Go Outside

Gone

2011-05-15T22:38:00.002-06:00

I have moved my blog to http://roryseiter.wordpress.com

New job with a fly fishing company.

2011-05-11T09:04:00.000-06:00

Back from Bali, I picked up a job with Orvis as they just opened a store in Boulder. It is only temporary as it looks like we are moving to Seattle at the end of the month. I will probably try and transfer to the store in Bellevue as they off health insurance, 401(k), and of course a killer discount.
It has been fun as you never know who is going to walk through the door. Some people just want to see the new store. Some people are buying rods, reels, line, the whole kit. They have a great system of ordering from the catalog with a "bat phone" beside a computer. I call it the "bat phone" because you pick it up and customer service is at the other end, no dialing, just wait and they answer.
Today's mission is to learn the arbor knot. And hope that they upgrade their computer system from the DOS based 1989 system we are currently using!

Funeral Procession video.

2011-04-28T22:33:00.002-06:00

Balinese Funeral in Ubud Indonesia from Rory Seiter.

Fly fishing at Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia

2011-04-26T04:25:00.000-06:00

Today we headed up to Tanah Lot. The temple sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.

Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 15th century priest Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods.

The Tanah Lot temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples were established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast. However, the temple had significant Hindu influence.

Pura Batu Balong

Tanah Lot

I made my own offerings to the sea gods (and fish) in the form of clouser minnows. I didn't get any takers, but fishing with Hindu temples looking on either side of me felt pretty cool.

Fly fishing in Bali.

2011-04-25T05:39:00.001-06:00

I rented a boat for a couple hours and it was quite the experience. I had a blast.

I fished and we surfed near the runway of Denpasar International Airport. The runway juts out into the ocean and it is neat to see the planes taking off and landing so close to all the action in the water.

Here is my "captain". He looks bored because he can't understand why I wouldn't want to jig, bottom fish, or troll today.

I made him stay close to shore where I could see the reef. When he realized what I was doing, he took a nap. He probably thought that I was crazy. I doubt he has ever seen fly fishing in his life. He was happy to make a few bucks nap for the afternoon!

Nope, I didn't catch anything, see any fish, or get any hits.

Pura Uluwatu

2011-04-25T02:04:00.000-06:00

We drove out to Pura Uluwatu. It is perched a couple of hundred feet above the ocean and has a great surf spot below.

Uluwatu is also known for its mischievous monkeys. They have grown fat stealing people's belongings and trading them for treats.

Around our Ubud hotel.

2011-04-22T17:55:00.000-06:00

I took all of these pictures near our hotel.

There are lots of ponds with lotus flowers in them.

One of the two infinity pools.

This leads to the temple.

The rice fields after draining.

Rice fields during flooding.

Water drops on rice.

I finally found someone fishing.

Whopper!

Home made fishing rods!

East Bali.

2011-04-21T19:34:00.000-06:00

Pineapple stuffed coconut crusted chicken.

Taman Sari Temple. With a lot of fish.

An offering.

Fishing boats at Kusamba.

Still haven't done any fishing, but we head to the coast tomorrow. There is some big surf headed our way. Sounds like fun!

Funeral procession in Ubud, Bali.

2011-04-20T17:08:00.000-06:00

We found this large bull and tower being made a few days ago. We asked the people making it what it was for. The explained that a couple of people in the community had died, so they were putting the bodies in the tower and carrying them to the cemetery in a few days. They close the roads and everyone seems to be involved so when someone dies they wait a few days to see if anyone else will die. They can't cause this ruckus every day of the week.

Ubud monkey forest adventures.

2011-04-19T17:39:00.000-06:00

I don't know what to say about these pictures or these places. The rice fields are amazing. Seeing everything being planted and harvested by hand looks incredibly tiring. Most things are carried on the head.

The monkey forest was a lot of fun. My dad stepped on a monkey's tail and it wanted to kill him. The monkey would walk beside him showing his teeth looking ready to pounce until a "park ranger" kinda guy showed up and yelled at the monkey. The monkeys know to respect the rangers.

This cheeky guy pretended to be my friend until he put his hand in my pocket. He wanted cash like a smart monkey. I grabbed his hand and slapped him. No, I did not spank him. He bit my back and ran away.

These women were carrying bricks (on their head) to a house that was being built. We found a walk that intersected a couple of rivers and had stunning views on either side. There are lots of artists cottages, yoga retreats, and ex pat houses.

Balinese silver beads.

2011-04-18T17:44:00.000-06:00

Today's adventures consisted of searching for silver beads. We drove all over Bali looking for the right people to buy beads from. Earrings, necklaces, all kinds of finished jewelry is available at wholesale prices. We had lunch in Sanur, a tourist surf town. I still haven't seen the ocean, but apparently we were very close. My rod was in the car, but still hasn't been out of its case.

Sate lilit for dinner.

Ubud, Bali. Day 1.

2011-04-17T05:54:00.000-06:00

I don't know how many days I have been traveling, but arriving felt great. We got to our hotel around 3 in the morning and were up at 7 ready for breakfast. Fried rice, an egg, some shrimp chips a toast started us for a long day of adventures. My Dad has known Wayan, our guide, for over 20 years. Before Wayan met us we wandered through the town of Ubud. The town was still asleep at 9am and we quickly realized that it was more known for it's nightlife than the arts and crafts we had heard about. Once these cool villages become discovered and highlighted in a travel book, they all seem to instantly crank out pizza places that play Bob Marley and offer drink specials and "ladies night". We called Wayan immediately and asked him to get us out of there.

Along the way we say many arts and crafts shops that were not in fact in Ubud. They sold all kinds of things!

We stopped for lunch at one of the highest spots on the island. We ate at the super touristy Lakeview Restaurant overlooking Lake Batur. Down below there are traps that Wayan told me hold "carp like" fish. People prefer to fish in the ocean because the fish taste better. But you could find a wife here in the country to take back to America if you were so inclined.

Declining the option for a local wife, we next headed to Pura Tirta Empul or the Temple of Holy Water. The god Indra's forces had been wounded in battle, so he pierced the earth creating this spring to revive them.

Now all of these people bathe here and take some of the water home in jugs. We were here during the full moon which is a reason for the whole village to arrive and pray.

Offerings are made to the gods. Incense, flowers, food, lots of things are in the offering baskets.

Offerings are brought in on large baskets. The rice is blessed and handed out. People press the rice and holy water to their face.

The more rice, the more blessed?

For our last adventure, we headed to Goa Gajah, or the Elephant Cave. There are demons carved on the outside and a Ganesh on the inside. There are marks where the cave was expanded by hand. All impressive as it was built in the 9th century.

Dad hopes the demons are still working!

Jamppy and I are good friends now!

2011-04-12T10:08:00.000-06:00

Jamppy seems to be getting impatient. He sent this to me and I didn't reply.

Sorry for the late response, i will like to inform you that the payment has been made now and i'm sure you will have receive the payment notification from paypal .And the shipping company needs $1,100.00 USD for the pick up and delivery.So i made a total payment of $3,699.00 USD, $2,499.00 USD for (Blue RC8 54 cm), $1,100.00 USD for the shipping company, and $100.00 USD for whatever Western Union will be charging you to send the money to them. Please let me know as soon as you send them the money, Bellow is the shipping company agent information who will come for the Pick Up and where to send the $1,100 USD.hope to hearing back from you Asap.

Name: Mayowa Fadare
Address: 7430 New Technology Way,
City : Frederick,
State: Maryland,
Zip Code: 21703,
Country: United State.

Thanks and hope to hearing back from you Asap.
Then a day or two later I received another long sentence from him.

Good morning to you over there what's going on over there since i have made the payment and your money has been deducted from my account and i wonder why you don't get back to me since i have made the payment and i have been worried since then can you pls get back to me to know what's going on over there with you maybe you have send the $1,100 to the shipping company via western union money transfer cos pay pal is still waiting for the western union details in order to activate the full funds into your account so kindly reply me back now to know what's going on with you over there so i can know what to do next.hope to hearing back from you Asap.

Thanks

As usual, I am thrilled with my response:

Jamppy,

And also a good morning to you as well over there in the internet land wherever it is that you reside inside my computer where you spent a lot of money on this shipping company for this bicycle it seems that you are paying over a thousand dollars to ship a bike and i could fly it to you on an airplane (don't know when I'll be back again) for some cost similar to what you paid but at least I would get a good vacation out of it and vacations are important but when one returns from vacations they feel like they need another vacation i am going on vacation on friday and it is supposed to rain but i wont let that bring me down (nothin is gonna break my stride) perhaps i can drop the bike out of the plane to you and we wont have to pay the eleven hundred dollars for shipping

I am glad that we have become friends and than you for understanding why i havent sent you the bike yet but as soon as the rain forecast changes for my vacation i will be able to function more properly and send you money even though my ad clearly stated that you should pay me for the bike.

My new friend the bike buyer.

2011-04-08T10:38:00.002-06:00

I have posted a bike on Craigslist, my first scammer seems nice. His name is Jamppy Tunaw and despite his flexible schedule, he can't come and see the bike. Here is his email, and my response, below.

Thanks for your mail. i would be glad to pay for it as soon as possible though i will not be available to come for an inspection due to my flexible schedule.Kindly get back to me with the following

questions below:

1) What is the condition?

2) Are you the Owner?

3) Your Pick up Location?

4) Your full name and your PayPal email id for the instant payment

I would be glad to make the payment immediately through PayPal so kindly get back to me with your full name and your PayPal email address so i can transfer the funds immediately.You need not to worry yourself about title transfer and shipment,i will instruct the shipping company to handle that.

Thanks and hope to read from you soon.

Jamppy,

1) The condition is called musicogenic seizures. Typically caused by Sean Paul.

2) I am the Owner

3) Pickup location: 415 South Yo Uwis Hstreet, Golden, CO

4) As my signature says, my full name is Yror Reties and my paypal id is nofinway@hotmale.com

Thank you for instructing the shipping company (will we use FedUPS?) to handle everything.

I can't wait to get my money and spend it like my hero Charlie Sheen!

Rory Seiter

Birthday. 30 is the new 50.

