Old Man Strength Kicking In?

Well, after a loss in our last match of intramural volleyball, I was a little upset at my performance, the loss, and the end of the season. I had a great time playing with a bunch of Jessica's PT classmates, we did pretty well through the season, and I was sad to have it end. To vent my frustration (and since we were already at the gym) I decided to try something I hadn't done in...I can't remember...at least a year and a half: Bench press. "Let's see if my old man strength has started to kick in yet." Jessica spotted me, though neither of us was very confident in that assurance, so I asked a larger guy at the gym to spot me for the second to last set, my max set. I was surprised to have finished the following without help:
5 reps of 135
2 reps of 185
1 rep of 205
1 rep of 225 --my max and 10 lbs short of my highest max ever
15 reps of 135

I think I should start going to the gym again. Bring it gym...this old man is ready!
Shown in the picture below is a 225 lb bench press attempt and a man much larger than myself. I am rarely that intense

By Request...

...wakeboarding shots from the Weaver Cabin trip. Enjoy!

If You Can Dodge A Wrench...

I've been getting my exercise in a rather unusual way lately; I've been playing in a dodgeball league! I know what you're thinking, "What? Do they really have those?" Yes, they do. For twenty bucks I joined a team through our church, The Well, and I got a free team shirt. It's great! We meet every Monday night at either 7 or 8 for a game that lasts about 45 minutes. I am definitely the sweaty guy on the team though, which I thought would never happen. The game is actually pretty intense with tons of crazy rules (My favorite being that any article of clothing that is hit is considered part of your body including baggy clothes and capes), everyone is really into the game, it's competitive, most people are honest (It is a church league), and everyone seems to have a great time. We won our first match 8-2, but lost last night 8-4 or something like that. However, the team that beat us has a lot of returning players from last years winning team (Including one javelin thrower) and I think they may win this year. I recommend anyone interested to either come out and support us or sign up next year. It's a lot of fun. Oh, and for some reason our team name is The Hot Pockets.
-Dave
P.S. Thank you Jen for coming out to watch a game and give your support. Fans are always welcome and I know Jess likes the company. Also, Amy...you know you totally want to do this next year!

swimming used to be my life.

ok so seriously, this day has been awesome so far and its only 12:06. i was feeling better this morning and was in the process of getting ready for work when my CI called and gave me great news. JHCO is at the hospital today, which for those of you who don't know, is the state accreditation committee. basically, when they are present, i cannot be. which is fine by me!!!! not to say i don't enjoy my internship, but when you're working for free and its the day before the 4th of July, i really don't mind having a day off. so on to the title of this blog, i was able to go to the gym and swim this morning. last night, while feeling yucky still, i watched the US Olympic Trial for swimming. it got my blood pumping!! i was so motivated to get up and swim right then, but i remembered that i felt like crap, so instead i ate a reeses pb cup. (my only true weakness.) but, i digress. back in high school and college, i would swim at least 2 hours per day. wow! when i think about that now, how did i find the time? but man did i enjoy the body it gave me. and the self-control and dedication! whoo! so i got super motivated and excited watching all of these kids younger than me, gheesh i'm getting old, swimming all of my favorite strokes (fly and free) and setting world records. that katie hoff is something else. she kept winning race after race, i think she'll be swimming at least 4 events in beijing. studette. anyway, i swam 2000 yards this morning, which used to be nothing for me, but was enough today to make me feel like a swimmer again. i love that chlorine smell. seriously.

ps- after the gym i stopped by Barrow's, my workplace, to say hi to my little work family that i've been away from for the last 6 weeks. oh man do i miss all those folks. i'm so blessed to have such an amazing job with great people. can't wait to "go home" in 2 more weeks!!

Fresno State Bulldogs Baseball

For anyone that missed the 2008 College World Series of baseball...I'm sorry. You really missed an awesome series. Now, I may be a little swayed just because our FSU Dogs WON!!!, but it really was awesome to watch. Steve Detwiler was our choice for Most Valuable Player during the series for the FSU Bulldogs. He was freakin amazing! This guy was making plays in the out field and definitely putting some force behind his swing (Everytime he stepped up to the plate, we knew something awesome was going to happen)...oh and all on a jacked up thumb. The thumb on his glove hand has been injured since April 1st (He tore his tendon)and he's been playing like that ever since without surgery. Sucks that it hurt for him throught this season, but his pain was our gain. Here's hoping to a great surgery and a quick and strong recovery. Can't wait to see him in the pro's.
Another favorite of ours is Justin Wilson. He's a local guy that went to Buchanan! He pitched nearly 8 straight innings in the last game with a great attitude. When a fellow team-mate made an error, Wilson simply smiled at him and joked it off to releave some of the pressure and embarrassment the player might have felt. That's when he became an even greater player in our books.
Congrats to all of our Bulldogs! You put Fresno State sports in the news in a good way and that's a great (Yet sadly rare) thing. You've raised the stock of our city. I hope you all continue to do great things, sign on with the pro's, and make ridiculous amounts of money. Just remember to keep that great and humble attitude that you showed all of us when you won. Congrats again!
-Dave

Yee Haw!

Ok, so this is really old, but I'm trying to catch up on some blogging since school is out. A couple of weeks ago we went to the good ol' Clovis Rodeo. The Armstrongs have bought us tickets the last couple of years (Thank you!) and this year was the same. The rodeo is always awesome. Jessica's Uncle Scott even made a special trip down from San Francisco to watch it with us. We usually go on Sunday because that is the "finals" day and all the best are out. This year we all bought cowboy hats, had some beer, nachos, snow cones, awesome tri-tip sandwiches, and roasted in the sun. It was great! My favorite part is the mutton busters. For those of you that don't know what mutton bustering is all about, it's when they have little kids ride on the back of sheep. Hilarious!
-David