Agonotheta

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May 27, 2004

Break

I'm taking a break. Regular posting will resume June 1.

May 27, 2004

Bowman

Fun game that combines calculus and violence. Can it get any better?

May 26, 2004

Laryngitis

Well, I've had allergies so bad over the past few days that apparently, my sinuses have had enough. Yeah. They shut down entirely.

One night I went to bed with mild allergies, the next I woke up with nothing but a sore throat. The night after that, I woke up without a sore throat and without a voice. I had almost lost my voice entirely. It was horrible. In fact, it was the closest I've been to laryngitis in my life.

This sucks.

May 21, 2004

Real Speedracer Car

This is awesome! I wish I had $700,000 to buy one.

May 21, 2004

Andy Kaufman Is Alive!

I'm not saying I believe this guy, but still interesting considering the site was launched 20 years to the day after his "death."

May 19, 2004

Post-Race Fatigue

This was written soon after my race, however, I didn't feel like posting. Until now.

I ran the 10k in about 51:35. It was about one minute 35 seconds over my goal time, but I'm ok with that. It was a tough race, though. By the end, I was struggling, in fact. The reason, though, is that I was unfamiliar with the course and confused the meaning of distance markers. I thought I saw a last-half-mile indicator, so I kicked in my final push to cut a minute or two off of my time and come in sprinting. Apparently, it was not a last-half-mile indicator and after doing my best to keep up a sprint for almost a full mile after I had just ran five miles, I just couldn't do it.

My last half-mile then, turned out to be quite slow. Probably even five or six minutes, which is only a couple of minutes under what is supposed to be my last mile pace.

Other than that, the race went great. I had a great time, the scenery was beautiful, there was some pretty ladies just ahead of me who ran almost my exact pace the entire time, I met several very nice people along the way, and I was close enough to my goal time to keep me happy.

The Day After

I am pretty sore today. My knees were killing me last night. I had to go to a wedding reception whose host and hostess desperately underestimated the amount of guests that would be in attendance, and had about half as many chairs as needed. Thus, being the gentleman I am, I stood all night.

Whenever anybody tells you running downhill is easier, tell them to shut the hell up, from me. The race may seem easier, but is not. Most of the time, you have to hold yourself back from running too fast. After the race, your quads and knees are killing you. I have never felt this much pain after a run. Son of a bitch.

May 14, 2004

America The Melting Pot

I like most of his photos, but this one really made me laugh.

May 14, 2004

Pre-Race Mode

Today, I'm in pre-race mode. Which means I've pretty much got a water bottle permanently attached to my mouth. I try to drink at least my weight in ounces the day before a race. Trying especially hard to take in 64 ounces the evening before. Tomorrow morning I'll get up a couple of hours before I leave and make myself some breakfast, which will include some eggs, and a couple of bananas. Then about half an hour before the race, I'll eat as much of a bagel as I can so I'm hit about halfway through the race with some nourishment and energy.

I just realized I haven't told you yet, but I'm running a 10k. About three weeks ago, I ran my first race, a 5k. This week, I'm stepping it up to a 10k. I have another 10k in a couple of weeks, so this will be a good warm-up, especially since its downhill and has less racers.

Now, I've ran 6.2 miles before, but the funny thing about a race, is that it probably feels twice as long emotionally as your training runs. One thing that I think will be better about this race is that I will have a lot more time to execute my gameplan. The last race was so short and there was so much peer/mental pressure to run faster right out of the gate. This time though, I plan on sticking pretty strictly to my gameplan.

Wish me luck for tomorrow.

May 13, 2004

Trojan War History

Read up on the Trojan War before the movie Troy.

May 12, 2004

Congrats Tanya!

A good friend of mine, Tanya, graduated from SUU on Saturday.

Tanya was one of my best friends my last couple of years in college. She helped me in many ways. From homework help, to listening to me bitch about professors (which I did a lot), to listening to me bitch about finding a job, to my "girl" problems, etc., she was always there for me.

Congratulations, I wish I could have been there for you this year as you finished up your degree. If you ever need anything, let me know.

May 10, 2004

Chronology of Bush's Torture Statements

Contradiction and deception. What a surprise!!!

May 10, 2004

Fun Bus Recap

Well, as you read, I went to Wendover, Nevada on Friday night. I'd love to tell you all about it, but instead of writing everything in complete sentences (because I'm lazy), I'm just going to make a list of some of the highlights.

