April showers bring May ?

May goals, that is what April showers bring! Here is what is happening before my birthday:
-finish the Book of Mormon
-loose 5lbs or 1" from my waist
-use only cloth bags from home at the grocery store, plastic is "no mas"
-not buy or consume any "snacks" other than what I have right now
-start my Spanish class at Language Door on May 5th

That is it. =)

May Day

Hooray, let's celebrate the fall of Commnunism!! Where is my Mao hat with the red star? Or my green army jacket with the old West Germany flag on it? Heck, there is no USSR even anymore.....Come on Cuba, get with the program!!

5lbs too much

So being told to gain weight, high doses of steriods, eating everything with no thought and sitting around jobless for months have made all of my pants toooooo tight in the waist.

As Bugs Bunny would say, "Of course you know, this means war."

Now I need to loose about 5lbs of fat from around my middle section. How best to do it?? Look to the right and vote in the poll!! I'll take whatever help and direction I can get.

This is how I looked the end of 2005, so I should be able to get back to this:

EC

Climbing last year out in El Cajon

Colusa

This is what happens when you go to a small town....

Whatchu talkin bout Willis?!?!?!

"Due to the increased liabilty to your personal safety, you are not allowed to ride a motorcycle while on official county or state business. You may ride from your residence to your office and back, but not out on inspections or other official business away from the office."

What a huge frowny face this gave me!!! I was all set to get a different motorcycle to commute on, and this totally shoots that down.....

Headline of the Weak

"Hillary Duff, Edgier than you Think"

HA, ha, HA and double HA!!

To me the grass is not greener

I think I am one of the few who do not think the grass is greener on the other side. I will take having Crohns disease over things like diabetes, cancer, asthma or any other thing that many more people deal with on a day to day basis that affects their health. I am happy with the jobs I have had and the house I live in. I just don't really want what someone else has.

Really the only area I would change with someone right now is living with my family in a different country, an experience I feel would be priceless.

3,2,1 Action

In the past two weeks I have seen 3 documentaries that I really enjoyed. The first was Bra Boys about an Australian surf "gang" or family in a downtrodden ghetto area and the travails of that life and in one case, an eventual triumph of sorts. The cinematography was nothing special, but Russel Crowe's narration and the story are compelling. Two thumbs up.

Second was 199 Lives, a biopic about Travis Pastrana. I guess not truly a documentary, but it wasn't Superhero Movie either! The guy is amazing in his tolerance for pain, concussions and danger. No matter how much he calculates the worth of the risks. You definitely see how "nurture" played a part in his life. Two thumbs up as well, even if they are bandaged.

Finally, the documentary of the Helvetica typeface, titled what else but Helvetica. Never did I learn soo much about Modernism, advertising, fonts and the impact they have on design, culture, corporations, art and society. This is a fun one to watch just to get to know all the players and see their unique umm... personalities. Two thumbs up.
Come on people, it is 2008. Use Netflix or go to an independent theater. You don't have to watch Hollywood's crap if you don't want to!!

MAXimum fun

The list for this week, +'s and -'s

-'s
.My motorcycle is still at Graves Motorsports almost 3 weeks after I brought it there, when they originally said it would take one week. This is too much time to just get a free slip-on exhaust.

.The rental car place didn't update quick enough for the online reservation I made and didn't have the vehicle I requested and had to drive me across town to take me to an outlet that did.

.The furniture place I rented the truck for did not have my bookcase ready a SECOND time as promised. PB Home and Garden on the East end of Garnett. I have had good luck before buying furniture there, but this is erasing those memories quickly from my mind.

.I am now up to 140lbs all the time, so this habit I have of stuffing my face needs to be moderated. So now I get to learn what everyone else has to do in disciplining my food intake, which I have never had to do before.

+'s
.I start my new job tomorrow, Friday, so finally some action and less sitting around the house. I need the challenge!

.I am going to the Travis Pastrana biopic, 199 Lives, tonight.

.It is sunny and nice outside.

.M is visiting this weekend.

So there you go, the good and bad for this week. In the month of May we are going to experiment on not using any store provided shopping bags. And hopefully I get my freaking motorcycle back by then!!

My new cell #

I finally have a SD cell number now after living here 3 years. My old number was a 209 area code...Yeah, so I am about 4 years too late in changing it. Oh well. If you want the new number, all you have to do is ask. Not even nicely if you don't feel like it.

