my absence...

I feel like a lot of my blog posts of late… or perhaps not of late at all because I haven't written in ages… have started out with an appology to my readers for being so slack in my postings. And well, this one is no different. Sometimes you need to write to get things off your mind, some times you write so you don't forget, some times you write to entertain, and… well, some times you don't write because you don't want to remember, you don't write because you'd rather forget and well, instead of entertaining... you're so busy keeping your head above water long enough to get air, who has time to write?

I can say that my absence in "internet blog land" has been two fold. First of all, I went through a nasty little unexpected relationship change with my partner of three years, which made anything I wrote, have an especially emo and bitter tone. Personally, I didn't want to hark on old things and nor really did I want to relive experiences more than I needed to, so I just didn't write. Namely, I just wanted to be able to pick up and move on with my life without skipping too much of a beat. Granted, I know one needs to allow oneself to heal and grieve… and I did, but I kinda wanted to hole myself up in a cave for a bit and share my emotions in person with close friends instead of proclaiming on the internet for everyone. Secondly, I got super super busy with work-work. And when I say work-work… I pretty much mean "freelance graphic design gigs". Whereas prior I was able to sit down of an evening a write a blog post, my evenings were suddenly dedicated to pushing out round after round of logo or poster revisions. On top of that, I was keeping myself busy with things to keep my mind off of a broken relationship, so pretty much any evening that wasn't dictated a "freelance night", I was out having much needed laughs with friends.

But then you know what? Time passed, I moved on. I put the past behind me, I closed the book which I had been busy writing till the pages had been torn out before I could get to them; and thusly, I decided to start a new story. I took a leap and called up a new friend I had met and before I knew it, I found myself driving down to Central Oregon to spend weekends with 'said person' or enjoying 'said persons' company when she came up to Portland to visit me. And then, embracing change in my life… I applied for a new job that a friend had told me about. One for a local high end handmade bike company that, if achieved, would mesh my talents of design, photography, writing, spending time on the internet and bikes! And needless to say, the application/interview process for that new job was very taxing and very very very labor intensive. Each round was like an episode of Project Runway, they give you an assignment… you squeeze it out under a tight dealing in the nick of time, some people are eliminated and then it's off to the next challenge. Then on top of that, add a few weekends spent snowboarding, weekends spent riding my bike, one amazing weekend down in Yosemite and many many weekends doing absolutely nothing but sleeping in, eating breakfast at 2pm and snuggling-up while the snow outside piled up by the window panes, and well…. long story short, that's what I've been up to.

So, to follow up:

My new girlfriend's name is Carina and we met Labor Day Weekend at a Brandi Carlile and Ray Lamontange show down in Bend, OR. The second week we were dating, I asked her if she'd like to go see another Brandi Carlile concert with me, six months away in May, And well, we'll pretty much be celebrating six months with Brandi playing the Portland Symphony Orchestra right around the corner. By the way, Carina is a wildlife biologist for the Forest Service. She spends her days counting birds, riding snow mobiles, and in the summer… having fire watch tower duty and helping fight forest fires. That's pretty hot huh? :)

As well, just last month I wrapped up operations at the graphic design job I've held since I moved to Portland, and then quickly set up shop with the fine folks at Vanilla Bicycles! AKA, I GOT THE JOB!!!! WOOO! Oh, and if you're not familiar with Vanilla… you should try googling them. There are a few good articles and photos on the web. If you do nothing else, at least look at this photo.) I'll be their Front End Manager and handling not only all the customer service, but also all of the graphic design work for bikes, kits, etc. and keeping up the blog. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked.

Also of note… I've recently wrapped up design work on a some laser cut steel inlays, that will be set into a bridge that is currently being constructed in Roseberg Oregon at the National Cemetery there. I'm also finishing up work on a poster I'm designing for Interbike, which is the largest gathering of bike industry professionals in the US. And, a book I did illustrations for, was just published this month by Columbia University Press. I was pretty stoked about this project as it was for a good friend of mine, Nick Teich, and I'm excited to see it used as a textbook in Gender Studies classes across the nation. Let alone a good read for anyone who wants to know more information about Transgender topics. It's called Transgender 101… check it out.

So, needless to say…. sorry I haven't written in a while. My apologies.

