I'm allergic to everything!

Lately, I've noticed that my allergies have been getting worse. It was to the point where, I think I wasn't sleeping and began to develop bags under my eyes. I also believe that the bags and the sores under them were partially related to the excessive itchiness, and subsequent rubbing, I've been experiencing.

I've known that since I've lived in the DC area (notorious for making folks who aren't allergic allergic) I've developed allergic reactions to some pollens. I have two cats and have always thought that I've been allergic to them. I've dealt with it and moved on.

Well, I went to an allergist because of these latest bouts, and well wouldn't you know it, I'm allergic to everything but my cats! Dust, trees, grass, flowers, dogs, mold, everything. Obviously, these allergies are mild and I've, over the years, become accostomed to them.

But this thought did occur to me: "You mean, I'm not normal? This isn't how everyone feels all the time? There's a better way to feel in the morning?"

So after the numerous drugs and other fun things my doctor prescribed me, I should be able to actually breathe the way people without allergies breathe.

A whole new world awaits me. Time for more pills.

Bored at work...

Today, I bought Canadian bicycling socks.

Spring? Is that you?

Oh my goodness! It's finally looking like spring will be joining us this year. Last week we had two days of decent weather. Tomorrow it looks like it'll be sunny and 60! Same for the next day. Two days of good weather means I can ride in again. I'm a little behind schedule.

This weekend, I did some "spring cleaning." It really does feel good to have a clean house. I got rid of a ton of stuff. My "office/guest room" actually has room for a bed! Although, for now, I'll keep to the laying out an air mattress.

Dennis Beierschmitt 1950-2005

On Sunday one of my friend's past away. Dennis was the kind of person that just the mere mention of his name makes me smile. Dennis cheer and jovial demeanor was just one of his qualities that made everyone happy.

I first met Dennis two years ago as we teamed up as bike technicians on Tour de Friends, a ride benefiting several AIDS/HIV related service groups from Raleigh, NC to Washington, DC. The sence of humor he brought with him was both devilish and refreshing.

Dennis was also a bike tech on last year's Hero of the Day.

Tomorrow morning, a large group of "AIDSriders" are going to the memorial service in Richmond. VA.

Dennis The Jokester

Dennis with Ice Cream

To My Three Readers...

... and that might be optimistic!

After last year's abysmal showing on the bicycle, I've decided I need a way to give myself a figurtive kick in the bum. You see, last year, I only got to 1,300 miles for the season. Now that might seem like a lot, but spread over seven to eight months and it starts to look pretty bad.

[Note: the definition of season varies from cyclist to cyclist. Some are hard core and ride all year round. They take on the Scandanvian mantra: "There is no incliment weather, only inadequate clothing." Some like myself need it to be warm out before we're willing to brave the roads/trails/etc. Usually, in the DC area, that equates to about mid-March to late-October. However, this year it seems that March also needs a kick in the bum!]

The definition of a good season also varies by rider. I would personally like to hit 5000 miles for the 2005 season.

To accomplish this, I had an idea: why not let my readers be in charge of the bum kicking? I know. I know. It's not exactly original, but I think it might work.

Below is what, I've outlined as "my plan" It's a plan to hit 10,000 miles, giving me the proper cushion to actually hit 5,000. Sounds complicated? Well, it's not. Think of it this way, If I plan for 10,000 miles, then any weekend or week that's interrupted by say a trip to India, can be made up for by the extra padding. I'm going to keep a running total on the sidebar. If I start to slip too far, give me a good bum kick! I'll get going again!

