"Keep a Journal: How else are you going to get a good look at who you were?"

Monday, June 13, 2005

Well, it's been some time, eh?

I am pondering how to spew all this out in one go...where to start?

B.C. Hydro: no dice.

Merge operator position: shot myself in the foot during the interview. Hindsight is 20-20; I finally figured out what I ought to have said to Clara about TWO WEEKS after the interview. D@mn...

I would say there's always next time, but frankly, next time may come too late to do me any good; career-wise. Frustration: I've been with the company over 12 years and never taken (or been offered) the opportunity for any real responsibility. The part that hurts is knowing if I had really wanted this one, I could have had it. When the moment came to "stand and deliver", my delivery left a lot to be desired.

My book: Found a publisher, followed the easy-to-read submission instructions. Result: "while your writing shows a firm grasp of technique; a brief search of books in print reveals that the subject matter in your proposal has already been presented in existing publications." I finally got around to doing a google search on the subject of "Bicycle Commuting" and found at least three books (from three different publishers) on the subject. One of these books was (thoroughly) written by an expert with more than 30 years experience in all aspects of cycling. After reading some excerpts from his book on Amazon.com; I want a copy for myself!

Speaking of bicycles...

Black Beauty is still hanging under the deck. I still don't know how I'm going to fix that bottom bracket, short of acquiring a new frame. I asked Dave Fulton about it, but he doesn't presently have any MTB frams that will work for me.

Speaking of Dave...

Mr. Fulton was looking to build a Street Beater with as light a frame as possible. A few months back he stumbled upon a 12 speed Marinoni at a garage sale. The bike was about 90% complete, which suited him fine. He stripped down the frame, installed some 26" wheels (frame is built for 700cc tires; 27" wheels won't fit), replaced the front fork with a 26" fork, added huge "stamped steel" BMX brakes on the front, replaced the stem with a BMX stem and "high rise" girlie-bike handlebars...and finally, added an overpadded sprung seat the size of a piano stool. The resultant Ugly Bike was a street cruisin' "comfort bike" built around a really light steel frame. Unfortunately, the geometry of the racing frame was all wrong for the riding position Mr. Fulton chose. In this configuration, almost all of his weight was toward the back wheel. Shortly, he began popping rear tires. After the third such incedent, all of which invariably happened on long rides from which he had to walk home; he gave up the bike as a bad job, and began riding another of his creations.

Then, he gave the bike (the pieces of it, anyway) to me.

Oh my...

I boasted to everyone at work about this baby. Bored 'em all to tears...even while I spent my nights fixing up the Marinoni and replacing the missing bits; in order to get the bike roadworthy. At last I got it into riding condition, and so I rode it to work.

Ouch.

The gears on my homebuilt commuter hybrid (which I have named "Freddy Fender") are a lot more forgiving. The Marinoni has a 12 tooth - to - 21 tooth cassette on the rear wheel. With a 52 tooth and 42 tooth chainring on the front end, this meant I was trying to push a 2:1 gear ratio up the Alex Fraser Bridge. Between the Alex Fraser, and Nordel Way, I had to stop to catch my breath...four times. I haven't had to to that in two years. Obviously, the Marinoni (which I have named "The Italian Job"*) was going to need a little more work.

So: I replaced the stem with a shorter reach stem (ok, only a professional cyclist would identify it as a "ladies bike"), and replaced the 12-21 cassette with a 14-38 cassette. I also installed "suicide bars" for the brake levers, and replaced the faded red neon bar tape with some basic black foamtape. The bike looks good, and only a hardcore racing cyclist would be able to tell that it's being ridden by a total wimp...

I DON'T ride the Italian Job in the rain. She's strictly a fair weather friend. Takes about 10 minutes off my commute time, too...

Speaking of riding bikes...

