Michael: The Cars

The shadows and folds
Randomly color the hills
In all shades of green.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Today is three years to the day that Kimme and I boarded a plane for Panama and abandoned car ownership, and driving for the most part. Since then we’ve only occasionally driven rentals when visiting the states. But that wonderfully simple life may shortly be coming to an end.

That’s because I’m back in L.A. training for a job at a health retreat in the boonies and there really is no way to get there at my rise and shine start time of 6:30 a.m. except by car.

At the moment I’m renting a car which is barely being paid for by my 4 days of training per week. That’s not going to work for long. So soon I’ll be searching for a decent used car and yes, all the ying/yang that goes along with car ownership and driving.

Michael: Dog Fight

Dog Fight: January, 11, 2018

Shadowy river
Snakes away from the mountain
And down to the sea.

January, 11, 2018

The worst thing about having a dog in Panama is definitely other dogs.

Very few people take their dogs out on regular walks. In fact many dogs here are chained up on very short tethers to their houses. Many others roam free and it’s hard to figure out if they have owners or are just completely on their own. The roamers are the problem.

We like to take our wonderful dog Luna on walks down the short country lane we live on. Often on these walks I’ll unleash Luna and let her roam free a bit which hasn’t been much of a problem until today, the very day I’m leaving to the states. Just what we all need.

Kimme is much more cautious and smarter than I. She never walks Luna unleashed. Sadly, I’m now strongly leaning in following that policy myself when we’re all re-united.

Why? Because for the first time in the 8 months I’ve been walking her I let my guard down at the wrong moment and had her unleashed when I couldn’t see three roamers nearby. There was a brief confrontation, but thankfully Luna only received a small scratch on her left front leg. Sad lesson learned. As much as Luna enjoys trotting, running and exploring, that’s going to have to be confined to our yard.

Michael: Temperature-amental

Papa papaya,
A chubby little fellow,
Is a sweet softy.

Monday, January 8, 2018

Ironically, a few items I had shipped from the states to use in case the dreaded rainy season forced me indoors for weeks at a time, have, for various reasons, worked wonderfully or failed miserably.

An ironically wonderful idea was shipping my indoor bike trainer. But it’s not because of the rain; very few days here have seen enough morning rain to prevent me from riding on the roads. No, it was a late season multiple stitches required face plant that kept me indoors for two months. The first two years my trainer was kept in storage hi and dry out of the afternoon rain just like I was (almost always).

An ironically bad idea, it turns out, was shipping my 10 year old rowing machine. You would think rowing would be an ideal alternate indoor work out when the rains picked up, and you’d be right, but as the year progresses and the humidity picks up, the joints in my old machine balk so badly that the rower becomes useless for the last two months of the year. I do use it occasionally from January through October, but if I had known it was going to be so temperamental, I would’ve given it away before coming here.

When we do head back to the states, the bike trainer will make the cut. I find, even in great weather, it’s helpful to hop on it to at least keep an eye on my cadence and other small niggles that I loose track of out on the road. The rower, on the other hand, I’m hoping will find a good Panamanian home with someone who has the touch to coax it through the high humidity of the rainy season.

Michael: Hay Un Raton en La Casa

The sweeping grey hair
Of the early morning sky
Obscures the green hills.

Saturday, January 6, 2018

We’ve had a few small uninvited guests in our three years of living here; slugs, ants, spiders, termites, crickets, and birds. But it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Their visits are few and for the most part seasonal. They’ve never overwhelmed us or forced us to seek shelter. They mostly seem to just want to get out of the cold for a while.

Surprisingly, just a few days ago we had our first field mouse over. I’m presuming it’s still here roaming about. I haven’t seen it after it made it’s initial dash from the backyard to under our large living room stand, but Kimme saw it scuttling around the stove yesterday morning.

I’m hoping it’ll see itself out, but if not I’ll have to go to the net and check out “How to get a guest to leave without causing a scene.”

