Moon Phase and Andrew Sighting

Glen -- I like the moon phase addition to the side bar. Very cool! Thanks for adding that to the blog. Cynthia, my given name, was the Greek goddess of the moon...so I connect to that heavenly body at some level.

I wanted to share that we spent some time with dear nephew Andrew on Sunday in Placerville. We all ate Mexican food and chatted away. He looks good and tall! He seems content, level-headed, focused, and responsible/dependable in the work world. I guess that's what I look for as an aunt. It's curious to be in the role of older relative watching the growth and maturing of the younger generation. Not quite clear on how to best be involved and supportive, without dictating my preferences on life. Often, that makes me withdraw somewhat, play it safe. Anyway, I just really enjoyed seeing Andrew and giving him a big hug. Hooray.

Jane Bounces Back! Well, Not Quite Bouncing...Yet

Jane has been off chemo for over three weeks now and is very encouraged. She is probably at a "7" or "8" with a "10" being back to normal. She walked 20 minutes in the park on Sunday and another 10 minutes on the deck (in circles). She is eating more and enjoying it. Seems very pleased with that. She gets the port (for the chemo) removed on 6/1. Cindi is still hoping to visit the folks for Father's Day. Air travel plans are pending. This is awesome news about Jane. Thanks, Lord.

Kyle Graduates

Kyle graduated from High School on Saturday morning. It was nice to have family here to celebrate the day. Kyle attended Sober Grad Night and enjoyed the evening. Now on to college.

Savoldelli Wins Giro

Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) won the 88th Giro d'Italia today by 28 seconds over two-time winner, Gilberto Simoni. Savoldelli won in 2002 on some another probably non-existent team, so Discovery signed him to be good in this race. The expected winners, Damiano Cunego and Ivan Basso, had difficult races with stomach trouble and are far down on the GC (General Classification), although Basso got in two or three stage wins.

Rosarito Ensenada Bicycle ride is September 24

I am thinking about doing this again in September. Would anyone like to go with me? I would go on Friday, September 23 and come home Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Does camping sound fun? A couple of hotel rooms?



Find all the information at www.ensenadarosarito.com.

steve looks alarmingly similar to george lucas......
rob's new address is: 13464 bailey st.
whittier, ca 90601

more soon...

Blogaliciousness Void

I can't think of much to blog about, so I've been silent for a week or so. The digital camera is down, so can't even send a photo of the silly dogs or other goings ons. We do now have two "49'ers" living in our house for just a month. Then "one" turns 50. Gasp! School ends June 9th and the paperwork/techwork ends June 16. Looking forward to it. So much to do between now and then. I need to get back at it. Seeya.

Chicago's O'Hare

was named after the owner of a fruit orchard owner who owned the land be for they built the airport here.

I finished my work in Chicago early so I came over to the airport to see if I could catch a flight earlier than the 9:30 PM flight on which I have a confirmed reservation. There is a flight about every hour between Chicago and LA so it isn't hard to believe that there would be a seat on one of the flights. I have done this exact thing routinely on past trips here. Not the case today. Every flight seems to be full and no stand-by passengers are getting on. So my 4 PM arrival just leaves me stranded here with high speed internet connection in the Priority Club.

The Priority Club is usually almost empty. Not today. Every seat is filled, people are sitting on the floor, the hearth and standing against the walls, many talking on their cell phones with wireless earpeices--what a noise.


So, happy birthday to me! I should get home by the 26th.


UPDATE: Multiple flights to the east coast are being delayed for weather and ATC (Air Traffic Control). That's why this room is so full. One chatty fellow near me is in the retail clothing business--merchandinzing. From South Africa. Used to work for Victoria's Secret. (I should have asked if he knows the secret.)

FW: new bike

And, a message from Garth:
------ Forwarded Message
From: Garth Wilson
Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 22:11:52 -0700
To: Glen Peterson
Subject: new bike

Saturday I bought a 58cm carbon-fiber Trek 5000 from Pat's 605 Cyclery. It's the same model of frame Lance rode to victory in the '99 Tour. I got $300 knocked off for trading the brifters (integrated brake levers and shifters) for 9-speed bar-end shifters to put on the aerobars to meet my budget. (Brifters are nice, but I'm not adicted to them.) I spend most of my riding time on the aerobars, but that's the one place I've never tried the shifters before, so I was wondering how I'd like them. It will be awhile before it's natural to reach for the right place to find the shifters.

You can see the bike at Trek's website.

So far I've ridden it on the trail and at the Heritage Park practice race. It definitely handles better than the other bike I was riding and is noticeably faster with the same amount of effort, but the biggest difference seems to be how well it absorbs vibration. It's still stiff and I can still feel all the bumps, but it's like having a bazillion (sp?) microscopic high-quality shock absorbers. There's a quality about the ride I've never experienced on any other bike, including a man's titanium one I tried at the race. I haven't done any hills yet, so that part of the report will have to wait. The fact that it weighs seven pounds less than the other bike won't hurt a bit.

