this happened

after falling off this. So I sold it.

It got cold and I was with out a bike. So I took pictures of IKE.

Here is IKE wearing a knee warmer with holes for his legs.

Here is IKE and his Christmas present. It was the only thing on his list.

We got a Vita-Mix and it's the best thing ever.

spent some much needed time with best friends in HOU.

Had a fantastic NYE with friends and at Jen's fave bar.

Visited our Brazilian friend who just became a daddy.

Spent a lot of time looking at pictures of Eddy Merckx and this is by far my favorite. Handsome bastard.

The old bike finally sold and I bought this one.

Also, my new job is awesome. What other bike shop will have one of these?

Yessss

weighs 14.8 lbs just like this, or .933 IKES.

I can’t wait to spend more time on it and really making note of the differences between the Imperiale and the SL2. I did a quick ride today and already can tell that I’m going to liek it a whole lot better. It feels super stable and solid. More later when I start getting back in shape.

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Last week I started riding my bike again. Went out to 360 and back. Killer stuff considering it had been at least a month since I had done any kind of hard riding. Two days ago I went out for a quick morning spin and right as I was getting to the neighborhood, where we’re staying, my rear tire felt like it rolled over a tack. Nope. A nail drove all the way through tire and tube and peirced the rim under the rim strip. Wild shit. I’ve seen people come into the shop with wheels totally busted from nails, but luckily mine seems to be alright. I’m trying my hardest to ride as much but not having a job is really bringing me down.

My last post got Jen bummed about me feeling this way. It’s not her fault, it just a rut I’m going through now and know I’ll get over it. A friend of mine goes through depression stages that I can relate to. It’s been a long time since the last time I felt this way. I’m constanty reminded of the shitty place I was in when my X and I lived off of chimney rock. The only thing that is similar to that time now is that I have no car. Which is the least of my worries. Jen isn’t the problem either. In fact she’s been real supportive. So it’s not her. I’m just unhappy and impatient with our current situtaion. We’ve been here two weeks and have wanted this move for a long time, but it feels like we’re still moving. Like a long long road trip. the novelty of it has worn off after the first hour. You can’t get quite comfortable and you’ve played all your favorite music. it’s just quiet now as you’re driving, staring at the road and wishing you were already there.

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My friends are coming to visit this weekend and I can’t wait for them to get here. There will be lots of bike riding, inside jokes, and hating. Oh The HATE! On thing I miss about the shop is the morning hate dialogues. Every morning the guys would show up and have a little anecdote about their evening. If two people hadn’t seen each other because of off days, you would get the occasional, “Hey! Guy!” or obligatory snarky remark. Then someone would pull up to the shop, it’s 9:10 (the store opens at 10) and pulls on the door, bangs the window, looks at their watch. Incredulous, “I can’t believe they’re not open yet! I’m here. They’re here. Why is it not open?!” It’s all pretty much game after that. Anyway I’m stoked about my friends coming to town as these kids are in the audience.

As far as cycling, i started racing this year and did pretty well. I didn’t win any races but came close the last time around. It started kind of shitty but the more I convinced myself to get in it, the better I did. What’s weird is that I did better when Jen wasn’t there than when she and IKE came along.

I was getting better and better until on my cranks broke on my last race. Somehow the bonding from the spindle to the spider broke or gave out. So off to Easton it went. They estimated it would take anywhere between 4-6 weeks to get the new one…

So I sold my Red group and bought an 11 Speed Campagnolo Chorus group. I’m pretty pleased with it. Even though, I’ve only ridden it for 60 miles. I’m glad to be finally done with buying things for my bike. For now.

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We’re  moving to Austin this Saturday.

Yes. Jen  applied for a job in her company and beat out about 250 applicants. I was sure she was going to get it when she applied for it. I have always wanted to live in Austin. EVERYONE says, “Oh, you’re going to looove it!” I want someone to say, “God, you’re going to hate it.”  I don’t think anyone will. Anyway it brings me to the current pickle I’m in; I hate moving. It’s not that I don’t want to live in Austin or want to move there, but the act of moving itself is what I despise. Packing, moving shit around. Going through things you have and debating whether to toss it or not. All of it. I hate it.