I was hoping our dog would sniff it out and get irritated enough to scare it away, but she seems completely uninterested and even, to my surprise, totally unaware of its presence.

Panamanians, at least here in the mountains, for some reason don’t use screen doors. Our little cabana, like many houses here, are designed to dissuade robbers by having the windows and doors protected by security bars, and we, at least, have screens on our windows that open. I suppose, the thinking must be that dealing with a mouse every three years are so isn’t worth the hassle and expense. We’re in the process of discovering whether that’s true or not.

Michael: Cheating the Scale

No name butterflies;
Black, blue, orange, or yellow,
Never seem to mind.

Wednesday, January 3, 2017

Only three days into the New Year and already I’ve lost two pounds and am just about half way to my goal of weighing under 145. I thought it was going to at least take a couple of months before I could resume my life long daily indulgence of chocolate.

Of course, while technically true; I could make the weight shortly through an old boxer’s trick, I’ve decided to fine tune my resolution just a painful tad and only count my weight on Tuesday morning.

Why? Because if I wanted to be sneaky I could weigh myself Sunday afternoon after a long Saturday ride followed by my every other week Sunday 6 hour trail run, and if I were tight on my water and food intake that weekend, I’m guessing I could get the scale to give me winning numbers. But that wouldn’t be in the spirit under which I made the resolution. Mondays are a very light recovery day where I should have gained most of my water weight back. That’s why Tuesday morning is a more true reflection of my weight.

It all sounds so noble, but it’s really in my best interest to get an accurate result and fight fare and square to get to my prime race weight.

Michael: A Fan's Christmas Present

The dog settles in
During the warm windless day
For a well earned nap.

Monday, January 1, 2018

Yesterday, on New Year’s Eve, I followed the Vikings vs. Bears game on my tablet in what I refer to as pong football, since all I see is a brief description of each play along with small streaks of color indicating ball movement.

This year will be my 50th year of being a Viking’s fan. I was born two years before the franchise came into existence but don’t have any memories of rooting for the team until the year before their first Super Bowl loss. I figure that dates back to the 67-68 season. My mom was born there and brought me up as a fan.

Over the years I’ve thought of distancing myself from the game completely. It’s violence is really inexcusable and now with the incontrovertible evidence that it causes permanent, and in some cases, severe brain damage, I often feel a bit guilty for continuing to watch and root for a team that I once dreamed of being a part of.

But it does still intrigue me along with providing a long shared history of emotional memories with my mother.

I have decided that as soon as this year’s group of players dissolve as a unit through attrition and free agency, I’ll pretty much be done with the sport. But since this year’s Super Bowl is being played in Minnesota, and my mom and I and so many other loyal fans have our long suffering shared heart breaks together, it would be great if the team could give us the greatest Christmas gift a Viking’s fan could wish for and win their next three games which would include a first ever home team Super Bowl victory.

Michael: Permanent Changes

The high pitched whistle
Of the mean great tailed grackle
Pierces the darkness.

Friday, December 29, 2017

The most dramatic event that I experienced this year was the face plant I did exactly three months ago. I’m still, I hope, recovering from that accident. Remarkably, outside of a small scar above my upper lip, my appearance wasn’t permanently affected. However, I do have a lump under my nose and my right sinus’ shape has changed so that I do have difficulty breathing through it and I’m blowing my nose much more frequently and with greater difficulty. Admittedly minor annoyances considering I could’ve broken my neck, but still …

Hopefully, to aid in preventing an accident like that from occurring again, I am resolved to learn two bike handling skills that I should’ve picked up long ago; a bunny hop and a track stand.

The roads here and in Southern California are worn enough and strewn with enough obstacles that a reliable bunny hop would provide a much more viable option as opposed to always relying on hard breaking or a dangerous swerve maneuver.

A decent track stand would’ve allowed me to stay in my cleats as opposed to dismounting then fumbling to re-engage at sometimes disadvantageous locations or inopportune moments.

Cycling is still too enjoyable to be afraid to mount up because I’ve been too lazy to learn a few essential skills.