Merry Christmas

December 24, 2004  

Is it summer?

December 8, 2004  

Gorgeous, beautiful, wish you were here. 77 degrees & sunny. Jason and I went for a run out at the cliffs today. Being the last day of finals there were lots of people out & about enjoying the beach. On the way home we were beckoned by the family housing garden plots. We have lived here over a year and often talked of 'working the land'. A nice 10' x 15' bit of land. Hmm...

The museum has a new exhibit opening on the 20th, "Ray Strong...Taking In the Landscape". Ray, who is a well-known local artist, painted many of the backgrounds for our diaramas in the Bird Habitat Hall years ago when he lived in Santa Barbara. The exhibit is a showcase of his life's work, mainly landscape paintings, and some of which were collected among family members and have never been on public display. The exhibit coincides with Ray's 100th Birthday which will be celebrated at the formal opening in January. Last week I helped arrange and hang a number of Ray's smaller paintings. It's so satisfying to be allowed such direct involvement at this museum. The high point of the day was meeting Ray. He was in town last week and stopped by to see the progress and give encouragement. Overwhelmed by memories, he wheeled from canvas to canvas telling each story. Nine decades and still painting...incredible. What a treat to have the artist attending the celebration of his own life & work.

Vote for Mitch

November 29, 2004  

Mitch Joe is a finalist in a national poetry contest in Australia. Go listen to him slam his poem "Would You Love Me If My Skin Were Purple" and vote! (All votes must be in by 5pm 12/1/04, Australia time)

Answer: No Left-overs

November 28, 2004  

Question: What is the one down-side to a 35 person holiday pot-luck with the Tressers? Jason and I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in San Diego catching up with cousins and feasting on turkey n' fixings. Props to Grandpa Tresser who rented out the "One-Way Inn" to host everyone. Saturday we jumped back in the car and headed to sunny Rosamond to spend qt with my family. We trimmed the Christmas tree & enjoyed turkey sandwiches. As usual I chased Jaythen around with my camera. He's pretty shy when working out but I managed to get one of him pumping iron.

Of note: I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" for the first time on Saturday. Why had I not seen this before? It was great.

Two weekends ago Evan & Annie visited. They are a sporting young couple. There's rumor Evan is going to try out for the Ice Capades after making his debut at the Oxnard Ice rink. We skipped around SB, toured the Mission, and tried on pink boas. We hope they come back real soon.

   
  Did somebody say sassy?

Unirific

October 12, 2004  

You may have heard that Jason is into mountain unicycling, or "MUni" for the saavy extreme sports enthusiast. Who could imagine that the skills he gained riding a garage sale treasure at age 12 would one day be realized on a mountain trail. Two weekends ago I joined the guys on San Ysidro trail for a morning ride. No, I don't ride...yet. I hike. I also needed an excuse to play with my new digital camera. If I find time I'll post the other photos this week.

Jason has a roll to develop from the California MUni Weekend up in Tahoe last September. He and a few of the SB guys had a great time riding the Pacific Rim Trail. A few photos have been posted by other uni riders in this gallery.
Jason also has a flare for the more traditional unis. In addition to his 6' tall giraffe, Jason's newest ride is a Coker unicycle (photo on right.) It's often referred to as a "commuter" because of it's large (3' diameter) wheel and speed. If you see a guy riding a unicycle with an incredibly huge tire on the UCSB bike path, that's him. Wednesdays are a prime riding day and a good day to be on the look-out!

dynamite*

September 16, 2004  

Saw Napoleon Dynamite this last week. Classy flick. The 'Vote for Pedro' dance scene is worth the price of admission. Check out clips on the website. sweet.

Giddy about the Getty

August 23, 2004  

Last Saturday Jason and the San Diego crew prepared Lucas Taber for his upcoming wedding and subsequent marriage to Jobie at his Big Bear Bachelor Bonanza. There's rumor that he is now a 'Super Hubby' but you'll have to ask him personally what the title means and how he acquired it.

Meanwhile I spent the day with Sheila Peck and had my very first tour of the Getty Museum since its move to the top of the Santa Monica hills. Being an experienced museum veteran and hopeful designer I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. The architecture of the buildings (Richard Meier) is wonderful not to mention the gardens and water features. The grounds were packed with visitors however the master design is so spacious we didn't feel crowded. My gallery highlights included the impressionist paintings, illuminated manuscripts and a special exhibit called "The Making of Furniture." In the garden I fell in love with the terrace bowers covered with bougainvillea. If you haven't visited this museum I highly recommend it. Parking is only $5 and entrance to the museum is FREE! (the way it should be) It was a wonderful way to spend the day with Sheila and catch up on life, love, and art.

well done!

