Josh and Erin in the Twin Cities

New blog is up and RUNNING!

2009-04-18T15:55:00.001-05:00

To access the new blog, please go to: www.theroyalfam.com/nucleus/

We are going to start posting up at that location, so update your bookmarks!!

New website alert!!

2009-04-16T22:35:00.002-05:00

I registered a domain today for the King family, it's www.theroyalfam.com. There isn't much up there right now (read: nothing), but I plan on getting something up there pretty quickly. I am hoping for a photo album, links to our google calendar (or maybe the calendar itself), and our blog. I decided that I wanted a little more control in how the site looks, and where my photos are hosted.

As part of this effort, I installed an email server on the machine, it's called Zimbra. Once I get the email server up and running, I can give you guys your own accounts if you want them, it's up to you.

I also registered elmdesign.us for E to put up a site for her graphic design work. I haven't gotten that set up yet, so it just goes to the default goDaddy.com website. We will most likely update you with more information once we get more up there!

Gots me a new Lappy-top

2009-04-16T22:33:00.002-05:00

My new netbook came in the mail today! The whole box is about the size of a full size laptop, so I knew this thing was going to be small, but man, working on it is weird. The keyboard is 93% of full size, but that 7% makes a big difference on whether you press the correct key or not. I have been having fun getting used to my first Windows-based laptop.

vroom vroom or VROOOM VROOOM!!

2009-04-14T23:15:00.004-05:00

Got my new exhaust installed yesterday at Jorge's house. It's nice when all of the bolts aren't all rusted out, makes it a lot easier to remove them. Overall it took us about an hour from the time I pulled into his garage until we put it back on the ground.

I must say, it is L O U D! I love the sound though, really deep rumble with that characteristic sound from a boxer-four.

TULIPS!

2009-04-13T21:43:00.002-05:00

Hey, Allan. This one's for you.
I know it's not perfect but I've been playing with our new Cannon Rebel camera.
I love it when the background gets blown out like that.

2009-04-11T23:33:00.001-05:00

Damn I love those eggs. Made them for breakfast this morning for Mike and Erin.

geekery

2009-04-07T14:04:00.002-05:00

I am geeking on the blog templates.

morrissey and eggs

2009-04-07T13:05:00.005-05:00

Last night we tried two things, Gordon Ramsay's scrambled eggs, and a Morrissey concert.

First, the eggs. I found the recipe on Lifehacker.com and knew I had to give it a whirl. After having made them, I now understand why he is an international star of the chefs. They are AMAZING. You have to give it a try if you have not ever made them this way. I didn't mess with the sourdough or mushrooms or tomatoes or anything like that, just the eggs. Try it, you will NOT regret it.

Second, we went to the Morrissey concert last night, if you are not familiar with him, here is one of my favorite songs:

That was filmed at an event on the same tour he is on now, so that is what the stage and everything looked like. He puts on a really good show, but has some obsession with ripping his shirt off and then running off stage to get a fresh one. It was kind of odd...

Where the Wild Things are

2009-03-28T09:19:00.002-05:00

When I first found out Hollywood was going to make a movie out of this classic Children's book, I can't say I was the least bit excited. But after seeing the trailer I stand corrected. At least from the little bit you can see in the trailer, this movie seems just as magical and moody as the book. But I'm still a little wary.

There's something kind of sad about Hollywood stealing all of the mystery and imagination a child has to create his or her own take on the story. I remember my mom reading me that book countless times. The tones and intonations of her voice so original to anyone else's experience. The way I got caught up in the details of Maurice's illustrations. Kind of makes me a little sad in a way.

Livin the Star Trek life, baby!

2009-03-27T10:43:00.000-05:00

I just had a realization today. All those movies that depicted the people talking over TV screens and being able to see each other, yeah, that's reality! With the advent of Skype and Google Talk with video, I can have a conversation with my dad in STL while I sit on my couch and we can essentially be face to face. Now, the bandwidth issue is still there, so that needs to be addressed, but the fact is that I can actually do the Jetsons thing!

Damn, technology is cool.

2009-03-20T16:30:00.008-05:00

Finally got some shots of the green sands beach from the southern-most tip of the big island of Hawaii. The sand is actually shards of peridot that comes from the volcanic activity nearby, you can see the black specs of pumice mixed in to make the sand appear darker. From anything more than a few feet away it just looks like moss or something.

2009-03-06T20:36:00.007-06:00

So, I have been thinking the last few days about our trip to Hawaii and how much everyone loved it, and I have been wondering if everyone loved it so much because it was Hawaii, or because of the lifestyle we lived.

You see, for a full week, there were no computers, no TVs, just people, books, the beach, pool, hot tub, and food. We got up when we wanted, hung around and had breakfast when we were ready, then just did whatever it was that felt relaxing at the time. Most of the time we would all be sitting around the table on the patio reading books or magazines, the only noise the birds chirping. We'd have a nice, mellow breakfast with mimosas and then read for an hour or so, until someone suggested actually doing something.

If someone was hungry, that person would grab something to eat, which would start a chain reaction of everyone going in and making something for lunch. Then we would get out of the house and check out some new part of the island. Dinner was usually a group effort for cooking and cleaning and then we would hang out and play card games, dice games, have drinks, sit in the hot tub, or just generally screw around. We would all slowly drift off to bed when we would get tired and then start the whole thing over again the next day.

Now, I don't intend to say in any way that Hawaii is not an amazing place, but I think that the lifestyle that we lived for that week was about as close to perfection as is possible. It was the first time in my life that I have ever completely unplugged and lived life in the moment every day. When we are home there are so many things that get in the way of life, things like work, paying bills, cleaning the house, feeding the cats, going to the gym, etc., by the time you actually get a moment to sit down you are so damn tired that you don't even want to talk to anyone. You spend each meal rushing so that you can get to the next thing that you have to get done, and you never get a chance to actually just be.

"While Eeyore frets...

...and Piglet hesitates

...and Rabbit calculates

...and Owl pontificates

Pooh...just is."

I wanna be Pooh.

I need say nothing...

2009-03-04T18:28:00.000-06:00

OK, I'm starting to geek here...

2009-02-23T15:58:00.003-06:00

Megan got me started on this whole new template thing, and now I'm starting to seriously geek on getting a template I like. This is the latest in a few that I have uploaded today, and I think it has a little staying power, but we shall see once E gets a load of it.

We have a new look too!

2009-02-23T07:31:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I saw Megan's new look and thought it looked pretty swank, so I checked out the ones available on that site, and because there is fresh snow on the ground, I chose the Winter Wonderland template. With so many great options, we can change the look often!

There is one of the pay ones that I really liked, so maybe we'll support the starving artist and buy that one...

I have a theme song.

2009-02-19T12:12:00.002-06:00

I come back from Hawaii and now I have a theme song. Jeez.

Just replace 'gummi' with 'Joshy' and you have the song that was being sung all week...

2009-02-13T22:37:00.001-06:00

Just downloaded a new blogging app for E's phone, posted a pic of tonights sunset from the back of the house and also geo-located the picture so everyone can see where we are.

Tonight is our last full night and we are all kind of bummed that this little slice of heaven has to end. This has been a vacation to remember, for many reasons that we can discuss over beers, but suffice to say, we have had a blast!

Geolocate this post.

Posted with LifeCast

2009-02-13T22:25:00.001-06:00

Geolocate this post.

Posted with LifeCast

This one's for you, mom!

2009-02-03T20:43:00.006-06:00

Mom, Rani and Raja LOVE their birthday/valentine gift! Did you know they just turned 3 today? Nice timing!
Needless to say, R & R are having a blast with their kitty crack knitted hearts.
I think they need to give you a hug when you come to visit this summer.
Thanks, mom!!!!

Baby's home!

2009-02-03T07:04:00.006-06:00

Got home Saturday night with the new car, it was quite the trip.

For those that don't know, last week I traveled to a small town in Virginia to buy an 08 Subaru Impreza WRX STi. I flew out to DC on the earliest flight available, leaving here at 6 and arriving in DC at 1. I then had to rent a car and drive it from DC to Waynesboro, VA. Everything was going smoothly until I hit traffic in the middle of nowhere Virginia, I sat still for almost 30 minutes before traffic started moving again, and there was no discernible reason why traffic was so backed up.

Anyway, I got to the Waynesboro DMV at 4:27, they take their last customer at 4:30. I got my Transit Permit from the DMV and headed on over to the bank. Here is where I get to see the car for the first time. I give it a quick once-over and take it for a spin around the parking lot to make certain that everything works and there are no grinding noises or anything like that. Everything works flawlessly, so I tell the banker lady that we have a deal. We go inside, sign the paperwork, and viola! We're done, I own a car and they don't.

Now I have the small problem of having to return the rental car to the nearest AVIS location, a small regional airport 30 minutes away, and then getting back to the bank to pick up the car. Getting to the airport was a cinch, and after waiting for 45 minutes, I picked up the 'shuttle' and went back to the car. First stop, Target. I needed to get some snack food for the road and also a car charger for the iPod and iPhone. I also used this as an opportunity to clean out all of the crap that the previous owner had left in the car. Gas'd her up, chucked a burger down my throat, and I was on the road at 9PM eastern time, headed west.

This is where I wished I had decided to stay in Waynesboro on Thursday night. I was really looking forward to driving through the mountains and the scenery, but I went through it at the dead of night and saw nothing. Bummer. I made it all the way to Charleston, WV before I had to pull over and get some sleep. I stopped in a Motel 6 that had to be the worst hotel I had ever stayed in. I asked for a non-smoking room, and I guess to them that means that I would not be smoking in it. It smelled like the Great American Smoke Out had taken place 20 minutes prior to my arrival in my room. Ick.

I woke up to a light dusting of snow at 7 and after a quick (very cold) shower, got back on the road. The plan was to cruise up to Dan and Mary's place and crash for the night and then take the home stretch on Saturday. I still had all of WV, OH, and most of IN to deal with though, and they had just been hit the day prior with 12 inches of snow. I've got AWD, no problem right? Well, not really. I have AWD, but I also have summer sport tires on the car, and there is a reason they say they are for the summer and not for snow, it's because they suck in the snow. I might as well been driving on slicks in wet grass for as much traction as I was able to get. It wasn't so bad for me though, I came around a bend in southern Ohio and came upon a dude in a minivan perpendicular to the flow of traffic, going 50 MPH with the flow of traffic. Needless to say, that guy was having a 'situation brown' moment. I didn't get nearly that sideways, but I did have the back end hanging out a bit on the ice. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful drive on the way to Valpo, not much happening except the car getting absolutely disgusting from the snow and salt.

As you can see, the car was nasty. Both of those pictures were taken in Dayton, OH with my iPhone. By the time I reached Indiana, the side windows were so caked with salt that I had to stop and clean them so that I could continue to use them.

There was actually so much salt on the car that when I went to leave Dan and Mary's on Saturday morning, the car was actually wet. It had dropped the freezing point of the water to a point where it was not freezing at 11 degrees.

That brings me to Dan & Mary's house. So let me first tell you how I was greeted at the door. Hayden and Lauren came to open the door for me, and as soon as I walk in, Lauren starts talking to me in a form that I cannot understand. Hayden looks at me, totally deadpan, and says, "she's a little crazy". I about lost it. So, I got to hang out with Dan & Mary and the kids, have dinner at one of Dan's favorite places, and then had pull-aparts in the morning with everyone. Instead of waiting around until the soccer games started, I got on the road pretty much as soon as breakfast was over, after Dan had taken the car for a spin around his snow and ice covered neighborhood.

