Mike’s World

For some reason, today felt like a real good day.

I sleped in a bit this morning, so I got started off very well rested. At work I got a somewhat complex project completed today, a customer request to consolidate several systems, and I put together a solution that will do quite a bit more than they asked for, which was nice to get taken care of. It was nice getting that finished up before the long weekend. Today was a day that was somewhat relaxed, but still productive.

Today the weather was just perfect. We went out for a walk for lunch, and you could not have asked for a better afternoon for a walk. Perfectly clear Sky’s, nice breeze, not humid at all. After work, I went with a friend to pick up her Son from daycare, which is a walk we have not done in what feels like forever. I can not believe how big her son gets every time I see him, every time he has more personality than before. It is kind of cool seeing someone develop from a infant, to a baby, to now a toddler, just how much a human can adapt and learn is just simply amazing. After we got back with her son, we hung out with her neighbors for a bit, and again a very nice family.

After hanging out with my friend from work, it was off for our normal Thursday night with friends. Tonight was quite a bit of fun. We grilled, hung out and chatted on the patio until about 9:00 or so, which was real nice. We then went inside and watched some tv, and then a movie, serenity.

Icing on the cake, my sister called me this evening, which was real nice, as I had not talked to her in like 2 weeks it seems. I enjoy days like today when I get to spend a good chunk of the day with good friends, it is nice to have the opportunity present its self every so often, and I had forgotten how much I missed it. With being so busy, and vacations, it seems like I had not had the opportunity in quite some time.

Well , today was day two for the state fair for me. Today is the day I was planning on going with a good friend and getting the full fair experience. Today I got to the fair at about 8:30am. First of all, the weather today was perfect for the fair. Sunny, dry and not to hot. We started off by finding the various food items and buildings. In the morning We made it through the creative activities building, and made it down to the bazaar and the midway. Man, I must say the midway was fun, I liked the scrambler the most, I was not up to any real intense rides. In the afternoon we made it to a pet surgery, skyride, and the fine arts building. One thing I did like as a panting called “out of the blue” which was an oil collage type panting. If I would have had $2300 laying around, I would have gotten it.

In the evening we did the space neadle, and a newer skyride type thing. We ended up leaving around 8:30pm or so, over 12 hours. I must say, this was another great state fair day.

Today I went to the state fair, for the first time out of a total of 3 or 4 times I plan to go this year. This time I got the junk food cravings out of the way, and did a good job at controlling myself, I would like to think. The weather was not all that bad (well, it did not rain, but it was cloudy and a bit humid). I went for my 2nd day straight of weight training, then it was off to a park and ride location, I went for one of the U of M lots. I ended up getting to the fair at about 9:30am to 10:00am. The main things I went to where a pet surgery, a concert and a car extraction.

Every year the MVMA has a surgery suite, and being the brother of a vet, I think its a good thing to have. Shelley Cravens, CVT is the main person behind the whole operation. She works the suite every day of the fair, every year I remember them having the suite. In addition to her, students and vet’s rotate in and out. One or two students assist with the procedure, one doctor does the surgery, and one doctor moderates the procedure. They generally do a ovarian hysterectomy of a dog, and I do find it interesting. The one I attended today had vets from the u of m both doing the procedure and doing the moderation. They did a good job at bringing it down to the level that the general public to understand. In addition to that, the surgeon did a bit of exploration of the other internal organs, which was the first time I had seen that done during one of these surgeries.

After the surgery I went off to the bandshell. When I looked at the schedule, I saw the a cappella group tonic sol-fa. Several years ago me and my sister had gone to a concert, and tonic sol-fa opened for the main act. I had forgotten how good this group is, and in fact I have now purchased three of there CDs in mp3 format. They do a good job of making real good pop music in true a cappella fashion.

Every day at the fair has a theme, and today was fire prevention day. They had fire engines and fire equiptment from several cities on display. In addition to that, they did a staged car crash and victum rescue. It was interesting in seeing the process from when the police and rescue folks role, to extraction and treatment. It gave junior firefighters the opportunity to do training, and gave us a chance to see what the process is, and see the tools such as the jaws of life in use.

Later that evening I went off to acme comedy company. On the radio I had heard that Emo Philip’s was in town, and every time I hear him on the radio, I find him quite funny. I did not have any other plans this evening so I called up and reserved a seat. Both Emo and the warm up act where quite funny. I just wish I could remember who did the opening act :-)

today was another great day at the cabin. This morning I did some cleanup around the cabin, which was much needed. Me and my sister are about the only ones that stay in here (everyone else stays in the house), and on top of that it tends to become storage area #6 for everything that gets collected around here. Because of these reasons, it can be a challenge to keep clean at times, in fact last time me and my sister stayed up here, I do not think we even bothered to vacuum. This morning I moved some carpet and carpet pad that was being stored in here from the main living room to the bathroom. Did come vacuuming and moved the furniture around. I will finish cleaning up around here tomorrow before I leave. With luck, it will stay a bit cleaner for next time I come up to visit.

