Friday, October 31, 2003
Demotivators
Soon I'll be leaving for Gainesville, Ga., an hour north of Atlanta, for our last big regatta of the year, the Head of the Chattahoochee. It's a stunningly beautiful area, and the course and boathouse are in the middle of a forest of colorful oak trees.
I have to say, though, that strangely, I'm not at all excited about going. I'm not dreading the trip in the least, either -- I love any bit of travel, no matter where it may be. But there are a couple of things contributing to my ambivalence.
Rowing at the Charles was perhaps one of the most exciting rowing experiences I've ever had, even more so than nationals. I'd never rowed at the Charles, and there's a certain prestige in rowing circles associated with it. It's the biggest regatta of its kind in the world, and there are international crews there. I'd also never been to Boston, and all that together made for an incredible experience. I think I'm still coming down from that high, and right now other races don't have that special significance to me. I've also been demoted, in a manner of speaking -- I'm no longer the "stroke" for the boat as I was at the Charles. The stroke seat as it's called is a key seat in the boat, because the other rowers in the boat sit behind you and follow you stroke-for-stroke. He or she is typically one of the boat's best technical rowers (though I'm nowhere near the strongest), setting an example for the others. I was proud I'd been entrusted with a position of such responsibility and pressure and in such an important race. After the Charles, and at least for the race in Atlanta, the coach has moved me to 2 seat, which is on the other end of the boat.
I'm pretty sure it's because I crabbed in Boston. I can't say for certain because he never explained why he shuffled a couple of us around; he just did it. But I can't see any other reason why he would do that except to get me out of the stroke seat. He told me I crabbed because I've been doing "something weird" with my left hand lately. And I think until that's fixed, I don't think I'm going to be stroke.
I'm not bitter, and I personally think he did the right thing. If I were the coach and my stroke seat screwed up in a big race, I probably would have done the same thing. But I am disappointed -- mostly because my mistake cost me my highfalutin position and in part because he didn't give me a chance to make up for my gaffe by letting me prove myself at stroke at the Hooch. I also feel bad for the woman who sits behind me, L., because the coach moved her to the back of the boat along with me, because the coach thinks we make a good pair (a port-side rower and a starboard-side rower together is called a pair) and match up well. So I took her to the back of the boat with me, even though she didn't do anything wrong. I did.
To throw salt into the wound, he promoted a woman to stroke, J., that some rowers don't like. Some would rather see me at stroke, but that's not my call.
This is all not to say that the back of the boat is where you hide the shitty rowers. But the stroke seat (and 7 seat behind it) are more prestigious places to be. I find stroke seat to be challenging and fun, and I thrive on the pressure and responsibility that comes with it. I haven't been bumped out of the boat completely; I am still a part of the club's top boat -- at least for now. Hopefully I can move my way back to stroke seat soon. I'd passionately loved rowing until my move. But things happen for a reason -- and work out for the best -- even if it isn't apparent.
Current mood: Pensive
Posted by Lynniechan @ 01:12 AM EST [Link]
Shake it like a Polaroid picture
Guilty musical pleasure du jour: Outkast's Hey Ya!, because the video is weird. I like weird.
Current mood: Wired
Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:36 AM EST [Link]
Monday, October 27, 2003
Geek love
Open letter to my BF (replace "him's" with "her's"): http://msn.match.com/msn/article.aspx?articleid=1342&TrackingID=516190&BannerID=541888
Current mood: Full
Posted by Lynniechan @ 11:11 PM EST [Link]
Sunday, October 26, 2003
Ever get the feeling you're being followed?
I created a message board for my rowing team tonight at one of those free ad-driven services, and now, hours later, the ads I see along the top of the page are either rowing- or maritime-related.
Current mood: Productive
Posted by Lynniechan @ 01:16 AM EST [Link]
Friday, October 24, 2003
Serious multitasking
I'm listening to my iPod, uploading pix from my phonecam to Web space with one hand and using a mouse with the other.
Current mood: Procrastinating
Current music: The Crystal Method | Over the LinePosted by Lynniechan @ 12:19 AM EST [Link]
Shameless parody alert
Infinitefetish gets credit for this one (large download).
