Well today was the final day of my first stage of training for Trans-Iowa and it actually went really well. Each excercise fealt really good, very little pain afterwards. I even enjoyed yet another strawberry-chocolate milk protein drink when I was done. Mmmmm, delicious stuff. There were a couple of guys from the "How much can you bench?" table working out tonight too. You know the type. Bright red face after just one rep, grunting through the entire excercise, and then they drop the weights on the floor so that everybody knows that they are done. They even walk walk around admiring themselves between reps. Those guys actually scare me a little bit. Mostly due to the barbaric grunting noises during the workout. Am I correct with this one? Jared? A. Lo.? Oh yea, they also wear their High School state football champion t-shirts at the gym. Way cool guys, way cool.

The rock climbing wall was very busy tonight also. There was nobody there for the first 20 minutes or so and that is when I decided to initiate rule #1 of customer attraction. Let me know if this is correct monkeys. I decided to put on my own climbing shoes and do a little bit of climbing for myself, and Waa Laa...customers galore. They always show up when you get ready to do something for yourself. My shift went by way fast, that's for sure. Family of seven, family of six, family of five, and of course they all want to climb right now. There are only two of us working here people. Please be patient for your own safety. Have a nice evening.

With all of this free time I have this week, it is difficult to pick how to be lazy to the fullest extent of the word. Don't get me wrong, I am able to find things NOT to do as well as find things to do that most people would see as a waste of time. Must be a waste of their time because it certainly is not a waste of mine.

Good workout yesterday. Although A. Lo. was not there so it was lacking a bit in the conversational aspect. Step it up to the next phase next week so that will be entertaining. I had to work at the climbing wall right after I finished my workout so I had to locate a new mixture for my Optimum Nutrition protein powder. I located the vending machine with chocolate milk and discovered that strawberry chocolate milk is pretty darn good. I think I will do that again tomorrow.

I do have to work at the climbing wall this week (Tues. - Thurs.) from 3-6p.m. so I do have some responsibility, although not much. Yesterday was busy as all heck at the wall since the faculty can bring their families in during the holiday season. We have the pleasure of belaying all of their children. Not a bad thing, but some kids just need to know when to quit. When you are on the wall for 30 min. and get nowhere it's time to take a break. They will learn in time, I hope. It did make for a quick three hours though.

Last night was Amy's b-day party at Pepper's Bar & Grill in CF. There was somewhere around 20 people there and it was a pretty good time. They gave us one waiter to handle everything so needless to say everybody received their food at different times, orders got mixed up, bills got mixed up, and any other problems that restaurants like to put on their customers. It was your typical night out with a large group. I have never been able to understand why you ccan serve five groups of four people, but you cannot serve one group of twenty. weird.

Pretty dead at the wall today. 20+ people yesterday and maybe 6 or 7 today. Actual climbers today though so they will actually climb for a couple of hours so the time still goes by quick.

A. Lo. is suppossed to be working out today, but I have not seen him yet. I sure hop that you are not slacking. Second phase starts next week.

I was just informed by the Europa Night Monkeys that I need to update my blog for their enjoyment. I warned you guys that I have nothing to say so prepare yourselves for some serious boredom. Last nights work out with A. Lo. went well. He actually got there before I did yesterday which is not normal. I believe that he is starting to take this workout thing pretty serious. That’s a good thing by the way. His progress definitely helps me to keep going too. It does seem like we have one small problem though. At the end of almost every workout, right about the time we start working on abs, this guy shows up and starts to use the ab machine. This guy works his abs more than anybody else that I have ever seen. I’ll bet that he spends around 20-25 minutes on that machine. There is another machine on the other end of the gym, so it isn’t a big deal, it’s just odd that he seems to show up at the same time as we do no matter what time we are there. Weird.

I did not have to work at all today, sat on my bum all day long. Actually, I don’t have to work at all for like the next week and a half. What will I do with all of that free time? Only time will tell I guess.

Like I said earlier, I have nothing to say today, so that’s it.

I must now consume food for my belly. Mmmmmmm pasta.

