Fading Whispers » Biking http://fadingwhispers.org/home A chronicle of my passions in life Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 More shenanigans. :P http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2010/05/04/more-shenanigans-p/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2010/05/04/more-shenanigans-p/#comments Tue, 04 May 2010 16:51:01 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=813 This is a long overdue update. Life’s been rolling right along. In summary,

I still have my job *knock on wood* although we have no idea what the next round of budget cuts will bring. I have a second wedding to shoot in June! This is awesome and I’m learning to be patient in [...]]]> This is a long overdue update. Life’s been rolling right along. In summary,

  1. I still have my job *knock on wood* although we have no idea what the next round of budget cuts will bring.
  2. I have a second wedding to shoot in June! This is awesome and I’m learning to be patient in this business. It’s all about networking which I suck at, but will have to learn in order to survive! I’m improving on my skills as well and enrolled in a photography class.
  3. I celebrated my birthday several weeks ago. I’m officially in my mid-twenties.
  4. Matt’s done with his spring classes. He smoked his GIS class with an A and passed his CompSci class with a B. So proud of him. :P . Crazy man that he is, he raced a 6hr mountain bike race on May 1, 2010 before his finals this week! It was his first race of the ‘season’ so he’ll only get better from here. Check out my photos from the Dirty Spokes 12/6hr MTB race on my site. The pics are on Facebook as well for you to tag anyone you know! I shot with my Sigma 10 – 20mm and the Nikon 18 – 105mm kit lens for the D90. My pictures weren’t “tack sharp”, but I did the best I could. I had a lot of fun shooting pictures of the bikers who were great. The biggest issues I faced while photographing the race were:
    1. I like using natural light, but in the woods with the trees blocking the light, my lens needed some help getting light in. The 18 – 105mm lens has a maximum aperture of 3.5 at 18mm and 5.6 at 105mm. Zooming in to 105mm meant the light I’d get with the f-stop of f/5.6 was not enough to keep the scene well exposed. An ideal situation would’ve been for me to rent the much faster 70 – 200mm f/2.8 lens which has a wide aperture and more zoom to it. So, I resolved to shoot in raw where I’d be able to bring up the exposure/brightening of some salvageable pictures without depleting the quality too much by editing the jpg directly. I also used my SB-600 flash at certain points to help with illumination and exposure.
    2. I do well with still photography (if I may say so myself. :P ). Action photography would prove to be a challenge because you’ve got bikers flying past you at over 20mph. I had hoped to get close-up shots of the bikers’ faces with their bikes, but doing this was tricky because I need to stop the action by using a high shutter speed and get the scene properly exposed at the same time. An all-too-common scenario for me shooting at 105mm without the SB-600 flash was that the scene was dark so I turned the flash on which helps “freeze” the frame as well.
    3. I kept trying to make my lens compensate for the light situation by lowering my shutter speed to ‘unsafe’ levels (unsafe meaning I took the risk of increased blur in my photos to get more light. After getting disgusted with the expectedly blurry pictures, I kept the flash on throughout the event. Depending on how far you’re zoomed in or out, the maximum shutter speed the SB-600 will let you shoot at may vary. I also discovered I might need a battery pack for my flash (or a different grade of AA batteries, possibly Ni-Mh) because my recycling time was painfully slow in comparison to how quickly the bikers were flying by me! Anyway, I’ve learned a LOT about action photography primarily and I am excited for Matt’s next race (whenever that is). Hopefully, what I’ve learned will translate into better race pictures. :) For more of what I’ve been up to (pictorially), keep tabs on my other blog with photos. :)
  5. Last month, I won an HP TouchSmart 600-1000t computer!! Surreal, right? Talk about God providing for his flock. Seriously, we had over 300 lbs of single-purpose electronics (60lb speakers, 1 clunky TV, a VCR player, a DVD player, a PlayStation 2 and a bunch of power cords). Our living room was a mess and then comes the most beautiful email I’ve ever seen saying I’d won the TouchSmart 600. :P You just have to read my post on Jane Talks Tech to find out more, but suffice it to say that the TouchSmart was what we needed. It rendered said 300lbs of single-purpose equipment redundant.

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2010/05/04/more-shenanigans-p/feed/ 0 Blogorrhea. :) http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/20/blogorrhea/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/20/blogorrhea/#comments Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:51:51 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=281 So sue me. I realized I had more to talk about and I hit the “write post” button. I finally bit the bullet and called an old aunt of mine. It was one of the best moves I’ve made in a long while. We had a long chat and it was our first since [...]]]> So sue me. I realized I had more to talk about and I hit the “write post” button. I finally bit the bullet and called an old aunt of mine. It was one of the best moves I’ve made in a long while. We had a long chat and it was our first since the new year began (I think). It’s amazing how absence does make the heart grow fonder on both sides. I definitely intend to keeping in touch and M & I are now talking about the possibility of a road trip!! It’s only about 10hrs to my aunt’s place and we could literally be there in a day! This led us (M & I) to discuss the pros and cons of taking our car vs. renting vs. Greyhound bus transportation/Air/Train, etc. Being a cheap skate, I immediately vetoed any flights because I dread losing my luggage or undergoing any TSA hassles and the obvious expensiveness of taking any air flight these days. At Delta Airlines website, it’ll cost ~ $234 per person for a roundtrip flight which is right around where I thought it would be. That’s almost ~ $500 for both of us. We are not willing to spend that much on transportation for a flight experience that will be less than fantastic. The option I’m more fond of is traveling by bus (a.k.a. Greyhound). However, I have since run a cost analysis and it seems that the Greyhound option is only ~ $100 cheaper than the air flight. Given the large number of transfers (around 2 – 3), the dinginess of the Greyhound buses coupled with the long bus ride (over 21 hrs) make this a rather unattractive option. The third and most fun option is a road trip. :D Now, the obvious demerits of taking our personal car on a relatively long trip (over 20hrs total) include:

  1. Racking up the mileage on a car we are trying to preserve (it’s at 158,000 miles right now). I’m talking a little under 1,300 miles total.
  2. Prohibitive gas prices may take the ‘cheapness’ out of this option. Right now, I think M gets over 22 miles per gallon. This means we will run through around 59 gallons of gas. At $5 per gallon (I suspect it might even climb higher depending on how soon we make the trip happen), the cost of fueling up the car will be the price of one person’s round-trip flight to my aunt’s state of domicile. So, our fuel budget for the entire trip will be ~ $300.
  3. The car might not like being stressed out so much (wear and tear). It’s got some issues, but M’s been working to straighten out the kinks. These adjustments would have happened with or without the road trip.

