So, I've noticed something in our neighborhood, and by Meredith's parents' house. There seems to be a breed of people who love hopping on their motorcycles and riding back and forth and up and down neighborhood streets. There are a few hypotheses for this behavior. (Or behaviour, to sound more academic.)
1. They truly enjoy the feeling of speed and freedom, with the wind whipping through their generally non-helmet-covered hair. They are oblivious to the annoyance factor.
This hypothesis is disproven by the gunning of the engine when they pass folks walking down the street.
2. They think they look impressive, and want to show off their ride.
This is all well and good. However, the bikes I usually see doing this are not the big impressive growling bikes you see at...well, usually at Quaker Steak and Lube on Wednesdays.
These bikes have roughly the pitch of a dentist's drill. Or kind of like a balloon when you stretch the hole as you let out the air. It's the equivalent of me going up to someone, saying "I can shout in an impressively loud manner!", and then going, "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".
3. They are training for the new 5000m Suburban Motorbike competition in the 2008 Olympics.
I can only assume this is the case, and I, for one, shed a little tear every time I see these patriots in action.
So next time you see one of these bikers cruising the streets, don't get annoyed. Get supportive and give them a big old "USA! USA!" chant.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
On your mark...
Reset... (As our 3-year-old niece says)
GOOOOOOO! (As our 2-year-old nephew says)
I officially ran the farthest I've ever gone (by 0.08 miles) yesterday. My training group did 13.2 miles, which is just over a half marathon. We came in around 2:00 (2:10 counting water stops), which is just a little slower than I need to be going to hit my 4:00 goal for the marathon in October. I'm pretty sore today, but the good news is that this weekend's run is only 10 miles. Plus, my shoes didn't get so wet this week that my running mates commented on the strange noises emanating from them. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.
Meredith and I cleaned up the driveway a bit yesterday of all the sand and gravel we had from the patio project. We put it in our trash can, which is kind of a no-no. I wouldn't worry about it too much usually, but it's so heavy I can barely lift the front end to roll it down to the curb. I'm just envisioning the garbage truck trying to pick it up, and the arm snapping off or something. I just know we're getting in trouble for this one...
We got some plants to landscape our backyard yesterday, and we're having topsoil delivered today. Tomorrow, we get our tree delivered. The end of this project is in sight!
GOOOOOOO! (As our 2-year-old nephew says)
I officially ran the farthest I've ever gone (by 0.08 miles) yesterday. My training group did 13.2 miles, which is just over a half marathon. We came in around 2:00 (2:10 counting water stops), which is just a little slower than I need to be going to hit my 4:00 goal for the marathon in October. I'm pretty sore today, but the good news is that this weekend's run is only 10 miles. Plus, my shoes didn't get so wet this week that my running mates commented on the strange noises emanating from them. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.
Meredith and I cleaned up the driveway a bit yesterday of all the sand and gravel we had from the patio project. We put it in our trash can, which is kind of a no-no. I wouldn't worry about it too much usually, but it's so heavy I can barely lift the front end to roll it down to the curb. I'm just envisioning the garbage truck trying to pick it up, and the arm snapping off or something. I just know we're getting in trouble for this one...
We got some plants to landscape our backyard yesterday, and we're having topsoil delivered today. Tomorrow, we get our tree delivered. The end of this project is in sight!
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Patio pics!
The new patio!
Another view of the new table.
Our gladiolas finally flowered!
A close-up view.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Busy busy busy
Sorry it's been such a long time between posts. We've had a lot going on in the last couple weeks. Meredith swam/biked/ran her big triathlon, and did great! We got to see the sights of Muncie, Indiana - our favorite was the one-armed statue of Larry Bird outside a gas station.
The patio is almost done.
It was a struggle with the paver company, though. Here's what happened.
Thursday: Dave calls company, transferred to someone who can answer his questions about the weird angles produced by their blocks. Guy says "We carry corner blocks like you need", and that though they usually don't take returns, they'll make an exception because the recommendation of their employee was so bad.
Friday: Dave gets off work early, he and Meredith drive 40 minutes to go get the materials. They tell the woman at the store what the guy said, and she looks like they've grown extra limbs. "We don't sell anything like that", she tells them. She snaps, "You can go out in the lot and look at the material yourselves." After going out to the lot, an employee out there says they can split the blocks we have to produce the square corners needed for the project.
Monday: Dave calls the closer location, they say they can split the blocks there. Dave heads over there after work, explains his predicament. Goes out to get his blocks split, and the guy out in the lot says, "Why don't you just buy the corner blocks? We sell them pre-made."
But now we've got everything in place, and our furniture arrived yesterday. Pictures soon!
The patio is almost done.
It was a struggle with the paver company, though. Here's what happened.
Thursday: Dave calls company, transferred to someone who can answer his questions about the weird angles produced by their blocks. Guy says "We carry corner blocks like you need", and that though they usually don't take returns, they'll make an exception because the recommendation of their employee was so bad.
Friday: Dave gets off work early, he and Meredith drive 40 minutes to go get the materials. They tell the woman at the store what the guy said, and she looks like they've grown extra limbs. "We don't sell anything like that", she tells them. She snaps, "You can go out in the lot and look at the material yourselves." After going out to the lot, an employee out there says they can split the blocks we have to produce the square corners needed for the project.
Monday: Dave calls the closer location, they say they can split the blocks there. Dave heads over there after work, explains his predicament. Goes out to get his blocks split, and the guy out in the lot says, "Why don't you just buy the corner blocks? We sell them pre-made."
But now we've got everything in place, and our furniture arrived yesterday. Pictures soon!
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
July 4th updates
We had a busy weekend of the 4th...did the usual fireworks, cookout, etc. We are *almost* done with the patio. Just need to iron out some issues with the steps we bought. The stones they recommended just don't look good at all, so we need to figure out an alternative. More pictures when we do.
Also, we ran a 5k up in Westerville on the morning of the 4th. I woke up feeling kind of sick, and didn't expect much out of it. There weren't any clocks on the course, and I forgot my watch, so I didn't know my pace till the finish. Turned out, I set a new personal best: 24:55. Hopefully DayQuil isn't a banned substance. :)
Also, we ran a 5k up in Westerville on the morning of the 4th. I woke up feeling kind of sick, and didn't expect much out of it. There weren't any clocks on the course, and I forgot my watch, so I didn't know my pace till the finish. Turned out, I set a new personal best: 24:55. Hopefully DayQuil isn't a banned substance. :)
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