And thanks as well for the kind notes I've received in my absence. Sometimes I need a swift kick in the pants. :)

lets do this again shall we?

photo by Katy P

So last weekend was the BIG Cross Crusade Halloween Weekend races in Bend, Oregon. My team, Ironclad, got a house for the weekend and a few hearty partiers/racers, descended on the fair high desert town with massive amounts of cardboard in tow. No, the cardboard wasn't just from the boxes of beer we were bringing with us, it was for our Halloween costumes... CARS! Someone, I'm not quite sure who, thought it would be an epically awesome and a hugely bad idea to dress up as cars. That way in unison, we could cause traffic jams and hog the race course. Needless to say, the idea of moving around in a huge cardboard box while biking, dismounting, carrying your bike over barriers and up staircases is just a dumb idea. So, it seemed perfect for the Cross Crusade.

The several of us participating in the muckery, chose our vehicles. I, a proud Subaru owner, chose a subaru. The idea struck me as amusing in endless ways, A) I wasn't really dressing up, B) but yet I was, C) more or less, I was making fun of myself, and D) SUBARU's are all over the frickin road in Oregon. It's great!

So needless to say, I packed a huge box in my car and spent Saturday night painting my own little subaru as a silver fox. Adding in details like the suby logo, front grill of the 2003, and windows and a little black lab mix in the back seat (much like my own dear sweet Anna). It was really fun in our little Ironclad house, to be spread out in the garage painting and cutting with my teammates while folks, not participating in the costume idea, drank beer inside. I mean, don't get me wrong, we were drinking beer in the garage... but I just kinda smiled when I realized that the scene reminded me of art school. That's what we'd all do when projects were do, gather in a common space, share materials and chit-chat while working tirelessly away. Apparently, this scene was not lost on anyone else as several of my teammates also went to design school and we all shared the same thought... "doesn't this remind you of studio?". Who would have thought that this long after college, you and your friends all gather to work on art projects?

Also amusing about this whole thing, is that you could tell everyone's focus on design based upon how they approached the idea of creating a car. Trevor and Alana, both former architecture students, created highly crafted 3-d cars that either they fit into, or could be places on their race steeds. Myself, a graphic designer, approached the problem from a 2-d perspective. Meaning, I paid attention to graphic details and how the car looked from the front and from the back.

So anyways, after the paint had dried, I shoved the silver suby in the back of my reali-life subaru and set off for the race course. Everything seemed to be going great until right before my race when I put the costume on, I forgot a huge design flaw... I had never actually tried riding my bike with the costume on. I knew that the costume would fit, but I never really thought about little things like tire drag and going up and down hills. Slight major oversight.

bikeportland.org

Not really caring about the "race" part of the race, I signed up in the men's SS category so that my teammates and I could ride our cars together in the same race and cause the most havoc. I started in the back knowing that I wasn't going to be going anywhere any time soon. The first obstacle to clear (aside from the car rubbing on my wheels) was a huge wooden ramp that was set up on the course. Normally, I would be well aware of this going into it, but I had kinda forgotten about the ramp thinking that the stairs would be my biggest challenge to over come. Having said that, I didn't attack the ramp with the speed or intensity needed for a single speed bike... and so halfway up, I just couldn't get my bike going anymore. This meant a speedy dismount from the bike with my costume on (something else I also hadn't really worked on). I managed to stay upright, but sadly the smooth plywood of the ramp at the steep angle did not have any traction. Meaning, myself and my bike and my costume were slowly sliding down the ramp.

The best part about this whole next scene is realizing that this is the place on the course where EVERYONE is watching you. It's in the center, by the beer garden, and everyone can see you. As well, since I waited last to go, all the other racers have passed through this area already which means that everyone has no one to watch but me.

So, this came into play when I heard everyone yelling at me as I slowly slid back down the ramp. "USE YOUR ALL-WHEEL DRIVE" the beer garden yelled. I was able to stop myself from sliding further and pathetically crawled over to the railing of the ramp where I pulled myself to the top. Here, everyone is still watching and heckling. I quickly rearrange my costume, mount my bike and start to head down the other side of the ramp. Which quickly brought about another issue I had slightly overlooked, the fact that when I tilt downwards, so does my costume. So needless to say, as soon as I start to head down I begin to run over the front of my costume. At this point I was pretty sure I was going to endo over the handlebars. I saw my young racing career ending with broken arms and splinters embedded in my face. All I could think was, well... hopefully someone will get this on film.

photos by David M

For whatever reason, be it my quick release duct-tape or the bike tubes I used for suspenders, running over my costume with my front wheel did not cause me to endo... but instead resulted in my costume getting horribly tangled in my bike. I was able to guide my steed and costume down the embankment without crashing, but had to come to rest at the bottom to untangle myself. At this point, I just envisioned the men's B's field flying over the ramp and landing on poor me and my wreckage of a Subaru. Thankfully, some handy bystanders jumped in the course and helped me untangle the mess I had found myself in.

