Since then....

The cyclocross season ended well. We went to Jinglecross (mother was working, and I got to be a spectator for once) and the first day was just that. A day. A few minor highlights. The singlespeed race involved a dare to wear a speedo (singlespeedos... I think that sometimes the creativity of organizers ought to be checked. This was not one of those times). Several riders did... It was interesting. And amusing. I believe they were quite cold. The weather was actually quite good for cross, if a bit on the cold side (especially considering were were in the middle of Iowa on a flat bit of land and the only hills on the wrong side to block the wind). For Saturday, anyway. Sunday, on the other hand, was epic. It snowed a bit through Saturday night; I think it started about ten minutes after all of the officials finally cleared out for dinner. It then continued snowing all day. Where the snow managed to accumulate (and wasn't trampled to form a wet, slick, slippery, watery mud four inches deep as it was over much of the course and most spectator areas) it was several inches deep. I think it might have gotten as deep as six inches. It was quite a bit colder, too. And the snow was quite wet, so it soaked through several layers of clothes quite easily.

The spring semester has begun. I like school. Not that strange, but I actually enjoy it. I never realized I might actually enjoy school. But there's Music Theory. I freaking love Music Theory. And Ear Training. And Choir. And Music History is amazing. It's brilliant. I could go on about it for days. I love Music History. And voice lessons. And piano lessons. And clarinet lessons. It's all so much fun!!!


I can't imagine anything more fun that being a music major! You should do it too!!! Haha... But seriously, it's brilliant. I get to spend [almost] all of my time doing nothing but music! What could be more interesting?




So I still have this one request. I sang the Nation Anthem at several races this past season (several Superweek races, and then at the Men's National Pro Criterium Championship in Downer's Grove, which is the Sunday race). If there is anyone out there (this includes any aliens, if you couldn't tell) that has an audio, or audiovisual (which would be even better...), recording of me performing the anthem, I want it. Or a copy of it. But I need to know how I sounded, what I did, so I can build on that and improve it, or else I'll just keep doing it the same way over and over again, and no one wants to hear that. And if anyone hears about any performance or business gigs for a student musician in the Milwaukee area (especially the Whitefish Bay/Fox Point area) let me know! Poor artist here! Need money to feed my addiction of music books!

WCA Cyclocross Season So Far

So we kicked off the 2008 cyclocross season on Saturday September 27th at the Angell Park Jonathan Page UCI 'Cross. It was sunny most of the day, and a bit warm for cross weather. The fields were a good size, with riders from all over the country, even in the lower categories. I didn't get to see much of the racing (I was stuck inside playing race secretary with the computer), but I heard it all went quite well. I did get to see part of the Elite Men's race. By then, the outcome was pretty much decided, but there were a few smaller battles still going on and the racing I saw was quite good. Our local riders present at the race made a good showing.
September 28th, the second day of the Angell Park Cross, had weather much better suited to 'cross. Partly cloudy and chilly all day, I still didn't get to see much of the racing. The fields were about the same size as Saturday. I'm sure the racing was just as good. Again, I only got to see a bit of the Elite Men's race. The two days were pretty much identical from my perspective, but I didn't get to see much at all. Hopefully next time I can see more of the racing.
October 4th was the classic Cam-Rock race. Promoted and organized by the Brazen Dropouts team, it's a classic, and has been going on for as long as I can remember. The day was pretty chilly, except for a little while in the sun. Even though there was a heavy frost in the morning, the grass dried well and wasn't the least bit slippery. Regardless of the state of the turf, several riders still managed to have incidents rare to cyclocross. As far as I'm aware, we definitely broke on collarbone, bruised some ribs a bit, and got someone good on the back or shoulder. I later heard someone also hit their head, but I don't know anything about it. However unnatural these were to 'cross, they weren't too severe. The racing was good regardless.
October 5th was the Lapham Peak race, another classic. The day started nicely, a bit overcast and chilly, but not too bad overall. Later, though, it rained and got a bit windy. It stopped raining about halfway through the last race. I was working so I really only saw the bit around the finish line, but it's not the most boring bit of the course. The races were very competitive, even though the fields were a bit small (likely due to the weather forecast).

So I sort of forgot about this for a while, but...

I'll try to make it up to you (who ever out there is bored enough to read this).

So a fair bit has happened since I last posted here. Last year at Muscatine over Memorial Day weekend, Greg Harper had asked me to sing the anthem for the pro's, and I declined. Over the winter I sang the anthem at several of my school's basketball games and people seemed to like it. And I learned a little bit of anxiety management.... Haha. Then this year, at Superweek, which I was already attending as an official, the lead announcer, Eddy Van Guise, asked me to sing the anthem at some of the races. I deliberated, but quickly decided that the practice in performing would be worth it, and I knew I wouldn't have a major case of nerves and screw it up, even though I knew a lot of the people who would hear me sing it, which wasn't the case when I sang it at school. So I sang for Richton Park (a new race this year), one of the Benseville stages, Waukesha's Carl Zach Classic, Cedarburg, Downers Avenue, and Whitefish Bay.

