Keeneland

My wife was out of town this weekend to attend a homeschooling conference. While she was out, I got some great weather and lots of time to spend with my three boys. We're new to the area, so I really don't know the things to do in town, but I do know that the horse races are on at Keeneland for the month of April (and October, but we haven't been here for an October yet).

So we walked to the bus stop and caught the bus to Keeneland for a day at the races. Actually, I just thought it would be fun to let the boys see the horses.

In many ways the races were just as stereotyped, but in other ways I was shocked. I had imagined Keeneland as a place of fancy dresses, big weird looking hats and money. All those things were true. Most people were dressed up. I don't know how to explain it. I dress up on occasion, as does my wife, but this was different. Lots of pastel colors, lots of bow ties and lots of women in dresses that didn't require a lot of material. It wasn't formal wear. It wasn't something you would see at church or a wedding. It was different. Maybe I could just call it 'uppity casual' except that the people wearing it seemed more like they were pretending to be uppity than actually having money.

I think this idea of people pretending to be uppity was where my shock came in. I expected to be among rich people in a new social situation fancier than I'm used to. That is a part of horse racing. I've seen it in the movies and I expected it. What I didn't expect was the poor behavior. When I think of the wealthier parts of society, I think of people who have been well educated and know how to handle themselves in social situations. I think of sipping wine and having intellectual conversation. I think of well mannered people being entertained while they try to make a buck betting on horses.

In reality, what I found was the most foul mouthed, rudest group of spectators that I've been around. Don't misunderstand, hockey fans can certainly be drunk and rude, but it's almost expected. They also seem to be able to control their language around kids. I was expecting far more from the horse racing crowd. In my short time there, I had at least a half dozen people spill beer on me or my kids and I can't even begin to count the vulgarities being yelled in the area. Horse racing doesn't all take place in one location. First you have to walk to the ring where they show the horses and then you have to walk back to the track where the race occurs and then back to the ring in preparation for the next race. There was almost as much pushing and shoving as you would see at a European Football match (that's an exaggeration, but there was still no way to navigate with three kids). I was disappointed to say the least.

I wonder if it has always been that way. I wonder if the fan base of horse racing has always 'pre-gamed' in the parking lot to get drunk before the races. I wonder if there was a time when the wealthier people were really there hanging out in their fancy clothes rather than a bunch of college students who had been to Good Will and gotten outfitted in way too much pastel. Or has it always been a place where classes mix and get drunk together.

Anyway, the boys and I enjoyed one race and then we went and walked around in the barns. It was nice to see the grungy working folk. I felt better able to relate to them, although I doubt that I spoke the correct language. A gentleman invited the boys to pet his horse and we got to look at lots and lots of horses in their stalls. I think the barns were the best part of the day.

Then we caught the bus and returned home. It was a full day on the town for $7. $1 each way for the bus and $5 admission for the horse races. And I didn't have to fight traffic for a single moment.

pictures and video

If all goes well, I'll be providing a variety of photos of the family and recent home improvement projects.

Let's begin:This is the new play thing in the basement.
The Youngest, Jaguar.
Middle kid, he wasn't as photogenic as he usually is.
Mugwump, the oldest. He still needs a haircut.
It's amazing how much fun can be had with a box.

Now I've got some videos that FINALLY finished uploading onto youtube.

Blog posts

I haven't posted in awhile. I've been trying to think of things to post, but haven't been able to. I ride 3 miles to work every day and 3 miles home. It's an easy ride and the drivers are wonderful so it has been thus far uneventful.

I love my job and am engrossed in helping others. The only problem with my job is leaving. There is so much that I want to do that I have a hard time getting out the door. People want to work with me early in the morning and late in the evenings and I have a hard time saying 'no' (I'm getting better).

At home I have tons to do. We have cleared some small unhealthy trees to brighten the yard, dug three raised beds, planted a variety of fruit trees, berries and grapes and been otherwise occupied in the yard. I built my wife a pantry for the kitchen last weekend (all except the making it look nice part). I have lumber in the garage to build the boys a really cool play thing downstairs and I hope to complete that this weekend.

I have completely lost track of most of the blogs I used to follow and I now toy a few minutes a day with Facebook, although it doesn't do much for me.

Now comes the question. Am I not thinking of blog topics because I'm so busy and actively involved in life that I don't need to blog as a means of distracting myself? Or am I so consumed with life that I don't allow myself to think deeper about things that are really important to me and spend time dealing with those thoughts in a blog?

I think it's an interesting irony that I have overcome my inability to find a blog topic by blogging about why I can't find a topic. I'll stop now and post pictures soon. The three people that still read this only come for the pictures anyway.

Irony

I've already posted about the geographical irony here in Kentucky. I'm still riding my fixie and it's only 3 miles to work now. I still have more elevation change in that 3 miles than I did in my 10-12 mile commute in Utah. I figured it would be flat here, but I was sorely mistaken.