2011-04-01T09:56:00.000-06:00

I had a birthday party. I don't remember it because I had food poisoning. I was going between my bed and the bathroom mumbling things to guests as they ate all of the awesome food. So this whole week I have felt like I am 50 years old. However, things are on the mend now. I leave for Bali in 2 weeks. So now I have rigged my 9 weight with new line and backing. I know the fish care how cool the colors are, so hopefully this will impress them.

I am not 30 yet!

2011-03-22T23:02:00.000-06:00

With an impending 30th birthday this week, I don't feel as scared as everyone thinks that I should. I have been playing a lot of soccer, but would like to find a race to sign up for soon. Running, cycling, triathlon, something! I applied to work at the Orvis retail store that is opening across the street from my house and have a second interview coming up. Of course they are opening the store on the week that I will be in Bali. I hope that doesn't put them off. The weather is pretty crazy here with 60 mph winds blowing snow from the mountains. There is a fire not too far away. The tsunami wiped out Japan and cause some damage to Kona the day after we left. The volcanoes were erupting more than ever while we were there, but hey I scored a goal in indoor soccer tonight so that is cool. And our dogs are awesome, so that helps.

Speaking of tsunamis and impending doom, I am quite glad that I live my life as much as I can. Imagine all those people waiting for retirement to start living their life. BAM, an earthquake hits and you die. Money is only something you need if you don't die today. Why measure "success" whatever that is? Why not measure "satisfaction"?

Pogue ma thoin. Erin go bragh.

2011-03-17T09:02:00.000-06:00

Day 4 in Kona.

2011-03-14T10:42:00.001-06:00

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

We touched the southernmost part of the entire Unites States. Not being the most creative with place names, it is called South Point. The wind is constant and the deterioration of windturbines seems to be the same. Three rows of dead windmills, with one row of new ones cranking out constant power.

Renewables.

Kurt is an awesome photographer/freediver from O'ahu that took some pictures of me fly fishing. When he finishes editing I hope to show them off.

Day 3 in Kona.

2011-03-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

We hit up Waipi'o Valley which presented me with a couple of interesting fishing options. One was casting from shore with overhead surf. A small river dumps out into the ocean, but the fish didn't seem to want to battle the waves to eat my flies.

Waipi'o shorebreak.

The other option in Waipi'o was to fish in the river. There were a few baitfish scattering from my footsteps, but a boat would have been very helpful here. Again, no fish wanted to eat what I offered.

Waipi'o River.

The drive into the valley can be a bit sketchy.

On the way home we stopped by Kawaihae Harbor. We watched whales as we drove. I found this pencil urchin tangled in fishing line.

There was a lot of driving this day, but it was awesome. The weather was cold(ish), windy and rainy in Kona so this was a great mini vacation from our vacation!

Day 2 of Kona.

2011-03-05T00:55:00.000-07:00

Between fishing spots.

Another great day in paradise. I think that I am getting better at my distance casts. I had better be with my 1,000 of casts today. My hands are blistered and I am sunburned. It was a great day of fishing. The only thing that I caught was a Clearfin Lizardfish. It wasn't an epic battle, but it was cool to see an aggressive saltwater fish hit a fly about half its size.

Honokohau without hanapa'a.

This was the last spot of the day. We started at Mahai'ula where the wind was howling, but as we arrived to the beach, there was a guy fly fishing! He was hucking deceivers with a 10wt. I was amazed. I had to go back to the car to get my rod as I wasn't thinking of fishing in this wind! We walked up and down the beach looking at what looked like good spots, but didn't hook up with anything.

After a quick lunch we headed to Honokohau harbor. Fishing the south side was pretty, but useless. so we switched to the north side of the harbor where we met... another fly fisherman! Two other fly anglers in one day! All this in a spot that isn't supposed to have any fly fishing. Either fly fishing is becoming way too popular or people think that its easy to catch fish here.

The north side of the harbor looked better, but again produced nothing. Looks like the wind will die down tomorrow. If this sunburn goes away soon, I will be back out there tomorrow. either way, we will be in paradise!

First day in Kona.

2011-03-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

After a crazy long day of traveling (which could be and will be worse on the way back) we arrived last night. Tossing and turning, missing my dogs, I finally got up this morning excited to be home. A lazy morning ensued with a new smoothie recipe courtesy of pops. Then we hit up a super secret area to get proper footwear for the week. The first fishing spot is the old airport. As usual, it was filled with hooligans and people that I try not to associate with. The two kinds of people that were ok there was the van full of people that had been dragged to their mandatory 12 step program and the tourists that had no idea that their valuable were being watched like an eagle watching a rodent thinking about leaving it's hole.

I tied on a clouser, watched my step for the constant threat of wana, and carefully picked my way out into the surf. I tried to cast downwind as much as possible. I only clipped myself with a fly once and luckily the hook didn't find it's way into the wrong animal.

At least the weather is nice!

I saw lots of fish getting out of my way, but that was the closest I came to catching anything. After a much missed plate lunch, we grabbed some stand up paddleboards and wore ourselves out in Kailua Bay. I had considered bringing a rod, but with a little surf and some wind, I was happy just to stay dry. A rod would have been a waste.

SUP!

Tomorrow is another chance for some fishing!

Heading to Kona.

2011-03-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

This is a work in progress for Blood Knot Magazine.

I hit up my local creek this week and caught a few dumb trout on #20 BWO. Believe me, it was satisfying as I have been seeking out larget trout all winter only to leave cold, hungry, dissapointed, angry, and defintely fishless. The latest excursion had me driving 5 hours only to scowl in the wind for 3 hours of “fishing”. It was about that time that I made up my mind to get into some saltwater. Now, I have no idea what to do when I have something larger than a 5 weight in my hand (ask my girlfriend) but the idea of wearing shorts worrying about applying enough sunscreen was appealing to me. The girlfriend has no problem going on these trips either.

So we booked tickets. Cheap tickets that make you travel for 24 hours for a 5 hour flight. That is when I started panicking. I spent an evening on the Google trying to find fly fishing in Kona Hawai’i. Nope. There isn’t any. There is a budding bonefish guiding industry on O’ahu. That is on a different island. The island of Hawai’i, also called the Big Island, not to be confused with the state, Hawai’i is much younger than O’ahu (where Waikiki and Honolulu are) and hasn’t developed flat areas off shore. In fact the southern most point of the U.S. and the Big Island (appropriatley named South Point) have water so deep that it is possible to catch large game fish like Wahoo (Ono) Tuna (Ahi) and even Marlin (A’u) from shore.

Time for me to scrunch my face at the Google again. What gear do I bring for an unknown fishery? I settled on a 9 weight rod for a few reasons. I don’t want to buy a 12 or 15 weight and go after marlin from shore. What would I do if I caught one?! Land it? I also don’t own a rod that size and really don’t think that I need to buy one living in Colorado.

I also don’t own any saltwater flies. I remembered that Jay Zimmerman had some advice on the life cycle of tubers and he might have some tips on how to catch fish somewhere unexplored. He, nor anyone else in the shop, had heard of fly fishing in Kona. I think they asked if I was bringing my passport.

Saltwater in CO.

Where do I start when I have no idea where to start? The beginning I guess.

There was a huge selection of flies, but I couldn’t tell the guys at the shop about the terrain, the fish, or the weather (other than it’s always perfect) so I bought a few clousers and deceivers. I had the genius idea that I could make some of these myself and I would enjoy it.

He has no idea...

These size 4 hooks are easy to work with compared to the #22 parachute adams I am used to making.

It looks like I will be walking the shore hucking these monster flies at random rock outcroppings and looking for the shallowest water that I can find. I have a stand up paddle board that I can use, but they are hard to balance on in a lake with no wind. I am hoping to borrow a kayak or one of those bicycles with the huge plastic wheels so I can explore more territory without paying for a boat.

Marlins eat chickens?

After the first round of clousers and deceivers, I headed to a craft store to pick up some colorful feathers, craft fur, and storgae containers. I hope these Kona fish will eat any sort of neon early 90’s looking club dancer that isn’t too far away from shore!

Feels like Spring!

2011-02-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

My life is great. Yesterday we hit up Brainard Lake to test out our new snowshoes. We loved it! We will definitely take them whenever we go somewhere with snow. Then today I was able to fish Boulder Creek. Most of the fish I caught were rising. Small BWOs were great! I even got this 10 incher on a Royal Wullfish pattern I tied last year.

For the soccer fans.

2011-02-17T22:31:00.002-07:00

More worms for vermicomposting!

2011-02-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

I just ordered 500 Super Red Worms when I found out this morning that the worms in my bin didn't survive the single digit temperatures over the last week. I am sad for the little guys that have been eating all my compost, but stoked to be getting more. a lot of moisture is produced and I am sure that the castings (poop) are in the water that drains out. Being winter though, I just throw it on the ground and hope the grass grows there in the spring!

Out of here!

2011-02-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

Tickets are booked to Kona for the first week in March. The new fly rod will be making its debut. Then it is off to Bali in April. Hopefully the weather will be better when these trips are over. I am ready for spring.

Getting ready for salt.

2011-02-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

Last week, I hurt myself playing soccer by colliding with another guy. I limped around for a couple of days until I decided to go to the doctor. I was told that I just bruised the bone and there was some swelling as fluid was in the marrow. I took a week off and felt better. Good enough to not listen to the doctor and get back into some soccer on Sunday. Of course I hurt it again and feel like a complete idiot. So with Mojdeh in Texas, I bought ice cream and gummy bears and sat on the couch for a couple of days feeling sorry for myself. I also bought an Orvis Hydros rod and reel. Now I am ready for Bali. The rod has arrived and the reel is expected around the middle of next month. Then I can go stand in the park and practice my double haul until my arms fall off.
I also applied for a job at the new Orvis store that is opening across the street form my house.

Mexico salt water fly fishing.

End of January!

2011-02-02T13:46:00.001-07:00

So the weather looks like it is going to be freezing cold and snowy. I try not to complain as this is why I live in Colorado. I love the seasons. Although, I did just order a new fly fishing rod for saltwater fishing. Yesterday, the Blood Knot crew went to the Dream Stream. I am done with winter fly fishing. It was windy, cold, and sunny, but not to productive on the fishing front.