Okay, so the Europa X-mas Kegger at Brett's domicile on Friday was pretty cool. Lots of really delicious snacky things to consume and some great conversation. As is typical at all X-mas gatherings there was a natural separation of people in to two distinct groups. I like to think of these two groups as the kiddie table (cool people) and the adult table (not so cool people). The kiddie table included Mr. 24, A. Lo., Guitar Ted, Mrs. Guitar Ted, Brett, the Cheese Queen, and of course myself. Everyone else was sitting in the living room (not so cool people). The kiddie table had the superior intellect and consequently the better conversation. I actually heard Brett say "vagina" and "penis" in the same sentence. That my friends, is scary.

Yesterday was my first true day off (no work, no homework, no problems) in like four months. I sat at home and played on my XBOX...all...day...long. Yea baby, yea!!! Good times to be had by all. Last night, I went to one of the local night clubs with Amy for a going away party for one of her co-workers. Her friends that I made acquaintance with last night were all pretty cool. There was another party going on there at the same time, with half of my instructors from school in attendance. Needless to say, I met up with Cap'n Morgan and had a great time. We really should do that more often. We then had to run out to Sprawl-Mart and I must say that being slightly intoxicated does make the experience a little bit more bearable. I did pick up some Oreo's for my late night snack while I was there.

I was just informed that A. Lo. sold a Trek 4900 Disc mountain bike to some white-trash, mullet wearing dude, who also wanted a bigger seat and a kicksatnd installed. Um, okay, kickstand and fat seat...on a race bike - something only a white-trash redneck would do.

Scheduled workout tomorrow with A. Lo. I am definately feeling better every day. More results and less pain.

Enough for now,

-Peace

Turned in my paper this morning for my tourism class so the semester is officially over. I then spent the rest of the day either belaying climbers, checking harnesses, playing table tennis, playing racquetball, and I even got one climb in myself. It's the first time in a year that I have actually climbed because I had hyper-extended my elbow a year ago and I was still a bit nervous that I would hurt it again. Thankfully everything went okay.

After we closed the climbing wall down at 3:00 p.m., A. Lo. and I did the weight lifting think for about an hour and a half. Feels really good to finally start making some progress. Had a nice strawberry and banana smoothie when I arrives at home too. mmmmmmmmm. Europa X-Mas party tonight at the Brett's house. She worries me sometimes, I think she may be weirder (is that even a word?) than I am.

Okay, enough for now. I think I'll go XBOX for awhile.

-PEACE

Went lifting last night with A. Lo., everything went very well. Heartrate's already starting to come down, which in turn makes me feel much better. 30 minutes on the stairmaster followed by high reps on various weight machines will allow a person to sleep quite peacefully during the evening. Muscles don't seem to hurt as much either, so I believe that I am moving right along in my preparation for Trans-Iowa. I also began following my workout with a protein drink last night ala Ed and Mr. 24. Ed was kind enough to stop at Jesup Gym and pick up some Optimum Nutrition© protein powder and a bunch of other little goodies for me. Thanks again Ed. What do I owe ya for the shaker? I must admit, it is quite tasty. I just mixed it with milk last night and enjoyed a nice refreshing glass of strawberry milk. mmmmm. Next time, I think I will try for a smoothie.

Yet another nine hour day for the graphics company today. I have to make up my hours because I will be gone almost all day tomorrow. NU Lab School is having their activity day at UNI and I will be there to belay Jr. High and High School children during their fun day. Professor's kids are always so well behaved and respectful of those who are taking the time out of their day to allow these children to enjoy themselves. At least I get free pizza for lunch and credit towards my major for working.

I really need to get my paper done tonight for my Tourism Promotions class. I think I have put it off long enough considering that it is due tomorrow. Should not be a big deal at all, I actually know what I need to write, it's just that I don't feel like writing it in all honesty.

I also came across some interesting information earlier on the web. It looks as though Nextel Communications is being bought by Sprint. Will this mean yet another name change for NASCAR? Think about this one: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Without sprint cars. ha ha ha. Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.

As you may have noticed, I have began to overhaul the look of my Blog. I need something that is a little "darker" to reflect my inner self. The two-tone green just isn't cutting it. I may have to have Kerkove redo a header for me, but then again I may just try one myself, still undecided. There are still a few things about reading and writing HTML that I find confusing, but I am getting a handle on it. Kerkove and Jared have both sent me some good information and resources to locate the information I need to complete my project. My biggest thing right now is altering the colors for the rounded corners. Anyone have any ideas?

