Winter "Storm"

We got some inches, which constitutes a WINTER STORM!!! Take cover!!!






































I hope that it gets packed down enough on the trail to do a run on the bike trail. Right now it is a little deep. They certainly don't clear it, so it will be a slippery mess for a while. But if it's just snow, that's the best.

It could be a few days before I can run outside again. I'm not the most sure-footed and don't find slipping around while running too enjoyable. The trail will probably be my best bet. I did get a 3 mile run in yesterday before the white death came. It was cold, only 23º, but I wasn't really chilled until I got back.

More pictures of the river. I took these after I left the studio today.

Broomball Game #2

Game #2 began with PiMT (Party in My Tummy) using some "key learnings" (forgive my corporate term) at the previous night's Cyclones hockey game we all went to such as: offense should stay in a triangle, center moves all over the place, and clear the ball during powerplays.

Alas, while we had some good strategies, we lost. Gremlins 1, PiMT 0. It was kinda a cheap goal though honestly.

We started out with good energy, but no one switched up the line for an entire 5 minutes– something to work on. Our opponents were a little bit better, or at least had some key players that had some better skills. And they were way more aggressive. Plus most of them had broomball shoes so they were faster. All considered, we held on pretty well.

I don't think anyone on our team got too hurt, but I did take an even better spill than last time. #23 slide tackled me from behind, taking my legs completely out from under me. So I landed on my elbow, stomach and head. There was a collective "Ooooh!" when I hit the ice that I do remember. The guy was of course sorry. It rattled me and I couldn't get up right away, but I did hobble over to our bench. Half time came a few minutes later and I was recovered by the time I went back out. I do have a nice lump on my arm that is starting to turn colors already. I suppose I will be donning my old rollerblade elbow pads for the next game :)

We have a pretty good defense, but miss chances to take the ball into our zone on offense. We get a little too carried away with clearning the ball rather than trying to score. We also need to put more pressure on the other teams when they have the ball. We're in an intro league, so in theory, the other team should be just as crappy at handling the ball as we are.

Post game we went to Gordo's for some burgers and beer. Definitely a great post game strategy. Here are some horrible blurry pictures I snapped while I was on the bench. At least you can kind of get the idea of what it looks like. Our team is in black. The net is bigger than a hockey net and what would be a puck is the orange ball which is about the size of an oversized grapefruit on steroids.

January Is Dark and Broomball Is Fun

Not much news these cold dark days, but in the spirit of posting somewhat regularly, in case anyone actually reads this thing, I'm posting about the most recent fun: broomball! For those not familiar: http://www.cincinnatibroomball.org/

Greg and I joined a league team and played our first game this past Sunday. It was ridiculously fun. Our team, Party In My Tummy really came together with all our novice-ness and managed to not score against the Universal Forest Products. (But they didn't score either!) We did manage to have somewhere around 8-10 penalty points, 6 of them taken by one proud, tripping teammate: Pete. In our broomball league, if you lose control of your body and inadvertently take someone out, it's a penalty whether you meant it or not. So for those of us flat on the ice more than on our feet, this could be a problem!

We started the game with probably only 3 or 4 of us truly understanding the floating blue line. (Once you are in your offensive zone, the blue line "floats back" to the red line and you get a bigger playing area.) So we had confused teammates screaming "offsides!" from the bench the entire game. And then there are those with soccer history that while playing defense think they can't come up past a certain line to keep the ball in the zone. And the rest of us just floated around on the ice not really knowing where to go or what to do. Did I mention the other team was a mirror of our fantastic skills? All put together this made for some GREAT broomball! :)

No one seemed to get too hurt on our team. I fell and smacked my helmeted head on the ice, which was just shocking rather than painful. I think trying to stop yourself from falling makes things worse. The other thing I learned was when you attempt to purposely slide on the ice, as in your body not feet, you go WAY faster and farther than you thought you would.

After the game, Greg and I went to dinner with our friends Shawn and Sarah and discussed strategies and ways to make it better. They played on a league last year at Fountain Square's rink, which is about a third of the size of the Gardens' rink. So the rules were a bit relaxed and the action quite a bit different. Positions weren't so important. We all agreed we need to go to a Cyclones game and pay attention to the positions. Having grown up watching hockey, I get the positions, the offsides, etc etc. The main difference is you don't change directions on a dime like you do in hockey. It was like we were all in slow motion. Hilarious to watch.

The ref was awesome, explaining all the rules and penalties and plays as they happened. By the end of the game, I think because everyone was so tired we just all kind of stood around looking at each other after a whistle. He had to yell at us to hurry up to faceoff a few times. :) Other key learnings: don't take your helmet off while at the bench (in case a tired teammate needs you to sub... NOW!), you can kick the ball but be prepared to fall, and remember a freakin' water bottle.

Good fun. Next week I'll remember to take my camera to our bench and snap some action shots. I'm definitely sore and could use a massage right now. Know some things to practice. I'm even thinking my studio building could be a nice indoor practice area :)

January Work

Running has been rough. The weather has matched my motivation - gloomy, dreary and cold. I haven't gotten out there. I know that's no excuse and I should at least be hopping on my bike......... but....... I haven't.

Business-wise, things have been going well. I am filling in at Luxottica for a girl who is on vacation and then going on a OneSight mission. I have another "fill in" opportunity coming in February for someone else going on a mission. It is great to have the hours lined up. It pays to be a tiny, affordable small business right now. On the other hand, I have been thinking more and more about where I want to take this business – what kind of work do I want to be doing, how much of it, etc etc etc. I think I have come to the conclusion that I can't do what I really want to do with the business on my own, solo. If I want to do more creative things outside of production and reformatting work, that just takes collaboration with others. So I either need to 1) scale back my scope of work, be a freelancer, and maybe try to focus on becoming an artist (for money and for enjoyment) or 2) get a business partner.

Some upcoming changes in the economy and Greg's work may effect the outcome of future decisions. We shall see. I'm really happy with any of my options, I just need the adjustments to happen sooner than later I think.

Happy New Year!

Well it is 2009...here's to a great new year. I have always loved the turning of the calendar from the old year to the new. Not because of the partying (though that can be quite enjoyable as this year proved), but because of the fresh start and new beginnings. It's a clean slate to start marking up– new dreams to create and fulfill, new places to see and experience, and new accomplishments to hopefully, uh, accomplish. It's life, I suppose.

So moving on to the progress of running- I hope to see that happening in the next few weeks. I am not a fan of cold weather. Recently I've been very poo-poo about the coldness, whining about not wanting to run in the cold, dark, rain, snow, etc. But I think I'm just going to ignore it and see how that goes. Pretend there is no weather. I know people would say, well when it's 90º outside this summer you'll wish it was cold! No. No I won't.

Rough plans for running this year are to:
1. Actually run regularly (imagine that!)
2, Do mid-distance races like half marathons and under. First race will probably be the Heart Mini-Marathon which is 9.3 miles. The Pig is in May and marathon buddies Paula and Daryl will be coming down for that one (I'll be doing the half). Then I'm not sure what else.
3. Fulfill the ongoing goal of becoming fast enough that Greg the Speedster can bear to run with me by springtime... when he comes out from his running hibernation hole, finds his shoes and starts to run again.

So here's to a great running year and interesting blog posts about it!