Mike's Ramblings

Saw my Omi; she seems to be full of spirit still, despite her age related ailments. I enjoyed talking to her for the short time we were there.

My Aunt & I went home after that and then I went with Barbie and the dogs “Snow White” and Joshi to feed and care for her and her Mom's horses. She has 2 normal sized horses, Max and Eva, and 2 little pony sized horses, Trapper and Leo. Barbie's friend Meike was already there to help out.

Giant Sheep Dog “Snow White”	Tiny Joshi Hunting Pine Cones	Leo Standing Up on Rear Legs for Food	Trapper and Barbie Getting Exercise

Then we went back home again to pick up Barbie's friend Ariane, and then we went to see what this Mini-push competition was all about. Both Barbie and Ariane are really into the Mini's and they were hoping that we might have a chance of winning a Mini. As it turned out, it was only for a weekend with a rented Mini. Nevertheless, we decided to give it a shot.

The challenge, which was sponsored by ASW BMW Mini, was to push a Mini 50 meters (roughly 50 yards) with 3 people pushing and one steering. Typically it was a Mini rep steering. A team from the Red Bull booth had already set a fastest time of about 12s; their team consisted of 3 strong young guys who load & unload the cases of Red Bull. Our first attempt was 17.8s; we were a little disappointed that we were that far off. We took a break, got a drink, and then tried again; we improved a little. After the 4th attempt, we improved our time to about 15 seconds, a fairly significant improvement, but still pretty far away from 12. Still, we went home happy to have improved as much as we did.

Ariane and Barbie Dreaming of Minis	“Are you still pushing?” Our Best Attempt	The Mini Team Trying to Beat Our Time	The “Mini” Girls

Gave Sherri a call to tell all about the fun we had; it was so nice to hear her voice again! I sure do look forward to getting home to see her and Sean again!

Had a late dinner, then went up to my cousin Cliffy's flat and flew around Placerville on his Microsoft Flight Simulator, loaded the Scandanavia maps on the GPS, and watched a little of Merry Christmas Mr. Bean. Now it's time for bed!!