test post or how i learned to blog on my phone

Stock show 2011!

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New Sheets

I got new sheets.

Well, actually a new bed set, I don't know what you call it but it includes the comforter, sheets, shams, and dust ruffle.

You may be asking yourself why a single dude randomly buys himself new linens and no, the obvious conclusion is not the case. Instead, I have a Society of Broadcast Engineers Certification test in 45 minutes, and yesterday - the day I bought said bedroom expressions - was supposed to be my study day.

Instead, lets see how my day broke down:

9am - 11am: Wake up. Drink coffee. Watch TV. Feed Earl. Watch TV.
11am-11:10am: Study
11:10am - Noon: Run around Cheeseman
Noon - 2pm: Lunch, shower, TV.
2 - 2:05: Study
2:05 - 4:30: Decide that the time is right for a random purchase of new sleeping materials! Trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond and also to Tattered Cover for a study Book.
5 - 9:30: First game of Summer Ultimate!
10 - 10:30: Post-game dinner
10:30 - 11: Nap
11 - 11:10: Study.
11:10: Sleep

So thats how my official "study day" broke down. Which is why I grumpily had to get up at 5am this morning to do some y'know, actual studying.

But my set sure does look nice though!

Triathlon Training Part 1: The Bike

So B-Dizzle and I have taken it upon ourselves to train and participate in a triathlon this summer. So far in our training I have realized three things. 1 - Blythe swims like a fish whereas I swim like a bloated fat-man with weights tied to his ankles. This concerns me. 2 - I still enjoy running, as long as I keep the distance under 5 miles. And 3 - Biking with a road bike (or in my case a hybrid) is way, waaaay awesomer than riding on a 7 years old mountain bike measured for a man nary an inch over 5'1".

So with those thoughts in mind Blythe and I took to the wilds of the Cherry Creek Bike Trail on Memorial Day to get in our first bike ride together.



B-dogg had just gotten her new road bike in the mail (yeah, I know. Big mailbox, right?) and although I was skeptical of a mail order road bike, I had to admit that it looked pretty sweet. Meanwhile I was riding my new Trek 7.3 hybrid that I graciously received for my b-day. Granted, it's not a road bike. But I needed a ride to take me to and from work almost every day and for that the L-train needed flat handle bars. So hybrid it was, but I did add some wicked awesome aero bars for my tri- training and this would be my first ride with them.



Although it was a cool and slightly drizzly morning we decided to go ahead with the ride and bike from her house down to Confluence Park and back. Unfortunately Mother Nature decided to tell us to "suck it". As soon as we headed out it started raining and didn't stop until we got home. We were SOAKED. And by soaked I mean wet from head to toe AND covered in mud/dirt/sand/debris/homeless-person phlegm. Seriously, my back looked like I tried to take a dump whilst doing a hand-stand. NOT. PRETTY. Plus, the added benefit of a constant downpour of water was that it jacked my phone up for a bit so the post ride pictures...well they left a little to be desired.

More training posts to follow!

Music, thats what hits ya!

In an effort to maintain a somewhat regular blog update schedule I decided I would have to think outside the normal box of "writing about crap that no one other than me cares about". So, I've decided to start a new section of my blog entitled "Songs recorded by Luke that no one other than Luke cares about". This section is devoted to me, nerding out with two of my favorite things: music and video editing. Enjoy my first submission, artfully titled "Salt Creek" (so named because that's the name of the song. Duh.)

(PS I know the first mando break isn't that great, and the editing for the harmony mando break kind of blows, but by the time I got it all synch'ed up I didn't feel like redoing anything. So suck it.)

Holy Crap Update!!11!!!oneone

I know it's been awhile since my last update. So long in fact, that many of even most devoted followers have stopped checking for any new material. Lost in a sea of cooking blogs, sports blogs, Flemish blogs, and blogs about the inner workings of a pescatarian's digestive system, many of you were unable to stand the interminably long wait for my latest post detailing my most amazing exploits. To you I say suck it, I'll post where I'm good and ready.

Now that I've some catching up to do, I'm somewhat overwhelmed at the thought of posting about all the crap that has gone down in the last 6 months. Let's face it, I couldn't be troubled to put up one post in 6 months, the likelihood of 4 or 5 at one time has about the same chance as Obama eliminating the federal deficit (Hi-oooooooooo! YES! Presidential Burn!)

Instead, I'm going to start off small. KISS and all that. Without further ado, I present to you the last 6 month's of Luke's Life in 5 easy pictures!

Ahh Thanksgiving. This was I believe the first ever Thankgiving without all the kids at home. Blythe realized this shortly after this picture was taken and spit in the mashed potatoes.

In early January my friend's and I made our annual trek to the National Western Stock Show. I decided to western it up by donning my big western belt, tight jeans, jean jacket and plaid workshirt with pearl buttons. Unfortunately right before we left I realized I didn't have any cowboy boots, or any boots for that matter, and instead had to wear white tennis shoes. So instead of looking like a cowboy going to the rodeo, I looked instead like a badly dressed gay dude looking for the Denver Wrangler. Not to be daunted we still found a totally sweet cow with long hair.

My old college roommate Brian got married in Chicago in January. That's right party people, a wedding in Chicago. In January. It was the coldest I've ever been, and the second coldest thing I've seen, next to Troy's black heart. Fortunately most of my old college buddies and buddesses were able to make it.

Catholic wedding. Lots of kneeling. Completely oblivious groom. Awesome.

I got a cat. Named him Earl.

Quandary Peak 2008!

Well it had been two years since Dad and I hiked a 14er, and with the summer of 2008 rapidly drawing to a close we decided to seize the day and hike one before the 14ers all got buried in snow. As Dad was not in the best shape of his life we picked an easy class-1 mountain - Quandary Peak. On to pics!

At the trailhead (obviously). It was pretty cold - Dad's car thermometer said it was something like 27 degrees when we arrived. Fortunately I have a nice layer of fat around my face to keep me warm.

I don't know what my camera was doing but it turned out pretty cool.

Nice shot of Dad in front of an Aspen grove. Hey, he's smiling!

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze...

(Thats right, I just got deep on yo' ass!)

About an hour into our hike we got our first glimpse of the summit. I said "hey, look how close it is!" Dad was not pleased.

A little farther on the trail. Behind us is a shoulder of Mount Bross - another 14er.

Looking down into a valley on the north side of Quandary.

Heres where we ran into a little trouble. This was at about 13,200' and Dad was pretty tuckered by this point. You can see the summit but this last section of the climb was more than a little steep. We decided that it was best not to try and push things too hard, so Dad decided to stop where he was and skip the summit. Then we decided that I would leave Dad alone and head to the top for both of us. Fearing for both our respective lives we agreed we would never speak a word of my solo trek to Mom.

View from the summit. Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Democrat and Mt. Bross are there in the picture, I'm just not sure which is which.

The summit cairn!

Luuuuuke...go to the summit Luuuke...don't tell Mom Luke......

Heading back down through the Aspen trees.

Almost down...despite the smiles there were more than a couple "how in the heck are we not down yet?!?" comments by this point.

Finally finished. All in all a great hike and even though Dad didn't make it to the summit I think he didn't pretty darn good to make it to 13,200' considering he's 59 and out of shape. Next summer...Maroon Bells!