I know no one will really care about these videos. The first is a shot putting video that is set to the best ACDC song ever. The throws do not match up with their distances but they are still all bombs. Nelson's throw in the beginning is unreal. Around 2:28 you will see some sweet stretches in the background and a good shot of Wernor Gunthor's taint. He also hits a perfect position at the front with a bent left. Amazing. Nelson hits a sweet spot at the front of the circle as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5jpErXKvwg
The second video is of two throwers that my coach had coached for all of his years in the Soviet Union. These dudes were freaking freaks and monsters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEcY24YAWyk
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Current Events and Carpet Bombing
This morning I spent a fairly long time coming to a conclusion in regards to politics. After learning of the victory of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as the new president of Argentina, I created a hypothesis that may be proven over the next decade or so. My assumption is this...the more attractive an individual is, the more democratic these individuals tend to be. Now, obviously this is extremely chauvinistic my idea has backing.
Kirchner's husband (and former president of Argentina) is an extremely strange looking man. She on the other hand is quite attractive, especially for someone her age. I am hoping that her attractiveness will eventually guide her to tremendous political and social success as a leader in Argentina.
I personally feel that the uglier the leader is, the more authoritarian they lead. This may be a result of never getting laid at a younger age, never having a partner at the middle school dance or taking an annoying person to the prom. Take for example, President Bush. He is a very dopey looking person. He has a strange face and most likely never got laid in college unless he took advantage of a drunk woman (presumably his future wife). This may have led him to dispose of numerous constitutional articles and demand tremendous executive powers. As an American president, he may be the second most authoritarian leader we have had. Vladimir Putin is another individual with a strange appearance. He is the "democratically elected" dictator of Russia and has commanded numerous attacks upon his people for control (in the media and military). This may stem from his unsociable childhood that guided him to join the KGB and spy on people who would not be his friend. (see photo of his weirdness and unattractive wife who wears way too much eye crap http://img.epochtimes.com/i6/607170617271509.jpg)
Next in line we have Margaret Thatcher whose ignorance coined the term T.I.N.A. Meaning, there is no alternative. Actually believing that there is no alternative in itself is pathetic and thinking that man has perfected his political and economic existence leaves us in a sad state for the future. (see image of MT http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/gallery/2005/03/23/MargaretThatcherhanibal.jpg)
Next we have Andrew Jackson. In my opinion, Jackson is ranked as the second ugliest president behind Martin Van Buren. Some find Jackson attractive, I find him as the pompous ass that I would love to beat the shit out of. His ugliness may have led him to treating the women in his life terribly and gaining him the ranking as America's worst president. I firmly believe this because he really was, King Jackson. He neglected to follow republican ideology and made his own decisions based off of his personal prejudices toward individuals. This prompted the slaughtering of thousands of American natives and the displacement of well over 45,000 natives from their own lands. His famous quote, "John Marshall made his decision, now let him enforce it," is quite possibly the most despicable and pathetic statement ever made by a president. I demand he be removed from the 20 dollar bill. I had added another local leader who was a principal at Schuylkill Valley Middle School, but I have decided to take this down from the blog. If anyone would like to inquire for this statement, I may email you the statement privately.
In conclusion, I hope this influences our future election. Clearly, Ron Paul should be chosen as he is a good looking guy for being in his 60's. We all know the appeal of individuals like Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. I mean let us be honest here. Giuliani has the most annoying lisp and his son is a fat brat who acted/acts like a giant loser (see Giuliani's mayoral inaugurations.) Also, how good of a leader can Giuliani be if he has been married 3 times? Rudy's problems may have led him to be a pathetic husband and also poor decision maker...(see article about Rudy hiring a child molester to be a part of his campaign.) Here is a nice link for the Rudy supporters, haha...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_of_Rudy_Giuliani
Anyway, these are my morning thoughts. The thoughts will close with another discovery I made around 4:30 this morning. I love carpet bombing my car with my ass and then getting out before I can smell my fart. I enjoy reentering my car about 10 minutes later, only to find that th entire car smells like rotten ecto cooler and Anton has nearly passed out from the stench.
Kirchner's husband (and former president of Argentina) is an extremely strange looking man. She on the other hand is quite attractive, especially for someone her age. I am hoping that her attractiveness will eventually guide her to tremendous political and social success as a leader in Argentina.
I personally feel that the uglier the leader is, the more authoritarian they lead. This may be a result of never getting laid at a younger age, never having a partner at the middle school dance or taking an annoying person to the prom. Take for example, President Bush. He is a very dopey looking person. He has a strange face and most likely never got laid in college unless he took advantage of a drunk woman (presumably his future wife). This may have led him to dispose of numerous constitutional articles and demand tremendous executive powers. As an American president, he may be the second most authoritarian leader we have had. Vladimir Putin is another individual with a strange appearance. He is the "democratically elected" dictator of Russia and has commanded numerous attacks upon his people for control (in the media and military). This may stem from his unsociable childhood that guided him to join the KGB and spy on people who would not be his friend. (see photo of his weirdness and unattractive wife who wears way too much eye crap http://img.epochtimes.com/i6/607170617271509.jpg)
Next in line we have Margaret Thatcher whose ignorance coined the term T.I.N.A. Meaning, there is no alternative. Actually believing that there is no alternative in itself is pathetic and thinking that man has perfected his political and economic existence leaves us in a sad state for the future. (see image of MT http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/gallery/2005/03/23/MargaretThatcherhanibal.jpg)
Next we have Andrew Jackson. In my opinion, Jackson is ranked as the second ugliest president behind Martin Van Buren. Some find Jackson attractive, I find him as the pompous ass that I would love to beat the shit out of. His ugliness may have led him to treating the women in his life terribly and gaining him the ranking as America's worst president. I firmly believe this because he really was, King Jackson. He neglected to follow republican ideology and made his own decisions based off of his personal prejudices toward individuals. This prompted the slaughtering of thousands of American natives and the displacement of well over 45,000 natives from their own lands. His famous quote, "John Marshall made his decision, now let him enforce it," is quite possibly the most despicable and pathetic statement ever made by a president. I demand he be removed from the 20 dollar bill. I had added another local leader who was a principal at Schuylkill Valley Middle School, but I have decided to take this down from the blog. If anyone would like to inquire for this statement, I may email you the statement privately.
In conclusion, I hope this influences our future election. Clearly, Ron Paul should be chosen as he is a good looking guy for being in his 60's. We all know the appeal of individuals like Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. I mean let us be honest here. Giuliani has the most annoying lisp and his son is a fat brat who acted/acts like a giant loser (see Giuliani's mayoral inaugurations.) Also, how good of a leader can Giuliani be if he has been married 3 times? Rudy's problems may have led him to be a pathetic husband and also poor decision maker...(see article about Rudy hiring a child molester to be a part of his campaign.) Here is a nice link for the Rudy supporters, haha...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_of_Rudy_Giuliani
Anyway, these are my morning thoughts. The thoughts will close with another discovery I made around 4:30 this morning. I love carpet bombing my car with my ass and then getting out before I can smell my fart. I enjoy reentering my car about 10 minutes later, only to find that th entire car smells like rotten ecto cooler and Anton has nearly passed out from the stench.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Weather, Training and My Gorch
Yes, that is correct. My gorch...for those of you not in the know, that is Klingon for giant pimple. I have a massive zit on the back of my neck. It is quite possibly the largest zit I have ever had in my entire life. It is ridiculous. So large I may as well have a name for it. And it will not pop. This thing is embarrassing and it seriously hurts my neck.
My throwing went a lot better today than it had yesterday. Dr. B changed up my movement out of the back of the circle and the shot was flying much easier today. I have figured out that by the time I come home, I will have taken more throws in three months than I ever had previously in an entire year. Anyway, back to the gorch. So, I was done throwing and I see Mr. B walking around looking for something in the grass. He walks over and yells, "Dane, Dane, put on neck." Well, I had thought he wanted me to put these weeds on the spot where I have a callas from throwing. Instead, he pointed to my giant pimp and was like, "No, no, for red spot, for red spot...leave on for 5-6 hour." So, I went to my second practice and came home and got a shower. Here I am, writing this blog with a line of tape around my neck holding weed leaves to my neck. It is rather amusing.
Weather is getting colder up here. Every night is below freezing and when we are throwing it is definitely around 34-38 degrees. It really is not that bad as long as I have my fleece and spandex on. The wind is not bad where we throw either. Another week and fall should be over and the coldness will be barreling in. Hope all is well at home. Perhaps PSU will upset OSU tonight. To me, Ohio State is the Wilson of the Big Ten. They can blow me.
My throwing went a lot better today than it had yesterday. Dr. B changed up my movement out of the back of the circle and the shot was flying much easier today. I have figured out that by the time I come home, I will have taken more throws in three months than I ever had previously in an entire year. Anyway, back to the gorch. So, I was done throwing and I see Mr. B walking around looking for something in the grass. He walks over and yells, "Dane, Dane, put on neck." Well, I had thought he wanted me to put these weeds on the spot where I have a callas from throwing. Instead, he pointed to my giant pimp and was like, "No, no, for red spot, for red spot...leave on for 5-6 hour." So, I went to my second practice and came home and got a shower. Here I am, writing this blog with a line of tape around my neck holding weed leaves to my neck. It is rather amusing.