August 3, 2004  

Camille and Garry are engaged! Here they are in Sydney where Garry proposed. Well done Garry. In addition to the fact that Garry is wonderful, I'm absolutely thrilled that one of my friends is marrying a man with a Scottish accent! We can't wait for the wedding!

Version 2.0 -Mutual Admiration

August 1, 2004  

Jason and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary this past week. The 27th to be exact. Saturday night we headed to the Roxy in West Hollywood to see Mutual Admiration Society. Glen, Chris, Sara and Sean as well as John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) on bass and Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello & the Attractions) on drums. They played a great set mixing in Toad favorites, Nickel instrumentals and a few crazy covers and future solo releases from Chris and Sean. The biggest disappointment of the night was not hearing "Let It Fall." That alone would have been worth my price of admission. Glen won't play it at his solo gigs (apparently Sean's guitar stylings are tricky) so your only chance is when they are all together. Sara, however, sang "Reasons Why" which is a favorite of mine. That boosted her to the top of my MAS favorite player list. Overall - 4 thumbs up!

Tunicates, eh?

July 28, 2004  

The past week Jason has been cuttin' a rug and sharing intimate biological conversations with scientists from around the globe. This year's annual meeting of the Society for Developmental Biologists took place in beautiful Calgary, Canada, July 23-27. While attending poster sessions, talks, and mixers he was emersed in the upper echelons of biological nerdiness... and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Jason presented his ascidian research, currently submitted for publication, and exchanged ideas on future projects. He also came home with a myriad of stories about new British friends and biologists dancing the night away to 80's tunes. Here's a shot of him with his Smith Lab friend Di Jiang.

Free iPod...

July 22, 2004  

It's true. You can win one and help me win one too! Check out freeipod.com. I am already dreaming about my future 20gb iPod. Here's the link if your interested. Jason has a sweet MPIO 256mb mp3 player that he will let me borrow on occassion. However, I'd much rather sport my own iPod!
Cheers

New to You

July 18, 2004  

Just updated the photos, links, and knowledge sections of tresser*ize. Feel free to peruse.
Jason and I visited the I Madonnari Festival at the Santa Barbara Mission May 30th and posted a few photos. Check out the event website for history, past artwork, and other details. Also, I selected a few photos from my trip to Chicago and included them in the photo gallery. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of Sarah or her exciting Kickball match!

SB Uni on air

July 17, 2004  

In June Jason and the other members of the Santa Barbara Unicycle Club were featured on NPR's Public Radio Weekend in a segment on mountain unicycling (Muni). If you missed it, you can still listen to the broadcast in streaming audio here. (You need real audio player)

Slurpees!

July 11, 2004  

But first...
Jason & I met his uni buddies, Eyal, Hans, & Matt, for a morning ride on Cold Springs Trail. They started from the top of the trail (East Camino Cielo Rd. ~ 50 minute drive up), while I started at the base and hiked up. After an hour of hiking we crossed paths - approx. 3/4 of the way up. I watched in awe as each attemped a rocky section. After snappin a few photos I continued on hiking to the top of the trail. The switch worked out well as I was able to drive the van down and meet them back at the base. It was a gorgeous day and numerous people were out & about. I can only imagine the strange looks and quips the guys receive. Clad in their camelbaks, helmets, and beefy unicycles the group is quite impressive.
And then...
We headed straight for 7-11 to get our free slurpees. Despite the pathetic 7.11oz cups we both enjoyed yet another cold, icey bit of heaven on them. Personally I chose to mix Pina Colada and Blue-Raspberry, however Jason opted for the straight Pina Colada. We also purchased a Cherry for the road... cause 7.11oz just doesn't cut-it, especially after physically challenging adventures.

Do you know about slurpee.com? Check it out. Seriously.

26.2 & the medals to prove it!

