Well, it’s been a while, to put it mildly. I wasn’t even sure if I would return to this site, to be honest. I’m going to give it another try…

Where to start? Well, the triathlon has come and gone. It was really fun. Sister came in from DC to participate and we both finished. I clocked in around 2:50, which I was pretty happy about–47 in my age group and 314 overall (out of over 1000). Not too shabby for these old bones, heh.

Unfortunately, I seem to have hurt mysefl in the process. I have two small meniscal tears in my left knew, which has prevented what would surely be a most amazing snowboard season. I’ve been to the doctor and after a CAT scan, he thinks a simple surgical proceedure will do the trick. I’m not so excited at the prospect of getting surgery, especially since my friend Alissa had the surgery and regretted having it. So, I got a cortizone shot and am trying accupuncture out. I’ll comment more on that after a few more sessions.

Other stuff–saw Arctic Monkeys last week at Great American. They were actually pretty good, despite the crazy hype mobile they have been slapped upon. The main singer/guitarist dude is quite talented and has already mastered the art of looking bored.

I’ll come back with more, including pics and stuff…  Promise. Really just wanted to get that first post back in there to knock the rust off.

Ciao

Good
morning. 

Thank you all for braving the
heat and the traffic to gather here today. This is a difficult time
for many of us, but it’s comforting to see how many people knew and
cared for my father. 

I think it’s natural to reminisce
during times like these and following Dad’s death,

I certainly had a few trips
to the memory machine. For me, little snapshots bubbled to the surface
of my consciousness: I remember a time in Saudi Arabia. On our way to
a neighbor’s house, we were playing tag. I was “it” and running like
crazy to catch Dad. I just managed to grab his hand as he was running
to avoid getting tagged, and the next thing I knew, I was being whisked
along at a speed I never knew possible—I felt like I was flying. 

Erika would like me to relate
the overall feeling of comfort Dad gave her. He was the first person
she would call, be it good news, bad news or to just simply talk about
the day. She even had to suppress the urge to phone him to tell her
how upset she was that he had died.

In a similar fashion, I was
only able to relay to him on his deathbed how upset I was that I would
not get to see more of him after his planned move to Colorado. And I
still am dealing with the disappointment that he (and my mom) will never
get to know me or Erika’s future children. 

After his death, Sandy, Erika
and I were all amazed at how much more we came to learn about Dad after
his passing. So many new stories came in letters, e-mails and phone
calls. There was so much more to Dad than Dad! Did you know he was a
champion square dancer? Most of all, the stories confirmed what everyone
here knows–that he was a warm, funny, gentle, loving human being. Charles
Ernest Olson was many things to many people: Dad, husband, Uncle Chuck,
friend, neighbor, the squirrel King, El Bosso Supremo. He was a truly
courageous man who fought for life until the end. As we leave here today
and meet up in a little while, please take time and share a little bit
of who he was to you. It will make him more alive than ever in our hearts
and our minds. 

We love you Dad.

IMG_5156, originally uploaded by xispo.

My peeps brings the party. Testing flickr blogging functionality. This shot from a fun time at Hog Island Oysters on Memorial Day. Then went to see the Pixies rock it at the Warfield. Good times…

This is the maiden voyage of a little thought experimenting. A lah-boor-itory, if you will. Not sure where it will head or if it will ever see the light of day.