Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Mostly my wife and I. Did I mention our anniversary is coming up? -ASG *Edit: Thanks to a Word upload glitch, I had to repost this to get it to share on my other networks. Sorry if you received two … Continue reading →

Physics will break your foot

This is a random post. So read it.

Mother’s Day weekend came and went without much fanfare as far as all of my mothers/grandmothers/mothers-to-be were concerned. Good food, good family, what can I say- another successful holiday for the Gibson duo.

Sort of.

Angela was running a trail race duathlon at Tribble Mill (courtesy of Dirty Spokes) with my dad. Her portion was two 2.8 mile legs with my dad biking an 8 mile leg in between. They simply had to finish the race, in any place, to take 2^nd place overall in the points standing.

As Angela started off things were looking good. I took my usual place as designated stuff holder somewhere near the end of the first leg, in prime position to shoot an action shot of the rapid runner. She came trotting by and yelled “Did you hear the news yet?” Hmmmmm . . . an odd thing to say. I stood there with what I imagine to be a dopey look on my face, shaking my head “no”.

That is not a look of pleasure.

I later learned that things didn’t go so well around mile one, and she apparently told one of the event workers to radio the news down to the finish line. I never got the message, but here is the even as I imagine it:

Angela- “I am crusin’ here! Downhills are easy!”

Physics- “I’m gonna break your metatarsil bro. You done running. BOOM. There it goes!”

Angela- “Nah bro. I’ma go like 1.8 miles more.”

Physics- “Pssshh, whatevs.”**

AND SHE DID.

Yes, 1.8 miles after breaking her foot she crossed the first leg finish line. As my dad tore off on his bike she said “Hmmm . . . I think I rolled my ankle.”

Dad tearin’ off on his bike.

Two days, an X-ray, and an air-cast later she has the bragging rights to say she ran two miles on a broken foot. Take that physics!

By the way, my dad finished his biking leg to discover he would have to run the last leg in order for the both of them to qualify. So, in the only footwear he had at the time, he ran the last 2.8 miles in a pair of Keen sandals. Double team work dedication. And they got 2nd place.

Winning!
Left- Brother and Stepmom
Right- Wifey and Dad
Center- Idk

Thanks for reading.

**I particularly love the imagined exchange above because Angela is a teacher and would never say “I’ma go” anywhere.

-ASG

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Finally, an easy one. With my relatively cheap Nikon Coolpix I have found it all too easy to take unfocused photos. So here you go. This one is from a family trip to Dauphin Island at Fort Gaines. We were … Continue reading →

Anywhere University

Stupid kids. . . are they supposed to be dressed like that? Why is everyone wearing wayfarers . . . with straps? I just want to go somewhere not overflowing with drunk teenagers.

I sound like an old man here. What gives? I’m 25 for crying out loud! Am I stuck in some sort of alternate universe where 25 is old? Oh wait . . . I live in a college town.

wayfarers . . . I hate these things.

Let’s get nerdy with it for a second- if you were going to put the ages of people in my town into a distribution, it would be bimodal (it would look like a camel with two humps), peaking at about 20 years old (for the college students) and again at about 50 (for the professors). And I am somewhere in between, stuck in the doldrums of ‘emerging adulthood’.

Let’s list off the things that put me in the minority here:

1. I work
2. I have a degree (actually two)
3. I’m married (this is where people starting looking at me weird)
4. I don’t drink (meaning I don’t drink more than two beers at any given event- this is when they are shocked)
5. I drive. A vehicle. With four wheels (not a scooter). And I own said vehicle.
6. I go to bed by 10pm. On Saturdays.

My wife and I recently went to a cycling event called Twilight Criterium here in Athens. It’s a two-day event, with day one full of fun events like a chariot race, concerts, and qualifying races, and day two for the actual race, plus stuff like a 5k, bmx stunts, etc. We both enjoyed it. We went to dinner with two friends of ours then went downtown to watch the race. And that was the mistake- wanting to watch the race. Meaning, going to downtown and wanting to do something other than drink or be drunk. At one point Angela turned to me and said “Do you realize we are the oldest people within a 100 foot radius?” Yes, yes I did.

those blurs are the riders

I realize with my transition to Albany I’ll just be trading one college town for another. But in my mind there are two types of college towns- 1) A town that happens to have a college in it (i.e. Albany), or 2) A college that happens to have a town around it (University of Georgia). Based on my time here in Athens I have developed a list of signs to watch out for if you live in a type 2 college town:

1. This is a normal sight (pic of beer pong table)

this could easily be Milledge Ave

2. Wayfarers are in style. Even at night.
3. There’s that “really good” or “unique” pizza/Asian/Italian/Greek/Indian restaurant     (really good=open till 4am so you can eat when you’re drunk=varies from crappy to mediocre when sober)

gross. just gross.

4. There are lots of ‘cultural’ things to do (meaning you can watch student’s botch just about any classic work of art, music, or theatre)
5. There’s a good “music” scene consisting mostly of techno/dub step set to computer animations, terrible country, or stuff “too cutting edge to be categorized” (or even listened to, honesty)
6. There’s a local coffee shop that’s “better than Starbucks”

ok, not fair because it actually is better.

7. The only thing that outnumbers coffee shops are liquor stores
8. Everyone shops at the local co-op/Whole Foods, which translates to them avoiding eye contact with you when spotted in Wal-Mart
9. Everyone has a DSLR camera, and therefore is a professional photographer
10. You’ve talked yourself into thinking that writing a blog is cool (guilty!)

