All of this skiing talk has had me looking into all of the skiing gear and me wondering if it's worth it. It's totally like me to go and spend a ton of money on yet the second most expensive recreational sport besides road biking. So who knows.

So yeah world, it's 2006, and I'm sure you all have wondered where I am and how the journal has gone in the toilet. Well I'm hoping to bring it back in 2006. With the addition of my new Dell notebook and BlackBerry, I am hoping to be able to update more then ever this year. I'm not going to make any personal goals or predictions for 2006, but look for them possibly in the coming weeks!

Out.

-jw

Whoaaa.... an update!

So I'm sure you're wondering what prompted an update and I will tell you why.

Yesterday Ben and I cancelled our NAIAS plans and decided to go to Caberfae yesterday and it was awesome. My latter skiing experience was in the 8th grade with our middle school's ski club. I was a fairly good skiier at the time but definitley had lost all of my skills since then.

Yesterday started out pretty good. I went on the bunny hill that had a tow rope but I realized pretty quick that I hated the tow rope because it is hard to grab onto. So Ben quickly moved me over to a blue rated hill with a chairlift. I was a little nervous at first about the chairlift and the ever apparent worry of falling off (haha)! After going and up and down a few times and getting used to the "snowplow" stopping technique, I started to get more confident.

We moved a few hills over and then got on a lift to a slightly bigger hill (or so I thought). The chairlift ride seemed to take forever and then we finally arrived a the top.

Upon getting off the lift, I was surrounded by the sight and pure silence of being at well over 1500 feet in elevation. I see the sun fully setting in the east and we are on a large platform or plateau of snow. I look down and the bottom of the ski lift seems miles away.

Ben was up on a higher starting point and waiting for me to go, and then he would follow in case I fell or had trouble. I paused for what seemed an hour at the top of the hill and then decided to go.

I went down the hill slowly gliding to the left where I hit an icy patch but then turned the other way and was in powdery snow. I tried to slalom back and forth but my attempt turned into a straight shot blazing down the mountain as fast as possible! At this point I was actually saying outloud to my self, "Okay, you're doing good, just keep it straight and don't fall!!" Thank gosh no one else was around to hear me!

I finally made it down the mountain and cruised over to the other lift with my heart racing and adrenaline pumping. If I remember correctly I believe I yelled out a "hell yeah!" when i arrived at the base, and a few folks looking at me like "what the heck is his deal?". But nonetheless I made it down the hill with no crashes or injuries, and Ben wondering how unexperienced I really was!

We cruised around about 20 more times up and down some other hills and I got more comfortable with slaloming but I still need some work. It was a great evening and I had a lot of fun and can't wait to do it again!


-jw

CMU 2005 Kickoff

Its been awhile since my last update and a lot of things have been going on, all of which is hard to go into detail because most of the things are hard to remember. One of the big things that sticks in my mind is in the middle of August when I went and visited Laura in St. Joseph. Her town is really cool! I like it alot because the downtown is nice but it also so close to the water, its the best of both worlds. Hanging out and watching the sunsets on the pier were pretty damn cool too. Laura's house and subdivision were really cute... her dog Sandy was really fun to hang out with too, lol. I was able to meet Laura's dad and Shirley, they were both really nice. Mr. Barrick and I chatted it up all the time.. haha he's a funny guy. I met some of Laura's friends which was pretty cool too...Katie Bury is a fun girl, and she has a blueberry field, how cool!

I said goodbye to D&D for awhile, I already miss that place but life must go on. I plan on going back on subsequent weekends to work this fall and winter.

Life here at CMU is well, good. Copper Beech is finally complete, most furnishing and decorations are set, and Tony came up by suprise early this morning to move in for good too, so the family is all here! Most things are turning out pretty good around here, we added a screen door to our deck and the girls next door (who we share a deck with) are pretty cool and fun to hang out with.

I am now working for my uncle at QTA (Quality Truck and Auto accessories) in Midland which is about a half hour east of Mount Pleasant. It is a really fun job and such a cool store so I'm looking forward to succesful fall there.

Friday I played golf with my dad at St. Ives golf course which is west of Mount Pleasant, it was a really nice course, super scenic and hilly with great views. It was cool to have my dad up beause he was able to see my townhome and we were able to hang out. I worked all day today but am off tomorrow to go bike riding and then MainSTAGE at 2pm. Then Monday comes classes, but lets not talk about that right now cuz its still Saturday night!

Fingers are hurting from typing.. heading over to Laura's and then most likely A & J's for the night...

-jw

Copper Beech time ladies and gentlemen!

So the move-in to Copper Beech went very smooth over the last two days. Cory, Tony, Josh and I all arrived at the complex at about the same time and started to move in. While I was helping Josh move his desk to his room, a shelf off of the desk came sliding down the stairs and hit me in the side of the leg. Figures, I started to bleed and my leg brushed against two different steps and got blood all over within 2 hours of moving in... go me.

After moving most of my stuff in and alot of the guys stuff, my sister and I headed over to Midland for a few hours because I had to talk with my uncle some more about my job that I'll be working for him over the school year. We got back into Mount Pleasant at about 6pm and went to Quiznos for dinner and then went to Amanda and Jessica's apartment to see them and check out their new place.. its really cool! (They even had placemats on their kitchen table.. I thought that was kinda funny but don't tell them I said that!) After hanging out with them for awhile my sister and I stopped at Target and I bought a Pur water filter for our kitchen faucet in our townhome because the water isn't the best tasting. The water tastes better now, but not as good as bottle water.. oh well.

I put my futon together once we got back and took a shower and then we pretty much just hung out and partied with some of the girls from a few doors down, we all had a good time.

I woke up this morning and headed out into town for awhile, I went to University Cup, Target, the gas station, and Apple Bagels for some breakfast. We all kinda got straightened up around the townhome and Cory, Tony, and Josh all left. My sister and I hung around until about 1 and then left for Novi.

Tonight I hung out around home and drank some cider that I got from St. John's cider mill. I had a cigar with my dad and washed and waxed the car and then went over to Conor's place where he was having a get together. Scott and I then went to J. Alexanders restaurant where my sister works and had a few appetizers while waiting for her to get off work.

For tomorrow, I'm working till about 4 and then going golfing at Western with my dad and cousin Ryan who is in town from Washington. For this week, keepin the hours up (around 45) and also trying to fit in a visit to Laura either Tuesday or Thursday and a visit to see Jared on Monday or Wednesday before he leaves for Denmark next week. Ahhhh, never a dull momenet in my life!

Thats all for now, night everyone.

-jw

Goodbye Lance....

And so I send my final farewell, my idol's career has come to an end. This year's tour was one for the ages, with Lance winning his 7th consecutive tour victory. I was sad, two Sunday's ago, when I watched Lance race his last stage of the Tour De france live, but all good things must come to an end, and I'm glad that he left his career coming out on top. As he said in his recent interviews on Charlie Rose and OLN, his career may be over, but the 2005 Tour de France is not the last time we will see Lance Armstrong. He still has a 2 year contract with Discovery Channel and will be highly involved with the team and all of their races, not to mention all of the work he will have at the foundation (LAF) and with his 10//2 clothing line at Nike. Most importantly he will be busy spending time with Sheryl and his kids.

I'd like to apologize if some of you feel like I've alienated you or haven't had much contact with you during the month of July. As most of you know July is Tour month and I was pretty devoted to watching Lance and the team along with being busy at work. I will be much more accessible now that the Tour is over, lol.

As far as whats new, workin Monday through Thursday this week all day. I've been packing up each night for Copper Beech. I am leaving tomorrow morning at around 8am with my sister to head up to Mt. P for the first time in about 2 months. I'm super pumped to see what our place is like at Copper Beech and to see all the guys again. All I can say is 2000 square feet is going to be freakin schweeet.

For next week, I'm going to have to try and get out to see Jared before he heads off to Denmark and also out to see Laura because that trip is much overdue.

The summer is sure flying by, but I'm excited to get back up to school to see everyone. I definitley am going to miss being around Northville here and the shop but I'm sure I'll come back on some weekends and during Christmas time to work.

For today, just working till 8 and then finishing up packing for Mt. P and driving up early tomorrow..sorry for the late update and look for another one possibly later next week, peace ya'll.

-jw


P.S. For more information on Lance and the Discovery Team, along with exclusive pictures from this year's Tour de France, check out thepaceline.com.

It's Tour time baby!

Its that time again ladies and gentlemen, time for the Tour de France. With 5 stages underway the 92nd Tour de France is more exciting than ever. Team Discovery is rolling along with the same precision and focus that they did last year when Lance Armstrong won his 6th consecutive TDF. After 5 days of racing so far and the ITT and TTT Lance Armstrong is still in the Yellow Jersey 55 seconds ahead of his right hand man George Hincapie.

