Christmas Thoughts :Advent 1st week

the question of the day.   Have you finished your holiday shopping? 

well I listened to this on NPR (My favorite radio staion of all time.) this morning.     and got this little nugget on the way to work.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6580388
Morning Edition, December 5, 2006 · Officials from St. Albans, W. Va., wanted to avoid a conflict over separation of Church and state. So they banned the baby Jesus from a Nativity scene in a public park. The manger included shepherds, camels, and a guiding star, but not Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Then the complaints starting pouring in and officials relented. Call it a victory for popular opinion.


it makes me happy for that little town, and for the Nativity characters who will be together again after a hiatus.  I was about to start singing "don't they know its christmas time at all'  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_They_Know_It's_Christmas
(talk to my friend Heather about how much she dislikes this song. )


i am really excited for Christmas this year.  I have put up the 4 foot christmas tree, ( Oh wee  tenenbaum, Oh wee little tenenbaum, how lovely are your branches...  ) whats great about a four foot tree is well, that it's four foot tall.  its small and sits the front picture window.  its small, that means it takes about 45 minutes to decorate.   Growing up we had a full size artificial tree that took a whole saturday afternoon to install.  tree, lights, ornaments, more ornaments, tinsel, ornaments that were hiding in a box behind the sleeping bags on the shelf and finally the star.  Well it was a plastic star, but then my Grandma made, or bought, I can't remember, a macrame angel that stands looking out over the Mailand living room.   a labor of love, torture holiday style. 


But i am getting ahead of myself.  its still only the first week of Advent.  there is much waiting, much much more waiting to take place.  Waiting for what we know will enevitably happen.  waiting for what we know happens every year.  The Shepherds hear of the news,  then the wise men, then Herod, and on and on and on.  things fall into place.  right on time, whether we are ready or not.  They came to worship and not to expect holiday gifts.  they worshiped Jesus, the God who was now among us.  Its good to anticipate, its good to wait, and to prepare, and to sing, and to come to the nativity scene and see for yourself what is about to take place and to, look and touch, and to,  oh its almost here, are you ready?



we will be meeting this sunday night at 5:00 pm at my house for dinner.  please send me an email with your suggestions.  Camy will be bringing a 'special'  gooey carmel nut pie.
Hope you can make it.  please let me know in advance if possible so that I know to expect you.

take care,  Joel

Bagpiper

the Bagpiper was out again yesterday at the parking garage in Tuckwila.  I had to stop and listen. 

Biking home from work

twice, on separate days as I was riding home from work I passed a parking garage in Tuckwila, near the Boeing plant, and heard bagpipes.  Its a great thing to ride by and hear the distinct reedy sound echoing through the caverns of a cement building.  I was so amused I stopped and turned in, biked up to the second floor and stood to listen.  Its an odd feeling to hear bag pipes.  there is a shakespeare quote about bag pipes that I cannot remember completely right now.  something like, 'what makes women swoon to their lovers arms more, than a guy playing music on a goat's stomach.'   the rest of the ride I was wonderful.  Hmming Scotland the Brave to myself.

worst day-  two flat tires, a bee sting, and almost hitting a bunny.

I got to my car tonigt, put my bike in the back and thanked God for another successful ride.  (in other words; I did not get hit, honked at, or grazed)
I got to a stoplight to turn on to the highway.  a boy on a bike was on the sidewalk next to me.  he was crossing the road to go straight.  the light turned green the crosswalk lit up for him.  He went and I almost turned into him.  He pointed to the walk sign and looked at me.  I gave him a sheepish/ guilty look.  the kind that says,  I know, its your turn.  I'm a biker, I know what you mean, I am with you.
But I was not because i was in the car, just ready to make a turn and not thinking about anyone but myself and where I need to go. 
It's the arrogant car attitude colliding with my bikers rights experiences.  its an odd intersection of thought to be at.  and an uncomfortable place if you just did what I did.  Bikers live in the strip of road between the dirt shoulder and the fog line.    I know exactly what I did.  this time I am the villian.  This kid was the victim of my bad driving. 

the lesson is learned.  Be Aware as a driver AND a biker.  be understanding of mistakes.  and Pay Attention!



