We're home and settling in...

Well, we're home! We got home Saturday early evening- somewhere around 7:30-ish. I had the car seat in the car, still in the box, waiting for the word that we would get discharged. Once they said "ok", I was off like a bullet setting the seat up in the car in the parking garage. I got so many smiles and laughs from people driving by... so many "new dads" do the same thing.

Can you tell she'd just had the epidural?

Don't know why Blogger turns this upside down... but mother and daughter meeting for the 1st time!

Once the paperwork was done and we were given an escort to the front door, after a check of our bracelets and Lily's anklet to make sure we belonged to her, I ran... RAN to the car to get all my girls- Lily, Ann and my mother in law. I drove home with just a bit more caution than usual (cheeky understatement). Lily loved her new car seat- in fact, she went to sleep pretty quickly and on more than one occasion, I've used the seat like a swing when she's been fussy.

The peanut all stretched out! She's got some long legs and her daddy's feet (sadly for her).

Oddly, I don't look like I haven't slept in 48hrs. Man, I love that "new baby" smell! You can buy aerosol car freshener that smells like "new car", so why not "new baby"?

Her new favorite hangout. The seat matches the stroller that somebody gave us (though I still have not figured out who- it was delivered without a name) and snaps into a stroller frame that my brother and his wife gave us. The other car seat we have will be the one used in other cars and when we get a 2nd car.

A little after getting home, Katie came home from being with her mom for a Spring Break camping trip. Her brother drove her over as well, so I had my entire family home for the very first time. I have to admit that I was so overwhelmed with happiness for the moment that I forgot to get a picture of us all together. DANGIT!! Katie was so overjoyed to get to meet her sister and finally "see what she looks like." As soon as we walked in the door- literally- Ann's mom made a direct line to the kitchen and began cooking a special fish soup for Ann. It was actually a pretty touching and sweet thing to watch.

The first night at home was much like the last night in the hospital, meaning there was almost no sleeping going on. Lily was quite fussy for the second night in a row- not like it isn't expected- so we all spent more time awake than we wanted. Thank goodness Ann's mother has been here because it certainly helps to have another set of arms to rock Lily back to sleep in the middle of the night.

Sunday brought Easter to us... a little bleary eyed and foggy headed. In the morning, I took my mother in law to the local Asian supermarket for some traditional supplies- fresh fish, pork kidney and heart and other various fruits and veggies so my "Ma" can prepare some special dishes for Ann. This did, however, require a few phone calls home to Ann so that she could translate for either myself or Ma. Since Ma doesn't speak English- and actually speaks Taiwanese and not Mandarin- communication is sometimes a challenge, but we always make it work somehow. After this comical adventure, it was back home so that I could get a semi-awake shower and head to my sister's house for Easter with the full family. Since Ann hadn't slept in two days and was not feeling well (can't figure out why...), Katie, Lily and myself went to my sister's while Ann and Ma stayed at home and got some much needed rest.

All the family was there and the arrival of Lily was a big highlight. With all my family there, my hands were pretty much free to eat since I never got to touch Lily again... mostly. It was great to spend time with my family outside of the hospital and Lily seemed just fine with going from aunt to uncle to cousin to grandparent. Ironically... she slept almost the entire time we were there. I'll admit a little happy frustration with that. The kids had an Easter egg hunt, which was total chaos as they ran all over the yard in search of "the Golden Egg". It was pretty funny... especially since the bulk of the eggs were "hidden" in plain sight so the littlest of the kids would find them. It was during the hunt that we had the much over publicized earthquake. It was a good one, for sure, but we were never in danger of cracking off the continent and becoming an island... much to the dismay of the TV news networks. Seriously, the coverage of the quake was WAY excessive. I'm sure the fine folks in Mexico are getting tired of hearing about the earthquake that hit Southern California... considering that it was IN Mexico and they are the ones that got damage from it. I mean, a few swimming pools with water sloshing around does not qualify as "news". The kids were in the yard totally unfazed by the quake and we adults noticed the slight rolling and the cars rocking on the street. It was certainly a bigger quake and the first one I've ever felt while being outside... but that's about it. Watching CNN afterwards just made me wanna puke. I think Haiti and Argentina might have a few more real thoughts about quakes than those of us here in SoCal. It's called perspective people... look into it.

Sisters- "punkin" and "peanut". This picture makes me weepy.

Her bucket of loot- she gave away the candy and just kept the cash. The girl just kills me.

The kids digging in to their Easter spoils. Sugar crashes followed shortly after.

I couldn't resist getting a picture of my sister taking a picture of Lily in her lap. Impossible to pass up! Probably updating her Facebook page too.

