet or share my status update, do I really exist?"
David finds an increasing number of things irrelevant. Why not this thing?
As I pack the artifacts from my life into boxes I realize that the people in it have helped make it pretty awesome.
Newsflash: Usain Bolt= Fast. Wow.
David curses stuff.
“don’t stop ‘til you get enough!”
“Goodnight, Moon”
David is tempted by the prospect of a landline. Really, really tempted.
David met his adorable second cousin, ran up the side of a little mountain, watched the bright orange sunrise and is using up his adjectives in hot Arizona.

September:
David was only over Facebook when he couldn't get to it.
David ran a practice on the turf in the rain with 25 people. Did I slip into an alternate universe?
Field space is on my mind.
David is after fjords and bjork.
David wonders if he can be a fan of Finse.
The ants are throwing a welcome back party and lots of them are invited.
David feels a low constant hum of the question, "is this important?"

October:
David is going to plop his priorities in a coliseum, have them battle gladiators, and if they live then he'll know what to do.
David played crab soccer in the park this morning. It was a crabtacular day to abuse my arms and hands.
David is quite pleased to know you.
David is ham and cheese, ham and biscuits, hamhocks, ham and pineapple, honey-baked ham, MC Hammer, green eggs and ham...
David screamed like mad for a tie and walked home with chants of U-S-A ringing in his ears.
David quietly wrestles some big questions. The questions appear to have both a size and tactical advantage.
David just found out that deep down inside, he's still a Chiefs fan.
As the Kool-Aid man once said as he broke through the wall, "Oh yeah!"
Wayne's World?
Adversity is the test. Defeat is the education. Pay attention and pack some extra socks next time.
David thinks the Internet should know that Roller Derby is awesome. See, look, I even said it on the Internet.

November:
David is turning left.
David thinks daylight savings time should be an individual choice. This could be problematic when meeting someone at 10 PM give or take 1 hour.
The rain is complicating an already complicated weekend. Biting off more Ultimate than I can chew is catching up with me NOW.
My marathon PR is about 50 seconds slower than Sarah Palin's. Who do I get to blame?
A very late layout on some bad force side defense led to full on cramping in BOTH calves simultaneously. Not the highlight of my day.
David is wondering when he became a planner.
I'm an Uncle x 2. Welcome Parker!

December:
The Internet is good for lots of things, but hugging isn't one of them.
David is brought to you by the number 5.
David is concerned that babies are taking over Facebook. First Facebook, next...
If I get sick, I'm going down fighting. I am not afraid to pull hair.
early to bed and early to rise, hopefully makes this man f-a-s-t.
37:07 in the morning, not shot by John Wilkes Booth at night. Nice day, indeed.
I need some hair to pull. I'm going down...
oh instant karma, why do you take so long to get at me?
David has decided to mentally add "in bed" to all Facebook updates. It's like eating fortune cookies for days.
You can cancel my flight, but you can't cancel my fun. Yeah, snow!
David is excited and nervous to tele-ski today.
David hopes status updates and snow blanket you and yours with all the holiday cheer you can handle, and maybe a cup more.

Back to basics

It's been about 10 years since I went from downhill skis to the snowboard. I can't remember the exact moment when I looked over jealously at all of those "cool" boarders shredding the mountain and thought, "I want to try that." I wasn't the greatest skier, but I could go pretty much anywhere on the mountain from in the trees to the black diamonds. I couldn't keep my skis perfectly parallel, but I sensed that it would take many expensive lessons to get me from "good" to "great". Instead, I decided to try a new way down the hill. I've read that skiing is easy to learn and hard to master and snowboarding is hard to learn and easy to master. I think that's accurate. The first few days of snowboarding were brutal. I slammed into the ground repeatedly as I caught edges or couldn't find a way to stop. Snowboards don't pop off in a violent crash, that plank stays attached to your feet which meant hopping up to try again was a cinch. Slam down, hop up, slam down, repeat. I took lessons, I had body aches, and then... it all came together. Turning in those sweeping parallel turns that look so cool and take years to get good at on skis, suddenly clicked on the snowboard. From then on, I was mostly a snowboarder. If pressed at the top of a precipice or a field of moguls, I would probably still choose skis, but on an open run a snowboard is still really cool.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to try a new way down the hill- telemark skiing. It's downhill with a free-heel. It involves lunging turns and probably works best for use in the back country. I wasn't in the back country, instead returning to A-basin after 15 years or so away. A-basin has a lot of acreage above the tree line, which can be disorienting. Yesterday, I was disoriented for other reasons as I tried to learn this new way down. The lunges were as tiring as I expected and my struggle was mostly frustrating. I was surprised to find that in a pinch I could fall back on alpine turns, but since I'd come for the challenge of learning tele (short for telemark) turns, that's what I tried to do. I'd read a book of tips and A tried to give me hints as we went, but mostly I battled. I could see the similarities between snowboarding and tele-skiing, but translating the body motions was exhausting work. I was able to turn right with some success, but turning left was just not happening. A claimed I needed more speed, but I know that I needed more body control and a renewal of trust that when I moved from one edge of the ski, to the flat, to the other edge I would be able to recover. At times, I had enough success to make me proud and at other times I threw up my hands in exasperation. Tele-skiing and the altitude wore me out quickly, but I enjoyed the challenge enough that I might try again. In ways that I can't quite explain, I think getting out of my comfort zone was a very good thing.