Now I am looking forward to Bali and trying to swing another warm weather vacation in March. Maybe Kona. We played our first indoor soccer game in Westminster last night. We have a brand new team on a brand new field and we got our asses handed to us. I am having trouble walking after colliding with a guy on the other team so I hope that goes away soon. Lando chewed a couple of hats that we had ordered for Blood Knot employees. That sucked.

A night at the circus!

2011-01-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went and saw Alegria. I have never been to a Cirque du Soleil show and it was very impressive. Part gymnastics, part musical, trapeze acts, clowns, contortionists, it had a bit of everything.

We have hired a couple more guys for Blood Knot and I am stoked. This will give us more manpower for all of the jobs that we have lined up. There are a lot of exciting things that I hope we can accomplish this year!

Where has January gone?

2011-01-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

Still messing with Photoshop. I feel like I can keep playing on it forever and never learn it all. We swam for the first time in a bout a month. 400 warm up, 200 skips (swim, kick, IM, pull, swim 200 each), then a push up ladder (25 swim 10 pushups, 50 swim, 8 pushups, etc.) 200 non free, 200 cool down. That made me feel out of shape!
My fly box is getting set up for Bali:

The weather has been freezing and we have been able to let the dogs out on the water:

Blood Knot Issue #4 out now!

2011-01-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

I am proud of this one. Firefox loads this beast the fastest, but it is viewable in iProducts as we no longer use Flash. That also gives us a clickable Table of Contents. I will be at the ISE show this Friday and the Fly Fishing Show this Sunday.

Ain't no money in Bluegrass.

2011-01-02T21:11:00.002-07:00

Just found my retirement idea!

New Year!

2011-01-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

I found this post on TinyBuddha.com and had to repost it. It hits home for me. A lot of people seem to have resolutions and it made me think that I should have (or some). I am pretty happy with my life though. The only thing that has been nagging at me lately is that I want more of a steady income. The idea of getting a "real" job is beginning to be more appealing.But what is a "real" job. Is it a dollar amount per year? Does it require a certain level of education? I want a more steady income. But that might take away my opportunity to do what I want every day. I feel very lucky to no go sit behind a desk every day, 5 days a week and only get 2 weeks vacation. I know that I am fortunate to have good health and live what I consider an awesome life. So why do I feel the need for a more steady income? I think that I just want a job that makes me think. Using my brain instead of my hands might be better.

The whole post is a bit longer, but here are the parts, I like:

I don’t actually believe New Year’s Day is any different than any other day. I don’t believe a random point in the time measurement system we’ve created requires us to make a laundry list of things we need to change or improve. Today is in fact just another day, and tomorrow is one, as well. I don’t mean to minimize the excitement of the New Year, or any of the days we’ve chosen to celebrate for religious or honorary reasons. What I’m saying is that New Year’s resolutions often fail for a reason, and it’s only slightly related to intention or discipline.

Resolutions fail because they don’t emerge from true breakthroughs—they’re calendar-driven obligations; and they often address the symptoms, not the cause of our unhappiness.

Some resolutions are smart for our physical and emotional health and well-being. Quitting smoking, losing weight, managing stress better—there are all healthy things. But if we don’t address what underlies our needs to light up, order double bacon cheeseburgers, and worry ourselves into frenzies, will it really help to vow on one arbitrary day to give up everything that helps us pretend we’re fine? It’s almost like we set ourselves up for failure to avoid addressing the messy stuff.

Why We’re Really Unhappy

I can’t say this is true for everyone, but my experience has shown me that my unhappiness—and my need for coping mechanisms—come from several different places:

I’m dwelling on the past or obsessing about the future.
I’m comparing myself to everyone else—their accomplishments, the respect and the attention they garner, and their apparently perfect lives.
I’m feeling dissatisfied with how I’m spending my time and the impact I’m making on the world.
I’ve lost hope in my potential.
I’m expecting and finding the worst in people.
I’m turning myself into a victim or a martyr, blaming everyone else.
I’m spiraling into negative thinking, seeing everything as a sign of doom and hopelessness
I’m assuming there should be a point in time when none of the above happens anymore.

The last one, I believe, is the worst cause of unhappiness. All those other things I mentioned are human, whether we experience them persistently or occasionally.

We’ll do these things from time to time—and they’ll hurt. In the aftermath, we’ll want to do all those different things that every year we promise to give up.

We’ll want to eat, drink, or smoke away our feelings. Or we’ll want to work away our nagging sense of inadequacy. Or we’ll judge whether or not we’re really enjoying life enough and in the very act of judging detract from that enjoyment.

So perhaps the best resolution has nothing to do with giving up all those not-so-healthy things and everything to do with adopting a new mindset that will make it less tempting to turn to them.

An Alternative to Resolutions

Maybe instead of trying to trim away all the symptoms of our dissatisfaction, we can accept that what we we really want is happiness—and that true happiness comes and goes. We can never trap it like a butterfly in a jar.

No amount of medication or meditation can change the fact that we will sometimes get caught up in thoughts and emotions.

What we can do is work to improve the ratio of happy-to-unhappy moments. We can learn to identify when we’re spiraling and pull ourselves back with the things we enjoy and want to do in this world.

Instead of scolding ourselves for all the things we’re doing wrong and making long to-do lists to stop doing them, we can focus on doing the things that feel right to us.

This may sound familiar if you’ve read about positive psychology—I’m no posi-psy expert, and to my knowledge no one is since the industry is unregulated.

But it doesn’t take an expert to know it feels a lot better to choose to nurture positive moments than it does to berate myself for things I’ve done that might seem negative—all while plotting to give them all up when the clock strikes tabula rasa.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Freshwater dilemma.

2010-12-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

I have booked a ticket to Bali for a two week trip with my Dad. We will be there for the last two weeks in April. One week will be in Ubud, in the mountains, and another in Seminyak near the beach. Of course I will be bring fly rods. But I can't find any research on what to bring. I had a great chat with Trapper from Fly Fish America who told me just to enjoy and not to over think things! Sounds like great advice. That being said, I can't help but scour the Google Maps looking at the water. In the mountains there is lots of water. But I can't tell what kind of rivers these are. Are they large? Small? Dammed? Are they only use to irrigate rice paddies? Here is the same pictures using the map view (showing the rivers) and again using the satellite view (showing the trees along the rivers.)

Lots of trees covering the water.

What do these rivers hold?

Lots of water!

So I will bring a 5 weight rod for the fresh water and hope that there are some fish (trout?) lurking around. I will also bring a 9 weight rod for the saltwater, but that is a story for another day. What flies shall i tie for the next four months?!

Last cyclocross race.

2010-12-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

I just signed up to participate in the 2010 State Cyclocross Championships.

Post Thanksgiving celebration.

2010-12-01T01:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Breckenridge for a few days. We had a great time.

Fruit and vegetable diet.

2010-11-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

The past two days we ate nothing but fruits and vegetables. I was starving for the first few hours. The end of the day, I didn't want to do it anymore. I woke up the next day and wasn't too hungry. I was constantly snacking on grapes, salad, potatoes, cucumbers, peppers, anything that I could get my hands on. The second day I made vegan potato soup. It was better than I thought that it would be, but not as delicious as when it is made with cream and cheese. Today I appreciate every bite of everything. Tomorrow is the big Turkey Day. Now we are off to go food shopping!

Hockey.

2010-11-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

I went to my first professional ice hockey game this week. It was Mojdeh's birthday week, so we went to the Adventure Film Festival, Avalanche game, and dinner a couple times, it was great.

Indoor soccer tonight.

2010-11-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

I wore a heart rate monitor at my soccer game tonight. It is pretty apparent when I was playing and when I was sitting on the bench. We won.

Worth many words.

2010-11-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

This week can be summed up in a few random pictures.

Did some fishing.

Walked a bit. (Hiking.)

Tried to convince Ben to get a dog.

Had friends over, drank Absinthe.

Went to trivia night where Ben tried to turn it into a gay bar. (Nearly successful.)

Nymphing begins.

2010-11-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

Despite the forecast for some cold weather, we went fishing today. We hit the Big Thompson River a few miles below the dam and caught a few fish.

Pretty little rainbow trout.

I got this guy with a homemade green dubbing, copper wire, white winged nymph. Size 20. I never quite know what I am tying, I just like to make it up as I go along. I will be adding wings to a lot more nymphs. I got a couple more on a size 22-24 super pretty flashback shiny something. The tiny fly in the corner of a pretty fish's mouth made me want to take a picture, but I couldn't do it with my phone.

Then we went to just below the dam where Mall road crosses the river. That is always a hard spot to fish as there is a lot of pressure. With the temperatures dropping the pocket water is not providing any fish and the seams are where they are staying. I tied on a size 16 purple prince nymph and dropped it in the slow water a bit too far (I thought) from the fast water. As my dry sank, I set the hook and wondered if I would need the net. It turned out to be my best fish of the day and I nearly needed help netting him. He put up a good fight and I was happy to let him go.

Killer Brown.

Chet does the Double Deca.

2010-11-08T11:19:00.001-07:00

I used to coach for Team Jet. This is the founder, Chet "the Jet" Blanton. He was planing on doing the Double Deca (yes 20X) Ironman in Mexico. Due to the recent violence, he decided to do it by himself in his hometown of Honolulu. Sorry for his constant caps lock.

This is nuts to me!

Today the 48 miles of swimming starts.

ALOHA EVERYONE

I WANT TO UPDATE YOU ON MY 20 X IRONMAN

STARTING TODAY MONDAY ON WWW.TEAMJETHAWAII.COM THERE WILL BE

A LINK TO MY DOUBLE DECA PAGE . YOU CAN GO THERE FOR DAILY UPDATES

------------------------------------------------------------------------

THIS IS A ROUGH PLAN SO IF YOU COME OUT YOU WILL KNOW WHATS UP !!!

CHARLES DIAS IS GOING TO BE THERE THE WHOLE TIME. ( THANKS CHARLES )

CHARLES IN CHARGE IS MY ONE MAN CREW !!!!!!

IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD COME OUT TO HELP HIM DURING THE RACE.

WE HAVE TO WRITE DOWN EVERY LAP TIME. ALSO BEFORE COMING OUT , YOU COULD

GIVE CHARLES A CALL TO SEE IF WE NEED ANYTHING, THAT WOULD BE A BIG HELP.

CHARLES DIAS : CELL PHONE : 1-808-368-6872

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

THE SWIM !!!!!!!!

SAT NOV 13TH AT 6AM AT THE OAHU CLUB I WILL START MY SWIM

760 UP AND BACKS = 48 MILES SWIM

HOPE TO BE DONE MONDAY AT 9AM, 12 NOON, OR LASTEST BY 5PM

51-59 HOURS

MY GAME PLAN IS ONE OF THESE PLANS :

6AM-10AM 60 LAPS 70 LAPS 80 LAPS

10:30-2:30 120 LAPS 140 LAPS 160 LAPS

3PM-7PM 180 LAPS 210 LAPS 235 LAPS

7:30-11:30 240 LAPS 280 LAPS 310 LAPS

12:30-4:30AM 300 LAPS 350 LAPS 380 LAPS

5:30-9:30AM 360 LAPS 420 LAPS 450 LAP

10AM-2PM 420 LAPS 480 LAPS 515 LAPS

2:30-6:30PM 480 LAPS 540 LAPS 580 LAPS

7PM-11PM 540 LAPS 600 LAPS 640 LAPS

12MID-4AM 600 LAPS 660 LAPS 700 LAPS

5AM-9AM 660 LAPS 720 LAPS 760 LAPS DONE 51 HRS (MON 9AM)

------------

9:30-1:30 720 LAPS 760 LAPS DONE BY 12 NOON 54 HRS (MON 12PM)

-----------------------

2PM-5PM 760 LAPS DONE 59 HRS (MON 5PM)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

THE BIKE!!!!!!

THE BIKE WILL TAKE PLACE AT LAGOON DR AT THE END PARKING LOT.

STARTING AT THE END PARKING LOT I WILL RIDE A 2.8 MILE LAP

THIS IS I.4 MILES OUT AND 1.4 MILES BACK . I WILL DO THIS

800 TIMES = 2240 MILES

THE GAME PLAN FOR THE BIKE : DAY 1 UP TO THE SWIM

1ST DAY OF BIKE 1 OF 3 PLANS UP TO THE SWIM

------------------------------------------------------

12PM TO 4PM 18 LAPS = 50.4 MILES

6PM TO 10PM 18 LAPS = 100.8 MILES

10PM TO 6AM 8 HR SLEEP

3PM TO 7PM 18 LAPS = 50.4 MILES

9PM TO 11PM 9 LAPS = 75.6

11PM TO 6AM 7 HR SLEEP

8PM TO 10PM 9 LAPS = 25.2

10PM TO 6 AM 8 HR SLEEP

AFTER DAY 1 HERE IS MY PLAN

(179.2 MILES A DAY) STARTING DAY 2 OF THE BIKE

6AM TO 10AM 18 LAPS = 50.4

11AM TO 3PM 18 LAPS = 50.4

4PM TO 8PM 18 LAPS = 50.4

9PM TO 11:30PM 10 LAPS = 28

11:30PM TO 6AM 6 1/2 HR SLEEP

12 DAYS PLUS 100 SAT NOV 27TH 12 MID

12 DAYS PLUS 75.6 SUN NOV 28TH 8 AM

12 DAYS PLUS 25.2 SUN NOV 28TH 1PM

------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE RUN !!! 14 DAYS AT 36 MILES A DAY

THE RUN WILL BE AT KAP PARK LACATION TBA.

I WILL RUN AROUND THE PARK 1.8 MILES FOR 276 LAPS

THAT = 497.8 MILES THEN I WILL END IT BY RUNNING THE HONOLULU MARATHON

THAT WILL MAKE THE TOTAL OF 524 MILES.

THE GAME PLAN FOR THE RUN IS :

6AM TO 9AM 5 LAPS = 9

11AM TO 2PM 5 LAPS = 9

4PM TO 7PM 5 LAPS = 9

9PM TO 12MID 5 LAPS = 9

12MID TO 6AM 6 HR SLEEP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

THIS IS A EASIER RUN PLAN BUT IT JUST SO I CAN FINISH AT THE HON MARATHON

MY 1ST PLAN WAS :

6AM TO 9AM 6 LAPS = 10.8

11AM TO 2PM 6 LAPS = 10.8

4PM TO 7PM 6 LAPS = 10.8

9PM TO 12MID 6 LAPS = 10.8

12MID TO 6AM 6 HR SLEEP

DID NOT WANT TO FINISH ON THUR OR FRI

12 DAYS THUR NOV 9TH 12 MID

12 DAYS FRI NOV 10TH 9 AM

12 DAYS FRI NOV 10TH 2 PM

IT WILL BE MORE BETTER TO FINISH AT THE HONOLULU MARATHON WITH ALL MY

FRIENDS.

HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE AT SOMETIME DURING.

TAKE CARE

CHET THE JET TOO LA JET TO QUIT

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chet "the Jet" Blanton

Team Jet Hawaii

phone: 808-396-5381

fax: 808-396-5381

mobile: 808-753-5381

Schoolyard Cross.

2010-11-07T13:01:00.002-07:00

Today's adventure.

2010-11-04T22:35:00.001-06:00

We No Speak Americano.

2010-11-01T11:45:00.000-06:00

So I found another blogger that I will be living vicariously through. Morgan is the editor of Bitch Creek in Blood Knot Magazine and she has a passion for fishing that is inspirational. Check out her blog, The Sandhill.
Since being in Mexico, I can't stop listening to this:

New Blood Knot Magazine issue!

2010-10-31T23:26:00.000-06:00

As always I am proud to be a part of the Blood Knot team. We just released our 3rd issue. Check it our here. My gear review is inside. Page 36 and 37 for anyone shopping for a chest pack!

Colorado Cross Classic

2010-10-30T13:02:00.002-06:00

Compostable?

2010-10-29T10:30:00.000-06:00

We went to ModMarket for lunch yesterday. Their cups are compostable, but I don't know exactly how that works. So I took a cup home and put it in our worm bin. We moved the worm bin into the greenhouse. The greenhouse is being used mostly as a storage facility.

The bin in the greenhouse.

Lots of fruits and veggies, and a cup.

Let's see what happens!

I like ModMarket because it is affordable, delicious, and somewhat healthy. They also use FourSquare and Twitter for marketing. I got a free pizza for having 10 FourSquare checkins.
Now there is another fire that is closer to Boulder than the last one. For now it is smaller, but the winds are howling. Is it bad that I worry how it will affect the fish in Boulder Creek more than anything else?

Canucks, Aussies, and footie.

2010-10-26T16:47:00.000-06:00

This is from last week. Life is still this good, just colder!

We have friends in town. They are Canadian emergency room doctors. I sat down with the winner of the Boulder Marathon, Andrew Letherby for coffee today. He is a really nice Aussie. He is getting into triathlons so as soon as he gets his swim in order, look out! I finished my physical therapy today. A couple more massages and I might be "made whole" soon. Winter is indoor soccer and cyclocross season. I am stoked for them to start.

PV part 2.

2010-10-23T12:00:00.000-06:00

Rooster!

Very cool to see in person.

My National Geographic moment.

The boys.

The malecon.

Lots of casting practice.

So we didn't have any luck from the boat, but I did catch my first Roosterfish from shore. After watching a turtle lay eggs on the beach nearby. How awesome is that?

We also saw the Pan American Championship triathlon race. Collins did well and I was stoked to see him race!

Puerto Vallarta.

2010-10-21T01:14:00.000-06:00

Hanapa'a!

So we arrived yesterday and immediately, we got in some fishing. There are baitfish close to shore we we could see larger fish were chasing the small ones. I caught this baby Ahi looking fish and was thrilled. Then I saw more fish on a sandbar at the mouth of a river. I sprinted across the river not worrying about the diseases that were surely swirling round my legs as I splashed my way to the sand bar. There were hundreds of fish showing me their shiny sides like quarters that had been squished and elongated on railroad tracks. I was amazed to be in the middle of the baitball as I felt the fish hitting my shins. I clumsily through my fly anywhere I could and when I would hook up a fish they would jump and shake out the fly like I would imagine a Tarpon would.

It was frustrating when the schools of fish would be just out of range of my casts. I would be waist to chest deep hucking flies very ungracefully at water that looked like it was boiling until a sleek football shaped fish would jump out and I wished I could get out further.

Pelicans having a feast just out of range!

So today we borrowed the kayaks (resorts have perks) and paddled around looking for the fish. The diving seabirds were sure signs, but as we approached, the birds would fly away and the fish would swim down and stop eating. I was trolling along, rod wedged between when I had my first hit. The reel let out a short yelp and before I could get a hold of it, the line broke and the fish disappeared. I was left staring at some foam and ripples. In my mind it was a monster!

Smaller than he felt!

A while later, I was casting into nothingness when some small baitfish began jumping away from my fly. The closest thing I got to catching a fish was seeing a fish follow my fly. Not quite what I was hoping for from the kayak.

(Jason I owe you a fly!)

SATURDAY

Today we went to a timeshare deal where they tried to sell us stuff. We walked away with no timeshare, but a big bottle of tequila! The taxi ride there and back was fun as we got to go through the non touristy part of the area. Our impatient taxi driver hated being stuck behind anybody, so he nearly had a coronary when we got behind a tractor and a tow truck. Once we were on the freeway and we passed the tractor (why wouldn't the tractor drive down the freeway?) he loosened up a bit.

Then we attended the pro athlete briefing for Ben's race tomorrow. It was pretty funny because as of today, the athletes don't know the race course. There are two options because the road that that the race occurs on is currently being paved. If it is paved today, option A will occur, if it is not paved by 7 am tomorrow, option B will be put into place. There were a lot of astounded faces as some prima donna triathletes don't know their exact course now.

This evening I caught my first (and second) Roosterfish. A turtle was laying eggs on the beach near where I was fishing. It wa s good evening.

Mexican bus ride.