Since I was cleaning, I decided to take care of some brush down by the lake as well. There is a small “bridge” connecting the two docks down by the lake, and trees started to overgrow that bridge. I grabbed a saw, and trimmed back the trees a bit, it is now much better to go across that bridge without being smacked in the face by limbs.

The afternoon started off with a short nap then another row boat trip. This time I made it off to the rice fields between big boy and swift lakes. I did not want to stay out to late so I turned back before I made it in to swift lake, but I made it further than I did yesterday. Some day I will need to leave a bit earlier in the afternoon and try to make it in to swift lake. Quite a bit of weaving needs to be done to make it through the rice, so it does take quite a bit of time.

One last evening at the cabin included one last steak dinner on the dock. Last two nights I had new york strip steaks, this evening it was a tenderloin steak. Man was it tender! Timed it just perfect again, dinner getting done just as the sun was going down. Unfortunately I did bump my toe on the way down, and wouldn’t you know it, the steak went falling in to the grass. I think for a $16 hunk of beef, the 5 second rule applies, so in true rustic fashion I picked it up off of the grass, brushed it off, and put it back on the plate :-)

It was a great evening down on the dock. there was no wind what so ever, so the lake was like a looking in to a mirror. The reflection of the trees and sun across the lake reflected perfectly on to the lake, just a wonderful scene. It was a nice way to top off a wonderful day at the cabin.

As I sit here at 11:30pm, I hear thunder and see some interesting lightning across the lake, so I think the quiet evening is going to be followed by an active night. It should be interesting, as I never know what to expect with the storms up here.

Yesterday (Sunday) Morning Grandma and Tom left, leaving the place all to myself. In some ways it is nice being up here all by myself, as I can just go at my own pace. Yesterday I just hung out and relaxed. I went in to the local town Logville to check out the local grocery store and whatnot. I got back and decided to lay down and take a nap. Once I woke up I was getting a bit hungry and decided to cook up dinner. I had picked up a cute little 14″ weber grill, and a nice new york strip steak before leaving the cities. I fired up the charcoal, cooked up the steak, and sat on the lake and enjoyed my steak. One thing I love about being up here is sitting out on the dock and watching the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Add a nice soft breeze in the air to keep the bugs away, and I jut can not ask for anything more. After it got dark, did some book reading and went to bed.

Today I went to the town of Park Rapids this morning. I wanted to get some state fair admission and ride tickets, and I had not gotten a chance to pick these items up before leaving the cities. This gave me a good excuse to go out for a north woods drive and experience some Minnesota small towns I had not been to before. I headed up to Walker Minnesota, then down to Park Rapids from there. I must say this town was bigger than I thought it was going to be, at a population above 1500 people. I found the tourist building that they sell the tickets at, and then headed back up to the cabin.

When I got back I decided to break out the rowboat. I went out for about an hour, and it was not as hard to row as I thought it would be. The only thing I regretted was not bringing any gloves. I might try this again tomorrow. I got back and decided to repeat last nights dinner again. Once again, sat on the dock until sunset and headed in for the evening. Again another nice cabin day.

Well, I have made it up to my cabin, and now I guess I have time to blog again. I have only made it up here once so far this year, earlier this summer with my sister. It is nice to get to be able to spend some more time up here at the cabin, just the chance to sit back and relax is very welcome. I headed up Friday evening. I attempted to head up Friday afternoon but with my weight training session, shopping, packing and whatnot, it just did not happen. I ended up getting out at about 6:30pm. On the way up, I stopped for dinner at Mavericks wood grill in Champlin, MN and had a very good steak. It was then back on the road fore more driving. I was a very tired, and almost decided to stop by the rest stop in Garrison, MN for a nap, but instead stopped for a sugar hit which kept me going until I made it up to the cabin. I got in around 1:30am Saturday.

On Saturday I slepped in until about 10:30am then woke up to go say hi go my Grandmother. I had a bite to eat, and decided to break out the bike. I ended up biking to the local town, Remer, MN. I headed down county road 53, to a dirt ATV trail, the soo line trail (use to be railroad tracks, if you can guess) which goes in to Remer. After going around town a bit, I headed back on State Hwy 200. Overall trip was about 31 miles. It was then nap time. I did not do much else, just a nice relaxing bike ride (ok, with hills some of it was not all that relaxing.

Well, gone from weight loss to weight training. As I lost weight, I also lost a good amount of muscle mass. 2 months ago or so I decided it was time to start to build that back. I wanted to get a good trainer, and I did not want to deal with the whole gym/fitness center thing. I want my own space, and I do not like being around 20 other folks as I am trying to get my workout done. I wanted something where someone focuses on me and my goals. What I found was avatar training studio. This is a gym studio setting that focuses on one on one physical training. Working with these trainers, I have made more progress this summer than I ever thought I would, it is to the point where I feel stronger and notice I am able to do things I was not able to do before, I have gained back the muscle I have lost, and more.