• » Drank plenty of vodka/cranberry juices, and SoCo/Cokes on the two-hour drive across the Salt Flats.
• » Also on the drive, played BINGO, which was actually fun. But everytime I lost, I yelled curse words. I got funny looks from some of my coworkers, thus, achieving my goal.
• » Amazed all spectators with my crab and shrimp eating skills. Although, I'm not sure if they were amazed at the amount I can eat, or my ability to cover most of my head and hands in warm butter and little bits of seafood.
• » Took the above photo, obviously acting like an idiot. I think those are supposed to be gang symbols I'm throwing. Probably to make me look "tougher" or something. Who knows? I don't remember. I wore those mirrored "porno glasses" most of the night too.
• » Made my way to the dance floor where I showed five girls about my age and two African-American ladies twice my age just how well a short, white, bald guy can dance. Trust me, they were loving it.
• » Fell asleep to Jack Johnson on my iPod on the bus ride back.

May 07, 2004

Fun Bus

Tonight, I'm going on the Fun Bus. Somebody at work organized this and recruited several of us to go. Apparently, the bus picks all of us up from the district office and after two hours of driving, drops us off in Wendover at a casino.

You pay ten dollars to get on the bus. When you arrive, they give you seven dollars back in cash and a booklet of coupons, one of which is for a free buffet, several are for free drinks.

They obviously just need to get people out there and then they hope to take all their money from them.

One cool thing about the trip out is that we can drink alcohol. They provide ice and mixers, we have to supply the liquor. Apparently, there's various games that we play too.

At about one o'clock the bus leaves Wendover and brings us back. It should be fun, at least for awhile, but it may get boring by the end of the night.

I'll let you know!

May 06, 2004

Metrosexual Resentment

My sister says I'm a metrosexual.

This, in case you don't know, "is a straight man who styles his hair using three different products (and actually calls them "products"), loves clothes and the very act of shopping for them, and describes himself as sensitive and romantic. In other words, he is a man who seems stereotypically gay except when it comes to sexual orientation."

Now, if you've ever seen me you'd know I don't use one, let alone three different products on my hair (because my head is shaved). But, I do love clothes and shopping. And yes, I consider myself more sensitive than most guys and definitely a romantic. Also I dress, and have been told by several girls, better than most men.

While I am not ashamed of these qualities, I really resent being deemed a "metrosexual." The farther away I get from high school, the more I despise titles. In my high school, most students became known as "jocks," "nerds," "preppys," etc. I really hated titles back then and I hate them even more today. Today, it's no longer "nerd" or "preppy", but the term "boyfriend," that huants me.

Why was I declared a metrosexual the other day, for the umpteenth time, when my sister saw my new shoes? It's not fair. Just because I buy nice clothes and shoes does not make me one step away from being gay.

And what about the gay guys? I'm sure in the way I don't like being called something I'm not, do they want to be grouped with people they don't relate to? What if us "metrosexuals" are bringing them down or something? I don't want them to resent me for this.

Of course, maybe I'm looking at this completely wrong. Is the term metrosexual supposed to be a compliment? Like, maybe, we're teetering just close enough to homosexuality to have some of their stereotypical style rub off on us. Maybe we're sort of "the best of both worlds."

I don't know. You tell me?

May 05, 2004

God (Interlude) by Andre 3000

I mean, Alady.

May 05, 2004

Speeding

I've realized recently that when I had a POS car I was much more likely to talk my way out of a speeding ticket. It may just be my imagination, but it seems like traffic officers are less willing to budge when dealing with somebody driving a nice car. Then again, this could be my imagination.

May 03, 2004

Concert On A Stick

After a concert, you go to a kiosk and purchase the recorded show on a 128MB USB pen drive. Pretty sweet!!!

May 03, 2004

Worn Out

Well my weekend blew. I moved all day on Saturday and unpacked and got settled on Sunday. It doesn't feel like I even got a weekend. It feels like I went from one job on Friday after work to a much harder one for the weekend and then came back to the paying one this morning. I never want to move again. Unfortunately, because I didn't buy a house (this time) I'm going to have to move at least one more time.

Because of this, I don't feel too much like being at work today. Which is sort of weird because, in the fourteen months I've worked in my job, I've only felt this a couple of times. I really love my job. In fact, most days, its not really a job, its just what I do everyday. It also turns out that I get paid to do that, which is handy because I'd probably be doing it even if they didn't pay me to.

So, I got up this morning and decided I need to make my vacation plans for the summer as soon as I possibly can. I need to have a date in mind to look forward to. This summer I'd like to go to San Diego (to visit a college roommate), Boston (a friend), Ann Arbor (another roommate), and St. Louis (a convention which will be fun).

In the meantime, I plan on going home tonight and sleeping. Sleeping long. Sleeping hard.