If you haven't heard yet (and you're in the population that actually likes tennis), big Andy Roddick went down in the first round of the USOpen yesterday. This article on ESPN.com likens it to some of the greatest upsets of all time... clearly written by either someone that (a) lives for tennis or (b) doesn't have a very firm grip on sports-reality.
For one thing: elite tennis players lose to "top" tennis players all the time. This is especially true on the men's side of the bracket but in recent history has become increasingly more true on the women's side. I would liken this more to watching the Astros and Roger Clemens lose 5-2 in a game against Tomo Ohka and the Brewers. Is Ohka better than Clemens? Only if you're Mrs.Ohka (and even then you have your doubts). Is my comparison fair? No, not really but it's every bit as fair as some of those in that article!
On the other hand, when we went to see Roddick last year: you would have never guessed that something like this could happen. From the pre-match warmups when Andy flipped his racket around and hit balls into the stands like a baseball bat, to the match where he utterly obliterated his opponent in little more than an hour. He was awesome to watch... even if we were high enough up in the stands to require oxygen masks!
8.31.2005
8.28.2005
Back to work?!?
Well, we got back from Lake Tahoe yesterday and it was great! The travel all went well (although it was early AM in both directions) and the Tahoe area is every bit as beautiful and fun as advertised.
First things first, I've uploaded pictures of the wedding to Flickr. These are courtesy of Mike and Steph Fox (thanks guys). I've broken the wedding ones out into a few different sets: Rehearsal, Pre-Wedding, The Ceremony, Post-Ceremony.
As for the honeymoon photos, I have uploaded them as well and you can find them here. I apologize for having one giant set with 169 pictures in it. I did try to make it a little easier and break them out by day or something but it was really being a pain so sorry, this is what you get! I am a big fan of Flickr but it's missing a couple tools for organizing that could really make life easier (a future blog post?)! You should check out the pictures though. There are some very good ones. It's a great place!
We didn't end up on the hot air balloon ride, as we had hoped, due to weather. That's a pretty unbelievable statement since it was 80 and sunny everyday we were there. I guess they are pretty sensitive about wind though so we ended up missing out. We got a lot of site seeing in though (as you can tell by the quantity of pictures), had some great meals, and really enjoyed being out there. We're definitely going to have to get back out there in the winter to do some skiing now that we've seen it in the summer!
First things first, I've uploaded pictures of the wedding to Flickr. These are courtesy of Mike and Steph Fox (thanks guys). I've broken the wedding ones out into a few different sets: Rehearsal, Pre-Wedding, The Ceremony, Post-Ceremony.
As for the honeymoon photos, I have uploaded them as well and you can find them here. I apologize for having one giant set with 169 pictures in it. I did try to make it a little easier and break them out by day or something but it was really being a pain so sorry, this is what you get! I am a big fan of Flickr but it's missing a couple tools for organizing that could really make life easier (a future blog post?)! You should check out the pictures though. There are some very good ones. It's a great place!
We didn't end up on the hot air balloon ride, as we had hoped, due to weather. That's a pretty unbelievable statement since it was 80 and sunny everyday we were there. I guess they are pretty sensitive about wind though so we ended up missing out. We got a lot of site seeing in though (as you can tell by the quantity of pictures), had some great meals, and really enjoyed being out there. We're definitely going to have to get back out there in the winter to do some skiing now that we've seen it in the summer!
8.22.2005
The Wedding!
The wedding was awesome; all the planning was worth it as there was nary a snag encountered!
We were so happy to see everyone that could make it! My only regret about it is that I didn't get to see everyone at the wedding, so if I didn't get to talk to you (or did but not much), my apologies. Although, I'm sure you understand.
I've discovered some pictures on Sheila and Mike's site, as well as Leslie's. If anyone else has pictures of the wedding, we would love to have them. If you're willing and able, just attach them to emails to jimhalberg@gmail.com. If you'd rather mail: just let me know and I can send you the address.
As for the Honeymoon... Monica has now learned the destination and it is (drull roll please)...
After some clues and guesses, Monica ascertained the destination... Lake Tahoe! This was, btw, guessed by JR - almost blew my cover! We'll be staying just on the Nevada side (in Stateline) which borders on California.
We are heading out of Madison early Tuesday morning and will be returning early Saturday evening. It's going to be a great trip and we're really looking forward to it!
Thank you all for the gifts and well wishes at the wedding. Both are very much appreciated!
We were so happy to see everyone that could make it! My only regret about it is that I didn't get to see everyone at the wedding, so if I didn't get to talk to you (or did but not much), my apologies. Although, I'm sure you understand.
I've discovered some pictures on Sheila and Mike's site, as well as Leslie's. If anyone else has pictures of the wedding, we would love to have them. If you're willing and able, just attach them to emails to jimhalberg@gmail.com. If you'd rather mail: just let me know and I can send you the address.
As for the Honeymoon... Monica has now learned the destination and it is (drull roll please)...
After some clues and guesses, Monica ascertained the destination... Lake Tahoe! This was, btw, guessed by JR - almost blew my cover! We'll be staying just on the Nevada side (in Stateline) which borders on California.