Weather is getting colder up here. Every night is below freezing and when we are throwing it is definitely around 34-38 degrees. It really is not that bad as long as I have my fleece and spandex on. The wind is not bad where we throw either. Another week and fall should be over and the coldness will be barreling in. Hope all is well at home. Perhaps PSU will upset OSU tonight. To me, Ohio State is the Wilson of the Big Ten. They can blow me.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Mr. Moerder and Giant Trucks
Today while I was delivering the afternoon free paper, I noticed the large number of massive trucks bustling around the neighborhood in which I was delivering. It is a nice neighborhood and I continued to think about the trucks. I personally enjoy large, beastly trucks although I drive around in a little dodge neon. The trucks up here are quite impressive, most of them are diesel which save gas and I believe most of them are bought and used with good reason. Shitty weather, help on the work site, leaving out in the bush, etc...I guess the problem I do have is that many people in these suburban "American-like" neighborhoods are all scooting around in their GMC 2500 HD Diesel or their Dodge Rams with a Cummins diesel engine. They drive these massive trucks yet keep them spic and span, not allowing a drop of dirt to get on them. This really irritates me and this is when I noticed that a lot of these suburban areas around Kamloops are stricken with the same disease that we have in the US suburbs.
My friend Jules has a specific term for the disease but I cannot recall. Anyway, everyone has these perfectly manicured lawns. This is late October and in the morning I still come across homes running their watering system in the early hours. In my afternoon runs, I may see some homes with their local landscaper spreading oil based fertilizer throughout the lawn to spruce it up. I never understood these phenomena. I understand taking care of your truck, but why not use it for what it was built for? If you work on a big construction site or live on a farm, etc...then so be it, they are perfect for you...but a suburb. I don't know. I hope Aunt Bonnie does not get mad at me because I love her red Dodge Ram, I am not going to lie. The lawn thing bothers me more than anything. I understand the soil is weak up here, but maybe attempt to throw down a garden, I know my landlord was successful in this endeavor...it saved her money and it has a positive effect on the environment. Hell, put rocks instead of grass down or make it like Nevada...throw down some astroturf. I struggle to see how having these homes and perfectly kept yards can actually make someone truly happy. That is why I am writing this.
Now, Moerder popped into my head because he is the most awkward person I have ever seen driving a large truck. The bastard also worships science like it is a religion. I have my qualms with science but for the most part I enjoy the benefits of modern science. Nothing beats the ability to travel anywhere, learn about anything (thank you internet and wikipedia), be exposed to new ideas, meet people you may have never met in the old days and stay in touch with family and friends via email, telephone, computer. I especially love the telephone. I truly believe it is gradually bringing people closer together, including cell phones. My problem with the cell phone is that it does cost too much.
My biggest problem with science is that people put so much stock into what it can do for us in the future. Everyone is always saying, "Oh, science makes life so easy and things are going to be so easy in the future for us." Well, science I think screws us in that sense. We work long hours and we are no longer working apprenticeships in our homes, instead we sit in tight cubicles with cramped backs, bugged out eyes and a yearning for our children or wife or husband who may be at home. We go to the chiropractor or doctor and then if we are feeling down about something we fix it with zoloft or some other pill. These are the types of things that bother me. Pasteurizing milk, brainwashing people to think certain things and abusing the power of controlling new technology is destroying science. So, in regards to Moerder (and I believe he knows this), I do respect science but I do not respect those in power who abuse it or those who are not in power and succumb to the temptations of the quick "fix" that science may provide. I guess I just need to continue to wait for 2063 when we achieve warp speed and the science based utopia is achieved and we can continue on our amazing star trek.
I know these posts and concepts may offend people, I am sorry but this is how I feel. We can discuss them in a reasonable fashion at some point.
My friend Jules has a specific term for the disease but I cannot recall. Anyway, everyone has these perfectly manicured lawns. This is late October and in the morning I still come across homes running their watering system in the early hours. In my afternoon runs, I may see some homes with their local landscaper spreading oil based fertilizer throughout the lawn to spruce it up. I never understood these phenomena. I understand taking care of your truck, but why not use it for what it was built for? If you work on a big construction site or live on a farm, etc...then so be it, they are perfect for you...but a suburb. I don't know. I hope Aunt Bonnie does not get mad at me because I love her red Dodge Ram, I am not going to lie. The lawn thing bothers me more than anything. I understand the soil is weak up here, but maybe attempt to throw down a garden, I know my landlord was successful in this endeavor...it saved her money and it has a positive effect on the environment. Hell, put rocks instead of grass down or make it like Nevada...throw down some astroturf. I struggle to see how having these homes and perfectly kept yards can actually make someone truly happy. That is why I am writing this.
Now, Moerder popped into my head because he is the most awkward person I have ever seen driving a large truck. The bastard also worships science like it is a religion. I have my qualms with science but for the most part I enjoy the benefits of modern science. Nothing beats the ability to travel anywhere, learn about anything (thank you internet and wikipedia), be exposed to new ideas, meet people you may have never met in the old days and stay in touch with family and friends via email, telephone, computer. I especially love the telephone. I truly believe it is gradually bringing people closer together, including cell phones. My problem with the cell phone is that it does cost too much.
My biggest problem with science is that people put so much stock into what it can do for us in the future. Everyone is always saying, "Oh, science makes life so easy and things are going to be so easy in the future for us." Well, science I think screws us in that sense. We work long hours and we are no longer working apprenticeships in our homes, instead we sit in tight cubicles with cramped backs, bugged out eyes and a yearning for our children or wife or husband who may be at home. We go to the chiropractor or doctor and then if we are feeling down about something we fix it with zoloft or some other pill. These are the types of things that bother me. Pasteurizing milk, brainwashing people to think certain things and abusing the power of controlling new technology is destroying science. So, in regards to Moerder (and I believe he knows this), I do respect science but I do not respect those in power who abuse it or those who are not in power and succumb to the temptations of the quick "fix" that science may provide. I guess I just need to continue to wait for 2063 when we achieve warp speed and the science based utopia is achieved and we can continue on our amazing star trek.
I know these posts and concepts may offend people, I am sorry but this is how I feel. We can discuss them in a reasonable fashion at some point.
Canadians and Mr. B
Canadians, at least those specific to British Columbia are the worst drivers of all time. They drive very slow and they are very hesitant. I am a fairly patient driver, yet I feel like I am a Jersey driver compared to these bastards. They are pathetic. I doubt there has ever been a Canadian Formula One driver that was actually successful.
Canadians also seem to know everything that Canada has or is about...very similar to me and how I brag about stuff from Reading and Pennsylvania. A few specific ones that I know seem to believe that most of their cars come from Canada, made across the river from Detroit in Ontario. These specific Canadians also feel that most of the American oil is from Canada (which it may be) and this infuriates them because Canada gas prices are higher than Americans prices. They also know the exact amount of money that California owes British Columbia.
Canadians also put their curling results on the front page of the sports section...similar to the way Reading puts their MIBS tourney on the cover of the sports section and also includes duplicate bridge suggestions/results in the back.
I cannot really think of any other Canadian stories right now so here is a quick Mr. B (Bondarchuk) story. You may not enjoy this as much as I do.
So, last year Dylan and Mr. B were at World's and they were sitting on the Team Canada bus. Dylan noticed Robert Weir (a massive black man from the UK) walking toward the Canada bus because he saw Mr. B in the front seat and wanted to say hello. Robert Weir came on the bus and said, "Hey Mr. B, I am Robert Weir I am not sure if you remember me. It is great to see you."
Mr. B's response in his thick Russian accent was, "Yes, Yes, I remember...I remember...black face, I remember. Yes, I REMEMBER, black face. Black face. I remember black face." And Robert Weir gave an awkward look and left.
Dylan claims that he laid behind the seat laughing hysterically and Mr. B just looked at him perplexed, not knowing what Dylan was laughing about.
In other news, Vladimir Putin is doing a tremendous job of continuing to cement his stronghold of the new dictatorship in Russia. He is also doing well at slaughtering the Chechnyans and not allowing them to become a sovereign nation.
Gary Kasparov is doing a splendid job at making a fool out of himself...running for the Russian presidency and in the meantime making terrible jokes about Putin.
Mr. B also describes grown men as boys. I asked him...Do you know or like Alexander Karelin? (He was the big greco-roman wrestler that lost to Rulon Gardner.) His response, "Yes, Yes. I know who he is. Big Boy. Polar bear boy. Big muscles. Big boy, big boy. Good genetics and muscles. Very smart genius."
Training is going well. I will try and come up with a more exciting blog later.
Canadians also seem to know everything that Canada has or is about...very similar to me and how I brag about stuff from Reading and Pennsylvania. A few specific ones that I know seem to believe that most of their cars come from Canada, made across the river from Detroit in Ontario. These specific Canadians also feel that most of the American oil is from Canada (which it may be) and this infuriates them because Canada gas prices are higher than Americans prices. They also know the exact amount of money that California owes British Columbia.
Canadians also put their curling results on the front page of the sports section...similar to the way Reading puts their MIBS tourney on the cover of the sports section and also includes duplicate bridge suggestions/results in the back.
I cannot really think of any other Canadian stories right now so here is a quick Mr. B (Bondarchuk) story. You may not enjoy this as much as I do.
So, last year Dylan and Mr. B were at World's and they were sitting on the Team Canada bus. Dylan noticed Robert Weir (a massive black man from the UK) walking toward the Canada bus because he saw Mr. B in the front seat and wanted to say hello. Robert Weir came on the bus and said, "Hey Mr. B, I am Robert Weir I am not sure if you remember me. It is great to see you."
Mr. B's response in his thick Russian accent was, "Yes, Yes, I remember...I remember...black face, I remember. Yes, I REMEMBER, black face. Black face. I remember black face." And Robert Weir gave an awkward look and left.
Dylan claims that he laid behind the seat laughing hysterically and Mr. B just looked at him perplexed, not knowing what Dylan was laughing about.
In other news, Vladimir Putin is doing a tremendous job of continuing to cement his stronghold of the new dictatorship in Russia. He is also doing well at slaughtering the Chechnyans and not allowing them to become a sovereign nation.
Gary Kasparov is doing a splendid job at making a fool out of himself...running for the Russian presidency and in the meantime making terrible jokes about Putin.
