Dear Internet,
I had a very good weekend.
I took off early from work Friday to rest up and finally get rid of this cough that's been plaguing me since I got back from vacation, but alas: there is no rest for the socially active. Also, Internet, doing an 800 meter race on Saturday morning did not help the cough, nor did the vast amounts of Windex used when I helped to clean up the boathouse for the end of the year shutdown.
I'm still unsure of the name of the race we did on Saturday morning but it is now an MBC tradition: a race done on the day we pull out the dock. Is it Head of the Hyndman? or Head of the Hynie? or the Hind of the Hyndman? Whatever it's called, it's a lot of fun, and its namesake was even there all the way from Switzerland (but he still let me row the 1x I'm renting from him, which was nice of him). And then he got disqualified. Not once, but twice. I don't really understand how a person can get DQed twice in one race, but Martin somehow managed it. (Though it is the Head of the Hynie, so I guess that really does explain it all.)
Lining up at the start isn't so much getting into alignment with the other boats as it is just getting your boat pointed in generally the right direction (downriver towards Raspberry Island). And forget bothering to get even with the other boats. Coach Peter DQed half the contenders before we even started (OK, he only disqualified a couple people; he assessed lots of penalties right away: 10 minutes here, 4 minutes there, 30 seconds on another. Internet, apparently what you wear is as big of a deal in this race as how well you row. If you wear green (evil rival Minneapolis color), expect large penalties. Also, if you wear silver lamé pants while you row, expect penalties + jeering from fellow rowers.) Also, if you re-rig your boat to row it as a double instead of a pair, you'll probably get penalized (though your chances of flipping and getting wet may be lessened), never mind the penalty from not being in a single in the first place.
This year the start of the 800 meter race was announced in three different languages, adding to the hilarious chaos. I could get through the French and English, but when Coach Peter threw in German, I had no idea what was going on. (He probably told us all that we're horrible rowers when he was speaking German at us, for all I know.)
Another rule of this race involves doughnuts, Internet, making it one of my very favorite races of the year. In the past, we have had to race with doughnuts in our mouths - but you can't eat it during the race. This year, Coach Peter decided for the sake of safety to nix that requirement, but we still each had to have a doughnut in the boat. Because of that rule change, I went all out and got a custard-filled, chocolate-covered doughnut. Then, after you finish the race, and before you dock, you have to eat it or risk disqualification. Internet, eating a doughnut is not an easy task when you're breathing very hard and would rather not eat anything at all at that moment. But down the hatch it goes. Also: if you are very smart and don't want to eat your doughnut, toss it in the river as a couple people did (so I heard - I ate every delicious bite of mine, and by no means am I endorsing littering, especially when it involves throwing away something pleasant to eat). If you are silly (Martin), you'll forget all about eating it or throwing it in the river and get DQed again.
All in all, Internet, it was a fun race. Also, I am proud to report that I was the first on the water back in March, and the last off the water in November (well, Captain Jac docked just after me - close enough). Never mind that there were, oh, two or three months in the middle of that when I didn't row at all because of a small injury.
And then after that, Internet, we took out the dock and the barge, and scrubbed everything we could down, including a bunch of boats. I still have to wash my boat this week, but that's a small chore compared to the work we put in on Saturday. And oh, Internet! It's so sad to have the dock out when it's going to be a beautiful week, with weather in the 50s and sun and no wind. The water would be perfect for rowing.
I also discovered a couple new boutiques on Saturday after lunch at Salut: Picky Girl, Stella Blu, and Shu. And then after that, Internet, my friend Abby bestowed some Wild tix on me (thanks, Abby!), and friend Kim and I went to the game. Even better: they won. But I am sad to report there wasn't a great hockey fight. I'm not really into sports that are inherently violent like boxing, Internet, but for some reason, I feel like a hockey game is incomplete if there isn't a good fight.
And then last night I started back up with the orchestra. This Christmas, we're playing the second suite from the Nutcracker, which is the one with the songs in it that no one's ever heard before (other than the Pas Des Deux). It's a bit challenging, especially since I'm sitting with the concertmaster this series and there are some first stand solos involving harmonics and such, but it will be fun (although I kind of wish that we were playing both first and second suites so people will not walk in and wonder why they're not hearing the normal Tchaikovsky version of the Nutcracker, even though we're playing it - just not all of it).
And that plus a few other things, like church and cooking up a double batch of chili, was my weekend, Internet. I hope yours was just as good without me as mine was without you.
