Ok stupidest blog name ever.

So, i changed the name of my blog this past week, and every time i open the blog, i cringe a little. So time for another change. Let's consider the name of this blog a work in progress. We'll try this on for a few days

A good day at Copper Mountain

Took the boys and Alex snowboarding with Mike and Mitch. Today was Ethan's first day (I taught him), and he's a natural (hey, he's got the genes).

Death to the Corporate Pawn!

Well, if you've followed my blog (I know who you are, all two of you!), you may have noted that I may have had a touch of cynicism when I created the blog, and in a few of my early posts.  Yeah, I know, the name of the blog alone was a slight clue to where my general frame of mind was when I created it.  Read the first post and you'll see what I mean.

Jaded with a capital J, just like the first word of this sentence.

So, I've decided to reflect how I really feel about this life by unveiling my new blog title (trumpets sounding) - Diary of a Chronic Optimist.

Now, now.  Those of you that know me, keep your snickers to yourself (unless they are they kind I can eat...ok wait, you other people keep it to yourself too, I earned these pounds), but I really do feel like I have a very fortunate life, and hope to spend many more years on this earth enjoying every day.

Here's to another great day on Earth, and in the beautiful state of Colorado!

Ode to an Active Life

A few weeks ago I got to talking with an old friend of mine, and he reminded me about a conversation we'd had a few years ago where I said that part of my master plan was to keep working out into my old age so that I wouldn't be one of those old men that can barely walk.  I wanted to be snowboarding and riding my mountain bike into my 80s at least.  

Since then, I've managed to stay pretty active.  Yeah, I fluctuate up and down on the scale like Luther Vandross (may he rest in peace) from year to year... but I could successfully argue that 215 is my perfect weight for XBox battling in the winter, and 190 is my fighting weight for riding in the summer.  There's something I love about the challenge of working off my Xbox fat every Jan to April that I just can't let go of....

Back to the point - I still agree with the idea of maintaining an active life in principle, but in practice, that active life has come back around to slap me a few times.  Namely, a broken back, arm, collapsed lung, countless scrapes and bruises, and an ACL in my right knee.  Just last week, I got the news that somewhere over that past few months, I re-tore my ACL graft, and will get to endure another surgery this winter.  So, in honor of my commitment to health, I thought I'd share some of the trophies of activity. 

As my orthopedic surgeon said last week, either you sit on the couch, or you keep doing what you're doing and do your best to protect yourself.  The bottom line is, I'd rather be a bit gimpy in my 90's than die of heart disease in my 70s.  So, with that in mind - enjoy the fruits of my labors...

My most recent award - another torn ACL.  You can see the screw from my last one at bottom left, in the middle, you can see my PCL (it's black) running from upper left of the joint to the bottom right.  What should be crossing in the other direction is my ACL...wait, where'd it go? 

This one will be with me until the day I die...here's a nice side view of the titanium rods and screws that are holding my back together from my T-11 to my L-1.  And no, I don't set off the airport metal detectors, although I do set off the door alarms at Target from time to time...

Future Pawns in Fruita

Ashton and Spence (aka future pawns) joined me for the annual mountain biking trip to lovely Fruita Colorado this year for the Fruit Fat Tire Festival. Yeah, I know, sounds like a paradise on earth, but don't hate what you don't understand. Anyone who rides, and who's been, gets it. Moab's nice, but it's even nicer not to have to share the trail with jeeps and motorcycles.

A few pictures....

Corporate Pawn Goes to Africa

A few weeks ago, I was able to pull myself away from the morass of bureaucracy and politics that I call work for an amazing trip to Zimbabwe to visit my wife's family. A few highlights...

Corporate Pawn Sticks it to The Man

This might be obvious to anyone who happens to trip across my blog, but I obviously created the blog name on a day when I was feeling an extra dose of loathing for my place in the corporate world.

Despite the fact that it will make the name of my blog completely irrelevant, my brother and I have been working on launching a company of our own. One that involves doing something we actually enjoy.