The last leg of the drive was extremely uneventful, I mean, to the point where it was EXTREMELY boring. On the plus side, when I filled up for the last time it was the last of my cash and I was close enough that I could make it on the remnants of the gas in the tank. As it was, I made it here with a 1/4 tank.

I spent Sautrday night cleaning the car, inside and out to exorcise the previous owner and all of his grass clippings. Once that was done I could actually see the paint and how much damage it had sustained over the previous year of its life. I spent Sunday morning polishing all of the oxidation off of it and giving it a nice UV barrier so that it would not get nasty like that again.

Then, after all of that, 8 hours of cleaning and polishing, E wanted to go to the mall to get a swimsuit for Hawaii. Since it was around 45 degrees outside, all of the snow was melting and the roads had rivers flowing across them. Needless to say, by the time we got to the mall, the car needed another bath. Oh well, this will give me a chance to get rid of more of the salt that was caked onto the car in all of the crevices that I cannot get into with a towel.

Beautiful images you have to look at

2009-01-15T12:19:00.001-06:00

I found this site through some other blog that I read, and I must say that you absolutely HAVE TO check them out. They are all sattellite photos of the earth and they are beautiful. Check them out I say!

Link

I got an award!

2009-01-15T10:06:00.003-06:00

Looks like I got some hardware for my 2nd place finish in STX this year! Matt went to the awards banquet and picked up my hardware for me. He finished first in A-Stock and knew he was getting something so I asked him to pick up anything for me. Funnily enough, I looked the other day, and if I get the STi as planned, I will be running in A-stock against Matt and Mike, the top two guys from this year. It will definitely be nice to be able to have a benchmark for my performance on the track, so I am really stoked about it now!

I made a Shoe!

2009-01-14T15:19:00.003-06:00

Someone sent me a link to the new Puma show creator and I made a shoe!

Now I just have to convince E to let me buy it!

I think I may have found something...

2009-01-09T07:55:00.008-06:00

Last night, Jorge and I went out to test drive another car. This time is was the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi WRC homologation model. Mouthful? Yeah. In case you haven't heard of this car, (yes Bonnie, I'm looking at you) it is a 5-door hatchback with a turbo-charged boxer engine running about 300HP at full tilt. Here is a picture:

As you can see, it is a bit sporty. So we went out to the dealer to check this bad boy out and based on previous experience, I know that I need to check for size before getting Erin involved. First thing I did was get in the front seat, set it how I would most-likely drive it, and then jumped out and got in the back seat. It wasn't spacious in the 'I want to sit back here with another adult for 9.5 hours', but it was in the 'why don't the four of us go get dinner, I'll drive' kind of way.

So far so good. Next up is the trunk/hatch. We open the back end, and I have to say that I was a bit surprised at how small it really was. The pictures online make it look cavernous, but in reality, the floor is very close to the top of the bumper, meaning it is fairly shallow. There is however, the benefit that the rear seats fold down nearly flat, meaning you get close to 5' of 'trunk' space.

Ok, back to the important bit, the driver's seat. I got in and checked out the view, no discernible blind spots that are going to cause too much of a problem. At least not like driving a blind-spot-mobile FJ Cruiser. Mirrors provide a good amount of visibility, not too small, rear window could be larger, but whatever. Seats are comfy but firm, nice bolstering to hold you in to the seat and a suede center to really grab you and keep you planted.

I have to say that at about this time the sales dude starts telling me about the car and then asks what brought my attention to it. I just reply, 'I'm an autocrosser' to which his reply is a 'oh, then I'll shut up, you already know more than I do'. So refreshing! He just jumps in the back and belts in for the ride.

I start her up and immediately like the way the gauges sweep to their max position and back and then it lights up all red, just like I like. The exhaust note is not quiet, but not loud at idle, you definitely know this is no normal Impreza. The gear shifter is smooth, with a really short throw, making it good for quick shifts in the heat of battle. I check out all of the controls and now I'm set, time to roll off. Unfortunately, not having driven a Scoobaru before, I didn't know that you had to pull the ring on the shifter up to get it into Reverse and I stalled it by trying to start off in 6th. Oops. Oh well, roll off take 2. This time I get it in gear and pull out of the parking spot with nary and issue and then out off the lot.

I am driving it with throttle response in the 'Intelligent' mode to see how that is first and then figure I will check out 'Sport Sharp' or 'Autocross' mode on the way back. I give it a bit of the beans and it gets up and moves, but nothing earth shattering, not what I was expecting from 300HP, but I also shifted at 3500 to simulate daily driving conditions. In Intelligent mode the car is pretty modest and performs like any other car, not like the fire breathing beast that it is. It accelerates smoothly and I notice on my first few shifts that this is a seriously close-ratio gear box, 40 in 4th is about 2500RPMs, just shy of the power at 4K. So, Intelligent mode could be renamed Neutered Mode if they weren't going to run it by the Marketing people, it just takes all the sharp edges off the car. To tell you the truth, if this was all that was on offer, this car would be off the possible list right now, it's too 'blah', just like a lump of vanilla ice cream.

Fortunately for me, this vanilla ice cream has a bit of nuts mixed in...

When we stopped to turn around and head back I twisted the throttle response know to put it in S# or Sport Sharp mode and head on back. THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!!! Immediately the car is in a whole new world. The car is transformed from a daily commuter into a rip-snorting, striped-ass ape! I lay into it on the on-ramp and it G-O-E-S and quickly too. Power comes on strong at 4K RPM and it doesn't even start to abate until the 6500RPM redline, thankfully there is a nice little buzzer telling you that you are about to hit redline and need to shift or else I would have run it right into the rev-limiter. I run it through 3rd, look down and I'm going over 80 at the bottom of the ramp. What is odd here is that I did not experience the visceral thrill that I got from the R32 that I drove last weekend, it was fast, but it didn't scream it at me. On the highway on the way back I have it in 6th and just lean into it a bit to pass another car, it goes much better than when I tried this maneuver when in Neutered mode. Getting off the highway for the dealer I give the heel-toe action a bit of a whirl and they are nicely spaced apart, the brake pedal maybe being a smidge too high to make it perfect, but nice anyway.

Overall, I like the car, and I would like to spend a bit more time driving one, more than just driving it up and back on the highway. I want to see if there is a nice twisty road somewhere that I can see how it handles, or even a parking lot where I can go slow/fast around some really tight bends. In short, it is ready for E to scope out.

On another note, E and I finally agreed upon a time to purchase a car so that I can cool my jets and leave her alone. We are waiting for our taxes to be complete and checks received before purchasing anything. This will hopefully avoid surprises and make it possible for us to buy with a semi-clear head. It will also mean that we don't spend any money on a car before we go to Hawaii!

Gotta run!

It's no wonder...

2009-01-01T16:35:00.003-06:00

It's no wonder the current US auto manufacturers are hurting, after having driven one of their more promising vehicles, I am certain to never buy one. I mean, it started out ok, the Charger looked cool, but unfortunately, that's about where it ends as far as positive comments I have about this car. Of course the rental was the base SE model with a V6 and not the uber-cool SRT-8 model, but from what I have read, the only difference there is a Hemi, a body kit, and maybe a bit of fettling with the suspension.

Let's start with the interior. Whomever laid out the gauge pod obviously though that everyone driving the car was going to want it in bus-driver mode with the steering wheel as high as it goes because in any other position the only thing that you can read is the speedo and tach. In order to see the gas gauge or the engine temp you have to move your head forward and side to side to read each one individually. The dash is laid out with a bunch of cubbies strewn variously about the center stack and tansmission tunnel as if they were randomly planting them. All of the controls for the HVAC and the shifter are HUGE taking up about twice the space that they really need, I'm guessing as a way of using up all of the available space. Which brings us to the brick-hard seats that were available to sit on, yeah, that's what I wanted to sit on for a 9-hour drive.

Oh yeah, that brings up a point, did I mention how incredibly HUGE this car is? Pictures do not do justice to size of it. It is extremely wide, tall, and long. It was like driving a lowered H1 with an anemic engine and sloppy transmission. The engine really required that if you wanted to go anywhere you had to stomp on the accelerator and really rev it out, and then the transmission would ruin anything good that you felt out of the engine by shifting so slowly that you would lose 5 MPH between gears. No big deal if you are going 70 or so, but if you are leaving a light at 15MPH and lose 5, you had better hope the person behind you is paying attention so they don't run right up your ass...

But, the one gem of the car was the radio. It had an AUX input for an iPod and an incredible range of sound. I hope that whetever I get next has a radio nearly as good as that one, I was truly impressed with it.

but you know, one of the things that pissed me off the most about that car was a really small seemingly insignificant thing. It was that there was not anything on the seatbelt to keep the fastener from falling to the floor between the seat and b-pillar. The part that most manufacturers attach is probably less than 1/4 cent each and cost maybe 1-2 cents to attach to the belt, but that was one of the areas in which they chose to cut costs. Seriously, of all the areas that they could have cut costs, that has to be the single most annoying place to have done it.

So, rest assured, you will not see me pull up anywhere in my own Charger.

Christmas Came Early!!

2008-12-17T08:20:00.002-06:00

Christmas came early this year for E and I, we went out at lunch yesterday and bought new 3G iPhones!! I got a new one because mine was having issues with signal and dropping calls and everyone said that the call quality sucked when I was talking. E got one because she had that crappy Sony phone that didn't really do much other than work as a phone. Besides, Raja pooed on it, who wants to have a phone that the cat pooed on?

So, now we just have to figure out how to keep them seperate. Just this morning I picked up my phone, put it in my pocket, walked out of the room and then back in, saw the phone on the counter and put it in my pocket. It was at this time that I realized I already had one in my pocket and checked to see which one was mine. This is going to be confusing...

Yay iPhone!!

2008-12-15T21:04:00.003-06:00

Ok, I don't know why, and it is not entirely rational, but for some reason I am dying to buy a car. And not just any car, I want to buy a nice car. A sports car. A car that has very little practicality to it.

What is it about living in the US that makes me want to own a car when I have so clearly demonstrated over the last month that I do not need one? Does it have anything to do with living in the US? Or is it strictly because I am a gearhead and want to have something to tinker on? It's weird, but I look at cars when I am on the bus on the way home and think of how it would be to own that car, or when I see one in our retail lot I do the same. I know the rational, responsible thing would be to wait until we have more saved and pay cash and not have a loan, but for some reason, I am jonesing for a car. As I wrote in my last blog post, E is fully, completely sick of hearing about car x and y and how cool they are or how we could swing it.

Either way, whatever car we end up getting prior to the start of the '09 auto-x season will be easier to drive fast than the TL, and not just because the car is lighter, but because my ass is lighter! I have been holding steady at 250 for a few weeks now, but today I was able to use a new notch in my belt without my pants feeling tight! I guess that I am putting on a little muscle for every bit of fat that I am working off. Starting last week Erin is also working out with me, and we are both really sore right now from yesterday's back workout, but I feel so much better now than I did before. I have stopped any and all drinking of alcohol or soda in an effort to maximise my fat burn throughout the day, and so far it has helped a LOT. I was able to do (almost) four pull-ups on Sunday morning, and as of a couple of weeks ago I couldn't even hang from the bar because my shoulder hurt so much. I guess working out is helping that to heal.

One weird side effect is that I am cold. All the time. I used to complain about how E was cold and she should get a blanket last winter when our thermostat was set at 69. Our thermostat is currently set at 73 and we have both been complaining about being cold for the last couple of weeks. I know that having extra chub on your body helps to keep you warm, but I have never really experienced it like this before, this has been a dramatic change that has been noticeable to me and to E. Maybe I'll get to start wearing sweaters again and not worrying about soaking through them by the end of the day?

