Levistrong

I'm no Lance fan, if we're talking about someone who leaves his wife and is pretty arrogant in the book he wrote about himself, etc. etc. 

But I AM a Lance fan when I get to: go with my pro-road-biking friends to the Rose Bowl to watch Lance Armstrong et al ride (ZOOM) by five times, take some stinkin' cool pictures of said zooming, pick up a free "Lance Fan" Lance fan, finally wear the Livestrong bracelet I bought a few years ago because I figured it'd be a collector's item someday, AND request my own mini-sample bag of beans from the pre-race-parade Jelly Belly truck. A pretty great afternoon, in spite of feeling like total kee-rap. (really a true fan, because I braved the California winter elements in the 

midst of a really bad cold) (You're welcome, Lance.)

Oh yeah, and Levi Leipheimer was riding too, in fact he won the

 race (Amgen Tour de California or something like that). Who's Levi?

So here's how it panned out.  Some pretty cool people went out to show their support and fanatacism. 

Oh and by the way, this all took place a couple of weeks ago... oops. I was sick, come on.

moi

nate

KJ

june

Extreme John

eva (and friend)

erica

Desmond

I was very pre-race entertained by the medley of bikers and fans and faux-bikers at the event. There were a lot of bikes there, for sure...

and some REALLY sweet outfits.  The dude on the right, below,  is the best. I wish I could have seen his hair flowing in the draft of the peloton.

We picked a great spot along the side of the road, right in the action, so we could get good photos. Well, at least so I could get good photos-- that's usually my main goal, what, was there a race going on too? Huh.

So here's what happened, though: the racers were doing five laps around the Rose Bowl, and I/we spent the first two laps trying to figure out which one was Lance... left to myself, I figured he had to be in this pack in the second peloton (say it with a french accent, makes you sound cool) of bikers, because it was just so pretty.

john and erica 'in the moment'

THEN we figured out he was wearing the YELLOW jersey-- score!! Check out the sweet shot I got here! If only he was in focus, instead of that yahoo behind him-- oh well, it just makes him look faster. Go Lance! Win win!

An onlooker/fan next to me was pretty jealous of this next shot on the next lap, as were my friends. I bragged quite a bit. Also collected emails to send it out per request, since my shots were so much better. Couldn't wait for the next lap, to get even BETTER ones.

AND THEN... I was running around showing of the above picture, and receiving my due congratulations and well-wishes, when a race official (well, "side-of-the-road guard") says, "no... that's not Lance. He's wearing a yellow helmet!" (all excitedly, he was a real Lance Fan)

Oops. I showed him the shots on my camera, and... sure enough...

Who's Levi, again? I sure hadn't heard of him, which is pretty strange considering I'm such a hard-core roadbiking fan. Luckily his striking persona and chiseled jaw--and fate--drew my viewfinder to him, though, and luckily The Lance liked to keep a close second to Levi, so Lance WAS in those shots above, after all. Never mind not centered.

KJ and John having a good ol' time

FORTUNATELY, though, there were still two laps left-- and I had the sequence down, now, and my camera was on continual shutter release... 

wait for it...

wait for it...

BOOM! best shot EVER*! 

*that I have ever personally taken of Lance Armstrong riding by 

Seriously, CHECK OUT that action! The speed! The face gripped in concentration! The unreal sinew and muscle of the calves! It was pretty exciting, and not just due to the exhilaration of trying to get the best photo possible-- they were going by SO FAST, and packed so tightly...

One more-- final--shot, on the last lap:

Not as good as the one above it, even though he's there alone-- the action is better with more bikers around him, and, well... hate to say it, but he looks a little awkward.  HOWEVER... this photo is SUPER-great because, if you look closely, you'll see... John and Nate and June behind Lance! Directly across the street, Lance is exactly between them-- all a-blur, of course, due to my speed-focus-skills, but definitely there-- and June looks like she's cheering. While John (the biggest fan of all my friends, he's been to Tour de France), is looking the other way. What??? 

We'll let this next photo redeem him:

and this one: This was a posed (and lucky) shot. John cheering, oh-so-happy to be there. (and playing along, as he always does :)

SOOO great! Maybe I AM a fan! Not as much as Allan and Leilani, but a fan in my own right.

CONGRATULATIONS LANCE! 

Oh yeah, and Levi too-- good job winning the race, I guess.