DC has it

I got to place a small check mark next to a few big items on the DC list. Thanks to the deputy roomie, we woke up early in the morning and went to see decorations at 1600 Penn. We saw the more public spaces, the colored rooms, and such. It was a thrill and something on my list, but not quite as exciting as I'd hoped. I couldn't really detect the O' touch with any of the decor.

Later in the weekend, C took me to Ford's theater for "A Christmas Carol". It was good for getting in the spirit. I've never seen the play with actual Christmas carols, so I thought that was a nice touch. I'm told Ford's theater has recently been redone, but I don't have much theater experience, so I'm not sure what we saw. I did enjoy the set design of the play, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't part of the renovation. Lincoln's infamous balcony was still intact. I was proud that the bus got us part way too and from the play. So urban.

Last weekend, we got the snow I've been waiting since that first year when it snowed about 15 inches. I'd say it was about 20 inches where I was. It canceled my flight out of town, but was otherwise great. It was pretty, white, and I could dive in it. A lot. So, I did. I found I was only diving off my right foot. Next time we get 20 inches I might need to work on that. I left town before it got too messy. Probably not a bad way to go, well except for the 11-hour travel day...

Triumph in the land of doubt

I spent much of the week explaining to myself why my 10k race would not be a success. My body felt tired. My running felt out of sync. I hadn't run enough. I hadn't run fast in quite some time. I don't run 10k races. It would be cold or wet or I don't run 10k races. I've run enough races to know that my brain lies and I said something about it to AJ, "My brain is in negativity mode." He said something like, "You know how to push your limits from running and from lifting. You'll be fine."

MB and I formulated a conservative plan. We would run 6:15 miles for a while and see how we felt. We were running as Team Shiver, a collection of Ultimate players brave enough to run a race in the mild Mid-Atlantic winter. There was a chance of rain, but I was secretly hoping for snow. The rain let up and turned to a mist. We crawled over a barrier and into the front quarter of the starting group. There were thousands of runners. "Go" was uttered and we shuffled to the start. Moments later, the race plan was out the window as competitive urges took over. We dodged and weaved our way through the crowd. Sometimes I was on MB's heels and sometimes he was on mine. The mile came quickly at about 5:55. So much for strategy.

From there, MB and I settled in and passed people. He led me. I led him. We each took a side and cruised on. We passed the mayor. I took a look at Reagan National Airport in the morning fog. We cruised through two miles at about 12:08. We hit the 5k mark at 18:43. Things were going well. We wrapped around the point and doubled part way back. I felt my first twinge of tiredness at that point, but fought on. Our passing had slowed and teammate SM informed us we were in something like 55th place as those coming met those going. I wasn't sure what to do with that information, but my inclination was to find more people to pass. We crossed 4 miles at something like 23:58. I don't remember how it happened, but suddenly MB was way out in front of me. I could still chase the black and gold of his stocking cap, but we were out of touch. I struggled on. I watched him battle a green and gold singlet and move on. A little later I went past too. I kept my eyes up and on his hat. I passed the 5 mile mark at 30:03. My body felt strong, although at times my arms felt a little heavy. As I pushed on, with the bobbing black and gold as my goal, I figured if I could hold on for 6 minutes and 43 seconds, I would be done. I don't know exactly why I thought that was the amount left, but I was pretty convinced. I crested a small hill on the mostly flat course and found a small group to battle as we made our way to the straight-away finish. I checked my watch and I still had 3 minutes to power through. I chased a woman who was moving, then I passed a guy as well. For the first time all day, someone came up on my shoulder. I held him off as we picked up the pace more and more. Then I break him. The long straight to the finish was still a pretty long straight to the finish and I soon broke too. He came back and passed me and kindly encouraged me. I struggled in, frustrated that I'd made my move too early. I had to fight a bit and I used the team as inspiration. I made my way in at 37:07, with a final place of 31st. Not a bad little 10k.

