noooooo

yeah, I did it! I FINISHED my website!

Http://www.Ilkevg.com

Rain Rain go AWAY!

Will it ever get nice this summer in Vermont?

Late Afternoon: Isolated showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. North wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight: Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Light and variable wind.

Thursday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. North wind between 5 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind between 6 and 9 mph becoming calm. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 70. Calm wind becoming north between 6 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Saturday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 80. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 62.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.

Tuesday Night: A chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Wednesday: A chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a high near 83.

CLOUDY, RAINY, COLD...JUST AN AMAZING SUMMER!

errrrr whoooops!

Again, it has been a long time...I preach social networking everyday and I am failing on my own front! It's a good thing I don't do this for a living or for a few extra sales every month because my competitors would be way ahead of me!

I am not much of a writer, I am more of a visual person. I get National Geographic every month, and I am going to be very honest here and lay it out on the table...I ONLY LOOK AT THE PICTURES about 90% of the time, and 10% of the time I read an article...ONE ARTICLE ;-)

So I am not going to write much here but will include some wedding photos since I just started shooting weddings.

You can see my wedding gallery here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilkevg/sets/72157618962419935

Bikram Yoga

Imagine sitting in a room that is full of sweating people, and the space is intentionally overheated. At first I thought this ways just way too much sweat dripped and flicked around a bunch of people who you have never seen in your life or might pass in the office Monday thru Friday.

The part I hated most about my Bikram yoga experience was towards the end, when you lie down and have to tuck your slimy wet legs to your chest and wrap your slippery wet arms around your wet legs. Forget an easy holding pose, when you have been sweating for almost an hour and are so wet that your fingers are starting to prune up!

Bikram or On fire yoga is ideally practiced at 105 degrees F with 26 postures and two breathing exercises, and the classes are around 90 minutes. This vigorous yoga session with insanely hot temps promote profuse sweating…making you feel like a wet slimy fish that becomes more and more flexible through the class as your body melts away all toxins and melts away at your muscles.

I do have to say after the class I felt very rejuvenated…I felt high and was moving in slow motion. Feeling restored and great, as I though every muscle, joint and organ in my body had been replaced and was brand new.



After my love and hate experience on Saturday I decide I am going to continue…I’m going to start out going once to twice a week. You might be asking yourself why I like to torture myself so much…it’s quite simple…we always yearn to feel to feel calm, loose and energized. This is the way I felt after the class, not to mention more powerful and for the rest of the day I was standing straight rather than hunched over as though I am typing on a computer 24 hours a day!

I will continue this punishment, and keep you posted…maybe in a few months I will be able to touch my toes with out bending my legs. I haven’t been able to touch my toes since sixth grade, lets just say I have always preferred wrecking my body biking and running and never taking the time to stretch.

Fletcher Allen Health Care

Lots has happened since I last wrote. Ski season officially ended here in Vermont, I have been on some mad bike rides and got a sweet farmers tan. More on that in another post. I signed up for some crazy ass Bikram Yoga through work, went and saw a few good movies and have drank way to many margaritas…More on this in another post as well. Other than that things have been very slow for me the past few months.

Back in March I got sick with an infection and the other day was my millionth trip to the Doctors, mind you this could have all been avoided and everything could have been resolved on the first trip. I am going to play out my last trip to the doctors:

Mrs. Doctor “hi Ilke, how are you today?”

Me (with a puzzled look on my face) “why do you ask me this question? If I was good I wouldn’t be here right now and no one ever likes to hear you are doing badly…next time can you just say Hello Ilke, HOW CAN I HELP YOU TODAY?”

So we had a bad start…

It only gets better. I of course go into my rant that I have told them several times, and talk way more than I want to about the stuff going on in my body when they have me do all the same tests I did last time.

The end conclusion is they gave me the wrong antibiotics…THREE TIMES! And that now I need to try a fourth.

I am not sure at this point what to think or what to do, I am guessing it’s not very good to be in antibiotics for two months and on top of that…how does Mrs. Doctor know if this is going to be the one to cure me? Than my doctor says: “You should feel better tomorrow.”

BING…I SNAPPED! How many times have I heard that? Every single time I got handed a prescription I was told “you will feel better tomorrow!” What? You just randomly shooting me with antibiotics? When you left to go look at the test results, did you open up the cabinet, close your eyes and randomly pick another drug? OR...Fletcher Allen, do you just sell the drug of the day?