It reminds me of a story about a guy who owed a debt.  it was much more than he could every pay back.  the debtor came to collect and he pleaded with him to give him time, and he would repay in full.  given a respite the man in turn went off and looked for a man who owed HIM money.  it was a small amount but an amount nevertheless.  The man approached asking for his money back.  the man who owed the debt could not pay but said that he would payback in full.  the first man.  At this the he beat up the man who owed him money.    News of this reached the debtor whom was owed a lot of money.  he called for the man and asked him to account for his actions.  Without further delay he threw the man in jail because of his actions. 

Lik-m-Aid

ok so I have a sweet tooth. I have had it since I was a kid.  we would bike down to Westlake Drugstore and buy dime candy.  Suckers, sweet tarts, chocolate, and my personal favorite- Bottle Caps.  remember those?  disks the size of two stacked nickels and shaped like, well, a bottle cap.  rootbeer, cherry, orange, cola.  ah  yummy.  and then there was Lik-m-Aid.  this stuff was looked kool-aid mix with a sugar stick.  you get the whole process going by wetting down the stick and dipping it into the sugar pouch.  I think the powder was actually all left over from pixi-stix production runs.  they would sweep it up pour it back into the hopper and put it in these little paper envelopes.) anyway, the sugar is then transferred to your mouth and viola!  what better way to a quick sugar high for a 12 year old?   of course these things were darn messy, and inevitably you would be left with more powder than the two sugar sticks provided.  (of course the solution was to tilt your head back and dump the remaining stuff in your mouth.  hoping not to laugh so hard that it came up out your nose, or down in your lungs, which is a huge problem,  until it is all disolved and could challenge jesse owens to a foot race. ) 
So my hankerin for something sweet and nothing to satisfiy led me to this really bad substitution.
In my attempts to recreate this I have found a way to do this using things found at your local Starbucks.

heres what you need. 
1 packet of Raw Sugar.
a wooden stir stick

instructions:
basically its the same deal - Lick, dip, lick dip. 
crunch. crunch crunch.
the raw sugar is in a natural brown paper wrapper
its called 'Sugar in the Raw"  i recommend it b/c of its texture and its crunchy.  it definitely has some appeal
I don't recommend the pink packets, or the yellow packets, unless you are on a diet, or just strange.  (its not sugar, people!)


ahh  it almost brings me back to my childhood

I will include a picture of this whole thing below.

enjoy.

Saturaday's Ride

Ride from Eatonville, Wa to Longmire, Wa.

This morning i woke up feeling a little more refreshed from the ride up to Mt Rainiers Ranger station at Longmire.  Saturday hit 94 degrees in the middle of the day as I struggled back to my car. 

 

here are the stats

 

67.16 miles

4:00:04 hours

16.7 avg

32 Max

 

one greasy cheeseburger, side of fries and a Pepsi

one double scoop Cookie Dough waffle cone

five bottles of water ( some drank others applied to surface area on arms head and legs)

 

the canopy in Mt Rainier offered some respite from the heat,  and the elevation also added to cooler temperatures, but there was no avoiding the last 10 miles as I struggled in 94 deg heat, at 2 PM.

to my advantage it was all down hill, except for one section which i have named "One More Hill" 

a desparate climb away from the lake between Alder  and Elbe  left me withered.

 

this was a day of challenges.

I left an elevation of 820 ft at eatonville

and reached 2764 ft elevation at longmire

 

thats all for now

This weekends Totals

after riding three consecutive days this weekend

Friday, Saturday, Sunday my bike computer has this to say

 

133.27 Miles

8:16:52 hours

16 mph avg

46 mph top speed

 

looking forward to a rest day tomorrow.

Courage classic is Aug 5 - 7

20 days away

 

 

 

Joel is requesting your support in the Courage Classic 2006

Hello,

On August 5-7  I will be participating in the Courage Classic Bicycle Tour. As an event participant, together we are helping to stop the cycle of child abuse and neglect in our communities by supporting the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and the Children's Trust Foundation by raising money through pledges and donations.  This is a three day ride over three major mountain passes in Washington State, totaling 172 miles

 

I encourage you to make a donation, and would really welcome your support. Your tax-deductible contribution will help will ensure that the children in our communities and their families will never be turned away from the help they might need in the case of sexual or physical abuse.