On the malecon.

Don't beat people up.

2010-10-20T17:46:00.000-06:00

I suppose I should have taken a little more warning with the odd text message I received yesterday. It was from Ben's number, but his name didn't show up. I guess being in Mexico and not wanting to incur huge roaming charges made him send messages via the web. It said "I'll see you both tomorrow!! Email me if you got my messages! Don't beat anyone up tonight!!"

That sounds fairly normal, except why would we be beating anyone up? Perhaps he knew about what would happen early this morning. After 4 hours of sleep, we walked to the bus stop near our house. (Nothing like taking public transportation to get on a first class flight!) While waiting bleary eyed with the rest of the passengers a bus headed towards Denver dropped off a passenger that was hesitant to get off the bus. Now understandably, it was about 40 degrees and this person was seated on a nice comfy until the driver kicked them off.

The man (?) stumbled off the bus and looked like a person that just got off a boat after a rough time at sea. (S)He decided to stand in the road and challenge all of us bus stop attendees to a rock throwing contest. Surprisingly, nobody accepted. So the next logical thing to do is come back and ask us all of some money. Again, nobody decided to hand over their cash. He then asked for money because he was a woman. He did have long hair, but I thought that it took more than that to be a woman. Maybe this person was more intoxicated than I have ever been.

The vagrant angered a woman at the bus stop long enough that it was told to "Go fuck yourself". Enraged, the transient exclaimed to everyone within 4 blocks that s/he had NEVER done that! It got a few chuckles out of us which further enraged the long haired, drunk (wo)man. S/he pushed over a newspaper container which made some people jump. We were informed that she called himself Madonna, Rhianna, and/or Coco.

I was thoroughly amused until s/he stood too close to Mojdeh with a hand too close to her purse than I would have liked. As my mind raced with the possibility of punching this person if they made a move to rob us I realized that everyone at the bus stop was looking out for our well being also. I considered calling the police, but a cell would be warm and sobering.

We boarded our bus and I slept well on the way to the airport knowing that we were "nearly" robbed half a block from our house, not in Mexico. It would be a bummer if I weren't writing this post from my comfortable first class seat.

Hasta luego. Remember, with drugs you will end up dead, in jail, or worse!

Boulder Marathon.

2010-10-07T09:46:00.000-06:00

Putting on a marathon is no easy task. A lot of people really came together to make it all possible. I worked for what feels like 4 days straight. It was the night before the race that was the most brutal. Building the finish line at 2 am so that we could put out mile markers at 4 am. I had to make sure that all of the aid stations were fully stocked by the time that the runners got there. I hate being on the course when the race begins, but it was necessary this year. I have a lot of changes that I want to implement for the Spring Half Marathon that we will put on in March. Most of the changes will make my life easier, but the runners probably won't notice.
I drove a lot of different vehicles over the weekend. We had cargo vans, pickup trucks, 17' trucks, and 26' trucks. U-Haul execs must be bored. They put fun facts on the side of every big truck, but they also play the U-Haul version of "Where's Waldo?" All the big 26' trucks with the pictures have a hidden U-Haul guy somewhere in the picture. Here are a couple that I found.

Bike thieves beware.

2010-09-29T21:05:00.000-06:00

Car/bike update.

2010-09-23T22:22:00.000-06:00

My bike is back from the shop just looking at me. I had X-Rays on my wrist, back, ankle, and elbow and nothing appears broken. Although, my physical therapist would like a second opinion so we are going to take care of that tomorrow. I am going to the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and so far I have had a great experience with them. Until I am better there is a lot of wishing I was racing cyclocross, eating, planning a marathon, watching Heroes, and eating some more. Although the good news is that it is fueling the fire to compete again!

It can always be worse.

2010-09-19T10:59:00.000-06:00

We went to Boulder Cycle Sport's cyclocross training Wednesday and it was a great time. We practiced mounting and dismounting and a bit of jumping over barriers. It was the first time that I had ridden my brand new Blue Norcross EX and I loved it. The second time I rode my new bike, I went to a meeting for the newly rescheduled Boulder Marathon. I was on my way home when I was hit by a car. I was in the bike lane, clipped in, helmet on, and a guy failed to yield during a left hand turn. That means he drove into my side. He stopped to see if I was ok. The police came and gave him a court date. I sprained my wrist and ankle. Contusions on my back and elbow and some whiplash. I am glad that I have health insurance and he has car insurance.
I took my bike to the bike shop and I am waiting to see what they say is wrong with it. Until then, I will be recovering and waiting to feel better. Things can always be worse...

Only a day away.

2010-09-10T15:55:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, I am going to the International Fly Tackle Dealer (IFTD) show in Denver. It will be fun to go as a client and not a vendor. There is also a pancake breakfast in my neighborhood. I would like to attend that. After my breakfast, I would have gone to the Humane Society's Cause for Paws. Instead I get to see the coolest new gear and report about it for Blood Knot Magazine. The Boulder Marathon is still hoping to be held next weekend and things are going as smoothly as they can. The fire fighters that are here from out of town are being housed (in tents) at the Boulder Reservoir where we start and finish the race. Life is always exciting!

Fourmile Fire.

2010-09-08T12:54:00.000-06:00

Last night we gave HEED, Clif Shot Bloks, and other stuff to the fire department near our house. We don't train (off season, laziness, call it what you will) and they sure could use it about now. This Fourmile Fire is as close as any fire has ever been to my house. It is still far enough away that we are able to go outside and play soccer.
It is amazing to me that when the reverse 911 didn't work, the first responders decided to drive up the canyon to knock on people's doors to let them know that they needed to evacuate. That is brave. People are luck y that nobody has been injured or killed. There were reports that people were sitting in their homes waiting for a reverse 911 call to evacuate. What happened to looking out the window, seeing fire, and leaving? Are we that dependent on being told what to do? The Humane Society is going and rescuing animals. It makes me want to volunteer.
People are going to lose things in this fire. I cannot imagine what I would do if my house burned down, but it is only stuff. At least the people are alright.
The fire isn't threatening Boulder town yet. I am also lucky that I am not missing a lot of training as I am lazy. I got a new cyclocross bike this week. Pedals should arrive soon. Then I start a new sport this winter.

Fun, fish, and family.

2010-08-30T10:11:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I got to fish with a long lost uncle. We went to his favorite stream and caught a combined 40-50 fish. They were quite hungry. I caught brown, cut throat, brook, and cut bow trout.

Wet wading at it's best.

Another day on the Blue River.

2010-08-19T12:10:00.000-06:00

Well the fishing continues. As well as the preparation for the Boulder Marathon. We received our medals and they are great. I also saw the awards that are being created for our winners. The barriers are reserved, the flags are ready, the expo is being sorted out, and volunteers are being recruited. Now we just plan for as much as we can.

Nobody else was allowed here today.

As for the fishing, I got skunked on some awesome looking private water. These were (in my mind) going to be big, dumb, and hungry fish. I guess nobody told them to be there. Then we fished the Big Thompson and I got some, but the biggest of the day took we down stream before spitting out my fly. Yesterday, we hit the Blue in Silverthorne for some afternoon action. Multiple times I had to check my fly to see if there was a hook attached because I missed so many.

The look of concentration.

Yesterday's best fish of the day nudged my fly with his nose the first time it passed by him. You rarely get another chance at the fish on the Blue River, but he took it the second time it drifted by. I was happy because I have been practicing tying these smallish (size 16) dries with Wulff like wings and I thought they would work well, and they did. It was a good fight and he was close enough for Moj to take pictures of him in the water. When he sensed the net nearby he took off downstream. I went sprinting after him not wanting to let him go. He somehow tied his line in a bow around a log and swam away with my kick ass new fly. I somehow contained the urge to snap my fly rod and settled on shouting expletives. I will get a good one there one day. No more rookie mistakes!

Fish fanatic.

2010-07-28T11:11:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I pulled a half dozen small trout out of Boulder Creek. I filmed some of it with my new iPhone 4.

Then after work, I work tried a mouse pattern that Moj had tied in March. It worked. I successfully caught a fish after midnight with a mouse pattern. It wasn't the 20" Brown Trout that I was hoping for, but the fact that it worked simply thrills me.

Combination Win!

2010-07-27T15:08:00.002-06:00

Blue Jays.

2010-07-24T08:39:00.000-06:00

I have become an ornithologist lately. We have a nest in a tree in the backyard that started with 5 babies. There are only 3 left alive and they always want to try flying. However, they aren't ready. So every morning I go outside and keep the dogs away. Lando wants to play with them and Topper wants to eat them.

Today one of the adult birds dive bombed me and left me with a lump on my head as I tried to rescue the juvenile and return him to his nest. I returned to put on my helmet and shatterproof sunglasses. Feeling much safer I got the ladder and returned the bird to its nest. He immediately jumped out again. I climbed down the ladder, picked him up, parents shrieking and flying close by, and the little guy trying to jump out of my hands and commit suicide. I put him back into the nest and remained on suicide watch for another 3 minutes.

I returned a few minutes later and there were 2 juveniles on the ground. I knew the ladder was useless. We got a large trash bin with sticks and leaves and placed a towel on top. I hope the parents use it as a giant nest on the ground and the babies just hang out inside until they can fly.

One is left in the tree.

My new favorite book.

2010-07-22T09:32:00.000-06:00

I find it very amusing that when we are out of something at the restaurant I can come up with many excuses for my tables. I lied to one table and told them that the fish was very popular so we had sold out. The table beside them, I had to keep my voice down to mention, honestly, that the fish was "not very good" and we were taking it off the menu. Of course there are many other things that I hope we are taking off the menu because the food sucks. We are undergoing big changes as our general manager and executive chef have all quit this week. Apparently the staff turnover is very high and the owner doesn't think it's his fault. He is the only person above these people that keep leaving. Whatever. I just wait tables. I am supposed to be at a meeting right now as they try to teach us about service.

Waiter Rant.

Blue River again!

2010-07-20T11:50:00.000-06:00

I have been reading Waiter Rant since I seem to be a ~~disgruntled~~ realistic restaurant employee and another server with a similar attitude loaned me the book. Now I am hooked on the blog as well. Turns out he is a waiter, dog owner, and blogger. Sounds god to me. The author is now a published writer and a decade older than me though.