Current mood: Lazy
Current music: New Order | Fine TimePosted by Lynniechan @ 12:15 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Worried
My dad said something really weird this afternoon.
He asked me not to come over, that it was a bad time for a visit.
He's never said that before. Normally, I just quickly call home and let my parents know I'm coming. Sometimes, I just drop by unannounced. I've always been welcome, any day, any time.
This afternoon, I called home to see if my parents were there. My mom, whom I'd wanted to see, had just left for work, so I said to my dad, "Well I'll just swing by anyway and see you. You wanna go get something to eat?"
He said no.
Then he asked if I could come by later, maybe in another few days.
He was really polite and friendly about it. But I could tell his jovial way of saying it was forced.
My parents live 15 minutes from me. I'm lucky and spoiled with their accessibility. But honestly, I don't see or talk to them very often. I call home maybe once a month and visit maybe once every two months. Some friends whose parents live hours away or out of state see their parents more often than I see mine. It's not that we don't love each other. It's just that everyone in my family is fiercely independent, and I don't need to see or talk to them on a day-to-day basis. I'm just not one of those people who calls her mom every other night to gab about nothing in particular.
So to hear my dad -- whom I haven't seen in a couple of months -- tell me that today was a bad time for a visit had me taken aback. He said he wasn't feeling well and wasn't up to a visit. "Maybe next week?" he said. I believed him when he said he was ill, but I fear that his illness is both physical and mental. He's apparently been in a funk lately for reasons I won't get into here.
I'm worried about him.
Current mood: Concerned
Posted by Lynniechan @ 07:31 PM EST [Link]
Chuck pictures
Head of the Charles photo gallery now online:
http://www.orc-rowing.com/women/charles2003Current mood: Busy
Posted by Lynniechan @ 06:22 PM EST [Link]
Fascinating to biology nerds only
I didn't think I would ever eat octopuses, but I really won't eat them now. http://www.discover.com/issues/oct-03/features/feateye
Current mood: Exhausted
Posted by Lynniechan @ 01:26 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Not how I want to be remembered
From an obituary:
Whether it was an insect invading an orange tree that needed to be identified or a bull that needed castrating, Smith was the man for the job.
Current mood: Silly
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:43 PM EST [Link]
Support the *real* war on terror
http://www.cafeshops.com/stopfascism/137986
Current mood: Awake
Posted by Lynniechan @ 03:26 PM EST [Link]
Monday, October 20, 2003
More photos not by me
Photos from the Associated Press of the Head of the Charles: http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=%22head+of+the+charles%22
Current mood: Working
Posted by Lynniechan @ 05:12 PM EST [Link]
Chuck wagon
I am back from the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston, which was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It's the largest regatta of its kind in the world, and it was the one last big races in which I'd never participated. We met some Australian men rowers the night after our race just walking down the street toward a bar. Boy were they beautiful. They were from Melbourne, and they won their race by beating a team from Sydney. We also met a couple of older, gray-haired gentlemen from Cambridge -- England, "the real Cambridge," as they described it -- waiting for the T who had rowed the Charles several times. I regret being so busy I couldn't watch more races and meet more people.
As far as how we did, we finished 11th of 26 boats with a time of 19 minutes, 5 seconds. I "crabbed," which is a rowing term that means to lose control of your oar so that it goes over your head and behind you, parallel to the boat. It is a serious mistake, can cost your crew lots of lost time and can be dangerous if you are suddenly whacked in the face with the oar handle. I wasn't hurt and recovered quickly, and we were back to full speed again within 10-15 seconds. But nevertheless, the damage was done. We would have broken 19 minutes without my crab. (Apparently there is a series of pictures that a photography company caught of it, so I will show you what it looked like when they post the photos online. Other members of my crew saw them and said it looked really bad.) We also quite possibly would have gotten an automatic invite back next year without my crab -- you have to finish within 10 percent of the winner for the automatic invite, and our time was 10.8 percent of the winner's time. (In my defense, there were problems with the finish times of several boats in our race, including ours. Our final time had to be somewhat estimated.)