What else has been going on? Oh, I signed up to twitter and have been putting info up there as often as I can think of it, but honestly I am reluctant to put more of the mundane stuff out there since it is just so mundane. I guess this helps to keep me from really putting anything out there at all, even though the idea is to put the mundane out there since it is not blog-worthy and people sometimes like hearing about the more boring parts of life, maybe this is why everyone talks about the weather? Speaking of which, we didn't break the 0 mark today, our first day completely negative. It was so cold that the snow was noisy as all get out. It was like grinding styrofoam together.

We are currently planning a progressive dinner for people in our building for New Year's Eve this year since no one is really digging going out and partying. I told E and some friends that I would do the DD thing if someone would volunteer their car, but with so much public transportation around, we really don't need to bring a car, we just need cab fare.

Other than that, we are just gearing up for our Hawaii trip in Feb, our x-mas trip next week, and that's about it. Lucky for us that a few of our neighbors have decided to start saving like E and I have been trying to do and are not wanting to go out every night. It has been nice that others are not trying to drag us to bars each and every weekend/weeknight.

Something I was just thinking about is how when we tell people that we don't have a car, how much support we get. We met some new neighbors the other day and within minutes we were talking about cars and when I was asked what kind I had and my response was that I didn't have one, they immediately offered to allow us to use theirs if we needed it. I was actually admonished this morning because we walked to the grocery store and didn't call and borrow someone's car. Odd. But, I have to say, the overwhelming repsonse has been very positive and supportive of our effort to see how long we can go without a car. We have the scooter, but when the air temp is -8, you couldn't catch me dead on that thing outside our garage. Well, on second thought, maybe you would catch me dead from frostbite or hypothermia or something.

I guess with that I will sign off, all of my random thoughts have been displayed. And KK, I'm with you man, jut got to talk the little woman into it... :)

A Whole Month!!

2008-12-13T20:42:00.002-06:00

It's been a whole month and still no car. There have been some times when I have had a serious craving for a drive, but I have made it. I think I have been driving Erin nuts with my car search, she really doesn't want to even think about it until we are ready to purchase, but I have been keeping my eye on the local market and what is out and around. Odds are good that the best deal will be on a car that gets advertised in the next couple of months and is still available once it starts to get warm.

I was watching Mission Impossible III tonight and saw a commercial that BMW is offering .9% financing on all used models. What does that say? It says to me that times are going to be REALLY rough on the car industry, and not just the American ones. That tells me that the longer I can hold out, the better deal I can expect to be able to find. Maybe instead of a brand-new Civic Si, I can weasel my way into a 2-4 year old M3? It sounds like a tough decision to me, brand-new FWD 200HP 4DR or a couple of years old RWD 330-400HP 2DR? I wonder which would be better for racing? I can bet that the Civic is going to get better gas mileage, but which will have a higher fun-factor? I'm leaning toward the M3...

La Luz!

2008-11-24T21:43:00.006-06:00

Yeah! We got our light! Now we have ambiance for Turkey day ...

Needless to say we're a little nervous about little girl being around the light. We're hoping she's just checking to make sure it's of good quality and/or aesthetically pleasing.

I sure hope the russians got this poor piggys' permission ...

2008-11-23T18:05:00.004-06:00

http://haha.nu/funny/launching-pigs-expriment/#more-6752

Piggies!

2008-11-16T13:49:00.000-06:00

There are no words. Just click on the link and enjoy!

http://flickr.com/photos/echeng/sets/72157605113505126/

The True Test: The Weekend!

2008-11-15T18:52:00.002-06:00

We have so far made it this far without a car, we went out to dinner last night with some friends and were able to catch a ride, and my buddy Jorge came over today to work out and I talked him into a grocery store run. There have already been some issues that made me really wish we had another car, for example, poor planning on my part meant that I could not go to the tour of the forensics lab this week, total bummer! I have an appointment in Edina (20 minutes away) on Monday at 4, so I have to figure out the public transit method of getting out there, or I have to get someone to give me a ride. Since I don't know anyone that is going to drive out that way, it looks like I am going to have to figure out the buses beyond downtown...

Other than that, there have not been any really big things that we have needed a car for, but it hasn't even been a week yet, so we shall see how it goes.

I used the groceries I bought tonight to make a really good lasagna tonight. Our neighbors down the hall had a little boy last week and I made the lasagna for them so that they could have some food ready and in the fridge with minimal effort while they get into the 'having a baby' mode. I made a smaller dish for myself, and holy cow was it good! I made some garlic bread to go with it, and an angel food cake with strawberries, raspberries and fresh whipped cream to go for dessert. It was quite the meal!

Anyway, that's my life as of right now, Car-Free experiment day 5 complete...

Car free!

2008-11-10T20:46:00.003-06:00

We are now a carless family. I sold the TL this evening to a nice young guy that fell in love with it as soon as he saw it. We hung out for a while working the deal, going to the bank, filling up the tank, and then finally washing it. It was probably the most fun I have ever had selling a car, tied in with the most bummed I have felt selling a car. I am stoked because this means that we can now get a Civic Si, but we have also agreed that we are not going to buy a car until either February or we decide we cannot go another day without a car.

So starteth the experiment of living without a car.

We shall keep you updated...

It's officially winter...

2008-11-08T09:48:00.002-06:00

Even though it snowed on us when we were driving back from St Louis, it has been in the 70 up here until Thursday. I say until Thursday, because on that day the temps dropped. A lot. We went from 70s one day to 30s the next, and then it was snowing yesterday morning when we got up. I guess that means that winter is officially here for us, no more shorts and t-shirts, it's all long trousers and coats from here on in.

One of our neighbors teaches acting at the U, and the end of term project was to put on a play. Last night we walked over to the U to see the show and it was pretty cold, our first trip out walking now that it is officially cold. Of course, as it is wont to do, it was raining as well. Overall it was great weather for a walk. The show was all put on by sophomores and they did a really good job. The show was called 'Book of Days' and was set in Dublin, MO. It was a great show, and knowing how much time and effort the students and our friend put in made it even better.

Oh yeah, and remember the ice castle from last winter? We met up there for drinks with Steve after the show to celebrate a successful opening night. Maxwell's is now open!

Other than that, our lives are pretty boring right now. It is unfortunate that I had just put a fresh tank of gas in the scoot though, it's too damn cold to drive it now!

Surprise!!

2008-10-24T23:20:00.004-05:00

So, E and I trucked our way on down to STL for the weekend to surprise my mom and dad for their birthdays. We got in at about 2AM on Friday and the only one that knew we were coming was Travis. Needless to say, no one else found out before they were supposed to. We were not answering the phone at the Killer B's place, acting like we were still in Mpls when people called, etc. There was a whole lot of deception going on, and it worked out nicely. We hauled ourselves out to BFE and snuck into the house real quiet like while everyone was eating dinner.

Everyone was extremely surprised when we walked in, utter shock on their faces, just silence as everyone tried to comprehend that we were in fact in STL. It was pretty funny to see everyone's mind going 1000 miles an hour to catch up. The kids were pretty quick to turn me into their own personal jungle gym, at one point I had four of the little buggers glommed onto my legs as I was trying to walk around and say hi to everyone.

We got to meet Carson and see Travis and Jalynne again, Carson was pretty chill, sleeping the whole time. At least until he decided he was hungry, and even then he wasn't too terribly loud, overall a quiet kid. I think I made a mistake though when I handed him off to E at one point. She seemed to enjoy him quite a bit. (ruh-roh...)

HOLY KATHY!!!

2008-10-05T22:42:00.004-05:00

OMG! Josh and my friend Cole and her husband, Ryan totally surprised me tonight.

Josh has been planning a surprise for me for a few weeks (that I've known of). I just thought we were going to dinner so I put on a pair of scruffy jeans and left. We went down to Maxwell's down the street and sat down and had a cider. Then I feel someone come up behind me and give me a hug. It was Cole! I was thinking, this is cool. We're going to have dinner and hang out. A few moments go by and I look away for a second and then Cole keeps looking at the table and then looking at me. I look down and there are 2 Kathy Griffen tickets sitting right in front of me! Kathy's in town for 6 shows here in MPLS and I didn't even think of going. I was so excited I got teary. And they were in the pit section third row center!!!! So we scarf down our food and head off to the show.

It was AMAZING being that close. Cole mentioned you really feel like they're just performing for you when you're that close. You feel a kind of connection with them. I mean I saw hair that she shed on her jacket.

She made jokes about celebs (DUH) but the funniest was when she made fun of Palin. And her mom.

But the surprise isn't over. Cole and Josh planned on us having Monday off so I get a whole day to just relax and hang out! Wow, I feel like it's my birthday all over again.

I am so blessed!

Josh, you ROCK. And Cole and Ryan, you are amazing friends.

The Bridge is Back!!!

2008-09-21T21:42:00.002-05:00

The I-35W bridge is back open and it is nice to have it back! Man, traffic patterns are totally different now that the bridge is back open, much less traffic on Washington now that people don't have to exit there. I have used it three times now and it has made it so much nicer to go to the grocery store, Target, etc.

Man, I am glad to have it back!

Hey Megan! A pic of the couch!

2008-09-21T21:28:00.003-05:00

It may not be me but the 2 boys of the house are in it ...

OOPS! I forgot!

2008-09-03T18:01:00.003-05:00

With a little help from Curtis (ok, a lot), we picked up the couch that we have been waiting on since February!! Now we have a nice, comfortable couch for people like Mike, Curtis and Kaleb to crash on! Not to mention that it looks MUCH better than the old gray one.

We have that old thing relegated to our bedroom for now, but it is destined to make it to Craigslist where we might just make some more friends! If no one bites on it there, we just might have to hold on to the world's most uncomfortable couch, Little Boy will not be upset if that is the way it goes...

2008-09-02T18:29:00.002-05:00

The rents were up here this weekend and we took them out for some good old Minnesota fun! We went to the State Fair, someone else's family reunion, IKEA, and Stillwater.

When mom and dad showed up, we treated them to a few drinks and the hospitality of a few of our friends. We discovered that mom is pretty fond of the Sailor Jerry rum and Coke and that Minnesota has a ton of fried food on the menu. We both had an idea that there was a lot of fried food up here, but it was really cemented when mom and dad were here. We went over to Grumpy's and after looking at the menu for a few minutes, determined that there is absolutely nothing on the menu that is even remotely good for you.

We carried this theme over to a trip to the State Fair on Saturday morning where we started the morning off right with a mexican burrito and a malt. By 10:30 we were all pretty well full and dad was just hitting his stride as we got to the farm equipment. Dad was scoping out the tractors while mom, Erin and I were scoping out the new 2009 F-150 at the Ford booth. Given the interest that all parties had in an F-150, it didn't take long for us to scope it out. We wandered about until E declared that she wanted to check out the plants in the plant area (don't know what it's called, it's a vegetarian thing...). Thankfully, they had a HUGE section about honey and I was able to pick up some honey-lemonade, my new favorite drink. We finished off our trip to the fair by picking up a bucket of chocolate chip cookies and heading on down to the all-you-can-drink milk hut to have ourselves some cookies and milk!

We waddled our way on back to the car where we poured ourselves into the seats for the long 15-minute ride home. I think everyone passed out pretty quickly once we got back to the house. It was seriously naptime, a food coma if you will. This would be the first of many food comas over the weekend.

We went up to Psycho Suzies for dinner to get some pizza and to show mom and dad what a cool place it is. We rode the bikes (ok scooter) up there and on returning found that the RNC media party was in full swing and cops working security at all the streets around. Since the party was at the Guthrie, there was a concern about getting back into our place because neither E nor I have updated our licenses with our new address and we didn't have anything to prove that we lived there other than our keys that would open the doors. We ended up having to drive around until we found an open road that we could use to get to our garage. There was a small moment of frustration with security, but in the end it turned out ok.