Love,
Minny LinnEy
I had a very good weekend.
I took off early from work Friday to rest up and finally get rid of this cough that's been plaguing me since I got back from vacation, but alas: there is no rest for the socially active. Also, Internet, doing an 800 meter race on Saturday morning did not help the cough, nor did the vast amounts of Windex used when I helped to clean up the boathouse for the end of the year shutdown.
I'm still unsure of the name of the race we did on Saturday morning but it is now an MBC tradition: a race done on the day we pull out the dock. Is it Head of the Hyndman? or Head of the Hynie? or the Hind of the Hyndman? Whatever it's called, it's a lot of fun, and its namesake was even there all the way from Switzerland (but he still let me row the 1x I'm renting from him, which was nice of him). And then he got disqualified. Not once, but twice. I don't really understand how a person can get DQed twice in one race, but Martin somehow managed it. (Though it is the Head of the Hynie, so I guess that really does explain it all.)
Lining up at the start isn't so much getting into alignment with the other boats as it is just getting your boat pointed in generally the right direction (downriver towards Raspberry Island). And forget bothering to get even with the other boats. Coach Peter DQed half the contenders before we even started (OK, he only disqualified a couple people; he assessed lots of penalties right away: 10 minutes here, 4 minutes there, 30 seconds on another. Internet, apparently what you wear is as big of a deal in this race as how well you row. If you wear green (evil rival Minneapolis color), expect large penalties. Also, if you wear silver lamé pants while you row, expect penalties + jeering from fellow rowers.) Also, if you re-rig your boat to row it as a double instead of a pair, you'll probably get penalized (though your chances of flipping and getting wet may be lessened), never mind the penalty from not being in a single in the first place.
This year the start of the 800 meter race was announced in three different languages, adding to the hilarious chaos. I could get through the French and English, but when Coach Peter threw in German, I had no idea what was going on. (He probably told us all that we're horrible rowers when he was speaking German at us, for all I know.)
Another rule of this race involves doughnuts, Internet, making it one of my very favorite races of the year. In the past, we have had to race with doughnuts in our mouths - but you can't eat it during the race. This year, Coach Peter decided for the sake of safety to nix that requirement, but we still each had to have a doughnut in the boat. Because of that rule change, I went all out and got a custard-filled, chocolate-covered doughnut. Then, after you finish the race, and before you dock, you have to eat it or risk disqualification. Internet, eating a doughnut is not an easy task when you're breathing very hard and would rather not eat anything at all at that moment. But down the hatch it goes. Also: if you are very smart and don't want to eat your doughnut, toss it in the river as a couple people did (so I heard - I ate every delicious bite of mine, and by no means am I endorsing littering, especially when it involves throwing away something pleasant to eat). If you are silly (Martin), you'll forget all about eating it or throwing it in the river and get DQed again.
All in all, Internet, it was a fun race. Also, I am proud to report that I was the first on the water back in March, and the last off the water in November (well, Captain Jac docked just after me - close enough). Never mind that there were, oh, two or three months in the middle of that when I didn't row at all because of a small injury.
And then after that, Internet, we took out the dock and the barge, and scrubbed everything we could down, including a bunch of boats. I still have to wash my boat this week, but that's a small chore compared to the work we put in on Saturday. And oh, Internet! It's so sad to have the dock out when it's going to be a beautiful week, with weather in the 50s and sun and no wind. The water would be perfect for rowing.
I also discovered a couple new boutiques on Saturday after lunch at Salut: Picky Girl, Stella Blu, and Shu. And then after that, Internet, my friend Abby bestowed some Wild tix on me (thanks, Abby!), and friend Kim and I went to the game. Even better: they won. But I am sad to report there wasn't a great hockey fight. I'm not really into sports that are inherently violent like boxing, Internet, but for some reason, I feel like a hockey game is incomplete if there isn't a good fight.
And then last night I started back up with the orchestra. This Christmas, we're playing the second suite from the Nutcracker, which is the one with the songs in it that no one's ever heard before (other than the Pas Des Deux). It's a bit challenging, especially since I'm sitting with the concertmaster this series and there are some first stand solos involving harmonics and such, but it will be fun (although I kind of wish that we were playing both first and second suites so people will not walk in and wonder why they're not hearing the normal Tchaikovsky version of the Nutcracker, even though we're playing it - just not all of it).
And that plus a few other things, like church and cooking up a double batch of chili, was my weekend, Internet. I hope yours was just as good without me as mine was without you.
Love,
Minny LinnEy
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