E F F E C T

You, yes you, the one in dreads blazing one up and listening to RATM. You are not a revolutionary. Hey you, girl who only eats organic, doesn't own a car and has a "feisty" haircut, you are not a revolutionary but getting closer. You are the fringe, an unoriginal byproduct of a 40 year old failed social experiment.

A real revolutionary you will never see. The modern revolutionary is as stealth as a F-22 fighter jet.

A real guerrilla, an effective revolutionary is one who you can't spot just by looks, music taste, trendy haircut or any other trivial consumer choice supposedly defining 'who you are and what you stand for.' A tshirt does not a revolutionary make. The college drop out working as a cashier at Whole Foods will never be an effect on anything other than "paper or plastic?"

To be a true revolutionary you have to make changes from within the system. The one all the pseudo revolutionaries rail against and want nothing to do with.

Take what you care about, stay true to your ideals, realize what is really wrong and think of how to fix it. Don't protest and remove yourself from society. Go stealth, sneak into your enemy's camp and destroy it from within.

Be a strong person, someone with goals, like a disciplined soldier, the person who makes things happen. The person within the established power structure that can make subtle changes, be there at the decision making node. That person will be an EFFECT.

would ya believe....

I just am not really into surfing anymore....can I still say I live in San Diego??

I feel like Spiderman in this wetsuit....

Moto Xgames

Self Portrait Saturday
Navy Moto Xgames in San Diego

2nd person ever!! double backflip

San Diego Navy Moto Xgames
oh yeah, I filmed that!

Part of my childhood gone.....

The announcement of the closure of commercial and sport fisheries for Chinook salmon of Northern California and most of Oregon ends a chapter of my childhood.

One of my grandparents had a second home in Brookings Oregon and each year we would go out on a charter or his Boston Whaler and go salmon fishing. It was a great time and I have a bit of nostalgia for it.

So it saddens me to see what has happen ecologically with this species in that area.
I'm glad my grandpa didn't live to see this day...he would be PO-ed. And probably go out and do it anyways!!! Hahaha

Analyst and a Therapist

for KD-

Life Is Art

just some pics i took

around the yard and such

it was sunny and i felt like being outside

i think they are pretty...

Supermoto Saturday

There is a big supermoto race at Jack Murp... I mean Qualcomm stadium this Saturday. It starts at 1130, for the supermoto race that is.

Come on, you know you've watched this on TV on the X-Games, why not see it in real life??

I am going, are you?!?!?!?!??!

Olympic sponsors to avoid

During the time frame the games are being held, I am going to do all I can to avoid doing any business at all with these companies.
This list is taken directly from the official Chinese website of the 2008 games:
http://en.beijing2008.cn/bocog/sponsors/sponsors/

This will not be easy for me, or for you. A number of the companies on this list provide products I regularly use. Note I don't care where they are made, that is a different battle. Make a list of these companies, carry it with you and make a conscious decision not to buy anything from them or use their services while the games are going.

So, while the games are going, please don't give any business at all to these companies (with alternatives):
Coca-Cola (drink water, or pepsi)
GE (philips or siemens)
McDonalds (don't eat any fast food)
Johnson&Johnson (P&G)
Kodak (digital anything else)
Volkswagen (whom I have a lifetime boycott against)
Adidas (go a month without buying shoes)
Panasonic (Sony)
Visa (ease your consumer debt. if a debit card, use cash instead)
UPS (DHL or FedEx)
Samsung (Sony)
Omega (Rolex or Tag Heur)
Snickers (Hot Tamales)
Staples (Office Max or Kinkos)

Hot Wheeeeeellls

Two of the trikes are completed!! They were both tested on the small hill, and the red metal one made it down the big hill.

These races are going to be fun!!

Laff Olympics B-day party

I laugh like Muttley does. So that got me to thinking.....

Last year I was in Iraq for my birthday. What's the big deal you say? Well, in order of how much I like them, my birthday is my favorite holiday. If I were to rank the top ones for me it would go like this:
1. Birthday
2. 4th of July
3. Thanksgiving
4. Easter
So I really like doing stuff for my birthday and Xmas could just disappear as far as I am concerned.

My plans are to have some sort of Rowdy-style Laff Olympics the weekend before my birthday, which is May 21 if you didn't know already....

So far I think we will have
-a bouldering contest (i will set the routes, whomever does the hardest one, quickest wins)
-a water balloon toss (couple/team/duo that can toss the farthest and catch an intact water balloon wins)
-egg race (you hold an egg in a spoon and run to a point and back. first one back with an intact egg wins)
-the broom game (a horrible dizzy game. ugh, makes me nauseous thinking about it. I don't know how to pick a "winner" of this...)
-Big Wheel race (this will be the grand finale!! I am buying those old school big wheels like you had as a kid in the 80's and we are gonna race them down the hill that is our driveway!!!!!)