I was able to get the badly damaged but still usable costume back on and set off, once again determined to at least do ONE lap with my costume before it officially bit the dust. So I rode, one hand holding my car up and one hand on the wheel, everyone chanting... "GO SUBARU!!!". Not too long after the ramp debacle, I came across another nemesis I did not plan for... a gravel hill. So once again I was unable to build up the speed I needed for the hill because one hand was holding my costume up, so half-way up the hill I stopped and had to hop off the bike. At this point, I was getting heckled by four men who were just sitting there watching me struggle. I took the car off of me to readjust it and then, by some saving grace of God, a huge gust of wind came and blew my car down the hillside. I watched it roll two or three times, over and over till it hit a shrub and came to rest on it's base. I had no patience left for my car so I took it as a sign it was not to be, said "fuck it, that car was a lemon anyways"... remounted my bike and then rode off into the sunset.

After the race was over (and amazingly, I did not place last!) I went back over to the hillside which served as the final resting spot for my costume. As I approached the hillside, I also noticed a small boy on his little bmx bike was going over there too. I slowed and watched to see what he was doing. When he reached the gravel, he hopped off his bike and sprinted up the hill. Sure enough, he went straight for the silver subaru. He picked it up, put it on, and then raced back down the hill... hopped on his bike and rode off. As he passed he I said to him... "that looks pretty good on you". He said "thanks, I guess that person didn't want their costume anymore". And well, I kinda wanted my costume back... but mainly I just wanted to throw it away. But, seeing this kid ride around, having fun in something I had fun creating, was just about as priceless as anything else. I pretty much considered it well worth my entry fee for a race I had no intent on actually doing well in.

It was a fun time Bend, lets do this again shall we?

(ps: VeloNews even wrote about us and had photos, saying: "The Ironclad racers who sacrificed their race to dress up as huge cardboard cars were a good laugh." And I'm like... that's ME they're talking about!

things that I am looking forward to...

-snowboarding season

My work agreed once again to pay half of my season pass to Mt. Hood Meadows. Seriously, during the winter and providing that the snow is good, I make it up there at least twice a week.

-going to Vancouver to see Olympic soccer qualifiers

In January the USWNT plus the best squads from around the globe will be in Vancouver BC for qualifiers. It would be nice to get a gang of folks together, rent a house, get the package deal and plan for nothing but awesome times for a week. Total fangirldom without feeling bad that you're geeking out over hot women who just happen to be ridiculously good soccer players.

-maybe snowboarding up in BC

Because I'm not going to New Zealand and spending that money on airfare and everything else, and that time away from work... maybe one time I can actually get my ass up to BC for boarding. It would be great if I could combine that and the soccer trip whilst I'm at it.

-spending more quality time my my dog, Anna

Saturday morning hikes, walks after work, etc.

-spending more time doing design work

Not feeling guilty for going into work hella late and staying till 2am

-spending more time at the gym

Because I like working out at 9pm.

-spending more time on the bike trainer

Because I won't have to quit for dinner or other things

-planning on going to Patagonia

Because I can... and it's on my bucket list and I have the vacation time

-eating spinach salad and boca burgers for dinner

Because I like em. And it's easy after you've been at the gym or going to the gym.

-spending more time at the climbing gym

Because it's winter and you have to play inside sometimes.

-getting a mid-century modern sofa

Because comfortable sofas are overrated.

-going to the movies more

There were a lot of movies that I never went to go see because I figured my s.o. wouldn't like them and wouldn't want to spend the money on them. IE: subtitles.

-reading more

YES!

-playing more banjo

YES!

-working on that book

It takes time, and well... I have time now.

-meeting new people

And not feeling guilty if you kinda like them more than you should.

wherein i talk about fashion and coats and stuff.

I always feel overwhelmed when I actually want to write a blog on my blogger. As in, I've neglected it for so long (since August at least, and that really wasn't an epic entry) that I must fill my feeble numbered readers in on all the aspects of my life. And, yes... that is a seriously daunting task. In fact, as time has progressed since I started writing blogs and posting random shit on the internets, that I kinda protect certain amounts of my life as I want them to remain private. As in, I will blog the shit out of sport and art things, but when it comes to more personal matters, I'm apt to stay hush. And maybe that's why there have been so few posts? Maybe I've just been wrapped up in personal matters and not willing to overtly share them with the world?