I am once again using the Ballantyne Method to teach a youngster how to ride: in this case, my son Colin. I first used this method on Coral, and pushed her so hard that she wanted nothing to do with the bike after a couple of days; despite the fact that she had almost got the knack by then. By unspoken consent, we left the matter until the following spring, whereupon I browbeat her for a few more hours until voila'!, she was riding on her own! I have NOT repeated my behaviour with Colin. His first session was about two hours: in which he learned to scoot around using his feet to push the (pedal-less) bike forward. The session was OVER when he decided he was tired. Next session will include more scooting and some quicker runs down a slight slope. From there we'll progress to still faster runs on a longer slope. Finally, when he is able to coast downhill without having to use his feet to correct his balance, we re-install the pedals et al and introduce him to pedaling. This is the same pattern Coral followed, albeit much more quickly ('cause I was pushing too hard), and will teach him to ride WITHOUT the negative reinforcement from constantly falling over. Did I mention that I learned to ride using the "solo shock-therapy" method? I still have scars on my knees to this day...

But enough about old wounds...far too gloomy.

Let's shed some sunshine, shall we?

Last Sunday, I had Special Guests in my class...

The Ward Sunday School President...and a member of the Stake Sunday School Presidency...and the Ward rep had already told me the reason for the visit was because the Stake rep had requested to sit in "the rowdiest class you have". Flattering, no? TWO Sunday School Leadership reps in my little class!!! But hey, no pressure on me, right?

Somehow I got through that class. There was even a ten-minute window when I was actually getting them to listen. Bro. R. (stake rep) praised me on my teaching style, and offered some reasonable advice on some of the "discipline issues" in my class. This advice I acted upon immediately; 'nuff said.

I was also invited to a meeting with the ward rep after church was over. I was informed that I would be moving on to a different challenge: I was going to move on from the 12/13 year olds, and into the 16/17 year olds. This class was ably taught by Alister Sewell, who moved out of the ward two weeks ago. My brother in law Grant Hastings will be taking over for me in the 12/13 class.

How do I feel about this? Pretty darned good, actually. I have viewed getting released from my teaching call as a kind of defeat. I know I can teach the gospel; the question was whether or not I could teach it to a bunch of rowdy 'n hyper sixth graders. If I got bounced out of that class, it would be because I couldn't keep the kids orderly. Well, I was getting a handle on that (assisted by more than one of my students' Parents), but now I've been moved onto a different challenge. A challenge for which I view my previous tenure with the younger kids as a "training drill". I'm actually going to be teaching people who can think for themselves! Well, a little bit, anyway...I was accustomed to teaching the "reader's digest" version of the outlined lessons...abridgements were necessary because not all the material in the lesson manual is geared to a 12-year-old intellect. Besides, I didn't want to bore them too much. Now, however, I'm gonna have to be a little more prepared. Some of the deeper material is going to be covered, or else I'll lose their interest. This will require a lot more preparation...and maybe some jelly beans.

Speaking of meetings after church...

While I was waiting in the foyer for my 1-on-1 with the ward SS rep, sis Linda King (Stake Choir Director) came bustling up and asked if it was true that I could sing? I admitted as how I could, a little, and this got me a personal invitation to the Stake Conference Presentation Choir practise that evening.

I'll say this for sis King: she's got a marvelous talent for pulling together a motley assortment of voices and turning them into a functioning choir in VERY short time. I think she's the most serene type A personality I've ever seen. High pressure and short deadlines are no problem at all - she doesn't even raise her voice in practices. She's also got an uncanny ability to choose pieces of music that are easy to learn (without being boring), and make very good use of the various abilities in the choir to greatest effect. In short: we are gonna ROCK!!! Mind you, most of the current singers in this edition of the stake choir have had some prior experience (including myself), and even those unfamiliar with some of the pieces (including myself) have enough ability to follow along with those who ARE familiar with them. I myself am singing with my old friend Robert Slaven (he of Jepoeardy! fame); Rob is not altogether familiar with the repetoire for this performance, but he IS a musician and singer, and he can sight read...which helps a LOT.