awhhhh, awhhh, naaaa. she can’t be leading him here, not here, she’s taking him to the guy across the aisle with a whole row of empties. nope, the empty seat next to me is filled and i resign myself to the fact that i’ll need to keep a steady pressure against my seat back for the whole flight or end up getting folded in half. this sucks, i hate u.s. air, whine whine whine. i’m in mid-sulk when i look up and see that my neighbor won’t have those seats next to him for very long. a young couple is being led down the aisle towards him and the man is holding something, is that, no it can’t be, oh yes it is, and just as i realize he’s is carrying a new-born crying baby i see the look on 30C’s face and, based on his expression, he’s figured out what’s going on too. my initial reaction was to begin to laugh at this poor fellow who just went from having his own row to getting babied.

then i overhear a stewardess speaking to 29D, “this isn’t an approved baby seat for this airplane. you’re going to have to remove the child from it and put him in the seat.” now how in the world is a seat for a full-size adult going to be any safer for that child than his car seat, i’m wondering as i realize how many babies are nearby. i’m completely surrounded. it’s finally happened, the perfect storm. in the blink of an eye, it hits me and i realize what’s happening. u.s. air identified myself and possibly the man across the aisle as well before i/we even boarded the plane because of the empty seats next to us on the trans-atlantic flight. they picked us out as the most likely customers to have a pleasant traveling experience and are systematically squashing those odds and turning our travel experience into a nightmare. it’s all adding up. how else in all my years of flying would the first leg of the three leg trip to vienna be the very first time i’ve had the pleasure of sharing part of my seat with the, let’s say spatially challenged, individual next to me. and a three leg journey?? i’ve never had to make so many stops just to get to europe. it really is happening… i begin to study my fellow passengers, suspicious of moles put in place by the airline to make me miserable. well, that guy over there with the big smile that smells like farts is definitely in on it, but for the most part everyone else looks just as morose as i feel.

another announcement is made, “we have headsets available for purchase for 5 dollars or 4 euros.” pssshhhh, do people seriously travel without headphones, i think as i retrieve my own headphones to watch a movie. i look at the armrest to discover those antiquated two-hole airplane headphone jacks. what?! i haven’t seen these since i was a kid. what kind of jack-ass airline is still making international flights with this kind of outdated crap. then i realize, it’s not outdated. it’s intentional. the conspiracy, how was that not my first thought. but these are on all the seats, not just mine, and as i begin to picture the other’s faces, except for the farting guy, i truly understand. it’s not just me they’re after. they’re after everyone. it’s like some sort of sick serial killer that frames people for their murders and takes the most pleasure in watching innocents go down for crimes they’ve committed. this airline is not just here to make money. that’s not satisfying enough. they’re here to gouge our money from us and then only truly take pleasure in watching us suffer for the duration of our exorbitantly priced travel. oh. my. god. as fear of what might happen if they discover what i know before i get off this plane floods my psyche, i lower my trey table to have a snack. yes food, that will calm my nerves. the trey table fails to stop itself and falls into my lap resting on my thighs. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

on the way from liptovsky to tacen, slovenia for world cup 1, a time-honored tradition makes another appearance. hams pressed against glass, horn honked, laughs guffawed. haha bros! bros! bros!

we’ve essentially become half-time roommates and refer to that time spent together as bro-time. the tally so far: six weeks in australia, more in charlotte than i want to count, and now traveling through europe on the shorter of two trips this summer. suffice it to say, i’ve spent more time with the boys than i have with anyone else since the beginning of 2011. this kind of 24-7 exposure melds friendships into something slightly more. what that slightly more comprises often depends on the moment. often for the better, but certainly not always. it’s like a brother-from-another-mother situation, also different fathers but that doesn’t rhyme as well.

here are two stories about my biological brother, 3 years my junior, that portray a little of what it’s like, albeit a little less intense, to spend this much time with your boys. this way i can leave out embarrassing or incriminating details of our current trip.

memory 1: approximate age 7, davis and i got bmx bikes for christmas one year. we rode them all the time, brothers, buddies, companions. that summer, a conflict ensued. it’s safe to say, that if i didn’t start it, i definitely finished it, or thought i did, and took it too far. the details are fuzzy until my very vivid recollection of walking into the garage to find my bike on it’s side with davis standing over it. arms over his head in mid-swing, he is small enough to hold a hammer like an ax. he brings the hammer/ax crashing down on the spokes of my bike. this destructive process repeats itself a couple times as i was too stunned to react quickly. then the memory fades. i’m not sure what followed my discovering him, but i hope i didn’t do anything to escalate.

memory 2: approximate age 12-14, watching one of davis’s track meets before he was too big to run. he’s competing in the 800 meter. i’m nervous before he starts. my skin tingles a little bit and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. this is one of the first times i’ve had this reaction watching someone else compete. as he rounds the final bend of the track, it’s too much for me to handle. i ditch my flip-flops and vault over the front of the bleachers about ten feet down to the sidewalk encricling the outside of the track and run him in.