I mean, don't take that the wrong way. Things have been great, better than great really. The skies have been a brighter shade of blue, the birds sing sweeter songs, and all the lights on the road were green. Yeah, I've been busy. We've been busy. Wrapped up in a hectic summer and early fall of bike racing and paddling, shows, appointments, games, etc. I was really looking forward to winter, having it all slow down and things get back to normal. And then well, while wrapped up busy in my own shit... I got a sucker punch to the gut. A left hook that I never saw coming.

It's easy not to blog when things are great. It's hard to keep from blogging when your mind in wrapped up in multiple conversations, memories and thoughts. And, one to never have a best friend that I share all my thoughts and secrets with, I turn to writing to get thoughts out of my head. It's just a way that I process things. Once they are out on paper (as a way of speaking) I can get them out of my head. And what I don't share, I tend to internalize and shut down when under distress. As, I may not really show what's going on... so I'm trying to be better about that (on and off the internets). I'm not going to go into full full disclosure here, once again.. that privacy thing, but hell... life is a bitch sometimes.

So, things have changed for me again. I've always been a pretty solo straight shooter. Very assure of who I am as a person and what I want out of my life. In fact, I'd peg me one of the most self-aware and self assured person I know. Basically, I can imagine that this self-confidence maybe slightly intimidating to others who are not so sure of themselves and where they stand in the world. A few years ago I got into a very deep relationship where I learned (by a lot of trial and error) how to function as a unit. How to not be so independent and self serving, and how to think of someone other than myself and my dog. I'd like to think that I progressed by great leaps and bounds and gave myself fully to the cause. It's funny to think that I never used to hug people, and now I hug my friends all the time.

However, what happens when you invest yourself fully, and fully isn't good enough or not what that other person finally decides they want? I have no regrets about anything, but I realize to a certain extent that there wasn't too much more of me to give. In my closest relationships I am very face value, what you see is what you get. However, at the same time to many people I am very layered, as in I can tell you everything... but at the same time tell you nothing at all. I can imagine very honestly, that on a very personal level, that it's hard for some people to know which jennlevo they are getting. So the case may be that you are in fact, getting all of jenn... and yet you think you're getting layered jenn, you may be slightly disappointed. You may always be thinking that there is more or that there are things I am hiding whilst the opposite is true.

I have never been a fiery personality. My family is not a warm family. We have lots of love and get along swimmingly, but we don't bear hug. In line with my father the most, I avoid drama and I don't yell and argue about things that aren't worth it in the long run. I don't deal with stressors in my life emotionally, I deal with things logically. And yes, this may make me appear to be "emotionally distant"... but I just process on another level. I feel so much and yet at the same time, show so little. I always admired people who were strong and cool under pressure, the Scandinavian ideal. I always wished for these attributes in myself and well... I guess I got my wish. In fact, the irony of the situation is that these things were used against me, my achilles heel. One would think we could all use less drama in our lives right? That these would be ideal attributes in a partner... and well, I was cut because I didn't create enough drama.

But the thing is I will never be fiery, I can work on expressing my feelings more... yes. But the fact of the matter is I am who I am, and I am happy with the person I am. There is so much talk out there about people finding themselves, when the truth of the matter is you actually have to CREATE yourself. You could spend your life looking in every nook, every cranny, under every rock and in every relationship trying to find yourself, trying on different coats to see which one suits you best. And if you go that route, you will waste your life, you will never really be satisfied, you will only put on the coats that you come across. I think the secret to knowing who you really are is learning how to make the coat that fits you best. Of course it takes time to gather all the material, to learn how to sew, to make alterations along the way... but then one day when it all comes together, you realize the coat vanishes and there you are, naked.

Naked but completely comfortable in your own skin. All you have is all you need.

I applaud the need to find oneself, but if you are always searching then you will never find it. I don't want to stand in anyone's way of them becoming the person they were meant to be, but all I ask is that you don't drag other people through the process. Don't drag other people through a dream of "it all working out" only to decide that the coat you found and wore for three years didn't fit. And if you need help making your coat, ask. There are people there to help you along the way. But don't expect them to just know how to help. Everyone's coat is different and different people can help in different ways, but you need to ask for help sometimes.