June 9, 2004  

I've casually mentioned from time to time that I wanted to run a marathon before I'm 30. To some it's a walk in the park and to others a ridiculous notion. To me it was just something I dreamed about while jogging for exercise, never thinking I could ever run for 4 hours straight or put in all the necessary training miles.
This last Sunday as Jason and I crossed the finished line at the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon he laughed & looked at me & said "How old are you?" At 27, I can say that I met my goal with room to spare. 4:40:58 was our official time (yep, Jason & I stuck together!). A tad bit off our goal of 4:30 -- however moving at a walking pace until Mile 3, among a sea of 21,000 participants, sets you back from the start. We definitely didn't hit the dreaded "wall" at mile 20 which was a relief but we did feel an increase in knee, leg, joint, & everything pain from about 23 to the end which slowed us a little. Overall we were very happy and relieved to finally conquer the race!
Asked if we are going to do it again, maybe. It's like books, there are just too many good ones out there to read the same one twice, at least not right after finishing it.

Official Race Photos:
        

Highlights:
• Amusement provided by people on and off the race course...
  Characters --> Superman, Bunny, Batman & Robin, the infamous Running Elvis', the guy running the race backward.
  Favorite sign--> "Come on, this is only sea level!"
  
• Overcast weather until Mile 21- a dream indeed.
• Volunteers to take off your time chip, laced to your shoe, at the finish (if you've run a 'thon you know what I'm talking about)

Our Cheering Squads:
• Mile 10 - Friar's Rd - Team Tresser. Thanks to Steve, Rossayn, Lindsay, Uncle Greg, Greff, Melissa & Evan! A definite moral booster to find friends and family along the route.
• Mile 14.5 - Ingram St - Krista and Sheri along with the Horizon High cheer squad. Groovy sign Krista!
• Mile 20 - Morena Blvd. - Tresser clan again! After not seeing them at 19, we were extra excited to find them further along hanging out on the long stretch of Morena Blvd.
• And... in spirit Teri & Paul Clark...who couldn't make it but hooked us up with an awesome pre-race goodie bag!

What is Cool?

May 30, 2004  

PBS has posted "The Merchants of Cool" on their website. The one hour broadcast (aired back in Feb 2001) investigates how 'cool' is created in our teenage driven society and the twisted methodology behind packaging greats like MTV (Viacom). An interesting watch if you have streaming video and an extra hour.

A Week in Chicago

May 29, 2004  

Just returned from a week in Chicago. I was high atop the Sears Tower (well... 11th floor) taking computer training courses for work. Now I'm the newest EAP wiz regarding survey analysis & methodology. Better yet I was able to stay with Sarah (x-ucsd housemate) who currently has a fabulous place near Wrigley Field. We heard the roar of the crowds breeze in through the windows a couple different nights. I felt like I was living in London again riding the 'L' in and out of the city each day. Sarah was the ultimate hostess taking me to some of her favorite dines and hanging out with her friends. Good times. And to end the trip Amanda Q, currently at med school in Des Moines, cruised over to play on Thurs & Friday. We strolled down Michigan Avenue, gawking at the architecture and questioning the modern art sprinkled about the streets. Other sites--> Art Institute, Greektown, and searching for Mickey statues (reminiscent of Cows on Parade of '99.) --K.T.

bi-deca

May 17, 2004  

Da Dah...The Weekend. Friday night we took a small road-trip north to hang out with Kerri & Forest. They just happened to be at a wine festival in Morro Bay so we met half-way in Santa Maria and spent the evening exploring. All I can say is we came, we dined, we conquered the shopping mall round-about! If you ever find yourself in SM at an arcade I highly recommend spending your last 2 tokens on the snow-mobile racing game.

Saturday we made an early start and successfully completed our longest training run yet...20 miles, or what we call the 'bi-deca." Jason's quote of the day, "This is cake."

And now for Sunday. Jason and I decided to venture to the Topanga Banjo & Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival on a tip from Jason's uni friend Eyal. And a lively affair it was. Sun shining, roaming amatuer musicians (guitar, banjo, fiddle, accordian, bass, autoharp, penny whistle, steel guitar, etc.) all lookin' to jam, and everything food-crafts-bluegrass-fun you can imagine. We meant to spend some quality time with Eyal and Crystal but managed to loose them in the excitement of looking for a shady spot to picnic.
Jason is game for entering the beginning banjo competition next year. Maybe he can also enter the 'other' category with his accordian (and unicycle??) !

post-it

May 14, 2004  

Doing a little experimenting with a message board... to the right. Would love to hear from you.

