Walter

In the south, it is very common for funerals to have a automobile procession. There is a caravan of cars that drive from the funeral home to the cemetery, or wherever they go after the funeral home, I'm not really sure. There is a police or security escort and a big line of cars. Out of respect all cars, in both directions pull over, similar to if an ambulance or police car were coming. This is polite, but can be quite frustrating for someone driving somewhere that doesn't want to take a 4 minute break. Ignoring the courtesy pull over can result in offending the funeral goers, so much as to make them say mean things out of their window to you.

A few days ago a friend of mine from the west coast got to witness this southern custom. He was equally confused and frustrated as a was the first time I saw this. Maybe this speaks of non-southern culture, we're not nice or in too much of a hurry, so much that we can't pay homage to someone's life passing away or the pain of their friends and family. I don't buy it and northerners and west coasters shouldn't be condemned for not tolerating this.

When I moved to Nashville I asked a co-worker what was the deal with this tradition. Walter was an old salty black guy in his late fifties. Without much thought, he answered, (think in a raspy southern voice with a gold tooth) "Cause we have so many friends."

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The holidays are great. People get together. Enjoy each other, eat, drink, get and give gifts. After Thanksgiving, Christmas and Chanukah it is easy to be over all the holiday cheer. I usually am by the middle of December. I am usually refueled by December 31. As much or more than Thanksgiving of Christmas, New Years is when I like to think about what I am thankful for.  

One of my best friends came to spend the last week with me and my family in Tennessee. It was a lot of fun, arguably too much. I know Bailey thought it was too much each time we came home at 4 in the morning. I've said this before, but I'll say it again. I have the best friends in the world. 

It has been a blessing to grow up and change with my friends. This is apparent when encounters and reunitings are spread out to longer periods of time. Sometime as friends grow there are differences that are large enough to end the friendship, or at least give the mutual feeling that once you were much closer, but now are much different. Thankfully, it also works out that the integral parts which made your friendship significant are still there. These life long friendships are so special and there is nothing better than that feeling of timeless laughter and joy between friends. Growth is inevitable. Well maybe not, what I mean is that I don't want to be friends with and I personally wouldn't want for myself to not grow.

Certain things stay the same and keep that reminiscent nostalgia, but it's also special to recognize how your friends have grown. It also causes me to look how I've changed over the years. As this year ends and a new one begins, I have the goal of balancing growth and change with remaining the same as I always have been. And to Walter, Tennesseans may have so many friends, but us boys from Southern Oregon stay strong. 

Finals

I made it. Finals are almost done and the first semester is about to end. My attempts to blog over the last few months have been pretty pathetic. Sorry, especially for the 1 to 2 people that will ever read this. There have almost been lots of blog posts. Like I said, almost. A handful of times Bailey and I have done something and afterwards deemed it as worthy of blogging. Like the burbs. The burbs are wild -in a weird depressing way. But sometimes I worry my life is destined for the suburbs. The convenience, safety and artificial community they offer are desirable for that family life. And I am a family man. We'll see how long it takes.

More concerning than the burbs is the dirty south! I'm not sure if I will ever get out of Tennessee. The problem is that I am pretty conflicted. I love southern oregon so much, but I am kinda liking Tennessee. Maybe I could stay a while longer..........

Regardless of where we live, Bailey and I are fittin' to have a baby!!!!!!!!! I am so excited to meet this little girl! It is crazy to feel her move around inside of Bailey's belly. I have so many questions about what she is going to be like. The biggest decision we have right now is what to do about vaccinations. Aghhhh, these are tough, do I be a good hippie or a good yuppie? Everybody I talk to gives me different opinions and the books that I am ready are just another dudes opinions...........

The students have just been dismissed and now I have their finals to grade. One more day and it's Christmas break!

Big Questions

Good news, I can blog from school. There are lots of sites that the school's network blocks, but my blogger is sliding through......