And at the end of the day, at the end of your life, you just hope that you can find someone who likes your coat regardless of it's color, the wear and tear, and the years of use. You hope that when that person looks at your coat, they don't see a coat at all, no layers, naked... they just see you.

.....

I wrote you messages in the sand and then the waves came and washed them away, as quick as you washed the dreams I had for the both of us away.

2011 Bike Racing Year in Review...

And just like that, aside from some random PIR's till the end of the month, I am done with a season of bike racing that has lasted since February. Really, I am happy to hang up the road bike for a bit and spend my weekends camping, hiking, surfing, and doing other stuff till cross rears it's muddy head in October. Granted, cross races actually start up next weekend, but I need a break. I know it may seem odd, since I spend so much time on the bike, especially in the summer, but my soul doesn't live on the bike. No, my soul plays in the woods, it climbs the mountains and it floats in the icy cold rivers of this land. And... it's been calling and calling and calling all summer long and I can't just keep not answering. Granted, I've satiated it here and there, teased it with a dabbling of camping and surfing over a weekend, but it needs more. I need more. So, with only a few weeks of summer left till the rains come again - I take off into the woods. Well, I still have to go to work and do other things on the edges, but I vow to get outside come the weekend.

2011

All in all though, I just wanted to re-cap on what a great year it has been since I started racing back in February. Actually, let me just recap on what a great year it has been since I joined Ironclad. Yes, yes... this may seem like such a shameless plug for my team, but really... they are quite awesome. I mean, yeah they race bikes well, but more importantly, they are fun, kind and considerate people. They are folks you actually want to spend time around where it doesn't feel like a chore. It's a team in almost every aspect of the word... something that I was solely missing on my former bike racing squad. And when it comes to bikes, it's nice to show up to a race and have people to race with, not just people that you are competing against. You can lay out a plan prior and actually see it come to fruition. Somedays you do the work, some days your teammates are there to help you. In the end, everyone wins.

On that note, I'd just like to thank my teammates for helping me achieve my two main goals of the season:

1) Winning a month at PIR (I actually ended up winning two back to back months)

2) Podiuming at Crit State Champs (I got second in the Cat 3's)

RACES OF NOTE:

April 2: Cherry Blossom Crit, Cat 3, 4th place

This was the largest field I ever face all year, especially with everyone being in the same Category, there were 36 riders in this one and it came down to a close sprint at the line with me just missing out on a podium by a narrow margin for 4th place. I had podiumed the year prior and really wanted to again, especially since this crit is really the only reason I race the Cherry Blossom Stage Race... but oh well.

July 16th, Ironclad Crit, Cat 3, 1st place

Thanks to Ironclad for scoring Cat3's separately. Once again a narrow 4th place across the line over all, but when it comes to scoring... I'll take 1st for the 3's. It was a fun race with Ironclad leading out the charges on all accounts.

July 30th, Gresham Crit, Sr Women, 3rd place

I've normally hated this race, I have no idea why, but this year it was pretty kind to me. I think because prior I hadn't raced the Franz Crit and now I really do have an appreciation for flat courses. Anyways, early on Bri and Emily got in a break so it was just up to the rest of us to see who'd take the sprint across the line for 3rd. And really, I like these kind of races... the bunch sprint at the end. It keeps it exciting. So, needless to say I played my cards right and came up with the bunch win. Woo!

August 13th, OBRA (Oregon State Championship) Crit, Cat 3, 2nd place.

This was another race where Bri just went for a break off the front with one other person and it came down to a bunch sprint for the remaining places. Anna did a lot of work up front leading me out but Emily had an amazing punch around the last corner and beat me to the line for first. Once again, I was the fourth across the line overall, but when scored separately for Cat3's, I got 2nd, achieving my goal of podiuming at States. check.

And then there is PIR:

8/15: Monday PIR, 3rd

7/25: Monday PIR, 2nd

7/18: Monday PIR, 1st

7/11: Monday PIR, 1st

6/27: Monday PIR, 1st

6/20: Monday PIR, 4th

6/13: Monday PIR, 2nd

6/6: Monday PIR, 3rd

2012

Another goal I had for 2011 was to upgrade to Cat 2, which I think I could do at this point, the jury is still out... but I think I'll hang in there as a Cat 3 through the 2012 spring season since I really have no desire to race the longer milage road race season as a Cat 2 (Cat 3's will race 50 miles, Cat 2's will race 70+). I mean really, I'm just in for the crits which mostly, Cat 3's race with the 1/2's... so there is no difference, but it's nice to know for planning purposes. As well, I can do more to help my other Cat 3 teammates on the road than I can our Cat 2's, and we have some newer Cat 3's that I look forward to protecting and working for come spring. Basically, when it comes to the spring season, I will try my best to work my ass off for you till I get popped off on a hill, get lost, and have some lumberjack take me back to my car.