This brings us to Sunday when we had breakfast at one of our favorite places, Yum! and then headed off to IKEA to peruse the massive amounts of products that they sell. E and I found a couple of really cool pendants for our bedroom and a whole bunch of other stuff that we decided we didn't need. Because we now had lights for the bedroom, we had to go ahead and install them as soon as we got home. 30 minutes and only one electroction later, the lights were up and we now have a more mild lighting package for our room! We didn't have long to wait before we had to motor on our to Lake Minnetonka to meet up with E's uncle Zoom and his in-laws at a small family event. It was really cool to get to see Zoom and Leigh and to introduce them to my parents so they could get to know him a bit. E came within a couple of inches of getting six-packed while sitting on the deck because of the people playing volleyball below, but all turned out well and she only had a minor headache as a result.

Monday morning mom and Erin made some raspberry pancakes from some produce that we had acquired at the farmers market at the Guthrie and then we were off to Stillwater for mom and E to peruse some antiques and check out some random stuff. We had a nice meal on the side of the St Croix river and just hung out for a bit. Pops got a nice little nap in on the way home while mom and E and I talked about random stuff and when we got home I got my birthday present, I got to watch Superbike and MotoGP before we went up to a great place called the Loring Pasta Bar over in Dinkytown near the U, it was a great meal with great ambience and a lot of great company. We finished off the last evening by going to Sebastien Joe's for some unique ice cream and then cruized on home to hang out and watch some the Dog Whisperer before heading off to bed.

It was a good time and we enjoyed having the parents up here to visit our new home and see what we have done with the place. Last time they were here, it was just an empty space that was not even really close to completion. It was also nice to be able to show them what the city is like when the weather is cooperative and demonstrate what we love so much about living in Minnesota.

E has photos, I'm sure she can't wait to get them up here!

State Fair = Gluttony

2008-08-27T09:52:00.001-05:00

My stomach hurts.

And we're going back.

I AM ROTISSERIE MAN!!!

2008-08-26T16:10:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I posted earlier about how when I was at Road America, we went to the team Realtime Acura BBQ and they had a buttload of rotisserie chickens cooking and how incredibly good they were. Well, it just so turns out that I bought a grill last year that had a rotisserie on it, so I decided it was time to make good use of it and made up a chicken for Matt, Kaleb and I to try.

Let's just say that it was a success.

So, with that bhind me, I thought it was time to get a little more ambitous. I decided that for dinner the night of my birthday pub-crawl I would make not one, not two, but THREE chickens on the rotisserie. I would make them using a different spice on each one so that we could try out a number of flavors. And with everyone there for my birthday, who was going to tell me no? So, I put all three chickens (vegetarian chicken, mind you) on the spit and got them babies a-turnin! I made one with Lawry's Season Salt, one with a Chipotle Cinnamon rub, and one with a poultry seasoning we had in the cabinet. The season salt one was gone in a flash, declaring itself a winner by the fact that all that was left on the platter was a little grease and a couple of bones. The cinnamon one was good, but it had nothing on the salt... Lastly was the poultry seasoning, looking like I had just laid it out at the end of service and not given anyone a change to try it. I think it is still in my fridge, maybe I could re-assemble it and make it a chicken again...?

Anyway, I am officially hooked on cooking things on the rotisserie and now want to buy a pork belly and wrap that bad boy around the spit and fill it with goodness. I can already kind of smell how good that would taste! I just have to get E to go away for a few hours, I doubt she would like it if I brought in a whole pork belly....

National Sales Meeting

2008-08-22T15:52:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the annual National Sales Meeting, and while it was cool, it was not Colin Powell cool. We had all the sponsored X-Games athletes and the sponsored racing team there, but there were significantly fewer musical acts. They started off with Josh Groban, then John Legend, some kids band, and finished off with Christina Aguilera. Josh Groban and Christina Aguilera were pretty cool, but the rest of them I could have done without. There was also a whole bunch of different test foods and drinks to be had. Over all it was a nice way to spend 1/2 a day at 'work'.

20082008

2008-08-20T10:25:00.003-05:00

Sonny just sent me an email letting me know that in the DDMMYYYY format, this is my once in a lifetime birthday where the day and month are the same as the year.

Pretty cool way of looking at it.

For some reason, this kind of brightened my day...

Thank you, Megan

2008-08-18T21:08:00.003-05:00

My wonderful and talented sis, Megan sent me a belated b-day prez today. She made this amazing yoga bag (little boy is laying on it in the pic) as well as a ganesh wind chime, a cooking pan and a movie and goodies. The pan she got me is a kind of inside joke and has to do with bacon infused cooking surfaces. We all know how much I love bacon. The funniest thing she sent was the movie Gremlin as well as microwave popcorn, milk duds and hot tamales. Megan said you're supposed to eat all 3 at the same time and it's like Christmas in your mouth. I guess I need to get out more ...

Thank you, Megan. I love you!

Road America run down

2008-08-13T20:22:00.007-05:00

So, some of you know that last weekend I was at Road America for the ALMS races, but I really wasn't there for the ALMS, I was there as a guest of the Bimmerworld team that is running in the Speed World Challenge series running a couple of BMW 3 series cars. They have 3 drivers, James Clay, Seth Thomas and Nick Esayin.

How did I get myself into this wonderful situation you ask? Well, one of my friends that I autocross with has a cousin that is the crew chief for the team, and when he knew he was coming up here he sent along a couple of tickets. Matt's (autocross guy) girlfriend wasn't really interested and told him to bring me along, and viola! I am at Road America!

We showed up on Saturday morning, just after the qualifying session had ended, but there was still a lot of work to do for the Bimmerworld team to make some last minute adjustments to the cars for Sunday morning's race. We hung out with Matt's cousin for a bit and I asked probably more questions than he thought was possible, and then we took off to see the track and get some photos of the 4-hour ALMS race that started at 4 on Saturday.

Both of us were pretty fond of the 007 James Bond Aston Martin running around in British Racing green with a big ol' Union Jack on the roof. I have quite a few pictures of this car.
Matt managed to take over 1500 pictures on a camera he just bought a couple of days prior to the weekend, talk about breaking it in!! It was a good thing that I had brought my laptop, we were able to download the photos to the hard drive Saturday night so he could start fresh Sunday morning for the Bimmerworld race.

So, on to the race, James was qualified in fourth, Seth in 6th and Nick in 14th (he had food poisoning and was nearly puking in the car). James moved a spot down at the start but started charging pretty quickly to get up to third place behind Saini and Kleinubing. Couple of laps later he was chomping hard on the back tires of Kleinubing and a lap or two later he was through at turn 5! Now James is leading a Speed Touring Car race with only a handful of laps to go. He managed to pull out a gap of about 1.5 seconds at the checkered and won his first world challenge event! I would like to think it was all because Matt and I were there, but someone said something about preparing, practicing, and even setting up the car. What do they know?

So, we ended the weekend on a high with the team having gotten one driver on the box, and jumped into the car for our 5 hour drive home that turned into more like 7 once we got detoured 87 miles and stopped for dinner in Wisconsin. It was a great trip, we saw a ton of gorgeous cars, and let me tell you, those CTS-V Cadillacs in the Speed GT champioship are serious. I mean they shake the ground when they roll by, it is seriously impressive.

I didn't realy realize how much I missed the big tracks until I was up there watching the races. I think Matt and I both have gotten the bug for a little track time, and Erin/wallet willing, I will get my booty on up to Brainerd now that they have redone it without the dragstrip and take a few hot laps. Who knows, maybe I will find myself enrolled in a racing school somewhere, maybe Bondurant?

Don't forget to watch the race August 20th (greatest day ever in history) at 1:00PM ET on Speed, you will not see me, but you will see an exciting race!

The Story of Stuff

2008-08-13T19:53:00.003-05:00

Take 21:19 of your life and watch this video. Now git!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9153550196656656736>

2008-08-11T14:13:00.002-05:00

I called, seriously I did. I think E must have had a dead battery or had the phone on silent in her purse or something.

Anyway, there were plenty of sweet cars for sale at the track, not just that gorgeous Porsche. There was a Ford GT, a BMW 545 with 19"s, and many others.

I'll put up some photos from this weekend tonight after I have had some time to look them over, but it was a good time all around. I got to check out more of Road America than I had ever before seen, and also got to check out some seriously sweet cars.

He's trying ...

2008-08-10T10:50:00.004-05:00

So J is in FonDuLac, WI this weekend at some car thing (don't ask, I have no idea). And I haven't really heard from him except for a photo attachment in an e-mail he sent me this morning. No “Hi honey”. Just a picture of a man with a car.

I mean you can't blame the guy for trying.

I likieeeeeeeee

2008-08-09T21:51:00.005-05:00

I got PICS!!!!

2008-08-05T21:43:00.006-05:00

One of the guys from the autocross was out taking photos and posted them on Flicker for everyone to see. Lo and behold!!! There are photos of ME!

Ok, I have to update this

2008-08-04T09:51:00.004-05:00

In my defense, she was called Coby because she was riding through a parking lot crossing an alley without looking down the alley when she crossed it. Essentially, not paying attention to what she was doing. I know it is a buzzkill to have to keep so vigilant, but that is what keeps your skin intact when you are riding a scooter, motorcycle, what-have-you.

Anyway, now that is settled, I have an autocross update. Yesterday was the first race on the new tires/wheels and I have to say that they performed beautifully. The tires gave great grip, turn in was more precise, and the car was more controllable all around. All I need now is a good alignment and the car will actually go where I want it to.

The first few runs of the day I coned on, and I was not improving, and I was getting frustrated. Basically, I was just trying to pussy-foot it around and be smooth. Well, there's smooth and then there is smooth and fast. You can be smooth and still push the front, rear, all four. So, for the afternoon session, I just said screw it, I'm going to slam one in and see how it goes.

I dropped 3 seconds off my best time from the morning. On a 60 (ish) second lap. I went from high 67s to a low 64 with no cones. I guess I was just thinking too hard about it and not just doing it. As I got better in the afternoon I got happier and was able to play more with the car. The M5 will have to wait a few more weeks at least. (incidentally, I did find a smoking deal on one, we shall see how the little lady responds to it...)

I still finished 4th of 4, but the top two were in the top 10 on raw time and top 5 in PAX, so I don't feel so bad about it. The car I was chasing all day is a little Nissan Sentra, and just when I thought I had gotten him, he upped his game as well and got me by a second or so. The good thing is that I was able to get my PAX time into the 80's (out of 150) and my raw time put me squarely on 100 of 150 drivers. Not great, but good for now. It is also good to know that I was just being a wanker and need to drive the damn car like I stole it.

My last run was a good one, but I probably lost about 1/2 a second in one section, it was a right, left, right and I was on a flyer. I got into the right nicely and the back started to come around, no problem, hit the left and flung it back that way, then slammed it hard to the right for the last corner of the set and the back kicked out that way. Slam on the gas hard and it all lines back up with minimal drama. I wish I had video of it though, it must have looked cool to see a front wheel drive car fishtailing through a short slalom.

I found a link to a video that someone took from their M3, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ7EfBxkdJc

Here is another that shows the course better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScDYYX6_bE4

Oh yeah, and we went to see the 'Dark Knight' last night, it was awesome. I highly recommend it to anyone that likes movies. Heath Ledger's performance was AMAZING. It was all Joker, no Heath in there at all, the performance of a lifetime. He was really freaky in a lot of the scenes and did an incredible job, I can't talk highly enough about it.

I be scootin'!