Since there were very few uniforms, there was no way to get a sense of how the team was doing. We could only support one another and hope. I think each of us had a moment where the team inspired us to fight off a few extra seconds. Later we would find out that we were 4th out of 49 teams. We'd done well as our 7 or 8 member team had become 6 and one of those didn't get a working chip. Four times (at least one of each gender) counted toward our final time. We were about 7 minutes out of third place, but had lots to celebrate over breakfast. I'm hoping for more some other day.

The posts that got away
I didn't quite get through the blogging month, but I'm pleased with what I did get through. I found a few things out. When I work at it my interests do still extend slightly beyond running, Ultimate, and working out. I also found that writing every day made me more observant. In the last few weeks as I've fallen out of the habit of posting, days sometimes go by both instantly and terribly slowly. All of this can't be attributed to blogging, but I think blogging takes my awareness of interaction and purpose up a notch.

I can't decide if the daily writing also loosened up some other creativity inside of me. I had a quick spell where I was feeling all kinds of creative. I came up with projects for myself. I hardly ever do that.

I haven't meant to stop blogging completely, although the thought did cross my mind, but somehow each day has managed to get away. I'd like to tackle a few of the items in brief for my memoirs before moving into this weekend and adding a few more.


Hiking on Thanksgiving
For the second year in a row I was in the Smokey Mountains with C's family and we did a little hiking on Thanksgiving. The fresh air and the sense of completing a hike pre-turkey is extremely satisfying for me. It's all made possible by the fine cooks who stay behind, but it certainly gives me something to be thankful for. I don't know if two years are enough to make a tradition, but tradition or not, it's a great way to enjoy Thanksgiving.

Roller Derby Fan Club
Friends gathered together to cheer on LBJ in her first full bout. We brought signs. I had my face painted. When I sat down, I forgot that most of my face is covered in beard, but the artist did well to work around it. As a fan, I had a terrible time sitting still. I paced. I worried that LBJ wouldn't get playing time. I worried about how she'd do. I worried about her getting hurt because she seems to think that injury is a foregone conclusion. She played. Her team had a stirring come from behind victory. She had some nice hits and either hunger or nerves left a curious feeling in my tummy.

Girls on the Run
I don't even remember how I got roped into this one, but somewhere along the line I signed up to be a "buddy" for a fifth grade girl. I didn't know what to expect, but I was told that I'd been placed with the fast girl. Running a 5k at that age is impressive, but what's fast? I didn't have a clue. Up at 5:30 AM and riding with a stranger, I soon was on a bus full of young girls and their buddies (mostly moms and teachers). The girls seemed excited. They'd been working for several months building up to this distance. The chaos had only just begun. About 6,000 girls and their buddies later, we were crossing the starting line in waves and my buddy was rearing to go. The road was packed and my buddy tripped and fell. It was snowing. Buddy picked herself up and wiped away the pain and made her way on. There was lots to complain about- snow, cold, puddles, crowds, falling, but I tried to keep it positive. I offered to sing songs, but for some reason buddy wasn't buying it. She struggled a bit, but kept after it and finished in about 40 minutes. I think she was a little disappointed, but mostly proud as were her classmates. They had a lot to be proud of. It's a big deal to run that long at that age. I might consider returning in the spring, but probably only for the same buddy. I think it's a great program, but the race and be done involvement is likely not as rewarding as seeing the girls become runners. On the flip side, I feel great about my 5 hours of community service.

Symphony
I probably should have napped after the run, but instead I went to the Symphony to support a friend and her viola. The snow continued. I felt so cultured, warm, and sleepy.

Dance party
I've lost track of the days, but I'm pretty sure that some time after the Symphony I ended up at a dance party. It's well told that I enjoy dancing, but I'm primarily a wedding dancer. Club dancing to me is a bit like ice dancing to a figure skater. Maybe it was the size of the group I was in or the thump-thump-thump of the music hit me just right, but I awoke from my club dancing stupor and got into it. I wasn't as into it as the chubby guys GETTING DOWN to "All the single ladies," but I was into it. I've got moves. I'm pretty sure my moves are all about enthusiasm, but it seems to fool most people. I wonder where else that would work.

Check-in/check-out

I find the hotel check-in experience to be a little awkward, particularly later at night. It could be that I'm prim and proper and think that a gentleman should know his sleeping arrangements prior to the eight o'clock hour. It could also be that night desk clerks are not chosen for their customer service potential. Recently, I think it was the latter. Yes, I may have received a suspicious eye when I flashed a certain discount card that most strangers don't expect me to have, but the real awkwardness came a moment later when I gave him my address.