_________________________

p.s. Second-Best Part of the day:

(look closely and you'll see my yellow Livestrong bracelet. And, under it, 

my orange "I (heart) the King" bracelet from Thailand. Figured if 

I was going to wear one, I should wear the other.)

And if you could look even MORE closely, you'd see that my baglet of jelly beans is unopened... and looking into the FUTURE, you'd see that's it's STILL unopened. Not because I'm saving it to for posterity's sake, but because I haven't eaten sugar in over three weeks! With that kind of willpower, I should be a road-bike-racer myself.. watch out Lance! And/or Levi.

kj's happiest moment

FINAL FINAL SHOT: 

MAN that's a lot of bikes.

baby got black

Or, "succumbing to the dark side", "heart of darkness", "black like me", "I still get a little shock every time I look in the mirror"...  Sooo many options for the title of this blog post.

The point: I went darker! Yeah I know, it's not black, but it is to ME, by comparison. And so, apparently I'm committed now to being a brunette (at least for the next six months, to some degree). I had to go darker, though-- the initial two dye layers/shade of brown was moving rapidly towards a disgusting greenish-puce tint as the blond base began to shine through-- first time I've ever preferred my roots, they remained reddish instead of pukish.

So I kept my Safety Appointment (appointed exactly two weeks after the first one, in case I HATED the brown) but didn't use it to go back to blonde, rather to have her dye me up with another layer and go DARK! Soooo much better. Though, I'll admit, pretty drastic now and it kinda looks like I have "dyed" hair. And I feel like I'm hiding behind a disguise. And that I've lost my identity. And I really do get a little shock just about every time I see myself in the mirror. And, okay, sometimes I hate it. But other than that, I love it! 

This time, I went in with a plan and a photo example on my iPod: I wanted my color to be the same as HERS... so luscious, so deep and mahogany-reddish, and so much more likely to attract a smokin' hot vampire.

I think she got it pretty close! 

So I'm well on my way to becoming Bella. Plus, my new darker hair color really brings out the color of my eyes. Which, I might add (and which is in fact the only reason I'm bringing this up), are the melting honey-topaz color of --oh, I don't know-- the modern vampire?

I can even claim purple shadows underneath my eyes, Cullen-style, as shown here. If I were you, I'd be a little scared right now about my mortality, except for one dead giveaway-- I don't think the purple shadows are supposed to include the bags and wrinkles and the lines of age and stress and sleepless nights (esp. that last one--vampires don't need sleep--which means no lack-of-sleep bags), also shown here, albeit somewhat camouflaged by the blurry photo. Intentional, yes. 

Am I obsessed with my hair? Yes. 

Am I obsessed with Twilight? No.

Really, Jennie?

Well, okay... but just a little bit.

an unexpected beautiful moment

...on my way to work at the WS last night, after 5.7 seconds of driving and

just before my U-Turn... gorgeous.

(I take a lot of pictures through my windshield. Always helpful to have
a camera on the passenger seat, as well as superior multi-tasking skills.)

ChangeFest '09!

Not... the Obama ChangeFest. (It's Hope Day 22!!)

Also not referring to... The Change. (eew, I'm not THAT old, yet.)

Of GREATER importance -- and maybe significance -- and perhaps an even scarier plunge than the aforementioned -- is my own personal recent change in identity.

Let me know what you think-- and I mean HONESTLY (- what's the point of A New Era if there's no honesty? Because then... there's no HOPE...). I can change it back.  In fact, I have another hair appointment exactly two weeks after the one that gave me what you're about to see, in case I totally hate it and want to go back.

BEFORE...

a little worried

(sorry, stupid mirror photo-- it was the best I could do at the last minute, as in the last minute before my drive to potential Hair Death)

... AFTER!

very stupid expression on my face, but it's the only decent "after" photo. I was too upset at the time to really smile.

My brother Allen (on the right) said he prefers brunettes. His wife's a brunette. His daughter is a pale blond. When he said brunette is better and she protested (she was standing right there), he said, "Don't worry... your hair will go brown someday." 

Later on, he and my other brother Chad reminded me of how my teeth used to look. I love them.

My backyard. My niece. My hair shimmering in the (overcast) sunlight.

My little sister had blondish-brown hair the last time I saw her... almost a total coincidence!

So after a few days to get used to it, I'm kinda digging the look, but am also mourning the loss of my blonde identity. I figure I'll go back someday, but enjoy this for now. Pending public approval, of course :) (I think that blondes might really have more fun...)