Mr. B also describes grown men as boys. I asked him...Do you know or like Alexander Karelin? (He was the big greco-roman wrestler that lost to Rulon Gardner.) His response, "Yes, Yes. I know who he is. Big Boy. Polar bear boy. Big muscles. Big boy, big boy. Good genetics and muscles. Very smart genius."
Training is going well. I will try and come up with a more exciting blog later.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
From the Window, to the Wall
Alright, the past two and half days have probably been my most mentally challenging days in an extremely long time. Thursday evening, my heart was racing after an intense post on sabermetrics. I could not sleep, instead I dreamed of spouting out useless baseball stats to help my opinionated arguments on who was the best player at each position. So, I had a terrible nights rest on Thursday night, going into Friday.
Friday morning, I woke up...nice and groggy but I still moved out of bed to deliver the paper for a few hours. I came back and attempted to salvage some rest prior to my Friday throwing session. I actually threw fairly well. After my morning session Dylan and Jesse convinced me to come with them to Starbuck's. I am not huge fan of coffee, I like the taste and bitterness I just really do not like spending money. They got me to come once Dylan said, "Why not? Do you have to go home and take your dog out and cuddle up with him?" So, that was the kicker. Long story short, I did not get to nap Friday because I came back late and then could not sleep since I drank coffee. Then after my second session I received a call from the head bouncer at the bar and he asked if I could come work. So, I did.
This bar is crazy. The place gets nuts and there are literally thousands that come in and out each evening. Probably about 1,000 - 1,500 people. It is fun to work the door because I get to talk with everyone but it is not fun to stand outside with one layer of socks on when it is 0 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, it was a good night and some retardedly drunk guy tried to get back in after we closed at about 2:01 and he was like, "No, I can come back in." My response was, no you can't dude. Then he proceeded to slip me 40 bucks and I obviously let him back in, haha. The best part was that he left within about 2 minutes of going back in. I also found a girls purse for her and she was so grateful that I found it for her that she asked if she could give me a blow job...so I dropped my trousers and she went to town, haha just kidding. She did ask if she could give me a BJ but I told her this was not going to happen. Jesse found this amusing and kept telling everyone how I got 40 bucks and a BJ.
I was done work at 2:45 Am and then headed to deliver papers from 3-5:30 AM. This was miserable since I was tired from not napping and getting shitty sleep. I got home and slept for 2 and a half hours and then got up for my throwing session. I threw alright but was dead tired. The thing that sucked was after throwing, Jesse and I had to help Dylan and his girlfriend move giant copying machines out of her business. This took about an hour and a half and then I got free food, so I ate for about 30 minutes. I got home later than expected and only caught an hours rest prior to my second session. Between me falling asleep and waking up, I turned off my alarm and slept straight through my second session until 6 in the evening. I caught up on some sleep but I missed a little training. I viewed it as a trade off but I am still sort of pissed that I missed the afternoon.
Saturday night was fun. They paid me 15 bucks an hour to watch the UFC 77 and see Anderson Silva absolutely annihilate Rich Franklin for the second time. It makes me wonder what the hell Franklin is going to do with his career. He is a great fighter but not as dynamic as The Spider Silva. I also got pissed watching Tim Sylvia beat Brandon Vera and thought about how I wished Carmelo went back to HWT and fought there. Sylvia called Cheik Kongo, who Carmelo beat, and now Kongo is regarded as a top 5 HWT in the division. The UFC also signed Brock Lesnar, the juice monkey.
The west coast makes money off of having everything run on EST. The fights were over early and it enabled the bar to turn into the club it is at night. So, they made tons of money off of the fight and also off of the club at night. Their fight setup was awesome, too.
Last night I was the guy who checked people for weapons, alcohol and drugs so that was enjoyable. A lot of people try and sneak in the sample shots of alcohol, so I confiscated a few of those. Weed is legal to possess up here but the bar does not want people smoking it in the smoking room. This is funny because everyone tells you this and their way of saying it is this..."It is not that we don't mind smoking weed, I mean obviously it is a lot safer than alcohol, just look how belligerent people get here. But, the Big Bossman does not want this place to become a drug haven so he tries to keep it all clean and proper." I tend to agree that weed is a lot easier on the body and a lot safer for public than booze are especially, after working in "the business."
All and all it was a safe night but I was dead tired from my lack of sleep. I got home around 2:45 and headed straight to bed and did not wake up until about 11. My body recovers quite well, now that I am not drinking as much as I did when I was in college. I have not drank at all since Chris left, which is nice on the pocket as well.
I also love working at the bar and hearing all of the god awful pop-rap songs that I have not heard since my last bar stint. Anyway, I hope this week everything goes well and my body really starts ripping into the training. I may start getting Vitamin B compound shots twice a month. These are supposed to be great for training and used widely in the eastern European nations for recovery.
Also, check out Stamm's blog. I was worried he had flown home but I he is still thumbing back to the east. I hope he is having fun and I am sure he has ridiculous stories for us all. This will be fun to hear since Chris is one of the best story tellers I know. cstamm.blogspot.com
Friday morning, I woke up...nice and groggy but I still moved out of bed to deliver the paper for a few hours. I came back and attempted to salvage some rest prior to my Friday throwing session. I actually threw fairly well. After my morning session Dylan and Jesse convinced me to come with them to Starbuck's. I am not huge fan of coffee, I like the taste and bitterness I just really do not like spending money. They got me to come once Dylan said, "Why not? Do you have to go home and take your dog out and cuddle up with him?" So, that was the kicker. Long story short, I did not get to nap Friday because I came back late and then could not sleep since I drank coffee. Then after my second session I received a call from the head bouncer at the bar and he asked if I could come work. So, I did.
This bar is crazy. The place gets nuts and there are literally thousands that come in and out each evening. Probably about 1,000 - 1,500 people. It is fun to work the door because I get to talk with everyone but it is not fun to stand outside with one layer of socks on when it is 0 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, it was a good night and some retardedly drunk guy tried to get back in after we closed at about 2:01 and he was like, "No, I can come back in." My response was, no you can't dude. Then he proceeded to slip me 40 bucks and I obviously let him back in, haha. The best part was that he left within about 2 minutes of going back in. I also found a girls purse for her and she was so grateful that I found it for her that she asked if she could give me a blow job...so I dropped my trousers and she went to town, haha just kidding. She did ask if she could give me a BJ but I told her this was not going to happen. Jesse found this amusing and kept telling everyone how I got 40 bucks and a BJ.
I was done work at 2:45 Am and then headed to deliver papers from 3-5:30 AM. This was miserable since I was tired from not napping and getting shitty sleep. I got home and slept for 2 and a half hours and then got up for my throwing session. I threw alright but was dead tired. The thing that sucked was after throwing, Jesse and I had to help Dylan and his girlfriend move giant copying machines out of her business. This took about an hour and a half and then I got free food, so I ate for about 30 minutes. I got home later than expected and only caught an hours rest prior to my second session. Between me falling asleep and waking up, I turned off my alarm and slept straight through my second session until 6 in the evening. I caught up on some sleep but I missed a little training. I viewed it as a trade off but I am still sort of pissed that I missed the afternoon.
Saturday night was fun. They paid me 15 bucks an hour to watch the UFC 77 and see Anderson Silva absolutely annihilate Rich Franklin for the second time. It makes me wonder what the hell Franklin is going to do with his career. He is a great fighter but not as dynamic as The Spider Silva. I also got pissed watching Tim Sylvia beat Brandon Vera and thought about how I wished Carmelo went back to HWT and fought there. Sylvia called Cheik Kongo, who Carmelo beat, and now Kongo is regarded as a top 5 HWT in the division. The UFC also signed Brock Lesnar, the juice monkey.
The west coast makes money off of having everything run on EST. The fights were over early and it enabled the bar to turn into the club it is at night. So, they made tons of money off of the fight and also off of the club at night. Their fight setup was awesome, too.
Last night I was the guy who checked people for weapons, alcohol and drugs so that was enjoyable. A lot of people try and sneak in the sample shots of alcohol, so I confiscated a few of those. Weed is legal to possess up here but the bar does not want people smoking it in the smoking room. This is funny because everyone tells you this and their way of saying it is this..."It is not that we don't mind smoking weed, I mean obviously it is a lot safer than alcohol, just look how belligerent people get here. But, the Big Bossman does not want this place to become a drug haven so he tries to keep it all clean and proper." I tend to agree that weed is a lot easier on the body and a lot safer for public than booze are especially, after working in "the business."
All and all it was a safe night but I was dead tired from my lack of sleep. I got home around 2:45 and headed straight to bed and did not wake up until about 11. My body recovers quite well, now that I am not drinking as much as I did when I was in college. I have not drank at all since Chris left, which is nice on the pocket as well.
I also love working at the bar and hearing all of the god awful pop-rap songs that I have not heard since my last bar stint. Anyway, I hope this week everything goes well and my body really starts ripping into the training. I may start getting Vitamin B compound shots twice a month. These are supposed to be great for training and used widely in the eastern European nations for recovery.
Also, check out Stamm's blog. I was worried he had flown home but I he is still thumbing back to the east. I hope he is having fun and I am sure he has ridiculous stories for us all. This will be fun to hear since Chris is one of the best story tellers I know. cstamm.blogspot.com
Friday, October 19, 2007
Star Trek and Sabermetrics (I will leave Master Yoder for Another Time)
To begin, I would like to inform all of you that this post will be rather long but nevertheless a very interesting blog. For those of you not in the know, next Christmas (December 25, 2008) will be the greatest Christmas in recent memory. The prequel to Star Trek, Star Trek XI will be coming out and inspiring us all to live a greater life of peace and happiness. It will also inspire us to be manly individuals and attract beautiful women, like the young James T. Kirk does throughout his years at the Academy. It will also inspire to acquire tremendous philosophical understanding and to stop fighting stupid wars, instead we will stand for the greater good of society...much like the elder Spock who was influenced by the great Vulcan philosopher Surak (see beautiful photo above). Yes, it will be a great day.
