Fozzy.Org

Starting to increase my running distance

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:31:52 Z

At the end of February, I decided to do something crazy and sign up for the very first Seattle Rock’n Roll Marathon. An idea that even I think is crazy, but I’m going to try for it anyway. I admit that I am probably a little bit behind on my training, but I think it will all work out. I am hoping that it would stop occasionally snowing here in Seattle. That would really help motivate me to run more often.

I wouldn’t say that all out running is even close to a favorite activity, but the thought of accomplishing a marathon sounds cool. And with a live band every mile, I think this is one of the only ways I’m going to do it.

So, today I ran 5.6 miles for the second time. This time went much better than my first time last week. I don’t hurt nearly as much and I beat my time by a good amount. I did the 5.6 (twice around the inner Green Lake track) in 50 minutes, which is an 8min 56sec mile average. I think I may do 5.6 one more time and then shoot for a longer run. Either 8.4 or 11.2.

If anyone else is training for a half or full marathon and would like to go running sometime. Let me know.

Here’s to the insanity!

--Fozzy

Happy New Year! A Reflection on 2008 and a Welcoming of 2009!

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:51:52 Z

I'm sitting in my living room with most of the lights off, the fireplace going, and a nice view of the snow falling on my street. Seems like a good time to come back to my little blog and say hello.

First off, happy new year everyone! I can safely say that I am glad that 2008 is over, and what was surprising to me, was that many people I know share the same sentiments. Overall, 2008 wasn't horrible, but was quite the roller coaster. Through its ups and downs, I'd say that for the most part, everything has a way of working itself out and 2008 will have a net gain. A lot of learning and adjusting.

2008 started off with my dad being admitted to the hospital for a bursted appendix. A bit scary, and definitely not fun, but he made it out ok and fully recovered. But, instead of focusing on some of the more difficult parts of 2008, I'll just highlight a few of the good things.

Soon after my dad got out of the hospital, I moved into Seattle (from Redmond). Something I was due to do for many years i'd have to say. In moving to Seattle, I have taken on a bunch of lifestyle changes. I take the bus to work most days (as well as into the city and other places). I get up much earlier than I used to. Many of my friends know me as someone who wakes up at 11am, well, not usually anymore... It's not rare to see that i'm up at 8am or so now.

Now that I live in Seattle, my home is a bit more central to life. Because of this, I have been able to make a bunch of healthy lifestyle changes. I eat meals at home much more, which is both cheaper, healthier, and often more fun (I used to love to cook and now get to rediscover that joy). I also live fairly close to a wonderful area to go running, so i have been doing that often. I try to run 2 to 3 times a week. During the summer, i take the kayak out for a paddle around the lake a couple times a week as well.

I challenged myself in 2008 to not be so planned out. I was finding that year after year, there were so many things I liked to do, that I would have something going on almost every night of the week. That's not completely terrible, but i actually like to have room to be spontaneous and be able to do what ever is going on, or how i feel that day. As of now, the only thing I have planned (since the beginning of summer) is volleyball 2 times a week. As well as allowing me that spontaneous nature that I love, it has also allowed me to have a much easier time to spend with friends.

In June of 2008, after 8.5 years, I performed my last show with Emerald City Swing (ECS). It wasn't the easiest decision to make, but one that I am glad that I did. I loved writing and performing with ECS, but it has been nice to have that time back to focus on new things. Am I done writing and/or performing? Hell no! Taking a little break, yes, but I hope to have something in the works some day in the future. I would love to bring back Haiku Trout (sketch comedy) or some incarnation of that in the future. I've also toyed with writing my very own show. When might this happen? Don't know, I just know that it will at some point.

One benefit of the new lifestyle is that i have managed to lose just over 30 pounds since moving to Seattle. While I was never really unhappy with myself, it is nice to be making strides at leading a healthier life. Having activities (running, kayaking, volleyball, dancing, etc) that I enjoy (rather than forcing myself to go to the gym) and eating healthier, but not "dieting", has made this possible. One of my food tricks that has helped me is that when I feel a sweet tooth coming on, I go for a latte instead. I love coffee, and don't like sugar in it. So, really it is just a nice glass of milk :).

In some ways, I'm still processing and learning from all of the changes and everything that happened in 2008. One of the things that I know I can take away (and this is no surprise, really) is that I have a wonderful family and a wonderful group of friends. Now, if you don't mind me getting a little sentimental here: family and friends are truly the real treasures in life, and I am ever so thankful for you all. I am looking forward to many more adventures and fun with you in this new year of 2009.

Happy New Year!

Fozzy

The Frozen Tundra

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:38:45 Z

Nothing like a seahawks game in the snow!