 

Please take a moment to sponsor me and the team I am riding with. It's really easy - you can donate online by credit card and receive a record of your donation.   Here's the page:

 

http://www.firstgiving.com/joelmailand

 

All donations are secure and sent directly to Mary Bridge Children's Foundation.  Please join me in supporting Mary Bridge Children's Foundation and a fabulous cause!

 

Thanks for your support,

 

Joel and teammates Bob, Theresa, Ron, Mike

Murray Lawn mower for hire

The lawn mower that I wrote about a few weeks ago runs just fine. a new spark plug, air filter, oil change, hose washing, and blade sharpening has turned it into a perfectly fine mower. I did end up removing the throttle cable as the handle part is cracked and no longer pushes or pulls the cable through the housing.

Sunday afternoon ride

It was a beautiful sunny day here in Puyallup.  this afternoon I got out and took a ride on my bike.  I mapped out a loop that took me through the mid county out to Graham to my g/f's parents house, down into the Orting valley along the trail to Puyallup and back home up South Hill.  Everything was great until I ran over a Snapple bottle shard and punctured the side wall and inner tube of my rear tire.  I sat on the sidewalk in the shade contemplating how to fix it, and taking in the days ride.  fixing a side wall tear is a crap shoot.  I figured there are a few ways to go about it all, needed to get me home.  luckily I was only about 2 miles from home when it happened.  So I considered walking.  the upside of this plan, yes upside, is that requires a walk up the hill,  pretty much all the way home.  Not very appealing, especially because I don't like walking my bike, I don't like being seen walking a bike, and walking a bike up a hill on first glance gives passing drivers the impression that I can't make it up the hill.
"Look Ethel. All that spandex and funny colored shirt and he can't tackle a hill.   must be a poser.  Back in my day we used to ride to school on all steel a Schwinn Stingray, with my four sisters and brother hanging on.  four feet of snow.... 
and we liked it."  

ah the days of yesteryear.  I remember taking a look at the bicycle parked in my Grandma's shed.  it had to be about 50 years old.  heavy, solid, and built to put a German Panzer to shame.  of course along with that came the knowledge that anything you would run over there would be no blow out.  glass, metal, tacks, nails, potholes, M-80's.  it was rusty and the chain was dry as Utah, by the time we saw it. but it had charachter and it was built to last.

Of course we now sacrifice durabiliity for speed, responsiveness, agility, flex, rigidity.  all words that bike owners use to define and describe the feel of a bike.
I have an old Schwinn Traveller III that I bought from the Salvation Army store a few months ago.  I stripped it down and rebuilt it from the hubs up.  everything remained stock, including the fading decals, and worn powder blue paint job.  it too is a heavy weight.  The guys I talk to say they used to have a bike like that, or remember having a schwinn back in college.  The one gentleman I spoke to says he favors the lighter components, and technology. 
Biking has come a long way.  If you have an old bike I suggest that you pick it out of the junk sitting in the front of your garage, or out of the cellar, dust it off and take it for a spin.  that is if it spins at all...  clean it up and ride it around the block, if for the sole reason of a comparison, a technology taste test. 
(I don't recommend doing a double blind survey though)  and see what you have been missing, and what you have not been missing.  Oh and don't forget to just enjoy the ride, you may find that it takes you places you have not been in a long time.

New Project: It will take a miracle...

I found a lawn mower for free on craigslist yesterday. after talking to the guy on the phone, I found out he was giving away a briggs and stratton 5hp Murry push mower. He told me that the engine had siezed, he was moving and needed to get rid of it. I drove over after work to look at it, after looking, I rolled it to the back of my station wagon and hoisted it in.