Not a whole lot going on today in the graphic design world. Typical boring day during the Holiday Season. Salesmen have already met their quotas and won't send us anymore work until after the New Year. I keep telling myself that my days here are numbered but, it doesn't usually help. I go back in the warehouse to talk with Jared on occasion to help me maintain sanity. I think he might just be a lifer here so he has a slightly twisted..I mean different perspective to how things are running. This "twist", believe it or not, allows em to laugh off the things that are driving me crazy. A note for all of you children out there...friends are good...get some.

Workout scheduled for tonight to continue the preparation for Trans-Iowa while also getting A. Lo. hooked on working out. It is definately better to have someone to talk to while you're at the gym. The stairmaster doesn't seem to last quite so long. Kerkove, how do you stay on that thing for 2.5 hours? What keeps you going - music, television, scenery? What's your secret? I NEED to know!!! The stairmaster, she drives me crazy!!!

...weight lifting. I continued with my workout schedule in preparation for the Trans-Iowa race under strict guidance of Mr. 24's program for off-season training. It's all classified, British Secret Service, James Bond type stuff, so I can't release any details. It does work though, I feel better already, since the day after the first night really kicked my butt. I met A. Lo. at the WRC tonight and introduced him to the pain also. It helps with the workout when you have a buddy with you. I just hope that I don't scare him off too soon. I tend to have that effect on people that I ride with so it may carry into the gym too, who knows. Ed is going to pick up some more of that nutritional stuff that is suppossed to help reach your maximum potentials during the workouts. Both Ed and Mr. 24 swear by it so it should be the shiz-nit.

Okay, it's time for food...yes Kerkove, it is after 7 p.m. but I don't have time to eat on a normal schedule.

TTFN

Took my one and only actual final for the semester today. I am certain that I will receive an 'A' for the class. The really cool part is that the final group project that I was involved with went better than I thought. Normally I despise working in groups because there is usually the one student that doesn't want to do their part but, for the first time that I can recall everyone in my group was top-notch and we ended up with 99 out of 100 on our final project. This was not only the highest grade in the class but, it is also the highest grade in the class' seven year history. That my friends, kicks a$$. Instructor made a point of our highest score ever right before the test started. Yea, you could feel the jealousy in the air. I even had a student from one of the other groups ask me for some copies of my marketing stuff for our project because he thinks it's pimp. Finally, someone that appreciates my hardwork and takes notice. (Besides Amy of course - she always notices)

Ten page paper due on Friday concerning the social impacts of gambling (thanks to those who filled out a survey), and of course the NU activity day also on Friday. I will be working the rock-climbing wall all day Friday, maybe get a few climbs in myself too, who knows. Other than that, my day is definately better than the past few weeks. Stress levels are decreasing and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It still seems weird that I only have one semester of classes left and then an internship. I feel like I have been in school forrrrrreevvvvvvvvverrrrrrrr (Five years), but I am almost to the finish line. Okay, time to get back to work. I LOVE MY JOB, I LOVE MY JOB, I LOVE MY JOB

TTFN

I had the honor of doing tech inspection for the regional BMX races in Waterloo on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Eight hours of my life to help our local youth enjoy themselves in a safe environment away from drugs, guns, and traffic. I actually had a really good time doing it too. Amy went with me on Friday afternoon to check things out and see all of the bling-bling BMX bikes. Friday was fairly slow as far as inspections go, maybe 30-35 bikes total. Helped out the younger ones with adjustments to brakes, stems, handle bars, and truing wheels. Most of them are really good kids who are just having fun spending their parents' money. Good for them!