-Fozzy
Sent using my Windows Mobile Smartphone.

Happy Turkey Day!

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:11:00 Z

Ah yes. The fried turkey. Good stuff.

I hope everyone has a great turkey day!
Fozzy

Down in enemy teritory

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:25:27 Z

My first Seahawk away game. I'm down in enemy teritory. Going to be a fun day! Hope the hawks show up and win!

4 Softies and a Pizza Guy

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:44:44 Z

By now, many of you have seen the hit video "P-D-C 2008" by 4 Softies and a Pizza Guy. It is true, I was asked to be in a boy band. It isn't often where one has the opportunity to show that they have no shame and like to have fun. It's also nice to take a little break from my everyday job and have some fun with and for the company.

4 Softies and a Pizza Guy

The video was entirely shot in one day (basically 10am - 3:30pm on Monday) and then edited and released by Thursday of the same week. Everyone involved did a great job! It's really fun to see the video spread from site to site and read the comments on them as well, both good and bad :). As with most artistic adventures, getting a reaction is often more important than if someone actually likes it. So, I'll claim success by that measure :).

While the video shows that we have fun here at Microsoft, it does help to promote PDC, Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference.

If you haven't checked out the video yet or want to read up on it, here are a few of the sites that I have seen mention it:
Wired
Engadget
I started something
Gizmodo
ars technica
MSDN's Channel 8
MSDN's Channel 9
On10.net

Don't forget to become a fan of the band! :)

-- Fozzy

Rally Cross Part Deux and "A Car Hits the Bus"

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:20:06 Z

Last Sunday I got to go with La' Akea to another rally cross. This time it was down in Hillsboro, Or, which isn't too far from Beaverton, so I was familiar with the area.

We got up way early... early enough that I was able to take this photo of the sunrise reflecting off of both her passenger window and side mirror while driving down to Hillsboro.

The race was fun. I got to ride in La' Akea's car a good number of times (8 maybe?) as well as help manage the course. It was a lot of fun. I have to say, I am itching to give it a try now. I have a couple of possibilities of how to give it a try in the next month or so. Hope something works out!

In other news, I decided to take a half day off of work yesterday. Because I wanted to leave at 2:30, I had to take the 545 bus home. No prob... On the way home, I'm listening to my music and reading news on my phone and all of a sudden i feel a small jolt and then we sway... We got hit by a car. obviously not too hard, and I didn't even see any of it happen. Supposedly someone in a white car cut off a girl in another car and she swerved to avoid being hit, only right into our bus. Everyone seemed to be ok. The guy in the white car took off and I don't think anyone got his license plate. All-in-all it was only an additional 30 minutes or so, but it was a bummer watching the later 545 buses pass us while we were waiting along side the side of the freeway. Oh well... so much for getting off real early. but at least no one was hurt.

-- Fozzy

Awesome Error Message

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:33:29 Z

I was at Home Depot today buying some more potting soil and I went through the self-checkout. Halfway through the process, the following error message popped up on the screen:

Why can't we have more error messages like that? :)

POS is actually a legit term (Point of Sale) for this application, but being that this message interrupted my paying for my dirt I thought of a quite different meaning for POS :)

Off to enjoy more sun!

Fozzy

At least I did the right thing

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:56:40 Z

For a guy who used to wake up at noon, I've done quite a bit this morning already. Last night I went to Brouwer's with a few friends. If you haven't been, this is a great Belgian pub in Fremont that has great beer and food. The Belgian beers on tap is probably the best part (for me at least).

So, I drove my friend there and parked in a loading zone... nice parking spot. I even noted that the next day was Sunday, just in case I decided to leave my car there. As my friends and I explored the Belgian culture, it was very apparent that I was not going to be driving home. No problem because I got a great spot! We cabbed it home and i just planned on taking the bus back to Fremont in the morning. Sweet! I love living in Seattle. That wouldn't have been an option 6 months ago.

I woke up at 9am, bright eyed and bushy tailed and hopped on a bus to Fremont. As I get off the bus, I reach into my pocket and realize i brought the wrong set of keys (i have a light set for bus riding and know i don't need to bring the car keys). arg! duh, i needed my car keys. At this point, i figure, nice way to start out my morning, but no big deal. It is a beautiful sunny day, and so what if i have to ride the bus BACK to my house and then BACK to Fremont? That is, until i look ahead and realize that the Fremont sunday street market is going on and there is a tent where my car was parked. Doh!

I instantly knew that my car was impounded. Sunday continues to get better. But hey, it's beautiful outside! So, i bus back and have my friend take me to pick up my car.