Man, this thing is going to need a lot of work. It was sitting by the side of his garage, the handle folded up and bag sitting beside damp and in a puddle. I brought it home, unloaded it. looked at and have made a 15 minute assessment, on where it is at and what needs to be done. I don't know if it will run or not, and if it does how well. bare metal parts such as screws and bolts show some rust from exposure to the outside elements. The first action I took was to check the oil. the dipstick showed a clear brown colour and showed to be slippery. At least it has oil and it is not coal black. Next I checked the gas tank. bone dry. I think I saw spiders inside getting high of the remaining surface odors. He said it has been sitting for about 2 years, so I guess that may explain some things.
after changing clothes I went back out to the garage, lifted the handle and straighten it out. I did not dare pull the rip cord. Its siezed, we all know that. My next probing went to the air filter. hmm fairly clean for a lawn mower that has been sitting for so long. a black layer of crud has formed on the bottom of the filter case. also below it on the blade deck a thick sludge of goo resides there that matches. Oil? Gas? Grass? Water? all three I suspect. a lovely concoction. How did it get there, and why is it there? I inspect both sides of the filter to find dry dust and spider webs on one side, and an oily film around the rubber seal on the other side. looks typical enough. Not much sign of abuse, which is good. next I pull off the plastic case surrounding the flywheel. lots more dust, and some signs of rust on the sheet metal parts surrounding the cylinder. not a good sign but still a workable engine. The spark plug comes off with a pair of locking pliers since I don't have a socket that fits. the tip is black, and a little oily. I don't know what this means.
Finally I play with the blade deck. there is a lot of goo around the engine on top, a leak somewhere maybe? but he says all that is wrong is that it has siezed.
its just dirty and needs to be cleaned up, and it shows. The wheels, the flip out side chute and the case all are in need of a bath. I pull off the protective case of the drive train. This thing has power assist! Sweet! maybe I'll turn it into a go-Kart. the belt is crusty and it slips past the drive shaft. hmm. it looks useable though. I bet I can make it do at least 8 MPH.
Time to flip it over and inspect the buisness side of things. ah the bottom side of a lawn mower, the smell of fresh cut blades of grass, a green pulp that coats the inside is like Cud from a dairy cow. Here though is some rust, a little red paint and moldy black silage. the blade is actually kind of sharp, rusty but sharp. An attempt to turn it reveals something. I hear the sound of a bilage pump and water and gas issue from the exhaust pipe onto the driveway. Its clear that that I am the proud owner of a mower with an identity crisis. more turning back and forth, more compression sounds and water on the pavement. Oh lawn mower tell me about your past life, who or what brought you to this?
I flip the mower back on four wheels and remove the exhaust pipe. draining it of all its contents I look at the mower. It has potential. I just need to clean it up a bit. I am really excited to see if I can get it running. If I do, maybe I will but some flames on it, and some ground effects, or hydrolics and a rear spoiler.
that would be sweet.

I put everything back in its place and rolled it to the side of my car. this project will have to wait. I am hungry and want to eat. a pan of lasagna is waiting for me.

till next time.... Joel

Bike to Work Day - Friday May 19th

I biked to work this past Friday. I have biking to work about three times a
week now for the past month. After putting on a few hundred miles, here are
some of my reflections about biking to work, the specific day of the event
and my goal.
It is wonderful to be able to ride to work. I get a two hour exercise,
fresh air and save money not driving (not to mention my sanity). I have to
say that last benefit is the best reward. I remember commuting to work a
few years ago in St Louis; I-270 can be awful any way you look at it. I
remember countless hours sitting in the car listening to traffic reports,
wanting to take a nap, read the paper or do something other than sit behind
the wheel. I still have an awfully long commute but at least I can do
something I enjoy getting there.