"DC? That's not far from here."

We were three or more hours away from home.

"I can't really get there to sleep tonight," I responded since I had just traveled three or more hours from there on my way to my final destination.

"Still. It's not far. I get up there two or three times a year to visit friends."

Did every guest who slept at the Days Inn have to travel a certain distance? Had I failed to meet that quota?

"Every trip can't be glamorous," I told him matter-of-factly.

Notes on Facebook from a desperate blogger

If memory serves (and it often doesn't) I "liked it" for the first time in my personal Facebook history. I never really understood why someone would click the "like it" button instead of just commenting or letting the whole thing go. I had no trouble doing either for quite some time. There's so much going on that it's pretty easy to let items just slide right off the feed without comment. There are a few things that resonate, certain updates from certain people do seem to prompt comment, but they usually stir something inside of me like a memory or compel a direct response. This was a fine way to live my life. Then along came Bob Dylan's Must be Santa and although I think it's a bit early for Christmas songs and I very easily could burn out on this one, I liked it. I don't know that I ever would have found this ditty on my own. It doesn't really stir anything inside me except for a smile and maybe the desire to dance around the room. I suppose I could have said all that, but "like it" and that little thumb up seemed so much more efficient.

This song and my reaction to it reinforces some value in Facebook for me. I've been losing interest a bit of late. Even with the recent surge brought on by my sister's sudden entrance, I recognize that I'm approaching friend capacity. It seems like I only know about six more people that I'm not connected to on Facebook. Does most of the thrill come from finding past lives or can the constant intersection of the now with the then keep Facebook's heart beating? I also wonder how much Twitter detracts from Facebook. It seems like the stuff I read has quieted on both topics a bit of late, well except for the word of the year being "unfriend" instead of "defriend". That must be regional. Yet, if my friends and acquaintances, at least those I've kept, can show me a great new Christmas song, then maybe I don't need the thrill of finding old friends or the media to keep the fire going. Maybe the exchange and the faux-community are compelling enough.

Oh, Facebook. Where do you see yourself in five years? Will you be a shadow of your former self like blogs or myspace or Orkut? Or will you manage to stay relevant? I'll give you two more years and then I'm afraid something new and shiny is going to replace you. That something new? It's going to be like those brainstorming clusters only all the input is going to come from iPhone/blackberry style devices and somehow navigation between clusters is going to be possible. I don't have it all worked out yet, but if I work it out, I'm sure it will be worth about 1.52 million dollars. Give or take .52. Or more.

Sunday

I'm trying to keep up with my NaNoBloPo quota. I fell behind this weekend, but I think since I'm making up the rules and I'm a day behind anyway, I can play a little catch-up. After pounding out two posts in one sitting I'm struggling a bit with inspiration. I think I'm going to take a short break and be more inspired when I return.

We'll try dinner for inspiration. I don't have a lot of goals, but one goal I do have is to go to Gladys Knight Chicken & Waffles in Atlanta, Georgia. I've been to Atlanta on a few occasions, but thus far have failed to combine the simple pleasure of a well-cooked chicken with the breaded breakfast goodness of a waffle. Tonight at dinner, I did not travel many hours to Atlanta, nor did I cook a chicken, but Gladys was my inspiration. I popped an Eggo in the toaster and reheated my whole-wheat pasta and sauce. When the toaster popped and the Microwave dinged, I had pasta & waffles. It was actually quite good and added a whole new texture to my pasta dish. The unfortunate side effect was that I had a leftover waffle because the pasta & waffle dish turned out to be singular, but I had toasted my waffles in plural. My roommate suggested that for dessert I try ice cream & waffle. This was a brilliant idea and his suggestion of using some maple syrup was even better. The waffle and ice cream were exquisite together as those who enjoy a cone probably realize, but the maple syrup didn't provide the proper punch for my taste. The best maple syrup moment was actually when I was scooping up the liquid syrup and melted ice cream combination, otherwise the syrup was just too subtle. I have about six more Eggos so I figure there are a lot of other blank & waffle meals still to come.

Old friends

Three times this week I got to spend some quality time with friends that I don't see as often as I'd like. All three times, I left thinking about specific points in my life where I was seeing those friends more regularly. Every conversation brought back pleasant memories, from road trips to Cleveland, to ice-covered pond Ultimate, to Thursday nights watching TV. It also made me think about the curious way that time seems to compress and expand in my mind. In my mind, change is the distinct divider. So, even though I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in September (or August?) of 2002 with one friend and was hanging out watching Friendswith another by December 2002, those three months seem impossibly far apart, while December 2002 and December 2004 where Friends was a common occurrence seem to be wrapped up in a bundle with several more years since. The difference is that in September of 2002 I was in Ohio, but by December I was in Maryland. Where the timing failed, geography stood strong.

