Wow has it really been 17 years?

I came across this article on the Snowboard Canada website.  They recently celebrated 20 years of publishing and in the 2012 Buyer's Guide, did a writeup that included all of the magazine covers since the beginning.

Here is the cover that I got from the Spring 1995 Issue

I did a quick glance through the list of 72 covers and although I might have made a mistake, 71 of the covers for the first 20 years have only one rider (the other one is the full 2010 Olympic team) and of those 71 covers, 6 riders got two covers.  So even though it's so long ago, it's still pretty cool to be 1 of 65 riders on the cover over a 20 year period.  These days there are way more than 65 snowboarders in front of me in lift line every time I get to the chairlift, some days you'd swear there are that many even when out in the backcountry.  Back in the day it was so cool that there would literally be 3-5 other riders on the whole mountain and you'd know each other by the end of the day.  Although I'm not as close to the snowboard scene as I once was, I still love to ride, it has shaped my life and continues to, but obviously there's way different priorities now.

I wonder if out of those 65 riders if I'm the only sucker to get a PhD???  I shouldn't be negative...I'm happy that I did my PhD it's just that finishing has been anti-climactic and now the "what's next?" adds to that somewhat.

Until next time....

~Christmas 2011~

This year we did a lot of traveling for the Christmas season! We started off by going out to Calgary to visit the Nelson half of the McNelson family. Amber was such a trooper that we managed to make the entire drive in one day! I think that her bunny was a big help on all of our long car rides. Every time she started to fuss I would ask her "Where's bunny?" and she would look around, grab bunny, snuggle him and forget why she was fussing in the first place.

Once we got to Calgary Amber was happy to be out of the truck and even happier to see Grandma and Grandpa Nelson! Tim was also happy to get his yearly double Jack photo :)

After a fantastic visit in Calgary filled with gourmet dinners, early Christmas celebrations, and some much needed family time we hit the road once again to Sechelt. Amber was once again a great traveler, however, by the time we got to Abbostford Amber was definitely making it known that she did not want to be in her car seat any longer! We felt so bad, but knew that it was best just to press on so we could make it home where she could play with her toys.

We managed to make it to Sechelt on Christmas Eve. When we got there, Amber was once again happy to be out of her car seat and very happy to see Grandma and Papa McCourt.

This year I was spoiled for Christmas as Tim decided to get me a brand new mountain bike!!

I was so excited to ride it as soon as possible, but due to a freak accident I ended up going to the emergency room on Christmas Eve to get 4 stitches in my pinky finger :( I did manage to get a few (slow) laps on my bike in the basement of my parents place though, which I figured was better than nothing!

Amber really seemed to enjoy Christmas day as well. She didn't quite have the hang of opening presents, but Loca was always close by to "help" her whenever she needed (or didn't need) it.

At one point we even decided to put Loca in her crate as a "time out" because she was trying to open everyone's presents.

Here are a few other great photos from Christmas:

After our fantastic visit in Sechelt we headed straight up to our cabin on Mt. Cain for new years. It was nice to be able to unplug for a few days and get in a couple days of snowboarding. Then on New Years day we headed home so that I could get ready to go to work on the 3rd!

My first week back at work went fairly well, although I missed Amber like crazy. I was itching to leave every day to go and pick her up. I think I may have broken into a jog a few times on my way to get her!

Amber seems to be enjoying daycare as well. She really likes Charlotte (daycare woman) and the other kid Gabriel. I'm happy that we found such a great place for her to be at during the day - it's a huge weight of my mind knowing that she's safe and happy while we're not with her.

Here's a photo of Amber in her special bed that Charlotte made for her at daycare (laundry hamper filled with blankets with a faux fur blanket on top). Apparently she absolutely loves it :)

Invisible Lacerator

As I slowly emerge from the social-prison known as grad school, along with the regular updates, I'll be telling some of the epic tales that occurred along the way...these may seem a bit random...and here is one that's been on my back burner for awhile.