2008-08-01T20:18:00.006-05:00

Ok. So I have to admit this scooter thing was a bit more scary than I thought it was going to be. I was fine until I got on the thing. Then I freaked out a bit. It seemed too much at first. Like Josh told me to ride around the garage a bit and get a feel for it. Either I was too much on the throttle or not at all. I remember learning to drive my manual Honda was a lot like this.

I had to drive the thing out of the garage and I almost bit it. I'm still trying to figure out the throttle: wrench back and it makes it go and wrench forward and you slow down. I mean it was only the first 10 minutes I was on the thing. It always seems your weakest moment is in front of a crowd.

So Josh drove us down the street and we got a bite to eat and found a really nice parking lot to practice in. I had a really good time there, no busy traffic or hills. I did get in trouble once. I got called Coby and Josh was coined Jerry. Josh is an excellent teacher though. He's very patient and thorough. I still think I need a bit more confidence before I drive on the road.

Now I need to find a helmet that fits me and I'm good to go!

STL

2008-08-01T20:05:00.008-05:00

We went to STL last weekend for J's bro's baby shower. The weekend went so fast we didn't take many pics. Not even of Jalynn's shower! Oops. I was too much in the moment.
Here are a few so enjoy!

Bern dog reading to Jess's kids, Ethan and Maya.

The good 'ole 3 musketeers. Jess on the left and Tanya on the right. How I miss my girls!

I swear Jess has the cutest kids ever. Jess, you're doing something right. :)

Ethan and Aunt Tanya.

Maya (aka the ham) and Aunt Tanya.

This pic is from Coby's 6th birthday. 3 nieces and 3 nephews make a busy house!

I love desk

2008-08-01T20:00:00.003-05:00

Now our front room has an everyday purpose!

Thank you for being a friend ...

2008-07-22T22:17:00.005-05:00

I think we all should all take a minute to honor the recently late Estelle Getty of the hit TV show - The Golden Girls. Her spunky character, Sophia Petrillo, was known for her frankness and shocking commentary. True comedy if you ask me. Thank you, Sophia for the endless nights of therapy on the telly. I don't think you'll ever know.

Come on! Sing it!
And if you threw a party, you'd invite everyone you knew ... You would see the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say Thank you for being a friend!

Baby got some new shoes!!

2008-07-17T20:09:00.004-05:00

I have personally stimulated the economy. Put your wallets away ladies and gentlemen, no need to purchase anything, I have done it already. I bought my baby a new pair of shoes. No, not that baby, the other one.

I picked up a set of 18s for the TL off CraigsList, 1/2 price! With TIRES! What a deal!!

so check it out, they look gorgeous!! I love them and they dropped over 7 pounds from each corner and made the ride smoother. Hopefully this will also help my performance at the autocross too.

check it.

I heart Austin ... and some people who reside there.

2008-07-08T21:48:00.009-05:00

Josh gave me the best birthday gift ever ... a trip to see my sis in Austin. And I thought I was lucky with the flowers!

Needless to say I was a little worried about the weather. But it was perfect, not humid at all. I think we brought some cool air down with us.

We pretty much ate out a lot and Megan and I did twin things like painting our nails, going on a picnic and taking naps. It was so relaxing and enjoyable!

Here are some pics so enjoy!

Twins!

Goose and Josh unite.

Princess Cleo.

Megan's awesome desk and chochkies.

Love the wall color. That blue is like the sea.

I am truly jealous of Megan's crafting closet.

Meganses and Dan @ the sushi joint.

A little present to get Megan inspired to cook. :)

Happy (Early) Birthday to me!

2008-06-20T16:23:00.007-05:00

Look at these gorgeous flowers Josh got me! They are from Pazzobello, an independent flower shop here in MPLS. I got an e-mail at work around 1 telling me I had flowers to pick up. How nice is that? I felt so special. I'm SO lucky!

Then my new team surprised me. They had a “meeting” on the calendar to hand off some jobs and then I walked into a conference room with cupcakes and workmates! I had a nice day. :)

Here are some pics to enjoy. The pictures really don't do justice.

Autocross School Complete!!

2008-06-19T20:38:00.003-05:00

So, I had the second day of the Autocross school and throughly roached the front tires of the TL. I rotated the tires on Tuesday and the fronts have almost no tread left on them. So, we got about 4 times the amount of runs that we would get during a normal weekend, and we were required to have instructors in the car for each run except for the final run of the day, or our graduation run. I was really frustrated throughout the day because I was learning stuff and I still wasn't going any faster around the course. My best time was only 1.5 seconds faster than my first run. So, this either means that my first run was dynamite, or i just stunk the place up. According to the instructor that rode along with me on my first run, it was pretty dynamite. The best time of the day was a 29.8 and that was in a Mitsubishi Evo 9 running slicks, my 31.4 didn't sound too bad after I heard that.

I had a couple of the instructors take the TL out for a spin with me riding shotgun during lunch break so that I could see what a fast lap in the TL really felt like, adn I learned that I was not braking hard enough, cornering too hard, trying to carry too much corner speed, and turning in too early for most corners. After lunch I tried to incorporate what I learned and had a really hard time with it.

So, after I rotated the tires, I decided to find out all the specs of my tires. It turns out that the treadwear rating of my tires is 500. To put this into perspective, the R-comp slicks have a rating of 40. So I am essentially riding around on bricks. Note to self, never get all-season tires with a mileage warranty! I wonder if I could take my tires back to the NTB and get them to honor the warranty, hmmmm, I wonder.... Nah, anyone with half a brain would look at those tires and know it is not normal wear and tear that caused that kind of damage. What kind of damage you say? Well, the middle tread of the tires is pretty much worn away. There is a high spot, but there is no edge to the tread. Then, on the edge of the tire you can see where it is starting to delaminate. Yup, I have absolutely destroyed them, totally roached. My friend took pictures while we were rotating them, but I am still waiting for him to send me the photos so that I can post them.

I picked up a set of brand new Michelin Pilots that come on the TL from the factory for a whopping $10 per tire, so I have a backup in case the Yoko's finally give up the ghost. I am planing on leaving them on until I finish the next race on the 29th and then swapping out the Michelins. I would like to get a new set of wheels that I can put summer tires on and race on those, but I have not been able to find anything on CraigsList that either I like, or weighs less than the factory wheels. I found some bitchin 19's, but they weighed something like 40 pounds each and the tires were 25 or 30 or something like that. Autocross performance would really suck if I added 30 pounds per corner! I may just have to buy some wheels/tires from the Tire Rack so that I get what I want and also get a decent weight for the wheel/tire combo. I still have that set of tires that E committed to purchasing for me when she was going for her new job, so that covers half of it, but with a joint account, it all comes from the same place anyway...

Well, my rents are coming up the last weekend of the month, so I'll see them soon, but for the rest of you, you'll have to wait until Travis' shower. Megan and Dan, see you for the 4th, I look forward to seeing Hancock, it looks hilarious!

Good News!

2008-06-14T18:38:00.002-05:00

I had my first day of the Autocross novice school today, and while it was what I was expecting, it was still informative. The other benefit of the day was that I was able to sign up for the next event on June 29th!! I'm pretty excited about that, and I also found out that the championship scoring only takes the top five events that you enter, so missing MOWOG 3 wasn't as big a deal as I thought! I also looked at the standings so far this year and it appears that I am in 3rd for my class! (out of 10)

Tomorrow is my novice school track day, so I get to further thrash the all-season tires that are on the TL until I can find some good summer tires to mount up. I found a decent set of wheels with summer tires on CL for really cheap, and a set of tires in the same model as the ones I have been roaching for really cheap as well. I still will not have R-comp tires, but summer tires are a good start.

This summer is looking like it is going to be a LOT of traveling for us, especially for heading back to STL. With Trav's shower in July, MotoGP at Indy, a wedding in September, Thanksgiving, and another wedding that I dont know when it is happening, we're going to be busy and putting a lot of miles on the TL. Good thing the mods I did last year increased the fuel economy by 3-4 MPG. I also have another mod that I want to do, putting thermal spacers between the intake and engine to keep the intake cool while the engine is hot. I helped a couple of friends install theirs and they pretty much instantly noticed a gain of 3 MPG after installing them in addition to the added power. If I install those, that should put me over 35 MPG on the highway! Big savings on a road trip!

See you at the end of July in STL!

Update!

2008-06-05T22:27:00.003-05:00

So, My buddy Dan just moved back to his parents place in Rhode Island. It's been a bit of a bummer because he was literally over here every night hanging out, and even on the weekends too. Erin used to joke that he was my boyfriend because we hung out so much. It was pretty cool because we were both interested in the same things, cars, food, hanging out, grilling, working on our cars, racing our cars, etc. So, this week has been a bit of a downer. The pic is of us on his last night in town at the local B-dubs. We all had a great time joking and what-not, hopefully he will come back for a visit or we can cruise up to the RI and see what it is all about.

We went to a happy hour with Erin's new co-workers last night and it ended up being a bit more happy than any of us had planned. We ended up in the hot tub VERY late and had a few people stay over to sleep it off. It was a good time and E's new co-workers seem like they are going to be lots of fun to have around.

One of the guys that I met at the Auto-X season opener is coming over this weekend for dinner with his girlfriend, so that should be interesting to meet the new people.

Curtis is turning 26 this week and so we are going out on his boat this weekend to celebrate. It should be a wild and crazy time. Last time on the boat Ala and Alex were acting like a bunch of kids and fighting on the sandbar we stopped at for lunch. It was hilarious to watch. I am hoping that this weekend it is going to be nicer than that day, it was 60 and windy so we were all bundled up the whole time.

We have a busy couple of months coming up, next weekend is my Auto-x novice school, then E's b-day, then possibly an Auto-X event, 4th of July, Travis' shower... Looks like lots of miles on the TL coming up. Look forward to seeing everyone at Travis' shower!

To my veggie lover friends

2008-05-26T11:53:00.009-05:00

Are you sick of the over-processed veggie burger options? Well I am. All of those faux, over-processed meat alternatives don't agree with my system so I've been on the hunt for other healthier options.

I feel like the veggie convenience foods are relying too heavily on soy. Yeah, it looks like meat and kind-of tastes like meat but it's got tons of filler and things that aren't so good for you. And aren't I a vegetarian because I DON'T want to eat carnage?

Below is an awesome recipe I found on http://allrecipes.com
A couple of things. I added a little bit of bread crumbs when I made my patties because they were not holding together. Also, I put each patty onto a piece of olive oil sprayed tinfoil so when grilled, didn't fall apart or touch other meat products on the grill.

This recipe is an open invitation for any veggie combination. I used some steak seasoning in mine and they're so yummy!

Happy Memorial Day grilling everyone!

VEGGIE BURGERS

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small onion, grated
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 carrots, shredded
1 small summer squash, shredded
1 small zucchini, shredded
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over low heat, and cook the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until tender. Mix in the carrots, squash, and zucchini. Continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and mix in oats, cheese, and egg. Stir in soy sauce, transfer the mixture to a bowl, and refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Preheat the grill for high heat.

3. Place the flour on a large plate. Form the vegetable mixture into eight 3 inch round patties. Drop each patty into the flour, lightly coating both sides.

4. Oil the grill grate, and grill patties 5 minutes on each side, or until heated through and nicely browned.

Chair love

2008-05-22T18:54:00.005-05:00

CHAIRS!

2008-05-20T16:56:00.001-05:00

We're getting them on Thursday!

Car craziness

2008-05-19T21:08:00.005-05:00

This autocross thing is quite the production. Getting up at 6 to go to a track made up of a parking lot somewhere and some cones while waiting for the whole thing to get set up is a full day. I remember it being quite cold in the AM which is why my butt was firmly stuck to the car seat until the sun made it's way up to warm me.