I need markers to keep my memory going and my timelines even slightly intact. The move to this area was a major marker. I would think the move to my new house will be another major marker, and if my evening in the Spring was any indication it will be. I've only been in the house a few months, but already the Spring seems far away. I was nostalgic for the good- dinner and cinema down the street and surprisingly reminded of how pleased I am with the pleasures that have become normal- a washer and dryer down the hall. I don't know what the next marker will be or how many months or years will get bundled here, but it does seem that I've entered a new divider.

As a footnote, this notion of dividers seems woefully incomplete; there's also a complicated cross-referencing system going on, but Grey's Anatomy hasn't given me enough neuroscience to get into that.

The cows, they are-a-mooin'

My weekend was full of Ultimate. This no longer qualifies as news. I think when my weekend is not full of Ultimate, that's when it's news. My A league team had our best tournament in recent memory and we still ended up fifth out of six teams. We won two games and lost one, but even though we held our own against the perennial champs and we knocked off a team that we haven't beaten in ages, the second team beat the champs and we lost out by point differential. The standings don't reflect our success, but I still want to focus on that. I think we saw improvement from previous years for a couple of reasons. The first was a little practice together. It doesn't seem like at this stage in our Ultimate careers after not practicing together for so long, practice would mean much, but judging by yesterday it still matters. It didn't change our game greatly, but the things we worked on in practice magically appeared as opportunities in the game. We'd spent time on them in practice, so it was more than just words saying "move the disc", it was a non-game Saturday afternoon reinforcing it. Our stack was still a bit messy, but there were some opportunities that came directly from a drill we did in that practice. Personally, this tells me that I need to continue to take practice agendas seriously for my other gig. The second factor was a big one, he was 6 foot 5 and a quite a player. His defense and presence were very helpful, but it was offense where he made the most difference. He liked to throw it deep and he took some pressure off our handlers. It's neat to see someone's immediate impact like that.

I felt like my impact just wasn't what it used to be. I'm still competitive, but I'm really struggling to get there on defense and make something happen. I need to play a smarter game and so far I'm not there. My highlights were hustle and awareness plays and I'm not sure what that says about me. The first was just an out and out sprint down the field on a pull. I swerved toward the path of the first throw and the thrower threw it away. That's the easy way to get a D. The other highlight was out of the stack. My defender was ready to poach the lane, so I just turned to the break side and cut deep. He had to follow. He was running around the stack and about the time he was in position, I cut back in for a big 20 yard gain on the throw. The other was from practice. Using my will power I begged and pleaded with my eyes to get a break side throw to me in the front of the stack. As soon as I had it, I turned and put a backhand deep. My cutter almost didn't go, but then he was on it and tracking it down. Just like we'd drawn it up.

Today was rec league and my legs (both calves cramped up on Saturday) and my heart weren't quite in it. We were a mess, like the ground and the round, and we couldn't get going. We traded points and struggled and eventually lost. I was really fighting to keep my cool. I finally started to wake up at the end and enjoyed getting my defender to panting, but it was too little too late.

From that loss, I made my way to catch the college team in the finals of C league. I wasn't worried about any coaching at that point. They were beyond needing me after already going 6-0 on the weekend . There were taking on a team that had obliterated them early in the season with a zone defense, but with most of the veteran corps there, they were rolling. The three speedsters were working it and it would be hard to find three guys that fast on any C league team. Everyone else was holding their own and playing solid as they could get involved. They ran away with the championship to the tune of something like 15-6. Continuation cuts are still an issue, as are throwaways, but we're seeing fewer drops, pretty good disc movement and a lot more intensity.

I'm happy to have a week or so off from Ultimate, but I'd be lying if I said I knew whether I was going to play this winter.

Inspiration from the sky

In a rush this afternoon I agreed to meet a friend and her mother for dinner in Baltimore. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't think to take the train, but I was in a hurry, so I got a Zipcar. The rain had been sprinkling all day and I thought nothing of it. I'm such a novice when it comes to DC driving. I should know by now that if a guy riding a bike sweats and that perspiration hits the ground, traffic comes to a halt. When the clouds perspire, it's much worse. I fought my way to B'more and arrived about 15 minutes beyond the predicted arrival time window. It took me an hour and a half to get there and I was giving myself an hour to get home. I should have listened to the voice in my head that asked for more time on the zipcar, but I ignored it with a zippedy-do-da sense of optimism. That optimism shriveled up like a prune in a Phoenix when the rain beat my windshield and traffic came to a halt.

