Results from Rhino Rally Race - St. George

FINALLY we have the official results in from the last desert race which took place in St. George late last month. The race was extremely fun because the conditions were so nice. Rain kept ost of the dust down and the sunshine was so warm! This race is one of the largest races of the year, attracting people from all over the area including Arizona and Nevada. Every year the club turns down entrees after accepting 350 rider applicants (the picture above illustrates just how many people that is on the starting line - this frame only captures 1/2 the line-up!).

My biological father, Lawrence, and his mom, Grandma Bernice, both came to watch my start - and how nice it was to see both of them supporting me in the crowd!

I was nervous because this race had a "dead start" which means riders have to kick-start the bike once the flag is dropped, versus just hitting the throttle on a running engine. It's hard for me to kick-start my bike, so I feared this was going to b a challenge for me.

I started my bike right off, and only had 1 other girl (Tattoo Neck Girl, again) right in-front of me. The start was laced with some fairly deep washes, cacti, and big chunks of lava rock, which took some people out. Here's a clip from my start:

The rest of the race was mostly winding, sandy, trails in the bottom of small ravines and such, a couple of hill climbs and a couple wide-open high speed shots. I was doing really well until I over-shot a corner and slammed into a wall, tipped over, and slammed my head hard right before I came into Pit Row (where all the other people watch). This is a picture of Chris yelling "Go Faster!!!" when I came through Pit Row on the first loop. Gotta love the encouragement!

On the second loop, I had fallen behind and had a couple of stalls that put me even farther behind. HIGHLIGHT: I came up a steep hill with no visibility at the top, and piled up into someone who'd crashed at the on the other side (who knows how that happens?). As I was bending over up to pick up my bike, another person ascents the hill and literally RUNS OVER ME, plowing right over my hip and ass! #*$! That little delay pretty much cost me the whole race. Over all, I came in 5th of 11 riders in my class. The Year-End points were just calculated, and I'm still in 2nd place, but only by a mere 100 points... need to UP MY GAME if I'm going to trophy over-all in my class at the end of the yea. The girl that took 1st last race placed again (TNG)- come in nearly 12 minutes ahead of everyone else, she's that good. Grrrr.

Chris did well and trophied 2nd place in his class. Over all, he is still ranked 3rd in his class year-to-date. He had to run a much more grueling course than I did, completing 2 30 mile loops. The second loop was full of massive boulders which riders had to pick their way around technically and aggressively. Chris reports, "The race was hurt-ie" (which means he and his bike got beat-up) and complains that "all his fast stuff fell off his bike" during the race (ie parts).

Here's a clip from his start, which is much meaner and more tough than mine!:

Since Chris trophied, we attended the awards banquet that night where he was awarded, not only a trophy, but a kiss too from the cute trophy girl! Double-grrrr.

Can't wait for the next race:

Sage Rider's National

APRIL 5th in Jericho.

You Must Watch this Video

This Oprah segment is 11 minutes long, but well worth your time. It is a lecture from a young man who is dying of pancreatic cancer. It'll be your little dose of medicinal reality for the day, aiding to help you re-focus and recalibrate your priorities. Wow.

"How to Live Your Life" by Rany Pausch

Randy Pausch reprising his Last Lecture

When it Rains...

...It freakin' pours. Well, I got laid off from my job yesterday. Shocker, eh? It was to me, considering I was recruited to Symphony Homes only 7 months ago from another home builder. I am not suprised by, nor do I resent the business owner's need to perform more lay-offs considering market conditions in the Real Estate industry right now.. By 12:30 yesterday afternoon, my few belongings were packed and all the great dreams I had for myself and my career were left with the key to the building. I couldn't even cry about it - still can't - because if you know me at all, you'll understand that my life is ever presenting me with new challenges to face and new opportunities to become someone entirely different (about every 2 years.) I think this is a genetic fatalistic pre-disposition I was encoded with from my natural mother...

I could bitch and moan about the whole circumstance, but what does that get me?

I am scared because I specialize in Residential New Construction and that market segment is most affected by unstable economic conditions - so my integration into a new job in this industry isn't looking too probable - or stable.

Most forecasts for the 2008 year predict a slow year across the nation; many people are calling this the "Clean Out Year" for the Utah market insomuch that many investor's inventory homes which flooded and rode the market spur during the 90's-2006 will be forced to reduce prices, bring the average median home price down (thank God) and increasing the number of home buyers in the 20-30 year-old demographic. Most projectors are saying that home builder's who target that demographic of buyer will survive the weather of 2008.

Most predictors also hold that, despite the recent release of the Economy Boost Package from Government, "cheaper-priced markets are more likely to be healthier, as loan activity is less constrained. Still, no market finds itself in a boom, and discussing which markets are the healthiest 'is a relative term.'" -Forbes.com

Check these websites out if you want more prediction information:

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2008011605?OpenDocument

http://theutahrealestateblog.com/2008/01/2008-utah-real-estate-forecast.html

http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/01/property-stable-homes-forbeslife-cx_mw_1001realestate.html

http://utahhomesforsale.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/utah-housing-market-outlook-is-it-a-good-time-to-buy/

Point of all of this is: everything goes full-circle, and right now we are on the bottom half of the cirlce. Some sophisticates report the market will pick up in 2009. Some crazies say this is the beginning of the most significant recession we've seen since the early century, and that it'll take a decade or so to process. Let's all hope for high job-growth and clean-up in the mortgage lending industry - or else everyone in the Construction/Real Estate world will be applying for jobs as Order Cooks at Denny's.