But I don't want to focus on the negative. That was the one regretful incident of the race and weekend. The row itself, other than the crab, felt incredible, and even with the crab, we beat the time of last year's ORC boat -- at the time, ORC's best crew -- by more than a minute, which I think is a 5K best for our team. Our cox, a 16-year-old Winter Park rower who steers the boat, nailed the tough course. It twists and turns -- sometimes at 90-degree angles that have to be cut really sharp or you swing wide and lose time -- and goes under at least five bridges, where only two boats can fit through at a time. The ladies congratulated me on a quick recovery from the crab, and all said it was one of their best races ever. No one left without a smile. I was so happy and relieved, I cried.
I took more than 70 photos throughout the weekend and will post a photo gallery. I'm sorry I didn't e-mail any via my phonecam; I couldn't find the charger and didn't want to burn the battery. In the meantime, here are a few sights.
Phonecam shot; waiting for the race to start
A. and C. on the T (boy was it cold)
What I was looking at when you called, B.Current mood: Indescribable
Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:12 PM EST [Link]
Friday, October 17, 2003
This has to be a joke
http://www.coldwellbanker.ca/scripts/cb/profile.asp?id=20370#
Current mood: Wired
Posted by Lynniechan @ 01:34 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Tales from the fourth tier
For J.:
John Stamos is 10-10-987. Hulk Hogan, Alf, Terry Bradshaw and Toby Keith are all 10-10-220. Carrot Top is 1-800-CALL-ATT. And he hasn't hit the collect-call circuit yet, but I just saw Chevy Chase in an AFLAC commercial.
Current mood: Awake
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:56 PM EST [Link]
More big cats in the news
The 9-day-old lion cub dumped in Ohio after a New York Post stunt went bad was struggling to survive yesterday as a pride of animal experts sank its claws into the paper.
Suffering from dehydration and possible pneumonia, little Boomerang was breathing a bit easier as he cuddled in a blanket at the animal sanctuary where Post reporter Al Guart abandoned him Saturday.
"They're lucky he hasn't died," said Ellen Whitehouse, director of the Noah's Lost Ark near Cleveland. "He [Guart] did nothing but pull a publicity stunt."
The ASPCA, the Bronx Zoo and the veterinarian treating Boomerang all lined up to slam the Post for its plan to expose the trade in exotic animals by buying a newborn lion over the Internet for $1,000.
Guart hoped to transport the cub to an animal reserve in California but panicked when the animal got sick. He dropped off the cub at Noah's Lost Ark, according to officials there and a police report.
The sanctuary is the same place where authorities brought Ming, the pet tiger who lived in his owner's Harlem apartment.
"It is the equivalent of setting up a meeting with an 11-year-old girl at the mall to show how easy it is to pick up children," said the ASPCA's Stephen Zawistowski, an animal behavior expert.
"They should have their heads examined," added Larry Wallach, a Long Island animal trainer.
Guart hung up yesterday when asked for comment.
In a story in yesterday's Post, he claimed to have "rescued" the newborn cub by taking it away from its mother and also claimed an animal activist had cut a deal with Noah's Lost Ark to care for the newborn cub.
Officials at the sanctuary angrily denied making any deal.
The Post also put out a statement yesterday, claiming all was well with Boomerang. "The animal showed no symptoms of illness and was not harmed while in the reporter's care," a Post spokesman asserted.
But don't tell that to veterinarian Ryan Burger, who treated Boomerang a few minutes after Guart dumped him at the gate of the sanctuary.
Burger says the lion cub was wheezing, struggling for breath and had a dangerously low temperature after being snatched away from its mother. "It seems very misguided or irrational to do it to someone that young," Burger said.
Boomerang was heavily medicated and wrapped in blankets yesterday to simulate its mother's warmth. Whitehouse said it would be at least 48 hours before the little cat might be out of the woods.
Jim Doherty, general curator at the Bronx Zoo, said Guart and the Post were "playing right into the hands of the breeder."
"I think it's pretty crazy," Doherty said. "The people that bred the lion got the money they wanted for it. As far as I'm concerned, this is only encouraging them to do it again."
Current mood: Outraged
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:01 PM EST [Link]
The future is now (well, upon us)
After hearing news this week that monkeys have controlled robotic arms with their thoughts and that robots now can do somersaults and martial arts moves, I'm reminded of the "Twilight Zone" episode in which an old couple of the future go to a company to exchange their aging bodies for young ones.