We are heading out of Madison early Tuesday morning and will be returning early Saturday evening. It's going to be a great trip and we're really looking forward to it!
Thank you all for the gifts and well wishes at the wedding. Both are very much appreciated!
8.14.2005
Coldplay
Monica, Geer, and I saw a great Coldplay show at Alpine Valley on Saturday night. We met up with Matt (Monica's brother) and a bunch of his friends - they're a really fun bunch which made the pre and post show time (aka. sitting in the parking lot) a lot more fun.
As I said a little earlier: the camera is out of order. So, here's the best I could muster from the camera phone. It isn't exactly the best picture ever taken but it does show you just a little bit of how incredibly huge Alpine Valley is. We actually had very good lawn seats and this incredible amount of people were still in front of us. That said, I had grossly overestimated the size of the crowd. Looking on their site tonight I see that the capacity is 35,000 which is a huge concert venue... but I was guessing way more.
As I said a little earlier: the camera is out of order. So, here's the best I could muster from the camera phone. It isn't exactly the best picture ever taken but it does show you just a little bit of how incredibly huge Alpine Valley is. We actually had very good lawn seats and this incredible amount of people were still in front of us. That said, I had grossly overestimated the size of the crowd. Looking on their site tonight I see that the capacity is 35,000 which is a huge concert venue... but I was guessing way more.
8.09.2005
RIP Camera
Well, I was going to give you some shiney new pictures of the shiney new condo today but I have other news instead. The old reliable digital camera has finally given out on us. It had gotten to the point where the battery would last about 3 seconds anyway but now the LCD screen has gone out and made it officially done with. I'm sure we could probably get the LCD fixed (and a new battery) but I think it's at the point now where it is just going to be worth it to pick up a new camera.
I know some of you have recently picked up new ones yourselves so I may be asking for some advice. I think my main criteria for the camera are that it's durable and not too big. My absolute favorite attribute of this last one is that I could put it in my pocket and go for a bike ride (or whatever) without worrying about it. The size wasn't cumbersome and at the same time I didn't need to worry about it breaking with some minor bumping around.
Maybe I'll try to borrow one so that you guys can see the progress in the condo... or maybe you'll just have to wait and see the final product!
I know some of you have recently picked up new ones yourselves so I may be asking for some advice. I think my main criteria for the camera are that it's durable and not too big. My absolute favorite attribute of this last one is that I could put it in my pocket and go for a bike ride (or whatever) without worrying about it. The size wasn't cumbersome and at the same time I didn't need to worry about it breaking with some minor bumping around.
Maybe I'll try to borrow one so that you guys can see the progress in the condo... or maybe you'll just have to wait and see the final product!
8.08.2005
Bachelor Party!
My bachelor party was this Saturday; a big thanks to Mike and everyone else involved for a great time!
I'd never played paintball before but it was every bit as fun as everyone says it is. I've got a one nice welt in particular but for the most part I'm just really sore! I don't know what it is about activities like this that tells my brain that I don't need to stretch, but I need to get that looked at.
The club and the cards were great too, although I must admit it wasn't a huge disapointment to lose the poker game. It was just too hard to concentrate on that after all the rest of the days festivities!
Mike has a bunch of pictures on his flickr site that you should go check out (click this image).
I'd never played paintball before but it was every bit as fun as everyone says it is. I've got a one nice welt in particular but for the most part I'm just really sore! I don't know what it is about activities like this that tells my brain that I don't need to stretch, but I need to get that looked at.
The club and the cards were great too, although I must admit it wasn't a huge disapointment to lose the poker game. It was just too hard to concentrate on that after all the rest of the days festivities!
Mike has a bunch of pictures on his flickr site that you should go check out (click this image).
8.01.2005
We made it!
Well, we are in the new condo! There are still many unopened boxes floating around but it's actually starting to look more like a home and less like a carboard box dump! and my commute this morning? AWESOME. I will be driving an hour less every day which is an incredible amount of extra-life that I've just acquired!
Many thanks to Rob and Brandon for the help on Friday. Co-MVP honors go to those Fox boys. Thanks a ton for all the help guys, it is very much appreciated!
Monica had a second bridal shower on Saturday and we are quite thankful for all the gifts! It's amazing how generous people are - and now we have all this extra space so we can actually have a place for it all!
As for this week: there's a lot of excitement about the unpacking, and I'm really looking forward to getting back out there for MAUL. After a couple weeks of skipping, largely due to presentation preparation - it's going to be "interesting" to see how well I do out there.
Many thanks to Rob and Brandon for the help on Friday. Co-MVP honors go to those Fox boys. Thanks a ton for all the help guys, it is very much appreciated!
Monica had a second bridal shower on Saturday and we are quite thankful for all the gifts! It's amazing how generous people are - and now we have all this extra space so we can actually have a place for it all!
As for this week: there's a lot of excitement about the unpacking, and I'm really looking forward to getting back out there for MAUL. After a couple weeks of skipping, largely due to presentation preparation - it's going to be "interesting" to see how well I do out there.
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