Desperate, I knew I needed to extend my reservation, but I was stuck in the middle of the road. We moved slightly or I might have knocked on someone's window and asked for a phone. I had to find a pay phone. Yes, those still exist. The thirty minute window to find a pay phone shrank to fifteen before I saw a sign for an Exxon at the next exit. Traffic crawled along as the minutes of the digital clock re-pixelated ever closer to the end of my reservation. With time slipping away, I pulled into the Exxon and scanned the station. I found the phone, pulled into a parking space, leapt from the car and grabbed the phone hoping for a dial tone. The Zipcar phone number has a "Z" and the phone did not. I ran back to the car where I'd seen the actual digits I needed to call and dragged them over to the phone. I dialed again. It was 10:59. My reservation ended at 11:00. I was punching buttons almost frantically trying to extend the reservation when the sky lit up and a great clap of thunder gave me a start. I nearly dropped the phone. The rain came down harder. I extended the reservation, hung up in my growing wetness and headed out. Hi-Ho Zipcar, away.

Seven years of blogging

On this date seven years ago I made my way on to the Internet of public consumption. It was a timid beginning full of vague aphorisms and run-on sentences. In a time before Facebook, I was writing status updates calling out to the world with digital smoke signals. As time went on, I've come to require more from my writing, not a whole lot more, but a bit more. I've chronicled ups and downs, runs, dives, sweet catches, whimsical tales, vanity, tales from the city, tales from vacation and a other things that cross my path. Until this month, my posts had grown more sporadic, but more complete, or at the very least longer. The range of topics has become more narrowly focused and my delight in turning a phrase harder to come by. I've been ready to call it quits many times, but so far something always brings me back. It's nice to be heard and since my memory seems to be failing, it's nice to have a record of some of the major achievements and goings on of the last seven years. There are milestones missing that were too private or too complicated, but much of my life appears in this very space.

I never thought this would be a project that lasted seven years when I started, nor that this would be my seventh year with my employer or my seventh year with the Ultimate team. If I were a slot machine, this would be a winner. There is the sound of change that slowly clinks out in triumph. It's not the rush of a jackpot, but it is change and triumph nonetheless.

In seven years, I've gone from jobless to temp to employed to snug as a bug in an office (sometimes maybe a little too snug). I've run a marathon, written 50,000 words in a month, traveled to Paris, Iceland, Norway, Idaho, read a bunch of books, watched even more movies, run 5k after 5k after 5k with a few miles and lots of Ultimate mixed in. I've become a coach, an uncle, a brother-in-law, a boyfriend. I've been tested and challenged. I've given up my car. I've turned to the darkness and purchased a cell phone and then lost the darkness and am trying to find my way back to a landline. I've struggled with my place in the world and the rules I should follow. I've moved. I've biked. I've changed. I don't know what it will be like to read this in seven more years or if it will even be here, but I know that at this moment I'm pleased to take a moment to celebrate life, the Internet, and a pursuit I'm not sure I even understand.

Maybe I'll figure it out tomorrow.

He googled what?

Slate recently had a contest of sorts where people submitted some interesting Google suggest search disparities. Language and spelling brought to light some disturbing and curious searches that folks are doing. Check it out here. It's getting hard to remember a world without search engines (aside: like saying facial tissue instead of Kleenex, saying search engine instead of Google almost seems silly, sorry Bing).

I'm too late for the contest and I don't have any terribly interesting results to report, but I am amused that "Where is" yields a search for Chuck Norris. Who is looking for Chuck Norris? What will they do when they find him? Nothing I'm sure, because I've heard that Chuck Norris does whatever he wants, even when God asks nicely. I also just discovered a site called makemebabies.com where a person can use two photos or celeb photos to create a picture of their future baby. I'm a little curious to find out how this works with beards, but not so curious that I'm actually going to try it. The Internet is a crazy place and I usually forget that I hang out in just a tiny little portion.

Shoe you love me?