We all survived Superweek this year, even though there were some organizational issues to be sorted out. Hopefully everything will be okay next year.

Local racing this year has been quite good. Cyclocross season starts at the end of the month, and I'll try to keep this updated throughout the season.

I survived moving into college and have a great roommate. She even likes good music. And she plays piano a bit and sings a bit. It's pretty damn cool. All my classes (except the required ones, which there are only two of) are pretty fun. I especially like the fact that I have around seven music classes. Definitely rocking out. And there's a music group (student run) up here that I've joined. It's called Howlin' at the Moon, and we do all sorts of music (whatever we can, and want to, play) and I think we'll be amazing because all of the people involved are really cool. Everyone here is pretty nice, and we do fun crazy stuff. yay!

Until MUCH later

The track season in Wisconsin and Norther Illinois ended last week on Thursday with the annual last-night cook-out at Northbrook. The actual racing, however, was rained out.

No more until next year!

Tonight was the last night of racing for the year at the Washington Bowl. A night of Danishes, Snowballs (we really needed some snowballs tonight....), and a Madison and a Points race, with lots of good racing. There were, surprisingly, more spectators on the hill than I think we've had all year. The Danishes were, of course won by all of the big sprinters (John Fraley in the Pro/1/2, Brandon Gavic and Kyle Jacobson were 1 and 2 in the Cat. 3's, Brandon Krawczyk in the Cat. 4's). The Madison was won by Andy Crater and Cole House. Rob Springer and Monique Hanley in Second, Kurt Otter and Jeff Thompson in Third, Eric Meier and Mitch Gantz in Fourth, Kyle Jacobson and Nicholas Holbus in Fifth, Damon Rinard and Bruce Bock in Sixth, and John Fraley and David Engwis in Seventh. The Snowballs were a special Kenosha Creation; on the first lap, there was one point, on the second, two and one, on the third, three and two, etc. So in the Pro/1/2 Snowball, the last lap was worth ten and nine points. Really, I think I might like it better that way... Easier to score, I think. Until the next bit of excitement, Bye!

Another day, more races...

Today was Tuesday, so we, of course, had racing at the Washington Bowl. We actually made it through the night. It didn't rain at all, nor did it ever appear close to doing so. Most of the races were fairly short, though. Two poles of lights were out (we believe that the fuses failed due to contact with water, because they turned on initially, but went out right away) but they're supposed to be fixed by next week, which will be the last week of racing there this year. As last week, I drove home from the track in dad's lovely white-and-false-wood-paneling Buick wagon. I did much better today than last week. No one tailgated me, and I managed to stay mostly on the road (just one little spot where I was a little too friendly with the white line), and even with the flooding covering one entire lane on W, just before it turns onto 50 heading toward the turn-offs for Burlington and Wilmot it wasn't too bad. The flooding is so bad from the rain that we got Saturday, Sunday, and early this morning that, at one point between Wilmot and Paddock Lake, one lane each direction is closed. More flooding than even several years ago when all of the roads surrounding Burlington were flooded in at least one point each, and some of them had flooding over a foot deep. County highways, flooded over a foot. That flooding lasted almost all summer (it kept raining all the time!!!). Marcie and I loved it.

Until the next race!

A sign of the coming Apocalypse?

This weekend were the Downer's Grove races. For the first time since I can remember, it rained at Downer's Grove. Not only did it rain, but it was absolutely frigid all weekend. It was like cyclocross weather. So we were cold, wet, and miserable all weekend. Saturday started out sunny and a little bit warmer than was comfortable. Soon it turned to pouring rain. It then continued raining until about ten on Sunday. The sun came out for maybe an hour, but then it started raining again. The racing this weekend was very good. Quite a few people crashed, as always, but maybe a few more because of the rain. The rain did have one good effect; even though more people crashed, a smaller percentage of those riders suffered painful injuries because they were able to slide on the wet pavement. We had the usual broken collarbones and road rash, but not much more than that. The Pro race was surprisingly large, considering the conditions, and quite a few of them finished. Other than the rain, though, Downer's Grove weekend was, as usual, the yearly social gathering of mid-western icons and race-government members. At least, that's what I call them... Haha. Until I have something remotely interesting to write, bye!

