BLOGS FOR MAY 2007

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Week ending May 27th, 2007
Long week for sure as we had NetAPP training M-F in San Diego. I actually had to commute home a few times but that worked out OK. What we learned on the NetAPP SAN via their Lab was invaluable and we're going to be taking more training in a few weeks. Definitely studying and learning a ton and hope to get my NetAPP CE soon. The tests are apparently pretty hard.

Looking over my bible the other day as I finished Jeremiah I noticed that I have less than 100 pages before completing it entirely - start to finish (I read the NT first). I plan on starting over again with the goal being to read it through once a year.

Something interesting I learned in Church this weekend was that if you want God to bless a part of your life (careers, finances, friendships, relationships, hobbies, etc) then you have to put God first in all of them. That's something I realize I hadn't been doing in the past but have earnestly over the last year or so. I can safely say I feel my life has been richly blessed. And it happened soon after I put God first - in everything.

I finally found some time today to upload the pictures of my family that had been missing (all on my mom's side since I don't know my biological father). Thank you, Joanne, for forwarding them to me.

On a funny note, today I was replacing the chain and sprockets on the Bandit when my Motion Pro chain tool broke. It didn't simply break - it snapped in half! - D'OH! Well, the thread for the main press did. It's about 1" thick so I don't know how I did that. I don't think I over-torqued it but it snapped anyway. Either way it's time to swing by Cycle Gear tomorrow to see if they have another or I'll be driving my truck to work all week! (...and it's not-so-good on gas if you know what I mean...)

I bought a book this week called "Performance Riding Techniques" (A. Ibbott). It's a bunch of interviews and riding advice from most of the top riders on the MotoGP circuit (yep, even Nicky). It has some great advice on braking, cornering, overtaking, starts, mental preparedness and so much more. I've really learned a lot about braking which I hope translates into lower lap times next month at Willow. I rank it right up there with "Total Control" (L. Parks) as far as invaluable riding information. I don't have plans to be a MotoGP racer but I do want to insure I don't get lapped. haha. =)

I've been slacking on the cover songs but tomorrow is a lazy day. I'll try and finish it up and have it online before "shut-eye" time. That's it for now. Have a great week!

PS: Big shout out to my little bro, Joe, who took second place in his first race! (Racing a Mustang on an oval). Gratz and SEND PICS!!!

Week ending May 19th, 2007
This will be a rather short update. I am headed to Willow in the morning (tomorrow) to do a few practice sessions then racing on Sunday. If I get home early enough I'll update the racing page. Otherwise it will have to wait as I'll be out of town all next week for NetAPP training! (Good stuff!!!!!!!!!)

All this week has been super busy. In fact I haven't even had time to work on the song I wanted to add to the site. That will have to wait until next weekend. I have a ton of pics to add to the site of my family in Boston so I'll do that later in the week as well. (patience, you guys!)

I'm looking forward to heading home next month. I really like visiting my family and friends. It seems every time I go home I bump into someone I haven't seen since my high school days. Time really does change people -- in more ways than one.

Everything else is going great. No complaints! :)

That's it for now. Catch ya later...

Week ending May 12th, 2007
This past week I received my "final" secret clearance, so I am now legit. We celebrated by building a bunch of W2K servers in the lab. The fun part is after we build them, we get to try and break them. And break them we have, haha. In fact, we broke one of them so badly that I have to spend next week fixing it :)

You know what a science/space geek I am, right!? For the first time in a while the night sky has been clear and Mars super bright so I broke out my 6" telescope and got some great views. It was too bright outside to see nebulae but it was still awesome. I plan on getting a better telescope with GPS and camera mount so I can take photos.

And now....some bad news. The Bandit doesn't look like it's going to make it much longer as is. The bore job wasn't done correctly and I am losing far too much oil. I will wait until I move at the end of July to fix it. Shouldn't be too hard or expensive to fix though and will be a fun project. By that time I should have my dog too :)

This week I finished reading Jeremiah and have started on Isaiah. I should be done with the entire Bible soon and then -- I'll start all over again :) I'm also nearly done with "Knowing God" (J.I. Packer). All this reading lately has me considering going back to school and completing my degree. I think I finally know what I want to major in. Any guesses?! It'll be hard to find the time as it is now but I am determined to finish.

The instrument tracks are done for one of the cover songs I'm working on (Thanks Jeff!). All that's left is to record the vocals which I'll do tonight. This is definitely going to be a challenge but I am up to it. The song should be up on the site sometime later this week.

This entire weekend was a blast. On Sunday I went to Saddleback with friends at 9am then spent the day with them and their mom(s). And yes, we did have Indian for lunch (woot!). Happy Mother's Day to my mom, my sister, my mom-away-from-mom and all you moms out there.

That's it for now. See you next weekend at Willow where I'll have those stickers in remembrance of Chris McCauley. Come by and see me if you want one. Just look for bike #602.


Week ending May 6th, 2007
Interesting but busy week. Last Sunday I drove my friend's moving van from Lake Elsinore, CA to Albuquerque, NM. Counting the time change it took 13-1/2 hours. I would have made it sooner but the 15 was shut down for a while to run power lines across the freeway, the 40 was narrowed down to 2 lanes in several spots and of course the moving van had a speed governor. The maximum speed was 75 MPH (d'oh! - lol) and it managed to remind me (constantly) why I love my Toyota (rattle, shake, squeak, etc - boo Ford!) But I got there safely and in the nick of time. I needed to get to the airport ASAP to catch my 8:45pm flight back. I pulled into my parking spot around 12:45am and, since I had been up since 4:00am, immediately hit the sack.

The ride was peaceful (aside from the aforementioned squeaks) and I enjoyed the quiet and solitude. The scenery was awesome as well. It's easy to forget how nice Northern, AZ and NM are. Lots of pine trees and green grass everywhere. There were also thousands of Harley Davidson cruisers on the road as well, apparently on their way back from a run to Laughlin. No kidding, every 10 miles or so I would see a bike broken down on the side of the road.

I managed to finish my first project at work (QLogic HBAs) so that was great. Apparently they like my enthusiasm because they keep assigning me new projects. That's good because I am really enjoying all that I am learning. How grateful I am for God's grace to have landed a job that motivates me to work hard.

I had a friend come look at my apartment on Friday. Hopefully I can sub-lease it soon and be moved ASAP. I am thinking about taking the train to work. It's affordable and apparently with my wireless NIC card I can work and enjoy a coffee while on the train. The actual price of the train tickets is cheaper than the amount I would spend on gas -- even on the Bandit.

I also spent some time this week on two new cover songs. Music is still a big part of my life, even though my days of performing in smoky, alcohol filled clubs is (thankfully) over. Both of them are by the same artist and the choice of songs just might surprise you. I have enjoyed this particular artist for some time and the covers would be a fitting tribute. They should be on the site in the next few weeks. Let's just hope I do them justice!

Well, that's about it for now. I am headed out the door in a few minutes to catch Spider-Man 3 with a friend. Have a great week and check out the new pictures on the site. See ya next week :)