Slugs, 4th of July reflections, Cat Barf and nekkid cycle riding faeries!

I’ve been really hard on my body the last several days (and virtually no sleep last night isn’t helping) so rather than napping (and screwing up my chance to sleep through the night) and then running (risking injuring a very stressed and strained body) I’m having a slug night tonight. I’ll run tomorrow, and then again with Morgain on Friday. She’s coming off of a foot injury, so that will encourage me not to push on Friday after running on Thursday (I try not to run two days in a row). I have a ten mile race coming up on July 23rd, so I’ve got to log in the miles. (and by race, I mean a 10 mile “long run” with water stops and port-a-potties, and maybe a shiny thing for placing if no one fast shows up). I can’t push this early, or I’ll hurt myself or get sick before the Portland Marathon (which I ran last time with an undiagnosed kidney infection and that was NOT fun!)

There were a couple of funny stories about the 4th of July that I didn’t get posted in the wee hours of the morning. The best one was when a group of us walked past some guys playing tribal rhythms on five gallon plastic bucket drums (which can sound surprisingly good) Crystal and I (who had just given a spectacular performance at the “whack-a-mole” booth) broke into some serious tribal dance. We were not shaking our booties like “middle aged white chicks” We actually drew enough attention that a group of young black women/girls chased us down the street and asked us to teach them. WTF? Aren’t we the ones that aren’t supposed to have rhythm? Oh wait, it’s white BOYS that can’t dance! (or jump)

There were other funny things that happened but they are escaping me at the moment.

I’ve been doing a LOT of thinking since the Fremont Solstice Parade.

I’m not much of a spectator. I’m more of a “doer”, hell, I’m more of a “performer”, so I’ve emailed a couple of “key parties” and asked to be put on the list for the body painting party and cycle ride next year. Yup… I think, I’m gonna be the nekkid, painted, cycling faery next Solstice. This is going to be some serious “personal growth” because I’ve got some GLARING flaws that make me very self conscious about being nude in front of anyone other than close friends and certain hot springs. But by golly, I’m doing it next year!!! (oh yeah, we have to wear helmets!)

Be AFRAID! Be VERY afraid!!!

If you don’t “get” the whole nekkid cyclist thing (a woman I met this year, swore to me it was “all about the friction”) here’s the Wikipedia entry about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_naked_cyclists_of_the_Summer_Solstice_Parade

Besides, if for any reason the Seattle PD makes a weak attempt at harassing nekkid cyclists (one time for show several years ago) just_molly will bail me out of jail (but I think I can ride faster than some fat Seattle cop anyway)

How’s that for motivation to get the rest of the way back in to shape?

And as if that wasn’t amusing enough, here’s a comic I’ve been saving for several days…



Now, off to bed with me. I have a VERY busy week coming up…

~L

OMG! What an AWSOME 4th of July!!!

I don’t know where to start (hey, it’s not like sleep is possible tonight; for a city that has a fireworks ban, it’s pretty darn loud outside right now)

Betsy and I headed down to the Freedom Fair and Dragon Boat Festival bright and early this morning. The first dragon boat race was quite exciting as some motor boats left a gnarly wake that knocked two of our steerspersons (in a three boat race) down on their butts and the boats lost control and veer all over the course. Luckily, there were no major collisions.

I wasn’t sure how well my hips would hold up after last Thursday, so I drummed the first two heats for my team. The drummer’s seat is a bit scary as it sits up very high and is very narrow. I was squeezing that drum with my legs and thighs for my life. But I did beat a good cadence and helped motivate my team. After the first two races, I got pulled to paddle. I also paddled and drummed for two other teams. I am such a mercenary paddler. My (and Betsy’s) team, the Rasby Dragons (Our Ass Be Draggin) WON our division (the humpback) We’re happy humpbacks. There was another collision towards the end of the day and one of our dragon heads snapped off one of the boats.

After the races, Betsy and I came back to my place, showered and rested up for the party at the Mountaineers clubhouse. I am SO glad that I live close to the waterfront and don’t have to try to drive in that mess. We walked down for a great BBQ and potluck. After a while, several of us braved the crowds on the waterfront. Crystal and I demonstrated “What A Mole” for a friend off ours who had never seen the game.

We went back to the clubhouse and enjoyed more food, beverage and bonfire. After it got dark we went to the top of the climbing all and watched the fireworks… Too much fun!!!

And now, even though there are explosions everywhere, I really need to try to get to bed. 5:30 AM will come whether I’m rested or not…

The "Rasby" Dragons (Our Ass Be Draggin) WIN the humpback division of the Washington Dragon Boat Festival on the 4th of July at Freedom



Lisa and Betsy paddling



Lisa drumming for another team



Lisa and Crystal get ready to "Whack A Mole"



Time and Lisa get "naughty" (all fireworks are banned in Tacoma)



The rest of the Pictures are available here…

http://www.wildcelticrose.net/lisasplace/fourth06.html

Now, I may try to sleep...

~L

A pic of Betsy and I with our shiny things follows at the end of this post. The rest of the photos (just of us, the boats and the medal, I’m still waiting for race pictures) are on my web page at http://www.wildcelticrose.net/lisasplace/photo.html (I finally got good pics of the dragon heads and the drums)

I kept waking up on Sunday night, I went right back to sleep, but was up several times. One of my co-workers at the security gig said that he saw fireworks all night long, so maybe that was it. I still work up before the alarm went off, had a home made soy mocha (I’ve missed those), made myself a nice breakfast and leisurely time getting ready.

Betsy showed up at 9:00 AM and we walked down to the waterfront for the races. The road is closed and traffic on all the side streets and access roads (including mine) is crazy, so vehicles were out of the question. I thought about taking my bike, but crowds get so thick that I’m not certain it would have sped things up.