Yesterday, we took Moj's mom to Breckenridge for the day. Of course the Blue was awesome to fish. All dries, all day. Tons of fish make me very happy. There is so much water here in Colorado and not enough time.

Cool video.

2010-07-19T09:02:00.000-06:00

Gnarcade from Mike Benson on Vimeo.

Boulder Peak

2010-07-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

Last weekend was the Boulder Peak Olympic distance triathlon.
Swim: 25 minutes
Bike: 1:18:22
Run 43:17

My bike still needs lots of work and I feel like it always will. The most exciting thing was that I hit a fox going about 35 mph down the back side of Olde Stage Rd. He jumped out right in front of me and I clipped his back end. My front wheel wobbled and I screamed as I wondered which side of my body was going to get the worst road rash. Things worked out and I didn't crash. I looked back and saw the fox lope across the road. Looks like we both made it! I was probably a bit more cautious after that than I would have liked to be.
Nearly at T2 three guys were riding side by side and a car was trying to pull out perpendicular to them. I passed them as the car nearly took us all out. One of the guys crashed into my rear wheel. We both stayed upright and almost doesn't count.
So a couple of close calls and I was happy to be out on the run. I ran hard and passed more people than passed me. My run kept me just under 7 minutes per mile and I am very happy with that. Today I rode my bike and I look forward to the 70.3 next month!

Fish update.

2010-07-14T12:31:00.001-06:00

Overnight trip to Brainard with some friends. Lando and Topper loved it. The fishing was fun, but I am still hating fishing in non moving water.

Moj got the most fish of the day.

Boulder Creek with a friend. His new friend is allowing me to perfect my fly tying.

The fishing on Boulder Creek has been amazing. When the kayakers aren't there, the water is clear and the dry fly fishing is on fire. Eager fish destroying anything floating by. When the water gets muddied, nymphing is necessary. I am not a fan of nymphing, but I love catching fish. The girl in the tree wouldn't stop talking about her Dad fishing, but she had never seen a a fish as "cool" as this one. I guess her Dad isn't a trout fisherman.

Another job!

2010-07-08T15:19:00.000-06:00

Now for job #3. I am now working with Blood Knot magazine. It is an e-zine published every other month that is dedicated to fly fishing. We update the supporting website with fresh content every week. Let me know if you want to advertise with us! I look forward to jumping into this industry. BloodKnot.net

Test run of Tangelo.

2010-07-08T15:06:00.002-06:00

I am testing out Tangelo for my images. Mouse over the image for more information.

New job.

2010-07-03T13:28:00.000-06:00

I am the race course manager for the 2010 Boulder Marathon. Come and run with us. BoulderMarathon.com

Carp-e diem.

2010-07-01T16:36:00.000-06:00

I found myself with a few hours free and despite actually catching trout in a recently non blown out local creek yesterday, I decided to teach myself patience at a lake stalking carp. I have been carp fishing a half a dozen times, usually by myself flinging flies, and wondering why these fish are so much smarter than myself. I have repeatedly gone into Front Range Anglers to listen to the wisdom of the people that I see in the blog with many golden monsters in their hands. I thought that I was doing what they told me, but it was never producing fish. The closest I ever got was when I found out the hard way that my tippet was too light. (Something a trout fisherman just doesn't understand.)

Today with thunderstorms threatening and not much hope remaining, I still found myself creeping along the banks of my favorite lake, stalking the Colorado Bonefish. The first fish was huge and feeding hungrily. His tail was making ripples on the surface and he was neck deep in mud. I still found a way to spook him. He cruised away slowly seemingly annoyed that I was dropping "food" all around him. I continued walking to my favorite spot and found a couple carp eating pretty close to shore. What I thought was a stealthy approach was too quick for one of the fish and he disappeared beyond casting range. His buddy didn't notice me and I got a cast a bit further than I wanted. My brain still thought these were real bonefish. I thought of all the tips that I had gotten from FRA and tried to slow down my heart rate. I stripped my fly hoping to drop it close to the fish's face. I pulled it a bit too far, but let it sit for a moment. The carp noticed, turned 90 degrees and sucked up my fly. My heart stopped. When I set the hook (with a big strip like Jay said) I expected to see my fly skittering across the bottom. Instead, there was a tightness in my line that meant I had hooked the fish or another rock, stick, weed, bottom of the lake, or other more likely scenario. Then he ran. Fish on! Hot damn, I had finally hooked a carp. Then I got nervous. Would my knots hold? My drag is too loose. Can I actually land it? How do I land a carp? I had to stop thinking and start reeling. Luckily, my friend was watching and I was able to tell him that this was my first carp and I was very excited. I noted the bend in my rod. Man that looks good. The fish tried to run into the reeds, but I was able to keep him out. This was nothing like dragging a log to the surface that so many people expect. This fish took off. I would get him close and he would run again. Eventually I was able to land him (I dropped my rod in the water and scooped him up) and pose for a picture.

The folks at Front Range Anglers know their stuff. With their help, I was able to land my first carp. Now who wants to go fishing tomorrow?

Busy busy.

2010-06-30T18:12:00.000-06:00

I have been busy working and moving. Along the way, we picked up our first worm bin. Our new house has a yard (the dogs seem stoked), a greenhouse, and no crackhead neighbors, well at least not as many as the last apartment, and an Argentinean landlord. Things are great.

The worm bin is a Triformis Can O Worms. I have stared putting bedding (shredded paper and cardboard) in the bottom and soon I hope to buy some worms.

One of our neighbors got a dog in Washington and it seems to be a wolf. At least part wolf.

I finally got out and caught a trout on a river. It has been a while. I guess things will go on as normal. Until 2012.

A few more leg smashing workouts form the coach let me see baby deer that had to be less than 2 weeks old. I was smiling as I flew down the hills until I hit the swarms of bugs that left me looking like I ate handfuls of poppy seeds. To the guy on the Cervelo trying to keep up with me on the incline, thanks for lighting the fire on the last repeat, I needed that.

5430 Sprint Pictures.

2010-06-24T11:49:00.000-06:00

The bike pictures are all from the first mile of the bike portion. I look pretty happy to finish the run.

Red fox at night, cyclists delight.

2010-06-22T21:10:00.000-06:00

I just got back from a leg smashing ride. Coach Mark prescribes just the right amount of hurt each time. Anyone that wants to be faster, have someone to hold them accountable, or not think about what their training should check him out here.

Riding out to the hurt zone, there were deer walking beside the road. On "what excuse can I come up with to be finished now" hill repeat number one there was an adult magpie feeding a juvenile magpie something rotting on the side of the road. It was cute. At the end of the workout, there was a fox trying to get in on the rotten carcass action. The birds were circling overhead squawking trying to get the fox to leave their meal alone.
It was a great ride and I look forward to the rest of the weeks workouts!

Longest sprint ever.

2010-06-21T18:52:00.000-06:00

This weekend was the first of three triathlons in the Boulder Tri Series. This was the first year that Ironman bought the races and there were quite a few complaints heard. At packet pickup, there were two lines snaking through the expo. Nobody told you which line to get into first and most people waited over an hour to pick up their race number and free goodies. The t-shirt was less than impressive so people weren't happy about the free things they received. It looks like most other race shirts, I could care less. It was pretty nice going to an expo and not working it although it made me realize how much I love the athletic industry.
Race day came around and I was excited to test myself. After my last sprint triathlon where I averaged 6:27 per mile and the Bolder boulder 10k where I ran 6:24 per mile, I was ready to see where my fitness was now.
Mark is a great coach and having him show his support at these races has been great. It must be tough not being able to race, but he is still so enthusiastic about his athletes.
My swim went well and I was top 10 out of the water for my age group. I had the 55th fastest swim time out of 1600. Out on the bike everything was going to plan for the first mile. Then my front tube exploded. Not a slow leak, but a big bang and then it was flat. I pulled over (swearing loudly) and tried to use my pit stop to plug the leak. Foam was spilling out of my tire and I knew I was screwed. I was determined not to quit. I started walking the bike course thinking of CAF athletes and Rutger Beke. About 3 miles into it an official on a motorcycle informed me that the bike course was almost 18 miles long. I turned around and walked back to transition. After 6 miles of walking barefoot on the road I was close to limping as I hit T2. I ran a 20:37 5k making my pace being 6:39.
I was disappointed with the whole day. After resting today however (and not catching any fish) I am eager to get back to training and kick butt at the Olympic distance race next month.

Fly Fishing for lake species.

2010-06-08T10:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we headed to Coot Lake to try and suppress my "run off blues". The "run off blues" occur when the rivers are too high to fish and there is nothing to do but sit and wait for the river levels to recede. Jay (links to his YouTube channel) from Front Range Anglers is putting on fun competitions to get trout people like myself out fishing in lakes and ponds. We caught more of these bluegill than we could count. I was able to stalk to carp which was much more exciting than I thought that it would be. It is always fun to go fishing and for the first time, we actually caught fish in a lake. Of course it felt good that we were using flies that I had tied.

Bolder Boulder.

2010-06-08T10:07:00.000-06:00

Here is Crowie running away from Terenzo. Crowie's form is amazing. Mine is closer to T-Bone's. We even have the same shoes. I want to run more like Crowie.

These are gently borrowed images from this years Bolder Boulder.

Teva Mountain Games

2010-06-07T09:29:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone for donating to my MS charity. Here is what we will be missing now that the 'stache is gone.

This weekend we headed to Vail to participate in the Teva Mountain Games. It was a blast. We entered the fly fishing competition sponsored by Costa.

Even the dogs had a competition. Our dog trainers did very well jumping their dogs over 25 feet!

The fly fishing competition was a series of three targets at different distances. My guess is that they were about 25, 40, and 55 feet. I hit all three, but not consistently. The wind was a constant factor and it was blowing the wrong direction when it was time for my distance cast. Despite being able to hit the 55 foot target semi accurately, I couldn't hit the minimum 50 feet to count anything for distance. In fact, my longest distance cast was 49 feet. We didn't make it to the semi finals, but the swag bag was insane. Sharkskin fly line (msrp $100), leader, hats, t-shirts, water bottles, and much more for a $35 entry fee!

