GREAT TIME IN THE 210

Well, another Alamo Bowl has come and gone, and this year's edition has to rank in the top two as far as close finishes. The Missouri Tigers wound up beating the Northwestern Wildcats in overtime, with Chase Daniel hooking up with Jeremy Maclin for a touchdown in OT, which the Wildcats could not match. Aside from a few obnoxious assholes behind us, it was a great experience. Leave it up to a couple of idiots to spoil things for everyone else.

It was awesome to spend time with the boys again. We hadn't seen Matt since Michael's graduation from UTPB, and I hadn't seen Michael since this summer in Dallas. Mel and I thoroughly enjoyed their visit; it was like old times again. Although they have both grown into strapping young men, they are still my babies in my mind!

After arriving Sunday evening, we sat and had a few beers and some shots, then had a nice steak dinner grilled by yours truly. Monday, we headed out for La Cantera to walk around and check out the sights. Before the game, we lunched on some wings at Hooters, then headed for the Blossom Stadium Park N Ride to the Alamodome.

I swear, Park N Ride is the ONLY way to attend large events downtown. A $4 round trip charge covers parking and a bus ride to and from the game. I wish the Fiesta organizers would snap and make more events accessible with Park N Ride.

This morning it was a breakfast of scrambled eggs and left over steak, then the boys hit the road for Dallas since Michael has to work later today. Friday the boys will be going to the Cotton Bowl, so Matt will be in Dallas for a few more days.

It was so good to see them again; we can't wait until the next time the Boys Are Back in Town!

THE BOYS WILL BE BACK IN TOWN!

Tomorrow Matt and Michael will be coming to town for the Alamo Bowl. Mel and I are so stoked to see them; we can't wait! The Alamo Bowl is an annual tradition for us, and this will be the third time the boys will be attending.

The last time they were here, we got to see the Texas Longhorns defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes 26-24 in the 2006 Alamo Bowl. Prior to that, we saw Nebraska beat Michigan 32-28 on the last play of the game. Last year, Mel, Bert, and I saw Texas A&M lose to Penn State 24-17 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. Still, it was cool to see all of the Aggie yells and to kiss Mel after every score!

Hopefully this year's game between Missouri and Northwestern will be a good one to see. We plan to partake in the pre-game fan fest and festivities. Last year we cut it so close, we only had time to board the park-n-ride and find our seats!

I'll be riding tomorrow morning for the first time in over two weeks. I've been sick and the weather has been crazy, so I didn't ride last week. I'll give a full report tomorrow.

Lata!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I have to admit, this year I haven't been in the Christmas spirit much. I don't know if it's because we are having a tough year at work, because there was a week less time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, or what.

Thanks to God for his blessings and Dave Ramsey for his financial advice, this will be the second straight Christmas that we haven't used credit cards to buy gifts. Both years we budgeted early in the year and saved up for Christmas. It is a real good feeling knowing you are in control of your expenditures and getting out of debt instead of creating more. During today's economy, that is very important.

I digress. Like I said, I haven't really been in the Christmas spirit this year, so on my way to work this morning, I decided to do something about it. I tuned my stereo to the all Christmas music station to hear some holiday music during my drive. That seemed to help quite a bit. There is something to be said about hearing Gene Autry's version of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", or Eartha Kitt singing "Santa Baby".

That got me to thinking about Christmas when I was a boy. I remember getting Captain Action and GI Joe action figures with all the accessories, every Hot Wheels car available at the time, and my first bike! My first bike was a classic banana seat version with chopper style handlebars.









I remember that particular Christmas, Santa (or his elf) must have been drunk when he was assembling the bike, as one of the training wheels was higher than the other. That created a permanent tilt of the bike, which resulted in my only learning how to ride the bike in circles in our driveway. After a couple of weeks I snapped and realized I could go straight if I leaned the other way! I loved that bike, as I later learned to customize it on my own. Soon after came the sissy bar, head rest, tassels, extended front forks, headlight, etc. I was stylin!

Ahhh, memories...

Anyway, the music seemed to help, but my cold hasn't. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. I get out of work early and Mel, Cindy, and I are planning to make a day of getting out in the hubbub, then having an early dinner, opening gifts, then settling in to a glass of wine and A Christmas Story marathon!

Hope you and yours have a safe Merry Christmas!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

It's been a blur since Thanksgiving. Christmas has just snuck up on us this year. I don't know if it's because there is one less week between the holidays this year, or just because we've been so busy at work, but it seems like I just blinked and Christmas is next week!

I finally got the lights and exterior decorations up a couple of weeks ago. Mel has been sick, so she was barely able to get the tree decorated today. Last Friday was the McNay Christmas party and we had a great time. After a nice dinner, we all danced to a DJ who actually spins vinyl albums and is less than 50 years old! We had a great time dancing, which we hadn't done in years. My hips were very sore the next day.

The following day, Saturday, we hosted my staff's annual Christmas Party at Soluna Restaurant here in San Antonio. We had a great time and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Sunday, I rode at OP Schnabel and was able to get 12.5 miles in a couple of hours. If the weather holds this week, I'll probably try to ride Madrone longer than two hours.

This Saturday Mel, Cindy, and I are going to the Annual San Antonio Symphony Christmas Pops concert. We went last year and really enjoyed the traditional carols they performed. Then next week, I'll have to work part of the week, but will have Christmas day off. I am looking forward to just chilling out and having a nice, quiet holiday at home.

This has been a long year and I'm ready to get it over with. I look forward to the promise of a better 2009!

WHAT A WEEK

Last week Mel and I were both on vacation for the Thanksgiving holiday. After cleaning house as well as the carpets the weekend before, we prepared for a full week ahead of us.

MONDAY - I had hoped to ride my bike, but the weather was crappy and foggy, so I got a late start. I rode a little over an hour at McAllister Park

TUESDAY - got my hair cut and waited for Mom and David to drive in from Midland.

WEDNESDAY - Mom & David drove to Houston to pick up the Batcycle. I rode 13 miles at McAllister Park and had a good workout. Mel and I finished last minute Thanksgiving shopping, then I grilled steaks when Mom & David returned from Houston.

THANKSGIVING - David and I rode 10 miles at OP Schnabel. David wiped out a couple of times and ripped his brand new Pearl Izumi riding shorts - OUCH! The Gonzos drove in from Brownsville after lunch, with Aidan in tow. Welcome to the Terrible Twos! Bert flew in from San Jose around 4 PM, so we finally had dinner around 6 PM. A 10 mile ride and football games all day and night, WHAT A GREAT DAY!

FRIDAY - Mom and David decided to head home early to get some chores done around the house. We kind of just hung out while everyone else went shopping. Later that evening, we celebrated Mel's birthday early, so the Gonzos could participate.

SATURDAY - I decided to ride Madrone solo. I did the first circuit a couple of times, for 6+ miles total. I also tackled a particular ledge that I have been avoiding until now. That gave me a great sense of achievement. Later that afternoon, the Gonzos returned to Brownsville.

SUNDAY - Mel's birthday. She and I spent the whole day together; no bike riding; no football. We had a nice late lunch/early dinner at Red Lobster. At some point during the week, Mel picked up Aidan and messed up her back. She has been in pain the whole day. Ibuprofen and a couple of Cosmos didn't seem to help.

MONDAY - back to work to rest!

All in all, it was a good week. We got to see family and catch up and I got in a few bike rides to work off my stress and enjoy the outdoors. Now it's on to Christmas and New Years!