This past Friday I hoped on the Train expecting tons of bikes and people
wearing spandex. Not so. It was just another typical train commute with
the usual crowd. I hopped off in Seattle and made my way towards the I-90
Bridge. At the end of the pedestrian tunnel overlooking lake Washington, I
was greeted by volunteers behind a table and three industrial sized coffee
warmers. Like the ones at hotels and convention centers. Ah sweet land of
coffee and computers! I like Seattle! I tanked up and watched bikers
struggle up from the floating bridge to higher ground. I was impressed by
the view; I usually blow past, and don't spend the time admiring it.
What a nice partly cloudy, cool day, perfect for biking.
I entered to win a bike, talked to a few people, filled my tires and was on
my way.
At the other end of the trail in Bellevue, low and behold another volunteer
stand, and more coffee! Yea I wish this were an everyday occurrence. Maybe
there is a market for trail side coffee vendors. Anyway, I got to work, sat
down to check email and no less than five minutes later, my rear tire
deflated. Like the Holy Spirit leaving after a big tent revival. I was
left with a nice unicycle. Not to fear! A bike shop in town! With bike in
hand, I boarded the local bus. (See, I was not prepared, not having a spare
tube required a visit to Greg's Greenlake Cycle. Of course I do now.)
The guys there set me up and I was again on my way. On the way back to work
I stopped by Wendy's. Oh Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger how I love thee.
Stopping at the light to make a left hand turn, I saw a couple to my left,
waiting to cross the street. The guy noticed me, gave a huff and said don't
you ever worry about getting hit. It's always a bit awkward for me being in
a situation like this. I guess it exposes me. First here I am sitting on a
bike in traffic, where normally cars are. All I have protecting me is a
helmet, and my wits. I am sitting basically at the middle of the
intersection. The danger here is that cars turning left towards me could
possibly not see me, cut the corner and clip me. I see cars driving in
front of me on the perpendicular street, and cars driving past me on the
left going past me parallel. Pretty much surrounded by cars on all sides.
I suppose this is not for the faint of heart. Oh and let me mention I don't
have health insurance either. (Not yet at least.) I have never swum with
sharks but I think that most people would choose that rather than biking on
city streets. I might as well put a target on my back.
Ok so back to the guys question. I sort of liked the question because I had
not thought about it recently, and I think about it every once in a while.
Usually I think about it when I am safely tucked into bed, the lights are
out and it's quiet in the house. I am left gathering my thoughts about the
day and what I will do tomorrow. I rerun biking rides. What was fun, what
was funny, and the weather. I also look for potential hazards that I
encountered. A pothole, a sewer grate, a yellow light, a really big truck.
Things that could have taken me down in a heartbeat. Biking is about safety
and fun. And I think that it is one of the most important things I can do
to keep safe. When it no longer is safe it is no longer fun. Or like they
say, its all fun and games till someone loses an eye. I don't mind
careening down a hill at 37.5 mph but I don't want to meet a pothole at the
end of the hill either.
So I gave the question a few moments to respond. In those few moments I
think I may have made him nervous. Yes. I said.
He looked at me, his girlfriend looked at me. The realization of what I
said arrived, sank in, and I could see the wheels turning in their minds. I
added, I ride the trails and the roads, it can be dangerous.
The traffic in front of me had stopped and the sound of cars had died down.
I looked around and wheeled toward them. And sometimes I take the sidewalk,
with a hint of mischief. The girl picked up on it and laughed.
It may have been a silly question like hey man, doesn't that seat hurt your
butt? Don't you get tired riding that thing? And I didn't want to sound
too serious. I guess we don't think about it seriously, there are not a lot
of people biking. I guess the bike to work day helps to get people out of
cars, and also to raise awareness of bike / car safety.
I am a huge advocate of getting people out of cars because cars tend to
isolate us, where as bikes keep us tuned with everything going on around us.

I am still about 2 months away from the big bike ride in August. Its three
mountain passes in three days. In September is a century ride fund raiser.
Yahoo! I am feeling good about my training so far. This next weeks
forecast calls for rain and clouds which doesn't look good. But that's ok.
Maybe I just need to catch up on sleep anyway.

race results

RAIN Ride
Year Place Name Last Time City State Bib Number

1. 2001 531 Joel 13:03 Saint Louis MO 371
2. 2002 112 Joel 9:30 Saint Louis MO 378

Thanksgiving Dash 10 Miles,10K, 5K & 1 mile Olympia, WANovember 20, 2004 Fog/Sun 40's
Place Name Age City Time

• 4. Joel 30 Graham 21:17

Christmas Marathon, December 19, 2004
Time Name Age City State

• 21:25 Joel , 30, Graham WA

2002 Touring Cyclist Biathlon
Fairview Heights, IL 07/28/2002 8:00 am
Place NO. NAME CITY ST AG S Rank RUN Pace Rank BIKE Rate TIME

• 14. 59 Joel ST. LOUIS MO 28 M 19 31:22 6:59 17 1:05:15 18.4 1:36:37

2003 Touring Cyclist Biathlon Fairview Heights, IL 07/27/2003 8:00 am
Place NO. NAME CITY ST AG S Rank RUN Pace Rank BIKE Rate TIME

• 28. 101 Joel ST. LOUIS MO 29 M 25 32:41 7:16 30 1:09:21 17.3 1:42:01

We're having Coyote for Easter Dinner!

