Cycling

Today after work I really wanted to ride my bike, because it was around 70 degrees outside. So when I got home, I took Walter out for a walk and clouds started to move in and it rained really hard. It was a quick rain, and it stopped raining around 6:45 PM or so.

Earlier this week Dan rode to my apartment from Plymouth, and I drove him back home. So I decided to do the same. The distance to Plymouth is about 7.5 miles, but the ride is really nice. I got really lucky, because when I was riding the sun was starting to go down and was cascading really pretty colors on the darker clouds. Since the ground was wet it had a golden sheen to it. The bike ride was good exercise too, so that's always a good thing.

A Sunday Update

It has been a long time since I posted. I'll do better this next week.

I just saw an advertisement for Lipozene, a weight loss drug, and one of their "customers" just said "I loved being able to loose weight without actually having to work for it". If you don't have any motivation to work in the first place...you're probably not going to loose weight, because it takes work.

I've had a fun weekend so far. Friday after work Paul, Dan and I went rock climbing in Ann Arbor. It's amazing how good rock climbing is for you. If you do it for a few hours (we usually stay for 3 hours or so) you burn around 700 calories. It's a good challenge too. I want to get a climbing harness sooon so I don't have to keep renting them.

Kiki was in Ann Arbor this weekend visiting U of M. So when Dan and I finished rock climbing we met Kiki downtown and got something to eat. I was glad I got to see her on Friday.

Saturday I took Walter to the dog park. We left a little early because he wasn't behaving very well. For some reason he did not want to come when he was called and kept walking away from me when I told him to come. I got to hang out with Kiki again on Saturday night. We played Rummikub and Fluxx in the lobby of her hotel and took lots of pictures.

I finished reading the book "Lamb" for the bookclub at work. It was actually very funny and a good book. The other one we're starting is supposed to be more serious and a tougher read. It's called "The Monsters of Templeton". I think I will start on it today. I still have to finish Paper Mario at some point. I will try to do that today, too.

You Were Wrong, I Knew it all Along

It's amazing what happens when you skip the pee-ons and go to the management about your problems (oh, I mean, when you can speak to them, that is).

I got a phone call from the regional manager of my apartment complex this morning. He left me a voicemail at work saying he had a solution for me. I called him back and he said "How would you like to just stay in your current apartment, on your current lease, and I'll give you permission to keep your dog there". Excellent. I told him that would be perfect and he said he was sorry for my trouble and he hoped this would work.

They're writing an addendum to my lease that says I'm allowed to have Walter here, but if there are more than 3 complaints, then I'll have to switch buildings. If THAT happens, I still won't have to pay the $300 transfer fee either. So hopefully there isn't some creepy homebody that keeps tabs on everyone and reports people. This worked out well though.

I'm going to the leasing office tomorrow to sign my addendum and I feel like looking at the girl who gave me a hard time and saying "Gosh Kara, I bet you wish you would have just listened to me and gave me what I wanted in the first place so your manager didn't embarass you, huh?". I wouldn't say that, I'll be nice, but she needs to check herself before she starts making decisions.

I did my treadmill exercise test today so I can get permission to use the gym at work. That was annoying. It took me about 30 minutes but I got to leave work a little early to do it.

Ohhh I'm so glad Walter will be back here with me and I don't have to move. And I got what I wanted (deserved).

Weekend End

Sunday nights are always so nice, just looking back on the weekend. I had a really good, relaxing, fun weekend. Friday Alex and I went to see the movie "Across the Universe". The one that's a Beatles musical type thing. We went to see it at a theater in Birmingham, which is a really trendy part of Detroit (Starbucks and Volvos everywhere). It was really neat to see Birmingham though, it's a nice area so I would like to go back there again sometime.

Saturday I got a phone call at 8:30 am from Erica, but then I went back to sleep until 11:30. I went to a game store with Alex, and then we went to one of his friend's houses and played games until midnight.

Today I went to church, then ate lunch, and did laundry. I took a bike ride today because it was very very nice outside. A perfect day. It was in the mid 70's, a slight wisper of a beeze, and a clear sky. It felt like a spring day actually. So the bikeride was nice. I came back and got some groceries at Target. I went there to just get cereal, but then I found a nice hat and scarf and since I don't have those, and will need them, I bought them.

Today I also got to talk to Becky, Paul, and Kiki so that was nice. Becky is coming this weekend and I can't wait to see her (you!). It's going to be a lot of fun. We'll be going to Chicago to visit with Matt Senior and Lindsay. We'll go to Canada one day too. I'm looking forward to having her visit. Kiki will be coming the weekend after Becky, and we'll see University of Michigan and Canada (as well). It will be fun having friends visit me.

Paul had really good news to tell me too, but I'll let him tell you himself because he should tell you. It's that big.

I'm well rested to take on the week. I think I'll make more movies this week from the Anime weekend so watch out.

Cancelled

The EV1 get together got cancelled because someone from GM didn't think it was a good idea. It's too bad because I was really looking forward to it.

On a brighter note I took a 9 mile roundtrip bike ride today from my apartment to work and back, so see if I could do it on a regular basis for work. No. First of all, it took 30 minutes and I was booking it. By the time I was at my work I was sweaty, worn out, and felt like not doing anything. Then I had to go BACK home. That was hard. The Detroit area is very flat, but Northville is actually hilly and gives you a good workout. The other reason I don't want to do it everyday is because there is a 1 mile strech of road that has no sidewalk, and people like to drive very fast and I'm scared of getting hit...not really but it could happen. It was neat though to see how far I could go. By the time I got back home I just laid down for 30 minutes and didn't move I was so tired.