I am thinking of having In-N-Out Burgers as the 'catered' food, angle food cake will be my b-day cake and instead of presents people will bring gifts that will then be used as prizes for the games.

Sound fun?

Hashish

Remember that time I was in Morocco with the guys smoking hash,they were I wasn't, in a literal hole in a wall, wearing my PLO scarf and no one knew where I was? In honor of that crazy time, here are some pics from the Morocco trip in 2006.
Cab ride from the airport to Marakesch

in the souk

kids playing soccer who gave me high 5's as I walked by

yeah, this is the way to our riad. not scary at all...

up in the Atlas mountains

190bpm

I know it's Sunday, but I am required to have a physical for my new job, part of which is a treadmill test. So D and I decided to run up Cowles Mnt and down the back side and then around to the car.

Cue the laugh from the Simpson's kid Nelson, "Ha Haah."

We made it about half way before cutting down the back side and then running on the road back to the car. At one point my heart rate monitor showed me over 190bpm!!

The normal runs during the week of around 3 miles just don't quite prepare you to run up a real hill......

One hour and one minute of running,jogging and walking. And I still weighed 137lbs.

wr250x exhaust update

So here is the latest news. Graves Sport says the carbon fiber muffler is flowing well, so well they need to remap my AF mixture and such. Ah, the fun of fuel injection and tuning.

So, I should have a carbon fiber muffler and remapped ignition from Graves sometime next week. I helped with development, so I am getting this "gratis", as they would say in Mexico.

Pics as soon as my bike is back in my hands!!!

List for the week 4/1/2008

Things I have won/earned a trophy or medal for:
-Most Improved, Troxel's Football Camp as a kid
-Faith in God award from church
-3rd Place, District Pinewood Derby races in Boy Scouts
-Eagle Scout
-2nd Place, Oregon State Jiu-Jitsu Games in my weight class
-2nd Place, Oregon State Judo Championship in my weight class
-Finisher medal, Mt Shasta 4th of July fun run, 5 miles
-2nd Place, California State Grappling Games in weight class
-2nd Place, San Diego Region G-stock autocross, in novice

What this tells me is that of all the things I have done competitively, martial arts was the only thing I did pretty good at. Wrestling in junior high I did poorly, tennis in high school I was JV all 3 years, mountain bike racing I finished and did well but was never fast,autocross (car racing) was always on sunday so I never could string a good season together. Excuses I know.
Guess I should start MMA/Jiu-Jitsu back up again...

Huh??

Mom for life is right! Goodness. Most women whine and complain the last trimester that all they want to do is, "get it out", and yet many of them turn around and spend money just to strap the kid right back to themselves!!

I don't understand it.....Looks like this woman wants to carry her kid until it can go to pre-school...

The caption for this photo should read, "Look baby, how quaint, a kid that can walk by himself. Poor thing, you just stay right here with momma." She probably already has one of those horrible leashes just ready and waiting....

Prison Break

Shaved short wins. I know it was a tie, but I am the final judge. Consider it a study in Executive Power.

Before.

After.

If Rome were built in a day.....

...I would have hired their contractors.

Isn't that soo true. NNOOOOWWW this guy's air compressor is broke, so another delay. The earth might as well have stopped turning. Goodness.

From one week as originally bid to now a month. I wish I could have made delays like that at any job I had.

At least it looks nice and will look even better when totally done.


In other "time" news, I only have about one more week of vacation freedom. The finger pritning and background stuff for my job takes 3-5 business days and then I have to have a physical. So easily a week and a half until I start the new job. Too bad my motorcycle is getting stuff done to it, or I would be at the track today!!

Health Update

I have had the 0,2 and now 6 week infusions of Remicade with no ill effects. Well, if you don't count the totally incompetent Kaiser nurses who can't start an IV worth a dang!! Other than that, it is just a 3 hour nap and reading session for me.

I am tapering off the Prednisone as well with no ill effects. I cant wait for the side effects from it to decrease. I am tired of the acne, water weight and round 'moon face' I have from it. Yuck!!

I am also consistently over 135lbs now for at least a week. That is good. Now I need to dial back my food consumption and just stay there, or else I will just start gaining fat. No thank you, that is not the Rowdy way.

All in all, I would say I am 90% of my normal self in all ways. So that is great!!

Thank you God! And all who helped me!