Team Discovery is in good position for Friday's 6th stage of the Tour de France. Stage 6 takes the riders from Lunéville to Karlsruhe, France where two early category 4 and 3 climbs may encourage some attacks by contesting teams to try and gain time on the leader in Yellow Lance Armstrong. The rest of Friday's stage is primarily flat which will ensure a sprint finish and make for an exciting Stage 6.

Here's what VeloNews had to say about today's stage;

Italian Lorenzo Bernucci (Fassa Bortolo) won the sixth stage of the Tour de France held over 199km between Troyes and Nancy on Thursday.

Survivor: Bernucci celebrates his luck... and his first win as a professional

Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile) was second and Robert Forster (Gerolsteiner) third in a thrilling finish that saw Christophe Mengin (Française des Jeux) denied the victory in a last-second crash.

"It's always dangerous when it's raining like that," said Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel), who crossed safely with the rest of the overall contenders and retains his yellow jersey.

"We always have a good look at the stages when they have a difficult finale. But Johan (Bruyneel) was telling us through the radio earpieces about the dangerous sections in the end, telling us to turn left or right. It was a dangerous stage."

A group of five riders - Mauro Gerosa (Liquigas); Mengin; Stephane Auge (Cofidis); Karsten Kroon (Rabobank) and Jaan Kirsipuu (Crédit Agricole) - formed a group at the 35km mark and built a gap of more than eight minutes before the peloton, led by Lotto and Quick Step, began a serious chase.

With 16km to go and the peloton closing fast, Kirsipuu jumped, with Mengin and Gerosa in tow. And then Mengin went it alone, quickly building an advantage as riders began launching off the front of the chase.

Liquigas's Dario Cioni leapt out of the bunch as it barreled along the wet roads toward the finish, but with 2km to go Mengin was clinging to a slim, 10-second lead.

And then Vino' attacked, bringing Bernucci with him and catching Mengin - who hit the deck in the final 700 meters, sliding out on the white paint of a crosswalk in the final turn and leaving the door wide open for Bernucci, who took the win in front of Vinokourov as the T-Mobile rider threw a leg out to stay upright.

Behind the 31-year-old Kazakh, a massive pile-up ensued, taking down some six riders, including Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) and Baden Cooke Français des Jeux) - all of whom practically crashed into Mengin as he lay there on the ground.

None of the contenders for the yellow jersey were harmed. And one of them actually benefited from the finale. While Vinokourov may have just missed out on a stage win, he did collect valuable bonus seconds for his runner-up finish and slipped into third overall, 1:02 back of Armstrong.

Mengin, meanwhile, was close to tears after just missing a win in front of his hometown crowd.

"I feel more like a boxer after a fight than a cyclist," said Mengin, whose left eye was black and swollen thanks to a blow from one of the many bikes that ended up crashing into him. "I've got a bit of a black eye where I think a brake lever or gear shifter hit it, and I've got a sore hip on my left side."

Mengin lives only 15km from Nancy and had been hoping, thanks to his knowledge of the local terrain, to be able to hold off the chasing peloton. The Frenchman said he didn't even feel physically up to the win but wanted to give his all to please his home supporters.

"I know the roads well here. I even know that bend where I crashed," explained Mengin. "I didn't even have great legs today, but I had the morale to try something. That's life. You have to give 100 percent when you've got the chance.

Bernucci, meanwhile, conceded that fate had smiled kindly on him.

"I was in a good position on the last bend, then Mengin crashed. It was a dangerous bend because of the rain. Then Vinokourov ended up slowing down, so I just passed him and gave it everything I had in the home straight."


Thats about all for now folks, check back in tomorrow for another TDF update!

-jw

A quick one...

Not too much new so it will be a short update today. Nice job Pistons last night, huuuge win over the Spurs. I'm really lovin Billups and Hamilton when they work together. What have I been doin? Like usual, workin all the time. Lookin forward to Monday, should be a fatty check.

Been chattin with Laura on the phone most everyday, its pretty cool. Sometimes its hard for us to talk cuz she is so busy now with work.. feel better Laura!

Thats about all for now, can't think of much to type, its early, I'm at work, and I need a super mocha. ;-)

-jw

So its hot out...

Gotta love Michigan... one week its 60 degrees and raining, the next its sunny and 90. Needless to say I've been pretty sweaty, lol. Lets see, since Friday....

Worked all weekend and was able to get out to Island Lake on Sunday with Eric and Ricky, it was freakin schweet. Just as we got back from the yellow loop the sky started to turn dark and green and it seemed like the storm was chasing us back home. We got around the Brighton/Wixom area and then the storm hit and I swear we were in the middle of a tornado. Some of the wind gusts were so strong that it blew my car halfway into the other lane. There was crap everywhere on the roads and sideways rain, it was a pretty fun adventure.

Monday I worked a half day here at the shop and then went home to hang out with my Uncle Ken who is here from Hawaii visiting. We were able to have some dinner with the fam and watch the Pistons game and chat, it was a good time. I worked all day yesterday and then went over to my grandparents in the evening to cut their grass. For today, workin 10-8 and then riding afterwards.

I am carless (or coffinless as Eric would say) because my mom is using the TB. My sister got her licesnse on Monday and drove to school today so we'll be sharing the vehicle more often but maybe that will get me to ride my bike to work more often.

Nothing too exciting has been going on lately, work has been the bulk of my time, but thats a good thing, I love what I do. I'm really itching to get out and visit Laura but I'm not sure how soon thats going to happen because the money situation is still super tight. Oh well, I know I'll get out there to visit her soon, I really miss her!

Thats about all for now, time to get away from this computer here at work, its a virtual greenhouse up here and I'm sweaty, lol.

-jw


Don't forget to close your windows Laura!! ;-)

Today was a good day...

Partly because it was my day off. I woke up early to take the TrailBlazer into the dealership because it was having some brake problems. The pads needed to be replaced and a few other things done to it. The people at Marty Feldman sure are jerks, they tried to rip us off $450 for the job and we were going to go somewhere else but then they said they would not charge us labor and it would only cost $130.

Anyways, after that, I went to the hospital with my dad and grandma to pickup my grandpa who was recovering from some surgery on his arm. Once we made sure they both got back home safe and sound my dad and I headed out to Western to play some golf. After 9-holes we headed inside and had some dinner and a cigar and then finally made it back home.

As for tomorrow, most likely waking up early and going for a much needed haircut, then its into the ole bike shop working 9-6. Thats about all for now, night.

-jw

Bruised butt

So I had a little fall the other day on the mountain bike. We were heading out to the trail and I got too close to another riders handlebars and kinda freaked out and ended up going down and sliding on my left side about 10 feet on the dirt road. So yeah, I'm kinda scraped up and theres a big bruise on my butt so it sorta hurts when I sit down or sleep. But nevertheless I went back to the trail last night and was able to ride with minimal pain. I'm just glad to be back riding.

As far as me, not much has been goin on. Mostly workin and riding when its not raining. This week has shaped up pretty good weatherwise, last week was very rainy. I'm trying to remember more of what's gone on since my last post but I'm really having some amnesia here. I really gotta work on saving some money for the upcoming schoolyear, although its hard when I want to spend all my money on bike stuff. :-)

Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to be able to go out to St. Joseph and visit Laura before she starts work this Tuesday. Kinda disappointed about that but I know I will be seeing her soon. The annual 4th of July celebration up north with the family is coming up in about a month here, and I have a little somethin that I'm workin on for that as far as bringing someone up with me, but we'll see.

I guess one thing that is new, I decided last night that today starts my adventure to try and drop some pounds like I did last summer. I have the same goal as last summer, to lose 20 pounds- but in half the time of last summer. I want to be down 20 pounds by the prologue of the Tour de France. There is really no connection with my losing weight or no need to lose that weight by that date but I figured it was a good goal. Plus by losing the weight, I'll look much better in a bathing suit when Laura and I hang out on the beach when I visit ;-) I'll also be faster on the bike.

Thats about all for now, just here, workin at the shop.. have a good weekend kids.

-jw

Cough, cough

So yeah I've come down with a cold, and it really sucks. It seems like I hardly ever get a cold or get sick but I guess its just my time. Oh well, I'll get through it. Anyways....

Its been about a week since my last update, and alot has gone on. Last week Laura came into town to visit Amanda, Jessica, Big Jeff, and I! I really had an awesome time, I miss her so much!! She got into town Tuesday afternoon. I was actually working when she arrived and had been talking to her on the phone and she was telling me how she was driving still and about all the traffic. I was sitting here on the computer at work and I start to see Amanda and Jessica walking towards the back door of the shop and then there to my suprise, is Laura! (She's a sneaky girl)

After work on Tuesday I went home for a few and then met the gang at Hooters in Novi. I had already eaten so I just had water, but it was really fun to see all of them again. Some of you may know, but back up at CMU we had all gone out to Bennigans for my birthday dinner but because it was so early in the evening, they didn't have enough staff to come around and sing me happy birthday which of course was fine by me. Well little did I know, Laura and everyone had arranged something with the Hooters staff for when I came in that night. About 3 or 4 of the very hot Hooters waitresses came to the table and told me to stand on my stool and I had to put these snow cone type cups in my mouth like a beak and then hold two plates and flap my arms like a bird while they sung happy birthday to me! Oh my gosh it was probably the funniest sight ever, I played along and everyone had a pretty good laugh.