Back in January, the local grocery stores were having huge sales on all the stuff that did not sell for Christmas.  What I like about grocery stores is that everything has a shelf life.  I mean, things can’t just sit there for months and years not selling, well except for Ramen noodles and Twinkies.  Retail clothing stores got wise to after Christmas sales and started slowly reducing sale prices, as a way to make more money.  Instead of throwing everything into the half off bin right after Christmas, it’s a measly 10% off.  Its not until weeks later that the real bargains begin, unfortunately all that is left by then are day-glow yellow Christmas sweaters, and purple socks.  Great if you are on a road crew, or a circus clown.  Grocery stores are different.  They have to get rid of things quickly, like meat and eggs and butter, and cans of candied yams that no one eats but no dinner is complete without.   So to the meat section I went, and there I found a pile of un-loved Christmas hams.  All discounted at 50% off.  I considered the 2 inch think slab steaks, they were about the same price. Big stickers declaring ‘Reduced Price’  wow a side of beef!  Its like being at the stockyards or the Chicago board of trade.  I could invest in commodities on a large scale.  Like 12 pounds of pork.  Or 3 pounds of beef.  Being the wise shopper that I am, I decided on the 12 pound ham because I looked at it as an investment.  2 weeks worth of ham sandwiches, another week of BBQ sandwiches, and some split pea soup with bits of ham. 

 

Its been 4 months now that the carcass has been sitting in Freezer.  Its huge, it takes up a lot of space.  There is hardly room for the frozen pizzas, dinners, bags of peas, French fries, and ice cream.  Last week, I reorganized after a trip to the grocery store, only to find that 2 days later I had forgotten to put in a tray of steaks.  Now the cause was not directly related to the ham. As it were my fingers were cold after spending 4 minutes rearranging.  I got down to the last cans of juice concentrate, and bag of peas and I wanted to get out of the freezer. The steaks for their part did an excellent job of camouflaging themselves in a plastic bag.  There they sat on the top of the refrigerator where we put the rest of our plastic bags.  MIA.  Two days later I discovered an unusual smell.  I want to blame the pig. 

 

So now its Good Friday.  Last night Becca and I decided how best to thaw this thing and get it ready for Sunday.  Being intelligent she considered the dryer, I also being intelligent agreed.  But then we got to thinking.

What if the smell from the dryer vent attracts coyotes in the neighborhood?

Good point.

Won’t they just want to break down the sliding glass door and get at that ham, with all its tasty ham smell and salty flavor?

Oh yea.

We’ll shoot the coyotes!

But I don’t own a gun.

We’ll hit them with something.

Yea! But then what?

I guess we’ll have Coyote for Easter then.

Sounds good, should I bring the yams?

 

 

 

I rode my bike to work today, 20 miles round trip

Tomorrow I ride again, hopefully starting from my house, biking to the train
station, ride the train for an hour, and then from the train station to
work. This is what critical massers call car liberation, or bike freedom.
It's what I call justification for the two fish sticks, and pile of hash
browns that I dipped in my fryer for dinner tonight. Oh it was wonderful,
and yes I had a side of peas. So not ALL bad. It sounded sooo good when I
was riding the train home tonight. Greasy, hot, crispy, like going to Long
John Silvers, yarrrghh! Shiver me timbers I'm having artery blockage, this
evening, Matey!
No excitement along the way, except for the fact that I forgot my bike
helmet and gloves at my car this morning. I was just so excited I guess.
Everyone that I met on the bike trail was wearing a helmet. I felt much
shame, and a little dangerous. Biking in itself is dangerous. Much like
going to Panama without malaria pills or vaccinations. You can do it, its
just not recommended. I guess growing up we did not think much of it, until
we started riding bigger rides like out to South Haven and back. Then it
suddenly turned cool.
Tomorrow, I ride again. We'll see how I am doing after that. Till then...

