Good News

I don't mean something good happened; I mean that I found a good news article.

Here's an article from the Boston Herald that I found during my lunch break while I was browsing Google News.

America getting dumber by the minute with A-Rod details

Basically, the story is about the image Americans are getting from the absurd amount of attention given to celebrities by the media. From the article, in reference to Cynthia Rodriguez's allegations:

"...I don’t know or care what her allegations say about A-Rod. Instead, I’m more concerned with what the attention to Rodriguez’s marital problems says about us."

I agree with this statement completely. Don't get me wrong -- I love this county... But I start to get concerned when people know more about Madonna's love life than they do about missile tests in Iran.

Back to Jerz

Well, I'm back in NJ. I spent the weekend in Rutland, Massachusetts visiting my friend Tracy from college. I drove up with our friend Fang, and stopped at her house in Westchester NY on the way for a pit stop (and home made Chinese dumplings!) and then shot right up 84 the whole way. All in all, about 5 or so hours of driving. Not too bad.

We spent Friday evening relaxing and hanging out with her family and boyfriend Steve (I lived with him for one semester at Lehigh), and had a fantastic BBQ dinner. Then came Steve's beer tasting.

He's been brewing his own beer for a few years, and I haven't gotten a chance to taste it until now. We had an American Pale Ale (APA), double India Pale Ale (2PA), Belgian Triple, some kind of Stout and a few others. I absolutely loved the pale ales, and the Stout was very good, too! And not just because he's my friend -- they actually were extremely good beers! Anyway, once I get everything settled in at home (yeah, still working on that ... ) I will be likely be trying my hand at brewing my own beer.

Saturday was spent at Tracy's family's lake house nearby. Their family is Finnish, and this particular lake shore was settled in the 30's or so by Finnish immigrants and their lake house has been in the family for quite some time. It's a beautiful area, and they have a boat that her brother took us out on for a ride and some fishing (I caught a small-mouth bass that I named Ted -- I let him go but I'll be looking out for him next year when he's bigger!). They also have an authentic wood-fired sauna (pronounced sOW-nah, unless you want to get funny looks from the Finns!) which was absolutely incredible. Tracy and her sister took it easy on Fang and I since it was our first time sauna-ing with real Finns, only bringing the temperature up to a mild 172 degrees F ....... but you know, it's a dry heat so it's not bad, haha -- whoever came up with that saying has never sauna-ed with Tracy!!

Empty Promises of Updates

Hey all (or anyone still reading this after my two month "hiatus"),

I'm back with another empty promise that I will update more often. I know that doesn't mean anything since I said it last time also, but I'll try at least.

FIRST THINGS FIRST -- Big Things:

I graduated college. That's a pretty big deal I guess; my grades weren't nearly as bad as I thought they'd be. Actually, they were nothing like I thought they'd be: my good grades were bad, and the awful ones were great! Oh well... that's all done now.

I started work. I'm three weeks in as a Geologist for Hatch Mott MacDonald. I like it there -- a good combination of field work and office work/reports. Basically, it's EXACTLY what I went to school for, to the letter.

BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL -- Motorcycle.

Well, I've got good news and I've got bad news. The good news is, I finally have a bike of my own! The bad news is (at least, bad news to those of you that were suggesting I get a Harley) that Dad and I got Hondas. Either way, I couldn't be happier with the bike!

After much deliberation and shopping around and test rides and whatnot, we settled on Honda cruisers. I have a brand new 2007 Pearl White Honda VTX 1300 c. The pictures aren't great; they're from my camera -- but it's the best I've got at the moment:


Well, I have a LOT more to write about -- but don't have the time. I'm off to New England for the weekend to camp and canoe with some friends... though it looks like it's going to storm -- we'll see what happens. I WILL be posting again soon!

Harley or Bust...?

Ocean City, Maryland -- wettest senior week ever. Thursday through Tuesday was incredibly stormy, practically hurricane conditions. There were garbage cans blowing down the street at 30+ mph!! BUT Wednesday was the most beautiful day of the week, about 70 degrees and sunny. I rented a Harley Davidson 1200N Nightster for 8 hours, and -- as you can imagine -- it was one of the most spectacular experiences of my life.

Not only was the riding great, but the whole experience was fantastic. The guy who ran the rentals was very nice, and when I got there to pick up the bike it was waiting outside for me, and he had all the paperwork together. Fitted me with a helmet, gave me a walkthrough of the bike's features, and set me on my way. Turns out that the bike was BRAND NEW .. 13 miles on it.

Picked the bike up, rode around for about an hour to get comfortable on it and then of course went to show off to my friends ^_^ Then I went down south to the barrier island just below Ocean City, Assateague State Park, where I cruised open highway and saw the famous wild ponies of the park. Then I just set out for about an hour and a half with no destination, and then fired up my portable Garmin GPS and made my way back to the dealership to return it.