After that, the group came to my house, some of which had never been there before and I kind of showed them around. Wednesday morning I had the day off of work to hang out with Laura and everyone so I had the twins and her come over around 10:30 and I made them breakfast, and it was good let me tell you. I made two loaves of Betty Crocker Banana bread, tons of pancakes, scrambled eggs and a fruit salad; I think they enjoyed it. After breakfast I showed Laura around Novi for awhile and then we went over to Big Jeff's house.

Big Jeff compiled a Road Rally for all of us to do, and it was a lot of fun. After the rally, we hung out at Big Jeff's house for awhile and then headed down to the Tigers game! It was Laura's first ever time to Comerica Park and to see the Tigers play so I was glad to be a part of that. The game was fun, we had pretty good seats so that made it even better. And Laura got a picture with the hotdog guy! (check for pics later) On the way back from the Tigers game, Laura called her dad to see if she could stay for one more day, so she did! Unfortunatley I had to work that day but we were able to hang out later on that night at the twin's house. The girls had me watch the movie The Notebook with them, and I liked it alot! It was really tough for me that night saying goodbye to Laura, she had been in town for so long, it started to feel like she lived there. All of us here love her and miss her so much!

As for Friday, it was my day off, so Eric and I went to Island lake MTB riding, it ruled. I worked Saturday and Sunday and that was about it for last week. I worked half the day yesterday and was able to golf 9 holes in the morning with Conor before work. Today I'm working just until 12 and then running some errands and hanging out and trying to get better.

Thats about all for now folks.

-jw

Kicking and Screaming....

Went and saw that movie last night with Big Jeff, Jessica, and Amanda.. it was good. "You've just been served a plate of humiliation!" Good times, good times. Wish you were there Laura! Speakin of Laura, she's coming on Tuesday night! I'm soooo excited because all of us are going to have such a great time Wednesday with the Road Rally and the Tigers Game. We all miss her so much so it will be wonderful to see her again.

Workin all week again for the most part. My dad said he wanted me to get more involved and to do some volunteering stuff so I'm signed up to help out with a Golf Invitational next monday at Meadowbrook Golf and Country Club. I also am looking into working at a store in downtown Plymouth which is owned by the American Cancer Society. I guess its just a shop where people can buy things and get information on cancer and it is run entirely by volunteers and the proceeds go to the foundation. I suppose its a good thing to be helping the community, plus it gives me something to do.

Got the usual yearly e-mail from my Aunt and Uncle up in Boyne that was sent out to al l the family explaining about our annual 4th of July Party up north. It really is my most favorite event of the year and can't wait. I'm thinkin about taking my car up there this year one day before everyone else gets there and doin some up north road riding and then also staying a day after everyone leaves and doing the same.

Haven't been mountain riding too much lately.. the damn cold Michigan weather isn't helping, plus I've been a little lazy. Ordered some new grips for my bike today, should be sweet.

Thats about all for now, back to errr workin. ;-)

-jw

Update from my second home

I am blogging right now from my second home, D&D Bicycles in downtown Northville. We are blessed with the gift of the internet here so it helps pass the downtime. Came into work late today, was running late around the house getting ready. Its pretty nice to be back home, although it seems like I am never really "home" much.

I've been working alot, pretty much ever since I've come home. Thats all I've wanted to do for like the last two weeks at school was just come home and work. I think being here around all the guys and hanging out with everyone helps me out in dealing with everything that has gone on recently.

Sunday evening I went to Starbucks for the 3rd time that day and met up with Big Jeff, Jessica, and Amanda. It was really fun to hang out with them because I hadn't seen them since school and they live so close (Livonia). Monday I went over to Conor's house and hung out with him, Scott, Kyle, and Eddie and we watched the Pistons game and hung out, it was a good time. Been mountain riding alot here, the new Maybury trail is freakin awesome. Scott joined Eric, Ricky, and myself for a nice ride. Got started kinda late so it was quite dark when we came back.

I get grades online this Friday so we'll see how that goes. I know for sure that I failed my microeconomics class so I have already signed up at Schoolcraft to take an online one there. Theres another $425 I didn't wanna spend this summer.

Not too much going on for the rest of the week, working today all day, tomorrow, off Friday and then Saturday and Sunday. Look for a end of the week update, not much else to report for now. Theres a lot of trucks and stuff outside D&d right now so I gotta run outside and check out all the activity thats goin on.

-jw

Yeah, yeah, yeah....

Its been awhile. And let me tell you, more has gone on in this month than I could have ever expected. Let me try and break it down for everyone.

Earlier this month, there was a tragic accident that involved my manager Dan, and my good friend Todd from the bike shop. Todd passed away a few weeks ago from a tragic biking accident, he was hit by a drunk driver. It has been a very sad month, and I can't believe that my first funeral was of one of my very good friends. We will always miss you Todd and we will never forget.

My birthday was this month, and I want to say thanks again to everyone who made it so special. For pics, check out the moblog. As of recent, there has been some stuff goin on around the dorms here, and I really don't need to into it and bring back all the negativity, if your important, you know what was goin on and how its all over now.

As for today, it was a very good day. Woke up at about noon which was awesome and then headed over to Deerfield Park and met up with everyone for a nice end of the year cookout by the river. It was really a special time for me and everyone for us to all get together and enjoy company, have a few laughs, and an all out good time. The burgers were awesome too! Definitley be sure to check out the pics, they're pretty good.

For the rest of the weekend, just looks like some major laundry and studying.. just ready for the week to be over and the school year to come to an end. Really looking forward to going home and being around everyone at the shop and at home. It has been a good year though, I must say that. I can probably say that I've learned more about people and myself more this year than any other, and its really been great.

Thats about all I can think of for now kids, definitley time for some laundry and some studying.. peace and love kids..

-jw

Gotta love the weather....

And let me tell you I sure have been. It's been soooo nice outside!! I have been road riding a ton this week with Jared, it's really been awesome. I've been a busy guy lately let me tell you. This week was pretty stressful as far as classes go because I had two majorly big tests yesterday and today. One was in economics and the other in statistics. I got my grade back online today from economics and found out that I totally screwed that test up. Unfortunatley this means that I'm probably going to have to take a microecon online this summer through Schoolcraft College, oh well I'm sure I'm not the first person to screw up a class.

Other things have been going on too. I didn't mention this in my last post but Jared and I have started CMU's first ever Cycling Club as a Registered Student Organization. I'm sooo excited for that. This past Tuesday we became official as a group. Since it was Jared's idea, he is the club president, I am the vice president, and Jared's friend Dan is the Treasurer (the money man), lol. We have been super busy getting things ready for the club, we've printed over 200 flyers and distributed them throughout campus and we've also come up with our club constitution. Jared has been on the phone back and forth talking with Louis Garneau, a jersey company that does custom jerseys.. can't wait to find pricing so we can start designing! Once we finalize the designs and order the jerseys I'll make them available for sale to anyone who wants to order one! Look for a club website in the future as well!

Besides the club, I've been riding alot. Jared and I have taken some new routes around Mount Pleasant and have found some really good roads. I think that it's great we're able to find all these new roads now because it will give us a better idea when it comes to planning the team training rides.

Not too much going on today, I've been looking up alot of stuff from Schoolcraft College, trying to figure out some online courses and also what I'm going to take next semester. For the rest of the day, mostly hanging out.. maybe riding with Jared later. Saturday is definitley calling for a sleep-in day, didn't get much sleep this week.. it's been a busy one.

That's about all for now kids, I'll try and sneak another post in later this week possibly. (check out the moblog for a massive update of pics)

-jw

In such a good mood lately....

And I'm liking every minute of it. I'm not sure what it is or why, I think some of it has to do with the nice spring weather we've been having lately up here in Mt. Pleasant.

So whats new. Had a pretty good Easter weekend up here despite that fact that I didn't go home. It was nice to have a personal weekend all to myself, I was able to get a lot of studying done and get organized. I went for an awesome road bike ride on Easter Sunday by myself which was great.

I'm glad this part of the week is over with. I had a big accounting test on Monday and a fairly big psychology test today, both of which are over and I felt very confident coming out of both exams. I'm crossing my fingers because I really need to pull through this last part of the semester.

As for everything else, things have been on the ups, I don't know if its just a phase, but I've been a pretty happy kid lately. Stuff with friends is going pretty good and the socializing has been wonderful.

After classes today I was able to get out and play some football with Ben for a bit, and then of course a cigar. I know that all of us have been looking forward to this spring weather, I thought the coldness would never end!

As for the rest of the week, the only major thing I have to do is a book report for my history class and thats about it. I'm going home Friday afternoon to work at D&D for our big suuuuuuper saaaale we're having this weekend. We have to have a lot of people working so it will be fun to see everyone again, its gonna be a party. Also looking to get in a nice Sunday night ride in with the guys after work.