I think I'll also make it a goal to work on more tactical things and aspects of the sport for 2012 and perhaps, overcome my wariness of doing any race that has an incline in it. I had also wanted to make it out to the track a little more this year, but my need to spend time outdoors and desire to see my friends, family and loved ones on occasion, outweighed the track when it was all said and done. So, maybe next year I'll make it a point to make it to more track events and figure out how to do Madisons.

However, till then I have some camping to do, some cross races to get muddy in, some snowboarding, and some traveling to middle earth... they'll be plenty of time for racing bikes later.

In celebration...

In celebration of the US Women's Soccer Team's triumphant return to the finals of the Women's World Cup for the first time since 1999, I went to the box of old photos I keep under my bed (you know, from the days before everything was digital) and dug out this photo:

This photo was taken July 4th 1999 at the Semi-Final match of (Norway vs China) World Cup at Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts. That summer I was working up in Maine as a counselor at a girls summer camp (Camp Tapawingo) and once I figured out that I got every sunday off from camp, I and several of the other staff, bought tickets to the match. At the point of buying the tickets, we had no idea who would be playing, but I was pleased to find out it was going to be Norway vs. China. Several years prior, I had seen Norway play Brazil at the 1996 Olympics and always had a soft spot in my heart for the Scandinavians. So my friends and I all decided that was who we would root for. Plus, seeing a soccer game in Boston on the 4th of July (the WWC match was followed by a New England Revolution match) seemed like a pretty good away to spend the day.

Outside the stadium, I purchased a huge Norwegian flag to help set us apart from all the Chinese fans who seemed to litter the stadium en mass. And really, for the most part it just ended up as us being the only ones on our end cheering for Norway, which meant we had to cheer louder, and harder, and more obnoxious than all the Chinese, which was a hard task. At one point, I told my friends I was going to try to get my photograph on the front page of the Boston Herald.... and sure enough, at one point in the game a photographer waved me down to the field asking me my name. He was a photographer for the Boston Herald! Sadly though, the photo of me never ran as China ended up winning the match (meh) and they ran a photo of a crowd of Chinese supporters instead.

While at this game, the US women were playing their own Semi-Final match against Brazil in California. When it was announced that they had won over the loudspeaker, the whole crowd went crazy! The US women were on to the Final to be played six days later! At this point, all of us hooked on soccer and well, living up in Maine with no internet, no TV and no link to the outside world, we started to get a little nervous of how we were going to watch the game. In fact, game time soon approached and it was everything we could try to do to get find a TV and get it hooked up to watch the game. The unfortunate thing was, it's not like as a counselor you had hours to sit around and watch it. No, you had kids you had to teach and cabins that needed cleaning.

Thankfully though, the game stretched on into the dinner hour at camp and I and a few other counselors were able to sneak away from our table and our duties, and go to the Jr. Lodge to watch. I remember the game going past regulation time. I remember overtime. And then holy hell, do I remember those penalty kicks. I am sure that I was needed for something that evening at camp, but at that point it didn't matter. I was watching history, not only soccer history, but women's history and US history. That final match on July 10, 1999 was the most watched soccer match in US History and come hell or high water, in the back woods of Maine, I'm glad I had enough sense to find a way to watch it.

Since that evening, since that final PK by Brandi Chastain, US soccer has had trouble keeping the momentum. Sure, those ladies from the 1999 Team became household names and helped spurn on a whole new generation of fans and soccer players (some of whom are now those ladies that make up the US team) but the US as a whole has failed to continue with that dream of 1999. The leagues have faltered and failed, our team had yet to make it to another cup final in ten years, the attendance in the last World Cup held on American soil was low (which was in 2003 - but in all due respect the tournament was supposed to have been held in China and it got moved due to the SARS virus, so low attendance might have something to do with people not knowing it was going to happen? Anyways, seizing the opportunity, I took my mother to see a match at Columbus Stadium for her birthday). Regardless, hopefully all that ambivalence changed this past Sunday when the US beat Brazil in overtime and penalty kicks, twelve years to the day since the women of 1999 did. Hopefully people will find a way to gather around a TV this Sunday for the final against Japan.