That scifi storyline doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore.
Current mood: Jittery
Posted by Lynniechan @ 01:25 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Odds and ends
I donated blood a few days ago. I was really proud of myself because I'm not the most charitable person. I'm not a scrooge or a scrounge, either, but it's more of a situation where it's hard to make time to do something completely selfless for people you don't know when you barely have time enough for yourself. The BF has donated for years and as always set a good example. It didn't hurt at all -- and I'm totally not squeamish about seeing blood or needles -- until the bag was about 3/4 full and the nurse said that my flow was tapering to a trickle. She kept telling me to "Squeeze... squeeze... squeeze..." my fist, even as I squeezed repeatedly and quite hard. I'm squeezing already! Then she said she wanted to try moving the needle to get the flow back, which I thought at first meant bringing the needle all the way back out and finding another vein but as I found out meant wiggling and turning the needle a bit. That ended up being actually worse than removing and inserting the needle altogether because as she turned it, a sharp, stinging pain shot up my arm and up to my shoulder. I told the nurse my arm ached badly and then she said, "Oh good it's flowing fine now." Yeah. But it was all worth it when the nurse told me that I had saved three lives that day. OMG it is so beautiful outside today. I sat outside on the pool deck for a short while, then moved to the front porch and enjoyed the weather with Big Boy for 20 minutes or so. Amen to RJ, who said: "This is why we live in Florida." It's impossible for me to be inside on a day as beautiful as this. Current mood: Indescribable
Posted by Lynniechan @ 04:00 PM EST [Link]
Like a kid in a candy store
I finally got a new cell phone. I'd wanted a new one for months; the old one I'd had for more than two years. I figured I deserved an upgrade. Since I'm going out of town this weekend, that gave me an excuse to get one with e-mail and Web access, since everyone knows it's damn near impossible to live without them anymore. I don't have a laptop -- curses, what kind of geek do I think I am? -- so this was the next best thing. And not coincidentally, it has a Web cam, hopefully for capturing the moment they hang the gold medal around my neck after we win our race. Anyway, I'll try to ship some pictures from Boston your way. Meanwhile, here are a couple of sights to haunt you at night:
Double E, my podmate, picking up TV signals
And to be fair...Current mood: Geeky
Posted by Lynniechan @ 03:07 AM EST [Link]
Flatline
I think I was born without a "Period 3." Would that make me dead? From the BBC:
Many people have difficulty getting up early Are you a lark or an owl? Are you at your best early in the morning or late at night? Whatever the answer, scientists believe they may now know why some of us are early risers while others prefer to burn the midnight oil.
The answer appears to lie in our genes.
Researchers at the University of Surrey say they have found a link between people's preference for mornings or evenings and a gene called Period 3. This gene is one of those involved in regulating the body's internal clock. It comes in two forms - a shorter and longer one. Researchers have found that people with an extreme preference for early mornings are more likely to have a long version of Period 3.
In contrast, those with an extreme preference for evenings are more likely to have the shorter version.
The findings are based on tests carried out on almost 500 people who recently visited London's Science Museum.
Researchers took samples from the cheeks of each of these people and analysed their DNA.
They also asked them to fill out questionnaires to determine whether they are morning or evening people, by asking them when they liked to exercise and how difficult they found it to wake up. The researchers compared the results from the DNA tests to those from the questionnaires.
"We found most of the extreme morning preference people have the longer gene and the extreme evening preference people have the short gene," Dr Simon Archer, who led the study told the BBC. "There are extreme morning people and extreme evening people and it seems that behaviour has a genetic basis to it."
Dr Archer said despite the findings, other genes and other factors also played an important role in determining who among us are larks and who are owls. "Your day or night preference is obviously a complex behavioural trait. It is not solely down to one single gene. "It is a combination of genes that interact together to form your body clock," he said.
Current mood: Sleepy
Posted by Lynniechan @ 01:18 AM EST [Link]
OMG
WTF? This has to be a joke. Look at the bidding!