so far, no one has smashed anyone else’s stuff and it’s pretty rare that we jump over fences to cheer for each other. but things of that nature do happen.

on saturday and sunday, a little late i know, we raced in liptovsky. my performance in c-1 wasn’t terrible. it wasn’t good either. in my opinion, c-2 was about the same. having it handed to me by the locals took me a couple days to get over. thus, sparing details on the race. i would link the results, but the page is jumbled and hard to understand. plus, i didn’t win and they’re old news at this point anyway. now it’s wednesday before the first world cup and training is going well. qualifiers for all classes will on friday. prompt results to follow.

oh yeah, here is little brother’s awesome hair cut.

about a week ago, june 10th, i get a phone call from isaac, “yo dude, we’re like five minutes from your exit. if you leave now we should get to the terminal about the same time.” always a few steps ahead, i reply, “cool man, we just left. i’ll see you there” isaac has a later flight than me, but he is on delta and they don’t take boats. we’re meeting at the terminal to make a handoff so i can take his kayak. upon arrival, we’re meeting scott parsons to drive to the galasport factory to pick up our new c-2 and my new c-1 which they delivered well faster than the normal production time because of my procrastination. did i say i was a few steps ahead earlier? that must have been a joke.

isaac gets to the airport a little before bailey and i, and makes another lap around the airport. this takes some time so bailey and i exchange our goodbyes in the pseudo private of a crowded drop-off/pick-up lane. i’m leaving to europe and will only be in the U.S. for two weeks between now and september 13th. bailey makes me take off my sunglasses. real men don’t show sadness in their faces. i guess the sunglasses were the last thing separating me from being a fake man. i send bailey along about a minute before isaac pulls up. sunglasses back on. we get the boat off and ready and he walks in with me to make sure the check in process goes smoothly and the boat gets on. “see you in munich, dog.” “yeah man, have a nice flight.” a super cool bro handshake follows and we part ways.

isaac hollers across the terminal on his way out, “enjoy the skateboard. the airport is the best time to have it!” we’ve decided to bring skateboards with us this year to solve what are usually two biggest gripes with every summer in europe: no independent mode of transportation and nothing to do in between workouts. i make it through security and take bailey’s longboard off my pack. i have to be careful, can’t break her skateboard. the best airport experience of my life is about to follow. although this isn’t nearly strong enough a commentary on how awesome skateboarding to the gate is, since the airport is one of my number one least favorite places to be.

i ride the escalator down from the security to the train level. i need to go all the way to the D gates, but, if anything, this is good news. i pump and push almost the entire length of hartsfield-jackson atlanta international, an act made even sweeter by the hair cut bailey gave me right before leaving. creating this kind of scene made the skating even better. shockingly, i received almost no negative feedback and most people actually seemed to enjoy a mulleted youth boarding across the smooth tile. i called bailey from the gate, no longer with a need for sunglasses, thanks to my new-found hobby. “you gotta come skate through the airport with me. it’s awesome!”

well, we’ve been here almost a week, most of which spent training in bratislava, slovakia, site of this year’s world championships. now we are in liptovský mikuláš for a race this weekend that is part of the slovak national championships. the water is a little low, but it should be a well attended race to serve as a perfect tune up for the beginning of the world cup next week.

come back soon for more updates on this summer’s europe trip and races!

here is the bullet list:

-march race in charlotte: win c-2-good. c-1-failed to finish a single run of four-bad. wasn’t going to race singles, but it was only five extra bucks. should have stuck with my gut.

-US open at NOC: win c-1-good. win c-2-good. all of my runs felt like a struggle, because for the most part the course is about 2 inches deep. we stayed at an awesome cabin with good friends and ate amazing food prepared with care by debra and david levinson, isaac’s parents.

-what? only two bullets? yep. that’s all i got. oh yeah, and this happened while home in atlanta decompressing from it all getting ready to come back up to charlotte, my current location, before trials:

cue dreamy music and fuzzy camera effects signaling viewer that upcoming events happened in the past but will be relayed as if in the present…

i’m sitting outside georgia state university in bailey’s car. today’s original plan involved me dropping her at the door so she could run in, grab some supplies to finish a project, and run back out. today was thought to be a classroom work day that could be spent at home. upon running in, she finds out the project is, in fact, due today and not tomorrow. after a few panicked back-and-forth texts, i receive one informing me it was the teacher’s mistake and she’s been allowed an extension. she will be a little while so i should just

go back, do my morning workout, and come back to get her afterwards.

alright, cool, glad the project isn’t a fail. i turn the key to the car… nothing, not even that futile clicking noise dead cars typically emit. come on. give me something. it’s only been ten minutes! at this point, i remember to turn the lights off, brilliant. after about twenty minutes of ‘letting it rest,’ i try again and at least get the clicks. ah, we’re getting somewhere!