DSW is like a shoe convention hall. I might have been intimidated, except that I knew I was looking for a new brown work shoe. That level of specificity allowed me to hone in on the three rows that contained brown shoes that were work appropriate. Work appropriate sometimes crossed the line into not, like the brown skechers with the dragon lightly etched in the heel. According to my informal survey of brown shoes, it seems that the slip-on is a popular choice these days. Trying to be "with it" I tried on a few pairs. I liked the way they looked with their smooth lines unbroken by the chaos of laces, but I worried. What if I had the urge to run, would the slip-ons stay on or would they go all antonym on me and slip off? I lightly tested several pairs and I didn't like what I was feeling. It felt precarious. The shoes might not slip off, but in a sprint I wasn't sure any of them could be trusted. After more pacing in strange shoes and some internal debate including the question of "How often will you really run in these?" and the disdainful and a smidge disrespectful "Unh," answer, I decided to go ahead and purchase the brand new version of the shoes I already own. I can run in those in a pinch. They look good. The only reason to change was really to prove that I could. I don't want people thinking I'm stuck in my ways.

To prove that I'm very comfortable with change, I also got a new pair of running shoes. Talk about change, I purchased a pair of 2140 series Asics. They are way different than the 2130 series I had before. I'm kind of unpredictable.

I had to be in 3 places at once

This weekend was crazy with Ultimate. I was supposed to play in two one-day tournaments and coach one two-day tournament. I created a priority hierarchy, which would allow me to play in one, and coach half. I was ok with my decision. Then some rain came and they rescheduled, so I had coached half and it felt like the team might end up in the championship game, but I was scheduled to play in two tournaments on the same day in different places. I like to chase plastic, but across town is not possible. I headed out this morning, not actually knowing where I would play. Finally at 8:30, the news came that the rain had stopped us again and I should finish my stint coaching.

I did. The team made it to the finals after a strong run of 13-1 and 13-7. Habit was set to play a team of alums they'd beaten previously. The air changed and the tournament went from kind of silly and fun to serious, championship Ultimate. Layouts, big throws, and intensity became the norm. Habit had looked like they were about to fall to pieces when the previous game was at 12-4 and now they had more energy than I'd seen all year. It was borderline sick (the good kind). Points were traded. Lemon swiped a disc right out of a guy's hand. Tini made a HUGE layout for a swing that looked completely out of reach. He landed with a thud and left a divot the size of his head in the endzone. Madness. Habit had a 6-4 lead, but dropped half 7-6. The fight kept coming. Everybody was playing with great intensity. Habit was moving the disc well, but the break throws from the alums were really hurting. There were some BIG grabs from Lemon and Classics. The highlights stick out, but it was all around solid play that kept Habit in the game. I think the alums built a 9-7 lead and then Habit knotted the game at 10-10, before falling 13-11. It was the best I've seen the team play and I'm really excited to try to find a way to sustain that effort. I'm so glad I got to be there to witness it.

Zippedy-doo-whaaaat?

My karma must be a bit out of whack. Today was some kind of odd. I had an immediate need for a Zipcar this morning. Zipcar allows me to rent cars by the hour and is usually near public transportation or high-traffic areas. Weekends are usually busy, but in three years I've always been able to find a car somewhat close to where I need it. I was able to find a car, but when I went to make a reservation, I found that I could not. For some reason, my credit card information was messed up. That took some time and phone calls to get solved. There were no cars in my vicinity, so I had to Metro a stop to find the Honda Fit I'd reserved. The morning was already an ordeal for other reasons, but When I started the Fit, I got nothing. After another phone call, the Zipcar rep decided the best course of action was to transfer my reservation from the Fit to a Mini Cooper. That's ok, except that the Fit had 5 seats and the Mini did not. We squeezed, like clowns, in a sporty little car and headed to our destination.

All was well, except for some cramped muscles and spaces and we made it to our destination. Hours passed and then I went to start the Mini I inserted the round fob, pushed down the brake, and pressed the "start" engine button. Nothing happened. I couldn't believe it. I checked the brake, the fob, the shifter, the windshield wiper, and the radio. I tried again. Still nothing. Disbelieving I called the zip folks again. At first the help was confused as he thought we were moving. I said, no, we were very much sitting still in a parking lot with the engine off. He went through a series of locking and unlocking of the doors remotely, which was odd and somehow both frightening and comforting. We are so close to flying cars, I know it! Eventually, the zip help was convinced that I should try the fob, brake, button press again. I did and the Mini came to life.

Karma corrected? Perhaps.

TV: my viewing habits

I thought I'd provide a run down of the shows that I am watching, so you can watch them too and prevent another Dollhouse.

I have been watching Dollhouse, but it's been an uninspiring season. There seemed to be some intrigue and interesting questions about what it meant to be human last season, but this season there wasn't much to go on. Fox must have noticed the same since they've killed it. I'm disappointed that we won't get resolution, but I'm not even sure there was anything to resolve.

