Yes I am still Alive

Wow has life been busy the past month. I just thought that when summer came around things would slow down. Some areas things did slow down while it picked up in other areas evening it all back out to just plain busy. I am not complaining though. I have had a blast this summer. I think that is the true problem. Definitely not lacking in the area of fun this summer.

Quick Highlights that maybe I will expand upon in the near future.
- Autocross season has been in full swing. Last week ending a 5 week straight stretch of autocrossing. Wow it was a great time and I have lots of stories and some videos :-)
- Last weekend, I was in a wedding of a college friend, Lindsey Lee. It was a great time and I got to see a lot of people that I hadnt seen in ages. Those that were there it was wonderful to see ya. Minus the girls that kept me up all night Friday :-P (J/K)
- This weekend has actually included me being at home for a change and resting and relaxing a bit, though not as much as originally planned.
- Today, I competed in a Road Rally put on by the Bluegrass Porsche Club and assisted by the Bluegrass Mini and CKRSCCA. It was a great time riding around in a Miata.
- Tomorrow, its off to Sparta, KY for the IRL Indy 300 race at the Kentucky Speedway. This shall be quite the adventure with some SCCA folks and then hanging out with some work folks at the track (as I got the Tix through work).
- The Honda has new tires after 69000+ miles.

Upcoming things:
- Next weekend is our last big release prior to OE. Yeepee.
- Holy cow a new school year has started which means several different things including ODK time again as well as I better start working on some applications or I will be in pulling my hair out come Oct.
- Several more autocrosses and hopefully some more Road Rallies. I think I have finally found myself a new driver or 2 :-)

Well those are the highlights. I will try to write more soon.

COMPUTER WOES :-(

Oh why oh why....

So it was the modem the other day and today, I am afraid that the motherboard may be going south. Since I am not a hardware person at all and somewhat despise it, I am looking to my dear friends who love building their own computers and such for some advice and opinions.

Current Issue:
-Turn on the computer and monitor
-Monitor has screen that says the monitor is working check the cable or pc. (this has happened twice prior to today. Then today it happened 3-5 boots.)
-Tonight I realized that the mouse and keyboard also were not functioning while receiving this screen on the monitor. (Assume that was probably the case all along because I had to hard reboot the pc each time)
-The 2nd boot this morning resulted in the keyboard functioning and the monitoring scrolling lines up and down. I was able to login and reboot by knowledge of the process.
-5th bood, Kwadwo suggested unplugging everything from the pc and plugging it back in. I did and the computer rebooted and everything is currently working.

I fear turning it off because I am afraid it will not come back.

** Any clues what might be the issue?
The computer will be 4 years old in Oct. The harddrive is about 2 years old. Monitor is probably more like 8 years old. Mouse is fairly new. Keyboard...hmmm not sure which iteration this is, but probably around 3 years.

** Suggestions on fixing the issue?
Wasnt really looking to purchase a new computer anytime soon. This one suffices for what I need, it even has a DVD player in it. The only reason it doesnt have XP is because I didn't want it. Its a Windows 2000 box.

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions.

Happy Birthday to Many

As I am slacking once again....

I would like to throw out a Happy Birthday to so many people.

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday dear (list below)
Happy Birthday to You

Kwadwo - July 25
Laura -
Jodi -
Rachel P - July 28 (Today)
Sarwa -
Shannon O - July 31

Back in Business :-)

Quick update...I am finally back in business after about a week without a modem. It was difficult at times because there was so many things I wanted to do on my computer that I couldnt. And because of that I just decided not to really bother with getting on the computer at all most of the week.

I have to run for now and get ready for church. Hopefully, I will post a bit more before the evening is over. If not, well it will be later in the week.

Tomorrow I am headed to Louisville to Autocross...lots to catch you all up on there.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Broken Modem

What a sad sad day for my computer at home. Access to work was very slow through the dial-up and remote desktop and so in frustration, I pulled out the work laptop. Apparently, I failed to disconnect the modem before pulling the line out of the phone and plugging it into the laptop. Somewhere in all of that I apparently busted the modem in my computer at home. I have tried to disable and uninstall it with no success. So now I sit in my bedroom on my work laptop with no access to all of my personal files. It does give me some relaxing time to check out all the blogs and post on mine at the same time. Probably this weekend I will get a chance to pull the computer back apart and see if I can get a modem to work again.

Georgetown College vs University of Kentucky (Basketball)

The official announcement has been made by the University of Kentucky athletic department. University of Kentucky will square up against Georgetown College on November 9, 2005 at Rupp Arena.

I'm definitely there as long as I am not in Vegas for a work conference, but since I currently don't see that happening, you will find me at Rupp Arena decked out in my Black and Orange. This will be about the only time you see me cheer against the UK Wildcats.

Let me know if you are interested and I will see what I can find for tickets.

Not Moving to Louisville

After very much debate with myself, I have made the decision not to move to Louisville. It definitely was not the easiest decision to make, especially this time around. I feel like my life is currently split 50/50 btwn Louisville and Lexington. Work consumes 50% and it is of course all in Louisville, but on the same token its mostly all that is in Louisville.

My church family and friends are all in Lexington, though some have moved. Weekends are 90% of the time spent in Lexington/Georgetown and occassionally in Louisville.

The biggest thing was the starting anew to start anew again in a year. It just seems mind boggling at this time to do that. When you are right out of college or still in that frame, where life is not settled. Everything doesnt point to your current place of living, it seems so much easier to uproot and go somewhere else. But when you are settled in a place and your insurance, banking, medical, bills, and just overall life things are all rooted where you are today. The hassle of moving it all to a new location is just painful to think about especially since I know this fall is going to be filled with grad applications, ODK, and YAACK. The stress of getting everything moved and making sure you dont loose anything is just more than I need at this time.

So officially, I am staying in Georgetown and commuting until I head off to college next fall. Mentioning of that it is time to find all those grad apps and start a writing.

Thanks for all the prayer and support. Please continue to pray for Ashlee as she decides where to live.

Im Alive

Yes I am alive. Not that it really matters because noone reads my blog anymore :-( I guess thats what I deserve since I am huge slacker. Truthfully, I havent been at my computer long enough to pay bills more less write the life story.

Here are some high pts of recent

- My family is all doing well. Thanks for the prayers.
- Went canoeing for the first time a few weekends ago. Defintiely have stories about that :-)
- 4th of July weekend was nice and relaxing time in my apt, actually paying attention to my apt and cleaning it up some. And i have to say that I have done a decent job of keeping it as clean as I cleaned it.
- Debating on whether to move to Louisville with Ash or not. I know some of you have heard about her prayers for living arrangements. Please continue to pray for the both of us on this one. No decisions have been made yet.
- Work is keeping me insanely busy during the day, which I suppose that is what its suppose to do.
- This weekend I am spending in the 'Ville for Wedding Showers and Autocross on Sunday

Im sure there is tons more but I really need to get some sleep. Hope everyone is doing well and please come back and read my blog :-)

Prayers and Thoughts

Thanks to all of you who have kept my family in your prayers over the past many months. Unfortunately, I have some sad news to share with you. My uncle Dale passed away this morning in his sleep. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in November. I just asked continued prayers for all of my mother's family, especially his wife and son. My cousin needs some extra prayers to cope with this and continue on to receive his undergraduate degree. He just finished his freshman year at UK, and was very close to his father.

I will be headed out to Paducah in the morning to be with my family. Pray for my safe travels, especially as there is potential for me to be really tired and sore tomorrow. And for the travel of any of my other cousins who will be making the journey this weekend.

Thanks

I have returned

Yes I am back from NYC safe and sound. Plus very exhausted and way behind on so many things. I will try to post updates on the trip as soon as possible. Though dont look for anything prior to at least Thurs night if not later. Sorry things are very busy. I have a mtg in Louisville tomorrow after work and then church on Wed.

This weekend is also very full with Canoe Trip on Sat and racing on Sunday.

Autocross Class Points Calculation - CKRSCCA

Here is how the points are calculated over the season. I will try to keep this updated as the events count down.

Points/Event = 100 - [900 x (entrant's time - class winning time)/class winning time]

DNF = 20 points
DSQ = 0 points
Minimum Points 20

Overall calculation takes the individuals top 5 events for their overall year score.

Event #1
Ron - 41.592 - 100
Betsy - 42.989 - 69.771
Robin - 45.581 - 20 (Yes I had to take the minimum on this one :-)

Event #2
Ron - 41.925 - 100
Brian - 43.460 - 67.048
Tim - 44.979 - 34.44
Robin - 45.948 - 20

Event #3
Event #4
Event #5
Event #6
Event #7
Event #8

Getting Healthy

Okay its time to become serious about this whole losing weight and eating healthier. So I have decided that one possible way of accomplishing this is having accountability. Since I spend the majority of my time on the computer why not have my accountability right here on my blog. Though since noone seems to comment on my blog it might be a bit lonely accountability, but just having it in writing that I see on a good number of days might be enough.

Goals
- Cook dinner at home 4 days a week
- Limit soft drinks down to just an occassional Ale 8 here and there.
- Eat non-fried fish at least once a week.
- Eat more veggies :-)
- Take at least a half hour of my lunch hr, 4 days a week to walk.
- Take the trash out again by walking and taking a full lap around the Apt Complex.
- Minimize late night eating.
- Eat something for breakfast to get the metabolism moving.
- Do sit-ups and work out with the weights 5 days a week.
- Lose 10 lbs by Lindsey's Wedding; and 30 lbs by Laura's Wedding

Todays Accomplishments
- Cooked dinner for the first time in ages. Tilapi in the skillet and carrots.
- Did a few sit-ups and did move around outside during the Autocross.

