March 29, 2005

Warning! Whining Rant Ahead!

WARNING! If you don't feel like listening to me whine like a pathetic little wuss, don't bother reading further. See that button in the upper right part of your screen that says "Next Blog"? Hit it now. Move along. NOW!

Y'know how in my last post I mentioned I "might" be getting sick. Strike that. I"M FUCKING SICK. and you know what? I'M FUCKING SICK OF BEING SICK. I was sick two goddamn weeks ago with the stomach flu. Now, I've got whatever lungcrud is floating around.
I've had a fever over a hundred degrees since SUNDAY.

I've tried to be "good". I've called in sick the past two days. (As a freelancer, this is COSTING ME A LOT OF FREAKIN' MONEY, THIS BEING SICK!) I've not gone to the gym, worked out, anything more than hauling my sorry ass to the bathroom. (HELLO, FRIENDS WHO THINK I HAVE AN EXERCISE OBSESSION: you might be right, and just you wait until I turn into a raging bitch without the benefit of mood enhancing endorphins that might otherwise come in the form of MEDS!) I have eschewed my normal dinners of cereal to turn the OVEN ON to make myself a real, healthy dinner. I have been hydrating like a motherfucker, taking all sorts of crap like echinacea, Wellness Formula (then why am i NOT WELL YET?)

I FEEL LIKE SHIT. It's hard to breathe. My back, ribcage, and abdomen HURT FROM COUGHING ENDLESSLY.

I am BORED. I have read every stupid magazine known to womankind. Even OPRAH. Take that, you know who!

I have my first ride of the season on SATURDAY. What the hell are the chances I will be well enough to ride? Uh-huh. And what are the chances I will ride anyway? Bingo.

AND ON TOP OF THIS BEING SICK BULLSHIT: I was eating cereal (for breakfast! not even for dinner!) yesterday, and another goddamn crown cracked. Note for those keeping track: this is the second one in a MONTH! (oh wait! like the second time in a MONTH THAT I'M SICK?! oh, yes!) This crown, like the other one, was TWO YEARS OLD and done by a seemingly skilled dentist with a swanky San Francisco office and was RECOMMENDED BY FRIENDS! side rant: how can you tell the quality of a dentist's work? sure you can get recommendations from friends, but you can't ask them to open their mouths to see their work, ask how long they've had it done, and what kind of workmanship was involved!

SO ON TOP OF BEING SICK, I SAT IN THE DENTISTS CHAIR FOR TWO ANNOYING HOURS TODAY. My new dentist is cool; he's being doing it for 30+ years, and he understands my MASSIVE FEAR, and that I don't get in the chair without valium or nitrous.
So he goes to offer me the gas, and this dental assistant, whom I've never met before today, said "Oh! You don't need that! Besides, it's not good for you anyway." I shot this woman the Look of Death. Before I could respond, Dear Dentist replied to her, "Yes, she does need it. She's one of our Special Patients". So I went through the process of getting the old crown pulled off, ground down, and prepped for an all-new crown. CAN I TELL YOU IT WAS LIKE A PARTY IN MY MOUTH? would you believe me?

So to wind down the RANT: I found some codeine cough syrup in the back of a cabinet. I took THREE TIMES the normal dose, hoping to knock myself out and get some sleep that didn't involve fits of convulsive coughing jags. Did it work? YOU'RE READING THIS, WHAT DO YOU THINK?!?!?

Fuckin'-A, man. I need to be well. Soon. Like now.

March 27, 2005

No Pictures, No Updates? Nah!

I was waiting to blog until I uploaded my Tahoe pix. Hasn't happened yet. Not even sure where the memory card is. Lazy? Nope, just too much going on.

Anyway, Tahoe was a blast! The timing of the stomach flu pushed our trip back to a time when there was SNOW! Took a long time to drive up and back, but worth it! Last Monday we had great weather and about six inches of fresh powder. It was super! My knee pads proved useful, though there wasn't ice to crash on. (Dorky, yes! However, my knee still hurts from February.) As I gain an understanding of boarding, I realize how much my relic of a board sucks. It's way stiff and too small for me. I'm coveting a Smokin' Snowboard, but I can't justify a board if I can't pro-deal it. Anyway, Tuesday was snow. SNOW, as in heavy, wet falling snow. Boardin' Buddy wanted to bail and not bother, but I persisted. We were there, let's go! Until the visibility got really crappy, we had a good half day. My usual bag of tricks didn't work with this heavy, sticky snow. I had to really gain speed or I was going down in piles of heaviness. I had one of my most informative days ever, really feeling like I got the feel for boarding. I LOVE the run called Lombard Street at Homewood. It's all these really swooshy curves, and I feel much more comfortable on Lombard than I did back in January. I also love The Glades, except for the annoying catwalk leading up to the run. The other great thing: NO INJURIES! Some minor whiplash, but when you epic in powder it's not so bad. I'd love to get up for one more trip before the season ends, but I'm guessing I won't be make it. I am starting to think about getting in on a ski house rental next year, if I still live in the Bay Area.