Nevertheless, the benefits of taking our personal ride include:

  1. Freedom to move around. We can rest as we please or even quit the journey without fear of losing our money. :)
  2. We will be able to explore the areas along the trip. Ideally, this will happen on our way back when we can be more relaxed.
  3. Our car now has a bike rack which M procured from a friend of his (Addictive Cycles). It’s a used Thule bike rack to be mounted on the roof of the car and it came with the trays to hold the bikes for a very good sum of $200. We totally got a great deal on it. I mean, if we had purchased it new, we would be talking about dropping over $500 for all the parts we got with the roof rack. Check the website out! The point of this: we sure as hell are carrying our mountain bikes for some kick ass biking while we are away from home!

As you can see, the pros outweigh the cons and as my people say, the majority carries the vote! Well, not so fast. How about renting a car? Well, for starters, no roof rack on rental cars. That’s a biggie. Additionally, check out the prices for the privilege of renting their cars:

So, the only ‘advantage’ to taking a rental car is that it will save our car from the wear and tear. However, I’ve heard horror stories about people getting charged for dents and things they are pretty sure didn’t happen on their watch. I don’t want to deal with the hassle of making sure I document every ding and stain on the car before taking it out. The point: we are willing to take the risk on our old car. :)

Enough about the road trip. M’s dad also got me a bike pedometer to track my speeds and mileage on the bicycle. It’s rather nifty and it’ll be good to help me accurately tell how much exercise I’m getting. For instance, my altered route yesterday was over 9 miles. I got my heart rate up a couple of times, but I was already tuckered out from some earlier expense of energy. M & I missed out on the group ride I had previously talked about and I felt pretty lousy about it. Still, M cheered me up and we made lemonade out of lemons. And it didn’t turn sour on us. :) We ended up at a bike shop (The Hub Bicycles) and got me a nice Camelbak Rogue pack (for storing water and liquids on long rides). Surprisingly, the store price of ~ $50 is actually the average price I’ve seeing online and that’s a refreshing change. M ended up getting a pair of bike shorts because he finally got tired of his threadbare shorts. :D Alrighty, that’s enough fodder for one day. Have a great Sunday all!

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/20/blogorrhea/feed/ 2 Deals and more deals http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/18/deals-and-more-deals/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/18/deals-and-more-deals/#comments Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:04:13 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=268 You guys, I think I may have taken the concept of shopping therapy a little too far. lol. Actually, I think I’ve been very restrained. I bought a cute summer dress for the princely sum of $6.41 at Old Navy and spent ~ $32 for 2 pairs of shoes (Mudd and Skechers) at Rack [...]]]> You guys, I think I may have taken the concept of shopping therapy a little too far. lol. Actually, I think I’ve been very restrained. I bought a cute summer dress for the princely sum of $6.41 at Old Navy and spent ~ $32 for 2 pairs of shoes (Mudd and Skechers) at Rack Room Shoes. I had earlier (about a week ago) purchased a pair of black jeans for $6.99 and a pair of knee-length jeans for ~ $13 at Old Navy. All these items were obviously on clearance, but they are pretty cool for clearance-items. I totally look forward to rocking my summer dresses.

In other news, I’ve got a bit of a feminine problem. My face is super-oily. I never noticed this in college nor did I notice this while I attended graduate school. It has only come to my knowledge because M & I, in the time-honored tradition of primates picking fleas off their partners’ backs, routinely screen each other’s face, back, et cetera for ‘anomalies’. Well, I am not used to any daily facial cleansing rituals and it is really hard for me to come to terms with the fact that my skin may need some help. So, I’ve turned to almighty Google for answers to my dilemma. Now, M firmly believes that my application of body cream to my face is the root cause of my oily facial skin. His solution (amongst some others) is to not put cream on my face. Well, that experiment not only leaves my facial skin dry, I’ve just learned that it can cause my skin to produce more oil! I’ve got to do more research although I think I may have to talk with someone to get the skinny on these things. I need to take better care of my skin. :)

In other news, I am in love with WordPress more than ever! It gets more intuitive with each release and I hope it stays free as long as Automattic founders can hold out. :) I love the enhanced plugins and themes management. Now, I just need to find an awesome and hopefully free theme that will fully represent the kick-assness that is my blog. I entered into a little ride (not a race). It is for the benefit of the organization, P.L.A.C.E, which “promotes a strong accessible local food culture“. This should be interesting for several reasons being:

  1. It is a group ride
  2. I have never done a group ride of larger than 3 (me, Matt and his friend, John)
  3. I am really really nervous about doing the group road ride on my single-speed mountain bike. Apparently, I will be at a disadvantage and will have to work harder to keep up the pace if the riders feel like hitting hard. Here’s hoping that they do not. lol.

I am preparing for this by: (i) not riding today (ii) silently freaking out. It’s theoretically not a big deal, but if you understand me, you’ll know that this event means I’m putting myself out there. Rationally speaking, I am capable to of doing the ride. I guess I’ve just gotten a little psyched out (thanks M! lol). It’ll be fine because he’s riding with me so I’m definitely happier now. :) I’ll leave you with a picture of me on the bike. I blinked.