Now, onto Sabermetrics. I am sure some of you are thinking this is some stupid idea to make gambling on baseball an easier activity, in reality sabermetrics is a tool to be used when arguing with the uninformed because it is a system that has been used to create amazing analysis to actually prove things like..."Who was faster, Joe DiMaggio or Willie Mays (Hayes)?"
This can be done by taking a look at numerous different statistics that value speed on the bases and in the field. Stats such as, who hit more triples, how many bases each man stole and how many times each player was caught in the act (of stealing). The conclusion and argument could subsequently be settled by viewing these objective facts.
Sabermetrics also laughs at ridiculous popular statistics such as batting average and the wins and losses of a pitcher. The batting average really does not determine how often an individual is on base or how many runs they may produce throughout a year. Runs are what really matter, therefore players are rated higher and valued much more if they have a better on base percentage. Same with the wins and losses for a pitcher. Wins do not show how well a pitcher has actually pitched. In countless situations, pitchers win when they pitched poorly or they have lost when they pitched well, making the stat worthless and outdated. Sabermetrics is an excellent way to value players and to figure out who actually is worth more than they are getting paid. Basically, it makes players like Andruw Jones look like giant wastes of money, which he is, and hard working players like Jimmy Rollins look like a very positive financial investment, which he is.
Now, I will go over a few simple sabermetric terms. Remember, this is the first lesson so covering three terms shall be enough for a brief introduction to the study of baseball and statistics. The first three statistics I will be covering are OPS (on base plus slugging), WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) and VORP (value over replacement player). I have chosen these because one deals with hitting, one with pitching and one because Moerder never shuts his trap about VORP and spouts off VORP totals like he is Mother Theresa hating on Christopher Hitchens.
On Base Plus Slugging:
This is a calculation of a players on base percentage plus slugging percentage. In essence, it is a calculation that puts a value on the players ability to get on base (this is important if you want to score runs) and his ability to hit for power, another important aspect to run production (see Barry Bonds in his big years...walks plus doubles plus homers = high total). The basic formula is OPS = OBP + SLG
This particular calculation takes hits, hit by pitch, walks, at bats, sac flies and total bases into consideration. However, one complaint behind this measurement is that the calculation does equally weigh OBP and SLG. The problem being that on base percentage translates into greater run production than slugging percentage. Here is a list of the greatest career OPS leaders, perhaps creating an argument for who is the most productive hitter. (I still like Bonds as the best ever, but perhaps I am finally wrong, haha.)
WHIP = walks + hits/innings pitched
For those of you like Adam Moerder, WHIP is a tool that is very effective in the management of a fantasy baseball team.
Finally, one of the more intriguing sabermetrics stats is VORP (value over replacement player). It is a tool that demonstrates how effective a hitter is or how effective a pitcher is, compared with a fake replacement player that is average at their respective position. The replacement player performs at "replacement level," which is the level of performance an average team can expect when trying to replace a player at minimal cost, also known as "freely available talent." (thank you wikipedia)
VORP can be used when comparing players from different eras because it shows the value of a player in comparison to the league average of that specific year.
VORP in regards to hitting:
Because runs and outs are the ultimate way to understand the value of a hitter, it is simple to figure out, just take the number of at-bats an individual has, subtract their total hits and then add any miscellaneous outs (caught stealing) and one can figure out how often a batter created an out on his voyage to producing runs. Loaded with runs and outs, the final VORP can be figured out for a particular individual.
VORP in regards to hitting:
VORP for pitchers is a measurement of the number of runs he has prevented from scoring that a replacement-level pitcher would have allowed. A scholarly text describes the pitchers VORP very well...The concept is essentially the same as it was for hitters: using the player's playing time (in a pitcher's case, his innings pitched), determine how many runs a theoretical "replacement" would have given up in that playing time (at the most basic level, the replacement level is equal to 1 plus the league's average runs per game), and subtract from that number the amount actually allowed by the pitcher to arrive at VORP.
Next lesson, we will go into Run Average which will gradually replace the ERA. Win Shares, which goes over the value of a player in a given year compared with the rest of the league and finally and defense independent pitching statistics, this goes over how effective a pitcher is by themselves without the fielder coming into the equation.
I am sorry I did not elaborate as much as I could. I expect my editors to post notes on ways to better understand certain concepts. Also, I could not continue the lesson because I need to take a nap before I bounce tonight.
Now, onto Sabermetrics. I am sure some of you are thinking this is some stupid idea to make gambling on baseball an easier activity, in reality sabermetrics is a tool to be used when arguing with the uninformed because it is a system that has been used to create amazing analysis to actually prove things like..."Who was faster, Joe DiMaggio or Willie Mays (Hayes)?"
This can be done by taking a look at numerous different statistics that value speed on the bases and in the field. Stats such as, who hit more triples, how many bases each man stole and how many times each player was caught in the act (of stealing). The conclusion and argument could subsequently be settled by viewing these objective facts.
Sabermetrics also laughs at ridiculous popular statistics such as batting average and the wins and losses of a pitcher. The batting average really does not determine how often an individual is on base or how many runs they may produce throughout a year. Runs are what really matter, therefore players are rated higher and valued much more if they have a better on base percentage. Same with the wins and losses for a pitcher. Wins do not show how well a pitcher has actually pitched. In countless situations, pitchers win when they pitched poorly or they have lost when they pitched well, making the stat worthless and outdated. Sabermetrics is an excellent way to value players and to figure out who actually is worth more than they are getting paid. Basically, it makes players like Andruw Jones look like giant wastes of money, which he is, and hard working players like Jimmy Rollins look like a very positive financial investment, which he is.
Now, I will go over a few simple sabermetric terms. Remember, this is the first lesson so covering three terms shall be enough for a brief introduction to the study of baseball and statistics. The first three statistics I will be covering are OPS (on base plus slugging), WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) and VORP (value over replacement player). I have chosen these because one deals with hitting, one with pitching and one because Moerder never shuts his trap about VORP and spouts off VORP totals like he is Mother Theresa hating on Christopher Hitchens.
On Base Plus Slugging:
This is a calculation of a players on base percentage plus slugging percentage. In essence, it is a calculation that puts a value on the players ability to get on base (this is important if you want to score runs) and his ability to hit for power, another important aspect to run production (see Barry Bonds in his big years...walks plus doubles plus homers = high total). The basic formula is OPS = OBP + SLG
This particular calculation takes hits, hit by pitch, walks, at bats, sac flies and total bases into consideration. However, one complaint behind this measurement is that the calculation does equally weigh OBP and SLG. The problem being that on base percentage translates into greater run production than slugging percentage. Here is a list of the greatest career OPS leaders, perhaps creating an argument for who is the most productive hitter. (I still like Bonds as the best ever, but perhaps I am finally wrong, haha.)
- Babe Ruth, 207
- Ted Williams, 190
- Barry Bonds, 182
- Lou Gehrig, 179
- Rogers Hornsby, 175
- Mickey Mantle, 172
- Albert Pujols, 171
- Dan Brouthers, 170
- Joe Jackson, 170
- Ty Cobb, 167
WHIP = walks + hits/innings pitched
For those of you like Adam Moerder, WHIP is a tool that is very effective in the management of a fantasy baseball team.
Finally, one of the more intriguing sabermetrics stats is VORP (value over replacement player). It is a tool that demonstrates how effective a hitter is or how effective a pitcher is, compared with a fake replacement player that is average at their respective position. The replacement player performs at "replacement level," which is the level of performance an average team can expect when trying to replace a player at minimal cost, also known as "freely available talent." (thank you wikipedia)
VORP can be used when comparing players from different eras because it shows the value of a player in comparison to the league average of that specific year.
VORP in regards to hitting:
Because runs and outs are the ultimate way to understand the value of a hitter, it is simple to figure out, just take the number of at-bats an individual has, subtract their total hits and then add any miscellaneous outs (caught stealing) and one can figure out how often a batter created an out on his voyage to producing runs. Loaded with runs and outs, the final VORP can be figured out for a particular individual.
VORP in regards to hitting:
VORP for pitchers is a measurement of the number of runs he has prevented from scoring that a replacement-level pitcher would have allowed. A scholarly text describes the pitchers VORP very well...The concept is essentially the same as it was for hitters: using the player's playing time (in a pitcher's case, his innings pitched), determine how many runs a theoretical "replacement" would have given up in that playing time (at the most basic level, the replacement level is equal to 1 plus the league's average runs per game), and subtract from that number the amount actually allowed by the pitcher to arrive at VORP.
Next lesson, we will go into Run Average which will gradually replace the ERA. Win Shares, which goes over the value of a player in a given year compared with the rest of the league and finally and defense independent pitching statistics, this goes over how effective a pitcher is by themselves without the fielder coming into the equation.
I am sorry I did not elaborate as much as I could. I expect my editors to post notes on ways to better understand certain concepts. Also, I could not continue the lesson because I need to take a nap before I bounce tonight.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
First Run in with the PoPo, Co-Op
My newspaper route has been going fairly well. This past Monday I ended up throwing fairly decent at practice because I figured out a solid routine of waking up and going to work and then coming home and napping but making sure I get up at least an hour and fifteen minutes prior to my throwing session in the morning. That has enabled me to feel fresh mentally but also to wake my nervous system and muscle system up, before I throw.
Tuesday ended up being a very weird day. It started off when I went to the pickup box for the paper and found that my one route was not in the box. Confused, I continued to deliver and as I was delivering I noticed a car driving at me with their headlights off. At the last second I noticed it was a police officer. He seemed dumbfounded that I was out at 415 in the morning, sitting in the middle of the road idling as I prepared to drop off some papers. The conversation was something like this:
Police officer: "What are you doing sir?" (my translation..."What er you gettin at buddy?")
