New and Improved Goal List

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I will be moving to Boulder, Colorado this upcoming summer, and along with the change of scenery, I have designed a shiny new goal list.

1. Get tenure.
This one is pretty obvious.  The tenure system at CU-Boulder runs on a seven year clock, so this is one of the long-term goals on my list.  In the meantime, I hope to submit at least five journal papers and three grant proposals this upcoming year.  (Yeah, I really don't see much sleep in my immediate future.)

2. Become a first-time home buyer.
I was originally planning to wait to buy a home, but interest rates are ''historically low'' and there are signs that housing prices in Boulder will rise substantially in the coming year.  Besides, it would be really wonderful not to hear my next-door neighbor's every move late into the night.  With that in mind, Sarah and I might just have to move into the mountains.

3. Break 36:00 at the 2014 Bolder Boulder.
I really miss being fast or, at the very least, faster than I currently am.  So, when I officially decided to move to Boulder, I became increasingly excited at the possibility of getting back into shape and running the famous roads in Boulder and up and down mountains.  Next year, I am aiming to get down into the high 16:00's for the 5K and break 36:00 at the Bolder Boulder 10K, but in the future, I also hope to start doing some trail races/marathons.

4. Climb all of Colorado's Fourteeners.
There are 55 lofty peaks in Colorado that top 14,000 feet, and I want to conquer all of them.

5. Get serious about homebrew.
Sure, I have been having a whole lot of fun with the homebrewing experience.  I concocted a tasty sweet stout out of chestnuts and crafted a cider that will kick you in the pants.  However, I have only begun to scratch the surface.  In the coming years, I hope to up my game by taking various measures, including the following: (i) putting together an all-grain setup, (ii) kegging, (iii) purchasing a genuine cider-press, and (iv) building my own house bar.

6. Build a BBQ smoker.
I love BBQ and everybody knows it.  Unfortunately, I have tasted some of the 'cue in Colorado, and it just isn't up to snuff.  This has inspired me to build my very own BBQ smoker in the hopes that I might someday rival the likes of Aaron Franklin and John Mueller (okay, that might be a stretch).  In all seriousness, my uncle has actually managed to produce some quality BBQ on his own smoker in Denver, so I have some reassurance this isn't too misguided of a goal.

Exciting News Update

I have received a tenure-track offer from the University of Colorado Boulder to join the Aerospace Engineering Sciences faculty, and I am very excited to report that I have officially accepted said offer.  I will be moving to Boulder in July and need to quickly accomplish everything on my Austin Bucket List before then.  I am very much looking forward to working with all the faculty at CU-Boulder, and mountains of course are a huge bonus.  Exciting times ahead.

Goals Update #5: Homebrewing

Finally, I come to the end of my "Goals Update" series with a post discussing my fifth goal from a year ago:

Successfully brew a halfway-decent gluten-free beer.

So, you ask, how did things go on the homebrewing front?  Well, to put it shortly, good and bad.  My friends Chris and Zohaib and I began our homebrewing mission by producing "gluten-reduced" beer.  Namely, we used Clarity Ferm, a clearing agent, to "denature" some of the gluten proteins found in a standard barley beer.  The result was a fantastically delicious blonde ale which unfortunately made me quite sick.  It was a worth a try, but I unfortunately had to try a different approach.  I then brewed up a gluten-free pale ale recipe from Austin Homebrew Supply that called for a sorghum base and a generous supply of hops.  The result?  I didn't get sick, but the sorghum made for an off-putting, metal-like flavor.  I was quite disheartened at this stage in the game, but I then read about chestnut beers on HomeBrewTalk.com.  I quickly went to work, and after a failed initial recipe, I successfully brewed a delicious Chestnut Sweet Stout from chestnuts, oats, brown rice syrup, molasses, milk sugar, and espresso.  For the recipe, check out my post on the HomeBrewTalk.com forums.

Lately, I have dived into a different arena - crafting homebrewed cider.  My first product, inspired by Edwort's Apfelwein, is almost complete, and it is a fantastic, dry cider at about 9% abv.  I oaked it using medium-toasted oak cubes which were soaked in whiskey, which I found rounds out the cider quite nicely.  I am quite excited to taste the cider upon completion (it is already quite nice at this stage), and I look forward to brewing up more ciders in the future.
 
Goal Status: Outstanding Success

Second Chance: A Gluten-Free Chestnut Sweet Stout

High Noon: A Gluten-Free Red Quinoa Pale Ale

Fruit of the Entwives: An Oak-Conditioned Extra Dry Cider

Goals Update #4: The Great Texas BBQ Adventure

I got sidetracked this last month by a collection of neverending tasks, but I finally have the time today to continue my "Goals Update" series.  So, without further adieu, let's discuss my fourth goal from a year ago:

Check out every BBQ joint on Texas Monthly's Top 50 list.

If you recall, I set this goal after I visited Franklin BBQ for the first time about fifteen months ago.  Before Franklin changed my worldview, I honestly did not care for smoked beef brisket.  It was always so tough, dry, and lacking in flavor.  Franklin changed all of that.  My first bite into a slice of Aaron Franklin's brisket was pure smoky nirvana.  I was hooked from the get-go, and I made it my goal to find the best BBQ joints throughout the great Texas countryside.

