Federer plays in 3.5 hours, we have a DVR, Federer is the new Brett Favre

When a company sends you a bill….let’s say Teresan Gas….and it says CR beside the amount you owe, this does not mean that you owe that amount, it means your account is that much overpaid as in you have a credit.  Of course if you pay that amount, the next bill will show twice the previous amount as  CR as well and if you pay that amount…..and so on…….I’m such a dumbass….we now have a $407.00 credit balance with Teresan Gas.  Every time the bill has been coming over the past few months i get more and more perplexed as to why we are using so much gas and how every month we seem to be using more and more and more.

Why am I in charge of our household payments?

Saw my Dad at the beach today. “Hey Dad, nice chain man”

I had the pleasure of joining Chris Cumming on the track in Mission last Sunday for testing of some super fast race machines.  He is racing this weekend in the “25 hours of Thunderhill” in California.  The vehicle of choice is the coolest looking BMW M3 I’ve ever seen…..bright orange like my Trek.

The race starts 11AM Saturday and goes until noon on Sunday.

Had a chance to speak to the Kamloops Rotary club and Kamloops Tri club yesterday.  It was a great day and I was given the most hospitable Kamloops welcome.

Stayed with an old friend and her family….Yvonne (Y-vonne) Timewell, husband Greg and 6 year old son Alex.  Drank my fair share of Bailey’s spiked Latte’s and went for a wicked mountain bike on some great trails up on the hills surrounding Kamloops.

Kamloops is really sporting some sweet new athletic facilities.  In fact their new sports center puts just about every other sports facility I’ve seen to shame.  The national throws center is based out of there and there are quite a few prominent athletes like Mountain Biker Catherine Pendral who call Kamloops home.

It’s a short drive from Sun Peaks home of uber legend Nancy Green so skiing in all forms is at the doorstep.  There is also another cross country only area even closer.

I talked to the Rotary club in the morning, then hair appointment with Anna who rocks at cutting hair, then midday TV program to promote Race4MS then mountain bike ride, then Tri Club banquet…..super fun day, whacked by the end but the good kind where you want to drink more bailey’s.

Tri Club dinner held a silent auction for Race4MS…..$2,000 raised which is incredible.  Thanks to Dan for arranging it all.  Maybe one day i’ll move to Kamloops and set up a business or something.  Or better yet, start training there in the summers.

I dig it when you copy a file on the computer and it gives you that little icon of papers being moved into a file folder- it’s so organized and clean

One of our cats pees on everything

I like how easy it is to use wordpress and pretend I know what I’m doing with websites

I’m not really a huge fan of the general look of gmail but I like the usability.  One thing that’s a pain in the butt is that “reply all” requires a small drop down menu which is really stupid.

I like Beatles rock band because i know most of the words….or at least I thought i did until last night and realized that i sing alot of incorrect versions of those songs.

I did Bikhram Yoga last night and it was hot.  The first 20 minutes were really hot.  It was stinky and you drip with sweat.  I will likely go back occassionaly….what else is there to do?…watch TV?

Don’t ever buy GE cordless phones, the ring tones are loud, annoying and unsoothing

I ordered an S.A.D light yesterday.  It cost me $255.  They are not cheap those things but if it keeps me out of the nuthouse this winter it will be worth it.  It’s supposed to improve your general state of being during the winter.  It would be a good joke if they were just normal lights that didn’t do anything different than the lightbulb you can buy at the store.  I bet in a few years we will find this out and I will realize that “the joke was on me”.  I hate the lighting industry because of this.

Books I currently have on my office desk:

• Lore of Running- which looks way to thick and intimidating to read
• Periodization Training for sports by Tudor Obampa
• New Earth- Eckhart Tolle
• Status Anxiety- Alain de botton
• Primal Blueprint- Mark Sisson
• Stillness Speaks- Eckhart Tolle
• 4 hour work week

Yesterday I swam, mountain biked with tony, went to the HPR beer mile, did bikhram hot yoga, went to a party and got partially hypnotized I think, rocked out to beatles rock band until 1am, woke up with this morning at 5am and have been givener all day…..i think a crash is immenent.

