Ski-o suit design

I need some input. I'm designing the US ski-orienteering race suits. I think I have the pattern down, that I want to do, but I'm stumped on colors. Below are five jpgs (pardon the atrocious photoshop-drawing skills... hopefully you get the idea), with variations on blue and white. What I want to know, is, which color scheme do you like best, and, should it say US SKI-O or USA SKI-O instead of just USA?

sweet. Thanks.










I'm obviously being quite productive.

Spring Break... err... conference

I feel like I'm on vacation right now. In reality, I'm in Norfolk, VA, for this big all-staff conference of the whole Eastern Region of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with different people giving different talks on different stuff, which is all fine and good and mostly quite interesting, but I'm only giving a short (5 min) presentation at one talk in the last session on Friday. So, I'm not exactly stressed about this. Especially since I already have my talk down pat, and there are so many "networking" opportunities, which really mean free food and booze, and I like all the people I work with. The "dress code" is business casual, and this being TNC, about 15% of the folks here are in blue jeans. My boss went and got a new pair of sneakers for this, I was impressed.

So, Cheyenne and I got here around the same time, and we're rooming together (I know, having a roommate on a business trip is weird, but we chose to do this), so that worked out. They overbooked the flight down here, so we both took the bump and a $400 travel voucher (each), got to Norfolk by 2pm, wandered around for a while, got ice cream, ate a lot of sushi and drank lots of sake. Not a bad day for a Tuesday!

We also got a sweet room up on the 23rd floor, we both walk in, look at each other, and exclaim, "I've never stayed in a room like this!". See below for the view.





So, after the sessions today, and the "networking" cocktail hour, the whole eastern region of the company (some 600 staff) head to the barbeque. I see a guy in a sequined tuxedo, and somehow this doesn't strike me as strange. It strikes other people as strange, though, but then we realized he was part of the band. A word on this band. Their name is "Right On". They play '70s music. They're wearing sequins and shiny turquoise pants and the keyboard dude is wearing knee-high, sparkly-gold, platform high-heeled boots. I was thinking to myself, these guys are ridiculous! Then I thought some more to myself, and I realized, the only way you'll ever get a bunch of work people to dance is to have the band be more ridiculous looking than a group of hippies and lawyers mingling and sort of bouncing up and down in their best "white guys can't dance" moves. It was great, Cheyenne started the party and soon we had the whole Eastern Resource Office (my office) out on the dance floor. Not something I thought I'd ever see... but smiles all around, so it can't be bad!

Have I mentioned, I love my job?


Cheyenne checking out the workstation in our sick hotel room...

Coyote Hill MT Bike race

Last year, I raced at Coyote Hill, and it was my first mtb race ever, and I cried for most of the race, which is the first (and last) time that has ever happened. I remember being deathly scared on the downhills, and crashing a lot, most memorably off one of the bridges... it was not a pleasant sight. I finished, dead last, and I knew I had to do that race again. Vengeance!

So I showed up again this year, having not ridden any sort of bike in any sort of while, and I had just enough time (in an Alex sense of time) to preride the course. Off I went, and I got to the first scary drop thing, and I thought to myself, "Ha. I couldn't do this last year without whimpering, look at me go now!" and then I crashed, and whacked my knee pretty hard, and had to sit down until I stopped hyperventilating. I managed to get a lot of leaves and dirt and gunk between my tire and my rim, but I didn't notice this until I was on the start line, when I frantically yanked it off to wipe it out and got it back on and myself on the bike all in time to start. So, I decided that I was just going to ride my bike today, I would crush any competitive spirit within myself and just have fun out there.

I didn't completely succeed in not feeling competitive, because my HR was at like 175 on the start line... Then we started moving and I rode my bike and felt much more relaxed. I moved up on the road to just behind the 14 year old kid, with one girl way up the road already and an NEBC girl just ahead of the 14 year old. I decided that I didn't want to be behind little 14 year old, because she might be nasty good but she might not be, and then I got stuck behind an NEBCer going down the hill. I thought I was cautious, but compared to this gal I'm just CRAZY on those downhills... finally she bobbled and I got by. By now the first girl was out of site, and I was riding in no-man's land for a while, wondering when somebody who actually knew how to ride a bike would catch up to me. I ran down the first scary drop, into some twisty trail that seemed to be pretty new, and then some uphills where I kept bobbling and a girl in green caught up. She got around me on one of the wide uphills, but she was making some terrifying noises on the downhills, and while I know how that feels, I wasn't feeling full of sympathy, so I snuck back around her, just in time to run down the second scary drop, where I got heckled by Colin and Linnea for not riding it.

I owned the bridges this year, instead of them owning me, and then the course went uphill for a while and I wasn't having fun, I was out of breath and my legs were tired and it felt like there was an oven where my head used to be, but then lap 2 started and I started having fun again. There were three moments on lap two when I distinctly remember thinking, "this is FUN!" I think all races should have moments like that. I was riding alone, catching the occasional guy, but no idea how far ahead the next girl was, and not sure I wanted to know, since then I would feel compelled to catch her. It was hot out there, and I could feel the beginnings of a bonk happening, but then I finished, and it felt nice to stop riding. Ended up 2nd, which was kind of a surprise, because I'm supposed to be the person who can't ride technical courses or hills, and this was a real mtb race, with rocks and roots and hills and things, but hey, I'm not complaining. It was a super fun course, and I stayed upright! (except in the warm up). That is generally a goal of mine...