Oh, and the student response today was priceless:

"Your hair's dark, Miss Doezie. You look better."

"You look nice today, Miss Doezie. Something's different..."

and

"WHY did you DO that??"

All of the above comments from boys, of course.

not enough words to describe such a man

IN MEMORIUM

HORACE BYRON ALDER

August 6, 1913 - January 28, 2009

________________________________________________________________

loving husband, father, and grandfather. 

dentist, golfer, carpenter.

friend to so many.

 beloved.

Love you so so much Grandpa. Can't wait to see you again.

virginia is for lovers of virginia

And DC, of course. They're neighbors, after all.

And I love it! -Them! So much, even, that because it was so painful to leave, it has taken me two months to blog about my trip there. TRUE, true love.

You might wonder, why now? Because 1) I have some rockin' photos from the trip, which are post-worthy; and b) why NOT.  

HIGHLIGHTS:

1) FREEBIES!!! 

I like to work it, work it. This time I worked it from the very beginning, and I mean beginning with my flight out-- I got myself bumped! I was in no hurry, really, and figured losing eight hours of a six-day trip was worth it for $400 Delta Dollars! (Hawaii, here I come)... PLUS, getting bumped from a red-eye flight (bleggh, no tears there) meant that I also got:

- two meal vouchers (I wasn't hungry, but free is free)

- a room at the Crown Plaza, which had a king bed with duvets and six pillows and a schmancy amenities kit AND a free USA Today at my doorstep in the morning (don't usually read The Paper, but certainly felt pretty cool walking through the concourse later with it folded under my arm)

- free towels! (I think they were complimentary? Were the pillows? Huh.)

And, of course, a much-more-enjoyable non-red-eye flight. I love being entertained (personal movies at my seat), and it's always tempting to just stay up and enjoy when I should be dozing.

2) My sweet ride! I would normally never, EVER drive and/or choose to drive a PT Cruiser, but with my new (ALSO FREE) elevated Emerald Club member status with National Car Rental, I was able to pick my own car... so I thought, okay, PT Cruiser! Because... HILARIOUS. 

3) THE LEES OF LEESBURG! 

If you don't know Sam and Fam, you SHOULD. Salt of the earth. Great mother, hilarious friend, fantastic wife, excellent hostess,  has a phenomenal husband and cute cute kids, AND, she's about the coolest personal interior designer I know (tied only with her very own mother-- huh, weird, genes, that).  Her house is a beacon of warmth and rustic charm, and I COVET it! I would like to live there. I might, for a few weeks this summer. (you're cool with that, right Sam?)

And she is dang cute racking leaves. 

Here are a few select shots of the gazillion I took (to remind me upon my return to the unnatural 90-degrees-in-November-California that there IS a better way of life out there); not doing her abode or her talents any justice but that would require an entire blog. Oh wait, she has one.

Oh, and that's a firepit in that third photo, by the way. Where her husband builds toasty fires so the family can roast marshmallows and make smores on chilly autumn nights to inspire poetry shared around the hearthstone. SERIOUSLY. (jealous).

4) THE SCENERY. You just don't get views like this in SoCal, and especially not in the Great Central Valley of California where the cows are crowded up together on dirt heaps awaiting their turn for slaughter and it smells sooooooo good when you're driving by.. YUM. Pastoral scenery like this is a-plenty in Virginia, though, and Sam was nice enough (and knows me well enough :) to slow down so I could get a few shots out the window.

5) STANKS!!!

The second person I came out East to visit ("second" meaning in order of seeing, not in worth of course) is my old roommate, Christy-- a.k.a. Christanky-- a.k.a. Stanky. WE LOVE HER AND WE MISS HER out in California, but she is busy serving our country!! She recently got back from serving in the Navy in Iraq and we are so so proud of her! And grateful that she is helping to keep the peace! (If you were lucky enough to get her/her husband's Christmas card this year... ohhhh, yeah... :)  Christy and her husband are the perfect match and I got to spend some precious time with them and stay in their ueber-cool condo in DC. (That's some great decorating, too-- they are world travelers and their collection shows it!)  

Stanks and I spent an afternoon wandering the Mall, intending to read books on the lawn... yeah it was just a little too cold. Luckily she was prepared with the blanket... this was a 'test' shot so I could tell her where I wanted to be stationed in my own photo, but it is just so cute and Vintage Stanky that I had to post it :)  Lucky are we who are friends with Christy and Jared!