The rivers were raging at over 500% what they should be. The plan was for getting a lot of fishing in over the weekend, but mother nature fooled us again. We tried our luck at lake fishing and I was reminded why I hate water that doesn't move. At least the scenery was beautiful.

Run Rory Run.

2010-05-30T09:54:00.000-06:00

I have signed up for the Bolder Boulder. My 5k time from the Summer Open last week qualified me for the fastest Bolder Boulder wave I have ever been in. At first I was nervous and considered starting in a slower group. Now I am excited and look forward to trying to keep up with the people in my wave. I ran 6:27s for 3 miles after swimming and biking last week. Hopefully, I can that pace for twice the distance on fresh legs.

I also signed up for my first ever fly fishing competition. I have no idea what to expect, but just realized that I don't have the equipment necessary that they require. I have a 9ft 5/6 weight (thanks Steve), but need a 9ft 5 weight. Here is more info about the fishing competition at the Teva Mountain Games. The idea is that you have to cast for accuracy and distance before you are allowed on the water to try and hook a fish. This weekend is the absolute mayhem of the Boulder Creek Festival. We took the dogs and felt like real Boulderites.

Drill baby drill, or kill baby krill?

2010-05-28T13:47:00.000-06:00

I am sick of hearing about the oil spill while nobody mentions the lack of focus on alternative energy. This article discusses how they are continuously failing to plug the leak. I wish Obama would (if he has any real power) step up and impose a stricter moratorium on off shore drilling while taxing imported oil at a significant rate. I think that this country would support a shift in energy sources. Of course we cannot just stop using oil. That won't happen. Maybe it is up to the consumers. Drive less, bike more, open a window instead of using air conditioning. Petroleum is the cheapest, most cost effective energy producing resource (at the moment) so as long as the supply is there, the demand can only be changed by the consumers. Of course I am sitting in a plastic chair typing on a plastic keyboard listening to my plastic phone ring. I guess I should go and find a solution before ranting.

Mustache turbulence.

2010-05-27T11:14:00.000-06:00

It has been forever, but I finally got some fishing in. I pulled out 3 Browns and 1 Rainbow Trout in the space of a couple blocks. I love Boulder Creek, but let people believe that there are no fish in there. Swimming has been more fun now that my mustache is pretty thick. I can constantly feel it and see it so it is probably due for a trim. But then I talked to Ben and he told me that, "the mustache acts like a trip wire for hydrodynamic flow. This causes turbulence before the water hits the eddy of your chin. This reduces drag so a mustache will actually make you faster. And you can tell anyone that you heard this straight from an engineer that knows his shit. I took some advanced fluid classes, I know my shit."
I think that Pre's mustache helped him. If I run the Bolder Boulder it will be because of Pre.

1st triathlon of the season.

2010-05-24T08:37:00.000-06:00

After a week of injury and a week of illness, I am happy with my results from yesterday's Summer Open sprint triathlon.
I swam a 10:53 750 meter swim. I love wetsuits. I never got on anybody's feet. That was frustrating. I had a few strokes behind somebody, but then they would start breaststroking. Being out in no man's land feels inefficient.
After a quick (:52) T1, I was onto the bike. There were a ton of Triads and even one Triad SL. My 12.4 mile bike was completed in 32:32 for an average speed of 22.9 mph. For me that is pretty good, but compared to the rest of the field, it sucks. We are going to work on the bike for the upcoming season.
T2 (:41) went well and I took off quickly on the heels of some guy hauling ass for the first half mile. Realizing that pace was unsustainable, I settled into my own rhythm and tried to pick people off. The run felt good and I was happy with a 19:58 (6:27 pace) 5k.

I ended up 3rd in my age group out of 33 and 28th of the 353 total.
I am still not feeling 100% and it was difficult to pick up the pace at some points in the race. I had a blast none the less and got to play with the dogs in the lake after the race. Time for a busy day off now.

Frying Pan adventure.

2010-05-18T10:24:00.001-06:00

So sitting around the house being sick is pretty miserable, so after work, we packed up the car and drove into the mountains. Everyone knows about the Fryingpan River and it's monster trout. So we headed that direction. We pulled a "pirate camping" maneuver and slept in the car on the side of the road. It is a 3 1/2 hour drive from Boulder, so being able to fish at first light with nobody around is rare and pretty awesome. Unfortunately, first light was freezing cold! We put on every layer of clothing that we had and waited for the sun to hit the water before venturing into the river.

I pulled a 12" and a 14" Rainbow Trout out of some slow moving water behind a cluster of rocks. The fish seemed to be sticking together, so where you saw one fish there were a few more hiding nearby. We walked up stream and found hundreds of fish, but they didn't want to eat what we had. It wasn't until later that we realized how close the dam at Reudi reservoir we were. This has a major effect on our fishing as we didn't have any shrimp patterns. The fishing shops were closed when we arrived and we were already fishing when they opened the next day. Here is why we needed shrimp patterns:

Mojdeh's fish of the day. It rose for a BWO.

Mysis relicta is the sole freshwater relative of a saltwater shrimp which became stranded inland after the last Ice Age. They were stocked in the 1950's in Colorado reservoirs in the belief that they would support populations of Kokanee salmon and lake trout. Unfortunately the researchers didn't realize that the evidence they relied upon for this theory was misplaced and that in the Colorado lakes the mysis was not visible to the salmon during day time. Nopt liking sunlight, they moved to the bottom of deep lakes during the daytime when the salmon feed on the surface.

Worse still, at night the mysis moved back to the surface to feed on the Daphnia zooplankton which was a food source for the kokanees and trout denying them a food source. The only trout which benefited from the introduction of the mysis was the lake trout, a deep water feeder which reached the depths where the mysis were located in the daytime. However, in bottom release dams with deep cold waters such as Reudi, the mysis are sucked out into the tailwaters where they become visible in the daylight permitting the trout to gorge themselves.

There are a number of mysis patterns noted below which work well. The healthy mysis are translucent. As they die they turn white, so when fishing near the outlet of the dam, fish the more translucent patterns as the mysis which have just been expelled from the dam will not immediately turn white. The whiter patterns work better a little away from the outlet. The mysis shrimp has an exceedingly high nutrient value accounting for the massive growth in the trout that are able to feed on them in large quantities.

So now we know where to fish on the Frying Pan river. I saw two trout as long as my arm that must have been 8 to 10 pounds. I didn't understand. I didn't think that they existed. Those pigs just gorge themselves on shrimp. One day I will get back and go after them.

After fishing the Frying Pan, we headed home. But not without a stop at the outlet mall in Silverthorne. Most people shop here for hours ignoring the great fish that live beneath their feet. I have fished here 4 times and the closest I got was missing a hit that I didn't think that I deserved. There weren't as many fish as there usually are, and the biggest ones were eerily absent. I still fished a parachute adams in the places where I thought the fish should be and WHAMMY I hooked one. I landed him, showed him to the admirers on the bridge above, called it quits and went shopping.

Here are the hydroponically grown tomato and basil plants that we are starting.

Hydroponics.

2010-05-16T06:34:00.000-06:00

I thought that having this sweet mustache would improve life dramatically. As it turns out, it doesn't do much except keep parents with children far away from me. Some guy in a van without windows gave me a thumbs up and he drove past. I have been sick this week and unable to workout. Your health is your wealth. Instead of swimming, biking, and running we have set up a hydroponic system for growing our basil and tomatoes.
Still living the dream...

Splish and Sudan.

2010-05-05T17:19:00.000-06:00

I won my first Twitter contest!

Check out Splish.com so you can have cool suits like I have. My favorite is the "I must be butter... cause I'm on a roll". It has accompanying pictures of butter and a roll. While at the pool I was talking to a woman that I was sharing a lane with. She mentioned that triathlon season is starting soon. I feel that the season is well under way. She travels for work (I didn't ask what she does) but was recently in Sudan (non work related) to help monitor the elections. I think that Boulder people would go out and do that. It sounded a bit self righteous, but maybe she can really help the Sudanese do whatever it is that they are trying to do. Even Jimmy Carter was there making sure that democracy was spread properly. Unfortunately, it sounds like most Sudanese feel that the election was rigged and the winner was predetermined.

Update 1 of the 'stache.

2010-05-04T10:19:00.000-06:00

What is that?

So far, this mustache growing has been a success. I have received encouragement, Kiss my Face shave gel, and people pledging money on my Facebook page. I was excited to show up to soccer and see other guys growing mustaches. I think that it might just be because they are bored.

My Dad's 'stache.

Mustache May for Multiple Sclerosis.

2010-04-30T22:14:00.000-06:00

There is a woman in my life that has treated me like her son for years. Patricia Payne was once a stepmother of mine, but she will always be a part of my family. She was the first person to show me (and my father) that family is important.
Pattie has Multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease. Pattie has never let it slow her down.
For May, I am growing a mustache, raising money, and promoting awareness of Multiple sclerosis. I will give all of the money that I raise to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society or directly to Pattie to pay for her medical bills.
So here is day 1: Clean.

If you can help me spread the word, please pass this on to anyone and everyone. Thank you.

High flows, high peaks, low productivity.

2010-04-29T12:12:00.000-06:00

This is not a good thing to see. It is the flows for Boulder Creek. It has turned into Boulder River. The water is the color of chocolate milk. I can't see the fish. Who knows what is going on below the surface. It is giving me lots of time to tie more flies and read fishing blogs. Of course there is a bit of work, getting Ben a cool new race suit, and CTT stuff always to be done.

I love colorado.

Coach Mark and I got a short hike up to Brainard Lake yesterday. It is an amazing place to camp, hike, hang out, and hopefully fish this summer. It was still snowy and the lake was frozen, but we saw very few people and were able to wear the dogs out.

They like the mountains.

First hike of the season.

2010-04-23T12:06:00.000-06:00

I was thrilled to be outside.

What a view!

Coach Mark and I went for a hike starting at Moffatt Tunnel. The tunnel is an impressive 10 km long through the Rockies. It really amazes me that it was completed before 1930. We were able to bring the dogs and thoroughly wear everyone else. We made it above the tree line for lunch and hustled back before the summertime like thunderstorms rolled in.