Well I guess thats about all for now kids, can't really think of much else to update, enjoy the weather everyone! :-)

-jw

Back to school, oh back to school

Whoooooooosh....(pause), and we're back ladies and gentlemen. Wasn't I just sitting here saying I was on my way to head home for Spring Break, jeeez. For how screwed up my Spring Break plans were, and how I thought I had nothing planned, I ended up doing something everyday. I'll try and break it down for ya.

Got back in Novi Friday evening, chatted with the parents and fam and went up to the bike shop to see what was new around there. Saturday I slept in a little and mostly hung out all day until the evening. I went out to dinner with Conor at Olive Garden that night, gosh that was awesome, sooo tasty. Saturday was my good friend Scott's 20th birthday so he threw a party at his place, such a good time let me tell you. Check out the moblog for more.

I pretty much just hung out with Conor and Scott 24/7 all week. Tuesday night Eddie, Scott, and I went to Windsor for the night. I hadn't been there in awhile so it felt great to get back there. Definitley was a good idea to go on a Tuesday night because it wasn't crowded at the borders or bar, it was super chill (just how I like it). On Wednesday I went to the Piston's game vs. the San Francisco Warriors at the Palace. My dad had gotten 4 tickets from a Coke supplier at his work so I decided to take Eddie, Scott, and Conor. Unfortunatley Scott couldn't go last minute because he had gotten sick. Driving back from the game was crazy, ran into a few snow squalls and I was going like 30mph, it sucked. Towards the end of the week I was able to hang out with my friend Mitch from high school which was great because we never get to hang out anymore and don't talk that much because we're at different schools now. It was grand, just like old times.

Because I didn't go with my original spring break plans, I had alot more money just laying around and I was a girl for the week with it. I swear I went to the mall 5 times over break. One day I went twice on two separate trips, wow. For the past couple of years I have been looking at getting a nice dress watch, I've never really had one, just Nike sports watches and they're not very nice looking for special occasions, etc. I went to the Fossil store at 12 Oaks mall last week and picked up a nice one, its their dress line called Arkitekt. Besides that I think I mainly spent most of my money over spring break on food, Starbucks, and a couple dress shirts. Its really a good thing that I'm back at school now because I was going to Starbucks at least once a day.

It was nice to be home and hang around with the family and the dog. I swear this past Saturday I played with my dog outside in the snow for over two hours. He was definitley born for the snow. I wish I had some pictures for you guys but my camera was inside at the time. Darn.

I must say that after Spring Break, I gained a few pounds... I seriously don't think I ate a single meal at home. I am starting to watch calorie intake carefully in ordered to slim down for biking season. I know I said I had started doing that a few weeks ago, but it sorta fell off, we'll see if I can stick to it this time. I'm also heading to the SAC tonight with Ben to throw the football around in the rec room so that should be sweet, it'll be nice to get some exercise.

As for now, I'm back here at school. Today has been a nice relaxing day, I have been very chill lately which is awesome. I just finished unpacking late last night and got reorganized as far as what I need to do for school and everything. It's nice to feel neat and organized, it gives me confidence. Signed up for some appointments at Grawn Hall so I can figure out some more stuff about classes for next year and hopefully get closer to signing my major. We are officially at the halfway point for classes, and if I can just keep up good grades in my classes and not slack off, I should be able to turn on cruise control for the summer and have a good time.

Until next time kids.....

-jw

Just a quick update....

I'm sitting here in lonely 305, anxiously waiting to check out and leave MTP at around 2. Late Wednesday night my spring break plans fell through. Half of our group decided to back out because of weather forecasts in North Padre. After much and careful consideration, I too decided to take a raincheck and decided it would be much better to try and rearrange the trip for next year when everyone can go. There is a slight possibility that the Feeny's and I can arrange to go to Florida for part of the spring break week but we'll see.

As for the rest of spring break now, I look forward to Scott's party on Saturday, it should be a good time to get together with old Novi friends. Other than that not too much. If Florida doesn't work out, I'm hoping to get to Windsor for a night just to get away or maybe even to Chicago or something, who knows!

Not much of an update but it gives you guys something until I write again!

Everyone have a fun, safe spring break! :-)

-jw

And just when I thought winter was going to be over....

Last Saturday I was able to get in a nice 30+ mile road ride because it was really nice outside, low 30s I think. This Sunday, because it is Mt. Pleasant, I arose to a blizzard and accumulation of 2 inches of snow. I was hoping the warming trend would continue, looks like I'm going to have to wait another month or so.

Nonetheless, I am not too upset, I now have my indoor trainer I can use with my bike so I am still able to train inside when the weather is nasty. Also, I am not too worried because in exactly two weeks I will be in sunny Texas on Spring Break. North Padre Island to be exact, check it out.

So what's been goin on? Well lot's of things actually, so I'll fill you in. My parents and sisters are in Miami right now on vacation because my sisters are on spring break. I was talking to my dad on the phone Thursday night and he said that if I could find a flight down there and could make all the arrangements then he'd pay for it. I was reeeally excited at the point and started hunting for flights. I found a flight through Northwest that was relatively cheap and would have worked. Being that I felt sorta rushed into it, I decided to have dinner with Ryan and think about it (I would have to miss two classes and a quiz). Well, I should figured this woulda happened, I came back and the flight had spiked to over $800. So the search continued for about the next 4 hours but still nothing that was reasonable. Needless to say I was disappointed because the thought of jetsetting to Miami for the weekend sounded awesome. Oh well, I'm sure there will be other times.

What a useless weekend, at least it seems. There is NO ONE here this weekend, haha. Yet another reason why going to Miami woulda been so great. I really haven't been doing much, and I would have to say that Saturday was probably the most unproductive day I've ever had in my life. Woke up at 1pm and didn't do anything all day, I guess you have to have a day like that every once and awhile.

Tests and classes galore this past week. None of which went too well I don't think. Had a meeting at career services this past Tuesday and talked with a guy about internships for this summer. I am going to a career/internships fair this Wednesday to drop off my resume and talk with companies, should be fun!

Looks like I will be going home this weekend, which is one week before I leave on Spring break. Hopin to pick up the necessary gear and items I need for the trip and bring everything back up so I will be ready to go Friday afternoon. Should be a good week, not many tests so hopefully I'll be able to get my ass in gear and find some motivation to do some studying!

Time to do some homework items so I can enjoy the rest of my Sunday afternoon and wait until Cory and everyone gets back! Peace kids.

-jw

FreeiPodShuffle.com

Gratis Internet sure is capitalizing on all of Apple's new products. I just signed up for a free iPod Shuffle. Please click my referral link to get one for yourself! http://www.FreeiPodShuffle.com/?r=14823678. I signed up using the Blockbuster deal and cancelled within seconds!

Enjoy!

-jw

Jybe

I'm sure most of you know I'm a supporter, user, and big fan of Mozilla Firefox. It is the BEST alternative to the mainstream Microsoft Internet Explorer, which I'm guessing 75% of you use. Besides making the switch to Firefox for stability and security, there are some other cool features, like adding plugins.

Jybe is a plugin that I saw introduced recently on The Screensavers. Once you install Jybe, it will put a toolbar on Firefox. There will be two buttons called Create Session and Join session. What this allows you to do is create a session that others who have Jybe can join and you guys can browse the internet together. Any site you go to the other person or people can see, and likewise, if they click links or navigate websites, you see it too. After testing, one drawback that I noticed is that the other person is unable to view secure sites that that host navigates to. I guess that a good security feature though.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

-jw

So the remodel is here

As I'm sure you've noticed, the blog has gotten a facelift. Much cleaner and appealing to the eye I think compared to the old black and macaroni and cheese colors of before. It is not quite complete yet. I am hoping to add some more color and a few other components to the sidebars, of which I am not sure so I'd love some ideas. One other thing you'll notice is the Google ads on the side, those I put there using Google's AdSense program, hoping to generate some revenue, and possibly find out how many people actually visit.. prolly no one, lol.

So I've been an updating bitch latley.. what more can I say, I've been doing other things. Hopin to get more on track w/ updating, we'll see.

Today offically starts the point where I am going to start watching my diet again. I had some success over the summer with doing this and dropping some weight. Although I don't think my weight is getting out of control now, I am looking to slim down in time for biking season and/or spring break. Along with watching what I eat and putting nutrients in my body to aid in training, I will be picking up my manager's wind trainer this weekend when I go home. I'm looking to start a training plan to get me inshape while still indoors so that I can be at my best potential for the 2005 spring riding season. I am currently reading a book called the Lance Armstrong Performance program. Inside the book, there is a 7-week success plan which is designed by CTS. I am looking to follow that plan or similar to it if at all possible to try and achieve my best riding season ever. 2005 - Year of the Deuce deuce!

Not much else goin on besides the usual, class and work. Had a good weekend, played a lot of pool and slept, went to the casino 3 times (lol), thats about all I can recall right now. Heading home this coming weekend, it'll be nice to get away from school for a little while.