Me (with a giant pile of newspapers next to me): "Delivering the newspaper."
Police officer: "Ok, on with your day."
So, on with my route I went. Then I see him pull up behind me and he rolled down his window and asked me a question, like so:
Officer: "Do you have your license on you?"
Me: "No, I usually do not carry my wallet in the morning." (Vernon knows this all too well.)
Officer: "Why do you have Pennsylvania plates?"
Me: "Ahhh, because I am from PA."
Radio Dispatcher: "The plate is from REEDING, Pennsylvania in Berks County."
My thoughts: "It is Reading (Redding) you bastage."
Officer: "Ok, go ahead." (my translation: "Go ahead (while Andy Smith throws the hook."
I guess I found this strange because Chris and I both noted that there is no patrolling up here for the police. I spoke with a guy at work and he said they only patrol from midnight to about 3 looking for drunk drivers. I suppose someone may have called because I was a bit suspicious, I do not know.
I find some joy knowing that they do not patrol nearly as much here as they do in the states and subsequently they have much less crime and much less people in jail. They also save money and gas and it is probably beneficial for a community to not see Officer Reichlein sitting at the Turkey Hill (the Husky in Kamloops) every 2 hours.
My strange day continued as I eventually found my other route in the wrong drop box. So, as the diligent worker I am, haha...I took it out and delivered it. Only to find out that I am a temporary carrier and a permanent carrier took my one route. Once I found this out, I immediately became a permanent carrier and subsequently make a bit more money. The weirdness moved to the track. I threw very mediocre but felt ok. I could not figure why I was not throwing far. We went into the weight room after throwing and I nearly passed out about 4 times. I suppose my blood pressure was too high or something, I do not know. Following my daze, I had a very odd feeling in my head for the rest of the day. Unlike Benjamin Heins, I do not receive throbbing headaches, however this was throbbing. I honestly have not had a headache since I went head-on to Eric Fehnel in the first week of hitting in high school football. I feel that his hit on me cured my brain of any headaches, haha. Then I almost got hit driving to my second practice.
I have recovered and threw fairly well today and it feels good to have a day off from training tomorrow. Sabermetrics tomorrow.
I forgot, I have joined a farmers co-op up here. It is pretty cool. Everything is all locally grown and most of it is organic with the meats being grass fed. This is nice because I do not have to worry about taking as much fish oil as the grass fed beef and lamb has an abundance of the omega fatty acids. The price was right, too. I paid a bit more than the premium but all I had to do was drive to the pickup location and all of my order was ready for me. The people were very nice and it is a cool idea to support the local farmers. They also have good cheese, not as good as Anna's (Brooks' wife) feta, though. Go ahead.
Tuesday ended up being a very weird day. It started off when I went to the pickup box for the paper and found that my one route was not in the box. Confused, I continued to deliver and as I was delivering I noticed a car driving at me with their headlights off. At the last second I noticed it was a police officer. He seemed dumbfounded that I was out at 415 in the morning, sitting in the middle of the road idling as I prepared to drop off some papers. The conversation was something like this:
Police officer: "What are you doing sir?" (my translation..."What er you gettin at buddy?")
Me (with a giant pile of newspapers next to me): "Delivering the newspaper."
Police officer: "Ok, on with your day."
So, on with my route I went. Then I see him pull up behind me and he rolled down his window and asked me a question, like so:
Officer: "Do you have your license on you?"
Me: "No, I usually do not carry my wallet in the morning." (Vernon knows this all too well.)
Officer: "Why do you have Pennsylvania plates?"
Me: "Ahhh, because I am from PA."
Radio Dispatcher: "The plate is from REEDING, Pennsylvania in Berks County."
My thoughts: "It is Reading (Redding) you bastage."
Officer: "Ok, go ahead." (my translation: "Go ahead (while Andy Smith throws the hook."
I guess I found this strange because Chris and I both noted that there is no patrolling up here for the police. I spoke with a guy at work and he said they only patrol from midnight to about 3 looking for drunk drivers. I suppose someone may have called because I was a bit suspicious, I do not know.
I find some joy knowing that they do not patrol nearly as much here as they do in the states and subsequently they have much less crime and much less people in jail. They also save money and gas and it is probably beneficial for a community to not see Officer Reichlein sitting at the Turkey Hill (the Husky in Kamloops) every 2 hours.
My strange day continued as I eventually found my other route in the wrong drop box. So, as the diligent worker I am, haha...I took it out and delivered it. Only to find out that I am a temporary carrier and a permanent carrier took my one route. Once I found this out, I immediately became a permanent carrier and subsequently make a bit more money. The weirdness moved to the track. I threw very mediocre but felt ok. I could not figure why I was not throwing far. We went into the weight room after throwing and I nearly passed out about 4 times. I suppose my blood pressure was too high or something, I do not know. Following my daze, I had a very odd feeling in my head for the rest of the day. Unlike Benjamin Heins, I do not receive throbbing headaches, however this was throbbing. I honestly have not had a headache since I went head-on to Eric Fehnel in the first week of hitting in high school football. I feel that his hit on me cured my brain of any headaches, haha. Then I almost got hit driving to my second practice.
I have recovered and threw fairly well today and it feels good to have a day off from training tomorrow. Sabermetrics tomorrow.
I forgot, I have joined a farmers co-op up here. It is pretty cool. Everything is all locally grown and most of it is organic with the meats being grass fed. This is nice because I do not have to worry about taking as much fish oil as the grass fed beef and lamb has an abundance of the omega fatty acids. The price was right, too. I paid a bit more than the premium but all I had to do was drive to the pickup location and all of my order was ready for me. The people were very nice and it is a cool idea to support the local farmers. They also have good cheese, not as good as Anna's (Brooks' wife) feta, though. Go ahead.
Monday, October 15, 2007
First Week in my Apartment, Second Week of Training
For those of you who were exposed to the raunchiness that was my apartment in State College, you all would be quite impressed by the place I have landed here in Kamloops. It is in the basement of a house, the house is owned by an 49 year old woman whose husband had passed away. I enter through a back entrance and can go down the steps. I have a decent sized living space, with a room that is very nicely sized. There is another bedroom that is currently being turned into a kitchen and a bathroom that is temporarily being used as my kitchen. I subsequently use the bathroom upstairs until all renovations are finished. It is a very nice setup and it is cheap in comparison to the other places around town. I am about a 10-12 minute drive from my training center but only about 5 minutes from the start of my job (paper route). It is also nice because the woman is a dog groomer and she offered to groom and bathe Anton for free and she enjoys having him stay in the household. She also offers me food at times which is always a plus and gives me leftovers that she cannot finish (because I am fat). So, all in all it is very nice.
Kamloops is expensive as hell, as is most of Canada and it does not help that the Canadian dollar is shitting on the American dollar and will most likely continue to do so for the next 2-3 years, as predicted by "those people." I say it is because Bernard Bernanke is the devil and really should be thrown in jail for cutting recent rates at the Federal Reserve and artificially making things seem okay. In my opinion, the US needs to go back to the Gold Standard. Another amusing thing, is that many people like to point out that Americans have everything but own nothing...this is why I despise credit. Anyway, I adjusted well the first week of living here and have since found it to be very comfortable. It is also nice since I have a queen sized bed that is brand new, to sleep on. I should have my own internet and phone up and running within a week of today.
The hardest part to adjusting was getting used to waking up at 4 AM for my paper route. I find this somewhat amusing because I live 3 hours behind the home time zone, yet probably wake up before many of my friends, especially those still in school. The route is actually fairly fun once I get going and it is also nice because I can take Anton on the road with me. They pay 12 bucks an hour which helps a lot with bills and should be my main job for the next 9 months. My other job is being a bouncer. I make 15 dollars an hour bouncing and work only about 2 days a week for 4 hours but it is all cash and a very exciting job. The place I work at is quite interesting. By day it is a sports bar and by night it becomes a giant club. It gets pretty crazy and the age group ranges from 19-early 40's. The place gets really packed but things are fairly under control. I must admit that it is weird seeing 19 year olds out on the town and drinking legally...it is weird but I believe that the US should grow up and put the drinking age down to 19 or 18...let's be honest here, if you want to drink, you will get the alcohol...and you can vote for the president but not drink? Shows how important the presidential vote has become these days.
My second week of training was better. I had a number of throws with the 18 over a decent mark and I have gradually adjusted to the new technique. After a few days where I was dragging ass from delivering papers, I realized it was because I came back from work and slept for too long of a period. Now, I deliver and come home for a 25 minute nap and then get up with about an hour and fifteen minutes before practice time. Then, I feel very good and ready to throw well. Bondarchuk is a very good coach and it is extremely fun to throw 5 days a week, especially with my training partner Jesse and a thrower that is as good as Dylan is. It is very helpful. I really forgot how fun it is to throw as much as we do (5 days a week, 25 throw fulls a day), I feel like I am in high school again. I really feel that this year is just an extended year of education for my future job. It is really awesome to look back at all of my coaches and take all of the stuff they spoke about and piece them together, either my throws coaches (Miss C, Mark Gottdenker, Dayna Wenger, Anatoly Bondarchuk) or my strength coaches (THE Phil Yoder, Mark, Tom Bender, Dayna and now Bondarchuk). I feel like I am molding a nice philosophy together and look forward to putting things all together for the future.
Now I am fairly caught up on my blog and will start to remark with much shorter length articles. I have decided that my next blog will deal with Sabermetrics...I will introduce everyone to a revolutionary way to view baseball. I am sure Moerder will cream his pants, too. Also, Braylon Edwards sucks.
