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RutVegas
Best Ball
December 18, 2004
It was back to my old stomping grounds for a best ball bowling tournament, where apparently I demonstrated clearly that I can't bowl and that I shouldn't be allowed in Dunkin Donuts.
We made the annual pilgrimage to Rutland for the Best Ball Tournament, with hopes of gaining a free entry into the Green Mountain Open. Well, I didn't gain free entry and, in fact, all I gain was about two days of digestive problems caused by too many bite-size hot dogs and too many bite-size donuts. For some reason, I thought it was appropriate to try to stuff in my mouth whole hot dogs and whole donuts on demand. I'm not sure how often I tried this, but I know I don't intend to do it again!
The winners in Rutland were my sister Cindy and my brother Sonny, convincingly taking bragging rights among the six of us. All I know is the side betting with fierce when we return for the Green Mountain Open.
Patriots Losing Streak Stands at
TWO!
November 1, 2004
Some people think the Pittsburgh Steelers stopped the Patriots winning streak on Sunday, October 31, but the winning streak actually ended the night before.
I attended the annual Halloween party of Dennis and Daryl DePaul and attempted to recapture my title as pumpkin carving master. Two years ago, my M&M Guys carving took first place based predominantly on strong strategic marketing. That's right, I carefully placed several M&M-based desserts around the house prior to judging, with the hope that everyone would subconsciously think of M&Ms. And it worked. This year, I tried carving a pumpkin into the shape of a Patriots helmet, thinking the Pats are on a winning streak, so how could I lose? Well, I did. LOL. Here's my losing entry:
The next day, the Pats lost to the Steelers.
A Perfect Fall Day
October 23, 2004
There's nothing like a leisurely walk up Mt. Philo on a perfect fall day. The view to the west of the Adirondack Mountains is amazing and the skies cooperated very nicely. On the way home, I drove up Philo Road and found a section of the road with a great view of Camel's Hump, too.
Pre-Hurricane Florida Vacation
October 6, 2004
In early spring, Florida was my vacation spot, doing the typical tourist stuff: theme parks and beaches. While I loved the sun and I loved the entertainment, the Daytona Beach area offered very little for dining choices. Chicken wings topped the list of culinary delights. Anyway, I finally have the pictures from Seaworld and New Smyrna Beach ready for posting, including images of me, Travis and his brother Jason.
Why I live in Vermont
September 26, 2004
I don't need to say much, other than "a picture is worth a thousand words."
Arrowhead Glow -in-the-dark
Tournament
September 17, 2004
As if golf isn't challenging enough, but combine golf with darkness, competition and beer, and now you have sometime.
Here's the deal: 9 holes in daylight, barbeque, 9 holes at night. Each hole has two teams of two, for a total of eighteen teams. It's a scramble tournament, where each player hits a ball from the tee and then they decide from which ball they will both hit the next shot. Bob Brosseau and I were teamed up for this event and completing the foursome was the team of my brother, Sonny, and my brother-in-law, Wayne.
The competition was stiff. The stakes were high. And the mouths were running. One of the shortest holes, #4, gave us the most problem. Neither Bob nor I could putt to save our life and that one bad hole ended up giving Sonny and Wayne the 1-stroke lead on the front 9. In fact, Sonny and Wayne tied two other teams for first place with 29 on the front 9. Bob and I tied three other teams with 30.
The
bigger problems came in to play as the beer from the last 5 holes, the
beer from the barbeque and the darkness all kicked in. For those of you have never
golfed at night before, here is what it looks like:
Needless to say, my hand-eye coordination was not working properly. And while there were moments of brilliance (or sheer luck), Bob and I finished with a 67 for 6th place. On the other hand, Wayne and Sonny took first place with a 60, which was good for a nice clubhouse gift certificate along with bragging rights.
Wait 'til next year.
How far is "Half Way"?