*sigh* long day

So I survived an evil doctor's appointment at evil St Catherine's and suchlike. It was pretty awful. I hate hospitals and the like. After that, though, we ate lunch at Quizno's in Gurnee and got milkshakes at Steak 'n' Shake. Then we stopped at the little music shop I noticed in Deerfield. I spent a long time there. And I got four new music books there (a clarinet method book (huge) and a jazz violin book and a vocal songs and arias book and a book full of double-stop exercises for violin) and then, after I left, I realized that they had chromatic pitch-pipes, and they were shiny, and I really wanted one, but we were already almost to the track, so that project is saved for another day. Chromatic pitch-pipe. Then I'll only need one pitch pipe for everything, and I'll have it.

At the track, there wasn't too much of interest, except that it was the first night that actually got cold. I was freezing by the end. In the Pro/1/2 field, however, we had five UCI riders (Chris Mesora (Delta Faucet), Dan Holloway (VMG), Emile Abraham (Priority Health), Adam Bergman (Colavita), and Todd Yezefsky(Nerac)) and they certainly spiced the racing action a bit. However, they did have some competition amongst the local 1's and 2's. Good racing tonight. No one fell down tonight, which is a rarity at Northbrook. It was a good night though, except for the cold.

So

Last night at the Washington Bowl, we had some real Pro's come out to race. Emile Abraham (Priority Health) and Adam Bergman (I can't remember what team) raced, with Abraham winning the main event points race and the Pro/1/2 Miss and Out, Bergman won the other Pro/1/2 race of the night. Two riders from Team Type 1 came out. One, a Cat. 4 male by the name of Nathon Bartells, did quite well in his races. The other was a Cat. 1/2 female, Monique Hanley, who rode only the men's Pro/1/2 races, and didn't ride with the women at all. Other than that, I don't think that there was much else of note. I drove home at the end of the night, though. Didn't hit anything, and I managed to drive at the speed limit the entire time. Haha.

Well then....

Today was Day One of the Second Annual Tour of Elk Grove. The Pro's raced two stages today; a 4.5 mile TT and an 80k race. Someone won the TT, etc, etc, all over and done with. Then we had the usual mundane, everyday races. The Cat 1/2 was a pretty good race and not too boring to watch. In the Pro race, no one managed to make a breakaway stick. As I was walking back to the start line, I saw the sprint, and it was brutal. It looked more like a sprint for a Keirin rather than the finish for a road-race-slash-criterium. I got to sit in the pit all day and "score." Not much scoring to be done from the pit; "So-and-so got/was denied a free lap and was pushed back into such-and-such group." In far fewer words, of course.... Lol. I get to sit in the pit all day tomorrow too.... Umm... I'm so excited I don't know what to do with myself? Haha. I found myself falling asleep near the end of the Pro race today. Well, home again tomorrow night, thankfully. Hopefully tomorrow's racing will go as well as today's did. I believe the only transport was a rider who broke his wrist in a crash. I think our local WI riders did quite well today, as well. On that note, I believe I will end this missive.

Em

Cool..... ?

So we survived another week's worth of racing at the Kenosha velodrome. Things were a little boring, but we need a little boringness every once in a while. Pat Kelly had repeated problems with his chain and rear wheel, but I think he might have gotten things straightened out. The Pro/1/2 field seemed to have some issues with each other (one person in particular, who I will not name). Nobody crashed, for once. There were, however, as always, arguments from a certain source in regard to the Junior's aged 10-14 Miss and Out results. It wouldn't be track in Kenosha without these certain people, so I guess we'll have to live with them... Haha.

Ok. So I have no life.

Today's Wisconsin State TT went quite well. No one crashed or got friendly with vehicles, even though there was more traffic than we ever got even on the Milton course. We had a lot of sub-hour times for the people riding the 40k course. My sister nearly beat her rival (mere seconds behind her, rather than the usual two minutes). Little Sam Huang did not get lost, and didn't exactly have a slow time, either. His sister Sarah, still needs to learn how to braid her hair out of the way. All in all, a good day. Tomorrow there is a race in Elgin. I won't be going, but mother is working and Marcie will be racing.

Well then...

Tonight was the weekly racing at the Northbrook Velodrome. The main event happened to be the 10th Annual Roger Delangey Classic. Chris Mosque (sp?) won it in a breakaway of five with Matt Fox (a former champion of the race) winning the field sprint. Only one rider fell down all night. A junior knocked himself down on the neutral lap of the second or third junior race. For some reason, we run three sets of races each night at Northbrook, rather than two as we do at Kenosha. Anyway. Quite a few people came to race the Delangey, making the rest of our racing much more exciting as well. Josh Weir, a former headache-causer from Superweek, raced without incident in the Pro/1/2 and made sure to proclaim his innocence to us. Very nice person, as far as I can see, really. An announcer commonly known as Bilco raced as well in the Pro/1/2 and Delangey Classic. Just a few people of note amongst the many who attended. The Wisconsin state TT is Saturday, in a place called Kansasville, WI. I have personally never heard of it before... Sad. I've lived in Wisconsin for nearly 13 years, and I've never heard of some of the places we come up with as race sites. There is a race in Elgin, IL on Sunday. I'll go to sleep now. We have a lot of catching up to do now that Superweek is over, as far as cleaning and laundry go. Haha...