At least last night was a ton of fun, because it became a bit more expensive that I was prepared for :) (although much much cheaper in many ways than any other alternative).

And besides, it's a beautiful day out and it isn't even noon yet. I think I'm going to go kayaking!

Happy Summer!

Fozzy

VBall at Alki

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:47:46 Z

I took this photo not too long after our last game at Alki beach. I was in a bit of a grumpy mood before we came to play vball, but as usual, the second i hit the sand and got ready to play, i was as happy as a clam (how happy do clams get anyway?).

I love Seattle summers!

-Fozzy

I love summer

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:17:28 Z

Yeah, that is pretty much a given. Although, I think I am taking the most advantage of summer this year than i have any other year. Almost every day I am either running, kayaking, both, or playing vball. On top of that, i've even gone dancing a few times (twice last week alone!).

Getting the Kayak membership has been a great deal already. I think I've been about 5 times already. Most times I run there (about 1 mile), get on the kayak and kayak around the lake for about 3 miles, and then run back (same 1 mile). It's nice knowing that i can switch it up anytime and run the longer way around the lake or whatever.

What makes me even happier is being on the beach playing VBall. Absolutely loving that. I'm on two different teams in two leagues and both are fun. We have had some great games so far. The ones where you really don't know who is going to come out the winner or not. Those are always great games.

And then my little herb garden is doing mostly pretty well. The cilantro is doing pretty well (back left), although i lost one of my plants. The Thyme (the one in front) is doing ok, a little sparse, but growing. The chives (right of the cilantro) is doing well, although they are still on the thin side but pretty tasty. The middle one above is my oregano. That one is just flourishing. I'm going to have to go look up a recipe for homemade pasta sauce. In front of the oregano is the basil. It had a slow start, but is doing well now. And in the back in the shadow is my rosemary. It's taking its sweet time to grow, but is starting... only 2 of the plants are growing... oh well. and the mint... well, i think the snails got to it before it matured and thus there is no mint. I'll have to try again.

I've had some success with my flowers, the best being the ones pictured in front there. You can see another type of flower in the back as well. I think next time i'll have to use bigger pots.

I think i'll start some new plants inside again soon. not sure how they will grow since they will be a bit out of their season, but might as well try. It's been a fun little hobby. everything i've grown so far has come from seeds.

Anyway, that's it from me for now. See you soon and maybe around the lake!

-- Fozzy

The Little Things

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:23:38 Z

One of the best parts of summer for me, aside from the beautiful weather and being outside, is that my life seems to get pretty simple. No big plans and no huge projects. Just summer. In fact the only activities that I have planned are my 2 beach volleyball leagues. Being out on the beach and playing vball makes me extremely happy. Sure, I still have work, but that is a constant.

During the rest of the year, I tend to over plan my time (although, now that I am no longer on ECS, I hope to avoid that next year), but not the summer. I may still appear busy, but most of the things I do aren't reoccurring plans and are often planned in short notice. It's really nice.

So, as summer finally approaches, I am looking forward to spontaneous adventures with friends and just doing what I feel like.

I'd love to dabble with WiMo again, finish all of my video projects that I currently have, and maybe even just sit outside and read!

A new hobby of mine is my little garden. It is nothing special, but it is pretty rewarding to see that I have some herbs and even some flowers starting to bloom. I started all of them from seeds.

The cilantro is doing the best, but the chives and thyme are doing decently as well. I'm hoping that the basil, rosemary, mint, and oregano starts to take off soon, but so far, it has been a great little hobby. Time to start cooking with the cilantro!

Another sign that i have time is that i'm back to writing on my blog, so I'll see ya soon!

-- Fozzy

Another Chapter Completed

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:00:21 Z

Last night was the closing night for Murder at the Ball, which was also my last show with ECS. After 8.5 years on the team, I have decided that it is time to move on to new challenges and ideas. I really love ECS, and this decision was not an easy one to make. It has been an incredible ride: 8 shows, a workshop, countless gigs and competitions, I even got to perform at a halftime show during a Seahawks game, but the most memorable have been all of the friendships that I have made throughout the years. Thank you to all of the current and past "ECSers" for making these past 8.5 years so special for me.

I'm sure it will be a decent adjustment to not be on ECS, but while there is nostalgia and some sadness in leaving, I am looking forward to new endeavors. I'm looking forward to focusing a bit more on sketch comedy as well as another little side project that is stirring in the pot right now. And who knows? Maybe I'll even write my own show some day! :) One thing I do know is that I don't think this will be the last time that I will get to perform in front of an audience. At least, that is the hope :).

