Mysterious Lurker

Who are you, mysterious lurker, who googles several times a week for "Ted Chauvin" or "Ted Chauvin Pullman," leading you to my blog? Inquiring minds (not just myself) want to know! Your location is unknown, your latitude and longitude point to Kansas, and you use Firefox. Who are you?

I rode my bike in Cheney this morning. The riding there is great, but I couldn't believe how much trash I saw on the sides of the road. To make it even worse, there were 100s of empty alcohol containers. Scary!

We went to our final Cougar basketball game as season ticket holders. It was a good game, except for the three twenty-year-old girls who sat behind us. They were wearing Cougar colors, but constantly ridiculed the Cougar players, and their language was foul! After listening to the one idiot girl scream at Klay Thompson that he "f-ing sucks," Ted turned around and asked her what her problem was. She proceeded to tell Ted he is too old to be in college, has gray hair, and is a "f-ing f-er." Her friends soon joined in, and they proceeded to kick the back of my seat for the duration of the game. They also bopped us on the head with their foam cheering things. I was just waiting for gum to be put in my hair!

The language never ceased, and the 3 girls just seemed to encourage each other. They were cursing at the players, us, the refs, the fans of UW, and they thought they were hilarious. It was disgusting and classless. Are kids not taught respect anymore? These girls were an embarassment to themselves, their university, and their families. Our country is in trouble with up-and-comers like these.

My second PT appointment was yesterday. Unfortunately, it sounds very likely that a disc is to blame for my problems. My PT has ruled out Piriformis Syndrome because I fail the Slump Test. When I extend my left leg and drop my chin to my chest, I get very strong shooting pain in my left leg/hip. Apparently, the test does not bother those who have Piriformis Syndrome. Plus, when I look at the symptoms of a disc problem, it sounds just like me and what I have experienced over the past 5 years. I would say I am now at the Grade II stage. The good thing is that I have been able to ride my bike overall. I can live with this, annoying as it may be, as long as I am able to be active and do what I want to do.

Hitcher and I have continued to take the GPS with us on all of our walks. After one month of walks, we have done 59.08 miles. There were also 6 days when Ted walked Hitcher without me, and 1 day when (heaven-forbid!) Hitcher got no walk. So, after 24 days of walking, our average per day is ~2.5 miles/day. Keep in mind that our walks also contain LOTS of stopping, smelling, marking, and pooping, so a short distance can turn into a fairly long walk time-wise.


Old Man Shamus enjoyed a few sips of Guinness before his afternoon nap yesterday.

The semester is about to get very busy for me, as I will be conducting a minimum of 24 aroma and taste panels before the end of April. The panels, papers, tests, and my fine talent of procrastination are making me one stressed chica right now. Then again, it's only 2 months, right? Or, 120 miles of dog walks. That's nothing!

Breaking?

Am I breaking? I started physical therapy again today, seeing the same guy I saw last year for my back. After a prelimary examination, he suspects I have either a herniated disc or something like Piriformis Syndrome that is affecting my nerve. I have a whole new set of exercises and stretches to do, and I will be in PT 2x per week for a minimum of a month (sounds more like 10 weeks). I can only hope that it does not affect my racing season too much. I have a lot more fitness this year than I had last year, but that's not saying a lot since I barely rode/raced last year! I am not even 30 and I appear to already be falling apart.

2010

I just got my new ride for 2010, courtesy of Vertical Earth in Coeur d'Alene. Loving the black and red, and stoked to take it for a spin tomorrow. The Riverstone Women's team is going to kick ass in 2010!

As for the race car poll, I found the Ferrari to look faster, while Ted thought the McLaren looked faster. Yes, this means I owe Ted a drink.

I will be back in PT next week, though not for the back this time. This time it will be for my left leg, which has been bothering me since October. Hmmm.... maybe I should have used the PT referral I received in November, but I was stubborn and thought it would get better on its own. It hasn't. A very sore area near the fibular head, along with lots of tingling down the leg, has me thinking it's a nerve problem.

In any case, I am determined to get a real season of racing in this year. Last year was incredibly frustrating, as I was forced to spend half of April, nearly all of May, and half of June off the bike. Needless to say, no results were seen.

Scotch

Ted and I went to our first Scotch tasting party last night. Six Scotches were sampled by twelve people, and it was fascinating to see how different they were. At the end of the evening, some bottles were empty, while others were barely touched. So, here they are, in my personal order of favorite to least favorite.


The Balvenie was my favorite. It had lots of honey notes and was less peaty than some of the others. This appeared to be the favorite of the women at the tasting.


The Laphroaig was my second favorite, although it was quite different from the Balvenie. It was very peaty and smokey, and gave that wonderful warm feeling going down the throat.


A close third was the Oban. I went back and forth between the Laphroaig and the Oban, debating which I liked more. I think the Oban belongs behind the Laphroaig, though. With my very limited Scotch expertise (none!), I found this to be middle-of-the-road for all of the attributes, making it very balanced.


Fourth in line was the Talisker. For me, this one was okay, but not a top favorite.


The Glenkinchie was very thin and light. It just didn't stand up when compared to the other four ahead of it. However, as our resident Scotch expert, Karl, pointed out, this could be an ideal Scotch for a hot Summer day.


The Highland Park was by far my least favorite, and, judging by the half+-full bottle at the end of the evening, this was the consensus. It lacked character and frankly was boring.

So, there are the rankings of 6 Scotches per the tastebuds of a Scotch newbie who will freely admit that she knows nothing about the subject. After last night, I would definitely like to learn more.

"You won't be like a man. You'll just pee like one."

The most unique gift I received during the holidays was from my Aunt Suzanney. Mom and Deborah were also fortunate to receive a Go Girl. The Go Girl is silicone, allows women to pee standing up, and coincidentally looks very similar to the sausage stuffer Ted received for Christmas. Go figure. The manufacturers highly recommend that practice sessions be conducted (performed?) in the shower at home. Apparently, FUDs (Female Urination Devices) have been around for years. Have I tried it? No. Will I? Of course! I have to try it at least once!