Hey there

I admit I just posted the other "I love" posting about two minutes ago, but it has been sitting in my drafts section for quite some time. I really haven't been up to much, but here's a quick recap. On Monday I went out and golfed nine holes, and then it snowed that night. I managed to get out and downhill ski a couple of weeks ago, and I had forgotten how much fun it can be. I just let myself have fun without worrying about falling and hurting myself, and it wasgreat. I'll definitely have to go more next year. I've also been getting ready for fly fishing season. I've been tying a bunch of flies and have been really enjoying that. It's a good way to decompress from a long day at work, and instead of just sitting in front of the TV, I'm actually creating something. Who knows, maybe I'll even catch some fish this year. If nothing else, fly fishing gives me an excuse to get out into the beautiful wild areas around here and just relax. Now I know why people pay thousands of dollars to come out here to do what I get to do basically for free. Man I love living in Montana. If any of you, my beautiful, wonderful friends, get a chance to get out this way, take it and come crash at my place. You are always welcome.

I love _____ more than my luggage.

An interesting post idea, I have to admit though, I did steal it from M, and assorted other bloggers linked to hers. So what do I love more than my luggage? Well, until recently I didn't have luggage, so I love pretty much everything more than my luggage, but I'll just hit the highlights.

My wife. No other person can make me so very happy or make me as miserable, but without her, I wouldn't be half the man I am today. She's my everything and everyday that we have together is something to be treasured. My family. Again, they've made me who I am, and I love them without question. My wonderful, amazing friends. They've stood by me and picked me up when I've needed it. Thank you. Music. I love many kinds of music, and have been trying to broaden my horizons, but there's just something to be said about hard rock/heavy metal. Makes you feel invincible. Bozeman, MT. I love the fact that I could get lost in the forest just 10 minutes from my house. The fact that I'm only two hours from Yellowstone and ten minutes from the mountains. The University only five minutes from my house. Glacier National Park. I love the lakes there, the clear blue water. The amazing vistas and the times I've spent with my wife and friends there.

Hangover Poem

Hangover, you drive me into the yardto dig holes as a way of working through youas one might work through a sorry childhoodby riding the forbidden amusement park ridesas a grown-up until puking. Alas, I feel likesomething spit out by a duck, a duckother ducks are ashamed of when I only tried to protect myself by projecting myselfon hilarity's big screen at the partywhere one nitwit reminisced about the 39¢a pound chicken of his youth and another said,Don't go to Italy in June, no one goes to Italy in June.Protect myself from boring advice,from the boring past and the boring presentat the expense of an unnauseating future:now. But look at these newly-socketed lilacs!Without you, Hangover, they would still betrapped in their buckets and not becomethe opposite of vomit just as you, Hangover,are the opposite of Orgasm. Certainlyyou go on too long and in your gripone thinks, How to have you never again?whereas Orgasm lasts too short some secondsand immediately one plots to repeat her.After her I could eat a car but here'sa pineapple/clam pizza and Chinese milkshakeyum but Hangover, you make me aspireto a saltine. Both of you need to lie down,one with a cool rag across the brow, shuttersdrawn, the other in a soft jungle gym, yahoo,this puzzle has 15 thousand solutions!Here's one called Rocking Horseand how about Sunshine in the Monkey Tree.Chug, chug, goes the arriving train,those on the platform toss their hats and scarvesand cheer, the president comes out of the cabooseto declare, The war is over! Corks popping,people mashing people, knocking over melon stands,ripping millenniums of bodices. Hangover,rest now, you'll have lots to do laterinspiring abstemious philosophies and menial tasksthat too contribute to the beauty of this world.

Dean Young

Now that I've diagnosed the problem.....

can I now solve it. I was reading an article on espn.com and I found this amazing quote. It seems to explain some of my issues with my physical fitness test anxiety. Anyway, just thought I'd let all of you know what I was thinking.

"This is actually a question I'm obsessed with: Why don't people work hard when it's in their best interest to do so? Why does Eddy Curry come to camp every year overweight?
The (short) answer is that it's really risky to work hard, because then if you fail you can no longer say that you failed because you didn't work hard. It's a form of self-protection. I swear that's why Mickelson has that almost absurdly calm demeanor. If he loses, he can always say: Well, I could have practiced more, and maybe next year I will and I'll win then. When Tiger loses, what does he tell himself? He worked as hard as he possibly could. He prepared like no one else in the game and he still lost. That has to be devastating, and dealing with that kind of conclusion takes a very special and rare kind of resilience. Most of the psychological research on this is focused on why some kids don't study for tests -- which is a much more serious version of the same problem. If you get drunk the night before an exam instead of studying and you fail, then the problem is that you got drunk. If you do study and you fail, the problem is that you're stupid -- and stupid, for a student, is a death sentence. The point is that it is far more psychologically dangerous and difficult to prepare for a task than not to prepare. People think that Tiger is tougher than Mickelson because he works harder. Wrong: Tiger is tougher than Mickelson and because of that he works harder. "

Aside from work, not much happening in my world. Sy and I went snowshoeing on Saturday and are scheduled to go skiing tomorrow, so wish me luck. It's been awhile since I've been out.