A few weeks ago I took a trip out to California for a training class for work. Since I’ve got a lot of friends in the Bay Area and it’s prime snowboarding season in Lake Tahoe, I decided to take a few days of vacation out there and organize a trip to the slopes.It was only after I had made the necessary arrangements that I realized the weekend we’d be in Tahoe was President’s Day weekend. This was a weekend I generally avoided when travelling because everyone and their neighbor takes advantage of the long weekend. Oops.So due to the long weekend traffic and a wet weather system that decided to move through that day which caused snowy conditions and chain requirements, the drive took 10 hours instead of the usual 4-5. Not fun. Fortunately I was able to rent a vehicle with 4WD so we didn’t have to mess with the chains. Unfortunately, the next day I got less than 2 hours of snowboarding in before I took a tumble, went head over heels, landed on my shoulder and fractured my collarbone. I didn’t know that for sure at the time, but it certainly felt similar to when I fractured the other collarbone in high school.I got up, brushed myself off with my good arm, met up with my friends and made it down to the bottom of the lift. I decided to sit one out to see if my arm felt any better after a few minutes. It did not. So my good friend Eric and I headed down to the first aid station. They took a look at it and said, “Hmmm… there’s quite a bump there. You should get that x-rayed at the hospital.” So Eric drove me to the ER to get the x-ray done. Sure enough, it was a green-stick fracture.The next few weeks were quite painful. Sleeping and getting dressed were the worst. Tying shoes was quite difficult to say the least. And I know there were certain parts of my body that got cleaner than others in the shower. I’ve now got most range of motion back but still find some movements a little painful. The doctors say it usually takes about 6 weeks to recover. I’ve just reached the end of week 4.The marathon training has been put on hold but I hope to start up again shortly. I tried to do a short run last Monday but the jolting was too much for the shoulder and it hurt quite a bit the next day. I hope to start up again soon. The event is in just over two months and I’ve got a lot of miles to put in before then.A big thank you to everyone who has made a donation so far. I’ve raised well over my required minimum and I’m certain that there are quite a few people affected by blood cancer that appreciate everyone’s amazing generosity. Please don’t let the fact that I’ve already reached my minimum amount stop you from donating if you haven’t already. Every dollar matters.

So… I received a brochure in the mail the other day for Team In Training, a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society program that provides training for various endurance sports in exchange for raising funds for the cause.I’ve been wondering what my “next big thing” would be after climbing Mt. Shasta last summer and the John Muir Trail hike [photos] this past summer. I’ve been running on a fairly regular basis over the past few months, so the timing was right for me to consider the program when the brochure arrived.I don’t believe I know anybody personally who has been affected by leukemia, though I do know several people who have been victims of other forms of cancer. Regardless, I think it’s a very much worthy cause and look forward to the challenge.I’ve had several friends participate in the program in years past and they’ve all had fairly positive experiences. I’m sure I’ll be talking to them again soon to get a little advice.I signed up earlier this week to run one of the marathons in late spring. Though the kick-off meeting is next week, I was surprised to find out training has already begun. I guess it’s never too early to start training for a 26.2 mile run.Update 2006.01.24: I now have a page where you can help me reach my fundraising goal of $1500.

It seems so long ago that we were talking about SIDS and whether it was safe to have Kaija sleep in our bed with us. All of those nights with her cradled in my arms, rocking and singing her to sleep… nights when she when she’d wake up crying and we’d need to figure out how long we should wait before going in to check on her… nights where she wouldn’t go to sleep with us in there… nights were she’d fall asleep but wake up as soon as we touched the door knob…Okay, so we’re still experiencing some of those nights. But tonight was another milestone for us… the first night I put her down in her “big girl bed” rather than her crib.Yesterday we moved the furniture around and assembled the bed while Kaija was spending time at her grandparents’ house. The bed is a four-poster hand-me-down that was my mother’s bed when she was a little girl. We didn’t have time to put a mattress pad, sheets or blankets on it before we had to leave for a play and a family dinner. It didn’t matter. Kaija fell asleep in the car on the way home and wouldn’t have been able to appreciate it, so I put her in her crib when we got home.This morning, when I went into her room to get her out of her crib, the first thing she did was point to the new sleeping accomodations across the room with a big smile on her face and said “Bed!” I set her down on the bed and of course the first thing she did was stand up on it and start jumping up and down.Nap time came and went. I had put sheets, a blanket and the safety rail on the bed. I tried to let her take her nap there but she was too excited to lay still. I tried reading her stories, singing to her, lying down on the floor next to the bed with a pillow and blanket… nothing worked.She was more cranky than normal tonight, most likely because of the missed nap and because started getting her ready for bed a little later than normal, but I decided to try to put her in the bed anyway. After the pajamas were put on and the stories were read, she snuggled down under the blankets and was asleep before I finished Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Our friends Brad and Dipti decided to fly out to see us all the way from Oregon. We met them in Ann Arbor on Saturday at Pizza House after they went to a Michigan football game with our friend Matt. We then took them of a short tour of main campus. We also met up with them the next day at Matt’s place on Union Lake for a BBQ and cruise around the lake.Here are some photos from the weekend.