The Answer

At exactly 1:02:03 Wednesday april 5th 2006

The time and date will be. 01:02:03 04/05/06

And this happens once in the AM, once in the PM.

Have a great 1,2,3,4,5,6 day. How are you going to celebrate?

better than an Encyclopedia Brown mystery. The case of the inflated License Plate renewal fee.

I went to pay my state license plate tab renewal bill online just now.

The first thing they do is ask if you have moved. I dutifully updated my address.

Then I entered my plate number, and last name. the bill appeared. It was 40 dollars more than what appeared on the postcard I received.

I called the DOT office for information, after a lengthy answering message, and a more brief conversation with the nice lady, I discovered why.

Comment below, if you think you know the answer…

Good luck.

Oh, I am still not happy about the costs.

My new dream...

So my new dream is to win a Porsche Boxster online. Maybe Red, Blue, whatever.

Just so long as it takes me where I want to go.

In my research I found a few sites offering such a chance.

Exhibit one: The Fort Wayne Indiana Philharmonic Orchestra is raffling off a 2006 P B. unfortunately it the cost is $100 per ticket

That’s about $100 dollars too much for me. I want free Boxster not something that I Actually have to pay money to Possibly get a chance at winning.

Exhibit two: Central Oregon Battering and Rape Alliance also raffling off a 2006 P B. tickets are only $45 bucks. Well this is getting a little better, unfortunately the time has passed. I’m about a month and 12 days too late. They were only selling 2000 tickets too.

Exhibit three: this one is located in the UK so its right out.

Since I used google the right column has sponsored links. The usual suspects appear here, EBay, Amazon, and PCH.com. All offering highlighted keywords that I typed in. maybe I should type in ‘Air’ or ‘lunch’ and see what happens.

Unfortunately my search digresses from here. Against better judgment I click on ‘the free car.com. the headline reads did you know you can drive a brand new car for free?

And below that did you know you can get paid to drive your own car? I Take a deep breath, this is quite a shock to me. All these years I have been paying car insurance, repairs, gas, more car insurance, more repairs, more gas. And I could have been driving for free?! What the?! I feel cheated. I look out from my window to the street, and wonder does he drive for free? Is she making money right now? No one told me. For 16 years I have been asleep at the wheel. Oblivious. I could have retired by now. Or at least in a few more years, with time to enjoy a cruising in my Boxster with my best girl by my side. I cry ‘conspiracy’! How long this has been going on? And brood over the cars driving by.

A Mercury Grand Marquis floats past and I am reminded of my quest. Driving a free car returns to my mind. The Porsche Boxster! How could I stray from my quest? I am thinking only of myself when trying to actually get paid to drive. To be the winner of a Boxster in a drawing, that takes some effort. It is the thrill of the hunt. In my mind I realize it is a far more noble effort to win a drawing than signing up for some silly free car at a website. (And of course there is that membership fee that they keep talking about at the free car website that I would not want. Since it lessens the prize. ) I want a real chance, I want the excitement, the thrill of being picked the winner. No handouts here, thank you very much. So I continue my quest, a modern day Don Q searching for his Rozinante.

If you have any leads. Please send them my way.

FOOTHILLS DASH 5K & 10K

PTARMIGAN RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - ORTING, WA MARCH 18, 2006 RESULTS PROVIDED BY PERFECT TIME EVENTS

OVERALL MALE 10K RESULTS

Place 11

Div/Tot 2/4

Bib # 191

Name Me

Age 31

Gun

Time 43:03

Pace 6:56

Mardi Gras Haiku

blue tarpped float rolls

joyous celebration

rubble and milduex

Green Vinyl Office Chair

An old office chair I found down the street. Its a steelcase. built in Grand Rapids MI. Where I was born. Maybe thats why I like it so much. Its probably about as old as me too.
Model 148 | 48-6905