Last night Lily woke a few times, but then ate and slept for a good 2-3hrs each time. That made a big difference in how all of us are feeling today. We're a little concerned about possible jaundice still, so we may be heading to the pediatrician if we can get an appointment today. She's eating better now and looks pretty good, but she was released from the hospital with instructions to be vigilant about the potential for jaundice, as she was right on the border of acceptable and unacceptable levels for jaundice. Her eyes look crystal clear, so that's a very good sign for now... but we're still watching.

I'm home today, but the "staycation" may be over tomorrow. As much as I want to be home MUCH longer, I do still have to pay the bills somehow... unless somebody wants to loan me a LOT of money interest free and with no down payment.

Lily is sleeping now and Ann is soaking in an Epsom salt bath for a bit. I might have to make some more coffee to make it through the day... but it's a good day to be a daddy. The weight of it all is still sinking in and soon I'll be writing more poetry to capture it all again. The poetry blog has been neglected far too long and now I have TONS of material and emotions to recall. More than once over the past few days, my eyes have watered up. It's no secret that I'm a very Piscean guy, so there's a lot to take in and process.

Lily Annchi Jackson- the newest cutest thing ever.

Thank you all for the amazing support and kindness. The comments on Facebook and Twitter have been very appreciated by all. I'll add more pictures here later, as well as galleries on Facebook and Flickr and maybe Snapfish as well.

Tim

I just flew in from Australia and boy are my arms tired...

I can practically hear the crickets chirping around here. It's been a while since I've posted anything here, so I hope you'll forgive the absence.

I got back in to San Diego on Thursday afternoon and spent Friday trying to recover from the jetlag and what feels like some kind of head cold coming on since about Tuesday in Australia. I slept in yesterday and today until around 10:00- 10:30, which is well beyond rare for me. My head still feels all wonky from the travel and the possible cold/ sinus infection, but it was an excellent day today spent hanging out with my wife and daughter and then dinner with my mother and step-dad. It was a very relaxing day, over all. Tomorrow I will try to get out for a ride for the first time since Wednesday the 15th. My legs feel like hell from the lack of riding, but it's not like the first time I've tried to "come back"...

Anyway, on to Australia...

Myself, Jill Hamilton (Haro MTB/ Asphalt Brand Manager) and John Webber (International Sales Manager) flew to Australia to assist our distributor (Pacific Brands) with their annual trade show/ sales conference for their Australia/ New Zealand retailers and sales force. It was my first return trip to Australia after being there in March/April 2006 when I was there to take part in the official Masi launch for Australia. On that trip, I was in Australia for a bit over 2 weeks and visited Melbourne, Sydney and Brisband. This time around, the trip was much shorter and confined to just Melbourne... though I'm not complaining, believe me. John has been to Australia several times as the Int'l Sales Honch, but the trip was Jill's first to the land of Shiraz and incredible butter.

The weather in Melbourne had been quiet unpleasant before our arrival, but it was spectacular when we got there. Since it is winter in Australia, the temps were a good bit cooler and was pretty windy, but the sun was out nearly all the time and the rain held off until the last day and a half we were there. When we weren't at the magnificent conference venue, we were roaming the streets of downtown Melbourne and taking in the sites of the area along the Yarra River- which was simply gorgeous.

Our venue of "work" during our stay was The Flemington race track- home of the Melbourne Cup. The view of the race track was unreal and I can only imagine what it must be like during the day of the event as hundreds of thousands of spectators crowd the historic grounds. The bikes were displayed in the fourth floor terrace overlooking the track and I have to admit that it had me plenty distracted from the bikes. The winds were whipping over the grandstands with so much force that it did sound as if the entire building was likely going to be flying off to Oz to flatten the whicked witch of the West, but we managed to stay in Aus' instead (no witches were hurt in the production of this blog post).

I am known for being "passionate" or "efervescent" about the Masi line- I should be afterall... it's pretty much my life... but I have to admit that the first time the bikes are unveiled to an audience of impartial judges (retailers), I always hold my breath a little as the first unsolicited opinions roll in. I'm also known for getting pretty excited about the feedback we get for our bikes- which again I should- but I have to say that this was the most emphatically positive review of the line I have yet to hear in the nearly 5 years I have been the Brand Manager at Masi. Sincerely. The only complaint I heard- at all- was that retailers could not get enough of the bikes last year because the demand was higher tha nthe supply in Australia (which I am confident will not be a problem this year, as PacBrands have really beefed up their supply). Each of the new and existing models shown at this show recieved glowing reviews and the questions were mainly focused on "how soon" and "how many can I have". Since PacBrands does not distribute (for now) the entire Masi range, the only other dangling participle of a question was "how do we get them to bring in ___?" Needless to say, it made me one very happy Brand Manager. It's trips like this that make me believe that the work that the Product Manager working with me (Wayne Doran), our two graphic artists (Pete Demos and Rick Ortiz) and myself are doing the right things. Not to get to proud of ourselves, but it shouldn't be long before Masi has compeltely taken over the cycling world... I am fairly sure of it.