It's been quite lonely the last few days around Hotel 305. Cory is out of town right now, he had an unfortunate passing of a family member the other day and rushed home to be with family. Please pray for his family and relatives. You'll make it through Cory, I have faith, and like everyone else I am always here for you.

-jw

Free MacMini's

I'm not sure if any of you have heard of these sites before. (freeIpods.com etc) Well there is a new one out now in leiu of Apple releasing its new MacMini. Its called freemacminis.com. This seemed like a sweet deal to me becuase you're actually getting a computer for free so I signed up! I need your help so 10 of you please click on my referral link:

http://www.FreeMiniMacs.com/?r=14159100

When you all sign up, the Blockbuster deal is the best. I signed up and then cancelled within seconds and got credit for it! Help me out... Gmail invites to whoever signs up!

-jw

JibJab Second Term

New flash movie from JibJab about Bush being inaugurated to his second term... check it out!

A really cool consipiracy theory website

I found this from Kevin Rose's blog and thought it was quite intersting. It's a website called theyrule that allows you to pick companies from the Fortune 500 list and directors from those companies and try and link them to other companies. A good example I found that someone created was Apple vs. Microsoft. One user posted a link map which observed that Apple's six board members do not sit on any of the other Fortune 500's largest companies. To contrast, Microsoft's board members either sit on or sit on a board with someone who sits on the Board of 93 of the 500 companies.

Interesting stuff... check it out!

-jw

Hooray for 2005!

Like always... its ben awhile. Don't even know where to begin.

January has yielded to be quite a month, filled with fun, joy, and sadness... and its not even over! My New Years Eve plans changed around a little bit, Kristen ended up getting stuck up north so I decided to go up to Midland where my uncle Bobby was having a big family New Years Eve bash. Up north, cigars, hot tub, good beer all while we watch the ball drop with my awesome cousins... it doesn't get much better than that.

Can't remember much of what else happened after New Years, Stacy ended up coming down to Novi that next Friday to visit for the day which was really cool. We ended up going to Sizzlin Sticks in Northville for lunch and she came back and opened up her birthday presents.

Left Novi at about noon on Sunday to head back to CMU. Gosh I had sooo much stuff! Pretty much relaxed most of the day on Sunday... I was pooped. Monday, unlike last year, marked the start of Spring 2005 classes here at Central. Usually we don't start classes until Wednesday but because CMU gave us MLK day off (tomorrow) they moved classes back to Monday. As usual, there were the normal tensions or anxieties about the first day of classes... how they would turn out etc. Nothing I couldn't handle.

It has been one hell of a week. My COBOL programming class didn't seem so hot when I went the first day so I decided to drop that class. Because I dropped that class, I could no longer continue with my MIS major thus I no longer needed my SAP class. I dropped both of those and unofficially changed my intended major to Business Administration. In place of those two classes I picked up HST 110 which is American Experience, and PSY 100 Intro to Psychology.

If that wasn't enough stress for one week, wait till you hear about Wednesday. Wednesday evening I was sitting in my room rejoiceing because I finally fixed my computer! Stacy came upstairs and was here for a few minutes and then wanted to go for a walk. Just to cut to the chase, Wednesday night Stacy broke up with me. I'm not going to release any details because if you wanted to know, you already do. All I'm going to say is that we are still going to be friends and you never know what the future will have in store, anything can happen. I will always love you Stacy, no matter what.

Thursday I decided to party it up with the Cherry St. Well Boyz.. had a grand time as usual. I also played a lot of pool that night with Ryan and although it was super cold out that night Ben, Ryan, and I went out for a cigar. Didn't do a whole lot Friday after my two classes (Psychology and Statistics), and decided to stay in for the night because I was tired. I ended up hangin out with Josh and we watched the Rundown... such a great movie. It was nice to hang out with him one on one because we never had really done that before and we're both sorta going through the same issues with women.

Yesterday I slept in and lazed around most of the day. The I-5 boys (me, Cory, Tony, Josh) had our first official Soaring Eagle Casino outing last night. I believe we lost $50 collectively. After I came back, Hilary from MSU came and picked me up and I went over to Deerfield C6 and partied up like the old days with Hilary, Allison, and Ashley.... good times. Ended up grabbing the drunk bus (although I wasn't drunk) back to Robinson. First time I did that.. not a bad deal, $2 to anywhere on campus.

Came back last night and finished watching Oceans 12 and konked out for the night. Cory and I both slept in super late today.. woke up at around 12:30. Cory, Josh and I had some brunch down in the resres and were talking about the Casino and how we wanted to go back, so we did. We just got back a little while ago after being there for about 3 hours.. haha. I ended up losing $30, Josh $40 and Cory $20. That adds up to a total I-5 loss of $140... looks like water and electric aren't gettin paid for one month next year, lol.

And about that blog remodel I mentioned a month ago, haven't made much progress so don't keep your hopes up, but we'll see.

-jw

So its probably time to update...

But what can I say, its the holiday season. Full of family activities and lots goin on. Its really been a great few weeks at home, I'll try and fill you in on some of it.

Did some last minute shopping during my first week/weekend home, my spending was really limited this holiday season because I haven't been getting any hours at the bike shop, grrr. Got to see some relatives from up north who I hadn't seen in awhile.

Two friday's ago, my good friend Kristen from MSU stopped by my house on her way back from school which was totally awesome. We hung out and talked for a bit because I hadn't seen her since Halloweentime.

Didn't do a whole lot the rest of the weekend, all of it is getting pretty sketchy at this point. This past Tuesday I drove up to Saginaw for the day to see my girl, it was awesome. Never really been to Saginaw before to it was cool to see Stacy's town and where she grew up. When I was up there she gave me my Christmas gift which included this awesome men's cologne from Victoria Secret along with a HUUUUUGE XXL bag of Peanut M&Ms which rocked and also a neat picture frame which she made herself and glued bottle caps all around. Needless to say I was very thankful and super excited. Unfortunatley I knew after that day it would be awhile before I saw my girl but I was glad that I was able to see here even it was just for a day. Kinda jealous, right now she is in nice 68 degree weather in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico... boo!

Although Stacy was in Mexico on Christmas day, I was there in heart... I'll explain. Earlier in the month she had shown me online her hotel and where she was staying so I was able to get an e-mail address of the reservations manager there. I had been in contact through e-mail with this mexican dude named Miguel from her hotel and made arrangments to have a flower bouquet made up and sent to her room for when she arrived Christmas day. She called me today and she totally loved it. :-)

Again, didn't do too much over the past week. I was able to hang out with my good friends Conor and Scott and we saw some movies at the local theatre. I saw Oceans 12 for the second time and then the next night we went and saw Meet the Fockers.... such a great movie! Conor also let me drive his new car - 2005 Chrysler Crossfire R/T w/ manual transmission... way to fast of a car for that kid, haha.

Had a nice Christmas Eve, hung out most of the day and then went to church service around 6, came back for some good food that my parents had ordered through Williams-Sonoma
and then we opened a few gifts. Christmas day was fun as most of them usually are, opened presents in the morning and then went over to my relatives place in Birmingham for Christmas dinner and all that stuff.

Sunday we went to my Aunt Janet's house for a 2nd Christmas get-together with my dad's side of the family which was great. I love getting pure cash from relatives, its awesome.

Didn't do a whole lot today. I put my old iPod up on eBay so if anyone is interested, feel free to bid. Since I had gotten a $100 gift certificate to our local mall I decided to splurge today and get a new phone since my old one is a huge "pile", as Kristen would say. I went to the Nextel store and purchased the sleek silver i830, and i totally love it... fits great in my palm.

Work called this afternoon and offered me some hours for tomorrow and Wednesday which is great because the cash is getting low. Plus I'm going to need money for New Year's Eve partyin at Kristen's place on the Ile!!

Check the moblog for some updated pics... peace kids.

