12/5/2012 Family Update

Hello family,

It’s been about a month and a half since our last update so here goes. 

The weather around in Colorado has been amazing for the last two months.  There was no snow in Denver during the month of November and today’s forecast calls for highs in the upper 60s.  It has been very pleasant during the days and the nights haven’t been very cold.  In fact, I think there were only a handful of mornings back in October where I had to scrape frost off the car windows.  This is the warmest fall/winter I can remember. 

We still have four little pugs in our house.  In the last update I mentioned Bailey as having pneumonia after aspirating something.  Unfortunately, the saga continues as he got mostly better on medicine but then declined again after running out of pills.  He’s taking antibiotics again and has been making progress.  We’re hoping he’s 100% in a couple of weeks. 

We had a little unexpected excitement with Sophie.  She had a sore on her front left paw that got infected. Susan took her in to the vet to get it looked at and found out that, unrelated to her paw, Sophie was just going into heat.  This was a surprise to all of us as she was spayed a year ago.  Sophie got some pills for her paw and Susan picked up some doggie diapers to help our furniture and carpet get through the next week.  Sophie had had her dew claws removed some indeterminate time ago but the procedure left something behind in her left paw which led to the infection.  We’re taking her to the vet that was supposed to have spayed her this Saturday to find out what’s what.  Because both taking care of Sophie’s dew claw and getting her spayed (again?) require her to be put under the vet wants to do them at the same time.  Poor little thing!  Besides all this she’s been quite the sweetie and has somehow managed to get onto the couch a few times on her own this last week (quite a feat for her tiny self!). 

Satchel is having back pain again.  You may remember that almost two years ago she started to show real signs of having pain in her back.  The vet found she had three slipped discs and we’ve been giving her medication/getting her shots when necessary ever since.  It seems like she suffers when the weather gets cold and we can tell she’s hurting again.  We got some new pills to hopefully make her feel better.

Tweetie is still cute as pie and as mischievous as ever.  She just turned nine a few weeks ago and doesn’t seem to have slowed down much at all.   I think she’s going to outlive me. 

Thanksgiving was at our house for the first time this year.  The day itself went really well and we had fifteen people eating around three conjoined tables that stretched from the kitchen into the living room.  Our new oven worked perfectly (thanks Mom!) and the food was fantastic.  Everyone had a good time and it seemed everything went off without a hitch.  I think we’ll be hosting more family celebrations going forward which I know Susan’s parents will appreciate. 

Our racing season ended last month and we’re enjoying some extra time on the weekends.  Susan and I did well rallycrossing this past year; I got first place and Susan fifth in our class.  During the break before the next season we’re going to upgrade the WRX to be more competitive.  We now have better springs and a lightened flywheel ready to install.  We are also looking for struts to get revalved.  We know the turbo leaks a little oil and will have to be replaced but are hoping it can survive another year ($$$).  To help us make it through the lull in automotive excitement we’ve done some karting and autocrossing. 

We just added a new member to our car-family on Monday night – a red 1990 Mazda Miata!  Susan and I had been talking about getting one off and on for a long time and finally made our move.  It is a very clean car that has been modified and upgraded exactly like we would have done.  It has all the safe upgrades and none of the scary ones.  Safe meaning things that make the car safer and more pleasant to drive (functional roll bar, suspension, chassis bracing, a/c, power everything) and scary meaning things that are hard on the car (turbocharger, supercharger).  It comes with the factory hard top as well as the soft top which are both in amazing shape.  As you all may know the Miata is completely gutless but I’ve never driven a car that felt so connected to the road.  We’re planning on it being our “everything” car that we daily drive, autocross, and take to the track.  Yes, Susan and I are a little crazy.  We now have the titles to five cars - four of which run.  We can schedule test drives during the family reunion as time allows.  ;)

Well, the word counter says I’ve typed over 850 words which is a lot to read.  I hope this finds everyone healthy and happy!

Max and Susan

10/26/2012 Family Update

Hello everyone!

These last couple months have been busy for us. 