Kamloops is expensive as hell, as is most of Canada and it does not help that the Canadian dollar is shitting on the American dollar and will most likely continue to do so for the next 2-3 years, as predicted by "those people." I say it is because Bernard Bernanke is the devil and really should be thrown in jail for cutting recent rates at the Federal Reserve and artificially making things seem okay. In my opinion, the US needs to go back to the Gold Standard. Another amusing thing, is that many people like to point out that Americans have everything but own nothing...this is why I despise credit. Anyway, I adjusted well the first week of living here and have since found it to be very comfortable. It is also nice since I have a queen sized bed that is brand new, to sleep on. I should have my own internet and phone up and running within a week of today.
The hardest part to adjusting was getting used to waking up at 4 AM for my paper route. I find this somewhat amusing because I live 3 hours behind the home time zone, yet probably wake up before many of my friends, especially those still in school. The route is actually fairly fun once I get going and it is also nice because I can take Anton on the road with me. They pay 12 bucks an hour which helps a lot with bills and should be my main job for the next 9 months. My other job is being a bouncer. I make 15 dollars an hour bouncing and work only about 2 days a week for 4 hours but it is all cash and a very exciting job. The place I work at is quite interesting. By day it is a sports bar and by night it becomes a giant club. It gets pretty crazy and the age group ranges from 19-early 40's. The place gets really packed but things are fairly under control. I must admit that it is weird seeing 19 year olds out on the town and drinking legally...it is weird but I believe that the US should grow up and put the drinking age down to 19 or 18...let's be honest here, if you want to drink, you will get the alcohol...and you can vote for the president but not drink? Shows how important the presidential vote has become these days.
My second week of training was better. I had a number of throws with the 18 over a decent mark and I have gradually adjusted to the new technique. After a few days where I was dragging ass from delivering papers, I realized it was because I came back from work and slept for too long of a period. Now, I deliver and come home for a 25 minute nap and then get up with about an hour and fifteen minutes before practice time. Then, I feel very good and ready to throw well. Bondarchuk is a very good coach and it is extremely fun to throw 5 days a week, especially with my training partner Jesse and a thrower that is as good as Dylan is. It is very helpful. I really forgot how fun it is to throw as much as we do (5 days a week, 25 throw fulls a day), I feel like I am in high school again. I really feel that this year is just an extended year of education for my future job. It is really awesome to look back at all of my coaches and take all of the stuff they spoke about and piece them together, either my throws coaches (Miss C, Mark Gottdenker, Dayna Wenger, Anatoly Bondarchuk) or my strength coaches (THE Phil Yoder, Mark, Tom Bender, Dayna and now Bondarchuk). I feel like I am molding a nice philosophy together and look forward to putting things all together for the future.
Now I am fairly caught up on my blog and will start to remark with much shorter length articles. I have decided that my next blog will deal with Sabermetrics...I will introduce everyone to a revolutionary way to view baseball. I am sure Moerder will cream his pants, too. Also, Braylon Edwards sucks.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Trip Back to the Border, Chris leaves and my Hitchhiker
It was a sad day last Sunday October 7th. Chris and I had spent the past two weeks together...making fun of each other for calling our girlfriends, talking about our respective penis', sulking over the Phillies lost, complaining about things and just ripping on each other for anything possible. The Saturday before we left, I talked to Chris about how he felt knowing he would be going on his adventure and related my own personal feelings with what he was going through.
Not many people know the feeling I am speaking of. Prior to a major hitchhiking trip, their is this weird sense of urgency running through your mind and body. Nothing makes much sense, things just seem weird and awkward and you really do not know what the hell to expect because there are no plans and no guidelines. Hitchhiking is the greatest form of travel, plain and simple...nothing beats it. This feeling is similar to the feeling that athletes have before a big competition or musicians have before an important show, it is all the same. I was discussing this with Chris and realized how jealous I was that he was going on his trip. I told him that it is unreal and you know you can back out at any moment but when the person (for Chris it was me, for me in Canada it was Kevin, me in the US it was Chris and for Brooks it was Tim) drops you off and leaves you alone, far away from home, you cannot help but get giddy and laugh at what is actually happening in your life. I was so excited for Chris.
Anyway, he and I headed to the border on a long, winding drive through very nice country in southwestern British Columbia. We even past a rather strange looking lake that was spotted and looked frozen over. Well, I investigated it on the way home and found the lake to be called Spotted Lake. Here is a link to show that it is not frozen over but salted over and has an unusually high mineral content within the lake and is sacred to the natives here. It is interesting. http://www.syilx.org/history-spottedlake.php We got to the border and I was quite nervous to talk with the US border, knowing that he would give me a hard time. This really annoys me, I feel like I should not get nervous to enter back into my own country. I explained that Chris and I were heading to Oroville and I had a bunch of stuff in my car because I was moving into an apartment that evening in Kamloops. After many questions, me being frustrated and Anton barking, we were "allowed" into our native land and continued to drive for Oroville. We found a spot to drop Chris off and I was nervous for him and I could tell he was nervous. I really enjoyed dropping him off and helping him on his adventure and it was awesome to have him along with me and help me settle into Kamloops. Sure as shit, Chris' first statement when he got out of the car was that it was the weirdest feeling he ever had and his legs were shaking...I wondered if his legs were shaking from the feeling or from his overly packed bag, haha. Anyway, I threw him the hook and off I was, headed back to the Canadian border, leaving him behind.
I arrived at the border with a sort of arrogance. I no longer was afraid since I deposited my hitchhiker friend Chris and knew that I would be fine getting back into Canada since I had all of my paper work, passport and everything else legal. Of course, there was a fairly long line and then they were suspicious because I was only in the US for an hour. Needless to say, they searched my car and I was quite annoyed...yeah well. What can ya do, eh?
So, I was off for Kamloops. About 3 hours from the border. I was heading home, thinking things through, knowing that Chris was off by himself and I too was adjusting to being all alone for the first time in Kamloops. I was hoping I would find a hitcher on the way back and sure enough, right around Merritt I found a 22 year old guy heading for Kamloops. I picked him up and noticed he had a digeradoo, one of those Native instruments from Australia. They are neat sounding. The first thing the kid said was, "Can I put my cd in your car." No hello, nothing really, just that. So, I was like, "Well, I am listening to stuffy but whatever." He sits down and continues to put his cd in and turn the volume up as high as possible and talk about himself. The next hour was me listening to everything he is into and him occasionally asking me a question, hearing my answer and then immediately blabbing about himself. He was quite selfish. I understand that you may get lonely on the road but he had only been out for a day and was a very annoying person. He reminded of a good friend of mine who has a rather selfish and immature sister. This is what he was like. All he did was talk about himself and then he began talking about religion and the cosmos and was as vague as possible yet still attempting to sound intellectual. The other annoying part is that he smelled bad. I understand that hitchers may be out and cannot shower too often, or they may not be into wearing deodorant but I really feel like when you smell bad, it is an immediate turn off to anyone. You could have some of the most unique ideas but people will still come away and say, "That guy smelled like shit," and they will still be turned off to you. I wish people would smell good so as not to turn off the public who may not know or be into these things. Also, the kids music was awful, his songwriting was bad and he just talked about how he loved to freestyle and rap with his "didge." This would not bother me if someone was actually good and not a selfish assclown. Anyway, I dropped him off in town and it was off to my apartment.
Not many people know the feeling I am speaking of. Prior to a major hitchhiking trip, their is this weird sense of urgency running through your mind and body. Nothing makes much sense, things just seem weird and awkward and you really do not know what the hell to expect because there are no plans and no guidelines. Hitchhiking is the greatest form of travel, plain and simple...nothing beats it. This feeling is similar to the feeling that athletes have before a big competition or musicians have before an important show, it is all the same. I was discussing this with Chris and realized how jealous I was that he was going on his trip. I told him that it is unreal and you know you can back out at any moment but when the person (for Chris it was me, for me in Canada it was Kevin, me in the US it was Chris and for Brooks it was Tim) drops you off and leaves you alone, far away from home, you cannot help but get giddy and laugh at what is actually happening in your life. I was so excited for Chris.
Anyway, he and I headed to the border on a long, winding drive through very nice country in southwestern British Columbia. We even past a rather strange looking lake that was spotted and looked frozen over. Well, I investigated it on the way home and found the lake to be called Spotted Lake. Here is a link to show that it is not frozen over but salted over and has an unusually high mineral content within the lake and is sacred to the natives here. It is interesting. http://www.syilx.org/history-spottedlake.php We got to the border and I was quite nervous to talk with the US border, knowing that he would give me a hard time. This really annoys me, I feel like I should not get nervous to enter back into my own country. I explained that Chris and I were heading to Oroville and I had a bunch of stuff in my car because I was moving into an apartment that evening in Kamloops. After many questions, me being frustrated and Anton barking, we were "allowed" into our native land and continued to drive for Oroville. We found a spot to drop Chris off and I was nervous for him and I could tell he was nervous. I really enjoyed dropping him off and helping him on his adventure and it was awesome to have him along with me and help me settle into Kamloops. Sure as shit, Chris' first statement when he got out of the car was that it was the weirdest feeling he ever had and his legs were shaking...I wondered if his legs were shaking from the feeling or from his overly packed bag, haha. Anyway, I threw him the hook and off I was, headed back to the Canadian border, leaving him behind.
I arrived at the border with a sort of arrogance. I no longer was afraid since I deposited my hitchhiker friend Chris and knew that I would be fine getting back into Canada since I had all of my paper work, passport and everything else legal. Of course, there was a fairly long line and then they were suspicious because I was only in the US for an hour. Needless to say, they searched my car and I was quite annoyed...yeah well. What can ya do, eh?