-jw

Google in 10 years

This is just a prediction, but who knows? Google usually tends to be secret with their future plans and ideas. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

-jw

You Know You're From Michigan When


You Know You're From Michigan When...You define summer as three months of bad sledding.
You think Alkaline batteries were named for a Tiger outfielder.
You can identify an Ohio accent.
Your idea of a seven-course meal is a six pack and a bucket of smelt.
Owning a Japanese car is a hanging offense in your hometown.
You know how to play (and pronounce) Euchre.
The Big Mac is something that you drive across.
You believe that "down south" means Toledo.
You bake with soda and drink pop.
You drive 75 on the highway and you pass on the right.
Your Little League baseball game was snowed out.
You learned how to drive a boat before you learned how to ride a bike.
You know how to pronounce "Mackinac".
The word "thumb" has a geographical rather than an anatomical significance.
You have experienced frostbite and sunburn in the same week.
You expect Vernor's when you order ginger ale.
You know that Kalamazoo not only exists, but that it isn't far from Hell.
Your favorite holidays are Christmas, Thanksgiving, the opening of deer season and Devil's Night.
Your snowmobile, lawn mower and fishing boat all have big block Chevy engines.
At least one person in your family disowns you for the week of the Michigan/Michigan State football game.
You know what a millage is.
Traveling coast to coast means driving from Port Huron to Muskegon.
Half the change in your pocket is Canadian, eh.
You show people where you grew up by pointing to a spot on your left hand.
You know what a "Yooper" is.
Your car rusts out before you need the brakes done
Half the people you know say they are from Detroit... yet you don't personally know anyone who actually lives in Detroit
"Up North" means north of Clare.
You know what a pastie is.
You occasionally cheer "Go Lions- and take the Tigers with you."
Snow tires come standard on all your cars.
At least 25% of your relatives work for the auto industry.
You don't understand what the big deal about Chicago is.
Octopus and hockey go together as naturally as hot dogs and baseball.
You know more about chill factors and lake effect than you'd EVER like to know!
Your snowblower has more miles on it than your car.
Shoveling the driveway constitutes a great upper body workout.
When giving directions, you refer to "A Michigan Left."
You know when it has rained because of the smell of worms.
You never watch the Weather Channel - you can just assume they're wrong.
The snowmen you make in your front yard actually freeze. Solid.
The snow freezes so hard that you can actually walk across it and not break it or leave any marks.
All your shoes are called "tennis shoes", even though no one here plays tennis anyway.
Your major school field trip includes camping and cross-country skiing.
Half your friends have a perfect sledding hill right in their own backyard.
You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Michigan.

-jw

Straight ahead Captain! Right on to finals week

Last week of classes.. wooo!! Life is movin fast as usual. Let me try and fill you in whats been going on in the last week.

The past week had been filled with the norm, schoolwork and studyin. Didn't do a whole lot on Thursday and Friday as far as partyin goes. Watched a bunch of movies with Stacy. Friday evening I took Stacy out to Applebees for dinner because we both felt like getting away from the monotonus dorm food. I had an amazing sirloin steak with melted bleu cheese and garlic mashed potatoes, mmmmm. We came back from dinner and watched a movie if I can remember correctly.

Slept in relatively late on Saturday and hung around until 3pm when Stacy and I accompanied Jeff , Heather, and some other people to the CMU Basketball game in honor of Heather's 20th birthday. Stacy and I left the game before the end so we could make it back to the dorm in time to get to downtown Mt. Pleasant by 6:45. In downtown MTP this weekend the city was holding an annual event called "Dicken's Christmas" which is an event that includes a christmas parade, activites, street vendors, and opportunites to donate to charities. We were offered by our RA Shanay to volunteer so we did.

Although when we first signed up I didn't think it would be much fun standing out in the cold but suprisingly I had a very good time. Because we volunteered later in the evening they event people didn't have a whole lot for us to do at first. After awhile one of the ladies got a call over the radio saying that they desperately needed people to monitor some of the barricades at one of the intersections because cars were driving through and kids were in the streets (they blocked off most of downtown for the event). So they assigned Stacy and I to traffic duty which I wasn't to happy about at first but it ended up being ok and I got to spend some quality time with my girl while feeling good that we were helping out with a charitable event.

After volunteering we grabbed a H&R (hot-and-ready) pizza and headed back to the dorms and just crashed, I was suuuper tired from the long day. Sunday was filled with total procrastination, which wasn't too bad. Some college procrastination during each semester is acceptable I believe.

For this week, it was a nice monday to start off the last week of classes. My computer and music classes were cancelled which left me with only 3 classes to attend instead of 5 which is a relief. Two papers due later this week in accounting and economics and also my last accounting test on Wednesday. Once all of that is over the studying begins for finals. After finals... Novi here I come!

Look for a few more updates before I depart MTP. Also keep your eyes open after the new year... there may be a blog remodel in my future ;-) (Check out kevinrose.com for examples)

-jw

Thanksgiving Break

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and once again, millions of Americans including myself ate way too much food this past Thursday evening. This year we had Thanksgiving at my house with my grandparents from my dad's side, along with one of his brother's and two of his sisters. It was a nice get together, not too big so I was able to talk with everyone one on one which was nice because I hadn't seen some of my relatives in awhile. I swear we had the most and best food at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. I seriously counted i think 10 or 11 different dishes or items and thats not even including the 5 different dessert selections we had afterwards. Let me tell you, I was one full kid.

The next morning I woke up and got ready and then went out and did what most other people were doing on Friday which was shop at the mall. I went there just to see the amazing sight and how many people were actually there... it was mind boggling. After some looking around at the mall I came home and then went to play tennis with my dad and sister. It was nice to get some physical activity and hopefully burn some calories I had put on the day before.

Today I woke up and made myself an omelet while watching some TV and made a list of all the things I had to do. I went out to CVS and got some pictures printed from the charity ball and then proceeded to the Hallmark store to get some Christmas cards and then back to the mall with my sister to get a few christmas gifts. After that I went over to my grandparents place to help them with their computer and to visit some more. Among all of these errands, plans formed between my friends Scott and Conor to go see a movie at Emagine later in the evening. I picked up Conor and we went to Fountain Walk and ate a delicious dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and then waited for Scott and Kyle to arrive. Once they got there we went to the theatre and saw After the Sunset, which is with Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, and Woody Harrelson. I thought it was an awesome movie so check it out!

Got home from the movie around 9:30pm and just finished up packing all my stuff for Central...gosh I have so much crap! I'm working at the bike shop tomorrow from about 11-4pm and then hitching a ride home with one of my friends Jeff because I would rather go home tomorrow evening than have to wake up tired at 7am Monday and drive all the way back up. Plus, I've been missing my boo ;-) . Can't believe that we only have like 2 and a half weeks once we get back up to school and then its Christmas break already. Like I always say, time flies when your having fun!

Peace.

-jw

Fall Charity Ball

Sadly, it is over. It's amazing how much you look forward to something and then next thing you know, its a new day. Nonetheless, the evening was nothing less than perfect. I pretty much just laid around in the evening after my econ class and ironed my clothes a little bit before I had to get ready. I had Stacy come up after she finished doing her hair and makeup (which looked gorgeous btw) and I gave her the flowers I got for her. We later headed out with everyone to the ball where we slow danced to some Alicia Keys, rocked away to Terror Squad, and did some steppin to R. Kelly.... just to name a few. It seemed like the night would never end but eventually 12am came around and we headed back to the dorm and crashed. I was one tired kid after last night. I really wish they had things like that more often, I truly had an amazing time. A big thanks to Stacy for being able to go and all the hard work she put into picking out her dress, hair, makeup and looking absolutley radiant. :-) To see how it all went, check out the pics in the moblog.

-jw

The train keeps speedin on down the track

Weren't classes just starting? Man, where does the time go. Thanksgiving is around the corner and just after that looms finals and then off to Christmas break we go. One thing that also keeps going is the classwork and tests; each Thursday I sit in my economics class and am like, "Wait, wasn't it just Monday?" Gotta make sure that I stay on the ball through the rest of the semester so I can keep my grades up, I'm sure if I keep my head in the game I'll turn out fine.

Life has been pretty good lately. 3rd west at Robinson is pretty cool this year, everyone is super friendly just like last year which rocks my socks. Big ups to Jared, Nick, Nate, and Clarence... I think they can be named the gaming headquarters of Robinson Hall. Oh, can't forget to mention and give a shot out to the best roommate ever.. Mr. Cory Cooper. Sorry about Loris buddy, but I'm sure De is happy to have a new pal, Eunice (aka Coryfish).

I'm truly excited for this week.. well mostly. The one bad thing about this week is my Wednesday accounting test. Mr. Arndt is a relentless man. I think I would feel more comfortable about his class if he would actually take a couple of semesters off and go take some teaching courses. Or at least some class on how to communicate your material to students by use of the blackboard. I swear if you walked into his classroom while he was teaching and looked at the board you would think a kid was up there writing on the board. His notes are impossible to follow, I usually end up taking notes out of the book. Looks like Monday and Tuesday will be two more long studay nights over at the library with Ryan, Phil, and Rob. The whole group studyin thing worked out good last time so I'm prayin for the best this time around.

For the good part of the week, well actually the greatest part, this Thursday night will be an epic evening. There is a charity ball at the UC Rotunda room Thursday night which consists of a formal dinner/dancing from 9pm to midnight. I was invited by Cory who is taking Angela and I myself will be taking Stacy. The mom is sending up the dress clothes to make sure I look totally fly and I am sure Cory will be decked out as well. Can't wait to see how well the ladies dress up. And I also got a little somethin somethin for Stacy.. but shhhh, she may read this, you never know. ;-)

Peace ya'll.

-jw

Halloween 2004

Can't believe it's already over! Seems like it was just October and I was like wow.. 4 more weeks till Halloween... and look, its November. Kicked off the weekend right with the usual Robbie gang heading over to U1 (our usual Thursday party spot), although Cory and I left early because it was sorta lame.