I'm still training for the Tahoe Century, although I don't seem to be riding with my Team in Training team so much right now. Last week's ride at Pt. Reyes got called off for rain. Yesterday I rode with some of the folks from the Berkeley Ironworks bike club. Prior to yesterday, my longest ride had been 40 miles. Yesterday, I rode 80 miles. From the Peet's Coffee in Claremont (Berkeley) to the top of Mount Diablo (elevation 3800+) and then back through Walnut Creek, Danville, Lafayette, and such. Our group dwindled down as people took BART back to Berkeley. A woman I've ridden with before, Ann, and I broke off from the group (the other two, at this point) and we made our way back to San Pablo Dam road from Lafayette and Orinda, WITHOUT A MAP and really sketchy directions on where we were going. It was kinda funny, because as tired as I was, I wanted to haul ass to get home. I bolted through the rollers, and I don't think I went under 19 MPH the whole way home. But damn, I did it! I was really nervous before the ride, since I was riding with experienced cyclists. I still consider myself a novice who happens to be very strong.

While riding up to the top of Diablo (a 12.5 mile uphill ride) I recalled to the riders my first time hiking up Diablo and seeing the cyclists riding up the hill. I thought, "What the hell are these people thinking? Are they nuts?". Marty said, "And the rest is history".
Fuck. The last 100 yards before the summit is sheer hell. A 17% grade when you least need it.

I'm not sore today, just fatigued. Might be getting sick, I seem to have a hundred degree fever. What's that all about? Wasn't I just sick like two weeks ago? I went to a three hour yoga workshop. It was great to stretch but it sapped the last of my zip.

I have the Cinderella Ride next weekend, a 65 mile ride for women only. I should take it easy this week and not spin my brains out every day. We'll see if I can pull that off.

Not much else exciting going on. It's work, dogs, and cycling still.

March 13, 2005

My Dear Doggos


doggers
Originally uploaded by jenworth.

Just wanted to share this pic of Milo chillin' by his Big Red Ball (he does have teeth, he looks like an ole' geezer in this for some reason) and Luna in the background, being the typical ball-obsessed-blur that she is.

I love these two more than I can say. They're my fuzzy kids.

So whilst I tell woes of their ill health, they still are loving life.

At least I got in a hike!


cataract trail
Originally uploaded by jenworth.


Whoa. Life's been a bit of a rollercoaster lately. The usual crazy business, which just is part of Being Jen. (A friend once told me I squeeze three days into each day.)

Things have been extra stressful lately due to the Doggos. Both Milo and Luna had ultrasounds this week. We knew Milo had kidney damage from this strange bacterial infection. Turns out Luna does, too, but she's such a stoic little girl that she's been masking it all; on paper, she's worse off than Milo. It's really sad, because this points to some environmental cause. It's hard to not over-scrutinze what the cause might be, but all I can do is move forward and love them a whole lot.

The dogs have crazy medical bills, needless to say, and now BOTH will be on this uber-expensive antibiotic FOR LIFE. This means this freelancin' I'm doing back in advertising must go on. Sad, really, because this means I can't focus on my dog training business. I squeeze in clients here and there and can't really pursue growing the business in any kkind of meaningful way when my energies go three-days-a-week-plus into ad work.

What else? Just got sideswiped by the stomach flu. Still feeling a little murky from it, but at least I am no longer uttering, "kill me now". Last night I didn't sleep with a bucket by the bed. Yeah!

Okay, now that I've done what seems to be a fair amount of bitching, I need to point out a few good things:

As much as I find advertising unrewarding and unfulfilling, I'm grateful to be able to make the money I do when I need to.

See the above photo: I went on a kick-ass hike to Cataract Falls in Marin last weekend. Nature is essential to my soul.

I'm enjoying this road biking thing more than I thought I would. Spring is in the air, and the fragrant air is something I love to take in on early morning bike rides. I'm learning more about the lay of the land, and the surrounding areas where I live than I ever did in a car.

I'm going to Tahoe next week. I bought knee pads. The knee has a very deep bone bruise from my last trip when I crashed hard on ice. Boarding is insanely painful while learning, but stupidly gratifying. Hey, Tahoe Guy: can you make sure there's some fresh powder for next week?

March 12, 2005

Why I'm a Vegetarian


BurgerKing
Originally uploaded by jenworth.


Reason #511: A side of ribs really isn't so different than beef arse.

mmmmmmmMMeeat.

Hungry?