Right now there are some big questions going through my head. Why am I a teacher? I want to make a difference, but is this the way? I thought I knew the answers, but this week is testing me. Testing me real good. I am really hoping this gets easier. Not too easy I am not afraid of working or challenges. I am just thinking that there are some challenges that I don't need to go after. Does that say I can't do this or am not a good teacher? I dont know the answer to that.

My happy place in the classroom is a painting an elephant riding a bike. I think it is from the book Babar. There was a lot of junk in this classroom when I took it over and I found it in the closet with a bunch of posters and students work. I decided to put it up next to my desk. An elephant with a crown on a bike inside a yellow 8.5" by 11" picture frame is making me smile right now.

not enough words right now

One week done. It has been wild. Most of you probably couldn't believe what happens everyday at my school. Maybe I am being over dramatic and its not that bad. One week and less than 5 fights. I haven't directly been called too many cuss words

I have a lot of work ahead of me but I am excited. I am hoping after a few weeks I can start putting in less hours. I used to ride bikes, I think, and that was a lot of fun.

This is really worth a watch. Taylor's radness is pretty clear form this video he made. It is also really rad that through this he didn't loose the footage, his bike or camera.

Can it get gooder?

Life is so good right now. The last year has been filed with a lot of ups and downs. A lot of let downs and things not really going in any way I thought they would. But now, that is not the case and I am so thankful for that. Bailey and I have been given so many things to prepare us for our baby. It is mind blowing how much people have already done for us.

This year I completely wrote off teaching in Tennessee. A few weeks after school started and after I had sent dozens of emails to principals with no response I knew I was going to be teaching. But somehow, things have worked out to the contrary. On Monday I am in the classroom! Full time history teacher at a high school. It came totally unexpected. It is going to be hard to step away from CT. It has been one of those jobs you never stress about going into. It's not like on a Sunday afternoon and you are already depressed because you know what Monday morning holds. I hope that teaching doesn't give me that Sunday evening depression. Speaking of Sunday, I hope I can still find time to ride my bmx bike!

Here is a picture of Bailey from a few weeks ago. She is looking hot! It is hard to believe we are almost 2/3 of the way to having a baby!
 Stella Louise Rand

The Trails in October

Here is a little edit from last weekend.  A few shots are older and with a lesser quality camera but I wanted Dave and Alex to have shots in here because they are a core part of the trail crew, but weren't around this weekend.

It was hard to find shots of Derek without booze and cigs, but I found one. When Dave is riding he probably had about 18 psi, note the sound his tires make. Alex was singing some Manfred Mann's Earth Band. I am kinda bummed Scrimp didn't have any shots in here, maybe next time. 

Enjoy!




Thank you Apple for the free 30 day download of Final Cut Pro and Thank you Caity and Vanderbilt for the camera. Thank you Drive by Truckers for not suing me for using your song, Perfect Timing.

Good Stuff

I am killing a bit of time over a few cups of coffee. This video is definitely worth a few watches. I think it does a good job of capturing the fun of riding a bike.

Push Pause

Do you ever have a day that you just want to stop? Slow it down or push pause because you don't want it to change or end? That was yesterday. It was perfect. The trails were banging! The hard work of this year is really paying off right now. Everything was running really good and and all the boys were out riding. Nobody go hurt much more than a scratch and we didn't run out of beer until it was almost dark! A perfect day by every account.

My sister came out and played with her fancy vandy camera. She is a taking a video class and she has access to some really nice cameras. I am excited to use that at the trails over the next few weeks, maybe I'll make a sweet edit! It makes me really happy that Caitlin hung out with us for the afternoon. As my younger sister I have always seen her as young and innocent, but it is exciting to see her grow into a woman.

Watching the last bit of light on the leaves.

Half way

Yesterday when I was making coffee life it me hard. I realized we are really having a baby and my life is never going to be the same. You'd think I had the concept grasped by now, but for some reason it came at me heavy yesterday morning while I was grinding coffee.