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/18/deals-and-more-deals/feed/ 0 Highly honored http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/17/highly-honored/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/17/highly-honored/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:00:07 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=260 It’s funny how once the ball gets rolling, it doesn’t stop. See, after accepting one job offer, I recently got contacted again for another job interview for a research position. I turned down the invitation to interview for the job and the professor responded that he wasn’t surprised I got snapped up so quickly. [...]]]> It’s funny how once the ball gets rolling, it doesn’t stop. See, after accepting one job offer, I recently got contacted again for another job interview for a research position. I turned down the invitation to interview for the job and the professor responded that he wasn’t surprised I got snapped up so quickly. Needless to say, I’m flattered and at the same time, wondrous. God has been amazing to me and my husband. I cannot thank him enough for opening doors for me at a time when lay-offs are happening left and right. I mean, I just feel so blessed right now and my husband’s family (and mine) are just so happy for me. My mother-in-law & I went to TJ Maxx to ‘celebrate’ with some shopping therapy while M & J had their midterm exam. lol. She totally spoils me and she got me some gorgeous dresses that bring “grown and sexy” to mind. I went to see my former boss and told him about the good news i.e. getting the job and they ribbed me about the job because it could possibly qualify as one of those Dirty Jobs, but I’m excited about the learning opportunity this presents. :D

In tech news, I updated my WordPress version to 2.6 and I’m loving my Plugins management section. I mean, not having to manually activate my plugins? Genius! :) Upgrading was easy except for the part where my “Add Media” section of my TinyMCE editor disappeared! I mean, everything else seemed to work fine and the only thing I did different from all my other upgrades was use the gzipped version on the WordPress download site. Some plugins like Podpress and WP Polls caused my “Write Page” or “Write Post” screen to go nuts and these problems didn’t get resolved until I backed up my MySQL database and re-uploaded all the WordPress 2.6 files again. So, I’ve got all my plugins up and running & my “Add Media” screen is back. I’m also particularly excited that WordPress will support Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) because I’ve recently gotten the privacy-paranoia bee in my bonnet. Using an SSL means you cannot get snooped on by bad people. I’ve currently got The Onion Router (TOR) up and running on my PC and I use it for sensitve issues. :) WordPress is definitely the easiest content management system I have used and I have not had any major issues with it.

salmonspaghetti

Little B is doing really well and he is going to be one tall young man. He’s got an excellent gene pool so no worries. Mrs. JW and her hubby are also doing a fantastic job of teaming up and being the best parents they can be to the little smacker. :) That’s my pet name for B because he smacks when he eats. I just got done riding for about 15 miles and I had M take a short video of me. I’ll upload the video and update this post. He also prepared an absolutely delicious meal of spaghetti with sauteed salmon. Can you say yummy-licious? He is quite the cook, I tell you what!

Update: I’ve finally uploaded the video (thanks Google Video!) and here it is in all its glory:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/17/highly-honored/feed/ 1 Being Jane http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/11/being-jane/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/11/being-jane/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:52:34 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=255 Well, ’tis been a while. I’m officially job-less, but there is hope. I attended an interview this week and I think it went well. I didn’t prepare as maniacally as I did for big fish #1, but I was definitely more laid back this time around. I’ll be happy for better or worse. In [...]]]> Well, ’tis been a while. I’m officially job-less, but there is hope. :) I attended an interview this week and I think it went well. I didn’t prepare as maniacally as I did for big fish #1, but I was definitely more laid back this time around. I’ll be happy for better or worse. In other news, I got the nicest text messages I’ve had in a long while from an old friend. I wish we will be able to meet up someday. It has been far too long with a lot unsaid. tongue That’s me during the first few weeks on the bike. That pair of shorts is pretty much what I’ve constantly worn to go riding. However, I purchased a pair of padded (Thank God!) Cannondale women’s shorts (looks something like this) and it works like a charm. The handlebars on my Addictive Cycles‘s crafted bike have been replaced as has the seat. M’s planning on replacing my fork on the bicycle so I’m feeling pretty set up. I’ll be transitioning to clip-less pedals too as soon as I get a pair of biking shoes.

In other other news, I’ve been having a bit of trouble with programs crashing on my computer. Internet Explorer is the biggest culprit and I cannot figure out what causes it to go crazy. All I know right now is that it is connected with FeedDemon. I’m not savvy enough to give technical details and it has happened so randomly that I cannot recreate the events that lead to IE crashing and burning. The next time it happens, I’ll be sure to save and post my error logs up. Also, Firefox 3 is nice, but crashes rather frequently. I can’t wait for an update to resolve these issues. *sigh*

Update: Here are some error screenshots:

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/11/being-jane/feed/ 2 An exhilarating ride and Independence Day http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/05/an-exhilarating-ride-and-independence-day/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/05/an-exhilarating-ride-and-independence-day/#comments Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:25:44 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=246 Ever heard this unattributed quote: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO what a [...]]]> Ever heard this unattributed quote: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO what a ride!”? Well, I felt like that about 2 days ago. M, John, M’s dad and I visited a state park with our bikes and we hit the trails hard. I felt that competitive spirit in me rise as I saw a couple of riders and egged on by M, I caught up to them. It was fun and I cannot wait to do those kind of long rides again. :)

A belated happy independence day to Americans far and wide. This year’s celebration was memorable in that there was B who experienced his first 4th of July celebration after being born last week. I do wish I got a bit closer to see the fireworks. J whipped out his grilling tools and cooked up a delicious storm. I stuffed myself and I’m aching from it this morning. J’s edema during her pregnancy was apparently a whole lot because in a space of 1 week, it’s fair to say she’s dropped over 60% of her pregnancy weight which was due to water! She looks pretty darn good for a new mom. I took some pictures of the little tyke which didn’t turn out too well, sadly. However, J has invested in a Canon camera which takes fantastic pictures. My trusty old Fujifilm’s not doing too shabbily anyway. As proof, here’s a picture I took yesterday using the macro setting on the camera:

I also have to commend the WordPress authors for the ease with which I was able to insert these photos. I think it’s fair to say this version of WordPress is the best I’ve used so far.
As far as my movie watching madness, I’ve chugged through: (i) Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer: I’m glad I didn’t pay $8 to see this in the theatre. As I’m renting more movies and discovering how awful some movies are, my tolerance level for movie fluff/fillers is dropping drastically. Remember how I had to fast forward through the painful love scenes in Mr & Mrs. Smith? Well, I found myself leaving the couch and going about my business while watching Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and only coming back when it sounded like they were on the move.
(ii) Bourne Ultimatum: I loved this movie. I’m a big Robert Ludlum fan (God rest his soul) so I definitely went into this biased. I’m glad to say this movie didn’t disappoint. If you rent this movie, make sure you check out the bonus features and watch the footage of his choreographed fight scene with Desh (an assassin in the movie). :)

I’ll leave you with another gratuitous flower shot:

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/05/an-exhilarating-ride-and-independence-day/feed/ 0 A ray of hope and more http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/03/a-ray-of-hope-and-more/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/03/a-ray-of-hope-and-more/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:28:54 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=244 I wanted to start this post out with a pithy or witty saying. Alas, it’s almost 10am and my well is dry. In any case, M & I visited our lovely nephew and his sweet parents. B’s the cuddliest and cutest little thing. And his parents hooked us up with lots of produce yet [...]]]> I wanted to start this post out with a pithy or witty saying. Alas, it’s almost 10am and my well is dry. In any case, M & I visited our lovely nephew and his sweet parents. B’s the cuddliest and cutest little thing. :) And his parents hooked us up with lots of produce yet again! I mean, we left with some beautiful zinnia flowers to spruce up our bland apartment, lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and some spices (rosemary, basil, etc). You should see their garden. I wish I had taken my camera with me. I cannot wait till my next visit to see the little guy who is the center of their world now.
This is a picture of one of the zinnia flowers that we plucked from their garden. The daisies (yellow) were bought by M from Wally world. I’m currently uploading pictures of our flower bouquet on Flickr and here’s the link to go feast your eyes. In other news, M & I are going to hit the trails hard today for some much needed exercise. I am so looking forward to it both as a distraction from the pressing task of finding a J.O.B. and just to exercise because I’ve been feeling, for lack of a better word, soft.

I opened up a Rollover IRA with Fidelity and am beginning the task of making sure things don’t get lost in transit. I’ve already run into a few snags that have since been rectified. Nevertheless, it left me a bit weary of the process already. I’m looking forward to the learning about funds and the like. Oh, and remember the beautiful matching I  was receiving from my soon-to-be previous employer? I’m not vested so poof! All I’m getting is the money I’ve contributed i.e. approximately 5% which is not a whole lot. We could do with some cash, but I won’t withdraw it because those funds are pre-tax dollars which, if prematurely withdrawn i.e. before 59.5 years of age, would be subject to a 10% early withdrawal tax and another 20% for federal taxes. lol. Yes, it’ll be a much smarter decision roll this money over. I’ll also have to do without health insurance despite the fact that I’m eligible for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) Continuation Health coverage. There’s just a tiny detail they forget to tell people about this so-called coverage: I’ll end up paying more than I’m making just for the privilege of being in the health plan. Hell to the no!!:D I’ll rather sign up for some other short-term plan. I hope to be employed soon and speaking of which, I have an upcoming interview. Ha!

Oh, I finally saw Cinderella Man with M. It was awesome. Have I told you I really really like Russell Crowe? Well, I do and his performance there was stellar. I loved the little lessons I learned from the movie i.e when his son stole some salami for the family, Russell (his dad) made him bring it back to the butcher and told him “we never steal, no matter what.” We made our way to the local video store again and scored another bunch of movies. :) They are: The Last King of Scotland, The Bourne Ultimatum, Joshua, The Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Hunted.

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/07/03/a-ray-of-hope-and-more/feed/ 0 Movie madness and the job hunt files http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/30/movie-madness-and-the-job-hunt-files/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/30/movie-madness-and-the-job-hunt-files/#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:57:43 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=242 I finally got to watch Hell Boy (the first movie) and I can tell you right now that I simply love Red. I wish Abe Sapien got more action in the movie because his gift is just awesomely creepy i.e. reading the past, etc. The sequel (Hell Boy II: The Golden Army) is coming [...]]]> I finally got to watch Hell Boy (the first movie) and I can tell you right now that I simply love Red. :) I wish Abe Sapien got more action in the movie because his gift is just awesomely creepy i.e. reading the past, etc. The sequel (Hell Boy II: The Golden Army) is coming out and I cannot wait to get to the theatre to check it out! I think Guillermo Del Toro is my new favorite director because he did Pan’s Labyrinth which I liked a lot. Wall-E by Disney/Pixar Animations is on my to-see list, but I’ll wait till it hits the dollar two-dollar theatre. Yes, they increased the prices at the ‘dollar’ theatre. Bummer, but it’s now becoming a less attractive option considering I could just rent a movie for $2.50 for a day. Anyhow, I got supremely bored on Saturday and rented 5 movies for $5 from a local movie store close to my apartment. The movies were: Mr & Mrs. Smith, Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Blood Diamond and Cinderella Man. First of all, Mr & Mrs. Smith was entirely forgettable. I’m certainly glad I didn’t buy into the hype and spend $10 at the theatre for it. I found myself bored with the sex scenes and simply fast-forwarded because it was clearly movie-filler material. I wanted to see the action sequences and I scratched that itch. Next, Ocean’s Eleven. Now, I watched this movie with trepidation because I had gotten a bit nauseated by every Tom, Dick & Harry naming their clique or group “Ocean’s <insert number>”. I loved the way they swindled the casino owner and I caught myself laughing quite frequently. Now, Ocean’s Twelve was patently false. I loved the “Black Fox” twist, but I didn’t care for the heist in this movie which didn’t do justice to Ocean’s Eleven. Ocean’s Thirteen has been out for awhile so it should be out on DVD. I’ll check it out at the movie store to see if the movie’s director has thoroughly ruined the franchise or if he stayed true to what Ocean’s crew does best: ingenious heists. Blood Diamond was heart-wrenching and gave a stinging indictment of countries (read: USA) or corporations implicitly soliciting conflict diamonds. DiCaprio was actually good in this movie and Djimon Housou was totally in character. M loved (maybe loved is a strong word, but he liked it. lol) the movie so that’s a marker of a quality movie in my book. Seriously. I haven’t seen Cinderella Man yet, but it has Russell Crowe in it and I can trust that he’ll pour his heart into his performance.