I don't quite have everything set up exactly the way I want it yet, but I'm getting close.

Daniel is signed up for a race the morning of Memorial Day in Long Beach, and for one a few weeks later in the same place. They start at 7:30am. I took the aerobars off his bike tonight since they're not allowed in the race, and he tried the Heritage Park practice race in the middle ring since juniors have a high-end limitation in the gearing so we may just take his big ring off temporarily. Otherwise we'll replace the big ring with a 45-tooth to meet the requirement.

Garth


------ End of Forwarded Message

Special Guest

Kyle was the special guest at a Make a Wish event in Old Town Sacramento. The higlight for him was meeting Matthew Woods. Matthew provided the voice for one of the characters in the Star Wars Episode III and is a sound engineer for Lucas Films. They were able to talk together for a while and he gave Kyle a replica of his character and signed the box. Kyle was interviewed by one of the local TV stations during the event. Quite a couple of weeks.

An early morning bicycle ride

This morning I got up early to meet friends for a bicycle ride. We met at 7 AM at the free parking lot near Whittier Narrows. Note that I said we met over there at 7 AM. That means I was up, had breakfast, including poached eggs and coffee before I left. That was a good time to go. It's gonna be hot today.

My two friends are investigating bicycling as a way of improving physical fitness. One of these has almost no experience riding. He is interested in improving his knowledge of bicycles and bicycle handling. I may refer him to his blog post to read your suggestions and helpful comments.

I also suggested that I would recommend some books for him to read. I think this would be a good place to start:



This would also be a good one:



Anyone have any further suggestions?


NOTE: Rosemead Blvd. is close due to "major bridge damage" south of Durfee. I rode across anyway at great risk of peril and survived.

There are a couple of newsgroups about cycling, the ones I know of are geography specific, like SoCalCylding and bikepaths both at Yahoo Groups.

Star Wars III

Kyle attended the Premier of Star Wars III this Thursday. He had a great time. We arrived in our room at the Argent Hotel on Wedsday night. There was a gift package of candy, game passes, and tickets. We received our invitation and directions to the VIP Party, Premier, and Post-Premier party. Thursday morning we spent time looking around the hotel, visited the Buena Vista Gardens, and checked out the Metreon. The Metreon is this large complex of stores, movie theaters, and activities. We spent time at the Portal, a gaming venue. Kyle's pass allowed us to try out several of the games.



We went back to our room, changed and returned for the VIP party at 4:30. This was a small party with many of the individuals dressed as the characters from the movie. We also met the two other families that were there as guests of Make a Wish. One child from the bay area and another from Tokyo. There was plenty of snacks and drinks. One of the robots came over and talked to Kyle.


We were offered the opportunity to meet George Lucas before the movie. We were taken to a private area where he greeted Kyle and signed his Star Wars book.


The characters began walking the guests to the movie theater. We took an elevator and were able to sit up by the projection booth. We saw the digital version which several people who had seen both versions said was better. The movie is full of actions and moves at a rapid pace. Both Kyle and I enjoyed it.
After the movie was over we went to the premier party. All of the people who were there for the premier were invited to that party. A much bigger crowd. They had a row of video monitors set-up so that guests could play the new game that goes with the movie. There was a lot of food and beverages. Kyle spent most of the time playing the game while dad eat and quenched his thirst. Met a number of nice people at both parties. A young and family oriented group. Kyle and I left feeling satisfied with the whole evening.

What is up with this weather today? Gloomy in sunny Southern California. Snow in Tahoe. And 76 degrees in Akron? Just another crazy day in May.

We saw "The Interpreter," "Fever Pitch," (at theaters), and "Phantom of the Opera" (DVD rental) this weekend. I found all three enjoyable. Sean Penn did a good job again in "The Interpreter," a good suspenseful, intelligent, thoughtful work. Jimmy Fallon was entertaining in "Fever Pitch" with Drew Barrymore. If I was a Boston Red Sox fan...or just a big baseball fan still, this would have been even more fun. I laughed throughout it and just got a kick out of the story. "Phantom" was good, too. Mini Driver cracked me up. The singers were good. Sets were good. Just wish I'd seen it on a bigger screen.

We are dialing up to connect to the internet today. Storm must have burned out our DSL connection last week. Ugh. The sluggishness of it all. Back to work for me.

Kyle and the couple who interviewed him for his Make A Wish. 

Kyle Receives his Make a Wish

The couple who interviewed Kyle for Make a Wish foundation arrived today with his gift. He wiil attend the Premier of Star Wars III in San Francisco on May 12. He is invited to the VIP party before the movie and to the Premier Party that follows. He will also get to meet George Lucas at one of the parties. He is excited and I am looking forward to spending two days in San Francisco with him. We will visit the new location for Lucas' production companies, Industrial Light and Magic, and drive by his Skywalker Ranch.

Sunny day in Placerville

We had a sunny day in Placerville. Brianna was here playing in the sandbox and swinging on her swing. Momabeth filled the bucket with water so Brianna could fill up her cups. She filled the bucket instead.