Though tomorrow is the only other day this week that wont be blown by my vacation. When I return, I plan to stay focused on these goals. Thanks for the support.

New Car, Slicks, or Driving....Oh What Shall I Do

Alright, I am totally getting my butt whipped at this new site. Is it the tires? Or can I just not maneuver the curves correctly? Or is is that my car is a big sedan?

Truely don't believe there is one answer to those questions but a little of all of them are correct. Slicks would definitely help some, would it counter balance what seems to just bad driving. I dont know about that. I believe I did go into a few corners a little too fast and just over steered the car. Smaller car would probably definitely help but dang thats money that I truely dont have to spend at this time in my life.

I wish I knew if slicks would really help me enough to be competitive and worth purchasing everything that would be needed to pull of the use of slicks.

Contemplation will continue.

CKR Autocross Points Event #2

Back at the Dumptruck Training pad for the city of Lexington, it was another brutal day for the GS Accord. Luckily the storms and rain came only during walk through and then cleared for the rest of the day's event. It surely didnt help me any. This may be one of the worst events, in which I have ever competed in.

The start was an optional slalom again which I caught the middle cone on two runs, which didnt matter because on the way back through the optional slalom on both runs I came off the corner too hard and had to take the the first cone to driver's side instead of to the passenger's. That failure screwed up the slalom totally and resulted in two DNF's. At least I thought I had two DNF's and a cone in each DNF. The last DNF on round 5 was not recorded nor was the cone that I hit, so not sure whats up with that. Maybe it was just a bad bad bad dream.

I had a couple good runs that I blew on the last turn totally locking the car up and loosing significant time. Though I am not proud of the results of today's event, I will post them as an update to this post as soon as they are posted on the CKR website. I will then also update the overall point calculation post and push it back up to the top. Im in very deep last position. 6 more events to make that change :-)

UPDATE:
Times
46.693+dnf
46.848
46.039
46.956
46.675 (Believe this too was a DNF)
45.948

Class 4 out of 4
Raw Time 68 out of 72
Pax Time 63 out of 72

New York Hear I Come

Not that I blog a lot anyway, though I have been doing better recently. You definitely will not see or hear from me after sometime on Monday until the next Monday. If your lucky, I might post something Father'Day Eve late.

I am headed off to New York for a two-fold purpose. Well it turned into a two-fold purpose after I was accepted to attend the inaugral CLT2 program by ODK.

Brief Excerpt about the program:
"The National Leadership Honor Society Omicron Delta Kappa is proud to announce its signature program, Campus Leaders Today, Community Leaders Tomorrow (CLT2™). Being held at Pocantico, the Rockefeller Brothers conference site located in Tarrytown, New York, from June 14-17, 2005, this program will bring together 23 young leaders with an outstanding contingent of faculty. CLT2™ will teach the skills and information needed to become a successful community nonprofit board member. "

Once the program ends on Friday afternoon, I am meeting up with Deanna, a college friend. We are then going to hang out in New York and hopefully see most of the key sites, including a Yankees vs Cubs game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. So for those baseball fans, if you catch the highlights of the Sat June 18, Yankees vs Cubs, look for me. I think we have bleacher seats in the outfield though I really have no clue.

Look for an update after its all over and maybe some pics, if i find a place to host them and scan them :-)

Review of Goals for 2005

Lets see how goes the Goals for 2005...Im afraid that its not going to be very good.

- Loose 30 lbs that I have gained the last 6 months.
* No luck on this one
- Excercise More
* I am walking a couple days a week at work so that is a slight improvement. Though not enough to fix the first item.
- Eat Healthier
* Really cant say I am doing this. Probably eating too much especially today.
- Make a decision about where life is headed next.
* This decision was made though now I need to start applying for grad school.
- Complete the execution of a successful ODK Province X Conference in February.
* Successful and Complete :-)
- Be more prepared for Bible Study
* On average, I am usually more prepared for Bible Study so thats a success as well. Granted I am not leading as much these days, which helps.
- Have Fun, but not too much
* Okay, I might be on the line on this one. Definitely, enjoying life so thats good.
- Save money for that next life decision
* Not sure how this one is going. Guess I am saving some money though is it enough, not sure there.
- Read More
* Definitely slacking on this one, I have about 3 books started at the moment.
- Finish 1 of 3 Cross-stitches for my cousin's kids in 2 weeks, and hopefully finish the other 2 by end of year :-)
* I did get the first cross-stitch finally complete by Easter and started on the second one.

Not a lot of success but some.

Fun Event #2 Results

Results from the Fun Event on Sunday

Personal Times in Run Order
51.082
51.117 +1 Pylon
50.200
50.384
DNF :-( though apparently ran a 49.029, but I missed the last of the slalom
48.788
---Improvement of 2.294

Placements
Raw Score - 53/61 ---- (8.676 behind 1st)
PAX Score - 40/61 ---- Pax Time 38.152 (4.435 behind 1st)
Class - 3/3 ---- (3.249 behind 1st)

Class Best Times
1 - 45.539 (Ron - Mini Cooper S)
2 - 46.278 (Betsy - Mini Cooper S)

FTD - 40.112 (94 Mazda Mx-5)

CKR Autocross Fun Event #2

What a freakin hot day it was today..I believe this may be one of the warmest autocross events that I have attended in a little over 2 years. Granted it didnt help that we were out on an asphalt lot with no shade. Though I really cant complain about the lot, it was a nice lot and a decent surface. Just need a bit more parking space and we will really be in business.

Luckily for me today was a fun event, because I s***ed it up big time today. Never did a full run feel perfect. I got to fide with a couple of the guys in the first heat, which was fun. Though after riding, I new that the course was not for me today. I just wasnt feeling it.

Again, I finally dialed it in on the last run and finished with a 48.78, but it was still over 3 secs behind the class winner. Though I guess, I am finally getting a bit more aggressive, as I actually took down two cones in the slalom today. The slalom was a double slalom. You went through the optional slalom made almost a 360 and took the optional slalom again. The first time, I hit a cone it was on the way back out. The second time was the way in, and on the way back out I locked up the wheels and couldnt catch the last cone in the slalom, therefore DNF the run. :-( I was not excited about that because it was the second to last run of the day and my fastest time at that point was a 50.011. Almost 5 secs behind the class leader, which is way too far behind to be competitive at all.

The cubicle shelf will gain yet another cone tomorrow when I arrive. Not sure, if I will purchase a second cone to take care of the other cone I hit or just leave it as a DNF.

Ron took a ride with me on my second run. Again, all he had to say was you have the line down great. I asked "What can I do to get faster?". Basically, just find those right points of acceleration and braking and you will get it. Gee Weez...I think I am just going to have to get a smaller car and some race tires. Then we will see what I can really do.

Okay okay...as the majority of you know me. No that will not happen even if I really really wanted to. At this point, even getting race tires is not an option so I will just have to keep on improving and staying as close to Ron and Betsy as I can.

Once the official results are posted to the website, I will put out an update.

Next Sunday, is another event if anyone wants to come out and watch. Just send me an email or drop a note here, and I will give you the details.

The Original Website (1998)

Out of the archives and the deep deep abyss comes a link to the past. You will see that I have added several new links to the side of my blog, included in these is a link under blogs that says "The Original Website (1998)".

Chris and Lindsey you probably remember the summer, we all worked on creating our first websites. Lindsey and I next door in the Sigma house for the summer. Chris not sure where you were probably up in N KY. It was a lot of fun and we actually setup a chat option off the site (Dont attempt it now. I am sure its broken.) Though at the time it was top of the line of sorts.

I am hoping that this might help convince me to do a little more with my site. At least maybe I can post some new pics on the old site and link them back to this site. We will see what happens. Please dont expect alot anytime soon.

I put the link under blogs because I wasnt sure where else to throw it at this point. Enjoy a little history and some old html coding. Who knows what might come along behind it.

Update on my Uncle

I ask you all for prayers for my Uncle Dale who is fighting lung cancer. He was diagnosed back in November and two attempts to go remove part of his lung have not been successful because of growths on the lung. I thank God for the ability to make it home today to see my uncle this evening and ask for continued prayer for him. Unfortunately, he has been taken to the hospital this evening and I have no further update at this time. He was struggling with his breathing and having to use his oxygen a lot today. Keep my mom's family in your prayers as well, as this is my mom's youngest sisters husband. They have one child who just finished his freshman year of college.

Thanks

Autocross Video

Check out the link from the title for some autocross videos. You can find a link to my 5th run at the very bottom of the page (robin m).

Enjoy and thanks to Ben for capturing these great videos.

PS I put this as a new post so that all those who only view my blog through their rss reader would actually see the video :-)

CKR Autocross Points Event #1

Oh my...how sweet it is to be in my car racing again...

What a day, I had at Applebees Park for the first points event of the CKRSCCA Autocross season. It definitely has been way too long since I have been in the car driving as fast and smooth as I can around pylons in a parking lot. Today was an awesome day, though I had to wait til after 3 pm this afternoon to actually get in the car and on the course.