This blog post is likely the thing that preceeds the big crash.  I feel very sleepy at the moment.  I have to go to a fundraising party at the trek store tonight and it starts at 7pm.  I’m not sure i’m going to make it until then.  Although history would indicate that i get a second wind around 8:30pm and yet a third wind around 11pm.

I”m now officially a member of the Chamber of Commerce…..framed certificate and everything.  I get to go to mixers.

Finn got his helicopter back today with thanks to Pippa.  “Actar” is all he’s been saying for the last two days.  He was very excited to get his Actar back.  When do kids start finding comfort in the attachment to things.  Would they do this if they didn’t see adults doing it?  Sorry to get all philosophical about a kids toy but I think there are many problems that become rooted in the idea that we own or need things.  This was his first real attachment to something.

Time for a shower- I=Stinky

I’ve never been to one.  Haven’t been to many farms in my life in general.  An Ostrich farm would be interesting though.  Ostrich meat is very good for you.  It’s pricey but it’s good meat.  Emu oil is also a good oil.

A few nights ago I had one of the most unforgetable experiences of my life.  I was invited by my host, Loay Nazer, to the downtown center of Jeddah to observe the daily “call to prayer”.  The call to prayer happens numerous times throughout the day and is broadcast over loud speakers from all the Mosque’s.

The downtown center of Jeddah contains a great deal of history including the house of the first King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  Prior to 1932 Saudi was not a united country but a group of tribes.  It went kind of like this (courtesy of Wikipedia so no I am not that smart)

The Third Saudi state was founded by the late King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. In 1902 Ibn Saud captured Riyadh, the Al-Saud dynasty’s ancestral capital, from the rival Al-Rashid family. Continuing his conquests, Abdul Aziz subdued Al-Hasa, the rest of Nejd, and the Hejaz between 1913 and 1926.

Boundaries with Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait were established by a series of treaties negotiated in the 1920s, with two “neutral zones” created, one with Iraq and the other with Kuwait. On January 8, 1926 Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud became the King of Hejaz. On January 29, 1927 he took the title King of Nejd (his previous Nejdi title was Sultan). By the Treaty of Jeddah, signed on May 20, 1927, the United Kingdom recognized the independence of Abdul Aziz’s realm (then known as the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd). In 1932, these regions were unified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The discovery of oil on March 3, 1938 transformed the country. The country’s southern boundary with Yemen was partially defined by the 1934 Treaty of Taif, which ended a brief border war between the two states.

So anyway, we went to the house of the first official King of the Kingdom.  It’s a large 5 story dwelling smack in the middle of modern Jeddah.  It is made largely of coral which I found interesting.  The coolest part were the hallways and heights of the ceilings.  The hallways and stairwells are very wide and very high and were built to allow camels to carry water and supplies up to the top levels.

At the very top level is an open air prayer room that looks over Jeddah and is surrounded by 36 Mosque’s….all within one kilometer of each other.  We were joined by the Vice Chancellor of UCLA and two of his colleagues who were visiting Universities in Saudi Arabia.  Life is hilarious sometimes.

As the sun sets the call to prayer starts and it was without question one of the most surreal,haunting, moving experiences of my life.  Partly because of the surroundings, partly because of the company but mostly because of the incredible simultaneous broadcast over loudspeakers from 36 Mosque’s as the sun sets.

Following the call to prayer we had tea and traditional bread with honey.  It was so cool I went down to the beach the following night to listen to the call to prayer again while the sun was setting.

The video is footage of where we were and interview with a British Journalist that does it more justice.  This same guy was our guide.  He is a Civil Engineer educated at University in California who is now a tour guide and historian.

I think this is a really positive step by the WTC.  It legitamizes the pro field a little more and is likely in line with most professional sports.

Ironman Pro Membership Program

World Triathlon Corporation Announces Professional Athlete Program

To complement its recent anti-doping initiative announcement, World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) has created the Ironman Pro Membership Program. The new program will standardize and enhance WTC’s events worldwide. Acceptance into the program will be mandatory for all professional athletes competing in future Ironman and 70.3 Events. The program will officially begin on February 1, 2010. WTC will collaborate with national triathlon federations to build upon this new program.