Slept in late on Friday which was nice because I've had to get up at 8am each morning because of a certain someone ;-) . I pretty much just got ready all day and cleaned up the room until Scott and Conor from MSU finally arrived around 5 or so. We hung out in the room for a while and then headed to the towers for some dinner and then to Soaring Eagle. We spent a good amount of time there and then I drove Conor over to a party at Lexington V3 and then went back to the casino w/ Conor's truck. I eventually ended up meeting Mitch there who drove up from Novi. It was nice to see him again along with some other Novi people I hadn't seen any better. When I thought that I wouldn't see anymore people that I knew at the casino, Jessica shows up!! How cool is that? We hung out for a bit and then she went on the search with her friend Megan for Chippendales tickets... oh boy. Once she left, Mitch and I played a few more hours of blackjack and then he took me back to the dorm.

Woke up Saturday and unfortunatley wasn't able to participate in the wonderful tailgating events of Central/Western weekend because I was awating the arrival of my parents and sister. I had a lot of time on my hands so I went to U-Cup for my morning mocha and hung around until they got here. Once here, we headed over to Kelly/Shorts stadium and walked around for awhile and showed my sister around. What a cold game it was! And wow, the sight of all the tailgaters in the south lot, just amazing. Check the moblog for pics. We ended up leaving around the third quarter because it was so cold. But!...Unbeknownst to me, once I was back in Novi, I hopped online to check the score to see that CMU won!! Apparentley we somehow.. and only god knows how we pulled off 5 touchdowns in the last quarter bringing us to the win with an overtime fieldgoal. Go figure.

Sunday was nice. I went to Starbucks because its been like a month since I've been there. I also stopped by the Northville Cider Mill and picked up some donuts for Dan and Eric at D&D. I visited the bike shop for a little bit and then ran out with Mom to do some errands. Later on that night I headed to Eric's to check out his remodeled house and to check out Northville's Trick-or-treaters. In northville they close down about a 10 by 10 block area for the kids to go around getting candy w/o having to worry about cars which I think is pretty cool. Northville sure know's how to do it up too... there were thousands of kids, a fun sight to see. Went back home later that evening and chilled outside with a cigar and my doggie who I missed very much.

Woke up super early this morning (7am) to come back up to MTP and almost got pulled over by a State trooper on 127... oops. So up to this point, went to computers, math, skipped computer lab, accounting was canceled... only one more to go!! Turning out to be not so bad of a monday after all, well besides the rain and coldness, haha. Thats about all for now kids. (check the moblog for the entire weekend in pictures) Peace!

-jw

I am AWESOME at updating this thing!

So what's new. Not too much, just livin life, doin this whole college thing. Always have tons of work to do with those nonstop distractions most college students face. It's been my kind of weather lately.. 45-60 degrees ususally, could use some more sun though. The past two weekends have been pretty dead up here which is not unusual. Its too hard to sum up the past two weeks so I'll try and hit on the recent highlights for this weekend.

It was a big week for midterms and the like. Got back a few essays and a multiple-choice test from my macroecon class where I somehow pulled off a B, A+, and another B. Go figure. Overall not too bad on my other midterms. It was nice to have a weekend w/ not a whole lot of schoolwork although I do have a big math test this thursday before Central/Western weekend!

Thursday night I stayed in with Jessica and we watched American Beauty, wow what a freaky movie. I've had the movie on my computer forever but never watched it, check it out if you've never seen it.

For the rest of the weekend, well I slept alot. Ben and I hung out most of today and threw the football around, then worked out down in the Robby workout room which blowed, lol. Then we went for a bike ride around south campus and finished our workout.

Not much else goin on today, chillin and homework. Looks like it will be a normal week of classes, with everyone resting up for the big weekend :-)

We'll see if I can sneak in another update midweek. Peace ya'll.

-jw

Homecoming weekend

We started off the weekend right this morning with a good 3 or so hours of tailgating at the south lot before the CMU vs. Bowling Green football game. This was prolly one of the most fun tailgating out of the few that I've gone to this year, saw a lot of people that I knew and really had a great time. (I'll post a pic or two later)

As for this week/since the last update, not much goin on around MTP, lots of school and homework. Thursday night Cory and I went to see Lewis Black the comedian over at Rose Arena which was awesome and for any of you that haven't seen him before you should definitely check out his dvd.

Also Thursday night, Ben and I went to Home Depot and got some materials and built off of my loft a place where I could hang my mountain bike so it wouldn't be in the way all the time. Big props to Ben for helpin out with that one, it looks great.

As for the rest of the weekend, not too sure. Definitley gonna lay down for a nap right about now and try to get rested for whatever is going on tonight. Sunday is looking like a big homework day as usual. Peace ya'll.

-jw

Oh yeah, dorm pics, as promised














Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

First day of fall, woot woot!

So today is the first day of fall I heard, heck, wouldn't notice it around here in the MTP; today's high was around 82 degrees. I'm not worried, the cool weather will be here before we know it. Was able to get out after my accounting test and head over to chip river with Ben for a nice bike ride, kinda hot but not too bad. Since the last update I am $ -28 from my Saturday casino run with Ryan. Looks like I'm not headin back there for a while... grrr.

Been a normal week pretty much, just lots of work and class. Also had to go to this piano concert last night at the music building for my MUS 114 class. The performer was really really good, like something you would hear at an orchestra hall or something. Although it was enjoyable and easy to listen to, it was not easy to write about. For my class I was required to write on certain peices that the performer did and record things like ryhthm, beat, tone, timbre, and all this other music jargon. That was the crappy part.

Got my ass kicked today by my ACC 201 test, we'll see what happens when the results come in. Golf league this week will have to be made-up next week because I will be heading to Midland for my cousin Michelle's wedding. Althought it is a wedding which most people don't like, I on the other hand am quite excited because I haven't been to a wedding since I was about 4 or 5. It will also be fun to spend some time with relatives I haven't seen since summer.

Not much for tomorrow, just waiting for the weekend/wedding to come. Have a tough math quiz tomorrow and thats bout it, prolly some thirsty thursday partying like usual, not much out of the norm. Ok, time go study, err watch tv.... we'll see what happens. Peace ya'll.

-jw

Pucker up Chips!!

Just got back from tailgating and the CMU vs. Southeastern Missouri State football game where CMU is leading 41-20. Tailgating was a blast hangin out with Cory, Sarah, Ang, Tony, Josh, Laura and the gang; check the moblog for pics. Also, notice the picture where Laura is finishing her beer and Cory is rolling around on the ground... what happened was Laura poked her beer and it squirted directly into Cory's eye!! "Ahhhh my eye, I'm blinded!!", screams Cory. Good times, good times.

So whats been goin on this week, not too much I guess, class for the most part. Went to Soaring Eagle Wednesday night with Cory, Sarah, and Ang and as usual... lost money. However, we weren't all losers, Ang came out +$60 so that was pretty cool, too bad she won't share. Thursday went over to Cherry St. to visit Mark, Josh, and Andy and played some beer pong which was awesome. Was able to visit with some CMU friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Stayed in last night and roamed around the Rob and also watched most of Oceans 11 with Ryan. For tonight, chillin out until later when Ryan and I are going to hit up the casino and try our luck and then from there who knows. Tomorrow as usual is lookin like a homework/sunday night ride type of day.

Weather sure has been nice around here lately, I'm beginning to enjoy it. Fall time around Mt. Pleasant is always beautiful with the leaves changing colors and all. Well enough for now, hopefully I'll get better at updatin this thing more often, ha.. prolly not, but we'll see.

-jw

The weekend is here once again

Time is flyin as usual, Thursday is almost over and the weekend is beginning here at CMU. Been a normal week for the most part - oh yeah except for that maniac kid that stabbed himself repeatedly in the head with a fork at lunch... yea scary shit, ask if you are curious. But classes have been going good, got my math quiz back today and somehow I pulled of 10/10 so that made my day. Went and lost some more money at the casino last night with Cory and Tony so I may think our normal Casino Wednesdays may have to be postponed for a few weeks.

For the rest of the week: one more class for today and then heading to the driving range with Benny T, our IM golf league starts tomorrow so we have to practice up! Going to see Adam Ferrara the comedian tonight at Plachta with Cory and then out for a lil thursday night partyin.

Tomorrow, sleepin in until golf league, then runnin back here and getting ready to head to MSU for the weekend. ETA East Lansing around 8pm Friday. All my MSU buddies better hit me up! Saturday tailgatin preceding the CMU vs. MSU football game, should be a hella fun time... watch out MSU, the Chippewas are comin through! Back either Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Bout all for now, look for some pictures in the moblog hopefully in a few weeks if I can ever find my camera cable.. grrrr.

-jw

Update from 305

Its about time eh? Yea yea yea.... been pretty busy with classes starting and getting the room all organized and shit. Just got back from a great Labor day weekend back in the VI (Novi). Brought sooo much stuff up from home its crazy, feels like I'm moving in all over again.