Give our website a visit at: http://www.wildwesttours.us.com/

If you're not from Europe, and don't have 6 weeks of vacation to burn every year, our product may not be for you. On the other hand, if you are...

My brother Mark is currently in Europe working on building our network of travel agents and travel operators (travel wholesalers). For the time being, I'm working on this between 11pm and 4 am (no joke), while still getting my bills paid by my day job. Hopefully, someday soon, I can bring home the bacon (and fry it up in a pan) with the new gig.

....children of the 70's, enjoy the Engelie reference. Wait, does that make me a working woman?

Die corporate pawn! Die!

Yes, I'm a total dork

As they say, all men are children.

In an effort to hold up my end of that generalization, I'll readily admit that I love video games. A lot. When we visit the local Blockbuster to rent a game, we usually rent one for the kids, and one for Dad (or sometimes we share).

I also love Star Wars. Not enough to own an authentic Storm Trooper outfit (now that's dorky), but I still do remember the day that I saw the first Star Wars (now known as Episode 4...how does that work). I was eight years old, and the day I saw Star Wars also happened to coincide with the day I had my first Happy Meal. No wonder it's my one of my favorite days ever!. I waited in line for four hours at the Cooper Theatre in Denver, and because the first showing was sold out, my friend's dad took us across the street to McDonalds...and the rest, as they say, is history.

Anyway, I digress.

So, I'd guess that last year I spent 100 hours (minimum) on XBox Live killing virtual soldiers (some of whom were my friends and brothers) in Call of Duty 4. And yes, I do wear the headset. Speaking of men and our faults, I'll also admit that I spent more time talking to my brother (who live across the country) on my XBox headset than I did on the phone (now that's bonding!).

On Saturday, during our weekly trip to Blockbuster with my boys, we rented The Force Unleashed - a relatively new game in which you play the role of a Sith Warrior, employed by Darth Vader to hunt Jedi (ok after reading that sentence, I really must be a dork).

So - to getting back to my point (yes the game is pretty cool) but while playing, I actually found myself saying, out loud, "Having the force is pretty sweet". Wow

Join the forces of evil (or dorkiness) and get the game. Admit it, you want to. Here's the link to the website: http://www.lucasarts.com/games/theforceunleashed/

I Broke My What??

In other news....I was asking my neurologist about some numbness that I've been experiencing on my left side, and his diagnosis wasn't exactly what I expected. Here's the play by play recap:

Doc: Where is the numbness exactly?

Me: Right here, along the lower left side of my rib cage

Doc examines the X-Rays carefully

Doc: Well, that's probably being caused by this rib fracture you have here

Me: What the?!

He was surprisingly casual about it. I guess in relative terms, it was the least of my worries, and probably was lost in the shuffle. I think they call that triage...

Back in the Saddle Again (Kind Of...)

So, I went to see my neurologist last week and he said things are healing up pretty nicely. Another 4 weeks and I'm cleared to do most anything (including ride my bike). Strangely, my back (which was operated on) will heal more quickly than my arm (which didn't even have a cast). I still haven't been cleared by my orthopedic doc for another 6-8 weeks to ride my bike.

I bought a Minoura rim-drive indoor trainer so that I can work out in my basement on my own bike. After one workout, I like it more than riding the spin bikes at the local rec center - it definitely replicates difficulty of the on-trail experience a little better.

I did get the ok to ride the trainer and do pretty much any non-impact activity. So this morning I was able to get in my first workout on my indoor trainer. I actually felt better than I expected, and was able to push myself pretty hard (we'll see how I feel tomorrow).

Here's a picture of my new setup. It isn't the same as getting outside, but it will have to do.

If you look closely, you can see that my rear tire is pretty worn. My accident started when my rear tire went into a skid. I'm not sure whether the tire caused the accident, but it sure didn't help. I had been procrastinating buying a new set of tires, but I won't make that mistake again.

Now, time to burn off those extra five pounds!