This weekend it was very, very hot outside. 100 degree highs and humid on one day. I try to get out and walk every day, but this weekend it was something I just could not do, because of the heat. I had to think of a way to get out and exercise, but stay cool. I decided it was time for some bike together again.

Before I had problems sitting down for so long on the bike, would get numbness and whatnot. Before going out this weekend I decided to get some biking shorts, and man did that help! I was able to do 30 miles on Friday evening, 50 miles on Saturday and 40 miles on Sunday, all with very little pain and soreness.

On Friday I decided to go to downtown Minneapolis, just to see how long it would take. The weather was warm, but it was not all that bad, as it was in the evening. I found that I was able to go faster than I could before, so this whole weight training thing might be helping.

Saturday I went downtown again, for my trainer session in the afternoon. I then biked around downtown a bit more, went out for dinner at Manny’s Steakhouse then went out for more biking around downtown and uptown Minneapolis before heading back home. When all was said and done, I had gone about 50 miles.

Sunday I wanted to go and see a movie, and get some exercise in. I ended up biking from my house to the Showplace 16 in Inver Grove Heights. I biked up there, had a bite to eat, saw Clerks 2 and headed home. It must be a uphill ride there, because it was much easier getting back then getting there.

All in all, it was a good way to spend a weekend with excessive heat. Just had to keep the wind going, and keep hydrated.

For the first time in quite a long time I made it out to Valleyfair, an amusement park located in Shokopee, MN, which is for the most part THE amusement part in Minnesota. I have fond memories of going to Valleyfair during the last week of school, walking all around with my school friends and hanging out. I had never done the rides that much when I was younger, first had no interest, then was not able to. The other memory I have is that one day McDonald’s Twin Cities had reserved the entire park for the McDonald’s employees, and I do think thats the last time I had been to valleyfair until now.

First when I was real young, I had no interest in going on all the rides, they scared me and I did not like being scared. When I grew out of that, I was not able to do any of the rides because of my weight. I would do the carousel, thunder canyon, and that was about it. I would do some of the shows, and the imax theater, but most of my day was spent watching people.

Last month I saw an ad for Valleyfair, and that got the idea stuck in my head, that it would be fun to make it out to valleyfair now that I am able to do so. I wanted to go with my sister, as she was in town, but she has a baby on the way so I decided that it was not a good idea to do that. I worked out my schedule, (personal trainer and all) and decided to make July 15th the day. Man was that interesting.

For some reason, that week it decided to be the hottest week in who knows how long in the Twin Cities. On Saturday the 15th, it ended up being 99 degrees, but thankfully it was not all that humid, and it was windy. I have never gone to valleyfair and gotten the full experience. This time I wanted to get my moneys worth. I showed up at 10:00am, and was not planning on leaving until they close at 12:00am, which I did pull off. I also wanted to do every ride, which again I did mange to do. I managed to not loose my lunch, or even get real scared on any rides, but I will admit that towards the end of the day, my throat was sore from all the screaming.

I am very glad I went, as I had a blast. I do plan on going at least 2 more times (once with some friends, and once when they have the park all setup for Halloween), so I look forward to both of those events.

This year I did the hometown 4th of July thing. The city of Richfield does a halfway decent hometown 4th of July thing.

On July 2nd, I went down to check out the little carnival that they setup for the 4th of July time. After my evening walk, decided to head down and see what rides they had. I had never done any rides before because of my weight, and I was planning on going to valleyfair, so this might be a good trial run. I ended up going on two rides, one was called the starship, and I can not remember what the second one was. It was a very strange feeling, but I enjoyed myself.

On July 3rd, I had gone down to the park a classic car show. Nothing real interesting, just a bunch of old cars, but I was a bit upset I missed the big one they have in Minnesota because I was in Philly, figured this might give me some cool cars to look at, but ended up being very disappointed.

On July 4th, I started off by firing up the grill and grilling up some hot dogs for lunch, then headed down for the parade. They had a good 80 participants for the parade, and its your normal cheesy parade with bands, people in cars and a handful of floats. Our US congress rep, who has been our rep every since I was born, is retiring this year. I remember seeing him in the parade every year, and the only thing that I remember from the parade is that it seemed a bit off not seeing the old guy in the parade.

In the evening on the 4th I started to smoke some pork and veggies on the gill for dinner. Went out for a nice walk and had dinner and walked down for the carnival and fireworks. I was a bit bad at the carnival, I had a Carmel apple, some mini-donuts and some cookies. I ended up feeling sick, my guess is from the deep fried donuts, but they tasted good. Walked around the carnival a bit, just killing time until the fireworks started, and then made my way to my chair. I must say, I was impressed with the fireworks show. They had a good variety of colors, pops, bangs, booms, and it lasted a good 20 minutes. After fireworks I was not very tired, so I walked around for a bit before heading home for bed. It is funny watching all of the people try to get out of the city after the fireworks. The place ends up being a madhouse.