Done

I awoke to Boulder's first snow of the year this morning! Looks like that was about it though. Supposed to warm up again this weekend and into the first part of the week next week. Winter is coming though.

Patrick and I finally finished up and published the budget today. We decided to stay pretty late last night to try and get most of it done because we figured there would probably be something that didn't turn out right once we got the budget into Maggie aka Magnitude our new consolidation software. Boy were we right. We found out that our database wasn't properly distributing our facilities allocations like our accounting softwawre we have set up since moving to Maggie. We decided to call it quits last night around 10:30pm and wait till the morning to finish everything up. I came home and worked for another 2 hours trying to get our revenue all set up and worked out amongst intercompany and third party's. I was successful and headed to bed around 12:30am.

I was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday with a sore throat and knew I probably wasn't going to feel so well today. I ended up drinking a ton of green tea and honey this morning at work and started to feel better but things seem to be moving to my sinuses now.

Anywho I screwed around with the expense input into Maggie today and struggled for a while trying to match up all the intercompany and third party expenses but by 2pm I was successful with NO ERRORS! Only bad thing was that I now had to input the changes to the allocations that Patrick had been working on. However, I now knew how to find the errors and after a bit fiddling by just after 5pm the 2009 Budget was ready to published! I peaced out immediately. It was good to get home tonight and be able to clean up the kitchen and get the bike ready for my ride tomorrow morning with Greg, possibly his wife, John, and his friend.

Hopefully a good ride in the chilly clear mountain morning air will help clear out this nastiness that is hanging in my body. It hasn't been too bad and hopefully I can work it out without it getting to bad. Off to bed for this guy. It should be a nice peaceful weekend around here.

Challenge to be set

The last two weeks have been some what of a whirl wind at work. Patrick and I have been going hard on new consolidation software as well as working on many iterations of the 2009 Budget. I have definitely put in some hours over the last two weeks and the days seem to keep getting longer not shorter but I won't complain too much because we are getting somewhere with it all and I have been learning a lot. We should be wrapping the budget up hopefully tomorrow night and a bit into Friday if some things don't flow right into the new consolidation package on the first try.

In family news Reagan, Matt, Brayden, and Camden came out to visit for a long weekend last weekend. We had a good time hanging out though the weather wasn't perfect with a lot of wind. We ate well and spent quality time together and that is all that matters.

In personal news it sounds like Greg might come into the office tomorrow and we could be signing up for the BC Bike Race! He told me he is down to do it we just have to sign up and hopefully there is still a spot open. I purchased a new mountain bike from a guy at the bike shop I always go to. It was a steal and the fact that Robert my buddy at work will likely buy my old mountain bike makes it even more of a steal (though I will miss it with all the work I put into it this summer and simply the sentimental value). I put some good miles on the new bike last weekend and I super pleased with it. I kept the wheels off my old bike which were the big investment this year and I love them! I also sent Greg an email today about another race that is starting this week. It is called the La Ruta and it is in Costa Rica. Supposedly it is one of the hardest mountain bike races out there. It is 4 days 235 miles and 45,000 ft of vertical gain. The race goes from coast to coast through some miserable but also amazing terrain. We will see how the BC Race goes and this could be another event sometime down the road I might find myself getting into. But first things first. I will be sure to let you all know when we are officially signed up for the BC Race and it is game on.

I am starting to feel a bit of an itch for snowboarding but the weather has still been pretty nice down here on the Front Range (though I have only seen about 25 minutes of day light each day) so I am not pushing getting up into the mountains just yet. Sounds like Greg, John, a lady friend of John's, and I are going to do some mountain biking on Saturday down towards Morrison so that should be a good time. I am really looking forward to this weekend and finally having the first round of the budget done.

All for now. Hope everyone is well.

Well Hello

Not to much going on out here besides work. Been busy and frustrating at times but I have had a much bigger part in the budget process this year which has been pretty interesting. Patrick has been leaving much of the input and collection of data to me and he provides me with helpful analysis and things to look for. I am also continuing with the implementation of a new expense system though it has been slow with Concur being busy as well as myself. However, we will be into testing and production before the end of the month or early December hopefully.

Jennifer Jean Galardi aka Jennifer White will be out here this weekend with her husband Andy staying down in Denver with Andy's brother. It will be good as always to hang out with her for a few nights and catch up.

The weather is supposed to be spectacular out here this weekend so I am sure I will be out on the bikes in the morning before hanging out with Jen and Andy during the afternoons and nights. There is also some cyclo-cross going on this weekend here in Boulder if I remember correctly and I am hoping to catch a race. I haven't been to one yet but I hear they can be quite a riot.

One week from tonight Reagan, Matt, Brayden, and Camden will be out here and I CAN'T WAIT!!! I am so excited they are coming out here to hang out! Not to much else to ramble about. I am still awaiting a decision from Greg on whether or not he wants to do the BC Bike Race. I have been sending him emails daily pestering him. He is headed to Moab this weekend to ride and climb so hopefully he will come back with a decision. I just hope it isn't to late as I am sure registration is filling up quickly.

All for now.

A New Challenge is in the Making

OHHHHH BUDDDYYY!!!!!



So I'll start by saying nothing is set in stone and it is still pretty up in the air. However, I have a new challenge in my sights. What is it you ask? Well hold your horses I'm about to tell you. It something called the BC Bike Race. What is this you ask? Well thank you for asking. It is a 7 day Mountain Bike Stage Race from Victoria, British Columbia to Whistler, British Columbia.