The racing itself is quite interesting. But when you take the amount of drivers plus the one you went to see, that's a long time of waiting. Needless to say, I finished my book and started on a new one.

Josh is the King of consistency. But he's definitely impressive around the corners. I guess I missed the best race which was the fun race at the end where you could have other riders with you in the car. Josh drove Dan's car and gave his tires a little more texture.

Josh loves his car. A lot.

Dan and his racing machine.

This is the only shot I could get of Josh driving ... he's that fast!

My favorite sister got married!

2008-05-19T20:59:00.006-05:00

I know, it happened about a month ago but I'm posting some photos, dangit!

We had such a wonderful time in Puerto Rico and we have Megan, Dan, Lindsey and Fahad to be grateful to for picking such a beautiful place. We loved the time we got to spend with them!

Double wedding beauties, Lindsey and Meganses.

Megan, Dan and their 2 nephews.

The whole gang enjoying a day on the beach.

Megan on the streets of beautiful San Juan.

Ready, Set, Autocross!

2008-05-06T19:20:00.002-05:00

This past weekend was the first two events of the 2008 Minnesota Autosports Council's autocross season, and I entered both days in the TL. I have to say that aside from having massive amounts of fun, I learned a lot about the limits of the TL, you know, important things like, how fast you have to be going to get the back end to come around, how to rip through a slalom, you know, important things like that.

For those of you that don't know, Autocross is racing, but not against other cars directly. You are racing the clock and through the clock racing the other people in your class to try and win the event. The track you use is usually set up in a parking lot using cones to delineate the track dimensions. You have to get around the track without going around any of the cones, or without hitting any of them because then you get a 2 second penalty. If you go around the wrong side of the cones, you get a DNF or Did Not Finish and your time doesn't count no matter how fast it is. The tracks are pretty tight so speeds are low and if you spin out, you don't go far. You are almost always in a corner and first and second gear will keep you set for the whole lap.

So Saturday was my first day and I had to get through tech, registration, course walk, etc before the first cars went off for the day. Without the course walk it would have been just like a motorcycle race with the exception of having to pull of bodywork for tech (thank the lord!). The event was being held at a place called Valley Fair, a local amusement park similar to Six Flags that has a huge parking lot. Half was being used for the pit and parking area, and hald was being used for the track. I walked the track three times to get the lay of the land and to determine where the track was headed after each corner and to try and figure out how to string the corners together and was as ready as I could be for the event coming up.

My first run was done at about 8/10ths and gave me a time of 80 seconds to get around and see where everything went at speed. This left me about 16 seconds from the leaders and about 10 seconds in front of the next TL out there. Let me take a moment to tell you about the cars I was racing against, in first and second was a fully race-prepped BMW 325 is with two drivers sharing it, a Subaru WRX STi, me, and an '04 TL. Now just from the cars involved you can tell that I didnt really have much of a chance at leading anything, even if they were all on their first event like me, which they weren't. As the runs went on I was getting faster to the tune of 2-3 seconds each run until I got down to my goal for the day of a 75 on my next to last run. From that point I didnt think the TL had much left in her, but man was I wrong. My last run I was just going to go for it and see what happened, hoping for maybe a 74. What did I get? A 72. That's right, a 72. Meaning I was 2 seconds behind the 3rd place driver in the Subaru, but out of runs. So, I finished up in 4th for the day, but was pretty close to the 3rd place driver, which made me happy since he had been there before and was driving a much more capable car on slicks and I was on my trusty all-season tires.

Sunday morning rolls around and they have reversed the track and added in a few other bits and bobs. I walked it a few times and when it comes time to run the track I go out and immediately turn in a 72 second lap. My next lap is a 68, showing signs of improvement. For my last run of the morning I grab an instructor and head out to get some advice on the driving I am doing. I come in with a low 69 and get some good information from the instructor that will hopefully make me go faster. Well, it didn't. Or, at least my application of it didnt make me any faster. My last three runs were all in the 69 second range and the leaders had gotten down to a 62, the Subaru didnt show up Sunday so it was just the BMW, me, and Dan in his CL. Dan was getting faster every lap, but whenever he would get close to my time he would hit a cone or go around one, so I ended the day in 3rd and Dan in 4th.

This is where the real fun began. I was scheduled to work the afternoon session as a cone picker for the other drivers, and when they were complete there was still time in the day for us to do what they call 'buck runs' becuase you get a lap for $1. Erin had already headed home in the TL, and Dan wanted to see what I could do in his car, so we jumped in the CL and and gridded up. My frist run in his car was a 65.3!!! I dropped 3 seconds by just going balls-out and taking it to the edge. Dan and I were laughing so hard when we got off the track that we decided to do another lap. My next lap I decided to take it to another level and I guess I took it too far because I managed to get the back end to come around and turned in a 65.7, a little slower than my first lap but it was unbelieveably fun. We stopped after we got off the track and looked at the tires and they were absolutely shredded. I mean it looked like we had run full wets on a dry track, chunks of rubber had come off, and the ones that were still there were completely scrubbed in.

It looks like I am in dying need of some decent (at a minimum) summer tires, or some good autocross tires. If I had managed to turn in that 65 when it counted I would have only been 3 seconds off the lead and hopefully some good rubber would help that gap narrow a bit.

So, here's to me getting some new tires and possibly some wheels to put them on. Each event is only about $30 so that means that the budget can be spent getting the car competitive. I may take some of the parts off the TL so that I can get into a lower class that doesn't allow as much work to be done to the car, and hopefully it will make me more competitive, but I have to look at the results from this weekend to see where I would have fit and see what class makes the most sense to me.

GT5 BIOTCH!!!!

2008-04-18T22:11:00.002-05:00

I just got my copy of GT5 Prologue!!! This game rocks the house! HD quality racing on the big screen and surround sound! The video looks like you could be watching it on real TV!!

Can I just say that I am super-stoked? I have been waiting for this game for over a year, and while this is not the final version it goes a long way towards it, and it sooooo much fun!!

Um, not quite right...

2008-04-14T22:19:00.002-05:00

Ok, I have to tell you, I did not put headers on the TL. I put a lightweight, underdrive pulley on the crank and an aftermarket cold-air intake on the car. The silver paint job cost a whopping $20 so far and will only cost an additional $10 to do the trim in the doors once I get some more time to work on it and it gets a bit warmer.

This weekend we are going to a local shop to run our cars on the Dyno and see who's putting up the highest numbers. Right now the big money is on either Dan or I to put up the highest numbers. He has a CL Type S with the same mods, but by different companies, so we will see who makes the best stuff...

And yes, I have been spending a lot of time with the Acura guys. We basically get together, hang out, work on someone's car, grill out, and then take photos of everyone's cars together when they are clean. We have quite a few photos of us all together and the group seems to get bigger every day. Just a bunch of car guys getting together to talk about cars.

Also, Dan and I have signed up for the first two auto-cross events of the year which are on May 3rd and 4th. My tires are not optimal, but it is just going to be fun, right? Yeah, yeah, I know, it's going to get crazy quickly. I have my eye on a set of OZ Racing lightweight wheels in the 17" size that I think are going to make the TL look incredible. I have pretty much maxed out on the bolt-on mods that I can do with the TL with the exception of headers, and I doubt that E would be very thrilled if she came home and I was elbow-deep in engine swapping out the cams or something fun like that...

Acura Love

2008-04-14T18:33:00.006-05:00

You all know my husband. When he gets into something there is no stopping him. Well, it's his car this time. And boy is he into his car. And making it fast. And pretty.

He's put on a new header (which makes the car go faster - and I can account to that) and tonight he's painting the inside panels silver instead of having the glossy faux wood look going on. He's done some other stuff but I really can't tell you what. All I know is I really haven't seen him at all this past week.
If anyone wants to pimp out their car, consult Josh. He's got all sorts of crazy ideas up in that noggin of his and loves to share them. He'll tell you the difference between crankshafts and camshafts as well as the appropriate color to paint your grill and what size tire your car should have.

Maybe I should sleep in the car. That way I'll see him. :)

What. Have. I. Just. Done?

2008-04-01T12:07:00.004-05:00

I just signed up for an Autocross event in June.

I really don't know if I have fully looked at the potential consequences here. I just might have to smack myself. Lets take a trip down the slippery slope, shall we? Let's just say that I thoroughly enjoy myself and love every minute of it, because lets face it, odds are good that I will. Now what? Do I purchase a Miata and get out there every weekend, or do I further go down the road of getting the TL competitive? Who here thinks it would be cheaper to make the TL competitive than purchasing a Miata and making it competitive? Raise your hands if you think the TL could EVER be competitive.

Put your hands down! Are you kidding me? The TL is a great car, don't get me wrong, but a boy racer it is not. It is a semi-sporty luxury-mobile.

I am going to get my ass smoked, there aren't two ways about it. But, I will have a damn good time doing it!

Maybe this is a good opportunity to get that convertible that E and I have wanted for the summers here. I doubt she would be interested in putting coil overs, 18" wheels, sway bars, intake, etc on a nice little summer convertible cruiser though. With my personal budget about $100 per month, it's going to be about a hundred years before I can afford to do anything to make the TL much more competitive, like you know, shaving a TON or so from its big ol' booty. Or as we say up here, badonk-a-donk.

Still, if I can manage to get some more TLs out there, then I can at least be fast among the slow cars, right? What's that phrase? A King among thieves or something like that?

Rootin' Tootin' and Shootin'

2008-03-23T13:09:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was Shelby's birthday, and for her event she wanted to go shooting at a local indoor range. After much deliberation E and I headed out with Curtis and Talia to meet up with everyone, and I am glad we went. The price was pretty reasonable, so I rented an HK USP compact .40 that was really easy to shoot and also quite accurate even with my limited experience. Kaleb of course went out and got a friggin assault rifle that was an absolute blast to shoot. We were indoors so the range was maxed out at 50 feet, but it was still a lot of fun. I got some great pictures of E shooting the assault rifle, I know! E shooting an assault rifle!! If I had not been there I would not have believed it either! She tried the .40 but didnt like the kick at all so gave it up after a single shot. She did run a full magazine through the assault rifle and was actually asking for more when it was all over. There were a lot of other people there shooting all kinds of stuff, from shotguns to AK47s to SKS. Shelby's dad came down from South Dakota and brought with him a whole bag of .22 target pistols that were REALLY accurate.

It was funny how everyone was kind of standing around nervous until they gave us a lane and allowed us to get out there to shoot. E and I were still a bit on the nervous side even then, it took a few rounds for me to calm down, but those were still my best shots of the day with the .40. I guess I was just taking my time more than I did for the rest of the day or something. Maybe it was being moved to a lane next to the guys ripping through rounds with an SKS, or it was the concentration thing. Either way, my best target was my first one, but they got more consistent as the day went on. I had a great target with the Sig at 50 feet, all 20 rounds going trough an area about 2 inches in diameter.

So, we had a great day, it was lots of fun, everyone came back alive, no one was missing any digits, it all went well. It was surprising how much effort it took to keep up concentration that long to shoot accurately, we were all pretty tired by the end of the day and ended up going to bed early because we were just plain beat.

Overall, I had a good time, I think E had a good time, and it was reasonably inexpensive. If bullets weren't so expensive we could have been there all day long playing.

Oh yeah, and in true Curtis fashion, his targets were an outline of Osama and a guy with an RPG over his shoulder. He didn't rent a gun, just bought a couple of targets and got to work shooting them up with whatever was on hand. Much hilarity ensued when he sent that target out the range.

So, we have been watching a lot of movies lately

2008-03-19T22:50:00.003-05:00

A lot of really good movies. We just watched another tonight called 'We Are Marshall' and it was awesome. If you are in the market for a movie, I highly suggest getting this one. It is the true story of a college that lost its entire football team in a horrific plane crash in 1970 and their coping with it. Extremely good, well acted, I just can't say enough, it was awesome.