The last update I sent out ended on a pretty sad note with the loss of our sweet foster pug Rosie.  It didn’t take us long to decide to get another and we took on a female bug (boston terrier-pug mix) named Rugby. Rugby was sweet but more than a little neurotic.  She did not get along with Satchel and Tweetie at all and after a few weeks we gave her back to foster home she came from.  From this same home we then got two pugs that had originally come from a Missouri puppy mill, Bailey and Sophie.  Despite having what is generally a female dog name Bailey is a male.  He is blind and has to take medicine for a collapsed trachea.  Sophie is very small but pretty sausage-like in her shape when she came into our home.  She is essentially deaf and doesn’t see very well.  Their ages are estimated to be between eight and eleven years old.  They are very sweet and seem to have acclimated well to our home and schedule.  We’ve been closely controlling Sophie’s diet and, while I wouldn’t call her svelte, she has obtained a discernible waist. As you might imagine Bailey runs into things a lot.  Like almost constantly.  He has learned the layout of the house somewhat but must have a very tough snout.  He loves to cuddle and always wants to be close by.  I think it’s safe to say that he’s my little buddy.  Sophie is in love with Susan.  She tolerates me but cries and is almost inconsolable when Susan leaves the room.  We did have a scare with Bailey this last weekend. 

I went to let the fosters out of their kennel on Friday morning and Bailey didn’t want to step outside.  He was shaking and taking very shallow breaths.  He wouldn’t eat and his back was very arched.  Obviously he was in a lot of pain.  Susan took him to the vet as soon as they opened and Bailey was diagnosed with pneumonia caused from aspirating something.  They didn’t know what this something was but it was mostly likely either a piece of dinner from the night before or stomach acid.  He was in very bad shape and the vet recommended he be put down.  Susan went to work as she waited to hear back from people that run the pug rescue program.  At around the same time Susan got a call back from pug rescue the vet called to tell her that Bailey was making a fantastic recovery and would be fine.  He is a very tough little dog and made a dramatic turnaround during the day.  Susan and I both met at the vet after work to bring him home.  He’s coughed and hacked a lot for the first few days afterwards and is now mostly back to normal.  The incident really shocked us as he was completely fine the night before and gave us no indication something was wrong before he was gravely ill the next morning.  We are very glad he pulled through and have decided to give him treats on a daily basis from now on. 

At the end of September we replaced the furniture in our living room (thanks Mom!).  The old set was a wedding present from Mom and Dad and, while providing comfortable seating for nine years, was getting ragged around the edges.  Because of the layout in the living room and after much debate we decided to get a sofa and modular sectionals.  The new furniture has really opened up the room while providing more seating than before. 

The 2012 Rallycross National Championships were held from October 5-7 in Tulsa and Susan and I made an appearance.  We were very busy during our trip but had time to see a few relatives for dinner the night before the event started.  We saw Billy, Janie, Charlie, Dina, Alice, Amanda (Kevin’s wife), and Kevin’s baby (whose name eludes me right now).  We had a good time visiting over burgers at a local restaurant chain and at Billy and Janie’s house. 

The event itself felt like it went very quickly.  The first day was registration and tech where we all line up our cars and check to make sure everyone is following the rules.  We also got to drive on a test course to get a feel for the conditions.  On day two we got to race.  There were two heats that day – one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Our WRX was acting funny and would randomly stall when idling.  It turns out the blow off valve and the tune we’re running doesn’t work as efficiently at lower altitudes.  Luckily for us there isn’t any idling when we’re driving the course so the issues didn’t adversely affect our performance.  I was in second place at the end of the day but was knocked down to third when the first run was thrown out.  A course change was made and none of the drivers in our class heard about it (the rules say that every driver should know about course changes).  One driver was really upset and appealed that the run be thrown out. His argument was convincing enough that the run was excluded from the results. 

Day three consisted of racing in the morning and trophies in the afternoon.  The car held together great and we were fast.  I wasn’t quick enough to make up all the time I was behind the competitor ahead of me and got third place (yes, I would have gotten second place if the first run wasn’t thrown out… I’m still trying not to be bitter).  Susan had some really fast runs and landed in eleventh place against some fierce competition.  A lot of people from our region came out and Susan and I had a great time.

For the past month and a half or so my band has been working on a new CD.  This has entailed me being downstairs in the studio for many hours recording the other band members but mostly by myself.  I was hoping to have it finished by the end of the year but I don’t know if that’s going to happen.  At this point all of the songs going on the CD were written by me and I’m hoping Ryan can add a couple of his own. 

I hope this finds everyone happy and well!

Love,

Max and Susan

7/23/2012 Family Update

Hello Family,

It’s been around a month since our last update so here goes.

In the first week of the July Mom stopped by on her family tour and stayed with us for a few days.  It was fun visiting and we enjoyed having her around.  Highlights include the trips out to dinner and the always stimulating conversations.  Of course Mom also got to witness Kari and Alvin getting married.  Everyone in the family was happy to see them finally tie the knot!