The Tale of the Invisible Lacerator

Once upon a time there was a good older brother who kept telling his younger brother about the hidden gem known as West Sechelt for amazing singletrack.  The older brother had been learning the trails inside and out for several years and knew some of the best loops around.  One fine day that younger brother and his wife found their way out to Sechelt and off we were. The older brother really wanted them to experience the ride as as he normally did, i.e. start out from Kristy's parents house, which is the equivalent of slopeside ski accomodations - call it trailside if you will, do an amazing ride, and then come home to a hot tub and cold beers.

The day started out well.  A single photo got snapped of the Elkfordians about to drop into Skullduggery showing that they were indeed enjoying themselves.

But as you may have sensed...things were not to turn out so well on this fateful day. Just after Skullduggery on the very last steep-ish portion of Beaver Pond, my bro was leaned in to the right, and got his leg out a bit and got it caught on this stumpy-branch on the right hand side of the trail that was almost invisible in the lighting that day.  In the photo below, the branch is on the right in the brightest sun spot.  I snapped this right after it happened.

Up close you see how gross this really was.  There is some fresh human leg meat complete with leg hair on the end of the stumpy-branch hereinafter known as the Invisible Lacerator.

It is a tree stump from a fallen tree so it's solid, not like a normal branch with some give to  it.  Paul kept riding, i.e. no crash, but was in a ton of pain, looked down and couldn’t believe what he saw.  WARNING: NOT FOR WEAK STOMACHS!!

Instead of the glorious apres-ride as envisioned, SJ, like the amazing athlete-nurse that she is, and the only one wearing two layers, ripped off her shirt and tied it around Paul's gaping leg and we went down the first forest service road we came to.  Once I got in cell reception we called in the Brigade.  Steve and Uncle Oly grabbed my truck keys and showed up to meet us.  That was the end of the Elkfordians biking trip and Paul required 14 external stitches, plus internal stitching and a drain.  Emergency was busy that night and it took hours, so again, like the good brother I am, I brought them pizza in the ER ward to satisfy the post half-ride hunger.

Also like the good older brother that I am, I returned to that trail the next time I was up  there and I tore that Invisible Lacerator a new one.  Before I did though...I took a bunch of photos showing  just how brutal this seemingly errant stumpy-branch really was.  Just for reference the bright orange saw is in the same place in all the precut photos.

Precut close up  - downhill view

Precut - uphill view 

Precut - downhill approach zoomed out

Precut - downhill  approach zooming even farther out

Lacerator Removal Machine

Postcut - Death to the Lacerator - Downhill view

Postcut - Death to the Lacerator - Uphill view

I rode this trail, among others on Christmas day.  It was glorious, and of course I noticed how safe/open the trail is now.








And that concludes the tale of the Invisible Lacerator.

Stay tuned for more random stories as I am unemployed  and procrastinating on my business plan writing.

Success - Dr. McNelson at last!

I did it. I pulled off the defense.

It was intense. As per normal I was up late the night before working on the presentation, trying to get it down to 30 minutes. Finally at 1:00 AM just decided sleep was more important and rode my bike home on a frosty December evening. Clear sky, cold air, slippery pavement with frozen leaves, it was so surreal to be riding home thinking..."wow, this is the day of my defense, I better not wipe out riding my bike home!!"

Even at noon on the day of I rehearsed my talk at 36 minutes long knowing the 30 minutes is strictly enforced.

The stress throughout the day was crazy. So much so I could only get down about a 1/3 of cup of coffee, where normally I'd drink 3. I couldn't eat - forced down a bowl of granola like sand rubbing down my dry esophagus. By the time we left, at 3:05 to get all the way cross-town to Point Grey campus to start at 4:00, I was shaking and seriously trying to just meditate as Kristy drove to calm down. Thank God Kristy had one of Amber's spit up towels in her purse for me to continually dry my waterfall-like sweaty palms...I know gross on the details but seriously I have never felt stress like that in my life.

To add to matters, one of the University examiners mixed up his schedule and though it was at 4:30 instead of 4:00, so the tiny room of 16 people had to wait for a full half hour to get started. Again, thank God for Kristy and the power of her banana bread to keep things manageable. I used the opportunity to tell the whole audience the story about how the chair of the exam did all my knee surgeries years ago...