Erica called me after I got home and asked if I wanted to go to church with her and Carmela. I have a lot of fun with them. Afterwards we went to Big Boy and ate dinner. They said they're going to look for a girlfriend for me. I bought more grapes tonight too.

Atleast the decision of buying a Saturn Aura or Honda Civic as my next car was made for me today by GM. Honda it is.

I bought a Hybrid

Only this one doesn't use any gas, it's my new bike. It's a Giant Cypress comfort hybrid in a royal blue color. When I got the bike and tried to put it in my Saturn to take home, it wouldn't fit! I layed the back seats down, but the handlebar stuck up too far so the trunk wouldn't shut. So I had to go back in the bike shop and ask for twine to tie the trunk down and drive the 5 miles home with the trunk half open.

I came back home, changed my clothes and went for a ride. I was riding down Novi Road towards 8 mile and I came to the intesection and had to move off the road, in the gravel and my back wheel slid a little. Just then, I turned to look behind me and see a lady I work with, Terissa drive by in her minivan and wave at me. That was fun. I rode about 5 miles and really like my new bike. Tomorrow I'm going to map out a route to work so I can start riding to and from my job.

Did anyone know a great show, The Wonder Years, still comes on TV? I loved this show when I was younger and it still comes on the ION channel. It's a good show.

What else...check book is still off $0.20, still jonesing for frozen grapes...that's about it.

They Were Closed

I thought the bike shop closed at 8:00, because in Michigan all (excuseme, most) businesses stay open until 8:00 on Monday and Thursday nights, and close at 6:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. By the time I left work and got to the shop it was 6:30, and they closed at 6:00. So, I didn't get the bike today. Maybe tomorrow, hopefully.

Even though I didn't get the bike today, I got some wonderful suprises in the mail. Matt Swindler (Hi, Matt *waving*) sent me a postcard from DisneyLand. Mom sent me some mail I got back in South Carolina, and I got my medical and prescription cards from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Kiki (Hey Keh Keh) sent me a nice postcard a while back from San Fran, and Paul (Ju Paul) sent me Pokemon cards 4 weeks ago, that's why there's a Pokemon of the Week.

Work was fun today, I'm doing DFMEA (Design Failure Mode Effect and Analysis) training Monday - Wednesday and I like this a lot. I'm busy at work this week though but I'm getting the hang of things a little more and taking on more responsibility. I guess Dr. Fadel aka Gorgeous Georges taught me something.

Gas is back up to $3.35 per gallon here. Boooo

07/07/07

Beetlejuice is on TV!

Today I went out to two bike shops in Farmington Hills and Livonia to look at bicycles. I really want a nice bike like the Trek one my dad has. I found out that type of bike is called a "hybrid comfort". Comfort means it's a multi-speed bike used for riding on sidewalks and paved surfaces, and not so "mountain-y". The "hybrid" means it has skinnier tires like a road bike, but not quite. The idea is the skinnier tires keep it fast and a hybrid is not to be used off road. So I want a hybrid comfort bike. Prices range from $209 - $349. Giant is a brand of bike I think I'll get, they are the parent company of Trek. A bike shop in Livonia had a sale going on with some older 2006 models they hadn't sold. They had a 19" bike, a hybrid comfort, in blue for $209. I really liked that one and it was the last one they had.

I want a bike because this weather is amazing. I know it's not going to last, and it's short. I can tell because you see all these people out in convertibles and sports cars, with tans, and with their windows down and sunroofs open. They take advantage of this weather because starting in October it will be Arctic for 6 months. So, I want to get a bike to ride to work (since I'm only 4 miles away) and to go on bike rides around the area in the afternoons and weekends since there are so many bike paths. I think it's a good investment because a) it will be forced exercise and b) it will save gas. So, I want to get one soon.

I bought a camera last night online from circuitcity.com. I have wanted a new camera for a while and this one in particular. It's a Casio Exilim 7.2 MP. I want to take more pictures, and my older camera has horrible quality. So when I get my camera, I'm going to do a "photo tour" blog post on my apartment, work, neighborhood etc.

Tonight Katey's sister Erica invited me to a large church here called Northridge (I went there once already) with her and her friend Carmela. It was a lot of fun and afterwards we went to La Shish, a middle-eastern restaurant. Erica and Carmela were a lot of fun and I think we'll do more stuff with each other.

Now...the checkbook is still $0.20 off, I told you it'd bother me, didn't I?

Fruit

I have a small project to work on now at my job and I need to finish it by tomorrow. It's using CATIA, the CAD program I learned. I'm really slow with it because I'm still learning, and there are tricks I need help with. A guy I work with helped me with it a lot. He lives in Canada and is supposedly the "expert" on it in our groupe. He was really helpful and took his time though showing me the right way to get a drawing set up. Hopefully he won't mind helping me out more tomorrow. I'm still learning and it's going well.

After work I decided I needed to exercise since I have been lazy. I did 30 minutes on the eliptical trainer and about 10 minutes of weights. I can tell I was getting out of shape because the 30 minutes on the eliptical trainer was harder than it should have been. After that I made a chicken ceaser salad for dinner, and ate probably 0.5 lbs of frozen grapes because I love them so much.