September 11, 2004
Ok. Philosophy classes and math classes never included the most important question one must answer in order to go biking: How far is half way? Yes, the math is simple: take how far your body can take you and divide by 2. This is where you turn around and go back. And it's a handy piece of information.
I
left my house in Essex and biked towards Williston on route 2A.
Sunshine, blue skies, nice temperatures. What a day. I decided to head
to South Burlington via Williston Road. Still feeling good, I cruised
over I-89 onto Main St. in burlington and then down Spear St. Still
feeling good, I connected with the Burlington Bike Path and headed
down to Oakledge Park. And after some nice lake-view biking, I found
myself at Burlington's Waterfront Park, realizing that I had no idea
how far I had gone, nor how much more biking I could take. Then the
bad news hit me: I need to get home and, for the most part, it's all
up hill. Well, after more than 24 miles total, I made it back home. A
bit tired. Ok, very tired.
Next time, I'll try to realize how far half way is.
Braves Play Final Series in
Montreal
September 3, 2004
The
Atlanta visited Montreal for what is certain to be the last
Braves/Expos series in Canada. To steal a line from someone, "the
stadium was filled with people dressed as empty seats."
It was sad to see a place built to hold 50,000 cheering Montreal fans, instead scattered with less than 9,000 fans and almost half cheering for the Braves. A Friday night game at the Big "O" in years past had bands playing in the concourse, specialty foods served at tables and entertainment for kids beyond the game. Now, you're lucky to see a couple of bi-lingual vendors pass by with soda or popcorn. Gone are the shouts of biere froid, chien chaud and cream glace.
The game itself pleased Braves fans. A 7-1 victory for Atlanta, with Montreal never showing a threatening sign. Here is the scoring summary from Yahoo!:
Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 2 1 0 0 4 0 0 7 9 0
Montreal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 1
Top 3rd: Atlanta
-M. Giles doubled to deep center, R. Furcal scored
-J.D. Drew singled to right, M. Giles scored, J.D. Drew to second advancing on throw
Top 4th: Atlanta
-E. Marrero homered to deep center
Top 7th: Atlanta
-C. Jones singled to third, R. Furcal scored, M. Giles to third, J.D. Drew to second
-J. Franco walked, M. Giles scored, J.D. Drew to third, C. Jones to second
-A. Jones hit sacrifice fly to right, J.D. Drew scored, C. Jones to third
-E. Marrero safe at first on shortstop A. Gonzalez's fielding error, C. Jones scored, J. Franco to second
Bot 8th: Montreal
-R. Church grounded out to first, M. Izturis scored
WP: P. Byrd (6-4)
LP: S. Downs (2-5)
Golf or "How I Ruined A Good
Walk"
August, 2004
I've heard many people talk about the benefits of golf: it's relaxing, you get to hang out with friends, you can enjoy the outdoors, and there's some light exercise. These reasons are the result of good marketing by the PGA and not based in reality. Golf is basically a way to ruin a good walk.
My
last outing was at Milton's Arrowhead Golf Course, where you could
witness why my cost per stroke is pretty low. We were on the 6th hole,
which a short par three, with a small pond in the way, but with a
solid pitching wedge or a weak nine iron, you should be able to cross
the pond. I was lined up with hole, feet shoulder width apart, club
gripped firmly but not too tight and my eyes were focused on that damn
yellow dimpled ball just sitting there on the tee. My back swing was
easy, as my brother Sonny taught me, and my follow-through was smooth.
But for some reason that damn yellow ball decided to take a bath in
the pond instead of gracefully flying to comfort the mowed fairway.
Obviously, the problem was my club, so I took another yellow ball from
my pocket and hurled it by hand across the pond to test my "bad club
theory". It sunk, too. Apparently, I'm not that good. And it was
summed up in the words of Bob Brosseau, who commented on my game:
"I've never seen with such a nice swing, hit a ball so bad."