Bailey is looking hot! Her belly is growing and she is telling me the Baby is moving so much. I mean, Una Sofia Rand is moving so much! Or should it be spelled Sophia? Is Una a good name? A name is pretty important and I have been giving this one a lot of thought as you may imagine. 

I'm the worst blogger

It has been a while since I have added anything to this blog. What can I say life has been busy......I think it is going to keep getting busier, but don't fear, I am dedicated to the greatness of this blog!

We have a girl on the way! It was the coolest experience at the ultrasound. Holding her hand and watching a baby moving in her belly was amazing. It's hard to explain, it was a pretty grown up experience.

Now we are starting to get girl accessories. Last night I had a "holy shit" moment while Bailey was showing me a bunch of clothes we were just given. It was wild to look at the stuff and know that I am going to be putting her in little dresses and pants. We even got a little swimsuit!

I am so blown away by how blessed Bailey and I have been so far with the baby. The stuff we have been given by our friends and family is already way more than I imagined. I am in shock and feel like someone is making a mistake because I definitely don't feel like I deserve what we have been given so far. Maybe I am getting through on Bailey's goodness! I would argue that in myself there is a strong case against the belief of Karma! Now when I am at the receiving end of someones generosity I look forward to later in life when I will hopefully have the ability to do the same. It does give me a lot of fulfillment to know that I will be able to pass on what people have done for me. 

Video Interneting

Watching bike videos has always been one of my first choices when comes to wasting time. All these are good and if you have a few minutes to waste, watch all of them.
Maybe waste is a little too harsh. Over the years watching videos has fulfilled my need to ride when the weather, injuries, mechanical or geographical limitations were in the way.
So who cares if you have the time to watch these. They'll get your heart rate up and you can put down your cup off coffee and feel like you just did some gnarly shit.


 
Volt BMX Ross Head edit from VOLT BMX on Vimeo.
These trails are banging! Hope to have something like this one day.

Nico is silky smooth and has been my hero for the last decade.

Alex kills it 100%. Riding with him makes me better and chilling with him makes me cooler.

Mangia!

Earlier this week Bailey called me on a break from work. She was working late and I was at home. On the nights that she closes, there are a variety of activities I may get into. Maybe go out with the boys, clean the house, waste time on the internet, go ride at the park, tinker with bikes, etc, etc. I was about to dive into one of these tasks, until Bailey told me that she really wanted something good to eat when she came home from work.
I had about two and a half until she would be home. I started looking through the kitchen trying to think of something that would be good to make. As I was putting together the menu I kept running into missing ingredients. It was kind of like this minus the weed.

I eventually made up my mind on what I would make. I had even less time so I had to move. With a flash light and scissors, I went out to the garden for basil and tomatoes.

Pesto is one of my favorite thing to make and I hadn't made any yet this year so I thought it would be a good dish to make. My next challenge came in the form of starch. The only noodles we had were whole wheat penne, gross. I guess they are ok for a pasta salad, but not this.

Down came the pasta maker. Eggs and flour a little bit of water and salt. I called my pops to double check on the ratios of ingredients. My dad always comes through on those phone calls. I have called him from the grocery store or kitchen for advice so many times. My dad didn't hand down the typical bundle of fatherly skills. I think by all accounts our home life was less than conventional. But, I am infinitely thankful he taught me how to cook. Years ago he told me that the next best thing to sleeping with a woman is cooking for her!

Back to dinner. Water was boiling on the stove and the oven was on broil. Pasta was hanging off of the braces on a stool flipped upside down and the tomatoes were sliced. Bailey was fifteen minutes away.

If this were an item on a menu it could read like this:
Seared Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon with fresh Pesto Linguine tossed with local heirloom tomatoes.

It ended up tasting pretty good. Bailey liked it and so did I. 

bikes are bikes

If you are reading this, you probably know me pretty well. You probably know how much I like to ride bikes. You may have some understanding, but you don't know how much I love it.