Another Good Movie

2008-03-12T20:46:00.005-05:00

E and I have been watching a lot of movies lately and another we just saw that was really good was 'Dan in Real Life'. It is something like 40 year old virgin but a lot better.

If you have time, check it out.

Yeah, and I am inclined to recite my favorite movie line ever, from 'Stranger Than Fiction', "GET BENT, TAX-MAN!" We just got our tax info back from the accountant and it wasn't good news. ick.

Into The Wild

2008-03-11T11:16:00.003-05:00

Have you seen this film? If not, I urge you to go get it right now and watch it. You will thank me.

It's been 4 days since I saw it and I can't get it out of my head and heart.

I read the book years ago and forgot what an amazing story this is. The book really takes on a journalistic view (Jon Krakauer wrote it) so I didn't get the heart-felt view like in the movie. Since I'm heart centered, the movie resonated with me.

Emile Hirsch (as Chris McCandless) does such a spectacular job. And Sean Penn (amazing man, actor and screenwriter) did the screenplay.

This is a gem of a movie.

Thank you to Chris with all of his bravery and lessons. Forgiveness is the key to life's happiness.

Neither plastic nor paper please

2008-03-01T18:33:00.009-06:00

I am done with plastic bags! That's right. Well, not completely. Due to the fact we have to have something to put our trash/cat refuse in. But that's it. My solution is to buy corn-based plastic bags that biodegrade in 3 months while using cloth bags to put groceries and shopping items in. Nice! You can even get drawstring bags for produce. See! Now you want some. You can go to this nice website where they have all sorts of bags to put stuff in. www.ecobags.com

I've also started looking at other places in my life where I can help cut out waste. For example, when I go to Subway to get a sandwich, I ask them to not put it in a bag. Why do I need a bag? They give you a bag even if you're eating at their estabishment. So wasteful.

I am starting to think about ziplocks as well as plastic storage so that will have to be something I'll tackle in the future. I think glass is the solution.
Another thing I am excited about is getting rid of my Nalgene water bottle. Look at this kick-butt Sigg bottle! I am all about re-using bottles so you Nalgene people out there, don't get upset. It's just I don't want to ingest plastic. These Sigg bottles are 100% recyclable and taste neutral. I can't wait to get mine! You can get one as well from the ecobag website.

I just wanted to expose my eco-nerd for all to see. :)

Ask and you shall receive

2008-02-26T22:05:00.006-06:00

Have you ever heard of Ray and Charles Eames? Well the chair we're sitting in is a knock-off of one of their most famous chair designs. And it's probably one of the most comfortable chairs I've ever sat in. We get them in a couple of months. Definitely worth waiting for. Needless to say, when people come over those 2 chairs will have our names on it so don't even try to claim one of them cuz you're gonna get booted. For real.

Ice Castle

2008-02-26T21:56:00.006-06:00

The bar and grill one block up our street caught fire last week from the 2nd floor apartment. And this is what happens when it's butt-cold when they're trying to put it out. It looks like the Stay-Puft marshmallow man hit the building (that's what Josh said it looked like). These pics are taken 5 days after ... and the ice was already melting because it was a balmy 32 degrees.

Color me pretty

2008-02-21T21:06:00.011-06:00

We've got some pics here but it's really difficult to capture the vibrance on camera. Willie is a rock star, both with the guitar and paint brush. I must tell you, if you have any painting needs, you need to give him a call. All you have to do is get him to your house, get some paint and let him loose. He's an artist!

It was great having him around as well. The cats took well to him and watched the entire time. I think we're going to have to get a ladder for them to hang out on.

Enjoy the pics but you'll have to come here to experience the pure beauty.

Pics people!

2008-01-20T10:50:00.000-06:00

Our livingroom is LOOKIN' GOOD!

Pics of our new chairs. Well, not really. It will be like this one but the piping will be dark brown & the body will be tan. I love the silhouette!

Rani being the cutest cattin EVER.

All my babies in one picture.
:)

Lookie! Our rug is finally here!

2008-01-13T14:27:00.001-06:00

So we've been waiting for this rug for um, 4 months or so. And we thought it was never going to get here. After a very stressful debacle yesterday, we finally got it! I have to say it was worth the wait. It really creates the space for our living room and warms the place up. We are happy!

Hey!! I need surgery!! Woo-Hoo!!

2008-01-09T20:41:00.001-06:00

Wait a minute, what?

Just before heading down to the 'Lou for Christmas, I stopped in and got an MRI done on my shoulder and elbow because of some pain I have been having for quite a while. The shoulder I injured when I was training and trying to get into the FBI academy while I was weightlifting, but the elbow is new. Turns out the elbow is tendinitis, but the shoulder is, in a word, hosed. Turns out that I tore the rotator cuff and a tendon in there and having been over 2 years, the doc is not real confident that therapy or anything else he can do will help. He gave me a Cortisone shot to ease the swelling, but good lord does that hurt! It almost felt better before he gave me the shot...

So, I am going to spend the next month getting my shoulder a little more in shape, and then he's going to cut it and make it better. Hopefully then I will be right and can start getting back into the gym again, I'm tired of being the fat bastard lookalike, it's not even Halloween!

So, that's it for now personally. As far as work is concerned, I have been pulled off all the projects I was working on before and put on a much larger project with a much higher visibility and a lot more responsibility. It is going to be a huge challenge since the team is so much larger and there are 10 resources in India, so that means lots of REALLY early phone calls every week. My first meeting today was at 6AM and my last meeting was at 4 without a minute between them, so they are definitely getting their money's worth as far as hours. So, that looks awesome for me and what I have coming up, but it is going to be a tough road for the next year or so. Hey, maybe I'll get a free trip to India!!

Happy New Year's!

2008-01-01T21:02:00.000-06:00

OK. So I know I've been really bad about posting. It's just Josh is so good what else do I have to add?

I've uploaded a photo from Christmas (the only one I took in St. Louis) as well as a sweet photo of the kitties (they are doing GREAT by the way). There are a few of our New Year's party which turned out to be so fun.

There was a lot to be grateful for in 2007. Josh and I moved into our beautiful new home, I got a job at the big T, we made more wonderful friends and much more. All I can say is we are truly blessed.

I am sure 2008 is going to bring many blessings and adventures. We are so happy you all can join us!

Enjoy the photos.

Apples to Apples was our fav this year. Mom kicked our butts.

A little crocheted ear warmer for Joshy. I think it's quite fetching.

Our bebes chillin. This is pretty much what they do 18 hours a day.

Pretty ladies: Jaime, Jen and Shelley.

Obviously it's a rockin' good time at the partay. It looks really lame from this viewpoint but we did decorate!

E and the dancing partner, Curtie.

Our fellow St. Louis friends, Jon and Katie. Plus Joshy.

Alatiel and Curtie. Doin whatever.

The happy family; Joe, Rachel and bebe Hanna.

E, Rachel, baby Hanna and our new neighbor, KC. By the way, she makes the BEST kimchi pancakes!!!

Katie and Dan obviously having a great time.

E and friend Kim.

Gary, Shelby and Kaleb being really silly.

Kaleb, Katie and Dan. Again with the sillyness.

Naughty boys.

E and Stacey. Love the tiara!

The End!

Clothes and Cars

2007-12-13T10:49:00.000-06:00

You know, it's not that odd of a combination.

So, you all know that I am mad about cars and motorcycles, and I have recognized a need up here in the aftermarket car parts industry that I am looking to fill. As such, I am looking for a shop area to rent out while I test to see if my theory is correct. I hope it is, but time will tell.

This brings us to clothes, and you all (I hope) know about E and I going to India a few years back. Well, while there I made some contacts in the clothing industry to make custom suits for people. Those of you who know me will know that it didn't turn out so well. But what did turn out well was the production of jeans for Trav's shop. I am once again looking into that, but I would also be trying to sell them out of the shop up here as well, and I have a different supplier who is talking about the same quality at a fraction of the price. Of course this is a much larger organization, so they are really looking to grow the sales significantly, so it will be interesting to say the least.

Well, now you know what I have been working on lately, sorry it wasn't a very funny post, but I thought I would let everyone know what is going on.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

2007-11-28T08:56:00.001-06:00

No, I didn't break anything.

For this breaking news update, we take you to the weather desk where our trusty weather man, Heavy Coat has information for us, Heavy?

Heavy: Thanks, Useless Intro Guy, this is Heavy Coat at the Blogger weather station, and we have breaking news that it is cold in Minnesota.

Useless Intro Guy: That's breaking news?

Heavy: Of course!

UIG: Dude, it Minne-fricking-sota! They are north of the Arctic Circle, of course it's cold there. Where did you get your meteorology degree from, the University of Morons-R-Us?

Heavy: No need to get nasty...

UIG: Annnnd, while we look for a new weather man, we will take you back to your regularly scheduled programming...

DOMINO BIATCH!!!!!

2007-11-23T23:42:00.000-06:00

And by the title, you must know that it is Thanksgiving and that we are playing dominoes again. No, Bonnie hasn't busted out the infamous, 'BIATCH!' yet this year, but there is still time, it is only Friday...

E made a smorgasboard of different treats for everyone, roast turkey, green beans, salad, stuffing, dressing, and the most wonderful pumpkin bread pudding ever. I made home-made hot cocoa to drink with the dessert and put a dollop of freshly whipped cream on top to finish it off. Can I say it was AWESOME?

We went to our favorite breakfast joint this morning, Hells Kitchen, to meet up with Bonnie's brother Zoom who was in town. It was good to see him and his family and spend a few minutes catching up on what has happened since we last saw him. I can't remember the last time I saw him because I was so doped up after surgery.

Let me just say, if Bernie wants to play dominoes, go for it, he'll let you win... :)

Some photos from a recent Acura of Minneapolis meet

2007-11-12T11:15:00.001-06:00

Photobucket Album

Annnnnnnnnnnd WE'RE BACK!

2007-10-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

We arrived home last night around 11, and have spent a little while getting back into our routine. The cats have been pretty clingy, but no pee! I think I like our new cat-watcher-people-service-thing. The cats seem to like them as well.

The trip was a good one, it was really hot and humid down there, but it was also gorgeous. It was tough to make ourselves get back on a plane and head back here, although the weather is pretty nice here. There is just nothing like the water and weather down there in the Keys. If it wasn't so expensive I would be working pretty hard to find a way to move there. It was nice to be near/in the ocean again too. I only got mildly sunburnt, and that was after putting on sunscreen.

Once we get some of the photos ready, we'll put them up here so everyone can see how nice it is down there.

Annnnnnd WE'RE OFF!

2007-10-25T11:14:00.000-05:00

Today is the day we head out to the Florida Keys for the weekend Halloween festivities. It should be a crazy good time, I'll write all about it when we get back.

Have a good weekend!

Rain, Rain, go away

2007-10-18T08:44:00.000-05:00

Seriously, it has been raining for effectively 3 weeks now. They say that if this keeps up, we are in for a super-snowy winter. I guess that would be cool by me, since we bought snowboards at the end of last season and have yet to really try them out. But jeez, I am sick and tired of carrying my umbrella all the time. We didn't accidentally move to England or anything, did we?

On another note, this past weekend was the first official 'Man Day', and the rain did decide to hold off for a few hours so that we could get some serious fun in. We started with some Rugby World Cup action, watching England defeat France in the semi-finals. Sunday of this weekend England meets up with South Africa for the title. After Rugby, we headed out to Elko Speedway for the 'Eve of Destruction' event. Let me tell you, this was crazy, it was nuts, Travis would have loved it. They started the evening with the 'Super Bee' class, which is all four cylinder cars like preludes, sentras, and a lot of saturns. They then moved into the big V-8s, but here the catch was that there were two people in the car, one guy steering, and one guy working the throttle and brake. This was insane, cars crashing all over the place.