In other news, I’ve been hitting the trail pretty frequently for at least 45 minute rides. It’s fun and I am so glad I learned to ride. I am excited about learning to swim which will be painful, but worth it in the end. I have so much potential to do things with my life that are not just work & school. I am totally buying into the living a life that is personally fulfilling. I’ve got a rocking man by my side, the big Man upstairs and my family around me. I’m doing alright. My quadriceps are firmer than I’ve ever seen them. It’s unreal. I need to take pictures of myself on the bike or get M to make a short video. Of course, I’ll be sure to take a spill because knowing me, I’ll do something silly for the camera and crash. My handling skills are getting better although tight turns are still my bete noir. It’ll only be a matter of time before I take another head-over-heel tumble while trying to navigate one of those darned turns.

In other other news, I’ve fallen in love all over again with USA Network. Back when I had my “TV favorites” web pages, I wrote about loving the show, “Monk“. I still do and now, I can add “In Plain Sight” to the show. For starters, I love the leading lady. Why? Because she is a full-bodied woman and not a bean pole like Angelia Jolie. She has actual breasts, a butt and resembles an everyday woman. I cannot get enough of her and the show which cracks me up. Hey, I’ll be out of a job so I can only do the next best thing: watch TV. And of course, look for jobs. :)

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/30/movie-madness-and-the-job-hunt-files/feed/ 1 An advancement in science and my home http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/21/an-advancement-in-science-and-my-home/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/21/an-advancement-in-science-and-my-home/#comments Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:34:12 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=238 Have you heard about the guy who got an infusion of his T cells and put his advanced melanoma into remission for 2 years? It’s funny that I’ve been getting lots of information about immunology the past 2 weeks. It coincides nicely with the aforementioned big fish. In any case, our power bill was [...]]]> Have you heard about the guy who got an infusion of his T cells and put his advanced melanoma into remission for 2 years? It’s funny that I’ve been getting lots of information about immunology the past 2 weeks. It coincides nicely with the aforementioned big fish. In any case, our power bill was actually lower than last month’s bill! Yes, we spent approximately $1.19 per day compared to $1.18 per day for the last bill which was ~ $35.42 for a 30-day cycle. This bill was for 29 days, but still I’m impressed. :) We still haven’t had to turn on the air because we keep our ceiling fan going and the windows shut during the day. At night, we open our windows and turn the air on also to keep things fresh at home. I’m happy because I know our low bills haven’t been some freak occurrence of nature.

In biking news, I think I have to make huge adjustments to the way I eat. Apparently, eating like a regular person while kicking ass on the trail = muscle/weight loss because that nutrition is not tailored to the “athlete” (I’m far from an athlete, but I am an amateur sports enthusiast). Seriously, you know something’s off when after eating like a horse during the day, you go for a ride and come back ravenous – You eat and go to bed only to wake up starving. I’ve been increasing the length and intensity of my rides and I am learning that the human body is simply resilient. I’m learning more about nutrition and how to nourish my body so that it has an appropriate response to challenges.

We went grocery shopping and got a bunch of awesomely healthy items! For the longest time, M & I haven’t had bagels so I decided to get Thomas’ 100% whole wheat bagels. At 240 calories a bagel, they definitely beat my favorite snack (99 cent Baked Lay’s chips) which is a hefty 210 calories when you consider that the bagel has more “bang” (nutritionally speaking) for the buck. Pairing that with whipped cream cheese, 2 boiled eggs and a banana, you have my delicious breakfast for this morning. What do you do when you don’t have a toaster? You use your oven so I flipped the nozzle to 300F and toasted my hearty whole grain bagel. That same temperature will nicely toast bread too. Then, M & I are going to head for the trails when he wakes up. I’ve been getting up at 5am the past 3 days (for no good reason!) so I’m really looking forward to sleeping in someday. The simple pleasures. :D Another of my favorite breakfast combos before going into work is oatmeal mixed with a serving of Soy Powder and a fruit. On days I’m pressed, I only have time for the oatmeal and the soy powder combo. The fruit is a to-go item usually. Among our purchases was balsamic vinegar and some extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) which we will use to roll our homemade salad vinaigrette dressing. I’ve got the spices and I’ve got the dressing maker courtesy of Mrs. J so it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out. M’s always less than thrilled with my salad dressing choices so this should cool his tongue for the moment. lol. Love you still, M. :)

Here’s our haul:

  1. Balsamic Vinegar
  2. Extra Virgin olive oil
  3. Oatmeal
  4. 1% milk
  5. Soy milk
  6. Eggs
  7. Bananas
  8. Apples
  9. Cottage cheese
  10. Orange juice
  11. Acai drink
  12. Shredded cheese
  13. Fig bars
  14. Toilet tissue
  15. Wheat noodles
  16. Sweet potatoes
  17. Whole wheat Bagels
  18. Whipped cream cheese
  19. Peanut butter
  20. Yogurt
  21. Granola
  22. Pretzels

Again, we had a bunch of stuff left over from our last grocery outing so this trip was to get items that would be easy to grab and eat or drink versus planning to prepare a meal of rice/noodles with vegetables, etc.

