Get on your bikes and ride

Yesterday I was on my way to the gym and got a call from Trevor. He needed help loading a trailer full of stuff at someone's house. So Sarah and I headed over there and we loaded up all this stuff and then helped unload it into a storage unit. The day before I broke out my bike and rode it to the gym. It was a super nice day. There was nobody available at the trainer station and I didn't want to just dig through her stuff to see if she left me anything, so I left and rode around town for an hour. I may not have gotten any of the weightlifting in, but it sure was nice to just ride around on my bike. The day before that I actually got Katie to go back to the gym. We did our 15 minutes of cardio and checked with the trainer station but all the trainers were gone and Lily hadn't left anything for us to do. There was a new guy there that said he could write up a quick workout for me, but I was still hurting from the day before so the break was welcome. My biceps are still sore and a whole week has gone by. Instead we left and went to the park where Katie's friend was tightrope walking (what he called slacklining). It was really hard to do.

Last night I made a hot fudge sundae with nuts and whipped cream. I have never felt so guilty about eating ice cream. I have been eating healthy for weeks and weeks. I have still not lost any weight, but I can fit into shirts that I could not a month ago.

I didn't make it out to MA for AWE. I didn't hear how it went besides that there was a snowstorm. I hope it went well. If you read this and you were there please send me an email telling me about it.

My landlord is remodeling the upstairs of the house, which is right over my bedroom. It has caused some problems with me being able to sleep. That's not a huge problem lately though because I haven't been able to sleep more than 4 hours a day. I must be an alien or something.

Today I made some fantastic burgers with chipotle pepper in them. Katie stopped by for some and I got her to eat a potato pancake. She was afraid she wouldn't like it, but she was wrong.

The title: Queen - Fat Bottomed Girls

Order me up another slice of your pie

For many weeks I have been talking about making some lamb. Well, at the beginning of this week I found myself at Costco and picked up a lamb leg. Thursday night I roasted it up and also made some garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli to go with it. Dinner was an hour late because I realized about the time I was supposed to be putting the roast in the oven that my roasting pan was still somewhere in the garage in one of the many boxes. It took about 45 minutes to find it. I started everyone off with some field greens salad while I let the meat rest and then carved it up. It gave everyone time to chat and introduce each other. After dinner we all played a few rounds of scum and then finished off the night with some blueberry pie and ice cream.

I got a super sweet deal on a personal trainer, so I have been being advised by her daily at the gym. Her name is Lily and her personality is spectacular! She's one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met in my life. I don't feel any stronger, and I haven't lost any weight, but I sure have been sore. I'm told that means it's working. When I worked at T&R years ago I was able to effortlessly carry four 50 pound bags of flour up a flight of stairs. Now I'd be lucky to be able to carry one. I would really really like to get back to that point, but honestly I can't see it happenning considering the cause of it was working 10 hours days, 4 days a week, that were essentially working out and getting paid for it. If only that job paid as much as the jobs I've had since, I would have stayed there forever.

Saturday night was the Bishop's Ball. It was a formal dinner and dance. I had heard that it was being catered, which is what convinced me to go. Turns out that it was baked potatoes. I'm not sure if those were catered, or if the activities committee prepared them. They were good, but not what I was expecting. Most of the girls there were with dates, which meant nobody to dance with, so me and the rest of the lonely guy table bailed after dinner. I wish that Geoff had been there. He had invited me to something Saturday night, but Alisa Bliss had told me to go to the ball. Shoulda gone out with Geoff.

While I was digging for my raosting pan I found some fantastic stuff! Every time I dig through those boxes I find more things I was missing. I found the brand new journal I had bought just before I left MA to replace the one I have that's just about full. I haven't been writing in the one I have because I was almost out of space. Any excuse to not write in the journal is a bad one. I also found my stereo, which is cool, even though I have no speakers. I have a whole surround sound system that I have to hook up to our teeny tiny TV in the living room, but there's nowhere to put it.

It's about tax time and I have no idea how that's going to go this year. I really hope I get a refund. I'm not sure if I'll be able to file as a Utah resident since I haven't switched over my license and registration yet. Massachusetts income taxes are brutal. When I worked in CT I always had to pay on my taxes even thought I had cttel take out extra taxes.

My check engine light is still on. The car has it's millionth appointment at Ken Garff VW tomorrow. Every time I bring it in there they tell me that the warranty didn't cover all of something and charge me a bunch of money. Dana VW always told me I had the best warranty you can get and I never had to pay for any of the work there. So not only does this place keep charging me money, but they never freaking fix anything. If my mom was here she'd set them straight.

The title: Motley Crue - Slice Of Your Pie

Somebody Answer The Phone

On Friday I switched from Sprint to Helio for my cellphone service. Sprint had been charging me about $130/mo for 500 daytime minutes and unlimited texts (with vision plan for my pocketpc). I was using a ppc-6601 phone which I got the month they came out in November 2004. At the time it was a pretty darn expensive phone ($600). Well, a few weeks ago I shatterred the screen on my ppc-6601 and had used up my insurance replacements for the year. The Helio service is $99/mo for unlimited everything (txt, talk, data, etc..). The Helio Ocean is the phone that I got from www.heliobuy.com for $150. I was on a limited budget to buy a new phone and it had an awesome list of features. It is being compared to the iphone, which I think is a bit far fetched. I might compare the Ocean to my ppc-6601 and still, it would be close.