So, I was off for Kamloops. About 3 hours from the border. I was heading home, thinking things through, knowing that Chris was off by himself and I too was adjusting to being all alone for the first time in Kamloops. I was hoping I would find a hitcher on the way back and sure enough, right around Merritt I found a 22 year old guy heading for Kamloops. I picked him up and noticed he had a digeradoo, one of those Native instruments from Australia. They are neat sounding. The first thing the kid said was, "Can I put my cd in your car." No hello, nothing really, just that. So, I was like, "Well, I am listening to stuffy but whatever." He sits down and continues to put his cd in and turn the volume up as high as possible and talk about himself. The next hour was me listening to everything he is into and him occasionally asking me a question, hearing my answer and then immediately blabbing about himself. He was quite selfish. I understand that you may get lonely on the road but he had only been out for a day and was a very annoying person. He reminded of a good friend of mine who has a rather selfish and immature sister. This is what he was like. All he did was talk about himself and then he began talking about religion and the cosmos and was as vague as possible yet still attempting to sound intellectual. The other annoying part is that he smelled bad. I understand that hitchers may be out and cannot shower too often, or they may not be into wearing deodorant but I really feel like when you smell bad, it is an immediate turn off to anyone. You could have some of the most unique ideas but people will still come away and say, "That guy smelled like shit," and they will still be turned off to you. I wish people would smell good so as not to turn off the public who may not know or be into these things. Also, the kids music was awful, his songwriting was bad and he just talked about how he loved to freestyle and rap with his "didge." This would not bother me if someone was actually good and not a selfish assclown. Anyway, I dropped him off in town and it was off to my apartment.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Finding an Apartment and First Week
So, once I was settled into our first motel room, I immediately scoured all of the local resources to find a small apartment that would enable me to house little muttley Anton. I also called my friend Dylan's mother and discussed meeting with her on Monday and seeing if she may also assist in the endeavor.
Monday morning I headed to the indoor track and met with Dylan's mom, paid my track club fees and gained knowledge of housing in the area. First off, the indoor track facility is unreal. The track area itself may not be as nice as Penn States but I can still throw an outdoor shot indoors and the seating is much larger. The entire facility is quite impressive. There is an Olympic sized pool along with a recreational pool, a diving well, showers and locker rooms, basketball, badminton courts and an enormous gymnastics setup. It is very similar to the facility found in Prince Georges County in Maryland. There is also a very nice outdoor facility with a cool throwing area and brand new track and turf field. Inside there is also a classic track and field weight room.
Although I was quite impressed by the layout of the facility, I was still stressing over finding a residency. After making nearly 60 phone calls, I discussed options with Chris and decided I would find a hotel to rent for a week and hope that eventually we could find a place to stay.
The following Tuesday was my first day of training. I was extremely nervous. I was in an entirely new setting, with a coach who barely spoke any English and another shot putter from the US who at this moment is significantly better than I am. So, needless to say I felt a lot of pressure to show somewhat of a glimmer as for the reason I came to Kamloops from PA. My first throwing session was mediocre at best, somewhat embarrassing. I threw the 18 pound shot the entire time and was doing drills I had never really done before. Eventually, I made it through the workout and headed back to the hotel, to find Chris laid out in his bed as he would be for much of the remainder of the week, recovering from our travel and really just being a giant turd.
As for the apartments, I had no luck on Tuesday. Wednesday I went to practice and threw a bit better and was sore from the two practices the previous day. I also finally found two apartments and once I viewed the apartment that was cheaper, I decided to take it. My move in date would be the ensuing Sunday. At least that was settled. Now it was time for me to eat and recover from the two practices each day.
The training is a lot different from what I was used to in the states. It entailed (and my program has not changed yet) me taking about 4 standing throws to loosen up and then taking about 3 South Africans, 3 3/4 throws and then a handful of fulls. There was no dynamic warm up, no stretching and no half throws. My coach believes these things are all a waste of time and what better way to warm up than to actually warm up the muscles you are using to throw by actually throwing. My stance is also taller and more narrow in the back which I find to be very comfortable and he does not worry about moving the right foot, instead he wants the right foot to move because of the body. My throwing has improved a decent amount so far. We throw everyday, and take about 20-25 fulls and we throw the 18 from a full. Our training is set up as twice a day at 9 AM and then again at 3 PM...Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. Thursdays and Sundays are off. I really like this split. We lift after we throw in the morning and the lift is light and fast and it is done everyday as well. In the afternoon I do straight up shot put throws for 60 reps to my right side with a 4k and then do 5 x 6 explosive push ups. In about 4 weeks I will move into side dumbbell throws with a 35 pound DB from a three step approach.
Back to the hotel. The hotel was a crap hole and my life there consisted of me dropping off Chris at the library, going to train, picking up Chris and discussing how expensive everything was and then coming back and eating, sleeping, walking Anton and watching the Phillies lose. Chris' life was much similar but more focused around laying in bed, writing in his journal and masturbating in the shower. As shitty as the place was, Chris and I made the best of it and it was easy to handle with his presence.
He and I went out on Wednesday evening to check out the town. The entire town was dead, no where close to what State College would be like. It was even more dead than Leesport on a Wednesday. We ended up walking around town and actually ran into my training partner at a bar where I will be working. We then headed to this "dance club" and really experienced a god awful place. It was a combination of the Silo in Reading and the Fairview in Leesport, but filled with legal 19 year old patrons. I do not mind the younger drinking age but it is quite strange seeing such young people out in the nightlife. Chris and I just wondered around, bored and decided to speak with a homeless man who I found out was an angel in the outfield...he almost cried when I told him that. Off we went after that for a midnight snack where Chris, once again, picked the shittiest possible food for us.
The rest of the week was quite uneventful. Training was going well. Chris and I built a glove for me to throw with, the Phillies sucked balls and the Sens were off to an undefeated start. Otherwise, there was not much going on before Chris and I were headed back to the border to drop him off for his trip.
Monday morning I headed to the indoor track and met with Dylan's mom, paid my track club fees and gained knowledge of housing in the area. First off, the indoor track facility is unreal. The track area itself may not be as nice as Penn States but I can still throw an outdoor shot indoors and the seating is much larger. The entire facility is quite impressive. There is an Olympic sized pool along with a recreational pool, a diving well, showers and locker rooms, basketball, badminton courts and an enormous gymnastics setup. It is very similar to the facility found in Prince Georges County in Maryland. There is also a very nice outdoor facility with a cool throwing area and brand new track and turf field. Inside there is also a classic track and field weight room.
Although I was quite impressed by the layout of the facility, I was still stressing over finding a residency. After making nearly 60 phone calls, I discussed options with Chris and decided I would find a hotel to rent for a week and hope that eventually we could find a place to stay.
The following Tuesday was my first day of training. I was extremely nervous. I was in an entirely new setting, with a coach who barely spoke any English and another shot putter from the US who at this moment is significantly better than I am. So, needless to say I felt a lot of pressure to show somewhat of a glimmer as for the reason I came to Kamloops from PA. My first throwing session was mediocre at best, somewhat embarrassing. I threw the 18 pound shot the entire time and was doing drills I had never really done before. Eventually, I made it through the workout and headed back to the hotel, to find Chris laid out in his bed as he would be for much of the remainder of the week, recovering from our travel and really just being a giant turd.
As for the apartments, I had no luck on Tuesday. Wednesday I went to practice and threw a bit better and was sore from the two practices the previous day. I also finally found two apartments and once I viewed the apartment that was cheaper, I decided to take it. My move in date would be the ensuing Sunday. At least that was settled. Now it was time for me to eat and recover from the two practices each day.
The training is a lot different from what I was used to in the states. It entailed (and my program has not changed yet) me taking about 4 standing throws to loosen up and then taking about 3 South Africans, 3 3/4 throws and then a handful of fulls. There was no dynamic warm up, no stretching and no half throws. My coach believes these things are all a waste of time and what better way to warm up than to actually warm up the muscles you are using to throw by actually throwing. My stance is also taller and more narrow in the back which I find to be very comfortable and he does not worry about moving the right foot, instead he wants the right foot to move because of the body. My throwing has improved a decent amount so far. We throw everyday, and take about 20-25 fulls and we throw the 18 from a full. Our training is set up as twice a day at 9 AM and then again at 3 PM...Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. Thursdays and Sundays are off. I really like this split. We lift after we throw in the morning and the lift is light and fast and it is done everyday as well. In the afternoon I do straight up shot put throws for 60 reps to my right side with a 4k and then do 5 x 6 explosive push ups. In about 4 weeks I will move into side dumbbell throws with a 35 pound DB from a three step approach.
Back to the hotel. The hotel was a crap hole and my life there consisted of me dropping off Chris at the library, going to train, picking up Chris and discussing how expensive everything was and then coming back and eating, sleeping, walking Anton and watching the Phillies lose. Chris' life was much similar but more focused around laying in bed, writing in his journal and masturbating in the shower. As shitty as the place was, Chris and I made the best of it and it was easy to handle with his presence.
He and I went out on Wednesday evening to check out the town. The entire town was dead, no where close to what State College would be like. It was even more dead than Leesport on a Wednesday. We ended up walking around town and actually ran into my training partner at a bar where I will be working. We then headed to this "dance club" and really experienced a god awful place. It was a combination of the Silo in Reading and the Fairview in Leesport, but filled with legal 19 year old patrons. I do not mind the younger drinking age but it is quite strange seeing such young people out in the nightlife. Chris and I just wondered around, bored and decided to speak with a homeless man who I found out was an angel in the outfield...he almost cried when I told him that. Off we went after that for a midnight snack where Chris, once again, picked the shittiest possible food for us.
The rest of the week was quite uneventful. Training was going well. Chris and I built a glove for me to throw with, the Phillies sucked balls and the Sens were off to an undefeated start. Otherwise, there was not much going on before Chris and I were headed back to the border to drop him off for his trip.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Journey to Kamloops
Alright, so I am finally somewhat settled into Kamloops. This is my first blog entry and will subsequently be fairly long. As a warning, do not be surprised to find entries that may be vulgar, crude, poorly written or simply lame.