i text bailey and get her to sneak out of class to grab this dumb battery jumper thing she keeps in her car that plugs into the wall so she can charge it while in class. at least the image of her sitting next that thing in class gets me to chuckle. in an effort not to wait the

entire class period, i start looking for people to beg for a jump. parked on a street in downtown where few people get out of their cars and those that do are in a hurry, i am not optimistic of getting the car started before she is done.

i ask 5 or 6 people for a jump during this period and all but one tell me they don’t have cables. there is no way that many people drive around without jumper cables! but what am i going to do, call them liars and demand their help? i probably wouldn’t want to help me either. the one parking attendant that admits to having cables goes back to his truck and after a few minutes of searching informed me that he was, “sorry man, but i’ve got the wrong truck today. the cables are in the other one.” i actually believe him, and it turns out to not be so bad. the dumb wall charging jumper thing ends up working and after an hour of being kind of cold and playing cell phone games we’re executing the original plan on a slight delay.

just when it’s all about to be over, we hit the curb right in front of her house. i mean RIGHT in front of her house, like literally where she parks her car. pppssshhshshshshh. instant flat. she laughs. i don’t. not ready to laugh yet. “alright,” i say, “go inside and start working. i’ll put the spare on.” she doesn’t, probably to make sure i don’t have a tantrum. i get the scion up on the jack. i find the spare, but no lug wrench and the one in my car won’t fit. i guess now it’s funny. at least the car is parked where it normally goes. we end up leaving the car up on the jack for the whole day before finding a wrench from her landlord/neighbor who took a minute to help us out. just one of those days.

again, apologies for the huge delay between updates. the annual pre team trials frenzy is on and i’m sure will supply with plenty of material for more frequent updates to come.

want to get involved, but can’t, won’t, or just don’t want to grow a mustache (i know i got a little tired of wearing mine). here is a great way to show your support! available in four stache styles and all shapes and sizes for average humans. look below and see which stache suits you best. when you find the one for you, just click on the mustache image. t-shirt proceeds will go to help fund my upcoming months of travel and racing.

if you were a mustache, how would you be… strong and bold like a cup of black coffee. this may be your shirt. addititionally, wearing this t-shirt doesn’t align you with a tyrannical russian leaders, only with strong mustaches. how do you think he got all that power anyway.

named for one of america’s greatest minds and writers, this mustache’s reputation always precedes itself. try one on and see how mark twain felt with an extra genius boost from the upper lip.

elegance and class or maybe just a little crazy. whatever comes to mind, there is no doubt that the name dali gets a reaction from everyone.

what can i really say about this classic statement, the fu. it outlines the mouth of all who wear it the way as if to underline all words spoken, letting listeners know to perk up and pay attention. wisdom is being dispensed.

i fell off the internet for a while. hopefully, no one feels let down and i haven’t lost the readership yet.

frequently on long trips such as this past one to australia, i tend to suffer from dives in enthusiasm, or micro-burnouts. the week leading into the race in australia was categorizable as one of these weeks. i had to just put my head down and keep doing workouts until the week was over. i opted not to blog during this week. apologies.

i finally made it home from australia after getting stuck in l.a. for a little while on the way back. bailey and i just returned from a nice weekend camping trip. click the picture below to exit to the album she posted and check them out.

the race went pretty well. isaac and had a blast in c-2. racing with a partner is a lot different than going through all the race preparation on your own with headphones in. for the amount of time we’ve been practicing together, our race was quite good and we enjoyed the entire process of racing two classes. the first test was a success we’re excited to continue improving.

my c-1 runs in the qualifier were not at all where i wanted to be, but it was enough to make it to the second day of racing, the one that actually counts. the top three quarters of my semifinal was good paddling. no penalties. there was move at the bottom i misjudged from the bank and lost a couple seconds in. i squeaked into the final in tenth. i posted a similar time in the final. i made good adjustments at the top, but just ran out of gas for the bottom half. racing two classes is tiring and i learned a lot about balancing the two physically as well as mentally. at this link, http://vod.sportstec.tv/, you’ll find video of the final runs in every class. my c-1 run is near the bottom. all in the the trip and the race was a success and i’m motivated to get back on it after a little time to relax after returning.

now onto the huge t-shirt announcement. friend/web-designer, austin crane, and i have been really pleased with how the site has turned out so far and have been brain-storming on how to make it more successful. T-SHIRTS!! we are now launching the newest hottest raddest t-shirt line on earth. our idea is to make a series of t-shirts themed with the website whose profits will go to help fund my training, traveling, and racing. pictured within this entry is the design for the fist t-shirt. there are many different mustache styles available! show your style and support at the same time! more details and higher quality pictures will come soon. stay tuned for details!