The course today was not meant for my V6 4-door sedan but I think I managed my way around the course pretty well. Actually, one of the top drivers out of DSP rode with me on my second run. He was actually somewhat awestruck. He said that I ran a great line and he wouldn’t change a thing. So the next question is since he wouldn’t change a thing, how do I shave all of the necessary time off to be competitive against the Mini Cooper S. One big thing would be race tires but not ready to fork over that money just yet. I have to fork over some money for new street tires first :-)

Here are my times for the day in run order:
- 48.759
- 48.836
- 47.144 plus 1 pylon :-( …….. A new pylon magnet for the cubicle :-)
- 46.688
- 46.685
- 45.581

Not too shabby…I think by that last run I was on a role and could have cut it down to 44+ if I had one more run. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and the day was over.

I finished 3rd in GS behind Ron (41.592) and Betsy (42.002), 3.989 secs behind the GS winner.

Overall PAX turned out a bit more impressive with a 38 finish out of 72.

Well I am off to watch Star Wars with the guys, so I can actually see what everyone is raving about :-)

UPDATE: Overall RAW time results put me 58 out of 72. Guess it wasnt quite as shabby as I thought :-)

Dont Stop Reading

Shock, confusion, wander....

Just a few of the states of everyones minds upon getting home from work today and checking out their RSS feed for my blog, which contains 5 new posts, including this one thus far today.

No I am not at work today. I have way too much to do at work to have enough time to blog all afternoon long. I really have too much to do around my apt to be blogging ever since I got up today but oh well.

The day off actuall goes back to the long weekend in April, when I worked insane hrs. I was given a free day off to take, but with so many things going on, I never actually took the day off. So for many reasons, one being the fact that I am headed to the drive-in this evening and have to be in Lex with drinks and snacks by 6:45, it made sense to take today off to make that an easier effort. Plus after getting home late Wed night, I realized how much I was in need of a nice break and some quiet and relaxation.

So here I am chilling, relaxing, not stressing about the state of my apt or my car, and actually updating everyone on the latest happenings and stories of my life. This is actually very therapeutic and relaxing, even though I am at the computer typing. Its still not work. Granted I will have to log in after the drive-in and do some actual work but oh well.

I got to sleep in today til a bit after 11, which will be great for the late evening at the Drive-In. Unfortunately its mid-May and this is the first trip to the Drive-In this year. YAACK is off to watch Kicking N Screaming and either Interpreter or Sahara, depending on what everyone decides tonight. I have a feeling it will be Sahara because noone wants to drive to Paris because they think its too far out of the way. You would think that I would actually be the biggest opponent of driving to the farthest Drive-in from Lex since when we get back to church, I have to drive the farthest to get back home. But I really think I would prefer seeing Interpreter though it would be nice to check out the Winchester Drive-In as well.

Guess I better finish paying the bills and see about getting cleaned up and running out to Walmart for some snacks and other necessities. For some reason, I never get out to the store anymore. Not sure the reasoning, probably because its not as much on the way as it use to be. I hit my apt before I hit Walmart.

Enjoy the other posts, sorry for the large quantity at once.

Car Woes - 60000 MILEs hit on TUESDAY Eve

Derby Eve, I get in my car and after a bit, I realize that the center console display is pitch black. So I turn the knob on the dash that controls the brightness, nothing happens. I search for any other switch that may control the radio display, no luck. Finally, I get a hold of one of the SCCA guys who works as a Honda tech. He informs me that it is caused by a short in the unit behind the display. Great...how much will that cost me? $600 for the part alone. Insanity for a 2.5 year old car to have such a problem, so I decide to contact America Honda about the issue. For them to consider the issue, I have to take it to a Honda Dealership and have them analyze it. Call Sam Swope Honda in Louisville. $35 for them to tell me that there is a short in the display, again outrageous.

After thinking about it, $35 is better than $600 plus labor if I can get America Honda to pay for it. The car is reaching 60000 miles so in definite need of a transmission fluid flush, air filters replaced, and whatever else might need to be checked out. Call to check on the price of 60000 mile checkup, $270. Yikes but that included oil change, tire rotation, and windshield wipers. Take all that off and it will be right at $200. Okay why not it has to be done and I need to take it in anyway.

Schedule an appointment for Tuesday morning. Take in my 10% off major maintenance coupon and Tuesday evening, I leave Sam Swope only paying $136 and not having to pay $35 for them to tell me the radio display needs replaced. Yeepee, now if I can get the radio paid for it will be a great week.

Wednesday before running off to Churchill downs, I call America Honda back and tell them okay the dealership has diagnosed. Thursday afternoon, I receive a call from America Honda. They will pay for the radio part, I just have to pay for the 1 hr labor. Okay, I probably can handle that.

Call Matt at Sam Swope. He is shocked that I already got his message though actually I hadnt got his message because it was left at home, but I had received the call from America Honda. Labor - $90 bucks. Not too bad. So after going to the car to get the radio number, I call Matt back and the radio part is on order so hopefully by the first week of June the radio will be fixed.

And instead of being out nearly $900 for the radio and 60000 tune up, I am out less than $250. Wonderful news considering I still need to purchase new tires for the car before the summer is over most likely at least before winter.

FYI-If you have a Honda or Acura (2003), there is a common issue with the radio display shorting out. There is actually a service bulletin out on it, so dont be afraid to call America Honda to see if they will replace if you car is no longer under warranty.

By the way, the car does now have over 60000 miles as it hit the milemarker on the way from Lex to Gtown on Tuesday Eve.

Churchill Downs - Louisville, KY

What a Wednesday I had! Midday Tuesday, one of my managers stops by my desk with a ticket to Churchill Downs for Wednesday. Having never been to a horse track for horse racing, I was quite excited about this opportunity.

Why did I get this opportunity? Back in April, you remember the story about the insane weekend at work, well this was the VPs thanking us for a job well done. About 20 of us got the opportunity, to head to the tracks on Wednesday and enjoy the corporate box in the Jockey Suites. Lunch and beverages were provided.

Having never been to a horse race and really knowing nothing about the odds and how to bet. I was at the mercy of luck and those around who did have some clue what they were doing. I did get a handicap sheet on my way out of the office from Ken. It took him all of 5 secs to pull up the eponies website and print off the handicap sheet for the day. It actually ended up being a big hit in the suite and Craig won a Trifecta off of it on the 2nd race, though it didnt have the best of luck in some of the other races.

My personal betting started off somewhat slow trying to get my feet wet and overall didnt have much success. Still having no clue how to read everything, I just pulled everyone's information in and made my own bets. It was still a lot of fun. The first race in which I was able to cash in on was Race 6 out of a 10 Race day. I selected number 3, Court of Maximus, on a $2 show bet. Odds did not favor him but I liked the name and won $5.20 of it.

Now Race 8 was the interesting race. Most of the office had left by then, there was less than 10 of us still around. Van was apparently doing a lot of winning so I asked for his assistance and thoughts on the previous couple. He asked if I wanted to go in with him on $2 Exacta Box. I said sure. Our first picks were 3, 5, 7 which were the favorites across most of the boards. At the last minute, he decides to change to 3, 5, 2, so that was our final bet. I head outside to watch the race from the deck, it was a close one. Van comes running out yelling SQL Sister we won. I was a bit confused, but thought maybe I had missed something. Unfortunately, he was the one who missed the fact that 7 finished first followed by 3 and 5. So we lost :-( I really should have put money down on 3, 5, 7 but I didnt. The last two races he wanted me to pick, and unfortunately I think we missed by one horse each time.

Race 9 had a horse named Gigawatt. Considering the reason we were out there, it just seemed appropriate to put a bet down on Gigawatt. I won $4.40 off a $2 show bet. The last and final race of the day had another horse which followed the theme of the event, Recognition, which finished 1st and I won $2.20 off another $2 show bet. And the final horse which I won off of for the day was Homily, who showed and resulted in a $2.60 return.

Though for the day, I ended up in the hole compared to what I spent, it was a wonderful experience and overall ended up ahead with a slight sunburn on the lower quarter of my arm (having a 3/4 length sleeve shirt on).

Definitely a great experience, and I thank all those that made this wonderful day a reality for us in systems.

Plus now I dont have to say I have never been horse racing before and everyone doesnt have to be in such shock over the fact. :-)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Dale
Happy Birthday to you!

Belated Happy Birthdays!

Happy Belated Birthday to you
Happy Belated Birthday to you
Happy Belated Birthday to Leslie, Courtney, Debbie, Ryan, and Michael
Happy Belated Birthday to you all!

Career Change

Here is one of many long awaited posts to my blog.

Five years ago on May 13, I was graduating from Georgetown with my Bachelors in Mathematics and Computer Science, with a minor in Business Administration. Where was I going and what was I going to do with my life? Those were questions that I still didn't have real answer to, but everything around me said you are going to get a job in the IT Industry. Okay, that goes with my degree and I like aspects of the IT industry. 4 months later, I landed my first IT job as a Delphi programmer in Lexington, KY. Not the ideal job but it was a foot in the door, especially with the downward trend of the economy at the time. After 8 months, I was starting my third position within the company. This third position placed me in the area that I was more interested in. I became the database administrator for several SQL server's as well as the main SQL developer for the web pages, interesting work with a bit of a challenge at times. As time progressed on, I wasn't overly happy with where I was at. Though for another 3 years, I stayed in this same basic position gaining additional responsibilities overtime. Upon leaving the company, I was the main database administrator and web developer for the division.

During those 4 years, I constantly contemplated what was it I was suppose to be doing. On numerous occasions, I thought about going back to get my MBA in Finance, pursuing a career in Higher Education, or just finding another job in the IT Industry. For many reasons, I never pursued the other career fields, but constantly was applying for new jobs in the IT industry. Finally in July 2004, I landed my 2nd IT job as a Database Administrator in Louisville, KY.