To begin, I will briefly go over my trip through the United States and then into Canada. Chris Stamm and I took off from Leesport, quite some time ago. (See his blog, cstamm.blogspot.com he did nothing but blog for an entire week in Kamloops the lazy bastage...Chris is also very good at picking terrible restaurants.) We drove almost straight through for about 30 hours, stopping for the random bathroom break and food stop and to walk my mutt of a dog, Anton. The first night we stopped was a stop in North Dakota. I had not packed a sleeping bag and had forgotten to ask my brother, Brooks to use the sleeping bag he gave me when I went hitchhiking. This was a monstrous mistake. The first night in ND was definitely around freezing and all I had was a pink fleece blanket and a tshirt blanket my Grandma made me. Of course I was extremely cold, as was muttley Anton. The following morning we ate and I recovered from a miserable resting period but I still felt much more refreshed than driving straight through.
The next day we would arrive in Glacier National Park in Montana. On the way I bought a beast of a sleeping bag, so those needs were taken care of, as were our food needs at a Albertson's along the way. Arriving at Glacier was quite amazing. We set up our campsite and passed out for the evening. My bag was quite warm and Anton provided me extra warmth as he slept inside my bag. The days at Glacier were so fun. Nothing beats going to sleep to the sound of elk yodeling or simply waking up to the sights of the Rockie Mountains. While there, Chris and I ventured around and went on a 12 mile round trip hike up to a glacier in the park. It was quite breathtaking. (I will post pictures later.) I was scared that we may get mauled by some grizzlies and Chris was afraid we may run into some snakes but the only thing we did come across were two male rams. This was quite amusing because Chris decided to stop and he sat down to open up some food as I stared at the enormous animals. My first statement was, "Chris are you fucking blind?" His response was an amusing, "Ahhh, I guess so man." The rams were unreal and had huge sacks for balls. They were very impressive and the one was getting someone perturbed that we were staring them down, so before we would be headbutted, we decided to head out and continue our climb to the glaciers above. The hike was so fun and at the top it was very rewarding. We took plenty of pictures of the glacier at this high altitude (including a nude photo shoot, you will see later) and then headed back to the car where Anton was left sleeping. It was so awesome and I would highly suggest doing this hike to anyone traveling through Glacier, as long as you are in decent shape.
We spent that night in Glacier and then the next morning we were off for Canada. The area around the east park entrance for Glacier was not the nicest place in the world. It was basically a ghost town area with a ritzy lodge that was closing. The morning we left it was snowing.
Off we went to the Canadian border, only to be held up and denied because I did not have the proper paperwork. We headed back to the ritzy lodge, phoned my parents and I contacted my training partner in Kamloops to help me out. Within 30 minutes, all was taken care of and we were heading through Canada. Also, the guy at the border was a giant stiff and was as interesting as a stale popcorn fart in the wind.
We drove through southern Alberta to head for my version of Mecca. Vulcan, Alberta. Vulcan is a town devoted to Star Trek. Yes, it is somewhat loserish, but the town was awesome and had Star Trek stuff everywhere. We drove around, took photos where I impersonated Captain Kirk and again Chris did a great job of finding us shitty food. From Vulcan we decided to head for Banff, which is on the opposite side of Calgary. We entered back into the Rockie Mountain system and the sites were again breathtaking (not that a huge scale model of the USS Enterprise is not breathtaking.) Snow was covering the mountains and they looked amazing. We landed in the resort town of Banff and walked around for a bit. Elk were grazing in the town and we looked for a place to camp. As we spent more and more time there, I started to realize why I had initially only spend 6 hours there the previous time I was in Banff. The place is full of posers. I do not want to sound mean, but it was filled with well off people, shopping at italian named dress stores, and wealthy kids pretending to be bums. Chris and I both felt that everyone was there to impress, not to view the scenery. Everything was ridiculously expensive (as is most of Canada.) So, we instead of sleeping in Banff, we headed for Lake Louise and parked the car.
At Lake Louise, Chris decided to sleep in front of the car, outside. This enabled me to lay the passenger seat down and really get a good nights rest in the comfort of my bag...meanwhile Chris had to worry about being mauled by Grizzlies and wolverines. Lake Louise is a very nice place. Aside from the extraordinary amount of traveling Asians, the sites were awesome. Also, after viewing a hiking map, Lake Louise seems to be the place to hike. There are hundreds, probably thousands of kilometers of hiking through the mountains and there are no towns around it, I believe Banff is the closest which is about 30 miles away. The Lake is awesome, as is Moraine Lake on the other side of the pass. On the way to Moraine, I was able to show off my street racing abilities in my neon, (I am known as Street Racing Dane in Canada, or SRD for short,) Chris and I were able to film my moves and labeled the documentary "Lake Louise Drift."
From Lake Louise, we headed for Kamloops. We arrived on a Sunday and found a motel to stay in for the evening, boxed in by Sikhs on either side of our room.
I apologize for the crappy writing. Chris also has a blog and his is a bit more detailed in regards to our trip to Kamloops.
To begin, I will briefly go over my trip through the United States and then into Canada. Chris Stamm and I took off from Leesport, quite some time ago. (See his blog, cstamm.blogspot.com he did nothing but blog for an entire week in Kamloops the lazy bastage...Chris is also very good at picking terrible restaurants.) We drove almost straight through for about 30 hours, stopping for the random bathroom break and food stop and to walk my mutt of a dog, Anton. The first night we stopped was a stop in North Dakota. I had not packed a sleeping bag and had forgotten to ask my brother, Brooks to use the sleeping bag he gave me when I went hitchhiking. This was a monstrous mistake. The first night in ND was definitely around freezing and all I had was a pink fleece blanket and a tshirt blanket my Grandma made me. Of course I was extremely cold, as was muttley Anton. The following morning we ate and I recovered from a miserable resting period but I still felt much more refreshed than driving straight through.
The next day we would arrive in Glacier National Park in Montana. On the way I bought a beast of a sleeping bag, so those needs were taken care of, as were our food needs at a Albertson's along the way. Arriving at Glacier was quite amazing. We set up our campsite and passed out for the evening. My bag was quite warm and Anton provided me extra warmth as he slept inside my bag. The days at Glacier were so fun. Nothing beats going to sleep to the sound of elk yodeling or simply waking up to the sights of the Rockie Mountains. While there, Chris and I ventured around and went on a 12 mile round trip hike up to a glacier in the park. It was quite breathtaking. (I will post pictures later.) I was scared that we may get mauled by some grizzlies and Chris was afraid we may run into some snakes but the only thing we did come across were two male rams. This was quite amusing because Chris decided to stop and he sat down to open up some food as I stared at the enormous animals. My first statement was, "Chris are you fucking blind?" His response was an amusing, "Ahhh, I guess so man." The rams were unreal and had huge sacks for balls. They were very impressive and the one was getting someone perturbed that we were staring them down, so before we would be headbutted, we decided to head out and continue our climb to the glaciers above. The hike was so fun and at the top it was very rewarding. We took plenty of pictures of the glacier at this high altitude (including a nude photo shoot, you will see later) and then headed back to the car where Anton was left sleeping. It was so awesome and I would highly suggest doing this hike to anyone traveling through Glacier, as long as you are in decent shape.
We spent that night in Glacier and then the next morning we were off for Canada. The area around the east park entrance for Glacier was not the nicest place in the world. It was basically a ghost town area with a ritzy lodge that was closing. The morning we left it was snowing.
Off we went to the Canadian border, only to be held up and denied because I did not have the proper paperwork. We headed back to the ritzy lodge, phoned my parents and I contacted my training partner in Kamloops to help me out. Within 30 minutes, all was taken care of and we were heading through Canada. Also, the guy at the border was a giant stiff and was as interesting as a stale popcorn fart in the wind.
We drove through southern Alberta to head for my version of Mecca. Vulcan, Alberta. Vulcan is a town devoted to Star Trek. Yes, it is somewhat loserish, but the town was awesome and had Star Trek stuff everywhere. We drove around, took photos where I impersonated Captain Kirk and again Chris did a great job of finding us shitty food. From Vulcan we decided to head for Banff, which is on the opposite side of Calgary. We entered back into the Rockie Mountain system and the sites were again breathtaking (not that a huge scale model of the USS Enterprise is not breathtaking.) Snow was covering the mountains and they looked amazing. We landed in the resort town of Banff and walked around for a bit. Elk were grazing in the town and we looked for a place to camp. As we spent more and more time there, I started to realize why I had initially only spend 6 hours there the previous time I was in Banff. The place is full of posers. I do not want to sound mean, but it was filled with well off people, shopping at italian named dress stores, and wealthy kids pretending to be bums. Chris and I both felt that everyone was there to impress, not to view the scenery. Everything was ridiculously expensive (as is most of Canada.) So, we instead of sleeping in Banff, we headed for Lake Louise and parked the car.
At Lake Louise, Chris decided to sleep in front of the car, outside. This enabled me to lay the passenger seat down and really get a good nights rest in the comfort of my bag...meanwhile Chris had to worry about being mauled by Grizzlies and wolverines. Lake Louise is a very nice place. Aside from the extraordinary amount of traveling Asians, the sites were awesome. Also, after viewing a hiking map, Lake Louise seems to be the place to hike. There are hundreds, probably thousands of kilometers of hiking through the mountains and there are no towns around it, I believe Banff is the closest which is about 30 miles away. The Lake is awesome, as is Moraine Lake on the other side of the pass. On the way to Moraine, I was able to show off my street racing abilities in my neon, (I am known as Street Racing Dane in Canada, or SRD for short,) Chris and I were able to film my moves and labeled the documentary "Lake Louise Drift."
From Lake Louise, we headed for Kamloops. We arrived on a Sunday and found a motel to stay in for the evening, boxed in by Sikhs on either side of our room.
I apologize for the crappy writing. Chris also has a blog and his is a bit more detailed in regards to our trip to Kamloops.
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