I'm trying not to mope or get down about my circumstance, though I'm hurt and mad and scared. I found the tallest, steepest hillside I could find in Farmington yesterday and made myself run up it as hard and as fast as I could until I just didn't want to run up it anymore. Then I made myself run down and up again. It was therapeutic, the physical realization that it's just gonna have to hurt like hell to get back up to the top, and all I can do is try to get there as fast and as hard as I can.

More than ever, I am thankful to have a wonderful man beside me who has chosen to saddle up and ride the most dangerous and dynamic "roller coaster" portion of my life with me for the last couple years, who supports and (sometimes crazily)believes in what I am capable of building with our future. He is my strength and my best friend. Without him, and the support of my family, I'd have just flung myself off that damn mountain yesterday, LOL.
I love you, Chris.

As for the rest of you, if you know of any career pportunities available, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll post again when I find something new.

Maybe this is my opportunity to "re-calibrate"my expectations of myself and really "re-choose" the direction I want my life to take. Maybe it's my opportunity to re-evaluate the resentments I've held for not doing the things I felt I should have.

Sounds like it's time to find and fall in-love with my old dreams again...

This is one of my favorite pieces; makes me appreciate the dreamers and risk-takers:

"Homage to the Divers"
A love poem at the bottom
of the sea, in a treasure ship,
reachable, yes,
we must believe reachable.
In an air-tight container
somewhere in the captain's quarters,
somewhere off Hatteras,
written by...
And a key in a skeleton's hand
and the whole world up above
diving for it,
some with all the equipment,
some holding their breath.

-Stephan Dunn, "A Circus of Needs"

Book Report - Snow Flower & the Secret Fan

A couple of months ago, a series of pictures were floating around the email world which captured the essence of the ancient practice of Chinese footbinding. These images have remained with me because of the initial horror I felt at first sight.

Ah, the magic of perspective. I was inspired to read this book after viewing these images. I've learned so much from introspection and reflection the book forced evaluate of in respect to the ancient gender-based literal and subjective concepts the still hold ground today-nearly 200 years later. This book really forced me to re-evalute the MOTIVE and reason behind the strong "roles" women play as emotional keepers of the "domestic" (ie the "inner")world, versus the men's phsycially strong roles as providers/protectors and controllers of the "outter world."

I am not easily convinced or persuaded to condone stereotyping or the notion of gender-based roles, however this book really magnified the POWER women have and the IMPORTANCE every woman's unique "femaleness."

One of the strangest concepts was this practice of footbinding - in which women's mothers were responsible for soaking their daughters feet in roots, herbs, and urine then wrapping them as tightly as they can in a series of shrinking wraps until the bones softened and eventually broke, in which case the bones could literally be "folded" under the largest toe. The goal was to create a foot no larger than a thumb (look at the size of the shoe in this picture.) The smaller the foot, the more desirable the women (in fact, her foot was more "secret" and sexual than her actual private areas.) The more desirable the women, the higher the price was paid to her family for the right to marry. A woman's future was completely determined by the size and shape of her feet, insomuch her entire financial destiny and prodigy would be determined by it. The brutal beauty was each woman gladly accepted the fate of the broken and tiny feet, the years of pain and agony (which is grimly detailed in the book), because from it they had the power to completely (literally) haped their entire future. In a world of so much uncertainty and fatalistic control-based thinking, they harnessed the 1 thing they could control and used it improve their personal circumstance: their bodies.

Also, this book also examines the importance of the female's NEED to communicate as an outlet, and the significance of female friends.

All in all, the book is written well with many solid historical references and fantastic flow. This is an easy read - only 260(ish) pages, and well worth the time.

Take a weekend and read it!

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Genology - Family history

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Roots - Vintage photos

All Work No Play...

I started yet another job (this makes 3). I've been fortunate this last month to have had the opportunity to represent some Buyers with the purchase of a new home in Kaysville. So that MONSTROSITY of a process (yes, we toured over 30 homes in 2 days... everywhere from Lehi to Layton) absorbed a lot of my time this last month. I LOVE Real Estate - and it was a nice little "breather" to get back into the Sales field a little after a year+ break managing different aspects of the construction world. I was born with that "sales stuff" in me; it's just who I am- and I'll probably go back into sales when the market changes. We will be closing on their new home in 3 weeks - woo hoo!


Also, I just started a new part-time job at Lakeview Hospital working 2 nights/1 weekend day a week in the Lab as a Lab Tech. My primary responsibilities are associated with the Phlebotomy Department & Microbiology. I draw a lot of blood, process drug tests, prepare Micobiology samples, process readings, chart test results, do a lot of random stuff with the ER and am kinda the go-between for the Blood Bank, Pathology, Microbiology, and Chemistry.


My first night was last week - What an eye opener. Not having worked in the Lab for nearly 6 years, it was a challenge (to say the least!) to remember all the terminology and abriviations for processes. Everything is a code or acronym?! And, of course, the people I work with are "too busy" to explain anything well- it's just do-or-die around there, literally!


I'm still really nervous about it. I have to go back to work tonight and train with my Latina ornery co-worker, lucky me.



On a positive note: the extra cash will be great and being back in the hospital is refreshing. I love the blood and that kind of stress. I like the technical aspects of it all and having to remember all the interesting stuff I learned in all my Medical classes!


So, when I'm not at Symphony Homes, selling a house, at the hospital, or at a race, I'm at home eating, sleeping, or cleaning. Feels like life is racing at about 210 MPH. Good thing I'm an adrenaline junky and enjoy the speed!