BLOGS FOR APRIL 2008

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Week ending April 27th, 2008
What up, G?! :)

It's been a great week, that's for sure. I had so much to accomplish at work. Three of my projects are really important to the contract so I am burning the midnight oil to get them done. The really great thing about this is that I am gaining a ton of experience. Looking back over the past year, where I was then and where I am now, I am really glad to have this opportunity. No matter what happens, when the time comes to move on I will be in excellent shape.

Now those of you who know me well know that I have a long history of playing music. I haven't played much in the past three years or so, but a friend of mine got in contact with me recently. He needs someone to fill in on bass (I can feel the calluses growing now haha) for a tad until they find a permanent bass player. The good thing is this will help get my chops up to speed and we get to play some really good gigs. This band even plays in Hawaii so it'll be nice, should I get to go, to check out the Islands.

On the racing front, I've sent a ton of racing resumes out. Primarily I am focusing on Honda dealers because, well, I race a Honda and I really do prefer their bikes to the other manufacturers. One of my friends got me in contact with a Christian racing group, so that would be a great thing. Initially when I decided to race I wasn't really walking in the faith, certainly not as strong as I should have been. Back then I was a "babe in the woods" so to speak. But as my faith grew, so did my desire to serve and reach out to others through the gifts I've been given. Now, I am not saying I am a great racer. In fact, compared to the average club racer, I'm slow. But that's ok. The point isn't to win races and get some kind of big racing contract. It's to have fun and to reach others.

Other than that, things have really been going great. It's been a great weekend too. It's been hot out, so I've been getting a little sun.

This morning (Sunday) I loaded up the refrigerator and drove it down to a needy "Saddleback Church" family in Anaheim. I loaded it up myself, tied it down to the truck and hit the road.

The frige all loaded up
(Click for larger image and yes,
I need to wash my truck)

It was about a 160 mile round trip but the gratified look off the recipients made the drive well worth it. I am still trying to find a needy family to donate my washer/dryer to as well. Once I do that I can finish up my garage so that I can actually work on my bikes. Besides, I have a washer/dryer here and will buy new ones when I buy a house (hopefully soon!).

Hope everything is going well on your end. Remember to keep the rubber-side down and take it to the track. It'll keep the tickets off your driving record and keep ya safe.

Cheers!

Week ending April 20th, 2008
Wow, what can I say about this week but busy, busy? I have a board full of important projects and they are all due like, now. So I worked late this week and over the weekend to get them done. Now, on Sunday afternoon, I can finally relax a tad.

Last night at Church I got to chat a bit with our Pastor and our Associate Pastor. They want me to get with some of the Deacons and start a "Riding Ministry." Sounds like fun and it's something I am interested in. We've decided for the first ride we're going to make it a short one and just whet their appetite for riding. I promised NOT to wear my leathers (it forces me to ride slower) and that I wouldn't ride fast at all. Considering most of the riders have cruisers (cough!), we'll be going plenty slow -- LOL -- and that's ok with me.

Friday was a late day so I skipped the gym. I left the office around 7pm. Where I work at, there's always a homeless person asking for help and if I have cash, they get it. There happened to be the same gentleman I see just about every day and I had some cash so I waved him over. I handed him everything I had in my wallet (I think it was only $10, but it's all I had). He knows me and we've chatted a few times. I always say "God Bless" when I drive away and, knowing this, he handed me a "Paper Bible." It was a small Bible with just quotes from various passages.

I asked him "Do you have a bible?" and he said "No, I lost mine a while ago so I just read these."

Now, I have two bibles, both given to me as gifts. The smaller one was always in my truck for Saturday services so without a second thought I reached over, grabbed the bible sitting on my console and handed it to him.

"Here", I said. "This is for you."

"Really? Are you sure man?" he replied, with a large, appreciative grin.

"Yep, I'm sure." as I smiled back.

The light turned green and it was time to go. I said "God Bless and enjoy it...", smiled and waved and stepped on the gas. Looking in the rear view mirror I could see him smiling and flipping through the pages.

I'm glad I was able to get the word into the hands of someone who needed to be fed. And it's the same thing I told my Pastor on Saturday night. That I was glad to attend Horizons and that I was being fed. Both our Pastor and the Associate Pastor reminded me "Men's ministry meets on Tuesday nights, will we be seeing you? Dinner is awesome!" "In that case" I replied "You bet I'll be there."

Great week in my opinion. I guess I am getting the reputation as being a bit of a bible thumper and I suppose my site is proof of that. I post what goes on in my life. I'm not saying it to puff my own chest out or lay my accomplishments out in front of others. It's just my life and as I've stated before, God separates those who are around us for ulterior motives. I can personally attest that it's happened to me and I couldn't be more grateful that He's held true to His word.