The drive back to MTP today was nice. My mom and I stopped at Eastwood mall center in Lansing which was sweet. Went to Banana Republic and got some shirts, went to the Gap and got some jeans and cords for fall/winter and also grabbed some Starbucks which rocked. Got back on the road and then stopped at Uncle Johns farm to get some MORE cider, lol.

Cory and I ironically both have sore throats the past few days.. hopefully its nothing big. This week will definitley be nice with Cory and I only having 3 days of classes to go to! Looking to make a trip down to MSU one of these weeks too. Enough updates for now, gotta unpack all my stuff... later ya'll.

-jw

Open for business

First night went smooth in Hotel Robinson 305, was super tired after the move in on Sunday. Everything during move-in seemed to be less stressful I think because I knew what to expect. Grabbed a pizza later on Sunday evening and then hit the bricks because I was wiped.

Woke up Sunday morning and went to Lil Chef with Cory and Angela, which was lovely. Picked up some Fiji at Walgreens while Cory was filling his prescriptions. Came back to the dorms and then went on a fairly long road ride on the back country roads of Mount Pleasant/Isabella County. After that, showered and hung out until dinner over at Merrill hall which was nasty.

Just got up from a nap about a half hour ago and hangin around until later on when I plan on visiting the Mark, Josh, and Andy over on Cherry St for the night.

Thats about all for now kids, stay tuned for some dorm pics which I'll have up hopefully sometime tomorrow :-)

-jw

Its been awhile...

Two weeks ago I came back from my cruise, since then... yea I'm sure you can guess it. 75% work. One big event that happened recently, I got my new road bike last week :-) Been ridin that thing all the time now, its freakin beautiful, and fast!

The time is here, less than 6 days now until I move back up to the MTP. Gettin super excited but at the same time sad. As bad as it sounds I will actually miss workin and the constant flow of income. As always in summer there are the good, great, ok and bad times. Wish I coulda hung out with more people this summer but I have no regrets, I'm sure that was the same case with most people. Summer 2004 was filled with memories, laughs, and good times I will always remember.

I'm stoked for move-in day; although its usually stressful for me, I'm eager to get the room all decked out Cory and I are going to have one of the best rooms in Robinson hall -you can count on that!

Workin for the next two days then the rest of the week is planning and packing all up until early Sunday morning when I will venture up to Chippewa town. Can't wait to kick of the 2004-2005 year at CMU!

-jw

Home sweet home

Made it back safe and sound sunday evening from my southern caribbean cruise tired as a dog. 93 out of my 96 pics I took during my trip turned out good so be sure to check my moblog where I have posted the best ones. Slept in this morning and lazed around until I found the motivation to go into work; the shop was damn busy today for a Monday. Got my schedule for the week, the normal 40-45 hours. Back from my cruise not one day and I'm already back into the routine of reality.

Looked at the calendar today and saw I only have three weeks until I move into CMU!! Where in the hell has the summer gone? The only two big things I can think of that I did this summer was work and my cruise, how pitiful. Definitley didn't see all the people I had planned on seeing and definitley didn't get the opportunity to take all the trips I had wanted. Hopefully going to see a few good friends I haven't seen in a while in the coming weeks because before I know it, I'll be packing up the car once again.

Looking possibly for a lounge chair for my dorm room, like those half circle chairs...I don't know how to describe it. Anyways, if anyone has any ideas on good places to get them and which ones, post a comment.

-jw

Update directly from the Caribbean

Yes, right now I am blogging directly from the Golden Princess Cruise Ship somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean sea!  Found a few spare minutes in my evening to hop onto a computer in the internet cafe via high-speed satellite.

Started off the week on monday with a full day at sea finally arriving to our first destination, Barbados!  What a beautiful place for my first stop on my first caribbean cruise.  While mostly flat, Barbados has a unique culture which is noticeably different than the latter islands I have visited.  Around 8am Tuesday, I started hiking through Barbados, trekking through Whim gully.

Wednesday I woke up in the port of St. Lucia, a much more mountainous and hilly region of the caribbean compared to Barbados.  Because St. Lucia has more rugged terrain, we took a Land Rover 4-wheel drive excursion all around the southrn part of the island.  We we through small towns and also across rivers where we finally ended up at a 200 foot waterfall where we could relax with some local beer and swim.

Today, I arose to the sights and sounds of the island, Antigua, where 90% of their main industry is tourism.  Once on the island we took a 25 minute bus ride to Seatons, which is small fishing village where we met our guides.  We headed out about a quarter mile off shore in Skiffs where we were able to snorkel and swim with Stingrays and other colorful fish.

As I type, we are heading at 19.3 knots northwest towards St. Maarten and will arrive at port approximatley 6:15am EST.  As for shore excursions for tomorrow, we have nothing planned so I expect we will most likely head to the city and shop along with lunch on the beach and some swimming.

For the end of my cruise, we finish off with St. Thomas which is known as one of the more developed caribbean islands and then head west to our original embarkation point of San Juan.

Time to join the Caribbean party which is happening on the back of the ship; look back later for more details and a full photo gallery!

-jw

Cruise time!

Tomorrow begins my 1st week of vacation time off work in a long time, I'm so pumped. I am leaving tomorrow morning with my family to head to San Juan for an eastern Caribbean Cruise! It is going to be purely amazing. We fly nonstop to San Juan where we board, and make stops during the week to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and back to San Juan. This is my first cruise so I am sure it is going to be one of a kind. We will be cruising on the Golden Princess, which is part of the Princess Cruise Line for our 7-day carribean exploration. Be sure to check back in a week for an update on how it went. If you need to get a hold of me you can try my cell phone for when I'm in the states, other than that I will only be reachable by e-mail. :-)

-TDF Final Update-

OVERALL STANDINGS

1. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 79:27:17
2. Andréas Klöden (G), T-Mobile, 06:38
3. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 06:59
4. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, 09:09
5. Azevedo José (P), U.S. Postal Service, 14:30
6. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears-Banesto, 18:20
7. Georg Totschnig (A), Gerolsteiner, 18:46
8. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 20:10
9. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Rabobank, 20:31
10. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), Phonak, 23:13

Any questions? Armstrong heads to Paris in yellow
American beats second-placed Ullrich by 1:01 in final TT

Armstrong powers to another stage win and virtually cinches a sixth straight TourVictory for Lance Armstrong in Saturday's stage 19 time trial at Besançon was a fait accompli. So much so, that at his press conference afterward, the man behind what has been dubbed by at least one media outlet as the "Texas Chainring Massacre" was not asked one question about his terrific ride in the 55km time trial.

There was really no explanation needed about Armstrong's winning ride over the T-Mobile pairing of Germans Jan Ullrich and Andreas Klöden, who placed second and third on the stage at 1:01 and 1:27 respectively.

It was expected. It was provided. And it was so very conclusive. And it extended Armstrong's total of wins in the final time trial of a Tour he has won from four to five.

Ullrich finished second to Armstrong, but will miss the podiumIt most probably would be six of six had the heavens not opened over Nantes last year when Armstrong - again in yellow and assured of victory - eased up the pace after hearing that his nearest challenger, Ullrich, had crashed on a slippery traffic circle.

On a course whose difficulties included many rises, dips and turns, the stage was made even harder to conquer by a blanket of humidity and heat that swept over the France Comté region, especially in the late afternoon.

Basso gave it his all, but slipped back a spot on Armstrong's winning time of 1:06.49 on the circular course came at an average speed of 49.389kmh, and with the fastest split times at each of two intervals before the finish line.


-jw

- Quick Tour de France Update - 
 
Stage 12 - Castelsarrasin to La Mongie (123.659mi/199km)
 
(from VeloNews)
 
Italian Ivan Basso (CSC) won Friday's 12th stage of the Tour de France, beating Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor) at the finish of the first mountain stage between Castelsarrasin and La Mongie on Friday.
Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (Brioches la Boulangere) started his seventh day in the race leader's yellow jersey and had to work hard to keep it on his shoulders over the 197.5km run. The 24-year-old French national champion, who led Armstrong by 9:35 overnight, came in around four minutes behind Basso to retain the yellow jersey.
Basso, considered a future winner of the Tour, crossed just ahead of Armstrong, whom he followed in the final kilometers of the 15km climb, the second of the day and the first summit finish of the Tour.
However, Armstrong will be happy with his day's work as Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) struggled in more than two minutes later. Germany's 1997 winner and five-time runner-up now sits more than three minutes behind Armstrong on general classification. 
 
OVERALL STANDINGS
1. Thomas Voeckler (F), Brioches La Boulangere, 51:51:07
2. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 05:24
3. Sandy Casar (F), FDJeux.com, 05:50
4. Richard Virenque (F), Quick Step-Davitamon, 06:20
5. Andréas Klöden (G), T-Mobile, 06:33
6. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 06:33
7. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears-Banesto, 06:43
8. Jakob Piil (Dk), CSC, 06:53
9. Santos Gonzalez (Sp), Phonak, 07:23
10. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 08:11
 
 
 
-jw