Trail Boss: Derek. photo: Seth

Riding a bike is the best damn thing in the world. I can't imagine how different my life would be without it. I have met so many of my friends through riding. We've gone on countless road trips and shared many wild times on and off the bike. Friendships and stories that last a lifetime.

Black bike: Seth. Photar: Erik

One Foot: Erik. Cant figure out a flash: Seth

I like to think that I still have a youthful attitude and will forever. Maybe I am just embracing and not letting go of my immaturity. My riding has been a good gauge of how I have grown up. So much of my early riding was driven by teenage angst. I would try to ride away from my problems. Whatever the issue happened to be, I imagined it was right behind me. The faster I went, the further away I got. That line of thought is the same way I hyped myself to do something I was uneasy about. That thought process never goes through my mind anymore. I'm so happy with my life. I got a hot wife that loves me unconditionally.  We have a kid on the way. After that there are some many other positive aspects of my life. Now if I am ever in a situation that requires some mental assistance, I think about how much I love my life and I smile.
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Berm Slider: Derek. Lens: Seth

Stylist: Tyler. Life Coach: Derek

The trails have been giving me lots of good times lately. These pictures were from last weekend. It was one of those days you don't want to end. It would have been one those afternoons that no one wants to quit riding and we ride until you can barely see the trail.

It wasn't one of those afternoons. We were caught in a tropical storm. It dumped on us. Within a few minutes the ditch had 6" of water rushing through it. None of us left. We grabbed shovels and put in work.The water was much needed. Water is an incredibly important element of trails. We filled up all the buckets to stock up on our water supply.

Duplicated Style: Seth. Photo: Owner/Team Manager Last Ditch Bmx

Everyone was soaked, but that didn't stop the good times. We stayed digging and hanging out until dark. 

Loose: Dave. Viben': Rambo

End of the trail: Tyler. Poison oak: Derek

We got plenty in before it rained. All of the photos were taken on Derek's camera. He is usually the man shooting photos, but he did some riding that day. The rest of us just passed around the camera and got some pretty fun pictures of each other.

Dave is going for it on the other hip line. Which is no surprise, Dave always goes full throttle. We are still figuring out the logistics of this line. It's going to be working good soon.

For now, this is the last of the line. Right now we are having a pretty big surge of motivation so there is a good chance the line will be extended sooner than we thought.


All of this has been built since February. It is pretty impressive. So much work has been put in by only a handful of guys. Theses pictures are of us reaping the rewards of our efforts.

Bah Bump Bah Bump

Today is the first day of the second trimester! Earlier this week we had a meeting with the mid-wife and heard the little one's heartbeat. It's crazy. That brought it a little closer to being a reality for me. I know there is a baby coming, but so far it hasn't changed my life too much. I am super excited though. So far I have read that when the woman is giving birth the pain comes in waves. I think my emotions are in waves. Sometimes I am so excited and cant even think of any problems with raising a baby. Other times I can't stop thinking about worrisome things. Money, health, jobs, where we live( will live) and will my life ever be what it used to be. All these things hit me hard, out of nowhere. Thankfully, without any reason, I jump back to feeling at peace with everything. Lately, I have been playing with my buddies son, Elijah. He is one of the raddest 2 year old kids and makes me excited for the joy Bailey and I have ahead of us.

Bailey and I are a few day away from our 4 year anniversary. I think it is wild how much we have grown together. I think that this picture is the first one of us together. I was 21 and she was 19. Geez.....kids.

We're online!

After a month AT&T came through and we now have blazing fast DSL. Actually, a few months ago we tried to get service with them and the sales guys told me it wouldn’t be fast enough for us and we would be disappointed.

Basically expect more blogging from this guy. And more editing. I posted a little rant last night that I just removed. I was in a bad mood, but now I am happy drinking coffee and watching the tour de france.