Hopefully the names of Hope Solo, Abby Wambach, Heather O Riley and Megan Rapinoe will grace the tongues of US citizens and soccer fans the way those ladies from 1999 did. Hopefully there will be a whole new generation of girls eager to take on the world in future years.

Hopefully though, it won't take another twelve years for that to happen again.

Regardless, I'll be watching that whole time.

Ohio for the Rapture

To start off... I did not plan to go home to Ohio to visit my family in case the predictions were true that the so called "last days" were ahead of us. No, it just so happened that back in December Sam got a wedding invite from a friend for a wedding in Northern Ohio. Sam really wanted to go to the wedding, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to combine that with a visit to the homeland in a time of year that doesn't suck in Ohio (FYI: 2 out of 12 months of the year do not suck in Ohio: May and October. The rest are either too hot or too cold or just plain unattractive.) So, I wrangled down some dates with my folks and coherced my brother David, who lives in Manhattan, to come home that weekend (it was his birthday weekend) too.

I was looking forward to visiting home for several reasons:

• Seeing my mom and dad whom I hadn't seen since Colorado in October
• Going to a Cincinnati Reds game
• Showing Sam the area in which I grew up
• meeting my brothers new beau
• going to the farm

I was also hoping that maybe it'd be warm enough to where the lightning bugs would be out (we interestingly enough, don't have lighting bugs in the PNW) and that I could also experience a classic Midwestern Thunderstorm (which, we don't have in the PNW either. Yes we have rain, but no storms.)

So flash forward to the trip....

We got in early Thursday morning on the 19th, drove all the way from CVG to Hillsboro. Got up early (mind you our bodies are still on West Coast time) and drove all the way back to Cincinnati to catch a nooner with the Reds. Upon getting our tickets, I walked past a reporter and mugged for the camera. Without fail... the reporter stopped me and asked a question regarding my thoughts on a ticket tax to help pay for the Great American Ballpark. Sam and I gave the man a few bites and then we carried on our merry way into the stadium. We got some decent tickets in left-center field where we were privy to a fair amount of home-run action. Sadly though, most of it was not for the Reds; however, Jay Bruce did hit TWO home runs... so I'm not complaining about that. At the end all, the Reds lost the game and moved from first place down into a spot in the rankings that is slightly less desirable. As I speak... it seems to be a steady downward spiral of losses... I guess I have that effect on them.

After the game we head to Fountain Square where we have planned to meet up with my little friend Emily. I say "little friend Emily" to distinguish from my other friends named Emily who are not so little or so young, but I forget that Emily is not so little anymore. It's not that she gained a bunch of weight or anything... but she just finished her Freshman year of college. Regardless, in my mind she will forever always be my little friend Emily... I just won't call her that in public anymore. Anyways, LFE (little friend emily) and I go way back... and it was nice to catch up and talk about her school and everything over some affordably priced apps and horrible beers at McCormick and Schmicks.

Which brings me to something else I hate about the midwest (aside from 10 months out of the year that I mentioned prior)... they have horrible beer selection at most bars and grocery stores. If you want a pint on draft, it's going to be a Budwiser or Miller product. If you want what they consider a "microbrew" you're gonna have to settle for a Sam Adams. Something exotic? Heineken... or perhaps Rolling Rock (because it comes in a green bottle). And yeah... if some place does have a good beer... it comes in a bottle. And, you're gonna have to pay $4 for that bottle, which is about as bad of a rip-off as paying $5 for watered down Budwiser at a Reds game. And, that reminds me of another thing that could use some help in the midwest.... their coffee. Sigh... maybe it's just a user error, but I should teach my dad about water to gind ratio or something. Or, maybe in the future I'll just get them a french press so I can use that when I come to visit? One way or another, before I left Portland I picked up two bags of freshly roasted beans from Stumptown (which, as a traveling tip... not only makes a great hostess gift, but makes your luggage smell like heaven.)

Oh... I degress: upon getting back to Hillsboro after the game and an early dinner, I find a note on my facebook wall from a former classmate of mine who lives in Hillsboro saying "jenn, did I just see you on the local 12 news?" So yes, apparently Sam and I's newsbites made the cut and we appeared on the local 6 o'clock news. How bout that... not even in Ohio for 24 hours and I make the news. Winning.