I'm also looking forward to enjoying some time off. I've got two volleyball leagues that start up, I've enjoyed going on frequent runs around Green Lake and now I'll get to do some paddling as well. I'm even thinking of doing the Seafair sprint triathlon. Most of all, I'm looking forward to hanging out with friends.

I know I keep saying it, but 2008 has definitely been a year of change for me. Change that I am learning to welcome with open arms.

-- Fozzy

Go ECS! Go Sun!

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:13:22 Z

This weekend was the opening of my show with ECS and it was GREAT! 2 great audiences and tons of fun. If you haven't had a chance to see our show, go buy tickets now! there is a good chance that it will sell out next weekend. I'm having a ton of fun in this year's show. There is a lot more room for improv and very little quick changes for very few people. I think we struck another nice balance of humor and dances as well.

So, two shows down and now it is Sunday. At this point, all of the work for the show has been done. Not too much left to do but rinse and repeat! I love this time... still get to perform, but no more of the stress of getting the show to "take off". It also just so happened to be sunny today as well. So, I went for a run to the Green Lake boat house, took out a kayak and kayaked around the lake and then went for a bit of a walk, then ran back. Felt really good... It was so nice to paddle around the lake and at times just sit there and float in the middle. Should be a good summer!

I'm looking forward to lots of play-time with my friends now that I'm pretty much done with the show. Hope to see you all soon!

-- Fozzy

Two weeks until show time!

Sat, 31 May 2008 22:50:25 Z

Another year, another show! I can't believe this is going to be my 8th show with ECS. I'm looking forward to performing. Last week, we performed at Folk-Life. It had been awhile since I had last performed and it was nice to remember how much fun it is.

I'm sure I'll be super busy helping to put the finishing touches on our show these next two weeks. Choreography to clean, scripts to flush out, and other production tasks. It will undoubtedly be another fun and wacky show. In fact, you should go check it out! Tickets are only $10. You can even buy them online!

In other news, I have a new timing device. It is called the Kitty-Sundial. Basically, on sunny mornings, I can see the kitties following the patch of sunlight as it moves through my bedroom. I think I'll have to get a time-lapse photo of it someday.

more later,

-- Fozzy

Crazy Weekend! (Rallycross, NOFX, Robin Williams)

Mon, 12 May 2008 08:12:29 Z

So, around this time of year, I tend to get incredibly busy. Work always seems to be busy and then there is the ECS show. Then there are weekends like this past weekend where I feel like I did enough things for 3 weekends. But hey, it's all good.

Saturday, I was invited by my friend La' Akea to my first Rallycross race and I even got to ride in her car as a passenger during the races! Other than playing a rallycross video game a long time ago, I hadn't had too much exposure to this sport, so it was a completely new experience and way fun, but more on that in a bit. Afterwards, I headed over the Pike's Brewery for my friend Adam's birthday dinner. Then after dinner (as if that wasn't enough to do in one day) I saw NOFX and No Use for a Name. Great show! I was tired, but it was still lots of fun. NOFX played a VERY high energy set of tunes. Good stuff!

Sunday was much more kick back. The real exciting event was the fact that I was able to grab a ticket to see Robin Williams at the Showbox. While dubbed, "Working on material", it was definitely a crack-up. He performed for just about 2 hours straight (maybe about 1 hour 45 minutes)!

So, back to the rallycross. The courses were fairly short and took anywhere from 40 to 55 seconds to finish. Each driver ran each course 4 times and there were 2 coursed made up for that day. La' Akea had 3 drivers (including herself) driving her car and I got to be a passenger for each run! Yeah! I got bumped in the car 24 times that day.

The cars may reach speeds of 45 mph during the race, but that doesn't mean it isn't exciting. At first I thought that I had to wear a helmet just in case we wrecked, but oh no... I got thrown around the car like an old shoe in a clothing dryer. We skidded around, bounced as we hit dips in the track, and at one point I thought the car was going to roll (but pretty sure that wasn't going to happen) as we skidded around a tight turn.

I only got one picture of La' Akea's car at the rally (left), but she sent me a pic of her car from another rally (right).

Want to get a small (and jumpy, maybe slightly nauseating) taste of what it was like? Check out some of the videos I took.

When not riding in the car, we worked the track, resetting cones, etc. It was fun to be in the middle of the action. While there, I snapped a few photos:

One of La' Akea's friends that went with us is a mechanic on a nation Rallycross team. We got a quick tour of their trucks that travel from race to race. Each semi is a full on traveling mechanic shop for fixing the rally car that it tows behind it.

After the race, the woman organizing it invited me to come back and even asked if I was interested in driving. I'm not sure about that one right now... Maybe I'll give it a try someday, can't say my car would be good for it. I'd probably roll it, and that would not be a good thing.

