Club Wolverine Waterfest, Jan 31, 2009

Greetings from the University of Michigan Graduate Library! I swore I would never step foot into this den of iniquity, but hey, ya gotta get out of the cold sometimes. And they have free internet access.

Why are we here? It's not a very long story. The idea was that, while Lexy was swimming this morning, Sydney was going to make good use of her Saturday morning and spend it researching a topic here at la bibliotheque. We thought they opened at 8, but they didn't open until 10. So, poor Sydney had to suffer through the swim meet at Saline High School.

Lexy did well today. She swam four individual events and a relay. Her four events were the 100 I.M., the 100 Backstroke, the 50 Breaststroke and the 50 Free. She also swam the breaststroke leg of the 200 Medley relay.

In the 100 IM, she got a best time of 1:34.79, and in the 100 Backstroke she added a lot -- about eight seconds. Not sure what happened there! In the 50 Breast she also added time (about two seconds, to 51.93), but finally, in the 50 Free, she lost .02 seconds for a best time of 35.65. The girls finished 8th in the relay, adding about 5 seconds to their best combined time. See below for the links to all of today's videos.

100 IM Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9i-lsIcgNg
100 Backstroke Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ywmhuFCjug
50 Free Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA739axrN_E
50 Breaststroke Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeqVuul8h4ks

The meet ended at about 12:30, so we were all hungry for lunch. Sydney suggested a place that she had heard about from a friend who spends a lot of time in Ann Arbor. So we plugged "Crazy Jim's Blimpy Burger" into the GPS, and off we went.

Crazy Jim's is in the heart of Ann Arbor, at the corner of Division and Packard. As I turned the corner and got my first glimpse of the "joint" I recoiled. "Eww, Sydney, I don't think I want to eat there!" To which she replied, "C'mon Mom, where's your sense of adventure?" Famous last words.

Welcome to Blimpy Burger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOc8_ngYZ3ss

Crazy Jim's advertises that they're "cheaper than food," but I beg to differ. After ordering four double-burgers (they're MINI) an order or fries, rings and a few sodas, it was as much as we would have paid anywhere. We waited for about 15 minutes in a line of about thirty, until it was our turn to make fools of ourselves at the counter, where we OBVIOUSLY had no idea how to order. The burger guy said "Don't talk to me about cheese!" He also whined at me about taking a video.

Whiny burger guy video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqV-Eem5S9A

Let me also add that the line winds through the tables and chairs, which are bolted to the floor and makes it nearly impossible for anyone to get in or out. People were a lot smaller in the 50's! We also got admonished by the cashier for having Lexy sit at a table while we ordered. There aren't a lot of places to sit, and I guess it's against the rules! Whatever. And, the burgers were "OK."

Walking back to the car, belching, hiccuping and feeling generally sluggish, I announced that everyone would be having salads for dinner! The response was lukewarm at best.

With all this grease now coursing through our rapidly clogging veins, we headed back over the library, dropped Sydney off, and thought about what to do. Lexy and I donated all my change to another parking meter and set off for the University of Michigan Museum of Art. The museum is only half a block away from the libary but we were frozen by the time we got there. Correction, Lexy's hair, which was still damp from the swim meet, was frozen. And yes mom, she WAS wearing a hat.

The Museum, of course, is closed until March! The Michigan Union was across the street so we darted over there and asked the woman at the desk if there was anything open. She mentioned the planetarium on the other side of The Diag (that's U of M slang) and it just looked too far to walk in the cold and wind. So we hoofed back over to the library, where we sit now, me blogging and Lexy getting caught up on her Webkinz miniature golf.

The question remains: where is Sydney? Lost in the stacks in the U of M graduate library. She's doing research and refining her topic for her IB paper. That happens to be something along the lines of post-World War II reconstruction of European cities. But what type of reconstruction? Architectural? Political? Cultural? I suppose we must wait.

Caro Dual Meet - Caro vs. Midland - Jan 17, 2009

It was a blustery day in Michigan's thumb. The wind swirled the blowing and drifting snow along Route 81 east to make the road appear to be in constant motion. The sub-zero wind chills made keeping the car warm a challenge. Our toes were freezing as we approached small farm houses with dilapidated barns outlined against miles of white. Less experienced drivers slowed to about 35 miles per hour along a the two-lane road where 55 mph was more likely.

Caro, Michigan is the absolute middle of nowhere. Imagine my surprise when we arrived at their high school to find a very nice 50 Meter pool! It took me a while, however, to realize the pool was 50 meters. Typically in the winter season, we are swimming in 50 Yard pools, which, as you know, are shorter by a good margin. The times posted in the program seemed odd to me, until I figured it out, got home, and did the Meters to Yards conversion. As it turned out, Lexy had a spectacular day!

The first event was the 200 Meter relay, with each girl swimming their best stroke for 50 meters (two lengths). They dropped about four seconds as a team, winning first in their age division.

In the 50 Fly, Lexy dropped about three-tenths of a second from her 50 yard time (converted). This was her best time all year. She came in second behind her 10-year old teammate. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n1rUjKGtRI

In the 50 backstroke, Lexy dropped more than two seconds (converted time). Again, a second place behind the same teammate. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoYxUvvpCDk

And in the 50 Meter breaststroke win, she dropped about two-tenths of a second in her converted time, and finally won a legitimate first place this season. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THZEdOL44Y4

This was a great way to spend a blustery Saturday. By the time we left, there were several inches of snow on the ground. By Sunday morning, at home, we had about eight inches of the fluffy stuff!

Bulldog Aquatic Club (BAC) Winterfest, Jan 10-11, 2009

We are into our winter swim season, and what a winter! It snowed the entire time we were in Royal Oak, to the tune of about 8-10 inches of new snow. With the arctic blast that is coming in this week, we are going into the traditional January deep freeze, with a -20 wind chill predicted by the end of the week. A warm indoor pool isn't a bad place to be, this time of year.

I tried out my new digital video camera this weekend, but I'm not sure I uploaded the right versions of the videos. I'll try to get this fixed, but in the meantime, feel free to get a look at Lexy's performance this weekend. She swam 10 events total -- 8 individual and two relays, but I only have a few uploaded.

50 Backstroke. Lexy is at the top of the screen in lane 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZKhh3UuljQ

50 Butterfly. Lexy is in the middle of the screen in lane 2. She dropped .25 seconds in this race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6-sWZCGhDc

200 Mixed Medley Relay. Lexy and friends swim the 200 yd. medley. Lexy leads off with a nice backstroke start, but gets disqualified for her long glide at the turn. Her compadres are Ally Kiekaefer on the breaststroke, Nehemiah Mork on the butterfly and Jennifer Yu on the Freestyle leg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8CTOG9_nNw

I think you can watch all the videos I have uploaded so far at: http://www.youtube.com/user/jsohayda. If you have trouble with that let me know and I'll try to figure out how to fix it!