Well enough rambling, here it is:

11-Mar	20	20	7-Jul	20	4730
12-Mar	50	70	8-Jul	0	4730
13-Mar	30	100	9-Jul	100	4830
14-Mar	20	120	10-Jul	100	4930
15-Mar	20	140	11-Jul	20	4950
16-Mar	20	160	12-Jul	20	4970
17-Mar	20	180	13-Jul	20	4990
18-Mar	0	180	14-Jul	20	5010
19-Mar	40	220	15-Jul	100	5110
20-Mar	20	240	16-Jul	100	5210
21-Mar	20	260	17-Jul	100	5310
22-Mar	20	280	18-Jul	20	5330
23-Mar	20	300	19-Jul	20	5350
24-Mar	20	320	20-Jul	20	5370
25-Mar	50	370	21-Jul	20	5390
26-Mar	70	440	22-Jul	0	5390
27-Mar	50	490	23-Jul	120	5510
28-Mar	20	510	24-Jul	100	5610
29-Mar	20	530	25-Jul	20	5630
30-Mar	20	550	26-Jul	20	5650
31-Mar	20	570	27-Jul	20	5670
1-Apr	0	570	28-Jul	20	5690
2-Apr	80	650	29-Jul	100	5790
3-Apr	50	700	30-Jul	120	5910
4-Apr	20	720	31-Jul	100	6010
5-Apr	20	740	1-Aug	20	6030
6-Apr	20	760	2-Aug	20	6050
7-Apr	20	780	3-Aug	20	6070
8-Apr	40	820	4-Aug	20	6090
9-Apr	80	900	5-Aug	0	6090
10-Apr	70	970	6-Aug	110	6200
11-Apr	20	990	7-Aug	130	6330
12-Apr	20	1010	8-Aug	20	6350
13-Apr	20	1030	9-Aug	20	6370
14-Apr	20	1050	10-Aug	20	6390
15-Apr	0	1050	11-Aug	20	6410
16-Apr	80	1130	12-Aug	120	6530
17-Apr	70	1200	13-Aug	140	6670
18-Apr	20	1220	14-Aug	120	6790
19-Apr	20	1240	15-Aug	20	6810
20-Apr	20	1260	16-Aug	20	6830
21-Apr	20	1280	17-Aug	20	6850
22-Apr	40	1320	18-Aug	20	6870
23-Apr	100	1420	19-Aug	0	6870
24-Apr	100	1520	20-Aug	150	7020
25-Apr	20	1540	21-Aug	100	7120
26-Apr	20	1560	22-Aug	20	7140
27-Apr	20	1580	23-Aug	20	7160
28-Apr	20	1600	24-Aug	20	7180
29-Apr	0	1600	25-Aug	20	7200
30-Apr	100	1700	26-Aug	80	7280
1-May	100	1800	27-Aug	170	7450
2-May	20	1820	28-Aug	50	7500
3-May	20	1840	29-Aug	20	7520
4-May	20	1860	30-Aug	20	7540
5-May	20	1880	31-Aug	20	7560
6-May	0	1880	1-Sep	20	7580
7-May	100	1980	2-Sep	0	7580
8-May	100	2080	3-Sep	200	7780
9-May	20	2100	4-Sep	20	7800
10-May	20	2120	5-Sep	20	7820
11-May	20	2140	6-Sep	20	7840
12-May	20	2160	7-Sep	20	7860
13-May	0	2160	8-Sep	20	7880
14-May	100	2260	9-Sep	80	7960
15-May	120	2380	10-Sep	80	8040
16-May	20	2400	11-Sep	80	8120
17-May	20	2420	12-Sep	20	8140
18-May	20	2440	13-Sep	20	8160
19-May	20	2460	14-Sep	20	8180
20-May	50	2510	15-Sep	20	8200
21-May	100	2610	16-Sep	110	8310
22-May	100	2710	17-Sep	110	8420
23-May	20	2730	18-Sep	60	8480
24-May	20	2750	19-Sep	20	8500
25-May	20	2770	20-Sep	20	8520
26-May	20	2790	21-Sep	20	8540
27-May	0	2790	22-Sep	20	8560
28-May	100	2890	23-Sep	40	8600
29-May	120	3010	24-Sep	50	8650
30-May	20	3030	25-Sep	60	8710
31-May	20	3050	26-Sep	20	8730
1-Jun	20	3070	27-Sep	20	8750
2-Jun	20	3090	28-Sep	20	8770
3-Jun	100	3190	29-Sep	20	8790
4-Jun	100	3290	30-Sep	0	8790
5-Jun	100	3390	1-Oct	80	8870
6-Jun	20	3410	2-Oct	80	8950
7-Jun	20	3430	3-Oct	20	8970
8-Jun	20	3450	4-Oct	20	8990
9-Jun	20	3470	5-Oct	20	9010
10-Jun	0	3470	6-Oct	20	9030
11-Jun	100	3570	7-Oct	80	9110
12-Jun	100	3670	8-Oct	70	9180
13-Jun	20	3690	9-Oct	60	9240
14-Jun	20	3710	10-Oct	20	9260
15-Jun	20	3730	11-Oct	20	9280
16-Jun	20	3750	12-Oct	20	9300
17-Jun	80	3830	13-Oct	20	9320
18-Jun	80	3910	14-Oct	0	9320
19-Jun	80	3990	15-Oct	50	9370
20-Jun	20	4010	16-Oct	50	9420
21-Jun	20	4030	17-Oct	20	9440
22-Jun	20	4050	18-Oct	20	9460
23-Jun	20	4070	19-Oct	20	9480
24-Jun	0	4070	20-Oct	20	9500
25-Jun	100	4170	21-Oct	30	9530
26-Jun	100	4270	22-Oct	100	9630
27-Jun	20	4290	23-Oct	100	9730
28-Jun	20	4310	24-Oct	20	9750
29-Jun	20	4330	25-Oct	20	9770
30-Jun	20	4350	26-Oct	20	9790
1-Jul	100	4450	27-Oct	20	9810
2-Jul	100	4550	28-Oct	0	9810
3-Jul	100	4650	29-Oct	100	9910
4-Jul	20	4670	30-Oct	100	10010
5-Jul	20	4690	31-Oct	20	10030
6-Jul	20	4710