This is a pretty limited list, based on my own experiences. Anyone else have a similar experience? Let me know if there is anything I missed . . .

-ASG

Weekly Photo Challenge: Together

This gallery contains 5 photos.

So, in an effort to blog stuff more often I decided to do the post-a-week challenge. Well, it’s been a pretty slow week thus far so to ensure that I make the post-a-week deadline I am going the easy route- … Continue reading →

I don’t hate you, I’m just low maintenance

Let me list some characteristics of potential friend here, tell me what you think about someone like this, or if this reminds you of anyone:

1. Never calls you.
2. Is rarely on Facebook/Twitter/Google+, and never uses their chat functions.
3. Will respond to about 1 in 5 invites to ‘do something’ (1 in 10 if they’re online invites).
4. When asked what they like to do or if they like to go out, they respond with noncommittal “meh”.
5. Doesn’t fill you in on events in their life unless you explicitly ask about said event.

Doesn’t sound like much of a friend . . . but wait! What if these are also true:

1. When person finally calls you both pick up right where you left off.
2. When you do manage to connect on some social network the interactions seem very substantial.
3. Will randomly inform you of things they think you might like, right out of the blue, and you actually like said things.
4. When you’re in trouble this person is there for you, either in person or at least emotionally, no questions asked, no judgment.
5.  Somehow knows what has been up with you even though you don’t know what’s been up with them.

Ring any bells? Maybe an old college or high school buddy? Past work associate?

If so, let me be the first to congratulate you on having a low maintenance friend, or LMF.

You see, LMFs are a unique breed of friend. They’re like friendship camels.

Let me explain-most friends are like dogs or cats. With dogs, they are loyal, great companions, will do all kinds of stupid stuff with you just because they like hanging around you. However, their attention span is a tad short at times.  If you don’t put a certain baseline effort into the relationship the next thing you know there are holes all over your backyard, a hole under the fence, and the dog is out getting into all kinds of other mischief without you.

You're bored?

With cat friends you may care about them a lot, but it seems like the relationship is never quite equal. They come to you when they want to, no matter how much you call them. Sometimes they’ll come to you, but you tend to notice it’s when you have something they want. Otherwise they’re kinda indifferent to you, and if you don’t put in the work, they just mosey off and find something more comfortable for them.

Typical.

Not so with LMFs. Like camels, they’re in it for the long haul. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly large gaps of time that pass between the interactions. When they do finally connect with you it will be more than just a beer, it’ll be a talk about life, love, meaning, past, and futures. Also, they’re not afraid to cross the desert with you, to be there when you need them to be.

Long time no see.

I happen to know because I am an LMF, and I have mostly LMFs. Birds of a feather tend to flock together, I guess (couldn’t resist another animal analogy). I probably don’t call you much. I probably don’t Facebook you much. I probably don’t email you too much. But I’m there when it counts most, for sure.

So look kindly on your own LMFs- sometimes we tend to put people off with our aloof nature. Sometimes we look like party poopers, or stick-in-the-muds. Rest assured though, we probably think about you more than you would guess, and our memories with you are cherished treasures for sure.

*Dedicated to all the LMFs I know (you’ll probably read this, see you next year).

-ASG

Insert title here

I think I have a minor problem. I think my blog title may suck. Actually, I am sure it sucks.

I didn’t realize this when I created my blog with my friend Chris forever ago. At the time I was more concerned with figuring out how to use WordPress or even what the heck I would do with a blog once I had one. I am a proponent of letting creativity spontaneously arise, just letting things happen, and marveling at whatever patterns or creations emerge. The problem with that is sometimes nothing interesting happens. I think that’s what happened with my title. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike my username (zensouth) in any way. I just think that my title could be better than simply “zensouth’s blog”.

I guess you could call it title envy. The funny thing is, I am comparing myself to something that doesn’t exist yet- my wife’s blog. She’ll probably start one soon, and came to me with some of her potential blog titles. They were really good. Yet, in a moment of neuroticism I had the thought “Is my blog title that good?” at which point I had a mental hesitation. Hesitation, when you’re in a fit of neuroticism, is like poking a hole in a cracked dam – It only makes things worse.

I started thinking about what I want my blog title to capture. Well, I want it to capture what my blog is all about. So exactly what is this blog about? Well, a whole lotta nuthin’.

Really, it’s more like an online journal that my family can read, a random place for my opinions, and a way to keep people I know up to date on my soon to be far away life. Also, just for ramblings like this.

So I began to brainstorm names.

1. Extraordinary Ordinary (taken, dang it!)

2. Extraordinarily Ordinary (taken, dang it!)

3. Is that a PhD or a Mirage (God that sounds stupid, and everything isn’t always about my academics)

4. God that sounds stupid (okay, kinda cool, kinda hip in a self-deprecating way, but maybe a little to negativisitc.)

5. Don’t call me Andy (this has been kind of a running joke everywhere I have worked. Probably workable, I think. No worries that it is also an Andrew W.K. song.)

But why change? My blog is about nothing, and Zen is all about emptiness . . . so that kinda makes sense. I’m from the South, so that makes sense, hence my original username of zensouth. It’s all just kinda pointless.

I really am digging the “Don’t call me Andy” title though. Maybe with the tagline of just “zensouth’s blog”. Hmmm . . . don’t be surprised if that changes in the near future.

*This post is what happens when you have a client cancel and  an extra 15 minutes to waste.

-ASG