Disability and You.

So my family and most of my friends up here know what I'm doing this quarter as far as school goes... I'm sure I've mentioned it here as well but I'll do it again and here's the title... "Retarded: The Creation of the Learning Disabled in Contemporary U.S. Educational Culture." I'm enjoying the work I'm doing on it very much as it allows me to really tie in what I learned in the last two quarters, Winter and Fall, in to my understanding of another subject namely me. It's been hard to really... Wait no, it hasn't be hard to write it, in fact it's come easier then a lot of my other writing. I think this is due to the level I studied how people oppress others over the year that I find this so easy. Compared to what I did then this is a cake walk and I've had all quarter to really get in to it. I'm very happy with what I've come up with and I know it will only get better. If I don't get it published in the publication I want then I'll publish it here.

Oh yeah for those of you who don't have Ad Blocker Plus please tell me if there are ads on my blog because if there are then I'll do something about it. thanks.

More Bike Stuff...

The problem with me working 8 straight hours in an office where I sit on my ass is that I then spend most of that time wishing I was riding around with friends on my bike... But sadly I don't really know anyone up here that likes to ride and two I'm at work...

So I really want (key word here as in I don't NEED) another bike... I'm thinking an old school touring bike... Full fenders, frichion shifters, racks, the whole nine yards. Not that I really have the time to be doing loaded touring but it would be really cool.

I've been looking at sites like Orange Velo, Surly Bikes and a few others wishing I had the money and the need for another bike... I am kinda toying with the idea of getting a Surly Cross Check frame and building it up with some new parts and using it as a winter bike. I'd take the wheels and crank and bottom bracket off my fixed gear now and put them on the surly with full fenders and a front brake and use that in the winter instead of my Nishiki when the weather turns to poo... Then when I have the money building some new wheels for the Cross Check and getting a new BB and crank for it. It'd just be nice to have full fenders and such and the Cross Check is just a good base for that.

Damn Cassie and Her Bike Ridin' Ways!!!

Cassie's been blogging about riding her bike and it's made me sorrowful because I don't really have anyone up here to ride with like I did in Shit Lick. Cassie and I rode the ULECR last summer and it was great, since then I've just not gotten on the bike as much as I'd like, I hate getting wet and it is WET up here. Thanks to my folks this past Godless Christian Holiday #1 I know own a pair of waterproof pants and boy are they waterproof. But it's also hard to get on the bike when it's that wet and that cold and you don't really have to ride to get to work (because at the time I didn't have a job) or school (because I was living on campus). Also when it gets dark at 4:30 PM and the sun doesn't come up until 8:30 or 9:00 AM it's a little hard to ride if you live in the woods like I do...

The good part is that I've been riding almost everyday I work now, save for one or two days last month when I woke up late and just could not bring myself to do it. Another pain in the ass part is that it seems that every time I go out I get a fucking flat because the roads between my house and ANYWHERE are shit and covered in shit that goes right though my gatorskins and puts a big fucking hole in my inertubes. So as soon as I have the money I'm getting some tuffy strips to put in em' so that I don't get as many flats.

God I miss riding with people...

Matts and not as in the name.

So Lauren and I came back from Spokane with a little friend, his name is Finnigan. He's an orange kittiy kinda like Garfield but a millions times more awesome. He's super sweet and purs if you simply say his name.

So I'm fucking angry about him, Lauren left him in the 'care' of her mother and step father... Care is a funny word, in the six months she has been in Oly Fin some how ended up with most of his back covered in mats. One is so big it almost covers his whole back... We tried to cut some off but the simple fact is that we're going to have to take him in and have him completely shaved to get them off... Yeah, I'm about ready to fucking hit someone....

He's such a wonderful cat, nice, cute, loving, playful, well mannered, FUCKING ADORABLE... If you ever wanted a cat, Fin would be that cat. No, you can't have him, Lauren (and by virtue of dating her me) will never give him up.

He's just great.

It's been so long...

Since I post here. WOW. So yeah... Where to start... Oh, OK. I know.

I have a job! I'm working in the front office in housing at the college, it's 17 hours, two days a week. That means kids I'm working from 8 AM to 5 PM two days a week with two 15 minute paid breaks and one half hour unpaid lunch. I like it, I'm making 9 an hour so I can pay rent and my loan payments but that's about it. I may need a second job.

Also I'm selling my car. All of you know what that means as I used to love that car but I love eating more and I hate the wheels on my LeMond. So if anyone knows anyone who's looking for a 98 GTI 2.0 hook a brother up.

Oh I kinda gave up writing this because I'm looking at riding a century or two and I'm trying to find some in the SPS area.

Happiness is a warm gun...

OK not really but I like that song. So why am I happy all of a sudden? Well I've got two weeks left in the quarter, I've got myself a lovely young lady who for some reason thinks I'm cute and really nice, as well as my Mom and one of my Brothers are coming up here the end of this week to visit (Collin is staying until Tuesday of next week, my Mom until April sometime but she'll be staying with family in Seattle while Collin stays here).

OK so for the two things that are really making me excited, the pretty lady, who's name is Lauren, and part of my family coming to visit. The first part, yes I have a girlfriend and she is amazing, I'm not kidding when I say that she is by far the best person I've ever dated. She's great, kind, loving, smart, good lookin' (yeah I can be that shallow sometimes), open and honest with me about everything that she's thinking. Really she's the type of person I should have been dating since I started dating women. But sometimes you gotta burn you hand on the stove before you understand why it's not a good idea to touch it when it's hot, 'ya know?

And for the second part of why I'm happier now then I've been since moving up here. I'm getting a real bed... Well that and Mom and Collin are coming up. It's Mom's birthday on Saturday so we're gonna go see George, Lois, Mellisa and Etienne for that. It'll be really good to see them all, I've not had a lot of chances to get up there because of how heavy my work load has been so far this year as well as not having a job for all but maybe two or three weeks... So it'll really good to see them more as well. Collin is planing on getting tattooed and I may spend some money I don't have and do that was well. I'm also going to get him drunk as it's the end of the quarter and I'm all but done, it'll be awesome!

So I've been thinking... AGAIN...

I just found out a really good friend of mine might be having a relapse of a not so nice condition they have. They read this from time to time and I know it and they'll totally know that I'm talking about them right now but they know how much they mean to me so they'll forgive me this one time.

So because of what happened to them I've started thinking again that I'd like to orginize a crosscountry bike ride to raise funding for research and raise awareness about this condition. I worry about my friend a lot because they really are one of the best people I know and because they mean so much to me, I want to do something in their honor. Besides it'd be a good reason to ride my bike across the country and not have to worry about paying for it. :)

This has been something I've wanted to do for awhile and I think it will be good for many reasons, I might even be able to get credit in school to do it, another plus.