I'm still holding on to How I Met Your Mother, hoping that one day we'll actually find out. The show manages about one genuinely likable moment per episode and is sometimes good for a really hearty laugh. Slap bets are pretty amazing and I find that like FutureMarshall and FutureTed, I'm making FutureDave deal with more and more of the ramifications of my decisions (or non-decisions).

I've recently picked up Modern Family. It's got Carol Vescey from Ed, the actual Ed from Married With Children and a pretty hilarious kid. The other cast members have their moments, but the kid just cracks me up. It's three families who are all part of one big extended family and I like the balance of the three stories and the interplay of the group. The kid is holding this one together though.

I also watch Glee. I have some concerns about their ability to tell a story throughout the season, but for now I like the music and the drama is on the right side of that show about pies that I quit watching. This could really go either way.

I'm still holding strong with The Office. I don't like Jim in his new role as much and Pam seems a touch crazier, but overall this group is one that I'm willing to continue to watch for quite some time. I feel pretty connected at this point. It's almost like a real office.

Community has my attention. The character Ahbed is the funniest character on TV. He has stolen the show multiple times. His Batman was hand-waving, foot-stomping fantastic. The other characters have good roles and the right mix of likable and not.

There are a lot of ensembles on this list, eh?

I'm still watching Grey's Anatomy. It has some good moments, balanced by some pretty silly overblown drama, but I feel invested enough to stick it out for at least this season.

I'm also still watching Project Runway. I have the sense that they are moving away from the creative process and into the human drama. I don't approve. I probably should've called it quits, but I'm loyal to Heidi and I like Tim and a some of the designers were really good looking this season.

Oh yeah, I'm all about the creative process.

Tivo is keeping me up to date and I just found a new hour on Fridays. Tuning in or out or on or rewinding to catch that again...

Oh, Internet, what are you up to?

A recent post on an Ultimate website I read is reporting that the women's team that won Club Nationals is done playing women's Ultimate and is looking for new challenges. It reads a bit like an April Fool's joke, but there is no indication that it is, including but not limited to the fact that it is not April. I don't follow the elite teams in any division closely, and I've never watched this particular team play. I've read that they've won Club Nationals four years running. It's not a long dynasty, but that's impressive. If this shift is true, it's fascinating to think about. I wish I had real insight to offer, but I only have questions.

My first questions tend to be about the level of play and the competition: How does the best women's team stack up against open teams? Are they good enough to beat mid-level open club teams? Strong enough to snag a series bid and knock an open team out? Is a division called open just waiting for something like this to happen?

My next questions are about spirit: Can egos on either side handle this climate? Presumably, the women's team would lose more games than usual. How used to dominance are they? Presumably, there are open teams who would not handle losing to a women's team very well. Can spirit of the game keep tempers in check?

I have questions about the community reaction: Would Ultimate as a whole be supportive of a women's team in the open division? Would this generate interest in the sport outside of the Ultimate community or confirm our niche status? Are there examples of this happening in other sports? If successful, could this open the door for other such cross-overs?

I really don't have any answers and I suspect that this will soon be revealed as a lark, but I think I would be interested to see an exhibition. I think about the women at CUA who play against men at nearly every tournament. An individual match-up may differ from a team setting, but I find both to be courageous.

four on the floor, one on the bus?

Today marks the first time I have taken the bus from home to work and then back again at the end of the day. Sometimes it feels like the rain is winning.

Tonight marks the first time I have driven a manual transmission vehicle in quite some time. I thought I was going to get a shot of re-living my early years (read 15.5 to about 28.5) in Iceland, but that rug was pulled out from under me by the rental agency. I had another shot a few weeks ago, but a series of car-borrowing events later put me behind the wheel of yet another automatic transmission machine. Tonight, through the generosity of others, I got my chance.

I will grant that Taylor Swift's song "You belong to me" may have contributed to my sense of nostalgia, but I still felt a ripple when I sat down in the driver's seat, depressed the clutch, put my right hand on the stick shift and was whisked away to another time and place. I felt the heartache of my late teens seep through the transmission and enter my body through my hand. I couldn't find a girlfriend, I wasn't sure of my place in the world, the rain made me sad and lonely. I released the stick and breathed back into my thirties. It's a more confident place, though perhaps not as far removed from those days as I like to pretend. As I maneuvered in and out of parallel parking spots, another wave of nostalgia came over me, this time in a surge of valet-instilled confidence. I was the sort of parking machine that women and men alike adored and under-tipped. I could park your big boat of a Lincoln towncar or pull around your late 90s T-bird, no sweat. I'm versatile that way. Manual, automatic, past, present- it's all here. Baby.