Jill, John and myself had a great time while we were in Melbourne and that was in no small part in thanks to the fantatsic hospitality of our hosts. The Masi line is guided by the capable hands of Roger Vandenberg at PacBrands, who was a gracious host as well as picked us all up from the airport when we finally arrived 2 hours late- thanks to a delay in Sydney. Jeremy Cooper is his equivalent for Haro there and he was a very gracious host as well and drove us to and from the venue a number of times... as well as got me addicted to Social Roasting coffees- phenomenal coffee and food. Seriously, some of the very best tasting espresso to ever pass over these very coffee-snob lips. All of the other fine folks at PacBrands, whose names I can't possibly remember all of, were also very kind hosts. Another person who does require mentioning though is Steve Paraskevas who is the Main Man and was also my host the last time I was in Melbourne. Again- many, many thanks to all of you.

I have to give a big thanks to each of the retailers I spoke with as well. I wish I could remember all the names- especially the guy who is a fellow track racer and Masters World Champ who I had the excellent track racing conversation with. Thanks again mate. But each shop that came to visit the Masi booth and allowed me the chance to talk about our bikes helped to make the trip to Australia that much more enjoyable. Sincerely- I am beyond flattered and humbled by your very kind words of enouragment and support for the Masi brand.

Another notable mention has to go out to Malachi of Spoke(n) in St. Kilda. Malachi is a British ex-pat who runs a fantastic little shop. The uber cool retro vibe is more than just a new thing to try out and the Malachi and the crew there know there stuff. The shop left me with goosebumps (and not because it was cold and raining) and the conversation with Malachi was just "spot on". Seriously, I felt very much at home and really have to thank Malachi for allowing us to visit and steal so much of his time. If you're in the St. Kilda area, you couldn't ask for a better shop to visit and purchase a Masi from. If you do go in there, tell them I sent you... and hopefully they won't throw you out!

In the end, it was nice to get home, but my time in Melbourne was very well spent and I look forward to getting back to Australia again. Maybe this time it won't take another 3 years to do it.

Now for some pictures!

The partial view of the race track... from behind the glass in the 4th level grand stand. It was a lot better looking than this terrible picture shows.

A very happy Brand Manager with a SoulVille SS in the wild at BSC Bikes in Melbourne! (Check these guys out too for some really cool bike brands... including Masi of course. Very nice staff there as well.

The front of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne- they have a Dali exhibit that looks incredible from what I can tell from the information I saw. Wish I woulda had time to go give it a look...

I love street art/ graffiti. These little gems were in an alley heading to the river. The whole alley was pretty well coated with really cool art.

John and Jill being a tourist like me! I couldn't resist the chance to get a picture of them... before they got one of me doing the same thing!

The only view of Sydney I had... well, accept for the view from inside the airport terminal.

A wall of Masi bikes at Spoke(n)! They also had a SoulVille display right inside the front of the store as you walk in the door. (I nearly cried.)

Dig the display of cool old stuff from Spoke(n) as well... I dig old stuff!

The Masi and "Biketopia" banners hanging proudly at the show. (It took all the restraint I had in me to keep from stealing one of each of them...)

Downtown Melbourne at night, from across the Yarra... truly a beautiful city. I hope to be back to see her again some day soon.

Tim

Home

It's good to be home! Being away, especially in Taiwan, is not that hard for me since I really enjoy traveling and have a wonderful girlfriend in Taiwan. However, being away means being away from home and my family- which IS hard for me. So it's good to be home and to have my daughter with me again. I got in to San Diego around 1:00PM on Wednesday and jumped into life again- headed out and ran errands, including grocery shopping, and then picked my daughter up from school. After not seeing her for two weeks, it was awesome to have her come running off the playground screaming "DADDY, DADDY, DADDY!" Through my totally foggy, jetlagged haze, I was grinning from ear to ear. I forced myself to stay awake and got 3 loads of laundry done, hoping to reset my internal clock a bit, but I had a very hard time getting up yesterday. I spent the day at the office trying to get a little caught up and slightly out from behind the pile of papers and projects that built up while gone. Mostly I just fought to stay awake without my head crashing onto the keyboard... and mostly was successful.