6) OBAMA!!

So, here's a little human-interest side story...

I had just gone to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to buy my dad some sheets of uncut bills for Christmas (money, every father's dream).  The exit puts me outside of the back of the building, Washington-Monument-adjacent, but I decide to find my way back around to the front because I remembered seeing a hot dog cart on the opposite side of the street and I am kinda hungry. And think to myself, Mmm, hot dog cart. 

So there I stand, looking across the street at the cart and waiting for the light to turn so I can cross to lunchtime heaven. (There were no cars driving by, but I am a Good Citizen and am not used to the jaywalking practices of other states). Eventually my consciousness tiptoes out of my almost-starving-lightheadedness haze and I realize that there are rows and rows of police cars lined up along the curb just down the street from where I am. And that there are, in fact, NO cars on the road. 

Now, I am no looky-lou, and I wasn't going to run down there and/or ask what was going on, but my imagination was running wild and I WAS thinking that it would be pretty exciting if the Bureau were being robbed at that very moment. Something along the lines of the crazy capers pulled by Queen Latifah and Katie (Kate, to Tom) Holmes in that fantastic (HORRIBLE) "Mad Money" film of late, specifically.

So, my attention having been diverted from the lunch goal for the moment, I am just standing there staring (and working out all possible scenarios, including what I would do if a gunman stormed out just then) and it takes me a minute to realize that a policeman is standing in the center of the street waving at me and asking if I want to cross.

"Hey, can you run?" he asks. I say sure, if I NEED to... (there are no cars in the street!) so I casually sashay my way across, feeling pretty pleased with myself that I have a Police Escort, and one encouraging me to cross against the light, at that.  I reach the hot dog cart in utmost safety, and there's no one else waiting in line at that moment, so-- bonus!

I get my dog and am munching on it, walking up the street, and then it dawns on me that there are a LOT of people on the sidewalks, just standing there looking down the street. And it no longer appears that they are waiting in line for nearby museums or attractions or entertaining the notion of Diane Keaton committing felonies within nearby walls.

But, what of it, I continue walking up towards the Mall so I can go to the Air and Space museum, I need to buy Astronaut Ice Cream to take home. Then, though, I stop chewing long enough to start to hear the mumbled whispers and excited murmurs around me of "(hummanah-hummanah) Obama! -OBAMA!" among the onlookers. ... And, FINALLY, I have clued in.

So, I walk a little farther up until I've reached a prime corner spot, hold my hot dog in my left hand, and nonchalantly reach into my bag with my right hand to take out my trusty point-and-shoot digital camera. And commence to wait there with the others and their increasing excitement. (One lady was near tears.)

I didn't have to wait long... not one minute later, the cavalcade begins to glide by-- a parade of motorcycles, armored vehicles, a few batmobiles, and then... the Official Car with President-Elect Obama in it!!! It actually was pretty exciting, because the crowd itself was SOOOO excited. And, what you can't see in this picture--because the back  half of the car is cut out of it-- is that Barack Obama himself is leaning out the back window holding a big sign that says "Welcome to Our Nation's Capital, Miss Doezie!" and simultaneously giving me a double thumbs-up. It was pretty awesome.

(by the way, when I told my students this story upon my return, they were disappointed when they heard the windows were tinted and begged to know if I had actually SEEN Obama. Not wanting to disappoint, I told them the above two sentences. They believed me for a minute. Ohhh, high schoolers.)

I felt like a little part of history, that moment. (in DC, not in my classroom). Later I learned that he had been on his way to the Official Debriefing at the White House (where I had just been outside of, a few hours earlier); this was just days after the election. America!!!

7)  and finally, one more thing from the trip, not really a highlight but definitely worth making mention of...

Do any of you fly Delta? And have you seen the little movie that now instructs us how to crash and put on our seatbelts (not in that order), instead of a live flight attendant going through the motions? And has anyone else noticed how HUGE the film flight attendant's lips are? I mean, REALLY. Entertaining, though. You definitely are enthralled and really watching/listening to her... and that just might save your life someday. Maybe that was the point?

_______________________________________________________

BONUS SECTION!!!

Until I create my pure-photography blogsite, this will have to do: to close, here are some random cool images/views/findings in and of Virginia and DC.... it's not ALL about me, fall leaves, and Obama, after all.