Current mood: Content
Posted by Lynniechan @ 01:08 AM EST [Link]
Monday, October 13, 2003
Ah, to be 16 again
Well the girls beat us in our scrimmage. We were actually winning for the first half of the race, but as they are 16-year-old Energizer bunnies with an unlimited amount of stamina and energy, they basically hung beside us until we started sucking wind, then they whizzed by and left us in the dust. I was actually a bit relieved the girls won; I wasn't sure how the teenagers' fragile egos would handle being beaten by a bunch of old mommies. I needn't have worried. Plus, I was reassured that the girls could use that boost of confidence since they hadn't been rowing so well lately. It was interesting to see how we all looked after we got back to the dock: The girls were bright-eyed, perky, smiling, giggly and joking with each other, ponytails wagging; we were hang-dog, sweaty, wet, pasty-haired, gasping and unable to talk.
I guess my being a little hung over didn't help our situation, either. Drinking the night before a race was really dumb. But any more, I have to take my opportunities when they come.
Current mood: Wired
Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:47 AM EST [Link]
Friday, October 10, 2003
Uneasy feeling
Tomorrow, my boat is participating in a scrimmage with the Winter Park High School girls varsity crew, and for some reason, I'm really nervous. I can't quite figure out why. I don't normally get nervous about racing until right before the race starts, but I've been jittery about it all day. We raced them one time last year, and they spanked us. I'm told that this time, however, we should beat them handily since their varsity boat is now full of underclassmen and novices.
I'm not so sure we'll beat them handily or even beat them at all. Yes, they're green and have little rowing technique, but who needs that when you're 16 years old and can row twice as fast and twice as long?
There's also the issue of feeling uneasy about us old people potentially beating up on a bunch of teenage girls. I've been advised by someone who sees the girls every day not to worry about that and that it's all in fun, but still.
Current mood: Blank
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:25 PM EST [Link]
Feeling inadequate (one in a series)
Snooping around the Winter Park High School crew Web site, I found out that the woman on my rowing team who sits behind me in the boat is a Yale cum laude graduate who was captain of her varsity field hockey team and is a member of an exclusive science society.
I learned elsewhere that another woman in my boat has a masters degree in chemistry. And another has a pilot's license and used to live in France.
My resume includes running to Target when cat litter is on sale for less than $10, feeling relieved to graduate from the local university after sleeping through my last few semesters, making ice cream cones for bloated tourists, eating crunchy Cheetos and sleeping past 1 p.m. as often as my schedule allows.
Current mood: Blank
Posted by Lynniechan @ 04:49 PM EST [Link]
Thursday, October 9, 2003
They even have stuff I like
Thank you for the wonderful photos of your trip to San Francisco, Uptown. (I see you found the shareware program you needed.) I'm glad you and The Lady Friend had so many quality "moments" in such a beautiful city. Some of your pictures were like postcards.
Sorry about your Giants, BTW. My BF is dying to see a game at that ballpark someday. I may have to take him there next year. In the meantime, I'll show him some of your pix, and go Mahlins!
Current mood: Happy
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:05 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, October 8, 2003
Paper dolls for nerds
Clip and save:
http://www.mijnkopthee.nl/images/cheap_ipod.jpg
Current mood: Fried
Posted by Lynniechan @ 02:31 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
Sign of the times
Found myself just now trying to follow a link from the work Intranet site to an info page on National Depression Screening Day (Oct. 9, in case you were curious). Damn them for dangling the carrot -- I never found the link on the page.
Current mood: Sleepy
Posted by Lynniechan @ 05:31 PM EST [Link]
Monday, October 6, 2003
Fin
I am no longer posting anything related to work, so if you were tuning in to read about gossip there, my feelings won't be hurt if you delete my bookmark. I cannot elaborate.
Current mood: Blank
Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:46 PM EST [Link]
Thursday, October 2, 2003
Picture pages
Uptownfive, when you gonna post yer pix?
Current mood: Impatient
Posted by Lynniechan @ 07:36 AM EST [Link]
My contribution to Ticked Off!
I'm ticked off that a friend, after I told him about Amber's recent health troubles, responded not with "I'm sorry" but with, "Well why do you still continue to vaccinate her? She never goes outside," as if it were my fault she's in the situation she's in.
Current mood: Pissed
Posted by Lynniechan @ 07:32 AM EST [Link]