Today, I am taking the day off so I can get back to my life here. I need to clean my apartment, open the mail, finish paying bills and hopefully go for a short ride to get back in the swing of things. While gone, I put back on 6 of the pounds I'd lost before leaving. I'm now back up to 210, but I'm confident it'll drop back off pretty quickly once I get back to riding and eating better. The best thing about taking the day off is that I get to go to a "play" at my daughter's school- this will be the first one I have been to in probably two years. Sad fact... but I'm looking to reverse that trend. I sometimes miss out on the small beauties of parenthood because of my work schedule, the travel and the fact that I am too much of a workaholic. Fortunately, my daughter doesn't yet see that I miss too many of these school functions... and I hope to stop missing too many of them. So today is largely dedicated to her and that makes me happy.

You can see many of the pictures I took while in Taiwan on my Facebook page in my Mobile Uploads and Taipei 2009 galleries. I have a bunch more photos to load to Facebook too, so the Taipei 2009 gallery is going to keep growing. The show itself was a great success and the following two days of factory and vendor visits were also very productive. I love the trips to Taiwan because it always feels like so much gets accomplished while there, as well as the time I get to spend with my girlfriend.

Last night, in another jetlagged haze, I recorded the 10th episode of the Masiguy Podcast... finally. It's another one of my trademarked ramblings. One of these days I'll get better organized and actually have a plan or script to follow when I record one of these things. For those of you who have been trying to download the podcast from iTunes, it IS actually on there now. I have no idea why it took so long to get it worked out, but you can now download my rambling nonsense onto your iPod and take me with you... frightening, I know. This most recent "show" is about 33 minutes long, so the suffering is relatively brief.

Unlike me, I forgot another little recent hallmark; March 4th was the 4th anniversary of this blog. It's been an amazing journey over the past 4 years, to say the least. So much of my life has been lived out on this blog and my life has changed because of it- good and bad. The best thing about the blog has been the community of people I have grown to know and love. Sincerely- it is a blessing in my life to have the friends that I do and to have met so many fantastic people via this blog and the other Social Media outlets that have become a part of my life since beginning this project 4 years ago. I can not thank you enough for being a part of my life and for being interested in the things I have published here. My life has benefitted from this experience and I hope to continue posting and sharing for at least another 4 years!

Alright, it's time to get going on chores so that I can have a little time to ride today as well.

Thank you and I'll be back soon.

Tim

Home now...

Got home a little while ago. Still can't fall asleep yet, as my internal clock is totally confused.

The flight from Washington Dulles was pretty uneventful and I got lucky to have a bulkhead seat behind 1st class, so even though I had the window seat I had lots of leg room. The highlight of the flight was watching an electrical storm as we flew over New Mexico/ Arizona- watching the lightning flash and travel through the clouds was amazing. Between the clouds though, it was equally impressive to see the light of the huge moon shining on the water beneath us. Sometimes the earth is such an amazingly beautiful place.

My right leg took a pretty good beating on the flight, even with the Skins tights- but I shudder to think what they would have been like without them. I am hoping it is just from all the travel and the standing and walking... if not, then it could mean more/ worse clotting issues than originally thought.



Here's my leg at least 30 minutes after taking the sock off my foot... and it's still totally swollen. To quote my doctor- "not good."

As promised photographic proof that I was working hard in Montreal. For the record, Logan (from Norco) and I lost badly... twice... to a girl who just totally kicked our asses.

More to follow. Gonna try to sleep and elevate my leg.

Night,
Tim

Home... again.

I'm home again. Sprung from the hospital and the sobering reality of the oncology floor. I am blessed to "only" be as hurt as I am. Wow...

So I'm home now. Yeah, me!

WARNING: Next post will have very graphic photos of my healing thumb. Wanted to just give you all a warning. I'll post the pictures in just a little while, but they are not for the faint of heart... hell, I nearly passed out myself- sincerely. So if you want to see what a surgically reattached thumb looks like, then stick around for just a little while...

Tim

Thank you... and where do I start?

First, I have to give my heartfelt thanks to all of my friends, family and readers- the support has been nothing short of touching.

Typing is really hard with 1.5 hands, so this will be short tonight. I will be back with more and pictures too... I promise.

I will be ok and I will be back... but it's gonna be a long journey (and a painful one at that).

I just wanted to let everybody know I'm home and alive. Alive is the word... and I'm lucky to be able to say that. Luckier than I ever want to get again.

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures and a few more words (typing is really hard). I might even record a podcast- since that might be easier.

I don't know how to say thanks to all of you- I'm not too proud to admit that I've cried a few times over the incredible kindness I've received.

Thank you.

Tim

Alive.

Made it home.

Super tired.

Need some sleep.

Will update later.

Good night.

Tim