Dublin Simon Fun Run - Mission Accomplished!

Dear Friends,

This Saturday, the Dublin Simon Fun Run has been a phenomenal success! We had pure sun, great spirit and a lot of fun running down the most beautiful city park in this part of Europe, the Phoenix Park. But you dont have to take my word for it, open your eyes and fill your heart with the Good of this charity run!

The tree-lined path to the start was shady and cool. We couldn't wait to see where the track will take us - which part of the Enchanted Forest we will visit this time?

And here we were! The first glance was already promising. Red hot cars = action!

The participants were having a lot of fun, dressing up to the latest fashion. You know, these kids today... But as they say, when the music is too strange and too loud, you are too old.

So here we were, a couple of brave, yet still running tourists, in our best Saturday gear.

The media were very supportive, they actually sent in their "Road Hog" machine to give up-to-date account of the race on the airwaves. Maaamaaa, look at mee!! (oh dang!)

Just in case anyone would get any funny ideas, the Garda were there to kick their naughty bits.

Here we see some groupies attracted to the blinding light of fame and prestige.

The fair was alive with buzz and excitement. We couldn't wait to get started. Because remember, only the first 3000 runners would get the goodie bags!!! This meant only one thing: be here or be squere! :)

Patricija got chatted up by the Indian Chief. He looked part Viking part biker to me, but who am I to judge? (nisam ja odavde PRESS)

Charity runs have a strong tradition in Ireland, and it was great to see the proud supporters of various causes unfurl their colors.

Patricija gearing up. Polar was already beating to the beat of the drum. Was that the starter's gun?

Local "celebrities" were taking care of the good mood.

We had another 300 m to go to reach the starting line,and the closer we get, the merrier was the mood.

Pegaz in full regalia.

... and the rest of the gang. When do we run?

Check it out - another bird of feather found me! Sorry mate, we're about to start, otherwise a pint or two would be in order!

And so we went. The sun kept its promise and it was easy to forget why we were here... and just sit in the grass and smell the flowers... Like Ferdinand the Bull.

But the race was on. Do not forget, only 3000 goodie bags were in store. 3000! That's not all that many. What if...? Better step on it, mama!

...

And you hunger for the time

Time to heal, desire, time

And your earth moves beneath

Your own dream landscape
...

[U2 - A Sort of Homecoming]

It was easy to run - we had COMPANY!

The native onlookers were staring in disbelief. Why are they running, there is nobody chasing them...!

We had great cheering audience.

More of the stuff the dreams are made of.

Curly, you check for the runners on the left, and I'll cover the right. If you see a cute guy, discreetly wave the tail twice!

The final approach.

Solitary, but never lonely.

And there it was. Our goal, our dream, our goodie bag!

Oh well, it was only 5 miles, let's not get too emotional.

We ran, we won, we accomplished our mission. And with your generous help in sponsoring our run, we have contributed towards helping the homeless people in Dublin!

Thank you so much!

Dublin Simon Fun Run

Dear Friends,

To leave behind the rush of the elections, Patricija & I decided to do something charitable.
In Ireland, charity is a virtue of high-visibility, and sports events often promote some charitable cause, collecting money at the event (like money for animal shelter in Repkov Tek in Slovenia).

This time, we have joined the 25th Annual Simon Fun Run. in 5 miles in Phoenix park in Dublin, we will meet with more than 2000 runners that traditionally run in this event. In addition to the starting fee, we have donated some money ourselves. If you feel like contributing and support the cause, here is the link to donate ("sponsor" the runner):

Click here to sponsor Pegaz

And this are the words I put together for the sponsoring page.
If you decide to donate through PayPal, I will receive an email.
Of course, I will forward any money collected this way to the organizers.

Cheers!
---

Dear Sponsor, Dear Friend,

This Sunday, 11. October, we are running for the benefit of the homeless people in Dublin. I support this initiative since I think this is a good way to do something for them in an organized way. Patricija & I are running the race together - for the first time! - and are looking for "sponsors" to co-donate for our cause with us.

Charity runs are one of the nicest traditions in Ireland, and I am very grateful to you for your time and for whatever you can spend to help.