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/21/an-advancement-in-science-and-my-home/feed/ 0 A Good Feeling http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/19/a-good-feeling/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/19/a-good-feeling/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:02:59 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=236 Things have been moving along even more smoothly than I hoped for. All I can say is God works in mysterious ways.  I had the chance to visit and I got along fabulously (in my humble opinion) so I hope, as M said, they make the right decision. Now, it’s just a waiting game. [...]]]> Things have been moving along even more smoothly than I hoped for. All I can say is God works in mysterious ways.  I had the chance to visit and I got along fabulously (in my humble opinion) so I hope, as M said, they make the right decision. :) Now, it’s just a waiting game. In other news, I might just get my wish to rollover my current 401(k) account. My first choice is Fidelity because it seems they have a good customer service base and generally better at providing guidance for first time investors. I’ll need all the help I can get, preferably for free.

I’ve been getting progressively better on the bike. I finally learned how to stand properly in order to power up hills. Apparently, I had been doing the stand wrongly so I was putting too much stress on my knees which will need to recover from the abuse. :) He’s taking his tutoring seriously and has gone as far as ordering the Mountain Biker’s bible in order to put me on a training regimen. lol. I don’t mind one bit because biking is a great way to stay in shape! My legs and arms are proof of this and all for going out for at least 30mins daily! M’s class is going along well although I’m a bit of a nagging wife in that respect. He’s got his learning style and I’ve got mine. They don’t overlap and I need to respect that.

With respect to financial stuff, nothing has gone towards the SunTrust credit card debt yet. Thankfully, nothing is being spent using the card so it’s stagnant. I’ll be sure to see some movement before the month ends i.e. sending some snowflakes towards that. Savings are also growing slowly, but surely. Even if it’s $10 a week, that’s still something. The point is that I am actively making the changes which will come in handy for when a larger source of income comes my way.

In yet other news, I find that I get bored online once I’m away from my feed reader (FeedDemon which I paid for, but turned around to become free!). I would use the online Newsgator service which has my feeds, but it’s painfully slow. I’ve resorted to constantly refreshing the pages of Google News in order to get my news fix or hunt for information. It doesn’t help that my science reading material is not at my apartment. :( When I get the new job, it should hopefully allow me to indulge in purchasing more books to increase my knowledge.

Yes, I finally came out and said it. I’m essentially falling prey to the increasing tight-fistedness of funding agencies (or divine intervention) hence the premature termination of my employment. That’s fancy speak for getting laid off. I understand where my current employees stand so I do thank them for giving me several weeks of notice. I would have extended the same courtesy to them. Obviously, my job hunt is consuming much of my time these days. I’ve had a particularly delicious fish bite and I am on some serious tenterhooks. I visited the facility and I was impressed. It is a very serious, yet cozy place to work and if I got hired, I would have a really kickass manager who speaks 5 languages! I’m practically raring to go. Again, not putting all my eggs in one basket, I’ve been applying to places and expect responses in about a month. In the horrid event (perish the thought!) that I don’t get into this great company, I won’t be mad because I progressed in the application process to a point I hadn’t been to since I had actually applied to said company a couple of times last year and heard nary a peep. So this is promising. I know I can do the job and I am so looking forward to the challenges it presents. I already like the team I will be working with if (I’m trying out the power of positive thinking) when I’m hired so I will be fine. *deep breaths*

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/19/a-good-feeling/feed/ 1 Preparations, preparations http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/15/preparations-preparations/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/15/preparations-preparations/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:05:00 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=235 Questions keep running through my head, but after all is said and done, I know that whatever will be will be. And right now, it will do me utmost good to let sleeping dogs lie and not try to over-analyze things. Because when I do that, I end up with analysis that makes me [...]]]> Questions keep running through my head, but after all is said and done, I know that whatever will be will be. And right now, it will do me utmost good to let sleeping dogs lie and not try to over-analyze things. Because when I do that, I end up with analysis that makes me out to be the major baddie. lol. Here’s to staying positive and having that little thing called faith, the substance of things hoped for. J & J visited yesterday and it was refreshing. She’s had a relatively smooth pregnancy for a first time mother and when it’s M & I’s time, I want it to be like hers! Seriously, she didn’t experience morning sickness. She just became really drowsy and more recently, suffered (still has) edema. That’s the worst of the complaints. I’ll bet her delivery will be just as smooth if her mother-in-law’s pregnancy genes have any effect. :)

I was too lazy to ride yesterday and when I mustered up enough strength, it started to shower. That effectively sealed the deal. I put my time at home to good use though. I watched Rambo IV and man, it made me long to watch the previous 3 movies back to back! It was short and to the point. Most importantly, they spared us the standard and gratuitous shot of the leading man’s rippling pectorals. I could definitely do without the overdeveloped view. :) Anyhoo, I loved the point the movie kept making about people who visit war-torn places to provide relief. I believe keeping the oppressed people healthy and well-fed is obviously a priority. Also a priority is defending themselves, but you can’t do that if you are ill. So, majority of them are needed and they do this out of the goodness of their hearts. However, a few of these providers wear rose-tinted glasses i.e. the head of the relief party in Rambo IV’s case. He was unbelievably naive and actually wanted to turn Rambo in for killing a pirate who would have done them all in! This is not the first movie I’ve seen where there’s a bleeding heart in there who chooses a really bad time to whip out his moral stick (Deliverance). When I got done watching Rambo IV, I popped in “Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead“. Now, I absolutely loved the plot twists in this movie and I think even M will like this movie. First of all, this movie has Phillip Seymour Hoffman who I am enthralled with since watching his performance in “Charlie Wilson’s war“. It’s got Ethan Hawke who was in “Training Day” and he pretty much plays a role where he’s someone without control of the situation. I’ll start from the top. (Spoiler alert, I pretty much talk about the entire movie. :) If you want to skip this  and read a real review, check this succinct and well put-together analysis of the movie.