I realized today that I honestly do not want to move. I’m happy for Jen with her getting this job and her promotion and all that, but it really sucks that we have to move. We had already decided that we weren’t going anywhere for a while, after her last interview in Austin. I got used to that and felt comfortable with where I was at work. I also got comfortable with who I work with and most of all my friends from work. It seems selfish to be upset about moving because I’m leaving friends behind. After all, so is Jen. Her office-mate is probably one of, if not, her best friend.

I’m mainly bummed because I’m going to Austin to no job. To live with someone who I honestly don’t want to live with. Not because I dislike them, but because living in anyone else’s home sucks. It doesn’t matter what the situation is. In our case, we’re going to look for a place while we shack up with Camille. Which is smart, but it still sucks. I’m sure it must suck for her too. I would feel weird. Back to the no job thing. Moving to Austin requires that I quit my job and start over. I was comfortable where I was. Now it’s back to square one. I’m reminded of leaving WFM and when I left bartending. It sucked. Luckily I have the support of Jen. Her mom called me and said she was praying for me. Which is sweet. People telling me, “oh, you’ll be fine” is nice too. It’s not going to help though. I appreciate the kind words and motivational high fives, but I still have to start over. Today I printed my resume and it really brought me down. I hate it. Resume’s are formal written descriptions of who you are, for people to judge. I distracted myself by going back to cleaning the apartment. Anything to avoid packing. Then I got a call from our property manager telling me that she was going to bring someone to our place to see if they were interested in renting it. So I left to have lunch with some friends. Which is the other thing really bringing me down. I’ve made two good friends at work. Both Mike and Justin I would consider to be my best friends. As close as those come these days. I’ve talked about how my coworkers end up being my best friends, but this is different. I spent more time with these guys off of work than I have with anyone else I have ever met through a job. So leaving them REALLY sucks. Especially Justin since I got to spend a little more time with him since Mike left before I did/will.

fuk.

Tonight I walked IKE for a few blocks and felt the cool breeze and it depressed me again for the second time today. I’m going to miss the hell out of this place. The neighborhood, the restaurants, my friends. All of it. Houston really left it’s mark in my life, and I’ll miss it.  In the past, when the temperature dropped in Houston, it was the happiest part of the year for me. I hope I don’t associate cooler Austin weather with what I’m feeling now.

He’s an interesting dog-cat-deer. He’s mellow, and knows when to ask to go outside. I like him for now. I don’t like him very much at 1:30am, 3:45am and 6am when he wants to go outside to pee/poo. Other than that he’s an alright kid. This morning while I was walking him by the Museum of Natural Science, a lady said, “oooh what kind of dog is he?”

“Dunno, whippet chihuaha I think.”

“I hope the mother wasn’t the chihuaha…”

I kept walking then, five steps later I got it. Weird, but funny. I wonder if she honestly was trying to be funny. Oh well, I’m sure Jen will write more about that cat with better photos.

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On friday at work I was walking past my boss and a customer, when my boss asked me if I wanted to sell my frame. I said sure! I honestly thought he was bluffing, but he asked to see it. I showed him my bike and said, “Alright, I’ll bring you a check tomorrow.” Still thinking that he was just talking I said, “no bring cash”. So he did, on Saturday and I took my bike apart. by the end of the day on Saturday I bought another frame. I didn’t just get another frame. I upgraded!

from this

to this

The only thing that wasn’t a clean trade over to the S Works frame was the crankset. Luckily for me, the Brazilian who used to work with us, had an EC90 crankset unused that I bought off of him too. It was all coming together. Then today, my boss told me that the wheels I ordered had finally arrived.

So this is it

“it’s a killer whale!” Jason said when it was all built up on saturday. I’m keeping the name. I also went up a size, from 54cm to a 56cm size frame. I’m glad I did. It’s a hell of a lot more comfortable. I raced last weekend for the first time (i was a bust). After looking at the photos of the race, Justin said I looked a bit off on the bike. here’s a proof of some goofy guy.

It was fun. There’s still a ton for me to learn. We’ll see how I do this weekend.

Read it while it’s still funny.

The Fall opening title sequence | The Art of the Title Sequence. The interview with the film’s typographer is a sexy bonus for this entry.

: Zena Holloway :: Underwater Photographer & Director.

We had a party and below are my favorite pictures from that night.

It was nice to have people over at the new place. Everyone seemed to have really enjoyed themselves and even said nice things about our little place. I was mostly impressed by how many people actually showed up.  Usually I’ll invite just about everyone I can stand and expect maybe six to show. This time, it seems like most of who I keep contact with on a daily basis did. 