About payment: you can use the sponsorship fom on the Simon Fun Run website. Since the page is not secure (https://), you can also use
http://www.paypal.com
and go to Send money - Send Money online

From: "your email"
For: service/other
You will have to create an account with PayPal, but I find it one of the few really useful sites to leave my credit card info in. I have been using it since 2000.

And of course, stay tuned to the post-FunRun report on Hlevcek.blogspot.com!

Thank you again for your support!

Yours, always,

Andrej / Pegaz

Volite li Idole?

Streha v Prepovedanem Mestu, Peking, oktober 2006

"[...][Marko Golobič, tajnik Republiske volilne komisije] sicer meni, da glasovnice poslane po pošti ne bodo bistveno vplivale na končni referendumski izid. Glede na to, da je rezultat zelo tesen, pa ne kaže ničesar izključiti. [...]" Finance, "Tesna zmaga podpornikov zakona o RTVS", 26.5.2005

Dragi moji,

Za nami je Veliki vikend, ki se tako kot olimpijada pojavi le vsake stiri leta. Dan, ko si nadenemo gmasne obleke, se obrijemo in umijemo, kot se spodobi, in se po kosilu odpravimo volit. Tam seveda lahko napisemo kar hocemo na listke, ce se le prej 3x podpisemo na ustrezna mesta in nas strogi opazovalci spustijo v volilno omarico.

Ce.

Seveda se vam lahko zgodi, da civkate, kot prava prica selivka, na drugem koncu nase nove EU in seveda dalec od rodnega vam gasilskega doma in mamine sirove pite. In vam pride na misel, da bi pa vi vseeno malo volili. Si tozadevno preberete zakonodajo, in pravocasno preverite vsebino se na MZZ. Kjer vam prijazno zagotovijo, da je vse v redu, da sta dve moznosti - glasovanje po posti in osebno glasovanje na ambasadi. Dublin ima ambasado, check, rok za prijavo je sele cez tri tedne, torej smo pravocasni. Ime in priimek evidentirate pri prijazni gospej, in greste po drugih opravkih.

Na dan volitev sem tako preserno zlezel izpod tusa, obrit in zlikan, se zadegal na Kobilico in odpedalil proti centru mesta. Seveda, Sefica mi je pred par dnevi prijazno pokazala, kje je ambasada - zmajcek gor ali dol, se vedno se znamo fino zgubit, ane - in uspesno sem se prebil skozi plocevinasto krdelo fuzbalskih navijacev, ki je drvela kot neskoncna reka od nikoder nikamor. Po parkiriscu, ki je bilo zvito zakamuflirano v cesto, sem pluzil med dvonadstropnimi avtobusi in navzkriz postavljenimi avti, ki so mi preserno hupali ter mahali z raznobarvnimi zastavicami. To je pravi predvolilni duh!

Nasproti Trinity College sem razsedlal, Kobilico priklenil na stojalo in s kotickom ocesa motril procelje. Le kje je slovenska zastava? Saj je vendar ambasada tu, al kako? No, zastav(ic)a dejansko visi, nekje v tretjem nadstropju ugledne mescanske hise na vogalu, ki iz profila mogoce malo spominja na naso predsednisko palaco. A vrata so bila zaklenjena. Na zvonec se ni oglasil nihce. Telefon mi je v dvojezicnih besedah sporocal, da so njihove delovne ure takrat in takrat, in da ce sem RES v nevarnosti in rabim pomoc, naj poklicem dezurnega na mobilno stevilko. Dezurni je imel druge ideje in je pac telefon izklopil. Kola je, usak posten clouk hoce met u nedelo mer, k'nede!?

Lahko si mislite, da mi je udarilo na rdece. Takoj sem se spomnil gornjih preroskih besed, ki sem jih prebral kak dan nazaj. Tako torej to gre! Najprej "Da, gospod, seveda, gospod!", potem pa jak stisak ruke i dobro odmjeren sutac u celo. Se mi je kar zdelo. Teorij zarote je kar zamrgolelo, vse je bilo jasno, pajcevina je bila odstrta, slovenskost razklana po partijskih linijah. In jaz brez moznosti, da uveljavim svojo voljo!!! Zdomec! In to tak, pravi, iz tujine!