Today I recognized some more irony. The drivers here are great. Sure, the locals complain about them, but that's what locals do. In two full weeks of commuting and several long commutes from our apartment up north, I have not had a single encounter with a motorist. I haven't felt threatened, I haven't had anyone pass closely and I haven't been honked at. The commute here is through the downtown area, so there is a lot of traffic, wide multi-lane roads and fast speed limits. When I signal, cars yield and allow me to cross lanes of traffic to get into the turn lane. It's a great place to be on a bike, even though the roads are narrow and congested.

In Utah County, Utah (one of the most religiously oriented counties in the US) I was honked at at least weekly. I felt threatened every few days and had some serious close calls that were obvious intentional acts on the part of the motorist. I was intentionally shot by a shotgun while on a bike ride in Utah. I had things thrown at me on more than one occasion. Ironic that I feel safer on the roads of Kentucky than I did in Utah.

I realize that I've only been here a short time, but I feel that I've had enough interaction with cars that I've really been treated well considering the time period. I'm looking forward to some longer rides in nice weather.

Dilemma

We have a wonderful new home that we love. Sure, it has it's issues, but we love it. The boys are enjoying Kentucky. They say that it's creaky (that refers to our house), but I think they may mean that it's creeky (that refers to the abundance of creeks in the area).

The only thing that my middle son wanted with a house was an umbrella. We tried to explain that we would not be getting an umbrella with the house, but he didn't get it. So we look at this house and what do we find in the rafters of the garage but a large umbrella. So my son gets what he wanted out of a house. He got a house that came with an umbrella.

So here's the dilemma. We have a large oak tree in our yard. It's a beautiful tree. It shades the south side of the house which would be good for keeping it cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. I also like trees because they change CO2 into oxygen. That's important seeing that CO2 is now considered a pollutant. The dilemma arises in that this great tree also shades the vast majority of the back yard which we wanted for a garden area. So do we cut down the tree and grow others in different places and have a garden or do we keep the big tree and sacrifice our garden.

We have a little time to decide because I don't know how to cut down a big tree. Especially not a big tree in close proximity to houses... like mine.

misestimations

When we moved here I anticipated riding my bike every day. It is about 20 miles to work, which is not a super long bike ride. I generally don't have a problem averaging 20 mph if it isn't all uphill. I figured that I could do the commute in a little over an hour and it wouldn't be too bad.

Upon arrival I've determined that Kentucky is hilly. I am still commuting on my fixie and the hills are killing me. Not only do I get bogged down on the way up, but I can't spin fast enough on the way down the hills to go as fast as I should be going. In the end my 20 mile commute takes an hour and a half or more. If I take into account the time it takes to change clothes for the ride, it's nearly a two hour commitment each way to commute. That's more time that I'm willing to dedicated. I have a family that I'd really like to see. Commuting by bike transforms an 8 hour day into a 12 hour day. That's not OK.

The obvious solution would be to get a new bike. I've thought of that. I don't ride a fixed gear because it's a fad. In fact, I have the world's dorkiest fixed gear. I have the elegance and simplicity of a fixed gear with a lighting system powered by electricity generated from the front hub. I am considering getting a new bike, but I don't want to be rushed into it. I also want to have enough money to get what I want. My fixie was the perfect bike for my previous commute. The route was flat, the destination was a madhouse where I liked having a cheap bike that couldn't get too beat up, and I enjoy riding the bike. We are moving to the city soon, and I think my fixie may be a good choice again so I'm not getting rid of it yet. And since we're in the process of buying a house, I figure that a new bike purchase isn't a top priority.

I feel bad for misestimating. I really wish I didn't have to commute by car to work, but when I weight things out, the time with my family is more important.

P.S. Our house in Utah (the one we sold) closed yesterday and we're hoping to close on the house in Kentucky next week (the one we're buying). We are extremely excited about the house that we found and are looking forward to settling closer to work (2.8 miles instead of 20.7) a playground, a grocery store and everything else that we need.

Some things never change

I am really enjoying Kentucky. The people are great, I have never felt so welcomed anywhere I have lived. I have, however, noticed that somethings never change, no matter where you go.

Jokes about the weather have been the same almost everywhere I have lived. "You know what they say about Kentucky (or Colorado, or Utah...) if you don't like the weather, just stick around 10 minutes and it will change". This joke gets old, especially since the conversation already isn't going anywhere once you've started talking about the weather. You see, the weather changes everywhere and it changes frequently. That is just how things work. To be fair, I don't remember this being said in Washington or Oregon. That is probably because it would give people unrealistic hope that it would stop raining.

"Kentucky (and Colorado, and Utah, and Washington, and Oregon) has the worst drivers I have ever been around." I've seen grown-ups really argue about this. "People where I am from drive a lot worse than people where you are from". It's right up there with, "My dad can beat up your dad". Everywhere you go, some drivers are good and some drivers are bad. Everyone has moments of inattentiveness, some just have more than others (like those with cell phones surgically affixed to their heads). Sure some cities have more 'bad' drivers than other cities, but not every city is the worst. In fact, I would estimate that only one city has the worst drivers. (I make that estimate based on my understanding of superlatives used in the English language).

OK, I'm done venting about little inconsequential pet peeves that I have. If you can explain either of these things to me, please do. I'll be back to talk more about the house we're going to buy sometime this week... Things are looking good.