Advantages of the Ocean over the iphone:

• It has 3G. Browsing on the Ocean is super fast as well as downloads.
• It is a dual slider. Not only does it have a number pad, but also a full qwerty keyboard.
• It has GPS. The google maps app shows you exactly where you are and you can get directions from your location. Also uses buddy beacon so your friends can always find you.
• You can install 3rd party apps on it without having to jailbreak it.
• The phone plan is unlimited (for $99/mo)
• The phone is cheap ($150)
• It has a removable battery.

Advantages of the iphone over the Ocean:

• It has Wi-Fi. Although this is a battery killer, it is pretty handy to get on local networks or for places with no cell signal.
• It has a touchscreen.
• It has a larger screen.
• It holds much more stuff (8gb or 16gb)

If I could have gotten the iphone with a qwerty keyboard, 3G network, and a $99 unlimited plan then I would have not chosen the Ocean. Even at the much higher price of $400 - $500 I would have paid the extra cash. If the Ocean had a larger screen that was a touchscreen, ran the newest version of windows mobile, and could take sdhc cards (instead of only 2gig sd cards) I think it would be the best phone you can get (even if it only had a qwerty slide out keyboard) and I would have paid a lot more money for it.

I don't want to down the Ocean. For the price it is amazing. It is built very solid and has an incredible number of cool features. It was just released in May 2007, so a replacement for it could be a long way off, and especially since the word is that Helio isn't doing so great financially. Their phone plan still offers more bang for your buck than any of the major carriers, even with this month's crazy price war beginning. It runs on Sprint, so you still get great coverage everywhere.

The title: Mario Piu - Communication (Somebody Answer The Phone)

To confuse the issue I refer to familiar heroes from long ago.

Anyone who gets married is a hero of mine. Sometimes I think maybe you need some kind of superpowers to pull it off. The falling in love part I think is a bit of chance. Sure, there's effort that needs to be put in to actually meet the right person, but it could really be anyone. The real challenge is making it through all the wedding plans, to the wedding, and through the wedding. I've DJ'd many weddings. I've catered one wedding. I've attended many weddings as a guest. People get so stressed out! I've heard many of the brides and groom say that they wish the could have just eloped and avoided all the stress of planning a wedding. All thatmay be true, but it just wouldn't be the same without celebrating with your friends and family. Last weekend I went to Kim Hales and Mark Ludlow's wedding. I had a fantastic time there. I never got to ask them how they enjoyed it, but I am positive that they did. They looked like some of the happiest people on the planet. I, of course, have pics coming soon. Wait till you see the cake "feeding" (smearing hehehe).

Yesterday was the New England YSA reunion in Utah. There was only people there from MA and CT. That was probably because I only sent the invite out to people from amherst and hartford institutes. I think there was around 20 people that showed up throughout the day. There should have been more because there were more that said they were coming. There will be pics posted, but they don't show how much fun we had. I think we all finally left around 11pm. The Phippens are totally awesome.

There are 4 days until Valentine's Day. I don't have any feelings for it this year. Some people hate the day and call it a celebration of single day. Some people get to celebrate it with the person they are dating or married to. I'm neither bitter, nor dating anyone, so it's just another day.

I shatterred the screen on my phone, which was a ppc-6601 (which probabaly means nothing to most people). I now need a new phone, badly. The one I am using only does outgoing calls because it is broken, it doesn't ring. I have threee phones in mind, but for tow of them I'd have to switch my cell carrier. If I stay with Sprint I'll go with the HTC Mogul 6800. If I go with AT&T *shudder* then I will get an iphone, and if I go with Helio I will get an Ocean. So far, it looks like the Helio Ocean might be what I go with.

I have been going to the gym, mostly every day, since I got back from Florida. I have lost 0 pounds and gained 0 pounds. How is that possible?

Carina Hatch, Kara Logie, and Kate Vasicek are all engaged. Congrats on that! There may be more. It seems that there are more every week. If I forgot you I'm sorry.

A bit more on heroes, and more relating to the title. I was at my friends Stephanie and Esther's house earlier this week. Esther and I started playing a question game where we asked questions back and forth. One of the questions I asked was "What is one of the most memorable moments of your life before this past year?" She had a really tough time coming up with anything, and then Eli Stone came back on (which is a totally awesome new show). While she was thinking through the commercial break I had the chance to think of tons of memorable moments in my life, and they all involved personal heroes of mine. I couldn't list them all right here, but if you read this, there's a pretty good chance that in some way, you're a hero to me. Thanks. I could never put into words how greatful I am for all the lives that have touched mine.

The title: Blues Treveler - Hook