Login

The Twerd Herd

I am a nerd; I make no attempts to conceal this fact from the world. I embrace my nerdiness like one might embrace a fuzzy Tribble or a cute little Ewok.

Many of my partying compadres wore Twilight themed attire for this
Many of my partying compadres wore Twilight themed attire for this event. Some of the boys even used iron-on transfers to create their own Twilight t-shirts. Impressive.

Since nerdery comes natural to me I concocted a brilliant plan when my friend Cameron suggested that a group of us get together to watch New Moon, the latest Twilight movie. I decided to take on the task of hosting this cinematic gathering and turn it into more than just a movie viewing because, as with all of my undertakings, I was not satisfied with it being just your average bash. I didn’t want this party to consist of a few of us squished on a couple of couches squinting at a tiny LCD screen so I rented a giant movie theater room at Noah’s that was equipped with 20 plush electronically controlled recliners, a giant projection screen, and a booming sound system. Sweet!

The theater room was perfect!
The theater room was perfect!

I invited a bunch of my fellow Twilight freaks to fill these comfy seats and made sure that they were adequately sugared-up during the flick by providing lots of snacks including some buttery vampire bite cookies and a pack of tasty werewolf cupcakes. The cupcakes took me 4 hours to decorate. Yeah, they were kind of a pain, as werewolves often are, but they turned out pretty cool so I guess they were worth the Carpal Tunnel I almost developed from squeezing all that frosting.

My delicious wolf pack.
Finally, some werewolves you can sink your teeth into not just your eyes.

After the movie I tested everyone’s Twilight knowledge with a trivia contest. I had drool-worthy prizes for the winners: an Edward Barbie doll, a 1000 piece Jacob puzzle, a t-shirt professing the wearer’s love for Jacob…basics that every girl needs. But apparently what I remember from the Twilight books is not representative of what everyone else remembers. Jason has long told me that I have a “memory trap”, a reservoir of useless information floating around in my head that I can access at any given moment. I never really believed him until now. I came up with over 60 trivia questions from the Twilight books; they started out easy and increased in difficulty as they continued. I knew the answers to all but the 10 hardest questions even before I consulted the books for confirmation so I thought the Twilight fans attending my party would at least find the first 30 or so no-brainers. I was wrong. They struggled with the answers from the get go. My trivia game therefore didn’t last nearly as long as I had expected. Sorry friends, next time I will not rate question difficulty based off what I can personally recall. Apparently Jason is right and I am a bit of a memory outlier.

Oddly enough Tom was one of the trivia contest winners. What happened ladies?
Oddly enough, Tom was one of the trivia contest winners. What happened ladies? How could you let Edward run into the arms of another man so easily?

Regardless of the brevity of my trivia extravaganza I thoroughly enjoyed this get-together and the chance to wallow in nerdiness. I think I will repeat the experience next year with a Star Trek or Harry Potter themed event cause there are very few things sweeter than getting your nerd on.

dfsdfsdf
My friend Wendy and her niece were all about team Jacob.
Rachel June 3, 2010 2 Comments

Arches, Bluffs, and Canyons

Jason and I just got back from Moab. We had a great time, as we always do when we visit that region.

Blue skies and red rock: Moab is gorgeous!
Blue skies and red rock: Moab is gorgeous!

We took our mountain bikes down with us and tested them out on the demanding paths to Klondike Bluffs and Hidden Canyon.

The entire desert seemed to be in bloom. Surprising bunches of red, pink, yellow, and whited dotted the landscape.
The entire desert seemed to be in bloom. Surprising bunches of red, pink, yellow, and white dotted the landscape.

The Klondike Bluffs trail took us over some pretty steep slickrock, which was lined with prehistoric dinosaur tracks, to the bluffs high above Arches National Park. It was a fantastic and tiring ride.

Do you see that grin on Jason
Do you see that grin on Jason's face? That comes from speeding over delicious slickrock at a dizzying rate.

