Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nam vulputate porttitor arcu. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Fusce lorem elit, tincidunt et, cursus vitae, mollis vehicula, turpis. In egestas vehicula mi. Aliquam tempor vestibulum odio. Aenean tristique, tellus vel pellentesque egestas, pede pede fermentum odio, sit amet sodales nulla leo id mauris. Nulla facilisi. Morbi semper, odio vitae ullamcorper viverra, nunc nulla facilisis mi, a semper dolor sapien ac lacus. Donec ullamcorper ligula quis nulla posuere sagittis. Maecenas eu nunc et nisl congue fermentum. Nulla bibendum. Fusce eget mi sit amet lorem tempus tincidunt. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; In leo turpis, sodales quis, accumsan id, commodo at, enim. Nulla ornare accumsan nibh. Sed eget odio. Maecenas orci nibh, consequat nec, posuere eget, malesuada lobortis, nunc. Nunc fringilla, velit lacinia dapibus consequat, arcu enim rutrum neque, vitae pulvinar lectus neque nec odio. Praesent est diam, faucibus nec, laoreet id, tempor id, tellus. Praesent aliquam pretium risus.

Vestibulum elementum. Duis convallis nulla rhoncus augue. Proin malesuada augue et justo. Cras libero odio, nonummy eget, pellentesque viverra, feugiat vel, metus. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Mauris sodales lorem et libero. Vivamus accumsan, urna faucibus eleifend vestibulum, tellus mi tristique est, vitae dignissim odio mauris nec turpis. Aliquam cursus posuere libero. Donec rhoncus varius dolor. Quisque nec nisl eu quam dapibus sodales. Aliquam erat volutpat. Quisque at nibh. Nam eget neque eget mi fringilla condimentum. Pellentesque eget risus. Etiam quis neque vitae magna lobortis adipiscing. Suspendisse at odio lobortis neque gravida pretium. Suspendisse quis nulla ut velit condimentum pretium. Mauris convallis diam. Nulla euismod, ligula ut ornare fermentum, mauris urna gravida tortor, sodales semper tellus odio vel velit. Sed ullamcorper orci ac nisi.

Off to SF - Analogy for the gift.

Off to San Francisco for the weekend tomorrow after the San Ardo race. We'll be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary by shopping, spending money, and I get to race on Labor Day in the Giro. I complained to a blogging friend about the anniversary gift dilemma, and he asked "at what point do you reach the bounds and limits of thoughtfullness" when it comes to gift buying. I responded with this analogy:

Marriage is a lot like baseball. Beer and hotdogs make it palatable and almost enjoyable. No seriously, managing the gift side of things in marriage is a lot like a baseball game. Technically you have 4 or 5 gift-giving times during a year (aka "game"):

- Valentines Day
- Mothers Day (optional)
- Birthday
- Anniversary
- Christmas

Picture these times as "at bats". Just like the gift-giving for an average husband in a year, an everyday ballplayer usually gets 4 at-bats a game, sometimes 5 depending on the pace.

A great ballplayer generally will go 1-for-4, often 2-for-4, and sometimes 3-for-5. However, they will almost always put the ball in play and rarely strike out. Every now and then they will have a 4-for-5 or a perfect 5-for-5 game.

A good ballplayer generally will go 1-for-4 one night and 2-for-5 the next night. They sometimes strike out, but tend to put the ball in play more often.

An average ballplayer will go 1-for-5 most nights and occasionally go 2-for-4 or 2-for-5. They tend to strike out in streaks, a lot of K's in a short period of time isn't unusual. Other times they'll be lucky and have a good contact streak.

A lousy ballplayer will sometimes go 1-for-4, and strikes out the rest of the time.

You as a husband will fall into one of these categories. Me, I see myself as an "average ballplayer". Great gift-giving husbands / ballplayers aren't made, they're born. Either you have the talent or not. Hard work can help to develop raw talent, but if you don't have the eye for the ball/gift, you're generally doomed to toil at an average or below-average level.

almost done

the racing season is almost done. i'm exhausted, burned out, and ready to rest.