Phillip (a real estate accountant) and Ethan (a deadbeat dad) are brothers and sons of Mom and Dad (owners of a jewelry store). Ethan’s constantly broke and Phillip is apparently into drugs, pricey vacations and cooking the books at the company he works for. His department (payroll) is first in line for an IRS audit and I suspect that puts the screws on him to come up with cash fast to replenish whatever coffers he had drained. So he figures on committing a “victimless” and perfect crime: steal insured jewelry from his parents’ jewelry store. He draws his brother in and since it’s a family operation, they know the inside-and-out of the place. And we all know what happens to the best laid plans, don’t we? I should know. LOL. Long story short, fumb duck (yes, that was deliberate. lol) Ethan actually draws another person into this drama because he can’t do it by himself. I think Phillip made a major miscalculation by bringing such a weak person in on the crime. So Ethan brings this other hoodlum who is the real deal with a real gun. Phillip is confident that it will go without a hitch because he thinks neither his mom or dad actually man the store. He’s wrong and this is where I have a bone to pick with the writers: It should have been simple to snoop or ask their parents what their plans were to find out if they would be there or not, but it seems neither of them (mom or dad) had worked in the store for a long while after hiring an employee.

Anyway, the plan is set in motion and Ethan’s 3rd wheel is the one to actually bust into the store. He encounters a female there (mom). He’s doing his intimidation bit and is grabbing nearly everything in sight. He’s hellbent on cracking presumably bullet-proof casing that some jewels were encased in when he gets plastered by one bullet. He lets loose on on the old lady in the process of falling and tries to crawl outside. Before he gets to freedom, she blows him away with his own gun. Ethan peels madly off in the rental car and lets Phillip know that Murphy’s law struck. Only, he’s not as sanguine about it as Phillip is. Ethan looses his shit and I lost all respect for him.

In the end, this movie became about the domino effect and how people respond to pressure, in my humble opinion. I was able to see how characters (Phillip, Ethan, dad, etc) changed into people who did things they didn’t know or realize they were capable of. The mom lies in critical condition and Phillip pressures his dad to pull the plug on her (I didn’t understand why he was insistent on this and I suspect he was under the impression that his brother had done the deed himself and would be identified by the mother). The dad becomes obsessed with finding out the other accomplice which was not a very believable plot twist in regard to how he was easily able to uncover that his son (Phillip) was involved. Things get rapidly worse for Phillip as his wife reveals a shocking secret (she’s been sleeping with Ethan, his brother) and Ethan starts getting blackmailed. As with a lot of movies, there has to be a resolution. Phillip gets shot by the blackmailer’s sister who happens to be the wife of the 3rd wheel in the botched jewel heist. Now the tables are turned and Phillip is in critical care at the hospital. The father ends Phillips life, Ethan is nowhere to be found and the movie ends. It was rather anticlimactic and I wish I could have known what happened to Ethan or how the father lived with himself afterward. As you can see, the movie was full of dramatic plot twists and turns. If you are still in the mood for this movie after I’ve just spilled all the beans on it, please go watch it!

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/15/preparations-preparations/feed/ 0 Oh mercy mercy me! http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/13/oh-mercy-mercy-me/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/13/oh-mercy-mercy-me/#comments Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:57:36 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=232 Again, things turn out the way you least expect them. Aforementioned prospect that I had ‘sweated’ over turned out to be a super cool dude. I am debating whether or not to post directly what I’m going through, but out of respect for my family, I’ll keep talking in ‘code’. lol. So, the saga [...]]]> Again, things turn out the way you least expect them. Aforementioned prospect that I had ‘sweated’ over turned out to be a super cool dude. I am debating whether or not to post directly what I’m going through, but out of respect for my family, I’ll keep talking in ‘code’. lol. So, the saga continues next week. Not matter how it turns out, it will be an eye-opener for me as I will have undergone new things. It’s fascinating how things have turned out.

Right now, several good things have happened since a certain event happened. I’ve “inked” an advertising deal for some posts on this blog!!! This is my first time doing it and time will tell if it was a good idea. Still, it’s about time I get paid for writing my heart on this blog! :D I think I gave the advertising agent a very very nice deal, but she was nice so there. :) I’ll be putting the ads up and thankfully, they are text ads which are unobtrusive (in my opinion). I will be putting up some polls to gain an idea of what you like or don’t like about the adverts on my blog. Naturally, I’ve got to start thinking about the ramifications of accepting advertising on this blog and I’ll be sure to start a disclosure page that talks about any affiliations I have. I’ll be expecting my Adsense earnings to finally kick in sometime in this century. The only bad thing about all of this is that I’ve got to keep track of these “earnings” so as to not run afoul of the law. That’s why I’ve started a subaccount in my ING Direct Orange Savings account so that I can pay taxes on these earnings. I’m saving now so that I won’t feel too badly about paying the government.

Also, I’ll be getting a smallish refund from a certain visit to a certain practitioner where I was charged $300 upfront because that’s how much my insurance deductible is. The problem was that I had already met my deductible with previous doctor visits so I’ll be getting less than half of what I paid back. Right now, I’ll take any “spare” money I can get. For me, that means no impulsive purchases a la a pair of biking shoes (Nike Kato III, size 8.5 which were ~ $90 originally but were 40% off) which were a size too large for me that I bought. Thankfully, we were able to return them back to the store folks who were super cool about the return. I will definitely be doing more business with The Hub Bikes (a bicycle store). Spare money also translates into remembering to return that Creative T100 player I bought for M that I didn’t realize had no recording capability. Can you say Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA)? lol. That’s a number you have to sit for several minutes on the phone to get in order to get approved to return a product to the store you bought it from.

So my hubby, in-law and father-in-law are all taking a certificate program in Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) at the same time. It promises to be a challenging time for them, but extremely rewarding. Hell, they’ve got me interested in it now although I’m not going to bite just yet. Of course, since it’s a computer based course, this means I’ll be battling with M for computer time. I’m thinking of just breaking down and getting a refurbished desktop just for the purposes of browsing. That’s the only smart thing to do because I want M to get all the practice time he can get. So I am basically looking for a computer that will:

  1. Let me browse the web while he’s putzing around with our main ‘family’ computer.
  2. Not be more than $250 without the price of the monitor included

I need to pick my current boss’s brains about where he get such bargain deals on the Dell Workstation he gets. I just did a quick Google search and I think I might have found the site he uses: DFC Direct Sales. Leave your comments! Right now, I’m taking my bike for a quick spin to relieve my nervous energy. Ha!