Whenever I am in a bad mood the trails always change me around. The current trail spot is my happy place. It is the most fun thing to ride. It is so fulfilling because we have built it all. Myself, Tfred, Dave, Derek and Alex plus another handful of part-timers (*Alex should probably be on the part-timer list instead). 

It is an understatement to say it has been a lot of work. Hours upon hours have been put in out there. You just can’t know unless you have worked on trails before. It can be stressful at times. Sometimes we don’t agree and sometimes we are really big dicks to each other. That is kind of what makes it too. Everybody out there is pretty salty to say the least. I think we all usually think we are right and our plan is the best. Believe me this is a problem when there are 3 different ideas and no one wants to stand down. Eventually we usually come close to the same page. Right now we are having a small  hiccup in our big s-berm that is going to take a bit of collaboration and modification to fix. There might be some arguing in there too. I am lucky to have such good friends that we can be totally honest with each each. And honestly, I am probably going to be right about how this berm should be reshaped.


Untitled from Seth Rand on Vimeo.

It's a celebration

So there is a lot going on in my life right now. First off, Bailey and I are pregnant. Well more her than me, but I am in it too. The first trimester is less than a week from being over. This is exciting! A baby is coming. It seems like the chance of miscarriage and other troubles have mainly past. This Monday we have a meeting with the midwife and we will start with blood test and such. I don't really know what all tests we will be taking. Bailey is doing a lot of research and I am not doing as much. They say that the whole baby thing is real for the Mom as soon as they know they are pregnant and that the guys don't really grasp everything until after the birth. I'm not sure about that. This is all pretty damn real to me right now. Life is coming at me fast and I am trying to figure out how to handle it. Right now the whole birthing thing isn't really tripping me out too much, probably because I am not the one growing this baby. I think that birth ordeal is going to work out pretty good. I was born at home and so were my brother and sister. I have memories of when both of them were born. I know that Bailey is strong enough and healthy enough to do this.
There are other aspects of the incoming baby that are keeping me up at night. How the hell am I going to pay for this? Will I get hired for a full time teaching position this fall? It seems like this is something that is going to come down to the wire. There is a possibility that I get hired the day before school starts. How do I prepare for that? More important, How do I prepare for if I don't get hired? My feelings towards being an educator are so mixed right now. It seems like every connection i had in the school system isn't giving me any hope. I had a really good relationship to the person in Metro's human resource department that hired the high school teachers. He died last week.
I work with his wife at the shop. Yesterday was her first day back after he passed. After I gave her a warm hug the first thing she said was, "I guess you don't have an in with Metro any more." I couldn't believe that with everything she had going on she remembered that her husband was my in and I was counting on him. Right now I am thinking that I am about to bring a baby into the world that will be counting on me.
Deaths always change my frame of thoughts for a short period of time. For a twenty-something year old guy I have way to many homies that have passed away. It always reminds me life is precious. A gift that is taken away easily and for no reason. One of my friends is up in Michigan for his grandfather's funeral. I texted him to go ride this afternoon and he responded that he had to make the trip we had talked about earlier this week. His grandfather's health was fading quickly and he knew a trip up there would be days away. In one of his texts today, he responded, "Death of the Grandpa." I told him that I hoped he was making the best of it with his family and to celebrate life (Is that some cliche bs to say?).  He responded with, "Celebrate birth." I didn't know what to say back, so a smiling face was the only thing sent back. I was smiling so I figured that was appropriate.
:)

Introduction

Ok, I'm doing it. This is the start of my blogging career. People have asked me what I am going to be writing about in this blog. I don't know what to answer. Does there need to be significant issue I am addressing? I hope not. We'll see what direction this goes. I guess this is all about me. This word comes to mind.

/ˈnɑrsəˌsɪzɛm/ Show Narcissism - [nahr-suh-siz-em] - noun

1.inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.

2.Psychoanalysis . erotic gratification derived from admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/narcissism

 

This isn't going to be all about me, but it may seem like it at times.