Helpline Mama je potrpezljivo poslusala moje jadanje in zmenila sva se, da me poklice cez eno uro, vmes pa se najem in pomirim. Jasno ni slo po nacrtih. Nasel sem cyber cafe in zlezel za masino, iskal sem potrditveni mail izpred treh mescev (oh kako naivno-jalovo pocetje brez guglovega desktopa) ali pa vsaj stevilko RVK. OHOHOHOHO! Tukaj je. Zdaj bodo pa slisali svoje. VSE jim bom povedal!

Pajade.

Gospot na drugi strani se ni dosti sekiral. Povedal mi je, da DKP v Dublinu pac ni bilo izbrano za volitve. Ker da nas tukaj ni dovolj volilcev. Da je spisek izbranih DKPjev ze 3 mesce na netu (ja kako sem se pa potem lahko dva mesca nazaj registriral za Dublin???) in da si lahko sam preverim. In z rahlo nepotrpezljivostjo v glasu je na moje nevedno vprasanje, kaj je DKP, odvrnil, da je to pac Diplomatsko Konzularno Predstavnistvo. Da bi se pac moral prijaviti za glasovanje po posti in da je to TO. Dankesen-bitezer. Und tschuess!

Takole sem torej ze drugic v svoji odrasli zgodovini (nazadnje l. 2000) ostal za zivo mejo tujine in pozeljivo gledal preko nje domov, kjer ste moji sonarodnjaki bili boj na poziralniku in se trudili, da bi vendarle zmagala Pravica in Resnica. Upam, da vam je uspelo!

In Memoriam

Friends from all over the world are asking me about the terrible accident in the Himalayas, on one of the most spectacular and most difficult mountains.
About the man who remains there. In the heart of the mountains that he loved.

Pavle Kozjek
slovenian alpinist
1959-2008

We miss you.

The things I do for...

(Shot this morning, on my bike-borne daily pilgrimage.)

Poletna sobota

Danes je lepa sobota. Za mano je prva tekma. Prva desetka, v miljah, seveda.

Adidas Frank Duffy 10 mile race, kot del letošnjih poletnih tekaških prireditev v Dublinu. Začelo se je julija s tekom na 10 km, nato nadaljevalo avgusta za 10 miljami (dobrih 16 km), 22. septembra bo polmaraton in dan po Ljubljanskem maratonu, oktobra, še Dublinski maraton.
(For the record: nisem uspel ugotoviti, kdo je Frank Duffy. Priznana lokalna izvedenka mi je zagotovila, da je oče pevke Duffy. Ta navedba pove več o izvedenki, kot o Franku)
P. ni mogla z mano, ker je bila dežurna. Next time - definitely!

Trasa teka je potekala po Phoenix Parku, čudovitem ogromnem zelenem področju, ograjenem z dvometrsko zidano ograjo, v katerem domujejo med drugim irska predsednica, premier, ter ameriška amabasada.

Park je zelo lepo vzdrževan, v njem je plinska (!) razsvetljava, ter krdela jelenov, ki se prosto pasejo.

Nekaj dolinic je zagotavljalo vzpone in spuste, zavoje in seveda razglede, ki jemljejo dih.

Številko s čipom sem dvignil v telovadnici osnovne šole na robu parka, kamor se je zgrnila množica tekačev. Takoj sem se počutil domače: enaki pogledi, enaki obredi pred tekmo, enake vrste pred stranišči. Kakih 15 minut je bilo treba peš do štarta, tam hiter skok za eno od dreves, še tri minute do štarta, glasba bobni, in človeški val se je premaknil.

Dva kroga skozi park nista izgledala tako strašno. Malo me je skrbelo pomanjkanje treninga, saj sem zadnji teden v glavnem samo kolesaril (dvakrat po pol ure v službo in nazaj) - vsekakor tale tekmica ne bo en sam "walk in the park".