Our journey to Hidden Canyon turned out to be more eventful than anticipated. The wind was in a foul humor that day. It rampaged as we tried to climb over the slickrock, pelting sand into our faces and adding another layer of difficulty to our ascent. Not only did we have to work much harder to pedal against the wind, we also had to struggle to keep our bikes stable as the persistent gusts threatened to blow us off our precarious trail. We weren’t entirely successful in this ongoing battle. As I was traversing some tricky rock the wind literally knocked me and my bike over. That cunning wind! Jason was more than willing to give up at that point but I wasn’t about to let that obstinate breeze whip me. He was glad we had stuck with it when we reached Hidden Canyon though. We got to enjoy its spectacular fiery sandstone ebbs and precipices in complete solitude. The ride back from Hidden Canyon was a cinch. The wind that had made our outgoing trip needlessly difficult aided us on our way back. We flew over the slickrock carried by gravity and the turbulent air. A small cactus growing in the middle of the trail made for a temporary setback when I unknowingly stepped on it but after some quick needle removal we were on our way again.

Hidden Canyon was a stunning and chaotic blend of brillliant oranges and reds. We got to marvel
Hidden Canyon was a stunning and chaotic blend of brilliant oranges and reds. We got to marvel at its edge without a single being to disturb our awe.
Jason paused on our way back from Hidden Canyon to illustrate that he had conquered.
Jason paused on our way back from Hidden Canyon to illustrate that he had conquered.

We took a break from all that biking by enjoying an afternoon hiking in Arches National Park. The wind was our temperamental companion at Arches as well. It made the 90+ temps quite comfortable but we were relentlessly bombarded by airborne sand as we explored. Oh well, a little grit in the eyes and ears never hurt anyone too much.

Viewing the graceful and puzzling curves of Delicate Arch was worth facing the blasts of wind that rupped across the plateau it remarkably ascends from.
Viewing the graceful and puzzling curves of Delicate Arch was worth facing the blasts of wind that ripped across the plateau it remarkably ascends from.
Double Arch is one of my favorite spots in Arches
Double Arch is one of my favorite spots in Arches and it's as good of a place as any for Jason to act silly in front of the camera.
Balanced Rock is one of the many gravity-defying oddities at Arches. How does it do that?
Balanced Rock is one of the many gravity-defying oddities at Arches. How does it do that?
The North and South Window arches toegther form
The North and South Window arches together form "the spectacles" from their backsides. Jason whined a bit when I requested that we take the long way around so we could view them from this angle. Poor boy! How could a wife be so cruel?

It was a crazy and delightful trip! We returned home sunburned, sand burned, scraped, bruised, and exhausted. I got more banged up than Jason but he won the prize for the worst injury, a title he has held our last two visits to Moab. He managed to pull a back muscle somewhere in the middle of our hiking/biking frenzy and he has been hobbling around like a decrepit old man ever since we arrived home.

Rachel May 27, 2010 No Comments

Goldilocks

When 600 powerful women converge on one location donning braids and biking shorts you ought to know that they mean business.

About a week ago I biked in a ride called Goldilocks. As its extremely girly name would suggest, this was a women only ride. The participants had the option of going 15, 30, or 60 miles and they were welcome to change their minds on which distance they were doing at any time. This wasn’t a competition; there was no starting times or disqualifications. You just commenced whenever you got the inclination and went at your own pace.

Jenn and I were about to start making tracks. Here we are at the starting line.
Here Jenn and I are at the starting line ready to begin tearing it up.

Even though this was Goldilocks’ first year it was very well organized and the route, which traveled through some lovely farmland, was clearly marked. I think even my scatterbrained brother Drew could have found his way. At the halfway point a beautifully catered lunch awaited the riders. Jason said you could tell this was a girly affair because the table spread at the luncheon looked way to cute to be meant for men. I agree; you men don’t deserve something so adorable.

It doesn't
Talk about girly! Every detail on the tables was feminine right down to the tread on those bike tires, which was in the shape of flowers.

It was fantastic to see so many capable women participating in this event. Groups of sisters, ladies with their mothers, bunches of girlfriends – they were all there and having a great time.

I was hoping to get a posse of my girlfriends to ride Goldilocks with me but for some reason they all seemed intimidated by the miles involved. Only one friend stepped up to the challenge: Jenn Marchbanks. Yeah Jenn! We opted to do 15 miles this year but next year I am aiming for riding at least 30.

Here I am nearing the completion of my journey.
Here I am nearly to the end of my 15 miles.

You men may feel like you completely missed out – you did – but don’t be too glum. Jason and I are going to ride in the Tour de Riverton on July 3rd. It’s a non-competitive 25 mile ride and men are allowed, or tolerated at the very least. So come join us! I guarantee that it won’t be as grueling as you imagine and it will be worth the effort.

Rachel May 18, 2010 No Comments
 Categories

Recent Posts

Recent Comments
Blogroll