They eat better than I do sometimes.

Then I started making food for the dogs. Turkey, rice, broccoli, and carrots in this batch. They seem to love it. Now it is cold and rainy and the runoff is making the water fast and murky. I knew the fishing would be on hold, but I love getting my tri training done outside. Looks like today will be a treadmill run. I will also be racing the Summer Open sprint triathlon in about a month. I am excited to get racing again this season. It has been wonderful having a coach. I don't have to think about anything except doing my workouts. Now it's time to run and swim!

What a day.

2010-04-16T22:44:00.000-06:00

Looks like this is turning into a fishing blog. I woke up exhausted this morning. I moped around not wanting to do anything. I was going to go for a run, but took a nap instead. Poor me with too much time on my hands. I finally decided to leave the house, but only to go fishing. The grocery list can wait. As can the exercising. I headed up Boulder Canyon to see what it was like. I have never fished up very far as it looks pretty steep and too fast for the fish. The few good areas were all taken by people fishing. I thought that it being pretty cold (50 degrees), cloudy, and a Friday afternoon, people would have better things to do. I finally found a place that looked decent and pulled over. The water was fast, but I spotted a couple of small fish and pulled one out. That really made me happy. It is exhilarating fishing a new area and landing a fish. I tied on new leader and tippet, so all my knots held (ok it was a 7 inch fish). The hole was small and I spooked the rest when I caught the first, so I moved on up the canyon. I was close to Nederland and it was getting colder. The creek flattened out and I had to keep the dogs from running upstream while trying to spot the easily spooked fish. I was staying back and peering to where I thought that they should be. Finally I saw one and made a couple of casts to him. He went for it, but I missed it. I thought that he moved up a bit so I snuck up and made another cast. Wham! A fish came out of nowhere and hammered my fly. I was startled long enough to wait until she ate it before setting the hook. When I landed her, I was surprised how big she was!

So it turned out to be a good trip. Then I mustered the courage to go and get my run done. I ran to the track to throw down some 400s, but it was full of kids. (I was at their high school.) I ran around for a bit until they were all gone and got my track splits faster than I thought I could. That also felt good. Then we ate a lot and I finished today's swim session. I feel so accomplished for a day that started off very slowly.

A couple of days ago we hit up the Big Thompson for some fishing. It was our first time there, but we landed a few fish. Mojdeh got her first Brown Trout as well as her first fish on a fly that she tied herself. I also have been teaching Lando about fishing.

Today, I also won my first Twitter contest. Thanks to Splish for hooking me up! They asked for someone to take a picture of themselves in their Splish suit at a historical national monument. Apparently Chautauqua Park is one so I threw on a Splish suit and drove there, Moj took a pic, and I sent it to them. Now I can expect a prize in the mail! Time to put the dogs to bed.

Parachute Adams.

2010-04-12T15:32:00.000-06:00

3 of 6 today.

Today I got my run done early which left me time to fish before the next session of dog training. Yesterday, I went on a fish recon mission which proved that Eben G. Fine park is one of the best places to fish in Boulder. Sure the fish are small, but they are hungry and love to eat dry flies. I tied two parachutes and two foam elk hair caddis. The fish were rising aggressively which always makes for some fun fishing! The biggest issue that I am having is the trout's teeth are tearing the hackle on my parachutes. So my third fish tore the hackle off. I had given the other parachute to my friend and he gave it to a tree. Now it was time for the caddis. I have had good luck with green foam, but made another with orange foam. Orange to a trout is like red to a bull. Except the trout want to eat the orange objects. When fishing the St. Joe river in Idaho, the cutthroats would try to eat my orange indicator.
In the end I landed a couple with the green foam, but didn't try the all orange foam elk hair caddis. Tonight, I have swimming and indoor soccer. What a great day off. Life is good.

Shoe chew.

2010-04-08T19:40:00.001-06:00

Lando has begun chewing. He has munched Wii remotes, helmets, gloves, DVDs, fly tying material, shoes, boxes, tape, anything that he can find. We have been setting up a webcam and watching from outside. He gets zapped and has no idea where it is coming from. We are still working with Sit Means Sit dog training and things are going well otherwise.
The weather is getting better and yesterday we went to Vail. We heard that it would be windy, it wasn't. The signs said that there were huge delays on the highway, there weren't any. The forecast was for a high of 32, it felt like 60. Add over 2 feet of powder and we had a pretty amazing day.

Tea.

2010-04-03T09:38:00.000-06:00

I have been working a lot. It is a bit surreal. There was a time recently where I thought that I wouldn't be waiting tables any more.
More importantly, I have enlisted the help of MarkyV. For the first time in my life, I have a triathlon coach. I am excited to work with him. I know that he has high expectations and that thrills me. He will push me much harder than I will push myself. He also loves being outside as much as I do.
Off to work...

Cooooooosta Riiiiiica!

2010-03-22T20:08:00.000-06:00

Can't believe they found it.

2010-03-21T18:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we took some friends on a very muddy run. I lost the car key. There was a foot of snow or heavy mud. A couple of us hitchhiked back to our house. (Thanks to the girl from Montana that is living in her car while trying to move to CO for snowboarding that picked us up!) I was trying to break into my own house when my neighbor showed me how to open my front door with a credit card. It took her about 15 seconds to get into my house. I picked up the spare car key and prayed that my mom's car would start. There was no gas so we scrounged $2 in quarters and made it to the gas station. Then we went back to the car and found that the spare key still sets off the alarm. I am wondering what to do when Mojdeh arrives and our friend had found our car key in the snow. Hallelujah. Pretty unbelievable actually.
Today, we hiked to Royal Arch in Chautauqua Park. It was snowy, muddy, icy, and sunny all at the same time. Here is someone else's picture of the arch. Tomorrow is my orientation at Boulder Dushanbe Tea House. Looks like I will get some more chai and samosas!

My first time.

2010-03-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today was pretty awesome. I suppose it started yesterday. Every free Saturday (which rarely occurred, in the past, but they seem to be opening up) we go to Front Range Anglers across the street from our house. You see, every Saturday from 10 to 12, they have a free fly tying class. They provide coffee and doughnuts (yes, a cop showed up) and someone shows you how to tie specific flies. Yesterday, Vincent Su showed up with his 720 Vise. It is a perfect vise for tying parachute flies. He was an engineer and it shows, he has developed this vise to rotate in many possible ways making it nearly possible to hold your thread still and move everything else to tie your flies. The steep ($270) price tag was enough to scare me away. Here is a video of Vincent in action:

After the demonstration, we went home and made a few of our own. We also headed to Boulder Creek where we each pulled out a fish of our own. With the high temps (low 50s) it was like a real spring day. However, the point of the story is that today was awesome. I dropped Mojdeh off at the YMCA and went fishing. We all know that it is bad luck to bring women or bananas fishing, so I thought that I would be in for a good day.
Now I have my usual spots where I expect to see some fish, but my first area is hit or miss. I know that the little guy living there has hit a green belly humpy in the past and I made a green parachute something or other after Vincent's class, so I tied him on and tossed it in. The first cast was right in the middle of the fast water, the presentation looked good, but there won't be any fish there. My friend lives on the right side. He stays in the slow water behind a big rock. So I put it where he used to be. Only a second later, he moves over to it, looks for a second, and chomp, eats it. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I had tied that fly. I had just convinced this living, breathing, swimming fish that the collection of turkey feather, metal, string, and God knows what else was a bug! It had worked! I tried not to dance (for fear of falling on my face and losing my fish) but I am sure that I was showing off my teeth to the whole world like I had just left the dentist. I landed the fish, took a couple pictures, and was ready for the next one.

The last few times I have been to my next hole, I have either seen fish, spooked fish, or been skunked. I have never pulled a fish out of this hole. I crept up and saw a couple of nice sized fish hanging out. I was careful of my shadow, used my apparently great fly and tossed a few into the swirling eddy. Nothing. I think I got a refusal (where the fish swims up to your fly and then realizes that is isn't real and swims away). Maybe not. So I changed flies. I tied 3 new flies last night. Time to try the orange one. This one used CDC (duck butt) feathers. It sank more than the fish or myself liked. They ignored that fly as well. Being patient, trying to keep my shadow away from the fish, and trying not to fall through the ice into Boulder Creek was tricky. I tied on the elk hair caddis that I recently made and wondered if the first fish had been a fluke. Cast number 3 had the biggest fish of the day rise up to the surface, take a look at my imitation, and make a meal of it. I played him downstream hoping that someone would ask my what fly I was using for all of this catching magic. Landed, photographed and released. There were two fish in that hole, so I thought, "Why not?" I tossed it out to the other guy who also went for it! I got excited and pulled it right out of his mouth. That scared him to the bottom so I moved on.

The next hole was stacked. Slow moving water and about 8 fish feeding. Some even bigger than the one I just landed. As I am watching these fish feed another fisherman was working the hole I just left. Poor guy. I am feeling invincible until I catch the tree above the fish. There is no way to get my fly without scaring all the fish. So I go and tell the "poor guy" downstream that he should come and get these fish. Then a couple of kids show up and start banging sticks on the ice scaring all the fish away. We parted ways, I retrieved my fly and was back on my merry way. The day continued to get warmer and the fish kept feeding. I caught 5, missed 3, and could have stayed for a couple of more hours.

I even tried Mojdeh's mouse pattern because you never know what can happen. Unfortunately, today was not the day for a giant fish to be dining on mice. There is always tomorrow. Tonight, I am going to tie some more flies and think of ways to thank Fishy Steve.

My craigslist ad.

2010-03-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

I posted a dog cage for sale on Craigslist. I thought that it was pretty easy to figure out.

People on Craigslist (like myself) seem a bit weird. These are the first two responses I got:

Hey...whats going on? Do you still have this for sale? Lemme know. Talk to you soon.

Hi, how are you doing ? do you really want to sell this? LMK Thanks :)

Oodles if "E"s.

2010-03-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

So this week, I got my EBT card and my EFX bracelet. I am not sure which I am more excited about.