Tree farms are for wusses

Sometime in the past week, the Sacramento Bee ran a piece in their home & garden section regarding that hallowed piece of post-Thanksgiving tradition - the family outing to get a Christmas tree.

But hold up. The piece in the Bee talked only about going to tree farms. "Tree farms?" I say, no small hint of derision in my voice. Yes, tree farms. Plots of land, commercially owned and operated, planted with trees, maintained and groomed. Am I to believe that for those who are used to the box-store sprawl of a California metrosuburbanopolis, going to such a place actually makes one feel outdoorsey and traditional? Are these the same people who think they're granola because they occasionally go to Yosemite?

Really, all I have to say is that a tree farm ain't got nothin' on the slope above a dirt logging road at 6500 feet on a snow-covered, minor Cascade volcano:
Y'all best respect the O.G. holiday-ness...

I ain't dead...

...but I sure as hell haven't blogged much in the past three months.

What have I been up to over the past quarter of a year? Well, school started up again, so I'm getting my teach on for about eight hours every day. Commuting takes about two hours round trip, bringing the grand total up to 10 hours... Then I've been at the gym about three hours a day, which puts us at 13 hours, and then it takes me about 90 minutes to get ready in the morning, so 14.5 hours... Then dinner, laundry, dishes, and a post-work-out shower take another 2 hours, so 16.5 hours... 24-16.5 = 7.5, which is, uh, less than eight. So I don't even have room for eight hours of sleep in there, let alone blogging.

Okay, so that's weekdays... But what about weekends, you ask? Well, there's been a slew of weddings, bachelor parties, baby showers, debate tournaments, and other such things that have eaten up my weekends. And on the few open weekends I've had here and there, I've opted to, as part of my plan to be more active/healthy, gone and done things like camping and hiking. So, again, no blogging...

But Veteran's Day is here! The first three-day weekend in what seems like ages... I have tomorrow off from work, and I will be heading up to Yreka early in the AM to visit friends (family will be elsewhere) and brew some beer (Aztec Imperial Stout - more on that later). Right now I'm currently avoiding packing. I figured I'd just snag a minute and say "hello" to the blogosphere. I'd love to comment on the "Democratic tide," personal issues, education, and my current obsession with mountaineering, but the first item is being covered by everyone out there in the blogosphere, the second would be boring to anyone who might stumble across this blog, the third would depress me, and the fourth is really just kinda weird...

But I would like to pose this question? What kinda freak thinks Sierra Nevada Celebration is improved by cellaring? Fresh, it's a wonderful, clean, definative West-Coast IPA. After two years of cellaring, it's utter crap. All the hops fade, and those weird, "old Chico yeast" flavors come waaaaay out. Only weirdo East-Coast hop-pansies would like this stuff cellared, I guess... Now three-year old Rogue Imperial Stout? That's some good stuff...

Anyways, enough with the beer geekdom. Really, all I wanted to say is, "I ain't dead," and I might be around here a bit more.