A few days after Mom flew back to Georgia Susan picked up another foster rescue dog named Rugby.  Rugby is a nine year old female pug-Boston terrier mix (“bug” is what they’re called).  She is a little taller and heavier than the other girls and has some serious spunk.  We believe she was raised as an outside dog as she seems very at peace when she goes out.  Satchel and Tweetie take outside time as an opportunity to eat and smell everything they can while Rugby will lounge out on the grass after she does her business.  She and Tweetie have butted heads a few times but this has lessened as they’ve learned each other’s limits and we’ve learned when we need to keep them apart.  Rugby is very sweet and loves to cuddle.  She is very fond of toys and often falls asleep with one still lodged in her mouth. 

Susan got a chance to perform some professional photography on July 14^th when she photographed a friend’s country farm wedding.  I came along to help out and enjoy the festivities.  While this went better than the last wedding it was not without its challenges.  We showed up a few minutes before the prescribed time to find no one ready and most of the family unaccounted for.  Unaccounted for in that literally no one at the house knew where the family was and when they’d show up.  The plan was to do family pictures before the ceremony but was moved to after as much of the family arrived scant minutes before the bride-to-be walked down the aisle.  When it was time to gather for the now delayed family portraits we found that several adults (the kids weren’t so bad) were uncooperative and smiling was not their first inclination when facing the camera (or staring off into the distance which was often the case).  Besides the family photo issues the wedding went quite well and was very lovely. 

The attendees sat on hay bales outside a large country home and the exchanging of the vows was in front of an artificial waterfall that looked very nice.  The reception was split between the walk-out basement of the house where dinner was served and the barn where everyone danced the night away.  Susan made sure to get all the standard pictures plus many impromptu shots throughout the afternoon and evening.  In total she took around 2,000 pictures.  We both had a good time although Susan has said this would be her last wedding she photographs (although she said that last time too…). 

This past weekend was very busy for us between the band playing shows and racing our car.  We played at a friend of a friend’s BBQ on Friday night and at Buffalo Rose on Saturday night.  During the day on Saturday was a rallycross down at PPIR (Pike’s Peak International Raceway). 

The BBQ was located far north-east of Denver at a quasi-farm.  They don’t grow any vegetation but had several goats and pigs.  We set up outside by the goats.  The playing started around 8:15 and it soon got dark so the remainder of the evening was lit by car headlight.  We weren’t complaining though as a really good time was had by all.  Susan and I wanted to leave as soon as possible as we had to get up early the next day but we didn’t start the 1.5 hour trek home until 11:30.  Four hours of sleep later we were up and on our way to Colorado Springs to race.   

It was an interesting day racing for sure.  We were told that if enough people registered for the event they’d make it worth our while.  We ended up meeting expectations and the event organizers made the course twice as long as normal.  One big difference between PPIR and other locations is that PPIR has both paved and off-road sections and Saturday’s course had several transitions between the two.  The combination of surfaces and length made for a really fun day if your car survived.  Several cars did not leave in the same way they arrived.  At least two cars could not depart under their own power.  A wheel fell off one car in the middle of the course (crazily enough the car came back out as the owner just happened to bring a spare wheel hub with new studs – he had broken three).  A Jetta developed a massive oil leak.  One bumpy turn claimed the skid plate from an Evo and the fender liner from a WRX (one right after the other).  The hood on Civic was barely able to close because the sub-frame was bent.  We were mostly spared trouble with our car just overheating a little between runs (it was brutally hot out).  I managed to eke out another win beating the 2^nd place competitor by only three seconds over four runs and close to eight minutes of racing.  We went home tired and hot. 

That evening my band had its second show of the weekend at Buffalo Rose.  The act preceding us was a bit of blues mixed with a lot of country.  Kind of like the oil to our water in a musical sense.  It went alright but we didn’t have the turnout we were hoping for.  We ended up cutting the night short and played an abbreviated version of the planned set.  It was another late night for Susan and I and we didn’t get to sleep until past midnight. 

Sunday was to be another busy day but started horribly.  We woke to find our wonderful little foster pug Rosie had died sometime in the night.  She was still cuddling with Susan in her favorite spot when she passed.  We never formally adopted her but she had become part of our family over the last ten months.  Susan and I are devastated and miss her terribly.  Perhaps it’s unnecessary to say but the other pugs were subjected to a lot of extra hugs yesterday. 

Sorry to end our update on such a dour note but it’s all that’s on my mind right now.  I hope this finds everyone happy and well.

Love,

Max and Susan

6/11/2012 Family Update

Hello Family,

I’m once again inspired by everyone’s family updates to send one for our household. 