My journey started off fast and furious, and I explored small Texas town after small Texas town with a collection of friends.  Lockhart, Elgin, Luling, Lexington, La Grange.  Eventually, I discovered that I would have to travel obnoxious distances to continue my BBQ quest (Texas is an enormous state), and my great Texas BBQ adventure naturally slowed down.  Nonetheless, whenever I have a spare weekend and a few hours to kill, I try to knock off another BBQ joint or two on my expansive list.  I have no illusions that I will actually accomplish my initial goal of visiting all the Top 50 BBQ joints, but I am already quite happy with the progress I have made.

Here is a list of some of the BBQ joints I have checked out over the last year: (1) Franklin BBQ in Austin, (2) Cooper's in Llano, (3) Smitty's Market in Lockhart, (4) Kreuz Market in Lockhart, (5) Luling City Market in Luling, (6) Snow's BBQ in Lexington, (7) JMueller in Austin (now closed), (8) Opie's BBQ in Spicewood, (9) Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, (10) Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew in Austin, (11) The Salt Lick in Driftwood, (12) Southside Market in Elgin, (13) Opie's BBQ in Spicewood, (14) Prause Meat Market in Lagrange, (15) Zimmerhanzel's Bar B Que in Smithville, (16) Lambert's Downtown Barbecue in Austin, (17) Wilhite's Barbecue in Creedmoor, (18) Gonzales Food Market in Gonzales, (19) Cousin's BBQ in Fort Worth, (20) Black's Barbecue in Lockhart, and (21) Big Boy's Barbecue in Sweetwater.  Of all these joints, Franklin BBQ, Snow's BBQ, and Louie Mueller Barbecue are my undoubted favorites.  Stiles Switch has also become a bit of a favorite for me, if only for the convenience of location.  I can easily bike to Stiles Switch for a quick bite, and, if I like, I can stop by Black Star Co-Op afterwards for a gluten-free brew or two following the 'cue.  Good times to be had by all.

In the next few months, I would like to visit a few last places before I leave town.  Yes, it's true, I will be leaving town in July - blog update to follow.  In particular, I would like to hit up Fargo's Pit BBQ in Bryan, Pecan Lodge in Dallas, Heavy's BBQ and Gatlin's BBQ in Houston, City Market in Schulenberg, and Maywald's Sisterdale Smokehouse in Sisterdale.  We will see if I actually will be able to actually visit all of these places.  And yes, before you ask, I would love the company.

Goal Status: Satisfactory Progress

A Bittersweet End

I must admit, that loss last night stung.  The 'Cuse came so close to a glorious comeback against Michigan, but in the end, they come up short.  That being said, the Orange exceeded all expectations this tournament season, and I am glad to see they went as far as they did.  I wish both Louisville and Michigan the best of luck in the championship game.  Though Louisville crushed Syracuse in the second half of the Big East tourney finale, I must admit I will be pulling for Rick Pitino's squad.  It is only fitting that the Big East go out with a "bang".

Goals Update #3: "Un tocco di italiano"

The third goal I set a year ago was the following:

Learn Italian.

Well, I added Rosetta Stone Italian to my Amazon.com wish list.  That has to count for something.

Goal Status: No Progress

Goals Update #2: Marathon Training

Today, I continue my series of updates with the second goal I set a year ago:

Run sub-3:00 during the 2013 Austin Marathon.

When I set this goal a year ago, I figured it to be a bit conservative based on my previous racing experiences.  However, I just needed to get my feet out the door.  I started off on the right foot, bringing my mileage up to about 50 miles/week by the end of the summer.  I signed up for the Austin Distance Challenge, a series of races leading up to the big kahuna itself, and even purchased a copy of "Advanced Marathoning" by Pfitzinger and designed an extensive six month training plan.  Then, fate struck, and I tweaked my back during an easy eight mile run around the neighborhood.  As I hobbled back to my apartment, I thought it was just a minor tweak, but as the weeks went by and I still was not able to run, I came to grips with the reality that the 2013 Austin Marathon was not going to happen.

I finally got out the door for a run about two or three weeks ago, and during the run, I realized that my back was out of sorts even after all this time.  So, I decided to see a sports chiropractor to see what was going on.  I had my first appointment this morning, and it appears that I have a lumbar sprain/strain as well as lumbar joint dysfunction.  It will take a little time for me to get back to normal, but I honestly should have called someone months ago.  Stubbornness got the best of me, and I thought that time was the only medicine I needed.  During the last few weeks, I have also looked into various marathon options for next fall and/or spring.  I would like to visit somewhere I have not been before rather than run a marathon in my backyard.  This way, I would be able to see some new sights, and I would have substantial financial investment in the race between plane tickets, hotel reservations, and registration fees.  Hopefully such an investment will inspire me just a tad bit more.  Right now, I am leaning towards the Portland Marathon in October, but I am hesitant to make any commitments before my back heals up.   With any luck, that will be sooner rather than later.

Goal Status: Sidelined but Inspired