On Friday we awoke, had breakfast on the back porch (thanks mom for the pancakes and Bob Evans sausage!) and set off for the afternoon to show Sam the farm, lunch at Frisches, and go to the Amish area to gawk at their primitive ways (I kid!). I really enjoyed getting to show Sam the farm and my favorite part about it... the barn. It's so sad how weather and time has taken it's toll on it... what used to be such a majestic aspect of the landscape is now slowly breaking down bit by bit and year by year. Every time I go back home I go pay a visit to the barn and each time it makes me more sad. However, at least it was structurally sound enough to take Sam up into the hay loft and show her the awesome peg construction, beautifully weathered wood, and my great uncles graffiti on the inside of the barn. Mom also showed us all the work that she and dad had been doing to the land and how the blueberries (their new venture) were coming along.

Friday night David and Christopher came into town. We greeted them and had a nice dinner out on the back porch swapping stories and pouring wine.

Saturday Sam and I awoke, got a quick run in, and left for Vermillion Ohio, where the wedding was to be. It was only about a three-so hour long drive, but in that time Sam got to see most of Ohio. From tip to tip, water line to water line. By the time we stopped at a hotel to change clothes and got to the church, we had about five minutes to spare. Sam ran into her friend and our new friends for the weekend and bam... just like that... the wedding started and the wedding was over. Lovely, beautiful, nice flowers, etc. Afterwards we grabbed some food and walked around the lovely hamlet of Vermillion. I am sure I've been to this part of Northern Ohio before... but in my more experienced and well traveled present tense, I'd say that it was a cute little coastal town that reminded me much more of something one would find in Connecticut than in Ohio. Win.

The wedding reception was to start at about the same time as the Rapture... so I figured grabbing wine from the bar at the Yacht club was a good way to start the action and sit back watch the show. Sadly, nothing seemed to be happening, so I started mingling and before you knew it... we had to take our seats, there were toasts, and then dinner was served. After dinner came dancing and after dancing came more dancing. (Speaking of which, did I ever mention how good of a dancer my girlfriend Sam is? Did I mention that the more she drinks the better she is? No? Well then... I guess this will be that moment that I mention it.) All in all, it was a great reception, everyone had a blast and no one disappeared as a part of the rapture.

Sunday it was up early with one slightly hungover companion for the ride back home to Hillsboro. Needless to say, there was not much conversation for the drive. But, I guess that's just what happens when you're as good of a dancer as Sam is. We arrived back home by noon and then were instantaneously whisked away by mom (with David and Christopher) to see some farming action LIVE! Christopher and Sam both got to sit and take a ride around in the large John Deere and learn more about the farming process. Afterwards, we hung around the farm playing on all sorts of outdoor equipment like the deprived city kids we've become. It was a lot of fun and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

Afterwards, we swung through town to pick up some ice cream from UDF and then made our way to Serpent Mound. However, not to long before we reached the great effigy of the prior inhabitants of Southern Ohio, we got stuck in a massive thunderstorm. And when I say massive, I am talking about HUGE ice cube tray sized hail being hurled down from the heavens onto our car. Mom pulled the car off the road and under a tree to try and protect it while Sam had to pretty much restrain me from running outside of the car to examine the approximate size of the hail. I was like a kid in a friggin candy store. SO SO SO excited! (Did I mention that I really wanted to see a classic midwestern thunderstorm?... yeah... I did. :) Anyways, we decided that walking around outside in a storm was nothing we wanted to do, so we aborted the mission and went back home.

Dinner was a great affair that involved the whole family. Sam BBQ'd the chicken, mom made dinner rolls, David and Christopher made guac and asparagus and I sat and drank margaritas, that's called teamwork. It was a feast and afterwards we went for a walk till the rains chased us back indoors. When the rains subsided, we all put on our swim suits and made way for the hot tub. Needless to say, we all slept like babies that night.

Basically, overall, all in all, henceforth, therefore it was a great trip back home. For as much as I make fun of Ohio (and I do), I do love and miss certain things about it. It was so nice to be able to dip into that bag of memories and see the changes and appreciate where you come from and where you're at now. Special thanks to Mom and Dad for housing us and mom for all the tour info, David and Christopher for coming in and being cute and dressing alike, Megan for the great wedding and reception, Meg Berry for being fun, Randy for the John Deere photo ops, and special thanks to Sam for not running away when confronted with a gaggle of Levos. :)