Okay, so now I was in a new environment, getting respect for what I actually did in both title and pay, and after time realized that I am working with a great group of people. Managers throughout the company, including VPs, recognized the work their employees due and are there to encourage, not bring down. Today, I cannot in any way complain about the job that I have. I would like to be a bit more on the design and detail side of things, and actually know what all we are doing besides what's in the database. But overall in the whole scheme of things, I have no room to complain.

So why does the title say Career change? Because there is still something missing with this job that I cant complain about. With a lot of prayer and reflection the past 8 months, I feel God calling me in a different direction. It all started last fall around October, and by February, I was pretty certain that the IT industry is not for me long term.

So what is? Returning back to one of those careers which I have been contemplating for 5 years now, I have decided to pursue my masters in Higher Education. I feel that is what God is calling me to do and am really excited about working with students and helping to enhance their potentials in life.

What does a masters in Higher Education mean? Most degrees in Higher Education prepare you to work in the Student Life department of colleges, but it also prepares you to work in Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, and other offices on college campuses. Higher education can be broken into two main concentrations, counseling or administration. I plan to pursue the administration side of Higher Education. Goal is to become a college administrator in Student Life with a focus on student organizations, leadership, Greek, intramurals, government, and the like.

When? Since the decision came after 2005 applications were due, the goal is to start applying to Grad school this fall with interviews in the Spring. Starting the 2 year masters program in the fall of 2006.

Where? I have several schools in mind, most of which are in Indiana and Ohio. Looking possibly in Virginia, Missouri, and Kentucky. So yes I will finally move but not until I start my masters degree.

There is the quick synopsis of what's happening. A lot to think about and to figure out, but I am really excited though scared to death at the same time. Going back to school after 5 years, its a bit frightening but I know that I will be able to do it. It will just take getting over that first hump and digging back into the books.

Quick Update

Thanks to those readers who actually did wander what happened to me. Truthfully life has been insanely busy lately and this unfortunately will have to be short. I need to finish preparing for Bible Study tomorrow night.

First Weekend of April - I went to Nashville. It was a great trip and has to do with that whole career and life update story. I promise it is coming.

The weekend prior to the one just ending was a very insane weekend. Partially due to my own insanity and wanting to make sure everything that I did was done and working properly. As some of you might remember, last fall at work, we had a very long weekend and actually ended up not deploying the entire project and instead swapped out hardware. Well this weekend which I am speaking of we finally did deploy the rest of the project. It really went very smoothly but had several time consuming parts amongst it.

Friday night, my managers, fellow DBA (YH), and myself spent a very stormy night at work until late into the night. Around 3 am Saturday morning we finally left to get some sleep at a nearby hotel. Around 6:30 am, BM, YH, and myself appeared again at work all frustrated with either the connection from the hotel or the laptop in general. We all had a goal in mind to get everything up and ready for the development staff when they came in and not push our deadlines any further back. Unfortunately, our processes took twice as long on the production hardware as it did on the testing hardware. But luckily, all things went smoothly and we got the system back up and ready for testing on a decent time schedule.

I did run out a bit before 10 am to go grab a quick shower and check out of the hotel. Returning to work shortly after 11 am. Continuously believing that I would be able to leave in time for evening Mass Saturday night. Things were looking good until the Techs finally decided that they were seeing a slow response out of one of the stored procedures which I had created. So none the less, I ended up staying at work til about 9:30 pm, at which time my mangers said your are leaving now. So I headed off to the hotel to catch some sleep.

It wasnt great sleep as I had the pager with all the success/failure messages next to my bed so that I could make sure that all the processes were running as expected for the first run through. I chased the pager (set on vibrate) all over the nightstand, and only had one failure which didnt have to be solved til morning.

Sunday Morning came, I arose around 8:30 am, debating which Mass to attend at St Michaels around the corner in J-town. Finally deciding on the 10 am Mass, I got up and got ready for church. I did dial into work succesfully from the hotel on my laptop, and fixed the one failure. Church service was very nice and I do remember a couple key pts from the Deacons homily. I made one last call into work after church. My manager said all was well, asked me one question (which after realizing his times where in Central Time, not Eastern and that I wasnt loosing my mind totally). I went off to Rachel and Lindsey's to do laundry and sleep.

So the rest of last week was spent trying my hardest to catch up on sleep, after not sleeping in my own bed for 3 straight nights and getting very little continuously sleep any of those nights.

There is the other weekends crazy story. I promise the career and life update is coming. I must go prepare for bible study now.

And that was not such a quick update...just 20 minutes...sorry for not proofreading.

Happy Birthday Isaac!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday Dear Isaac
Happy Birthday to you!

I've Been Tagged

Quick Update: Yes I am still alive. Thanks for caring. I will post about my insane week and then everything else I promised to post about soon. But before Ashlee messages me again insisting that I am leaving her hanging I will respond to her tag. :-)

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I have to pick 5 or more of the following occupations and post my answers here. Then, I tag 3 other people to post their answers on their blog. Got it? Sounds like fun, huh? Here goes....The "questions":
If I could be a scientist...If I could be a farmer...If I could be a musician...If I could be a doctor...If I could be a painter...If I could be a gardener...If I could be a missionary...If I could be a chef...If I could be an architect...If I could be a linguist...If I could be a psychologist...If I could be a librarian...If I could be an athlete...If I could be a lawyer...If I could be an inn-keeper...If I could be a professor...If I could be a writer...If I could be a llama-rider...If I could be a bonnie pirate...If I could be an astronaut...If I could be a world famous blogger...If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...If I could be married to any current famous political figure...

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If I could be a scientist, chemistry would be my field, the study of chemical compositions and the equations to make and break down different chemicals. Not sure what I would want to solve but I am sure that I would find something interesting.

If I could be a missionary, as Ash said, we are all called to be Missionaries in our daily lives wherever we may be. Though I would also love to travel across the world and spread the good news, care and love, and help those in need, and meet wonderful people all over the world.

If I could be a librarian, I would be in organization heaven because everything has its spot and a rhyme or reason for why it is put in that spot. I could learn tons about so many different areas of life. It would also enjoy asking people to quite down so other people could concentrate.

If I could be a professor, definitely would be a math professor and maybe a computer science class here or there, but mostly concentrating on the math side of the sciences. I would also enjoy teaching leadership and athletic classes.

If I could be a doctor (medical field), I would want to be doctor that studies athletic injuries and helps to find ways to enhance muscles with exercise and proper workouts instead of drugs.

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Tag 3 people, okay most of my blogging friends have already been tagged. So I tagged Rachel H, if anyone else reads this blog and has not been tagged yet, please take this as you being tagged :-)

Sunburn

Its officially Spring and well crazy silly me, managed to get my first sunburn of the year. I have a feeling my left arm is going to be on fire for a few days. Oh well.

Now truthfully, nobody will probalby even realize that I have finally posted on my blog again after so long. I start to wander if its even being read at all sometimes.

Updates:
- Contacts - Okay after three different trial pair. I am currently wearing the right contact from the first trial and the left contact from the third trial. So far its going fairly well so we will see what happens. Another trial pair is on its way as well.

- Basketball Tourney - Sorry that I failed to post much during the tourney it was a very busy and crazy time. So an update on how I did. I had a bracket on ESPN where I was actually ranked in the top 99% for several rounds. Including a 57 ranking after Friday night of the Sweet Sixteen prior to the last two games. After those two games I dropped down to 251, until the end of the Sweet Sixteen. Unfortunately, I went into the Final Four with only 2 teams, though they were Illinois and UNC with UNC winning. I finished 97% with that bracket. It was a great achievement for me. I have never done well in those on-line brackets. As for work, not sure how I finalized out, probably not very good because I had Georgia Tech upsetting Louisville and UK getting beat at least in the Sweet Sixteen if not earlier. The majority of my brackets did have the correct Final 2 with UNC winning all of them. I never imagined that would happen and kept shooting myself in the foot for putting both teams in the final game, but it came to be a correct decision.

- Career and Life update to come soon.

Happy Easter!

Wanted to wish all of my readers a Happy and Joyous Easter! Those who are traveling please have a safe trip back to wherever you are headed. I personally will be returning back from Paducah tomorrow at an undetermined time because enjoying lunch and being somewhere to actually see the UK game is not very feasible. So not sure how that will all play out. Most likely, I will be in the car as the game is being played.

Happy Easter!

Re-arranging

Okay, here goes nothing. If you dont see me online all weekend or responding to anything, its because I am moving the computer into the living room and I havent completed yet.

Not sure if this is a good or a bad move but I need a change so here goes nothing.

Catch ya in the other room :-)

Crispix

As I sit here eating my bowl of Crispix, I think which story should I put on my blog first. Not that any of them are very interesting but still. And does it really matter because do I still have any readers. Probably not many at least, but oh well here goes nothing.

Time out...Need to reload the cereal bowl...Okay thats accomplished

A few weeks ago, I went to get my eyes checked. It had been 2 years since I had last gotten them checked and my glasses were all 3 years old. Since I seem to wear my glasses a lot more, I thought I might better get them checked to make sure I dont need a stronger perscription. Luckily, my eyes havent changed much from the 3 yr old perscriptions which was a good thing.

While there I asked about contacts, they said that I could definitely try them and see how they work. So today was the big day. I flew in from work and went straight to the eye dr to try on contacts. Truthfully, it didnt take oh 40 mins max to put them in, take them out, and put them in again. Definitely different, though I think I like the idea of not having glasses again. My eyes are quite use to them yet but we will see how things go. I can wear them 4 hrs today and increase 2 hrs per day up to 14. Then I have to go back to the dr for him to do something. So we shall see.