Moms

May 9, 2004  

Happy Mother's Day to our wonderful mums!
Yesterday we spontaneously decided to meet the Tresser's at Downtown Disney to celebrate Mom's Day with Rossayn (J's mom). Warm evening, great food at the Jazz Cafe, and fun ambiance. Who could ask for a better half-way meeting spot? And today the Mom's Day celebrations continue with Beth (K's mom) & family. It's just the best when you live close enough to both families to get to celebrate holidays together!

At 1:47am last night we got a lovely wake-up call. A 4.6 earthquake rattled our apartment building for a good 5-10 seconds. Just found our it was centered 10 miles off the coast of Isla Vista. Is it me or does the thought to get under a desk or in a doorway not register at 2am?

Jason's off mountain unicycling with his buddies at Tunnel Trail this morning. Legendary Kris Holm visited Santa Barbara a few weeks ago and the uni guys have been giddy ever since.

Congratulations goes out to Eric Mercy who just completed his degree at Azusa Pacific Univ. We are looking forward to today's celebration festivities with the family!

Easter

April 12, 2004  

Family is the best. Jason's family- Dad, Mom, and Sister Lindsay all took the train up from San Diego to hang at Casa Tresser this weekend. We mostly relaxed and enjoyed playing guitar, watching movies, and little side projects like hanging my supercool new patio lights. Sunday we celebrated Christ's resurrection & went to our church service held at UCSB overlooking the lagoon. The clouds parted and it turned out to be a warm sunny, sunburning day.

We parted ways with the Tressers at 2pm at the Goleta depot and headed off to complete our weekend training. 15 miles and 2 & 1/2 hours later we were at the bird refuge, downtown. Only 1.5 more months to go before the marathon - training is getting longer and longer each week - and I have to say, it's starting to cramp our style.

Easter dinner was shared with the Gross's again this year. Tom and Cathy were up from San Diego (finally we are in the same city on the same holiday!) and we had a great time with Cathy's family. BBQ & Baked Alaska for dinner...yum!

Daylight Saving Spectacular!

April 4, 2004  

One Night Only! Coming to a clock near you! Gather the family and take part in this international event.
More sunshine at 5 o'clock --- how can you deny objectively good things like this?

peace out.

---> For those who enjoy winning trivial pursuit ... may we present > dAylight detAils.

Kraft Weekend

March 31, 2004  

Last weekend Toby and Julie came for a visit. We had a great time hanging-out, sippin' fresh lemonade, running around Goleta geocaching (we found a travel bug!), and just enjoying our friendship. Sunday we headed to Magic Mountain and took in a few coasters. Kim hadn't been there since the introduction of Superman The Escape (1997?) so there were a handful of new thrills. Plus, we practically walked onto every ride. Highlites: 26-story drop on Goliath, X, and riding Free Fall for the first time. Cheers to the Krafts!

Jaythen turns 1

March 21, 2004  

Can't believe the little guy is already 1. What a cutie. Soon enough he'll be taller than Kim.

Matt, Ashley & Jaythen

Jason in the News-Press!

March 2, 2004  

Check out the latest cover photo for the Life section of the Santa Barbara News-Press. Jason is riding high on his giraffe unicycle. The photo was taken last fall during a unicycle club "weekly meeting."
When asked how this press is going to effect his daily life, Jason commented, "not much."

If you want to see what some of these guys dream about check out the latest extreme unicycling video "UNiVERsE 2- Implosion Factor". Also not to be missed "One Tired Guy".

Pines & Zip-lines

February 3, 2004  

Next time you get an urge to ride zip-lines, share shake dates, learn about the Lord, and hang out with 500 Jr. Highers I recommend jumping on a bus to Forest Home Winter Camp. What an incredible weekend. Since September we have been working with the Jr. Highers at church and this was our first camp with the students. What a privilege it is to hang out with them. Best-of photos to be posted soon.

Year of the Monkey

January 2004  

2004 has arrived! We are off to a swinging start. A couple weekends ago Jason & I ventured to Joshua Tree to camp and learn the basics of rock climbing with our friends Rich & Deanna Graziano. After our expert training sessions we managed a fairly good show. Jason excelled and even cleaned a few climbs. Overall, it was a great weekend. Only one question remains - what will be our next adventure with the Graziano's?

On another note we want to give a shout out to our "New Knew Gnu- Tresser Call In & Win" prize recipients. Here they are in no peculiar order...
   Amber Rice
   Geoffrey Mayne
   Jeff Dresher
Thank you for your exuberant phone messages. Please enjoy real fruit smoothies on us!

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