Anyways, to sum it up, despite the pressure, I nailed it. Talk was 29 minutes, followed by 2 hours of questioning. I think the temperature in the room was approaching 30 Celsius and I stood the whole time in my suit. I think the 10" diameter pit stain pretty much shows it all.

When I came back in the room, all the examiners had signed the form and although I have zero details, found out I am going to be nominated for an award for my work. Wow....and I was going into it thinking that I'd pass, but not really "feeling that I was going to pass" if that makes any sense. I do have some minor revisions to make that might end up taking the week and then I'll get to hand it in for good.

It hasn't really sunk it yet but I'm standing a little straighter with a bounce in my step. So far so good..

And of course it wouldn't be right without the PhD comics to match. This comic strip likely saves grad students' lives, and it hits especially close to home for me as it's written by a guy who did his PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

Night Before

Day Of

The Aftermath

Dr. McNelson out....

A big year for the McNelson family!

2011 has been a big year for us to say the least! We welcomed Amber into our family:

 I got my P.Eng. designation:

And soon we will have a doctor in our family!

       *Picture to be posted shortly!*

Now onto the Amber update.....

This last month has been a big one for Amber too. She finally decided to upgrade from skooching:

To crawling! 

Fortunately Tim was also able to witness her first attempt :)

  Since then, Amber has been practicing her crawling techniques and has been having a lot of fun with it. Needless to say Loca is doing a lot more running away these days!

Tim also recently set up our mini Christmas tree and Amber absolutely loves it when the lights are on. Every time she sees it she points and starts shrieking. She usually likes to sit next to it and touch all the ornaments and lights on it :)

Amber is also becoming more and more independent these days. On a typical day I'm lucky if she'll let me feed her one meal with a spoon. She loves to stuff handfuls of food into her mouth and typically drops a few handfuls down the side for Loca as well. Actually, that usually signifies that she's full....once she starts feeding Loca on purpose I know she's done!

 

That pretty much sums it up for us at the moment, but there will definitely be more exciting posts in the near future!

Only 2 More Days of Prep

Well it's down to the wire...

The presentation is coming along. I've got 2 more days to prepare and then it's time to just accept that there is nothing left for me to do; other than go do my best and accept my fate.

And if this isn't the nerdiest thing you've ever seen...these are images to represent my four research chapters.



I went and visited "the room" last Monday to help with the positive visualization. I've always done well with presentations in the past, so hopefully this one will be no different.





It's not really "about" the presentation though, that is just my chance to impress. The examiners have had a month to prepare their questions, but I have to answer them on the spot. That is the make or break.

The way it works at UBC, is that the external examiner submitted his report, with his recommendation for pass/fail 1 week ago. If the report had come back negative, my exam would not even be proceeding so at some level I kind of "know" that I should get through this, but I also know that mo matter what it's going to be hard.

Anyways...Friday night at the lab; hopefully for the last time, but depending on how significant my post-defense revisions end up being I still may have another few all-nighters left in me.

Only time will tell.

Subtle Reminders....pangs of fear...preparing for victory

I've had more than a few big exams or presentations that I knew were "a long ways off". It's been interesting to observe in myself how the stress builds up as the date draws near. Seeing the date of my upcoming defense exam printed as the best-before-date on the coffee cream today caused some mild anxiety. Every time I opened the fridge I got a mild pang of OMFG!!! It has prompted me to finally fully commit to this preparation and stop multi-tasking it with other things. I've got 12 days to get as reviewed and fresh as I can and then just accept my fate.



What's also interesting is structured procrastination. This is the theory that you can only overcome procrastination of a hated task when you are procrastinating on something else even more important and likely more unpleasant. Since this defense is definitely the most important and scariest exam of my life, and one I'm heavily invested in both emotionally and financially, I've suddenly been thrown into high gear working on a business plan, cover letters, CV, Resume(s), filing back-taxes, and my job experience report for my P.Eng. application.

Even writing this blog is just more procrastination. The mandatory PhDcomics.com cartoons display two fears: First that I will actually end up leaving it until the last night and second is that ever-slight doubt of if my work is "good enough"?





Whoops gotta run...the Canucks game is on!