My old high school's marching band!

I found a great spot to take pictures of the parade - I went to the top of the downtown parking garage. This is just one section of the parade route - this is the "big thing" every year in my town.

Apple Blossom Festival in my town - Winchester, VA.
Ah, WHGA, my company office. Engineering, Surveying, and... Frozen Bananas? ...ookay...

Cycling Lessons Learned

1) I'll need to ride a lot more to adjust to life in the cycle saddle before I try a long-distance ride, lest I get blisters on my behind.

2) Practice riding uphill more.

3) Do NOT ride too closely to a storm grate - skinny tires have a tendency to drop between the cracks and ruin your ride. (Luckily, only my rear tire fell in for a split-second and bounced right back out, so all I have is a flat tire. Maybe. I'll take the bike into the shop tomorrow afternoon for a free checkup.)

4) Don't stab yourself in the back of the leg with the front gears.

5) Riding is a lot more fun outside the city, on backroads without traffic.

6) Um... girls don't really dig the cycle shorts?

Stupid shin splints.

..At least I can still ride my bike. Just walking the 15 minutes to work this morning was a pain. I'll give it a few days and get some more practice this weekend. My youngest bro just got accepted into the radiology program at the regional hospital though- woohoo! This'll be his college equivalent- since he's had to wait for 2 older brothers to finish college ahead of him, and he didn't really know what to go into anyhow, I'd say that he just got a really good deal. I'll have to take a trip with him before he starts the program in mid-June. I've had an itch for some rollercoasters...

Other than that, I don't have much to report. Hmph. Boring week. I'm gonna go polish off that ice cream downstairs. With some apple chunks... yeah, that sounds good.

I was bored and hungry

"Random Ramen" - The ultimate in bachelor cuisine!

Ingredients:
1 package of Ramen (any flavor)
1 slice of onion
1 thick slice of tomato
1 piece of brocoli (sp?)
1/3 clove of garlic, diced
1 small slice of ham
...And/or whatever other vegetables and meat you may have around.

1 piece sourdough bread
butter

Pretezls (to snack on while cooking.)

Preperation: Boil ramen as usual. While waiting for the noodle to soften, chop up all vegetables and meat. When the ramen begins to boil, add all ingredients to the pot and let simmer for a few minutes. Pour into a large bowl and add the attached spice packet to flavor. A slice of buttered sourdough bread will work on the side to soak up the broth. Serves 1 hungry post-college bachelor.

Random Ramen! 

Low-fuel trip idea

Ooh, I just found a cool idea for a week-long trip: Bike the C&O canal up from Washington DC to Cumberland, Maryland. It's a 185-mile trek right along the Potomac River. I could have one of my brothers drop me and my bike off in downtown DC- rattle off 35-40 miles a day - and get a pickup in Cumberland after 5 days. I'll have to plan out details (where to stop overnight and carry-on gear for my old mountain bike,) but I already have all the camping gear I'd need. Sounds a lot neater than my typical "run yet another mountain ridge" weekend hike. I probably couldn't find the spare time to do it until this fall, but that'd give me plenty of time to train up and prepare. I'll have to look into it a little more this weekend.

What gives?

We were going over proofs for resurrection this morning in my class, and I haven't been able to shake this all day: God's alive, but why do I feel like I'm still living a meaningless life? I have no "fire" for God - always having to fight myself to study, lacking motivation both at work and spiritually.
~If God's alive, where is He in my life?

Mmm... Novicane

Check it out - a regular post!
Well, I took the day off on account of a dentist appointment this morning. I needed 2 fillings, and there are several more to go - this is what I get for not having any dental work done since before college. I blame Saga food for rotting out my mouth. The whole "needle in my gums" deal wasn't as bad as I remembered/feared it would be, and once that was over with, the rest of the visit was easy. My younger brother laughed at me afterwards whenever I tried to talk, still suffering from the numbness in the right side of my face. So I "borrowed" his Gamecube for a few days - that'll show him. Hehe.

I've been running again for the past month, and I'm almost back to form from last fall. I've been having a harder time this spring with sticking with it than I did last fall, however.

In nerd news, Doctor Who starts up a new season this weekend! I'll be firing up the ol' BitTorrent to download the new episodes, fresh off of BBC-1. Been keeping up with old 4B pals (Sullivan, Keidel, and Robbins) in World of Warcraft. Dwarven Priests rule.

...And softball practice starts this coming Wednesday. I've gotta find my glove.

...Also, any ideas on where to go for a week-long vacation this summer? I've got possibilities from thru-hiking Shenandoah Nat'l Park, to Theme Park hopping with my brother, to a formless road trip to who-knows-where.