We walked the nearly 3 miles down to the race location (it was at the far end of waterfront from my house) and got checked in. We did some more walking to check out the vendors and displays, so I’m certain that we logged in 8 miles of walking at the least.

I know why I avoid that waterfront like the plague. It was just WAY too many people. . The newspaper today said that 700,000 (yes, that’s SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND) people attended Freedom Fair and Tall Ships yesterday (stretching one end of Tacoma’s waterfront to the other) and that over ONE MILLION attended over the last 4 days. I’m tired of people and traffic, let me tell you (and I live in between the two festivals) It was hot (well hot for up here) and people were cranky, parents were yelling at their kids and it was just basically a zoo. At least the dragon boaters were on the far end and we had our own area roped off. Dragon boaters are good folks.

I already posted about the races themselves in my previous entry, so I won’t rehash that. It’s too bad that we had the collision in the first heat, or we’d have won 1st place (not being a bad sport here, just stating the fact that we lost more time in the collision, that the hundredths of a second we were behind the 1st place team who wasn’t involved/in that heat) It feels good to have done so well.

It took me almost an hour to get though the insane crowds and back up the hill to get read for work at the security gig. (it only took 45 minutes to get down there) I had a brief moment to cool down, grab some food and get ready to deal with the nightmare traffic. Parking was already only a block away from my house to the North (a mile from the event) so I was getting out just in time. And then the tall ships parking was creeping up several blocks to the South.

Body armor does NOT feel good on a sunburn. I’m not burned badly, but I didn’t put enough sunscreen on because I’m used to being tan at this time of year and miscalculated. I’m just a bit tender and slightly uncomfortable.

I had an AMAZING view from work last night. I could see all the fireworks from the official barge on the bay, several other towns and islands, two Indian reservations and some private displays that rivaled the professional ones. It was an amazing 360 degree pyrotechnic panorama.

One of my coworkers is an idot boy that got fired earlier in the year and I have no idea why they hired him back. He is a total screw up and nothing that he has done thus far is proving otherwise. He’s fallen asleep at work several times and that can lose us the contract. He threatened the guy that wrote him up (no contract, no job or any of us an he was cut slack more than once) and even wrote in magic marker “This is BULLSHIT… GROW UP _____” on the report that was written. Then, last night, the little twerp calls me up and tells me that he was going to be late. He’d already bragged that he had $500 worth of fireworks and was having a big party. You know what? I’d like to have been at one of the parties I usually go to, but I busted my ass to get home from dragon boating and got my ass to work (as did our swing shift guy) I was NOT a happy camper getting off work 15 minutes late. I want to strangle the little twerp. I hope they fire his sorry, immature, delinquent little butt.

I managed to get home a bit after 12:30 AM and the fireworks over the water were still booming and the sound carrying (amazing in a city that has a fireworks ban) so I closed all my windows. Some little twerps from the slumlord’s place next door were shooting off fireworks in the ally at 12:45 AM. Sorry, but it’s no longer the 4th AND it’s a weeknight, and some of us work for a living. I yelled out the window for them to knock it off and told them that the cops were coming. I heard them scramble in the back door, then a few minutes later, I heard a car start up and take off like a bat out of perdition. I had to giggle at that one; with all the really big stuff going on, there’s no way the Tacoma Police department was going to get anyone out there or a firecracker call. Too funny.

With that, I went to sleep, with most of the skyrockets far enough off that they weren’t jarring. One person set off a couple of roman candles a few blocks away, but otherwise, it wasn’t that bad.

And as promised… “Salty Wenches” with our shiny things

or... "A Tale of Two Lakes"

It's still the 4th of July, barely...

I should have remembered not to come home until well after midnight. They close down the street I live on to traffic leaving the fireworks show on the waterfront, as well as some of the highway (the part that leads to the waterfront, thus shunting traffic up to my neighborhood from two directions... YIKES... That's OK... I just went around and snuck in the alley.

Last year I came home later and from the other direction, so it wasn't that bad. Unfortunately, this year, I was in too much pain and too tired to stay any later at either party...

Which was another pain... My 4th of July events conflicted this year. Normally, Cheryl and Willy's big event at Lake Louise is on the 4th proper and Jim's big bash at Lake Tapps is the Saturday or Sunday afterwards (when the good fireworks on the reservation are half price) but since the 4th fell on a Sunday this year, both parties fell on the same day... UGH!!!

Of course, there ARE worse things than having invites to two "A List" parties at area lakes.

I knew I'd be frustrated not being able to play volleyball at Jim's party, so I hit Cheryl and Willy's first, ate, drank, sang with the band (old ski instructors from Crystal Mountain) and socialized. When the sun started thinking about setting, I headed up to Lake Tapps for what has to be the biggest fireworks show in the world (and it's all private). I swear the people across the cove from us (along with their neighbors had to have spent well over $100,000 for all the fireworks they shot off. The bastards broke the record that we set two years ago for the number of shells launched simultaneously. OMG!!! It was so bright that my camera wouldn't even record their big bursts.

photos of the parties are available on my website at http://www.wildcelticrose.net/lisasplace/fourth04.html

I am STILL the reigning "Hula Hoop Champion" There wasn't a competition this year, so no one could sneak in and take my title while I was injured ;)

So, I'm WAY to sore to sit here (even on the ball) any longer and need to take my Codeine and get to bed. Traffic is still heavy outside the house and there are a few fireworks going off here and there, so sleep is out of the question for another hour or so, but I really need to lay down. The only thing that saved me at Cheryl and Willy's was the fact that their back yard slops steeply, so it was more like laying down that sitting, and I had a nice hammock chair over at Jim's. I still hurt though...

So here's a picture of John, Me and Willy playing in the band, and another one of the fireworks at Jim's...






~L