It’s long overdue and probably obvious but Susan and I really enjoyed the cruise in May.  We had an unbelievably good time and are looking forward to the next one!  (Stuart was awesome and so cute!)

I started my new job at Great-West the day after we got back from the cruise.  In some basic ways it’s not very different than my old one at Oppenheimer but functionally it is vastly different.  It is exactly what I was hoping for and I’m really liking all the learning I’m having to do. 

Susan finished up her large format photography class in May.  To her bewilderment Susan received an A in the class.  It seems the teacher had a difficult time keeping students in the program.  Of course, Susan did a great job but not at what she would call her best.  I think it has more to do with the adage where the more you know and the better you get at something the more you notice your own mistakes.  Susan is taking off the summer from school as there aren’t any classes she is interested in.  This is the first break in school in three years.  Time really flies!

My band had a busy end to May as we got ready for two shows in one week (Wednesday, May 30^th and Friday, June 1^st)!  We were a little rusty on the Wednesday show and made some uncharacteristic mistakes on stage.  It was still a lot of fun and a good time was had by all.  The Friday show went a lot better which was great as we were headlining with three other really talented bands.  Marshall was able to make it out as well as a many of our friends.  After it was all said and done Susan and I didn’t get home until 4:00 the next morning which was the latest we’ve been out in many years.  The band is taking a break from playing out for a little bit to write some new material. 

The pugs are still cute as can be and relatively healthy.  Satchel has made a couple of mistakes on furniture last which we think may be due to her getting older.  She may be starting bladder-control medicine soon if this continues as Satchel has an almost spotless record when it comes to this sort of thing (yay puns!).  Rosie still limps happily along and Tweetie has not disappointed in her habits. 

In our last update I mentioned the destruction of the engine in our WRX.  We are very fortunate to have friends (Mike Miller and Jeff Freedman) that volunteered to rebuild the motor for only the cost of parts and machining.  It took a couple of weeks to tear down, diagnose, replace/fix, and put back together.  The #4 bearing was spun due to massive overheating.  The bearing along with the other three were flatter than they should be and we’re lucky it wasn’t any worse.  The #4 rod had to be replaced and the crank machined to compensate for the new bearings.  We took advantage of everything being apart to have the fly wheel machined as it had developed a bulge.  Susan and my contributions were limited to providing dinner on most nights and being present.  Because of Mike and Jeff we saved quite a bit of money and got to watch the process from start to finish which was very cool to see. 

We only had a few weeks to break in the newly rebuilt engine before the rallycross we participated in this past weekend.  This race was extra-special because it was a two-day national event and participants were welcomed from the rest of the country.  There was also contingency money at stake for the top finishers.  We didn’t have a ton of people come from other states but those that made the trek were very competitive.  A guy flew in from Alaska and took 1^st in one of the classes for example. 

Saturday (day 1) started early in the morning as the event location is an hour and a half away.  We also had to give ourselves enough time to unload the equipment, swap the wheels, and have the car inspected by 8:00.  The car was ready and inspected just in time and, after meeting up with some friends, we took a course walk.  Every driver has to perform a job to make the events work and most entail chasing down knocked-down cones while getting sunburned and coated in the copious amounts of dirt kicked up by the cars.  Last year Susan volunteered to remake the timing spreadsheet used for each event.  She did such a fantastic job that we have been allowed to work in the timing truck for each event where we are mostly shielded from the sun and dirt.  As the days get hotter and the dust continues to fly my love for Susan grows and grows. 

The drivers were split into two groups based on car class and each got four runs in the morning and six in the afternoon on a reversed course.  Neither of us felt we did well in the morning but because of others hitting cones (plus two seconds each) I somehow managed to be in 2^nd place, nine seconds behind the leader.  The afternoon session went better and I was able to narrow his lead by a second or two.  My only hope rested in him hitting more cones than me as he is a very fast driver.  It was a long day and we were relieved to get home to cool off and shower. 

On Sunday there was only one driving session in the morning for each group with six runs each.  The course was brand new and on a different part of the facility which somehow seemed better for our WRX.  Not only was I faster than the previous days’ leader in raw time overall but he also hit five cones.  This gave me 1^st place by around ten seconds.  We could hardly believe it!  It made for a nice ending to a long and fun race weekend.  We celebrated with some fellow-racers and the rebuilders of our engine at our house afterwards.  The successful racing was a testament to how good of a job Mike and Jeff did in fixing the car. 

That brings us basically to the present.  As busy as we’ve been in the last month or so it’s only going to get more hectic as the summer wears on.  I hope this finds everyone happy and well!

Love,

Max and Susan