Weird. And a little bit creepy.

So yesterday I was standing near an old man who was waiting for the right time to make a few announcements when he spoke to me. Important note vital to comprehension here: this man was about 80, as far as I could tell. He asked me if I had a boyfriend (which, for some reason, old people ask me quite often), and when I said no he was incredibly surprised. Then he said, "too bad, I'd be jealous of him." Number one, this is incredibly creepy. Number two, why? And number three, why me???? But apparently, I hold some generic 1940's "beauty" since old people of around that age seem to think I'm perfectly appealing to their eyes. This is just fucking creepy. I hope it never happens again. Maybe I'll take to wearing one of my largest rings on my left ring finger so that people will assume I'm married. I mean, some people have actually thought I'm in my 20's, so maybe it will work. Hopefully. Haha. Well, hopefully no more situations of similar composition will happen for the rest of the week. Well, Sara is coming over in a little while and I need to make sure everything is clean enough.

So

I think I used to have a blog here, but I might have given up on it at one point in time. So I think I'll introduce myself to myself. I'm Emma. Some people call me Emme, but very few are allowed. Mainly because my father started that particular nickname and I loathe him beyond measure. I have an older brother. He is an asshole and is currently refusing to talk to me simply because I told him to stop being obdurate and stupid. I have a younger sister who, in my opinion, needs a healthy dose of the real world. She currently lives in a land of fairy tales and happy endings. She is fifteen and a half. My mother just plain bothers me. We manage to get along most of the time, but living in an apartment that houses three females, a cat, and no males whatsoever, who are constantly in attendance is a bit stressful. My father lives in a small house intended only for vacationing that is about three minutes drive away from our apartment, in which I lived for roughly 10 years. For the first three and a half years of my life, we lived in an old, dying Victorian style house. Not a mansion by any means, but it held it's own beauty. It was a hideous yellow with white trim, and the paint was peeling all over the place. The most beautiful part was the attic. I only ever went up there twice; once was a brief look because my parents were absorbed in filling the moving truck (it took us about five or six years to finish moving out and get the house sold) and the second was about two days later to try and sketch the attic window. It was a beautiful piece of worked glass; not stained glass, but cut in patterns much like colored glass would be. Most of the plumbing was out of commission. It was a beautiful place, though. I miss it. I had three cats, which happened to all be males and from the same litter. They were entirely black except for a few whiskers. Trevor was the best behaved. He died when I was really little, though. Bear was next best behaved, but he was afraid of everything. Especially energetic children. He died when I was about 8. Nappy (Napoleon) lived longest and had the worst behavior. He could be quite amiable, but usually only after you'd given him most of your dinner. He was a huge cat, and he died on a sunny afternoon when I was fourteen. My dog, a beagle named Dusty, died the following morning. About four months after their deaths, we took in a cat who had originally belonged to the people living in the apartment downstairs and across the hall from us. They put her outside and she then began to follow us home routinely. We had to keep her. She is still here, and will probably live for a very long time.

My mother is big on the cycling scene. Her name is Heidi Mingesz, and she has been involved with Superweek (International Cycling Classic) since she was about 13. Otto Wenz is like a funny old grandpa to me and my sister. I've been going to Superweek since before I was born. Now I work at Superweek as a paid official. At our local races, almost all part of the WCA Cup series, I usually work. If I'm not working as a paid official I volunteer my services as a little results secretary. My father offers a photofinish service that is supplied to each of the local races by the WCA. I work every week at each of the local velodromes (Washington Park in Kenosha, WI, and the Ed Rudolph Meadowhill Velodrome in Northbrook, IL). Racing is every Tuesday night in Kenosha and every Thursday in Northbrook. I am one of the youngest officials in the country, thanks to the revocation of a USAC/USCF rule requiring us to be over the age of 18. Two and a half weeks from now, I will be working at the "Second Annual Elk Grove Village" race that has one of the biggest (and most top-heavy) paylists in the midwest. Maybe even in the country; I don't know. The week after that will be the Downer's Grove National Criterium Championships. I'll be walking around with a large bag carrying a camera and everything else I could possibly need should the world come to an abrupt end. Inside joke. I like taking pictures, but I rarely take them to be developed, so I really don't know if they're any good at all.

I think I've typed enough. I'm feeling sleepy, and I'm still recovering from seventeen days of sleep deprivation, so it's time to quit.