There was a classic car show going on in the parking lot when I got back, and the rental guy actually set up cones to block off a parking spot for me right in the front of everyone -- it was a pretty cool feeling! All in all, I put 152 MILES on the bike and I couldn't be happier! Here's some pictures:

I think I look pretty cool!! =-D

Ocean City, Maryland

We're in Ocean City, MD for senior week. The weather so far hasn't been anything spectacular, but the sun should be coming out soon.

BUT...

Wednesday should be a nice day, so I went to the local Harley Davidson dealer and made a reservation to take a 1200 Nightster out for 8 hours. I am SO psyched! I'll let you know how it goes.

Back to school on Thursday; graduation on the 19th! Now, if I could just check my Structural Geology grades to make sure I passed.....

I Passed!

According to the state of New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission, I am qualified to operate a motorcycle. I passed the Basic Rider Course with [moderately] flying colors!

We took the course on Suzuki 125cc bikes which were small, but so much fun to learn on -- I was a bit nervous when we started, but now I feel pretty confident that I can handle a small to medium size bike, and at least get a large one moving.

As far as the Harley goes ... I unfortunately think that I need to start small -- maybe just for this season. I originally was considering a 600-750cc Honda, and I think that's what I'm going to go with. I'm sure I'll be riding a LOT this summer, so by next season I'll be able to handle something in the 1200 neighborhood.

Thanks to everyone who gave me the input on bikes and all .. but the Harley is going to have to wait a bit. However, I really do think I will get one in the near future.

Anyway, I just spent the afternoon at Mountaintop Campus with my neighbor Matt riding around on his 1981 Honda 400 Hawk. A fun sport-cruiser that he just got into [semi]running condition; a big improvement over the frame/engine/box of carburetor parts that it started as when he got it off craigslist! I was able to handle that bike perfectly fine .. actually I feel like I would have liked it to be a bit bigger and more powerful. I know that probably sounds cocky since I've been riding for exactly four days, but that's just what my impression was.

And!! I experienced my first [and hopefully last!!] back tire blow out in a corner! Apparently, 20 year old severely cupped tires don't work well in 10mph corners in an empty parking lot. I got to practice my quick stop in a turn technique that I learned in the class! Needless to say, the bike is parked up there until further notice. Luckily, we don't have to worry about tickets since the bike has Massachusetts plates that expired in 1996...

I spent the morning at the Firing Line breaking in my brand new Bersa Thunder 380. I couldn't wait for the Taurus PT-99 (that I'm picking up on Monday) so I went to Jim Flynn's to browse what he had in stock and ended up with the Bersa... I'm very happy with it. It's a compact sized handgun but actually has a fixed barrel, so it's surprisingly accurate. I've put 250 rounds through it so far, and I'm getting pretty good with it. I'm definitely looking forward to Monday when I pick up the PT-99 ... it's incredible how much cheaper 9mm ammunition is than 380 auto.. especially since it's basically the same thing except that 380 auto is 2mm shorter than 9mm.. (9x19 versus 9x17).

Well, I guess I've put off studying long enough -- tomorrow's exam in Environmental Groundwater Hydrology is the only thing standing between me and the end of college! Wish me luck!

Patience is a Virtue...

... and I don't have it.

I ordered a Taurus PT99 from a firearms shop in Jersey, and the guy told me it would probably be in as of Tuesday, unless they didn't have any at the warehouse. I was very psyched about going to pick it up, but he said they didn't get it in and it could be at least a week still before he can get a hold of it.

I hate waiting for stuff. I have no patience. He told me there was a chance it wouldn't get there very quickly, but I chose to convince myself it HAD to be there by Tuesday because I was so excited. And now I have to wait more, which is killing me!

On the plus side though, I used the time I would have spent going to pick it up in Jersey at the range nearby in Coplay and temporarily satisfied my desire to go target shooting. I started out renting a PT92 (the same as the 99, but without the adjustable sights) and put a box of 50 down the range before switching down to the double deuce rimfire.

I haven't shot 22 in so long, I forgot how much fun it is [and cheap! $2.75 for 50 rounds!]. Played around with a Browning Buck Mark, Ruger Mk II Target, some Smith & Wessons, and some really awesome SAO cowboy style revolver with a super long barrel. Great grouping at 10 yards... but then again, it's hard to shoot poorly when you've got a 10 inch barrel on a gun with basically no recoil.

Well, I'm off to shower and head up to Delta Upsilon for Marc and Bridget's pinning party. I have to dig around my closet and see if I can locate some "cocktail attire"........