Stupid Is As Stupid Does...

... or hangs out with.

All modesty aside, I consider myself a smart person. However, over time I've noticed that I've begun to feel stupider. I think now I am understanding where this comes from.

Neglecting the loss of brain cells from drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, I believe my feelings of inferiour mental capacity has to do with the once ever increase in average intelligence of my surroundings. It seems that I gravitate towards intelligence.

First, in high school I hung out with the honor roll and advanced placement geeks (I was one of them). In college, most of my friends were engineers (gee, didn't I go to an engineering school). And, most recently, I've found a company filled with an infinite supply of brain cells. The employee base is filled with brilliant minds from MIT, Harvard, Stanford and the like. And lastly, my last two girlfriends are, at the very least borderline, geniuses -- I guess I sort of have an intelligence fetish.

All of this tends to make my humble slightly above average level of intelligence seem inadequate.
And yet, in analyzing this behaviour of mine, I've realized, perhaps the reason I feel so bored lately is because I am no longer in an environment filled with this excessive brainpower I seem to crave. Don't get me wrong my immediate surroundings has its share of intelligence.

However, shall I say, in general the business of government contract is not exactly a hotspot for autistic savants. I mean, if there were intelligence in the blowing up of school buses business, then they would realize that perhaps we shouldn't blow up school buses.

Trouble with Blogging

The trouble with blogging is two fold. 1) Iit requires sitting in front of a computer and b) it requires sitting in front of a computer.

That is to say, if I want to sit and blog for awhile, I either have to do it at work--where I sit in front of a computer for 8-10 hours--or I have to blog at home-where I'd rather not sit in front of a computer.

If I blog at work, well it's a matter of ethics and all that jazz. However, when I get home, I'd rather not continue working on my monitor tan.

So, the choice... Work of course!

... actually I have more to say. So maybe, I'll blog tonight. I could move my laptop to the kitchen and blog while cooking! Oooh, that could be a blog adventure all by itself!