I do have a quandry...do I put them on prior to going to work, which will require more time in the morning that I already dont have :-) or do I put them towards the end of the day at work and wear them all night til bed. Any suggestions especially from those who have contacts is much appreciative.

Tonight has another fun twist to it as well. After graduating from college, I moved back to campus and was an RD in the Phi Mu Sorority house for 3 years. During that time, I was always around Phi Mu so I really didnt think much about joining the alumnae chapter. After moving off campus, life was still busy and not much time for other things plus I was still involved on campus with other groups. In the past year, I stopped all direct campus involvements though I am still involved at other levels with some organizations. So I contemplated joining the Alumnae chapter here in Lexington, then as you all know I got a new job and life was all up in arms of where I was going to land. (Which is another story that I will share shortly). but the short of it is that I am going to stay put for a little while longer. Being that I decided to see about getting involved in other things though only as a participater as life is so busy already. So tonight will be my first Phi Mu Alumnae event, which is taking place on the Transy campus in the chapter room. I am excited to see people that I havent seen in awhile as well as meet other fellow Phi Mu ladies in the area.

Well this is long enough for now. More stories to come. Hope everyone is doing well. And those enjoying sunny Floriday...please bring the weather back with you. We have had 5 inches of snow in 3 days...and more expected tonight. Granted it all melts away quickly with 50 degree days but still. I love my winter but I am tired of looking at barren ground and brown trees for 2 hrs a day :-)

Federal Tax Refund

Thanks Chris for the heads up that my refund might be in. I logged into my banks new okay old but new online account setup and sure enough my refund was deposited yesterday. No the chore of not spending it all in one spot :-)

Which Playing Card Are You?

Take the quiz: "Which Playing Card Are You?"

The Queen of Hearts
Loving, caring, but sometimes Vain, You are the Queen of Hearts.

Fire Destroys Clubhouse

Turn on my cellphone this morning to call someone at Chruch. A voice mail message had been lefted on my phone. H's message says the clubhouse has been gutted by a fire and he cant get to work because 5 fire trucks and waterhouses are blocking his way.

I only got a glimpse in the darkness of the tragedy but it does look pretty bad. Click the title for a link to WKYT article.

Thank God, noone was hurt and it was the clubhouse and not an actual apartment building.

Additional Link: WRVQ 36 Link about the fire.

UK Senior Night

Tonight was the climax end of two UK Wildcat Men's Basketball players time at Rupp Arena. Though the season is far from over, the last home game of the season has concluded.

I was fortunate enough to be a witness of Sr Night tonight. This was my first time to experience the excitement and festivities around Sr. Night. It was an emotional and touching night for a lot of those involved.

Josh Carrier - KY Mr Basketball - He came out to play tonight, Scoring a career high 9 pts off of 3 - 3 pointers, and getting to start in his first and probably only UK game.

Chuck Hayes - From Sunny California - came with a full heart and a lot of emotion. Scoring 13 pts, in which 9 of them came in the last 5.5 minutes to pull KY away from a 55-55 tie.

UK won 73-61 but not after a sloppy and not well played game. My view of the game came from the top of Rupp Arena center of the basket on UK's end. The second half offense was hilatious. I saw maybe 2 offensive plays run against the man to man defense. The rest of the time, it was a lot of standing around and moving the ball btwn about 2 people and not penetrating the defense to free anyone up. Rebounding was atrocious again tonight as well. I don't know how many times I saw TN on offense be btwn the defense and the basket. Defensive rebounds don't come with a player btwn you and the basket.

Those are my observations for what they are worth.

Thanks to my friend who accompanied me to the game tonight. It was a lot of fun, though nail biting.

The Legend of Robin Red Breast

Following comes from "The Little Black Book Six-Minute Meditations on the Passion According to Mark" by Bishop Ken Untener. I don’t know that you will find this book around anywhere but its full of very interesting facts and meditations.

"A legend or a fable is a story that doesn't pretend to be historical, but simply teaches a lesson. The events surrounding the suffering and death of Christ gave rise to many legends.

The Legend of Robin Red Breast

When Jesus was hanging on the cross, a plain brown robin happened by and saw how much he suffered because of the nails in his hands and feet.
The robin felt sorry for him. It flew to one of his hands and began trying to pull the nail loose. He tried and tried, but it was a large spike driven deep into the wood.
It was some sight to see, this small bird trying so hard to do what everyone knew was impossible. Those who were heckling Jesus started to make fun of the robin too. They pointed at him and made jokes.
But the more they laughed the harder the robin tried, pulling and straining for a long time until, exhausted, he fell to the ground and lay there with his eyes closed, unable to fly or even stand.
Soon, Jesus writhed no more. He was dead. And the robin, so they thought, was dead too.
When the robin awoke, all was quiet. He looked down at his breast and saw that it was crimson with the blood of Jesus.
From that day on the robin has borne the mark of mercy on his breast.

Happy Belated Birthday!

happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
happy birthday dear rachel h
happy birthday to you

Alright I didnt even type this...thanks to the writer, you know who you are.

Sorry Rachel for missing your birthday. I hope you had a wonderful one.

What extreme sport should you try?

Don't Laugh Too Hard....Sometimes these quizzes are dead on...

You Should Try Car Racing

You've got an unbelievable need for speed No little fear of crashing will stop your lead foot

What Extreme Sport Should You Try?

2004 Taxes Complete

Wow staying ahead of the game for a change. A new outlook on life is to try to stop procrastinating and get things done more timely. Therefore, I wont be bogged down with everything all at once, which is happening at this moment at time. Deep breath...exhale.....Go...

So after doing some pretty major cleaning this weekend for the Tupperware Party next weekend. By the way, girls you are invited at 1:30 Sat March 5 at my place. Guys I pretty much figure you are not interested :-) though that may not be true for all.

I decided to work on my taxes and get that out of the way especially since April is not going to be the best month to try and finish taxes. Plus the nice check from Federal will be a welcome to my savings account.

Couple tasks down just a 50 left to go :-)

Off to get more things accomplished for a change.

What a Tuesday?

Driving down I-64 to work, running a bit behind, I was noticing the uniqueness of all the different cars as I passed, as I normal do when conscious enough. When I came up behind an automobile with a unique Official Kentucky State Department license plate. As I got closer, it was the automobile of a State Senator, sure enough it was Damon Thayer, State Senator from Georgetown. Reason I know is because his pic is in the Georgetown NewsGraphic on a rather consistent basis. Don't believe that I could say I have came across a State Senator before driving down the road.

Then driving down I-75, approaching Newtown Pike from Georgetown, I began to approach a car with a Georgetown College license plate. These always interest me because I always wander if I know the individual in the car. The license number was still a bit blurry especially after having had my eyes dilated not 40 minutes earlier. When I finally got close enough to read the plate, it read 0001. Sure enough there was the Georgetown College President, Bill Crouch. He ended up following me to downtown Lexington, where the lights ended up separating us.

All of this happened after being awakened at 3:30 am to update records in production for work. It was an extremely long day all starting with me getting to work around 9 and having to leave at 3:30 to get my eyes checked.

Good News...my eye sight has not gotten much worse in the past 3 years. Woohoo. I am going to try contacts, and finally remembered the reason I would kind of like to be able to wear contacts. Playing sports...my eye sight has worsen enough that I really do need to wear glasses when playing basketball or tennis, or I am sure other sports. That's just too dangerous to me, plus the glasses get all sweaty. So maybe with contacts I will exercise more. :-)

ESPN College Basketball Game Day at Rupp

So ESPN is spending the day around and outside Rupp Arena today. I really am not familiar with this program but it sounds like a lot of fun. Plus I better remember to avoid downtown today, altogether.

If you have ESPN on your TV dial, you can tune into shows now, 8 pm, and midnight tonight. And well of course the game is at 9 pm on ESPN. Dick Vitale, everyone's favorite commentator will be on hand as well.

What Random Object Represents You?

You are Windex. You are a neat freak. Quite plain and simple. If you walk into an unorganized area, you go insane. Most of your free time is spent cleaning and organizing, when you aren't having fun with you friends. Even though many are annoyed by your constant organizing, some see it as a quality of neatness, and that is something most people envy about you. The opposite sex sees you as clean-cut and pure, though you are too shy to express your true feelings for them. You keep a list of goals and priorities in your life, and in almost all cases, accomplish them. You are the over-acheiver, most intelligent in your class, and strive to do all that is in your ability. Some people may try to take advantage of you, however, so don't let them make you clean up their messes. "Just put some Windex." Most compatible with: Toothbrush. Click here -- What Random Object Represents Your Inner Self?

(Note: All of the quizzes that I post on here are found from someone else's blog. Usually Chris's. Thanks Chris)

Busch Stadium - Home of the St Louis Cardinals

Have you ever gone to watch St Louis baseball in Busch Stadium? If not, you better check out the schedule and start planning a road trip to St Louis this summer. It will be the last year that you will be able to watch the Cardinals in Busch Stadium (the old) or say that you saw a game in the original Busch Stadium. The new stadium will also be called Busch Stadium as their key sponsor Anheuser-Busch has agreed to a 20-year deal. Click the title for more details about the new ballpark.

I hope to make a road trip, one weekend. Though I have seen a game or two (okay many) at Busch Stadium, I would love to go again for old time sake before its torn down.