Let me tell you something Doc…I better feel better tomorrow, otherwise I will be hunting down your practice for the 2+ grand this has cost! So much money for no resolve…how can this be…how can this be ok?

If I were to have performed the same level as my doctors have been I would've gotten FIRED!

Visit VT Photographers

Shane McConkey

Biathlon and EABC in the New York Times

Have Rifle, Will Travel (on Skis)
By KATIE ZEZIMA
Published: March 12, 2009
A small but growing number of amateurs in the United States are taking an interest in biathlon, a sport that combines cross-country skiing and target shooting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/fashion/12fitness.html

Stowe Derby

Yesterday started off with a bang, as I almost missed the start of the Stowe Derby. My day started off a little late and with some bad driving conditions to registration. I arrived at registration at 9:30...with a 10am race start time. On my drive I figured this would work out great and I wouldn't be sitting a the top of the mountain freezing waiting for my start. But when I arrived at registration I found out I had a very high seed...number 33...with all the fast men. The pressure was on, not only to race fast but to get to the start on time. I would say this is where my warm up started...I sprinted to my car, and drove as fast as I could to the mountain(rally racing in the wrx). Once I got to the mountain I stripped down to my race suit and sprinted to the lift line, once I made it to the lift I knew that if I didn't make the start now it was out of my control. Lucky me, arrived with three minutes before the start of the 75th annual, 2009 Stowe Derby.

At the start I felt good, my skis were very fast and tracked through the deep snow really well...especially at high speeds. I tucked in behind two men, at the start and I let them pull me down the hill, we raced together very well through the fast turns. I managed to make it down the toll road, with only one crash!

Then the climbing starts, and we all know that all the time is made and the race is won, on the climb and the flats. Yesterday was a good day for me, as I kept up with the men in the climbs and drafted as long as I could, powering hard with V2 on the flats. Before I knew it I was skiing on my own, dropped by two of the top skiers in my start but no one in the waves be hind me catching me. I took the fact that I wasn't being passed as a good sign and kept skiing as hard as I could. I finished strong and started to get worried about the girls behind me...I knew I was the first girl to start and that there were a few really fast ladies in the waves behind me. To ease my nerves, after the race I headed straight back to the mountain for some downhill skiing. The powder was AMAZING!

It's an honor to have a Derby win...one of the biggest, funnest races in North America! The best part of the Derby, by far, are the stories, of crashes, wax, broken equipment, snow conditions, other athletes and fans along the way.

One last note on the Derby; THANK YOU to the helpers out there that made this race possible!

Off the MAP

Where have I been these past few months?

WORKING

On a good note, I still have a lot of work to do and it doesn't look like it is going to slow down anytime soon.



Don't worry, I still have my out of control hobbies and interests, that I am working on. When I am not at work I am keeping busy with my coaching, ski racing (all for fun now) and photography. I will have some skiing updates after the Stowe Derby next weekend, so you'll have to wait out for that. If you check out my Flickr you can see what I have been up to, a little shooting of some Biathlon races, ski races, work in New Orleans and shooting a bowling birthday party bash!

yikes

It has been a long time...working to hard and not skiing enough. As for interesting things going on in my world; I just got back from New Orleans, you can check out some of my shots here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilkevg/

NorAm #5

for more photos check out the all famous flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilkevg/

Mens Biathlon Relay in Oberhof

Yesterday the US Biathlon Mens team Posted the Best Relay Finish of the Season
The US relay team consisted of Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY), Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY), and Jeremy Teela (Anchorage, AK) They finished 3:23.9 behind the team from Austria who won their impressive second World Cup Relay in a row. Russia came in second with some great shooting, only using six spare rounds, and finished 8.7 seconds back, a very close race with Germany coming in third, 19.2 seconds back, with one penalty and nine spare rounds.
Coach Per Nilsson, was reported as being not satisfied. Saying that the team should be between 6th and 8th. It is however an improvement in the season’s third relay. In the past two relays the team finished 15th and 14th 6 minutes back and 4:44 back. Yesterday the team at 1 penalty and used all spare rounds and was only 3:23 behind. Headed in the right direction!