Colin, Thom, and Linnea all had good races (thinks me) and all ended up third. I didn't see where Rachel ended up, but she looked fast out there. George was riding sport, and I actually saw him on one of the switchbacks and was like "GO GEORGE!!", but he said he didn't hear me.


That boy just never stops talking... you'd think if he were racing, he would shut up and pedal faster...


I can make people smile when I cheer!


The fastest guy on one gear...

I was thinking the other day. Talking about various junior skiers with other coaches. We have some kids with a lot of potential, who just aren't that fast yet, and we have some kids who I never thought would be able to go as fast as they can. It's a club skiing program, I guess it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things how fast you go on your skis, unless of course you're obsessed about it like I am. I've always wanted people to say, "oh, Alex Jospe? I know her. Yeah, that girl is just immensely talented". Not, "eh, shes just a hard worker". What is talent, anyway? Lucky genes? How come my brother was a varsity runner within two days of being on the cross country team while it took me a month to be able to run three miles without stopping? I guess I'll take work ethic over pure genetic talent; you learn to work hard and it applies to all of life, but still, you can't be fast without some of both.

Despite all this talk about hard workers versus talented people, I've come to realize that I like doing the hard work. Rollerskiing in a thunderstorm is a far preferable way to spend my time than watching tv. Whether or not I am ever super fast, I have made this sport into something that I want to do my whole life, although maybe not at this level. I like rollerskiing, hill bounding, skiing in circles at Weston. And if I can just somehow share that enjoyment of this work, these kids are going to keep skiing.

At the strength workout with CSU last night, Hannah's mom came up to me, and told me that Olivia, one of the girls at the practice on Wednesday, had told her - "That was so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!" Now THAT is the attitude I'm trying to cultivate!

The few, the brave

Or maybe dumb. Four of us at the girls-only-no-boys-allowed CSU practice, and it starts to rain. Normally these kids don't ski in the rain, which seems silly to me, so we just kept skiing. Then it started to thunder. I asked the girls if they felt uncomfortable to kept going, but they were fine with it, so we just carried on. I'm glad we did, because the light after the storm was absolutely gorgeous. It is too bad my camera is on the fritz and I can't seem to find whatever setting it thinks its on... maybe it took one too many a ride in my back pocket with no plastic bag...

Nobody got struck by lightening, but there might be some sore chickas tomorrow.




There is nothing better than coming home to the smell of rising bread. therapeutic, as they say.

Colgate Graduation

such a good view of the stage.




Most schools have a plan for where to put their graduation if it is raining. Colgate claims to have a plan, also, but they only put it into action if it is thundering. You can guess where this is going. We sat in the rain for two hours watching my brother graduate, which is great and all, I'm glad he did it, but I didn't need the rain thing. I stupidly didn't bring a rain jacket (is that why it rained?), but I had an umbrella. Alas, they made us put down the umbrellas. My grandfather spent the whole time in the car, and we all left as soon as Tif was done, which was too bad, because we didn't get to hang around in the sun and take pictures of him and his friends afterwards like I had been able to for mine. My grandfather put it well -- "They should have failed half of them! There are way too many names here!"

Anyway, rainy ceremony aside, it was a good weekend. Saturday Christophe's band played, and although they'd had to set up in a hurry and the sound wasn't quite right, it was a good show, and I was glad to see them before they disband as they all go their separate ways. They're on itunes, go download the music. Sonic Symposium. I recommend "dungeons and dragons" from their latest cd, or anything from the first one. "King of pop" is good.

I brought my bike, and we went on a sweet ride sunday morning. I almost killed a goose that was sleeping on the road, but we escaped unscathed, and then the weather fouled up just in time for graduation. After that, we drove to Williamstown, because my grandfather went to school there and wanted to see it. We had a great dinner, heard some wonderful stories from him, and then bolted out of there by noon so he and my uncle could catch their plane back to London. A packed weekend, but a good time, and great to see the London contingent.




Farms near Colgate. Pretty riding fo sho.


we found a dirt road. It went up. A lot.


Quietly watching us ride by.


stormy light while riding in williamstown.

Updates

Life is not exactly blog-worthy recently. Trying to catch up on stuff after missing a week of work, on a rest week for training, not doing any weekday racing or other fun adventures. I won't be racing this weekend, either, as my brother is graduating from Colgate, so I get to sit and watch lots of people cross a stage and hopefully recognize which black-robed figure he is. I'd like to bring my bike, though, if the rain holds off. Then at least I'll have a sweet garmin pic of someplace that is not Boston.

I'm into the third week of the ski year, and although it has kind of taken a while, I'm starting to get pretty motivated. Starting to remember what it feels like to go hard, to get sore, to remember that every workout has a purpose. I finally finished summer waxing skis... last night. Winter has been officially put away!