Team Basic

6+ hours, uphill all ways! The race start and end was at the top of a ski hill.


This year I entered the Hakuba adventure race as part of Team Basic. Don't ask about the name- it's a loosely interpreted acronym of something like, "Bearing Straight on the Arctic Circle". My team this year was Andrea (Russian), Andreas (Norwegian), Rosanna (fellow American). A great combo!




The race was toughter than ever but the weather was also better than ever. Considering last year was a downpour, I guess that's not saying much.

We single track raced, kayaked, river walked and swam! and orienteered.



Rosanna had to call it quits part way through do to heat stroke exhaustion but she continued to cheer us on at various points and crossed the finish with us.

The highlight (in my book) was when we discovered we had taken a VERY wrong turn during the orienteering and were at the bottom of the ski hill instead of the top! Being resourceful and tired, I begged a maintenance man from the ski resort to drive us to the top in 4 x 4. Good thing we did, too! Otherwise we'd still be walking. Shh... don't tell the race organizer that, though.





All in all it was an amazing weekend and race! Hakuba rocks!!

Cool Things People I Know Do, Part II

My bestfriend from highschool, Caitlin, spearheaded this movement with her husband and two other friends. Since most people I know are equally disappointed by our commander-in-chief, you'll probably support the idea behind her website!
http://www.howblueareyou.com/
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How Blue Are You was founded after the 2004 election as a simple way for ordinary Americans to express our commitment to democratic ideals, show our determination to hold George W. Bush and the right wing elite in Washington accountable for their extreme policies and demonstrate our willingness to work for a better future for the United States and the world.

In unprecedented numbers, new voters, young voters and previously disenfranchised voters cast their ballots in the 2004 presidential election. And 58 million of us voted for somebody other than George W. Bush. The president interpreted his slim victory as a mandate and claimed he was ready to spend the "political capital" he had earned.

Bush's post-election remarks have only deepened the divide voters have felt since the disputed 2000 election. All this from a man who claimed to be "a uniter, not a divider." Since winning re-election, Bush has made it clear that we can expect four more years of the same policies that are taking our country down the wrong track.

Where does that leave us, the 58 million Americans who disagreed with the president on a variety of levels, but all who disagreed enough to vote for someone else?

Since the President and the Republicans in Congress have decided to ignore us, we set out to find a way so show our support for the democratic ideals that make our country the best it can be for all Americans. We chose to make our voices heard. We decided to act.

In blue states and red states alike, we're encouraging all Americans to wear How Blue Are You? wristbands in support of these democratic values and ideals and send a message to the ultra-conservative elites in Congress and the Bush administration that we respectfully disagree with their misguided policies.

We're showing our colors. We're blue. How blue are you?

Proceeds from the sale of How Blue Are You wristbands will go to the National Gulf War Resource Center, the leading organization providing advocacy and support for Gulf War veterans.

Cool Things People I Know Are Do, Part I

In this case the people I know are related to me- even better! A report from Pat and my Dad from their travels.
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Pat and Bill's Wilderness Adventure



We have emerged alive and victorious from the wilds of the Canadian Yukon. The wondrous airstream is still attached to the truck, and we are still on speaking terms after seven days of extreme closeness!

The beauty of the Yukon and the national parks of Jasper, Lake Louise, and Baniff rivals anything we have in Alaska. We took seven days to do the trip from Anchorage to Spokane, doing sightseeing , museums and every hot spring along the way, and we are already talking about doing it again to see all of the things we missed.

Our quest for new hardy perennials was satisfied with a fire plant and two Virginia creepers smuggled across the border to the US not to mention some park rocks caught up in the undercarriage of the "silver bullet"...right ...that will never fly Mr Warden.

So now we are in Spokane in a "full service hookup" RV park with wi-fi Internet, hence this letter.

Trailer Trashing it up

Pat and Bill

Rebels without a cause

Two weeks ago
........................................................................................................................
This is just a reminder that the day is near, when we see the final
downfall of the Oppression.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades in Arms, its all up to YOU now!!!!! The
date of the Water War is Sept 9 (fri). We will gather in Yoyogi Park at
midnight at the pond.

Please remember to get your own waterarms (water gun, water balloon,
Humvees, water bazookas, etc). Also, do bring along some munchies and as
much booze as you can consume. We will celebrate our victory with some
high-time partying later on…
NOTE: bring along as many friends to our side as you can!!!! And NO
TALKING TO THE OTHERSIDE!!!!

Cheers!!!!

Your Commander in Chief
hiroshi-kun
.........................................................................................................................
One week ago

Morning T,

You know, M is a wicked girl. She’s small and sweet looking but she has a wee devil inside....She heard about a midnight waterfight in Yoyogi park next Friday night. Are you interested? If you are keep reading.

We wanted to join a team. but once we thought about how many people we wanted to invite, we realized it would be quite a few, and we would be kinda our own sub-group, so then M's evil mind suggested forming a third team secretly that would seek and attack the other two teams and cause total confusion and hilarity! We could set up our own base camp and wear Zoro masks (cheap from Don Quixote) and call ourselves the Rebels Without a Cause.

We want you to be our General. You know everyone and can pull a decent size team together. We will be your lieutenants and get the technical stuff under control. We have classified information to help us get started.

What do you think?

J-ster

………………………………………
4 days ago

Dear Midnight Rebels without a Cause:
On Friday, at midnight, around by the pond, there will be a waterfight in
Yoyogi park between two well organised teams of people we barely know.

We thought we might crash their party! We are planning to form a team of
our own, complete with some kind of identifier (Zoro face masks? face
paint?) and attack both teams randomly to completely confuse the
situation. They will be playing some kind of game aimed at capturing one
or the other team's flag... we will just be trying to waterbomb anyone
from either team we can find.

They are not expecting us, and we must do our best not to be caught by
them, at least not until the fighting is over and the beers have been
opened.....

We need some people with time on their hands to help organise this. We need to source some water weapons, and think a bit about logistics. Any
volunteers? Also, we need more people - please fwd this email to your
friends.
J-ster
……………………………..

This afternoon

Hiroshi-kun,
I wanted to warn you that there is a guerilla water fighting group led by a ferocious, but tiny, Amazonian, who have vowed to wreak havoc at the water fight on Sunday.

A concerned citizen

The Rebels without a Cause


Enemy Fire-Isn't his weapon BIIIIIIIIIIG?!

Sushi!

I've never been a HUGE sushi fan. In fact, when I was 18 and did my exchange abroad, the only country I DIDN'T want to visit was Japan because I thought I would starve to death. That was then, this is now. I love Japanese food and good sushi is something to celebrate.

There is an amazing sushi place in Ebisu that Daisuke introduced me to. It is the perfect combination of great food. friendly service, and sophisticated but laid back atmosphere. Not easy to recreate all those elements in another place and time!