The race is two or four man teams which must start and finish together each day. In my case I would be riding with my friend Greg from work. He brought up the idea a few weeks ago while we were riding Heil and Hall Ranch. He was in Whistler this past summer downhilling on vacation with his wife and got the itch for the race. He is a great mountain biker and a shit ton of fun to hang out with. I told him it would probably be a year or two till I could go because it is quite expensive but then yesterday I sent him an article about a 5 day mountain bike stage race that is being put together for this coming summer in Breckenridge and he sent me a link for the BC race. I read about it and immediately fell in love with the thought of it. I decided there is plenty of time for me to get the funds for it and it would be the experience of a life time. Not very often are you going to meet up with someone who wants to throw down big bucks for a 7 days suffer fest in beautiful scenery, with ferry rides, and some of the best singletrack around (at least from what I hear).

The race is all inclusive. You get breakfast, aid stations, and dinner every night as well as first class treatment. They move your bags and set up your tent every night so all you have to do is ride, eat, and sleep. There are massages each day for a small fee, showers, and of course hundreds of bikers to hang out with. I can only imagine there are some awesome conversations after a full day of riding on unbelievable trails with amazing scenery.

Anyway I think the tables have turned and now that it is a reality on my end it is going to take some coaxing to get Greg to actually sign up for it. I told him he needs to step up or shut his face and quit talking about it. So for now we'll see what happens!

Check it out here... http://www.bcbikerace.com

Still Bikin

So no boarding this weekend. People backed out as expected because of the crowds and well there really isn't much snow up there. People are just jonzin to go. People like me especially after seeing Teton Gravity Research's new film "Under the Influence." The opening line this guy names Sage skied was absolutely the most insane thing I have ever seen. How he even stayed on this pitch was mind boggling. Great Flick!

Tomorrow I'm back on the mountain bike and pretty freakin excited about it. It is supposed to be super nice so Greg, Tim, and possibly my boss Patrick and I are going to go down to Centennial Cone near Golden to rip about 14 miles of trail. Should be a killer time as always. I have a lot of pent up energy from work this week so I am ready to blow myself apart as I am sure I will. Other than that prolly a relaxing weekend and other bike ride on Sunday along with sitting down and filling out my mail in ballot at some point as well.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Only a few more weeks until Reagan, Matt, Brayden, and Camden come out to see me and hang out for a long weekend!!! I'm STOKED!

Boardin come early!

Just got news that A-Basin opens Wednesday and some friends are going on Saturday! Looks like I could hit the slopes sooner than I thought. Though there will probably be more beer than boarding considering it will be one run, HUGE lift lines, and completely packed!

Time's flyin

Well lets see folks. The trip to Portland was fantastic. I spent some great quality time with Jason and Shelly and they showed me a good time as always. My flight ended up being delayed for quite a while but Jason and Shelly were both there to greet me with smiling faces when I finally landed in Portland. We headed back downtown to their place parked the car and headed straight to Bridgeport Brewery for some delicious beer and pizza. We just hung out that night and played with Poncho (Sarah's cat Jason and Shelly are watching) and then headed to bed.

The next morning Jason and I dropped Shelly off at the Hotel downtown that Sarah and all of her ladies were getting ready at and Jason and I then headed out for some breakfast at the Stepping Stone. It was absolutely FANTASTIC! I had a chicken fried omelet covered in gravy and cheese! We had a nice little table outside and enjoyed some coffee and had some good conversation. We then headed back to the place and got ready for the wedding out on Saunie Island. The wedding took place at a farm out on the island under a big oak tree. The reception was held there as well and everything went perfectly. I got to see Sarah for a short bit wished her the best and then headed back downtown with Shelly and Jason for some dinner and then back to their place to hang out.

We got up in the morning had coffee and breakfast at their place and then they took me off to the airport to fly back. The weather was splendid and Portland is so much fun to visit especially when you have time with such great people.

It was then back to work all week keeping busy but getting on the bike for a few rides however the days are getting shorter and I am running out of time at night to ride. Looks like I will have to start putting the trainer to use during the weeks here before long.

It was a big week for mountain biking around Boulder as well as a new connector trail opened which connects Heil and Hall Ranch which are two big places to ride around here. The connector creates a 55 mile ride I can complete out the door of my apartment. It does include some time on the road but over half of it is on trail. My buddy Greg, his friend John, another guy Sean, and I all got out early Saturday morning to ride the the whole trek for the first time. We started at the parking lot of Heil Ranch so the total ride was about 33-34 miles. The weather was perfect. A bit over cast but we didn't mind as it kept the heat down. We all ended up pretty worked afterward but it was a blast and that ride is going to be my home training ground for my plans to do several endurance races next year. There isn't any horrible amount of climbing (although I don't consider any amount of climbing horrible :) ) but the power outputs on the ride are definitely difficult.

Left to right. Sean, Greg, John, and I at the top of Hall Ranch


Me, John, and Greg at the start of the connector Picture Rock Trail.


Retro Ride.


Work is pretty nasty busy and today already started out with a pretty long day with a few more to go. I am already looking forward to the weekend. Though the days may be long work is making the days go by quickly so I can't complain. Hope everyone is well.