Big Blue hits "Mile" stone

Big Blue for those who do not know is the nickname of my V6 Honda Accord. Today on the journey to work, the odometer rolled over to 50,000 miles. A monumental point in the life of a car that I own, usually it takes several years to hit this point, but it only took 2 years and almost 2 months.

For this "Mile" stone, Big Blue received yet another oil change and a bath. I need to figure out if there is anything else it needs besides new tires very very soon.

I will say (knock on wood) that this has been one of the better behaved cars that I have ever had. Though just because it has 50,000 miles, doesnt mean that its that old and all the issues have come to the surface just yet.

Don't be suprised, when next April, there is not another post about Big Blue hitting the 100,000 mile mark. Yikes.....thats the most troublesome thing about not moving to Louisville.

What Kind of Intelligence are You?

If anyone is suprised with my results, they do not know me. Definitely a logical-mathematical person. Though I will say I was a bit scared of what it was going to say about me.

Your Dominant Intelligence is Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

You are great at finding patterns and relationships between things. Always curious about how things work, you love to set up experiments. You need for the world to make sense - and are good at making sense of it. You have a head for numbers and math ... and you can solve almost any logic puzzle. You would make a great scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant, or mathematician.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Happy Valentine's Day!

A little history about St. Valentine:

The actual origin of St Valentine Day and the number of St Valentines remains a mystery to this day. Though it is believed that there were at least two Valentines, both of whom were martyred around 269 AD. One was a priest and physician who, legend says, sent letters of love and encouragement to the early Christian community in Rome during the time of his persecution. Another Valentine may have been a bishop who was also martyred for the faith.

The feast of St. Valentine was dropped from the Roman Catholic calendar in 1969.

The actual custom of sending Valentines on Feb 14 is thought to have started in the Middle Ages. It was a day for love, for it was the day when the birds began to mate.

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To all my dear friends, I wish you a Happy Valentine's Day. May God's love shower down upon you today and forever.

What a Crazy Week

Okay this has been one crazy and busy week. It was fun, frustrating, stressful, and almost over. Tomorow I leave for Clarksville, TN for a ODK Province X Conference that I have been working on for the past several months. It is finally here and I am really excited. Except that my alma mater is not sending anyone :-(

Work is very very busy and the tension is mounting for some reason and I have no clue why. I just remember to take a deep breath and smile. Trying really really hard to leave work at work and you know what for a change its working....yeah.

Tuesday, I acquired 2 tickets to the UK/Florida game at Rupp Arena. I never knew that it would be so hard to find someone to go to the game with me. I will be honest...the first attraction to going to the game would be the game. Though the second attraction to going, would to hang out with me. I wasnt decline only once or even twice, but 4 guys declined the inivitation (all are friends, nothing else) and 2 gals declined. I thought a 3rd gal was going to decline and leave me to take desperate measures in order to not go to the game alone. Thanks Ash for finally deciding to go to the game with me. It was tons of fun and wonderful to see you again. Minus the lady in front of me :-/

Well its approaching 9 and I have tons of things to get together and pack for my weekend adventure.

Are Guys Interested in.........

Tupperware Parties

Back in December, I was asked when was I going to have another Pampered Chef party. I replied, "Not having a Pampered Chef party but a Tupperware Party instead." A guy in the room asks if he can come. I really couldnt tell if he was joking or not. I joking responded back saying you can come if you want to.

Now the question is...was he just joking or would he really be interested in coming to a Tupperware Party. I thought I would throw the question out to my readers for response, especially since several guys do read my blog.

Guys would you be interested in a Tupperware Party?
Girls would you want guys at a Tupperware Party?
Any other thoughts and comments are welcome.

Feast of the Presentation of Jesus

On February 2 all the talk was about Groundhog's Day, but February 2 marks a very important date in Christian history, the presentation of Jesus in the temple. According to the Laws of Moses, a woman was not to touch anything holy for 40 days after the birth of a son or 80 days after the birth of a daughter. During this time the woman was being purified from the uncleanliness of giving birth. (Leviticus 12) After the time of purification was up, the woman was to bring a yearling lamb for holocaust and a pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering. If the woman could not afford a lamb, she could bring two pigeons or turtledoves, one for the holocaust and one for the sin offering. So Mary as required by Mosaic law took Jesus to the temple with her offering, 40 days after His birth. (Luke 2: 22-38)

February 2 is also known as Candlemas Day. You can read the link for a full story about Candlemas Day, but it was a pre-cursor to the groundhog legend of predicting the rest of winter.

First Online Bill Payment

Okay so I have finally given in at least once, we will see if all the information was correct and the bill actually gets paid on Monday. Why the breakdown and giving in to paying online? Well my current banking situation it's a bit odd and crazy, but that's okay. My savings and checking are in two separate banks in two separate towns. So when my checking account runs out of money, I have to go get money out of one bank and move it to the other. I know insanity but it helps to keep me from spending so much money. The issue has arisen that I am out of money in my checking again to pay my credit card bill. So I decided why not see if I can just pay it online from my savings account. We will see if it worked on Monday, when it will finally post. Who knows maybe I will use it again. Though that allows for easier access to money that is in my savings account, not a good things.

On the same subject, I have been paying my cellphone bill via phone lately. Seems to work pretty good plus it goes on my credit card and I earn points. Win win. I decide to try to pay my home phone bill the same way. No such luck...you have to pay $1+ extra to pay it via phone. The electric bill is the same way. What is all of that about. It is easier for them than getting it by mail, a lot less processing. Makes no sense to me.

The Cheese Drawer

For those of you who know me or have been to my house lately, you know that the cheese drawer, YES I have a cheese drawer, is usually full of cheese. Apparently I have been eating a lot of cheese lately because there is almost a cheese crisis. Hopefully I make it back to the grocery before it really does become a crisis.

By the way, I dont like cheese and its great for my health :-)

How Nerdy Are You?

Thanks to Jeff for finding these wonderful quizzes.

College Memories

As of late, Chris keeps on bringing up college memories. So I thought I would dedicate a post to some of those memories. Please feel free to add as you which.

Multiple Memories
- Midnight Brunch in the Cafe, being served by Faculty and Staff.
- Sunday Dinner Chicken Planks
- Breakfast in the Cafe
- Late Nights in the Old Art Building, Developing Pics
- Miss Emma in the Cafe
- Nertz
- Unnamed person throwing my shoe out the door of Cal class. (Unless they want to confess who they are)

Single Events
- Flood of 1997
- Presidential Candidate Bob Dole
- Snowstorm of 1998
- Rush/Pledge of 1998

Okay I am sure there are tons more, so please share.

What Age Do You Act?

You Are 29 Years Old

29 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Belated Happy Birthdays!

Belated Happy Birthdays go out to Jennifer L and Susan R whose birthdays were yesterday.

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear JL and SR
Happy Birthday to you.

Also happy belated birthday to MG, who celebrated his birthday on Sunday.

Personality Test

You Have A Type A- Personality

A- You are one of the most balanced people around Motivated and focused, you are good at getting what you want You rule at success, but success doesn't rule you. When it's playtime, you really know how to kick back Whether it's hanging out with friends or doing something you love! You live life to the fullest - encorporating the best of both worlds

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Mark's Gospel Live

This sounds really interesting and I plan on attending if anyone else is interested in joining me.

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Friday, Feb 25th, 7pm. Performance in the Cathedral of Christ the King.

The actual words of The Gospel of St. Mark memorized & performed as a play by actor and priest, Fr. Joseph Morris. A first-century drama of love, betrayal, and newness of life. Great for both children and adults!

2 acts separated by a 30-minute intermission
Admission: free will offering.

Father Joseph first took an interest in the Gospel of St. Mark in graduate school. In his first years as a parish priest, he and 16 performers performed the Gospel as a set of consecutive one-actor performances--in 100 minutes for local churches. After breaking his leg in 2001, Joseph took the recovery time to memorize and stage Mark as a one-actor production. He’s been doing it ever since—on his days off, on holidays, whenever and wherever possible.

http://www.gospelofmark.us/

Freaky DVD Player

Okay, as some of you know, I got a DVD player for Christmas. I was really excited about this because I have come to realize that to rent anything from Blockbuster, its almost imperative that you have a DVD player because they have no VHS movies anymore.

So on New Years Day, I pull out the DVD Player and hook it up. All looks good so I turn it on and proceed to hit the Open/Close button for the DVD drive. Nothing happens. I try again. I try the channel changer that came with it nothing happens. I become very bummed out. I try everyday for several days and then finally give up. KP stops by and I tell him about it. He tries, no such luck. That was just this past weekend.

Today, I decide randomly to try it again. I turn it in, the screen does a few different things, then I hit open/close button. Wala...it opens up. Now is that freaky or what.

Now I am scared to use it afraid that it will decide to stop working again. All my technological friends what do you think?

Goals 2005

These are in random order and a quick draft because I have to go work on a couple of them :-)

- Loose 30 lbs that I have gained the last 6 months.
- Excercise More
- Eat Healthier
- Make a decision about where life is headed next.
- Complete the execution of a successful ODK Province X Conference in February.
- Be more prepared for Bible Study
- Have Fun, but not too much
- Save money for that next life decision
- Read More
- Finish 1 of 3 Cross-stitches for my cousin's kids in 2 weeks, and hopefully finish the other 2 by end of year :-)

Okay I better go start working on this list.

Car Woes Continue

So I get home after church and decide to attempt to get the grime off my windshield. I am still not sure what it is and it doesnt come off easily. There is still a bit stuck on the windshield but I was tired and hungry so I quit. Any solutions are welcome.