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Christmas 2008 = Best ever. 

I didn’t get to request the days off on time this year so we both worked before and after the 25th. We exchanged out gifts in the morning then spent the entire day by ourselves snuggling, relaxing, went to the movies, watched movies at home and enjoying each other’s company. Just us two. There was no stress from traveling, too many people in one room, or that, “Oh.. thanks” in response to that novelty ice tray from that funny uncle. 

Jen and I decided to stick with a $20 limit with our gifts. Well we didn’t really stick with it. I’m including my new bike and our trip to D.C. for the inauguration. Those weren’t things we unwrapped. I got Jen these socks and she got me The Best Chocolate Bar Ever AND this book.  Still, it wasn’t a giving festival like it was last year, but spending all day together alone the way we did was better than anything we could have wrapped for each other. 

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About the new bike. . .

When PowerMike saw it for the first time he looked at it and smiled and proclaimed that it “looks like an angry animal”. It feels like one too. I hadn’t really told Jen, or anyone for that matter, but I’m a little terrified of it. No, seriously, it’s pretty epic. You should take that lightly, being as how I’ve only ridden about six bikes. Still, it’s the best bike I’ve ever ridden. I only wish we could find Jen’s elusive camera battery charger to take some proper photos of the shiny shiny. The more I ride it, the more I’m impressed by it and have to remind myself that this is mine to own and it’s not a prolonged test ride. Now that I think of it, everyone has a new bike at work. Everyone made a considerable upgrade. 

One thing I’ve noticed more than anything else is how slow and weak I’ve gotten since riding The Bianchi. It’s been a couple of months since any real road riding. Besides the sparse mountain biking and commuting to and from work, I haven’t been devoting enough time on the bike. I feel it too. Last Sunday we did about 47 miles and I was useless to anyone after. Hopefully it stops being wet and shitty in the mornings for me to ride more.

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I’m obsessed with Justice and unreleased Underworld tracks from their UnderworldLive.com site. Is it crazy for me to want the Justice cross on my back? 

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The December Movie Extravaganza is going great. Part of my Christmas present was going to watch a whole ton of new releases this month. So far so good. There are a few left that we may not get to watch because of limited showings but so far so good. My favorite so far is Quantum of Solace, but I doubt that will hold after Gran Torino, The Wrestler, Doubt, Valkyrie, and Benjamin Button. Those are the five I’m really looking forward to but I’m sure Slumdog Millionaire will surprise me. What I am certain about is that Seven Pounds royally sucked. We should get our money back. 

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Being sick for the last two days has been a real bummer. I’m not crazy man-cold sick, but I definitely feel weak and tired. I’m humbled by Jen’s Ultimate Awesomeness of being sweet and caring when I’m sick. At one point  I got frustrated and heard myself tell her that I wasn’t handicapped (!).  My real frustration is my lack of strength and having others do things for me. I know she’s just helping me conserve my energy, but my pride kicks in and wants to still do things for myself. It’s silly how my brain is hardwired to be that way. At least I recognize it enough to be OK with Jen be her wonderful caring self. This Christmas only strengthened my feelings of gratitude for marrying someone as badass as she is. At the party I remember someone complimenting Jen and her culinary skills. I remember saying that I was lucky as fuck to have met her and how fortunate I was to be with her, even though I’m such a schmuck. Of course they laughed, but there is some truth to that. The person I was before we met. . . well, honestly, fuck that guy.

In 2002 when I heard A hundred Days Off, it blew me to bits. Sola Sistim, was especially a big hit with me in my personal life. I still think of being in the Neon at three in the morning feeling the heavy bass line resonate through my bones. If the original released version was the slow passionate, I’m-falling-in-love-with-you, love making version, this would be the heavy-breathing, drunken-late-night-fun, pulling-your-clothes-off-each-other-before-opening-the-front-door, gotta-have-you-now, god-bless-america! version.

It’s not even the same song, it just features the same lyrics. It’s the love child of Moaner and Sola Sistim.

I don’t feel bad for him at all. I’m more concerned for my OTHER cousin who shares the same name, along with his father and my brother. Four total with the same first name and last name. Sigh. It all reminds me of this for some reason:

Mainly the name but on a deeper level it’s the other guy saying, “Just take one dip and end it!”. If you lose a fight, just take the fall and end it.