As some of you know, I’ve been involved with a group in Rochester Hills working to preserve the remaining green space in the city. The main focus up to this point has been in getting a millage passed so that the city may collect money to purchase and set up conservation easements on private undeveloped land.I’ve been involved with the group since January when they regrouped after a failed millage proposal in last year’s election. I initially joined the Communications subcommittee with the intent of stepping outside my bounds and learning something new. Eventually, I also joined the steering committee that was formed, designed the logo and letterhead, worked extensively on the ballot language presented to the rest of the steering committee as well as much of the Frequently Asked Questions [PDF].I’m happy to report that all of the group’s hard work paid off, as the proposal passed in yesterday’s primary election [PDF] ! The hard work doesn’t end there, though. An oversight committee will need to be formed to determine how exactly the money will be used: applying for matching grants from sources such as the Trust for Public Land, determing which properties to focus on first, determining how much will need to go toward upkeep and improvements (nature trails) if any, etc.

Jennifer and I woke up at 7 AM this morning to a bright flash of lighting and instantaneous clap of thunder followed by a downpour of rain. We had half heard the muted rumbles of the approaching storm minutes before, but the lightning took us both by surprise. We both sat straight up in bed as soon as it happened and rushed to the windows to close them before the rain could come in. The discharge was strong and close enough that it turned on the touch-sensitive lamp that we have by our bedside, reset the microwave clock in the kitchen and knocked out the power to the elementary school just down the street (which we found out later from a neighbor with grade school age kids). Goooooood Morning, Rochester Hills!

Kaija’s other recent development milestone has been the exciting world of potty training. This wasn’t really on Jennifer’s or my radar, though we had started reading up on various training techniques from books that Jennifer’s mom had given us a little while back.Soon after Kaija was born, some friends of ours brought to our attention something called Elimination Communication. We purchased a Baby Bjorn infant potty to try it out. I don’t know if it was us who weren’t perceptive enough or Kaija’s body language not being obvious enough, but we didn’t have much success with it.As most parents can attest to, using the bathroom and having privacy are sometimes just not possible while raising a toddler. They also like imitating what grown ups do. So as Kaija has become increasily conscious of her bodily functions and started letting us know what she’s doing, we asked her if she wanted to use the toilette. Though she was eager to try it, the first week or two were trips to the bathroom after the event. This and her not-so-complete-grasp of the English language led to an exciting parental moment last week… Kaija told me “pee” but in actuality it was the other potty type and I didn’t quite handle the diaper removal as cautiously as I should have.But this past weekend she successfully starting going both Number One and Number Two in the potty when she tells us she needs to go. I can see the light at the end of her diaper changing tunnel! There’s still a lot of work before she’s self sufficient, though. Getting her clothes and diaper off, getting up on the toilette, wiping, flushing, putting a diaper back on, etc. Parenthood continues…

Kaija’s latest obsession has been brushing her teeth. It started when Jennifer and I took her to the dentist’s office when Jennifer had a check-up and we wanted to have the dentist take a quick look at her teeth. Kaija wouldn’t have any part of it, but ever since they gave her a tooth brush to take home, she’s been all about good dental hygene. “Brush!” she’ll say. “Brush, brush, brush. Ooth! Brush!” while running to the bathroom about 10 times a day. I don’t know what makes her think about brushing, but it doesn’t take much. Recently we were playing with a little bucket and plastic “tools” for beach. She picked up the little sand rake and after a few seconds of playing with it, dragged it through her hair (she also likes using Mommy’s hair brush to brush her hair). She then said “brush”, followed by an expression that was the epitome of a light bulb turning on above her head and an exclamation of “ooth brush!”. She then raced toward the nearest bathroom with a toothbrush in it… which always happens to be the nearest bathroom regardless of where she is in the house since we’ve found it much more pleasant for each of the bathrooms to have one close at hand.

For those of you wondering why I haven’t updated this site recently, it’s not because I’ve been lazy or have had a lack of things to talk about. On the contrary, I just spent 3 weeks hiking ~230 miles through some of the most beautiful wilderness in the lower 48-states. I hiked the John Muir Trail from Yosemite NP down to Mt. Whitney in Sequoia NP. I hiked the majority of the trail with my friend Matt from college and his girlfriend Minette. Rob, a friend of mine, and Brian, a friend of Matt and Minette’s, then met us 3 days from the end of the hike to bring in our last resupply and to hike the rest of the trail with us. Continue reading →

Finally, after two years of missed connections, I was able to see a Wilco concert tonight. In the past whenever they’ve been in town I’ve been out of town or already had plans. Last night I found out they were in town… at an outdoor venue within walking distance no less. After a quick last minute unsuccessful round-up of local music-afficionado friends, I bought a single ticket for myself. They must have opened up a few rows yesterday and today because I was able to score a seat in Row K fairly close to the center aisle. The guy next to me had bought his ticket today as well. I was about as close to the stage as the bases are on a baseball diamond. Nice.The concert was really good. They played quite a bit of both old and new material, including some country-esque tunes that I didn’t recognize but I presume were from Jeff Tweedy’s Uncle Tupelo days. I don’t have the latest album and therefore haven’t heard much of it with the exception of what WDET plays off and on, but it was perhaps the first concert that I really enjoyed the songs that I was unfamiliar with. Some of the songs that I did recognize: War on War, Kamera, Hummingbird, Handshake Drugs, I’m a Wheel, Misunderstood, I’m Trying to Break Your Heart, Spiders (Kidsmoke), Heavy Metal Drummer, Jesus Etc., and I’m the Man Who Loves You. They played for about two hours with two 5-minute intermissions. All in all, it was a great show and I recommend seeing them if they come around to a venue near you.