As I cleaned the windshield, I found a nice chip out of the passenger side of the windshield. So how long til this goes from a small chip to a nice crack? Guess I am going to have to figure out how to get that taken care of as well in the next few months depending on how fast the crack grows.

I definitely dont have luck with cars but I will take these woes over mechanical woes like my other cars have had.

Rental Frustrations

Wed Night, I took my car in to Don Jacobs to get the rearend repainted (Accident on 12/11) as well as get a clearcoat patch on the front bumper fixed. In this whole process, you already have the frustrations of taking your car in and having to find another form of transportation. Thankfully the person who hit me insurance paid for the rental car.

I get a nice size rental car which surprised me because the lady said that the insurance had paid for something in the class with Cavalier, Corolla, and Focus. I ended up with a Chrysler Siebring, 4 door. It was okay no big shakes and definitely had no power behind it.

I leave the parking lot and go the Catholic Bookstore maybe a block away. Find some nice books and come back out to notice the front right tire low. Being a rental there is no tire gauge, so I really cant tell what the pressure is. So I go to the nearby the, surprised to find FREE Air :-) Granted no tire gauge so I fill it up as much as I think it needs and go on my way to Bible Study where I knew someone would have a tire gauge.

25 lbs of air. :-( So I call the rental 800 line and they send out AAA to fix the tire. All they do is put the donut on the car. Now what the heck good is that going to do me trying to get to Louisville in the morning. Absolutely none. But I was in the middle of attempting to lead Bible study so I went back in to finish. Afterwards, I called the rental company again. All the branches were closed. The one in Gtown opens at 8 in the morning. They can replace the car.

Great, now I am going to be late to work. I already left early Wed and had to leave early on Fri to handle all the car issues. Plus my officemate was going to be late. Unfortunately nothing that I can do about it.

So I go to the Gtown branch, Thurs morning. They have a new Mazda 6 in the parking lot but the paperwork is not completed, so they cant send it with me :-( Probably a good thing. Instead they take the car next door and get the flat repaired. The flat had not 1 but 2 nails in it. How the heck do you give a customer a rental with 2 nails in the front tire? The guy at Gtown was really nice and helpful. So the tire was fixed and I went on my merry little way to work.

Thankfully I made it safely to work, stayed in town, and made it safely back yesterday afternoon to get my car back.

Big Blue...has two nice and shiny bumpers now, along with some chips filled in on the hood. And it cost me nothing, thankfully. No the fun of keeping it cleaned in this weather and not using the automatic or high pressure washes. That could be fun.

Happy New Year - Welcome 2005

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe evening last night to ring in the new year.

May this year be full of blessings and wonderful memories.

Christ Blessings be with each of you.

UK Basketball

I have now been spoiled for the entire basketball season and I am going to be lost for the next month and half. My dad came across some UK tickets on Ebay around Thanksgiving time. It was a set of 2 tickets for the next 4 home games. Though they were not big name teams, its always worth going to watch a UK game in Rupp. That is for the right price. I am not one to pay over the top for tickets unless they are really worth it. I then still have my limit.

Thanks to those who accompanied me to the games. I had a blast and hope you did as well. If you find me outside Rupp, next Wednesday, please show me the way home. (Okay you wont next Wed but the following Sunday) Please show me the way home because those tickets will be way out of my price range.

GO CATS!

Back Home

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am back home safe and sound. The WK was still basically one lane and it wasnt always the best. And the fast lane was so messed up that you couldn't go fast enough to pass anyone at least not without a 4wd in my opinion.

Thankfully it only took me 4.5 hrs to make the trip. .5 hr extra isnt bad.

Safe Travels to all those left to head back.

Christmas Allergies

I really dislike whatever allergies I have around this time of the year. We believe it is live Christmas Trees. After the third evening this season spent with a Christmas Tree, I think it might have finally taken over. Please pray that I will not feel too bad tomorrow or at all this season.

Tomorrow I plan to start my journey back east. I spoke to my cousin who left today for the 'ville and it took them 5 hrs in a 4wd vehicle. The WK is apparently still really bad so I am trying to pump myself up for a 6 plus hour drive back tomorrow.

The Heartache

I know I left you all in midstream of my travels. Sorry about that. It was late and I figured the previous post was long enough.

So I hit the WK at Beaver Dam..oh my goodness...at first it was fair but not great, and then it turned worse. I was holding on and fighting the car ever inch of the way. Both lanes had been grated off smooth...smooth as glass almost. The snow was packed down tight and you could see the ruts from the day before. It wasnt chunky or broken up but smooth top with ruts. It was almost like glass. I kept telling myself I was dreaming. The car was shaking and bumping so bad.

At one time I was talking to my aunt and she asked me if I was cold I was almost in a chatter. It was the car shaking and bumping that bad.

I thought to myself on numerous occassions..."How far has it been since the Natcher, can I turn around and go back, how many more miles is it going to be this bad, should I keep on going?" I battled with myself for probably a good hr.

Three times I found myself sideways and having to catch myself and straighten back up. I saw cars in front of me get squirly as well. Luckily, I never hit anything, anyone, or got stuck.

We did stop once outside of Beaver Dam because a car had slid off and someone was helping them back out. I had my foot on the break and felt like I was still moving. I looked at the car and determined I wasnt. But then I put it in park and after a few minutes. I noticed that I was starting to slide down the road. Plus I saw a guy get out of his car and he about slid straight down the road. I knew at that pt it was really really slick out there.

It took me an 1.5 to get from Beaver Dam to Providence/Dawson Springs exit. Which encompassed approximately 40 miles of road. I have never wanted to go back home so bad and not worry about it. I started to think how crazy was I. Apparently pretty crazy.. Though I also thought that maybe I was just being a wimp, but I think a few others have confirmed that I wasnt just being a wimp.

So I finally made it to Paducah around 2 pm CST Christmas Eve. After Providence, the parkway was clear and I-24 was clear at least one lane. The first part was only one lane that went from the right to the left to the ctr and back to the right. Even the section of 2 lane did that as well. Driving along two lanes of traffic and next thing I know I am crossing the white center line going into the other lane with a car to my right following the same path to the shoulder. It was crazy.

The interestate in McCracken Co was clear and dry almost. I was going 70+ and so excited.

Well that was my journey. Now I have another day plus before I hit the roads again.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!

May your day be merry and bright. The Lord has come to save us, Let us rejoice and be glad.

I hope everyone has made it safely to their family. If the weather has kept you away, don't be sad but rejoice that you are safe and sound, wherever you may be.

God Bless Each of you.

Holiday Travels Take 3

First of all, I am safely at my parents house in Paducah. I arrived around 2 pm CST yesterday. (Merry Christmas)

This journey took about 26 hours to complete. (It was not all spent on the road so don't worry) Thanks to N for agreeing to let me follow him from Lexington to the Natcher PKWY off of the WK PKWY. As we left town on Thursday afternoon, the interestate to Paducah was closed. But I figured I would brave the roads to the exit to Owensboro and then make a call from there, to continue or make a pitstop.

The roads to the WK where passable at least one lane and went fairly smoothly. The WK was definitely down to mostly one lane and a lot more snow covered and I dont think had been touched by the plows. It was nearly 4 CST when we hit the Natcher and darkness was starting to fall upon us. A rough calculation of at least another 3 hrs ahead of me by myself, sent me on up to Owensboro to hang out with my friend Rachel and her mom.

The Natcher wasnt too bad minus being only one lane and a red Chrsyler Lebaron driving 25 miles per hr and no way to pass. They had only scrapped one lane the other lane still had a foot plus of snow.

We arrived safely in the 'Boro around 5 CST and then the world became small again (Story to follow in another post)

After a nice nights sleep, some Nertz and speed, it was back on the road. After a slight adventure getting out of the street, I made it successfully back to the Natcher. It was now double clean though the outside lane was less traveled than the inside. It went smoothly and pretty much on target.

The heartache .....

Storm 2004

Wow what a storm the state of Kentucky is getting hit with, at least parts of the state. Personally I have been in the rain slicked areas of central KY all day. Luckily, I took today off work to run errands prior to going home tomorrow.

But as I look towards my drive tomorrow, I see alot of obstacles in the way and the worst thing is I am not sure where the obstacles will be starting. Granted tonights location and tomorrow morning's locations are going to be totally different.

What I do know is that Paducah has already been hit by a foot of snow and its still coming down. The worst thing is that the wind is blowing so bad that its drifting really bad.

Talked to a friend who is in Owensboro at the moment and she says the crews there have gone in for the night because the plowing is helping because of the drifts. She made it to almost the Natcher before running into major trouble. Though she had sleet and rain a good bit of the first half of her journey.

For those who are safe and sound with their family, glad you took off early and made it there safely. For those of us still to leave, I pray for your safety, patience, and mindset when its all said and done.

Though the weather is frightful, I am glad that I stayed around today and this evening. The journey home will be slow but worth it. Though I was really hoping that Thanksgiving got the travel blues out of the system, but apparently not, tomorrow is going to be quite the trip.

Talk to you next from the foot plus of snow.

Car Wash!

I go out this morning to pay my car registration and licensing. Afterwards, I decided that it would be nice to wash the car prior to putting the new license plate on.

Arrived at the usual car wash in front of Wal-mart. Nothing abnormal there, until I put in the money and push "Pre-Wash Soak". The water is dribbling out of the spout, so I try the "High Pressure Rinse". Still just a dribble. Well by now I have already put $2 in the machine and am not interested in wasting it. I figure that all the guns cant be that bad, so lets see if the foaming brush works and wash the car and then move. After soaping the car down, I drive to another slot and put $1.5 in. Again no water is coming out, but the one next to me the guy was having luck. So I rinsed my car the best I could with the dribble and when he left switched spots.