Ciao for now!
--Fozzy

A walk around Green Lake

Sat, 03 May 2008 04:26:26 Z

The weather in Seattle has been a bit weird this year. We've had a good share of rain and we even had snow in April. I think we've also had a fairly decent amount of sunny days, many of which have been on a weekend.

Today was a bit on the chilly side, but was still looking like a nice day, so I went for a walk around Green Lake and brought my camera this time. I can't say that I got any one photo that is noteworthy, but it was a nice walk.

This is where the main fields are. You can see the community center on the right and one of the baseball diamonds on the left.

there are walkways and paths that go around the lake and go right up to the water.

It was a bit chilly, but you'll always see people out. Seeing people out there make you want to be out there.

There are a few docs and the sun was trying its best to pierce through the clouds and show itself through the trees.

These were more on the north end of the lake. Trees are in blossom right now.

Even the little critters like it here

And if I actually remember to call them during the day, I'll register to be a member of the Seattle Canoe and Kayak club so that I can take the boats out onto the water :)

Well, that's a brief tour of my walk today. If you ever want to take a stroll or go for a run, let me know.

-- Fozzy

Cirque Du Soleil: Corteo

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:48:24 Z

Cirque Du Soleil was back in town and at Marymoor park in Redmond. First off, it was fun to go to Redmond to see the show now that I live in Seattle. The advantage was that we were able to get into the park and park without traffic as well as leave the park without traffic because I knew of the back way out of Marymoor.

The show was really good... I've seen 4 Cirque Du Soleil shows so far (all when they toured to Seattle... going have to start seeing the ones in Vegas) and I think this was has all out entertained me the most consistently. This show didn't have anything that was leagues above or below the rest in awe-factor, but the way that they tied things together, used humor, played with the audience, and just had everything integrated with each other was very pleasing. Nothing went too long, so I never found myself ready to move on to the next stunt. And of course, there were some pretty amazing acts.

Any time you mix robots and rubber chickens (I'll leave it at that) in a show, you are definitely going to get a hoorah from me! :) Yes, there were robots and rubber chickens.

I love how Cirque pays attention to the details of the show. There will be an act going, and they will have performers who are probably spotting, still performing and playing with the audience or interacting with the main performers at the time. They way they strike props, work the set into show is a lot of fun.

Anyway, if you have a chance to go see Corteo, go see it. It's a lot of fun!

-- Fozzy

Updates are few and far between

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:35:49 Z

There's a difference between wanting to do something and being able to do something. And that is why I haven't really been keeping this blog up-to-date. But, i have a few minutes and figured I'd say hi to the world (or the few that might actually read my personal blog :) ).

2008 continues to be a year of change for me. Earlier this year, I moved to Seattle. I am absolutely loving it. My whole schedule has even changed... Get this: I wake up most mornings at 8:30am now! (and the mornings i haven't it's been no later than 10am). It's amazing what some sunlight (now that i have more light in my bedroom) and taking the bus has done for my schedule. My new place is near Green Lake, so if you happen to be in the area, give me a call.

WiMo and I got published in a book. It is the Microsoft Press book called Programming Microsoft Robotics Studio. I'm on page 183, it's pretty darn cool to have been included. As for working on WiMo, i haven't had much time for that either, but I hope to get going on some new WiMo projects soon.

Well, I need to go get a few things done that I'm behind on (ECS photos, etc)... maybe I'll post another update soon.

-- Fozzy

I'm a busy dude

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:44:25 Z

Just a quick update... For all of the people who I haven't seen or even chatted with in awhile, yes I am still alive... I've been nestled in my little hermit shell for the past month and hope to pop my head out again in another week.

I went to lunch with 2 friends and Amy today. Pretty much the only "social" thing I did (and will do) all weekend. I went into the lunch kind of out of it (but in good spirits, maybe a little tired) and left the lunch very energized, lively and happy. Seeing friends and being social gives me energy :)

So, what's been keeping me so busy lately? Well, I moved to Seattle for one thing, so there's that whole moving thing... Then there is the fixing up of the old condo and then that thing I call my day job. At least I enjoy my job and the work I am doing on the condo. But I'm ready for a break and to start socializing again... Just have to get through this next week :)

Living in Seattle has been great so far, although I have to admit I haven't been able to truly enjoy it yet. Once I get through the above, I'll be able to just walk around my community and be.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi... I do hope to see everyone soon :) back inside my little hermit shell I go...

-- Fozzy

Fozzy's Links

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 07:29:01 Z

My Current Projects

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 05:00:14 Z

Bands I've Seen Live (Adding them as i have time)

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 08:47:49 Z