Ker nisem poznal nikogar, sem iskal nekoga s podobnim tempom. Garmin je štel utripe in mi puščal malo prostora, čeprav sem vedel, da je 5:15 min/km prehiter tempo zame za to razdaljo in to stanje netreniranosti. Vseeno sem se prijel manjše skupinice, ki so brzeli ravno toliko, kot sem še zmogel.

Zadnji kilometer je pulz prebil 185, kar je zame stratosfera, vendar se nisem dal in sem v končnem finišu (jasno) zmlel še nekaj nič hudega slutečih. Seveda sem v cilj prijadral v polni opravi Tekaškega Foruma, z napisom Slovenija na hrbtu. Kaj več si lahko predstavljaš samo še v - no, ok, bodimo realni. Z 01:23:44 neto po čipu je bilo kar v redu za prvič.

Vreme je zdržalo skoraj do konca, ko se je pršec spremenil v tropski naliv. Do avta sem priskakljal moker kot miš, ponosno stiskajoč v roki goodie bag (rdeča tekaška adidasova majica, snickers, twix, izotonik pijača, sevenUp, vrečka žele bombonov in kar nekaj reklame.)

Najboljše od vsega pa me je čakalo doma: Irish Stew. Sem jaz vedel, da je tudi dežurstvo na telefonu za nekaj dobro! In to ZELO. Compliments to the chef!

The Wet Knight

Kids, don't do this at home!

Sončen dan ni vsaka siva sreda.
Prav zares. Tale sreda ni bila sončen dan. Začelo se je z dežjem, ki se je stopnjeval v naliv. Pa nazaj v tropski pršec, tak konstanten, gost in prodoren. Topel.

Vaš truli Pegaz Impregnatus se je odločil, da on bo pa tistih mizli 8 km pa ja premagal na biciklu. Pantalones impermeables, tarumen tekaški anorak, Goretex čevlje, TermalActiv majco. Dežno prevleko čez ruzak. V njem dokumenti in notebook. Moj novi trek Kobilica ja itak navajena na dež, ker živi vezana u dvorištu. In smo šli.

Po nekem čudnem naključju sem si omislil očala, ki me bodo varovala pred padajočimi kapljami. Ja vraga, vsa ta voda mi je meglila pogled in čudno krivila optiko. A je tist pešeč, semafor, drevo al samo flek na cesti? Hmmm, prec bomo zvedli, se mi zdi.

Rejning puring, nevidiš prst pred očima, za tabo pa dabldeker, on ni za take hece, sam gas pa dolge. Kolesarska steza je NA avtobusni progi. Kakšen pločnik prosim lepo. To je boj na nož, ko će koga. Vozmo po levi. Rdeča luč ga bo ustavla, ampak uni z leve majo pa zeleno. E je*i ga, samo jednom se živi. Bomo pa Irish Independentu bral u črni kroniki, a je ratal al ne.

V enem kosu (plus bicikla) pridem do vhodnih vrat na zadnjem vhodu na kampus. V nalivu, ki nekako noče ponehati, stojim pred dvometrsko ograjo iz varjenih železnih špičastih palic. S ključavnico na kodo. stisneš eno in dve, pa potem štiri, al je ravno obratno? Omadona, pritiskam kot en tepko, voda mi prešerno kaplja za vrat, tanek curek se pocedi - mah nič se ne pocedi, saj sem kot v banji. Nič, vrata nočejo nič slišati o kodi, vamos a la plaja, en kilometer naokoli. Bolje pozno kot s pljučnico, pravim jaz.

V lab pridem premočen do kože. Edino pantalones impermeables so res dobro držale, Nike svaka ćast! Vse ostalo je vsaj vlažno, dokumenti in noterbook so preživeli. Še dobro, da sem nesel s sabo rezervno obleko, ne?

Čeprav se potem cel dan slabo počutim. Zaradi trenutne nepremišljenosti trpim v *belih* nogavicah, obut v olivno zelene krokse. Kulnes faktor u drugem podrumu. Ampak sej zato smo pa akademiki, ne? Eni pa bosi hodjo po faksu, pa kaj. :)

Domov pujsnem v prešernem večernem soncu.

Takla mamo.

In to je šele prvi dan.