YEEPEE....Initial success. Get the car rinsed off but it still has a few dirty spots. So I get the foaming brush out and brush down a few spots. Turn on the "High Pressure Rinse". Maybe 10 secs of high pressure and it dies again. By this point, I am rather frustrated so once the time was over. I drove down the street to another car wash and successfully rinsed the rest of the car off.

Hopefully nobody noticed me driving down the street with soap on my car :-(

Now Big Blue is cleaned and decked out with a new license plate, supporting my alma mater "GEORGETOWN COLLEGE". It looks sweet, now I just need to decide what I want to put on the front end.

Weekend

What a Weekend........Awesome, Great, Okay, and Bad

Friday Night:

I made dark chocolate chip cookies for the first time. To my knowledge it is the first time in which I have made cookies from scratch by myself. I am sure I have helped my mother in the past but that doesn't count. They turned out great and I hopefully making a lot more cookies before the night is over.

My friends and I have started a Christmas jigsaw puzzle as well. I am trying to avoid the living room because I don't want to get trapped working on it.

Saturday:

GO CATS!

As you all know from the blogs, it was my birthday on Saturday. Yikes another year older. It was for the most part a wonderful birthday.

Saturday evening, I had a birthday celebration. 9 friends came out for dinner at Johnny Carino's and then bowling afterwards. I had a great time. Thanks to all who made my birthday wonderful.

Though the birthday did not come without the bad, as I was headed to Carinos early to get our reservation in, I was sitting at a red light when thump went my car. The only thing I could think was "No this just didn't happen and not on this particular day of my life." Unfortunately, it had happened, though fortunately, it was not a hard hit and the damage looks to be minor and it wasn't my fault. We will see the pain that I have to go through to get it fixed though. My poor car might as well have a full paint job at the rate its going because soon it wont have any original paint on it :-(

The rest of the evening was fabulous and we hadn't been seated by the time that I gotten there, though the entire party was there awaiting dressed in their favorite country attire. Some did a lot better dressing than others, though everyone did put some thought into the evening which is all that matters.

Sunday:

With the two fun evenings and little sleep, I did a lot of sleeping with work and church squeezed in the middle. Work is another story. Apparently, my password expired at work and my account was locked solid. Not good when you have a deploy to complete nor when the pager goes off at 12:30 am and you have to wake someone else up. Though we got it all done and I finally got my account unlocked so hopefully noone will have to be awaken tonight.

Happy Birthday to Many!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Callie!
Happy Birthday to Lindsey R and L2's Mom!

Exercise

Okay so I have been the biggest slacker since I started this new job. Though I wasn't doing the best prior to the new job, at least I was walking about 4 times a week during lunch with some officemates at my last job. It wasn't speed walking or anything like that, but it is amazing the difference that it does make.

Now I ride, sit, ride, sit, and sleep. Definitely nothing in that routine that burns too many calories. So I have been debating on how to fix this. I am always so tired or it is way too late when I do finally get home that getting dressed and going down to the gym in the apt complex seems to be too much energy. My parents have an XL Glider, which they purchased a few years ago. It has no motors and can be packed up and put to the side fairly easy taking up little room. I kept debating about ordering one but they are fairly expensive. While I was home over the holidays, K's Merchandise had them on sale for the cheapest price that we had ever seen. I decided that was a sign for me to get one and start working out again.

I put it together last Sunday evening though tonight was the first night that I actually got on it to work out any. It was nice to get some exercise for a change. Hopefully, I can keep doing this several times a week and loose the 20 lbs that I have gained in the last 5 months.

By the way, though you may not think the little walking at lunch or on breaks does any good. I am here to tell you it definitely over times makes a big difference. You don't have to do anything major just get some nice brief exercise and your body will be appreciative.

UK Game and Randomness!

As I stated on Ash's blog, my first Ebay purchase occurred this past weekend though I am not sure it was my exact purchase since I still dont have an ebay login but I was apart of the bidding process. This process ended up winning me tickets to the upcoming (and now past) UK ballgames, for slightly below cost.

A college friend of mine and current co-worker of mine joined me Tuesday night to watch the UK vs Tennesse Tech game. After work, we got in the car to head towards Lexington in one of the slowest by not the slowest ride down 64. People cant drive in the rain (side note). Because of the slow traffic, we were running slightly behind. I decided that I would take S to Sawyers downtown. She had never been there and I quite enjoy it.

Nothing random for me occurred at Sawyers though S was quite puzzled that everyone there seemed to know me. Its because the sport car club goes down there once a month for our meetings and one of the members is the owner of the establishment. It is fun going into a restaurant where the people recognize and know who you are as well as what you are going to order. Darn people of reputation and readability :-)

Because of the drive and dinner, we ended up a bit late to the game, but successfully found our seats and started watching the ballgame. Oblivous to those around me, I watched the majority of the first half, when I turned to my left. There were several open seats btwn me and the next individual in the row. The first glance caught me by suprise and I had to take a second look to verify the first glances sitings. Sure enough sitting to the left of me was K. K worked at the last company though not directly with me. He and M (my American officemate) were good friends and K usually joined M, others, and I for lunch almost weekly. K also had not realized that I had come in and was sitting next to him and his father. It was fun times.

The game: Yikes that was a close game for the first half. And they still have not learned the art of blocking out yet. This seems to be a continual problem for Tubby Smith's teams in my opinion. I dont know how many times I saw players basically underneath the basic trying to get rebounds. Trust me that doesnt work for getting rebounds just the ball after its count on the scoreboard. Players these days rely way too much on there jumping ability and arm stretch to get the rebounds. Its not going to work against better teams. The true first test of the season comes this Sat at noon.

Afte the game, S and I headed back to the car, trying to stay dry and warm. Luckily it wasnt really raining when we left like it was on our way to the game. We briskly walked towards our car through the crowd. As we crossed through a parking lot in attempts to shorten our route, we walked by two individuals. The young man looked at us and we looked at him and not until we passed one another did we realize that we knew one another. So we stopped to say a friendly hello to J and finished our journey to the car.

It was an overall fun and exciting evening and I think one of the first times that I have ever gone to a UK game and actually ran into someone that I knew. I have always known of others who are in attendance but never see them. It seems quite odd considering the number of people there. I am half way guaranted to see K again as his father has season tickets just a few seats down from where my tickets are for the next few games.

Go Cats!

Additional: When I sit down in my seat, I check my phone to make sure the fam had not called and I had a text msg. Not sure who it was from I checked and Ash had messaged me, telling me if I stayed up to watch the game that I might see her. I replied to say Im here as well so I wont see ya on the tv though maybe on the big screen. I never saw her :-( . Maybe next time Ash :-)

Traffic Take Two

Okay so I just thought that the trip to Paducah was long. It was nothing like this evening's trip back from Paducah. Around 4 pm CST, I headed out and back to my humble abode. Though it was a rainy and soon to be dark ride back to the bluegrass, it really was uneventful at least I thought. When I hit I-65, I debated whether or not to go the BG or on up to Louisville. Considering that the BG would have taken me along some wide backroads through Versailles and Midway, I decided it was safer to go through Louisville. Though the change in scenery would have been nice, a good break from my day to day driving of I-64. Plus there was this person (known as my father) in my head telling me that Louisville route would be safer, though I would prefer you wait til morning. So I headed up and through the outskirts of Louisville, half and hour from home and that is when trouble hit.

Luckily for me, I had not left a few mere minutes earlier because about 1 mile pass Graefenburg/Lawerenceburg exit everything came to a complete halt. Not really knowing what was happening except that traffic was not moving at all. After a few minutes of no movement, the car was put into park. Thinking that something might happen soon, I waited a few more minutes and still no movement. So I decided to turn the lights out and the car off. Four state troopers came down the side with there lights flashing. I few more minutes went by and I decided I needed to find something to do. So I got out and found the cross-stitch that I was working on in the trunk and started working on it using the overhead light. Half and hour had passed and still no movement. I could see the lights from an ambulance or firetruck flickering off of a semi up ahead. I figured the wreck was not too far ahead of me. I called a friend to say hello and continued work on my cross-stitch. Every now and then I turned the car on to warm up and make sure the battery wouldnt run down with the light on. Minutes upon minutes passed by....a half an hour later or so, a flatbed tow truck drove by. I figured that was definitely a good sign that the accident was starting to be cleaned up. Another half an hour went by, as I talked to my friend and worked on my cross-stitch. Then all of a sudden the guy in front of me turned on his lights and put on his brakes. First in a bit of shock and disbelief that we might actually get to move again, I put away the cross-stitch and started up the car.

Next thing, I knew we were going 30, then 40, then 50, and soon about 60. It only took a few minutes, maybe 2.5 miles until I was driving through a bunch of broken glass. It surely didnt excite me to drive through all that glass, though I was glad to be moving again. And extremely glad that my bladder was still making it. Since the last stop was at Beaver Dam and I got a drink to go at that time. Yikes... that could have been really bad, especially being alone in the dark stuck. Luckily, I made it home safe and sound and it actually wasnt raining when I got home. So I was able to unpack the majority of my car without it getting wet again.

This adventure took 5.5 hrs to complete. I think this is two of the longer trips that I have had in my many journeys back and forth. Definitely, the first trip to have problems going both ways.