Saturday was a bit busier, probably around 70-80 bikes went through inspection with the various adjustments here and there. One of the younger kids (5 or 6) had a loose pedal and I tightened that up for him. Of course his father could have sworn that he had taken care of everything and there was no way that there was a loose pedal on that bike. Yea, right. If it wasn't loose then I would not have been able to take it off with my fingers. This is your kids safety we're talking about here! Get a clue. 99% of the people that I talked to were cool though, one idiot out of the group that I had to deal with isn't bad. Other adjustments included truing wheels, adjusting cleats on shoes, adjusting pedal tension, zip-ties for number plates, and even adjusted one headset that was a bit loose. Speaking of loose headsets...Kerkove told me today that there a BMXican in the shop on Saturday afternoon that needed his headset tightened. Kerkove told him that I was down at the track and could have taken care of that for him. This person then told Kerkove that he knew that I was down at the track, but......he doesn't trust me. Doesn't trust me !!!!!!!!???? What the heck??? That hurts. I was told this almost two hours ago and it is still driving me crazy. I can make adjustments to high-end road bikes right in front of the owner and they never complain. Not that I know of anyway. Maybe the do and the guys just don't tell me. I am going to give myself a complex here. I belay people on the climbing wall at UNI. These people are 35+ feet off the ground. If I screw up they could DIE! These people have never stated that they want someone else to belay them because they don't trust me, so what is it, I don't understand. Did he think that I was going to hurt his precious little bike that his parents paid for anyway? I treat every bike that I touch the same way. I don't anyone to get hurt on that bike and I don't want to damage that bike either. ARGGHHHHHHH!!! To think that I was actually contemplating purchasing a BMX bike for myself to join in their festivities...well I no longer have the desire to join the dark side. I thank the little non-trusted BMXican, I can now spend my time and money elsewhere...maybe another mountain bike or something. At least my boy Whizbang charged that ungrateful little BMXican for the labor for the headset adjustment...of course at the track it would have been FREE! Serves him right. not trusted?

I need to go climbing and clear up my mind. Maybe I will go TRUST somebody else with my LIFE later tonight.

Finally Friday. It's been a long week, I don't know why, it just has. I feel completely drained from work and school so I need a relaxing weekend. However, the relaxation will have to wait until Saturday afternoon. I have the honor of donig tech inspections for the BMXicans tonight and tomorrow morning for the Midwest Regional Races in Waterloo. Should be a good time, most of these guys and gals are pretty cool.

A. Lo. and I had really good time working at the shop last night. We received around 20 mountain bikes and hybrid bikes so their is plenty to do, for the time being anyway. Of course, employee of the month (doo, doo, DOOOOOO!!) A. Lo. was selling bikes and ski packages like mad last night so I was only able to assemble three bikes between installing lights and locks on a bike and bindings on skis. I did make sure to assemble the good looking bikes at least. Black 1000c, Orange/Charcoal 4300 and Green/Charcoal 3700. It's always a good time working with A. Lo. at the shop, he has more than enough focus in his life to carry on an intelligent conversation without it losing interest. That's more than can be said for the majority of conversations during most of my days. (Jared and Ed know what I mean - don't you). Like a dumbass, I forgot my keys at work last night and had to call A. Lo. to come back and let me back into the shop. I owe you one A. Lo.!

Anyway, the whole Trans-Iowa race is already full. That only took about a day and a half. Kerkove could have probably doubled the size of the field and still filled it pretty quick. Hopefully this race goes well and it can become an annual event. We all know that Iowa could use a few annual races, especially early in the season.

That should be enough links to keep you busy for a little while.
-Peace

Well I have either done the supidest thing ever, or I just signed up for the greatest event in the history of Iowa. That's right folks...I have made the entry list. (I'm number 15 by the way) If you have been living under a rock for the last three weeks, check out the details for Trans-Iowa . I like to refer to it as T.I.G.G.E.R. That's T - I - Double Gu - Errrr. Trans Iowa Gravel Grinder Endurance Race. It should be a good time for all.

Okay, back to work

I have been the happy owner of the XTC for about a week now, enough time to get a couple of short rides in. Mostly just making adjustments and fine tuning the little things. I figure the closer that I can get the setup to match the Fuel the better. I like the ride of the XTC quite a bit so far and it definitely has the bling-bling factor going for it. The previous owner was a little anal about the maintenance; not that it's a bad thing, many of us could learn a thing or two about our own bike maintenance habits from his maintenance schedule.



(Photo pirated from Mr. 24 himself)

Last day of class was today, now to prepare for final test and paper due next week. Meeting tonight to prepare for Winter Special Olympics in Dubuque in January. Five class meetings, three days in Dubuque in January, and two credit hours. Not a bad deal if you ask me. Should be a pretty good time and I may actually get a chance to go snowboarding while I'm there. That's another one of those hobbies that seems to consume a lot of $$$$, so it will probably never grow to the same level of importance as my mountain bikes have. Technically speaking, the money used to pay for the XTC was actually intended to pay for snowboard equipment, btu I never received the pricing information that I requested. Oh well, maybe next year.

My brother called from AZ last night to inform me that he has started tattooing his friends. He did two if them so far and the pictures should be up this week. He sounded really excited about it so he must enjoy it at the parlor. Sounds like the guys that he works with are pretty cool. Their work has got to be some of the best that I have ever seen. Make sure you check out the website from my links. Say10

That's all for now.