After the first intermission, they started the 'spectator drags' where anyone could take their car out there and race against everyone else. It was a single elimination event that came down to a Dodge Ram Diesel 4x4 and a Firebird Ram-Air. The Ram dogged him off the line, but the Firebird had much more HP and passed the Ram on the straight. This period was one of the highlights of the evening, don't know why.

So, now comes the REALLY fun part. Now they start the figure-8 races. Yes, you heard that correctly, figure-8 races. IT. WAS. AWESOME. That is all I can say about it. They had those big V8's out there again, this time running in the figure-8, and then they had the school bus races (in the figure-8), then to top it all off, they brought out the trailer races. This was just plain old destruction for the sake of destruction. It was Man-Awesome! The finale of the evening was something to top it all off, they had brought in a jet-powered firetruck. This jet powered firetruck backed that ass up to a school bus and fired up the afterburner. The noise was deafening, but it was awesome. Molten steel was flying off the bus, the back door was blown open and set aflame, everything on the bus was burning, including the steel frame and structure. Did I say it was awesome? Well, it was.

Other than that, not much has been going on up here in the Land o' Lakes. I have been badgering E for weeks to sell the Acura and get an M5, but maybe this is not the time to sell a front wheel drive car for a rear wheel drive car. Especially with a whole lot o' snow coming. We bought a rug for the living room the other day, it should be here in a couple of weeks. When it shows up I will post photos of it in its natural environment. Until then, look here and you will see what we bought. We are also getting ready to paint the bathroom, so I will have photos of that up soon as well.

Happy Anniversary to us!

2007-09-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

So today marks 2 whole years of wedded bliss. It seems like everything has changed in the last two years. We got hitched, Erin started her own business, we sold our place in STL, moved to Minneapolis, got a new job, E got a new job, and then finally moved into our new place in Mpls. That's a whole lot to cram into two years.

So, to celebrate, we rented a convertible mustang and drove all over Minnesota and Wisconsin checking out the changing of the leaves. It was a great trip, and you wouldn't believe how tiring it is to spend a day in a car. The sun and wind really take it out of you. I think E took some photos, but I am not so sure. If she did, I am certain that you will see them soon.

Oh yeah, and happy birthday Drew!

Pics of our diggs!

2007-09-21T18:01:00.001-05:00

Our view of the courtyard.

Big 'ol grill hardly fits ...

Our lovely view.

Little boy's couch

Our curtains. Check out Little Boy's alien eyes!

Geek gear.

We have a bed! And a mattress!

Now it looks nice, too!

Dinner at the dinner table ... can't remember the last time we did that!

And now, FURNITURE!!

2007-09-19T11:27:00.000-05:00

**EDIT**
Due to my perverted father, I must point out that the area in () are supposed to be crowd noises, nothing else. Sicko.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it right, we now have furniture. Fun for the whole family, come one, come all and check out the latest invention to come out of the twin cities! We have a couch! (ooooh!) We have a Dining table and chairs! (ahhhh!) We have curtains!! (ohhhh!) And last but not least, we have a new bed!! (oooh-aaahhh-ohhhhh!) I know, technological marvels such as this are often reported but rarely confirmed by independent scientific study, I assure you, our claims will be proven!! All we need are some volunteers from the audience to come on stage in the Twin Cities and you will be able to feast your eyes on the miracle of the modern world.

(pictures to follow)

Moved IN!!!

2007-09-08T23:18:00.000-05:00

We are officially moved into our loft!! Some friends helped move the last of our crap over to our new place today, we had it all here in two trips, and now this place is packed!! You never know how much junk you really have until you move, and then it starts to set in. I walked around the loft yesterday and decided that I didn't want any of the stuff that was left at the apartment, but then I realized I didn't have a coat and that I would have to go back. So much for minimalism. At least our storage locker is still pretty organized, even if we have more to move down there in the coming days. I have vowed to get rid of anything that I don't use for 6 months, so we shall see how that goes. Maybe I'll put stickers on things with the date of last use, or maybe that is just a little more anal than I really am.

We also stopped in to the Room and Board outlet store today to see if we could find some cool chairs for the living room, and lo and behold! There was our couch!! The one that we had just put a deposit on at the local store! So, we canceled the order at the retail store and bought the one at the outlet for a nice discount! Now our furniture is going to be delivered next week instead of the following one. We are heading back tomorrow to see if we can find some chairs, but unless they get a LOT of chairs in the overnight shipment, it is not looking good.

The home theater guy stopped in on Friday morning and checked the place out, and is supposed to get back to me with options on Monday, I can't wait to hear what he suggests. He and I have already agreed that a DLP is the only way to go for the size I want, and the price point I want to be within. The only thing that is causing me fits is that the 'standard' stereo rack is 20" deep, and we only have 17" to work with. He had some creative ideas of ways to mount everything, one being that the front of the hardware would come through the wall, another would be that the whole system would hang from the ceiling and be somewhat out of the way, but we shall see what he comes up with.

That's about it for now. We just saw '3:10 to Yuma' and it was really good, check it out. There is also a new movie coming out with Tommy Lee Jones that looks awesome, I really want to see it, it's called 'In the Valley of Elah'. Check it out, it looks awesome.

Adios, have a good weekend.

Dining room table and bed

2007-09-02T19:52:00.000-05:00

PICS!

2007-09-02T09:25:00.000-05:00

This will work a whole lot better if you start at the bottom and work your way up...

Our Couch!!!

Beautiful downtown Minneapolis
Our new grill!!!
our current furniture situation...
Ain't she cute?
Lookit!! E is going to work!
The last throws of my birthday, Jen is playing Connect 4 with Brad.
Awww, ain't that cute?
Fritz, Pat, Brad and I on my birthday at Psycho Suzies.
Me whoopin everyone's but on the go-karts
T-rav and Jalynn riding Curtis' beach cruiser. Contrary to popular belief, Travis had a hard time riding a wheelie on this one.
Wonder twin powers, ACTIVATE!!

Seriously, this was right after Travis surprised me by showing up here for my birthday. This was taken at one of my favorite places, Brits Pub.

WE CLOSE ON TUESDAY

2007-08-31T10:04:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited I'm giddy! I cant wait!! We have been getting all of the last minute stuff set up for moving in, setting up cable, internet, phone, buying a fridge, a couch, chairs, barstool, curtain attachments, bathroom fixtures.

Did I say I can't wait to move in?

Happy Birthday to me

2007-08-21T08:32:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is right, yesterday was the big 3-0 for me, the triple decade. It was a pretty average day as far as days go, E had her first day on the job, and I had just another day at the office. We finished up the day by going to Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse in the same building as my office. We had always wanted to go there, but just never found the time. That, and it is $42.50 per person for the meat orgy that it is. If you have never heard of this place before, let me tell you, this place is ridiculous. So they have a mammoth salad bar for those vegetarians out there, but that is not the highlight, we are talking about the meat here, after all, it IS a steakhouse. They give you this 'coin' that is red on one side and green on the other. Green means you want the crazed men carrying swords stacked with steaks to stop and give you a slice, red means you don't. Sounds simple enough, right? So, I warm up with a little salad and then decide to start the meat orgy. I flip to green. Within minutes, I have 5 of these guys queueing up next to me, ready to chop a big hunk o' steak onto my plate. They were coming so fast that I didnt have time to flip my coin back over to red and get them to stop. Did I mention that this is an all you can eat place? Well, it is, and as Mike put it, this is 'a meat lover's Valhalla'. It was surreal, the amount of meat being cut onto plates. As our server put it, 'this is a marathon, not a sprint, so pace yourselves'. I think we were there for a few hours, and I think I put on another 20 pounds.

So, that was yesterday, but the real fun was on Saturday. Erin surprised me with Travis and Jalynn flying up here on Friday night and joining us at a bar, it was pretty great to see Travis up here and get to show him around. He has been threatening to come up since I moved up here last year (and yes, it has almost been a year). We started off the day with some indoor go-karting at the place in Burnsville that I used to go to for the league, and as usual, Travis kicked everyone's butt. Kaleb came with us and kicked my butt, but I was able to come back and stay on his tail for the rest of the session. Travis' friend from MMI, Todd, also came out for the races, but I don't think he was ready for the level of competition that we were putting out there. In the first race, we all bashed by him in the third corner and left him for dead. 8 minutes doesnt sound like a long time to drive, but when you are doing 20+ laps in those 8 minutes, your arms, back, and neck all get tired. By the second race I was done, I didn't have any energy left, and was only able to improve my laptimes by .7 seconds. Overall, it was a LOT of fun. We picked up a load of BBQ from a local place called Rudolph's, (which was VERY good) and headed back to the casa for everyone to start the party. People started showing up around 6 for dinner, and we annihilated that BBQ. I bought two party platters, and by the time the bus showed up, both were just about gone. Oh yeah, we had a party bus, and we went barhopping. This is where things started to get really out of control...

I think there were 15 or so people in the bus, and it was just one of those shuttle-type buses from the airport with the luggage rack taken out. We stowed the cooler and headed for uptown and the Independent Bar and Lounge. So, I know it was early, but this place was D-E-A-D and not very receptive to a big party like ours. We ended up commandeering the patio area and hanging out there for a bit, but it was not long lived. The most memorable part of the Independent was when Aric downed his martini as we were leaving. From there is was over to Brits in downtown to have some scotch eggs and cider. Everyone liked Brits so much that we ended up staying there twice as long as planned and then heading over to Psycho Suzie's to see Ryan and party on their patio. By now the bus rides between bars were pretty fun, and getting more and more rowdy. I think everyone had a good buzz going by now. Suzie's was hopping and standing room only, so we went out to the wet patio and stood under the umbrellas whenever it started to rain. This was the beginning of the end for most of the party-goers. We also spent double-time at Suzie's and had a blast until they thought one of our revelers had booted in the bathroom. This was our exit cue, whether it was one of us or not. BACK TO THE BUS!!! We only had a few minutes of the bus left, so we took it over to Cuzzy's, our local neighborhood bar that we could walk home from. Everyone filed in and we found a table in the back, near the games. Someone broke out 'Connect Four' and it was ON!! Girls vs. Boys. Unfortunately, the boys representative was quite a bit more intoxicated than the girls rep, so it wasn't really fair. I am officially calling for a rematch between equally sober or drunk people. Well, this was the end of the official birthday, and at this point most people headed back to our place where a few people crashed out on our couch.

So that was the end of the day, and it was a really good time, but Sunday was a little rough. Overall, it was the best birthday I have had in a lot of years. Big thanks to all of you that came with us!

HOLY FRICKIN' HELL!!!

2007-08-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

We just had our annual national sales meeting, and all I can say is holy frickin' hell!! Our keynote speaker (surprise) was none other than Colin Powell!! This doesn't even get into all the musical performances we had. Let me see if I can remember them all, Collective Soul, Michael Buble, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys, Some Teeny-bopper girl group, and someone else I am forgetting. Overall it was a lot of kool-aid drinking, accompanied by a LOT of Archer Farms snack food (all fat-free mind you) and a nifty new clutch for E and a lunch bag for me.

I am still in shock of what I just witnessed. I never in a million years would have imagined a company actually setting something like this up. COLIN-FRICKING-POWELL!!! By the way, he does great impersonations of Bush, Reagan, Bush Jr, and Gorbachev, and he is quite funny.

If I get an invite, I'm definitely bringing a camera next year. AMAZING!!!