The people who were bad for me are no longer in my life. It's brought a huge wave of confidence back in my step and lots of smiling. Nobody ever said being a Christian was easy, but it's not supposed to be depressing either. And it isn't if you keep things in perspective.

To my Canadian buds, sorry I couldn't make it Vegas to see you this weekend. I did plan on riding, but work calls. Given that I get 3 weeks a year of vacation, I felt like it was in my best interest to get these projects done. Otherwise I'll have a ton of vacation I can't use later ;)

That's about it for this week. Hope your week was as fun as mine. Looking forward to the track on May 5th, so keep 'er shiny side up, kids! :)

See ya around!

Week ending April 13th, 2008
What a great week! Lots of good stuff happening that's for sure. Work is great as always so I won't dive into all the details. Suffice to say things are going really well and I'm happy (aren't I always? ;)

I got myself signed up for another track day next month at the Big Track of Willow Springs. I've been poking around and feeling things out as far as sponsorship goes. I have a few things in the fire and if they work out I will get back to racing again for the second half of the WSMC season. The last track day I went to got me fired up, even if I was poking around in the street group (hey, the Doctor told me to take it easy so I did!). I had forgotten how much I love just buzzing around the track where my mind is clear and it's just me and the sound of my RR's motor humming. I imagine it will take me all day to get back to my normal lap speeds and perhaps even break into the high 20's, which I am confident I can do (and is fast for a 600). Just need to focus on being smooth.

I also got back to my full gym schedule this week. I'm still a tad sore but it was really good to hit the weights again. I am surprised how taking a month off can put you so far off your normal lifting weight. I imagine that in a week or so I'll be back up to the normal weights (not that far off now) but this week was brutal, haha.

This weekend we had some awesomely hot weather and I even got a little sun.

Yes.

Me.

I didn't get a chance to dive into the pool but if the temperature is any indication I'll be diving in soon. Gotta love the weather here in San Diego and the people are even cooler. I've got great neighbors too, that's for sure. Quiet. Love it.

I did want to let off one small rant. My family knows how I feel about spending time together. You only have a small amount of time on this earth. Before you know it, we'll all be gone. While we're here, we need to put by-gone's aside and hang out. That was always my mom's goal. Once a year. So if certain members of my family do not want to hang out with the rest of us, well it's their loss. Nobody is twisting your arm. Leese, I'll see ya in November....

That's about it for this week. The racing page has been updated a tad. Not sure if I am going to be able to keep my race number or not but meh, no big deal. I'm just looking forward to hanging out with my friends and burning up those Michelins!

As I always like to say, "Keep 'er shiny side up!" Gotta go, the pizza is here!

Week ending April 6th, 2008
Pretty much a quiet week here in Bri-town, haha. I finally got the clearance to head back to the gym this Monday. That is good news as I have been off now for a month and I am jonesing to get back. It's also what kept me in check at the track. Heh. Riding in the "Street" group is pretty humbling but I wasn't out there to prove anything to anyone. Just kicking back and having fun and that's what it's all about.

Our boss' last day was on Monday so now we're leader-less for a while. It's ok as my focus has been 100% on getting my projects out the door. I'm also doing a lot of LUN provisioning on a Symmetrix which is some really good experience to have. I have FOUR projects that are getting approval on Wednesday so it's going to be quite busy. All of them are high profile as well and getting approval is difficult at best. Cross your fingers :)

Church was great as always. I definitely have been learning a lot from Pastor Bob and making friends with some of the Deacons and Pastors. It turns out one of my Pastors is a former Dirt Bike racer and used to own a Yamaha dealership. That's pretty cool. He immediately caught on to my love of motorcycles. I also keep in touch with my Saddleback friends. By the way, CONGRATS to Pastor Clayton -- him and his Wife are expecting child #4. Woo, that's a lot of mouths to feed. haha.

Other than that, as I said it's been a quiet week. It's starting to get warm here so I'll be taking some late afternoon runs on the beach on my off-gym days. Pics to follow, of course (of the beach, nerds! LOL).

The only other thing I will say has to do with friends. Some come, some go. There's a real easy way to measure which ones value you for your friendship and which ones are more interested in what they can get out of you. In my lifetime I've learned to distance myself from "friends" who have ulterior motives. As Jesus once said "If you come to a house and the people will not hear your words, wipe the dust off your feet as you leave." I did my part and what God expects of me. I've learned to let things that are not in my control. And sometimes, that means a friend. It all works out in the end, of that I am sure.

PS: Hey Dad, would love to come to Barber for that race. You paying for the flight?! Haha. In all fairness, I'll get out to see ya sometime soon.

Have a great rest of your week :)