It’s been pretty hectic around here for the last couple of days. Had a class presentation and a seven page paper due yesterday, so it’s a relief that those are over and done with. I have one final on Monday (13th) and a ten page paper due on Friday (17th). So I can definately see the light at the end of the tunnel. I also started the process to get all of the graduation stuff going so that I can walk across the stage in May. It still kind of feels weird right now, going to school everyday seems to be ‘normal’ for me anymore. What will I do with all of my extra time? Ride my bikes of course - duh.

I attended the final meeting for the NU activity day last night. One of the local high schools (ran by the Unifersity) lets all of their Jr. high and Sr. high school students go over to the UNI recreation center for the day (Friday the 17th) to burn off some steam at the end of the semester. They can use the basketball courts, racquetball courts, swimming pool, and rockclimbing wall. Being the nice guy that I am, I volunteered to work at the climbing wall belaying all of the polite little children while they climb. I receive credit towards my major for volunteering for events like this, so it’s worth it. We also get a t-shirt and free pizza.

I had a flat tyre on the Exploder on Sunday morning. Thankfully it was still in my garage so it was easy to put the spare on - air compressor + impact wrench = NASCRAP pit crew style. Didn’t take to long to put the spare on and then Amy took the Exploder out andput on four brand new tyres. Went with Michelin tires this time. Less aggressive tread pattern, smoother ride, and considerably quieter on the road. Should work out quite well.

I finally hit rock bottom in terms of my patience with WINDOWS© ME on my desktop computer at home. I upgraded that to WINDOWS© XP last night and there is already a noticeable improvement. Why it took me so long to upgrade I will never know. (Yes Kerkove, I know, buy a Mac - maybe next time - when I make your money) WINDOWS© ME has got to be one of the worst operating systems ever created. Proof that corporate profit is more important than quality product.

Okay, that’s enough complaining - for now.

Auf Wiedersehen

P.S. - I’m not on crack, I’m high on life.

Wow!! We have actually been pretty busy at the shop today. It almost feels like summer type traffic in here again. The bonus is that almost every person that walks in the door is actually spending money. Definately makes the day go by a lot faster. Funny thing is that most of them are obviously shopping for somebody else because they have no idea what they are talking about. -"My 9 year old son needs a bike with a 20" frame." After you show them a 20" frame, they realize that they haven't got a clue. 20" wheels folks, 20" wheels.

I was shown how to mount bindings for XC skis today so that will my new job until we run out of skis (a little snow would help right about now). Dirtram, you would be proud. I believe that we have sold at least four ski packages today so I am actually getting a little bit of practice mounting too. I might actually remember how to do this for more than just a couple of days.

I was able to ride the XTC in today. I think it will work out just fine after a couple of small adjustments. Jeff and I use almost the exact same setup on our bikes so it will not take very long to adjust. Smooth ride though.

Completed one of my two projects for school this morning with a group presentation. Everything went really well and I believe that everyone in my group should receive an 'A' for their part. This is a huge relief from my stress levels lately. All I have left is a seven page paper for Monday and a ten page paper for Dec.17 for one of my classes and a final test on Dec. 13 for the other one. Shouldn't be too bad at all.

I received an e-mail from brother in Arizona the other day. He sent me some pics of Darth Vader's, C-3PO's, and R2-D2's foot prints in the concrete in L.A. Pretty sweet if I do say so myself. I also received a picture of a pink H2...how cool is that? I NEED one of those to haul my bikes to the races. It would go well with my new pink Chris King headset.



Went to the shop last night to talk to A. Lo. about some school stuff and heard a lot about the boss man's "history". wow!!! I cannot get into details due to my knowing that some younger people may be reading this. Kerkove informed me that the XTC will be ready for pick-up today...I know that I told him that I was in no hurry...but I am very excited about acquire this new piece of equipment. This bike has been all over the country, has been in some really cool races, and it has been meticulously maintained by Mr. 24 himself. How could any MTNBIKR not be excited?

Okay, I have to get back to work at my real job now.

-Peace.

I received this in an e-mail froma friend of mine I think that it is absolutely hilarious.

The following is supposedly an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different Religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you, and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct... leaving only Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."


THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY ‘A’


Is it a true story? Who cares, it's funny.