Lost my composure ......

Today I lost a friend -- Jeff Kargola. ~ RIP OX
Walked into a nice restaurant here in Atlanta International to have good glass of wine and burger. As I sat here contemplating my father's life after stroke, I got a call from Micky telling me that our good friend had an accident in Mexico and didn't survive. I promptly had a second glass of wine...just for OX (of course this glass was mixed with tears).

Not a good day at all.

Ox, I pledge to remember your smile, your positive attitude and most of all, the good feeling you created in others just by being around. Thank you.

totally Worth It.

I am of the mindset that personal health ranks right up there with financial stability.
But I am also one who likes change and diversity....meaning, I love my bike but honestly, cycling has burned me out a bit. It just cannot be my end all be all avenue for exercise. So...instead of grunt and groan and be miserable about burnout, I did my research and found something new! I just joined the world of "boot campers" !!! Haha no kidding. I started a new training regimen with a couple of great coaches here in Anaheim. Now I am finally rediscovering my personal love of fitness and am feeling a bit like a kid again!

I feel like a quack saying this but I was getting lost inside myself without new opportunities and outlets to make me happy....and thanks to these guys I am finding a whole new level.

Woooohoooo....

not so sudden realizations....

--parenting from 500 miles away is not the best plan.
---exercise really does make a difference.
-sleep is essential.
-i am in love.
--- i am not scared to get old, but i am scared to become old.
-there are plenty of adventures that absolutely must blend in with daily chores.
----shedding unnecessary people is a bit like shedding unnecessary weight.
-saving pennies is still worth the effort.
--absolutely nothing compares to the bicycle.
--i miss blogging.

Learning something new :)

Forty is the new Twenty ;-)

ahhh ok...i'm 40 today.

going to check my birth certificate just to make sure this is true. ;-)

stoked...

Myles is my blessing. Getting to share my love for the bike with him has been one of the most amazing experiences of parenting so far :)

I love(d) my Jetta TDI until I met a bad day with my camshafts..

Trust in your car maker?? Hmmmm. That's going to be a tough thing for me to do from now on. My car needs camshafts at 73k and it is one hell of a costly repair. The service manager at the dealer suggested I seek financial assistance from Volkswagon because he felt the part had worn out prematurely. To use his words exactly ..."never seen camshafts wear out this early before, they shouldn't"...

Well VW turned down my request.

Alot of internet research tells me this is an ongoing problem with these seemingly great cars, but even though I now understand better just what the heck was going on and why the part has failed (by the way....i did every thing right with the oil so it wasn't that!), this is not an easy pill to swallow. I'll be lucky if I can get the repair done for $2k and i just spent $1100 to get the EGR valves fixed. Here we go, into the money pit.......... :(

btw-- i know its all twitter and facebook these days but i sure hope this blogpost helps anyone who has the same problem as me thats doing a google search! here is a little reference for you in case you are reading and you want more proof.
http://www.justanswer.com/questions/1jj6e-06-jetta-tdi-running-rough-idle