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/06/13/oh-mercy-mercy-me/feed/ 0 Saturday fun-ness :P http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/05/25/saturday-fun-ness-p/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/05/25/saturday-fun-ness-p/#comments Sun, 25 May 2008 19:43:46 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=225 I went to a local tavern to see this match. This was a big title fight between BJ Penn (from Hawaii) and an American kid, Sean Sherk. I was rooting for Penn who eventually won the fight. It was indeed an interesting night because the peoplethat I had favored to win won. Nevertheless, what [...]]]> I went to a local tavern to see this match. This was a big title fight between BJ Penn (from Hawaii) and an American kid, Sean Sherk. I was rooting for Penn who eventually won the fight. It was indeed an interesting night because the peoplethat I had favored to win won. Nevertheless, what put a bitter taste in my mouth was the food at said local tavern. I’ve been to this place before and I absolutely loved their veggie chili. Expectedly, M & I placed 2 orders of the veggie chili only for the meal to come out barely lukewarm. It was tasty, but anyone knows that cold soup just sucks major butt. I mean, would it have hurt to pop the food in the microwave for a minute or two? We didn’t want to complain because we’ve heard horror stories about the spitting, peeing and even ejaculating onto customers’ orders for any reason. Morale of these stories: I’m learning that a certain group of people in the food service industry don’t take kindly to complaining customers.

In other news, I have come to understand that certain aspects of my lifestyle are bothersome. However, I ask that you not try to force your wishes upon me because that’s when I dig my heels in and say “no can do”. Childish, yes but I am not saying an blatant NO to your ideas. :) I’m discovering things about myself and essentially learning about my environment as I carry on with my daily activities. I won’t say  much about this topic because I’m not feeling very eloquent right now. :D Not a surprise because my mind’s elsewhere right now. I haven’t ridden in over 3 days so I definitely  need to get on the bike. Hopefully, I’ll do that and get some socialization in with J & J, J’s sister and M’s dad. Cheers and have a nice holiday.

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/05/25/saturday-fun-ness-p/feed/ 4 A little something something http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/05/09/a-little-something-something/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/05/09/a-little-something-something/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 16:02:44 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=220 M bought my bike yesterday so it’s truly mine now! *cue evil laughter* Because he had to take care of ‘bidness’, I missed going out on my bike ride yesterday. I have been craving a trip to the movie theater so I am going to make an attempt today to do that. M will be [...]]]> M bought my bike yesterday so it’s truly mine now! *cue evil laughter* Because he had to take care of ‘bidness’, I missed going out on my bike ride yesterday. I have been craving a trip to the movie theater so I am going to make an attempt today to do that. M will be at work so I am preparing myself for the task of timing my exit from work to coincide with the bus which comes once every hour. So wish me luck! I totally want to see IronMan and Spiderwick Chronicles. I love all (almost all) things fantasy. lol. If I don’t make it to the theater, I’ll go riding. Things were a bit relaxed at work this week and part of me suspects my female boss for being responsible. It’s sometimes funny how she knows when to push and how to bring out the 100% in me. I am also not going to kid myself that she can bring out the stern taskmaster at any moment so I will be wise not to take anything for granted. Have I said how selfless M is? :D I think he’s just now realizing all the trouble he’s married. lol. Remember M, 1 year down, ∞ to go.  So buckle your seat belt! :) With this new month, I am:

  1. Recommitting to living a healthy and personally satisfying life which has started to incorporate healthy eating, healthy thought patterns, healthy patterns of exercise and positive thinking through obstacles.
  2. I am also going to pick up the slack on my credit card payment schedule as well as saving for our emergency fund. Right now, my end of year goal for the emergency fund is $5,000. Experts recommend at least 3 months’ worth of living expenses to as much as you feel like would suffice for your family.

Baby steps, folks. Baby steps. :)

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]]> http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/05/09/a-little-something-something/feed/ 0 Biking is hard work http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/05/03/biking-is-hard-work/ http://fadingwhispers.org/home/2008/05/03/biking-is-hard-work/#comments Sun, 04 May 2008 00:39:12 +0000 Jane Ullah http://fadingwhispers.org/home/?p=215 As I write this post, I am itching to strap on my safety helmet and get my ass kicked on the road. See, on Thursday at around 5pm, I didn’t know how to get on a bike, much less ride one. After about several spectacular falls and 4 blows to my shin, I decided [...]]]> As I write this post, I am itching to strap on my safety helmet and get my ass kicked on the road. See, on Thursday at around 5pm, I didn’t know how to get on a bike, much less ride one. After about several spectacular falls and 4 blows to my shin, I decided to call it quits, but by then I was able to get on a bike and stay on the bike. I was still a little bit wobbly on the bike, but it was a very good first day. Fast forward to Friday at about 5.30pm, M & I decided to get out and go practice some more. My first tries were still kind of awkward, but I was able to start the bike noticeably smoother. Over an hour later, I was riding trails, people! Now, I’m still wobbly and haven’t learned how to navigate significantly hilly places, ride standing or even turn properly. However, Rome wasn’t built in a day. I am so looking forward to my bike lessons this morning.

Update: I just had my worst spill yet. You see, I have this need for speed. What’s bad is I’m not very adept at using my brakes and my feet keep slipping of the pedal. Both of those faults together make for a very scary scenario. I however wish to take this time to place some of the fault at my coach’s feet. lol. Biking is second nature to him and he was very excited that I had picked it up “so quickly” that he wanted me to try some “stunt”. It didn’t turn out so good, but I’m pretty much done practicing for today.

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