The
secret that the PGA does not want you to know is that hidden inside
every golf ball is a random number generator that kicks in
periodically and forces the ball the land on the green. This happened
to me at The Links at Lang Farm (both pictures are from The Links). I
proudly drove the green on a short par three. Without knowing, or
questioning, this technology, I assume the good hit was my doing. And
it is this false-positive reinforcement that causes me to return to
the course week after week, knowing full well that all I am doing is
ruining a good walk.
Hiking Mt. Abe
July, 2004
Where should a beginner go for a day hike in Vermont? Some would say Stowe bike path; others choose Mt. Philo; all know it should be short and manageable. Never let your best friend convince you that Mt. Abe is good choice for a beginners hike.
Travis and I spent two hours making our way up one of Vermont's highest peaks via The Long Trail from the south side. Yes, I have been working out and, yes, I do lots of biking. However, when hiking The Long Trail, there aren't many places to "coast". Although it was slow, we did make it to the top and the views were amazing. Here are some of the images (file sizes are large, 800-900k each):
New Year, New Office, New Job
January, 2003
This
month marks my third anniversary working at UVM and it also marks my fifth
office move in three years! You can find me back at the Grasse
Mount building at the corner of Main and Summit Streets on the third
floor with a great view of Lake Champlain in the winter. The move is part of a new job
for me in Development and Alumni Relations as Financial Manager,
responsible for budgets, accounting and human resources for our
division of nearly 90 staff.
Mark W. Metivier,
Financial Manager
The University of Vermont, Grasse Mount Building
411 Main Street,
Burlington,
Vermont 05401
(802) 656-8401 | Mark.Metivier@uvm.edu
Interior Design by Cus
December, 2002
Form follows function. That's my mantra for interior design. And that's why you'll find the following in my living room:
large
screen TV with home theatre surround sound Even Christopher Lowell can see the magic with Interior Design by Cus.
Halloween Happenings
October, 2002
October
is the time for Dennis and Daryl Depaul-Durden's annual Halloween
party and pumpkin carving contest. Last year, Dustin Trotter and I
took first place honors with an amazing artistic masterpiece: A large
pumpkin akin to Jaws, eating a small pumpkin akin to Mr. Bill. This
year, I had to keep up my reputation as a master carver. I had thought
about doing the characters from South Park, but I couldn't find any
hats to put on the pumpkins. Instead, one round pumpkin and one oblong
pumpkin turned into the M&M guys. The voting was close when the
lights were on, but once the judges saw the M&M guys with the
lights off, there was only one clear winner.
On the Move
September, 2002
August was a busy month, filled with two big moves. I don't care to see another cardboard box for a long time.
First, Essex Junction is now my new home town. Travis, Dan and I moved to Essex at the end of August and, yes, this means a new address and new phone number. Here is the important info:
Mark "Cus" Metivier
1 Cree Avenue
Essex Junction, Vermont 05452
(802) 878-8418
cusonline@yahoo.com
Second, my office has moved to a newly renovated building called Innovation Center in Burlington. Thirty-five staff members from Development and Alumni Relations have moved to this new location, including me. To contact me at work:
Mark W. Metivier
Human Resources Coordinator
The University of Vermont
Innovation Center
PO Box 1103
Burlington, Vermont 05402-1103
(802) 656-8401
Mark.Metivier@uvm.edu
Mt. Mansfield Trek
August, 2002
Up the Auto Toll Road in Stowe, my 2002 Ford Focus climbed with ease. Who needs an SUV anyway? Four and a half miles of dirt and stone, passing for a road, lead you to the nose of Mt. Mansfield where eastern views are spectacular. The ski trails, though, were too steep for me to consider even walking in summer, let alone skiing in winter. It's a good thing I'm a real Vermonter, and real Vermonters don't ski. At a cost of $15.00, the Auto Toll Road is well worth the trip for those not quite ready to hike The Long Trail to the top of Mt. Mansfield. Here are some of the views:
