Fran Leibowitz:
Remember that as a teenager you are in the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear the phone is for you.
Mark Twain:
The perfection of wisdom, and the end of true philosophy is to proportion our wants to our possessions, our ambitions to our capacities, we will then be a happy and a virtuous people.
Martha Washington:
The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances.
Ramona L. Anderson:
People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
PRO DEAL
I could hardly believe it when I heard it myself. Because I work at a bike place now, I have what are called 'pro deals' available to me. I can get this bike, which retails around 4500 for aroun 1400 bucks!! Woo hoooo! So, it is now my mission to come up with 1400 dollars. As soon as I do, the P3C is mine. What a beautiful thing. I haven't been this excited about getting something for a long while; remember when you were a kid and you were so excited because your parents told you that if you saved up you could buy that bike/dog/dollhouse/whatever? That's how I feel now.
P.S. It's my birthday today, 26 baby! I figured out yesterday that it's not realllly my birthday though, technically of course, I turned 25-29 last year, and I won't have another birthday until I turn 30-34. Isn't triathlon a beautiful thing?
MW
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Manager
Well, don't take it too seriously, that's really about all the advice I can give myself or anyone else. What a funny job I have now. Everything is a mess and not only do I have to learn the business from scratch but I have to fix everything that is effed up. Annnd, I have to implement all of the systems that haven't even been looked at or kept up.
Aiyeiyi (not sure how to spell that one).
But, the good news is, my life is wonderful. I know I say this over and over, but I'm young, healthy, happy and well taken care of, so what the hell is there to complain about? Well, my most important 'task' right now is to maintain perspective and not allow idiotic work related events to effect my psyche. Know what i mean??
If not, good for you, you have a calm job.
The only truly tough part for me right now is keeping it all straight. There is so much new stuff happening and so much chaos at work that it is hard to even keep things straight and focused. I've never had a job that required me to be this extremely desicive and action-oriented, it's really pretty interesting. I have to stop typing now to creat a 'closing checklist' for the store,
Peace, love and rock and roll. Or whatever you believe in.
Live your life and have fun, it's over too quick.
M
Aiyeiyi (not sure how to spell that one).
But, the good news is, my life is wonderful. I know I say this over and over, but I'm young, healthy, happy and well taken care of, so what the hell is there to complain about? Well, my most important 'task' right now is to maintain perspective and not allow idiotic work related events to effect my psyche. Know what i mean??
If not, good for you, you have a calm job.
The only truly tough part for me right now is keeping it all straight. There is so much new stuff happening and so much chaos at work that it is hard to even keep things straight and focused. I've never had a job that required me to be this extremely desicive and action-oriented, it's really pretty interesting. I have to stop typing now to creat a 'closing checklist' for the store,
Peace, love and rock and roll. Or whatever you believe in.
Live your life and have fun, it's over too quick.
M
Monday, September 17, 2007
OH my feet!
Turns out working 9 hours on your feet 2 days after doing Ironman is painful, who knew!?
I feel great though. Life is surely interesting. I was thinking today that it is all a test. Every day is identical in only one aspect: It is a test of your physical and mental strength; where are you at now? There is no pass or fail in the grand scheme of things, but, there is a pass or fail for how you perform compared to how you could/should perform at this stage of your life. What's your potential? How understanding/patient/organized/loving/couragious/decisive/etc... can you be in your life and how did you measure up to that today?
At work today there were a thousand things that were wrong and should have been done better, the test for me was accepting that situation, not experiencing any stress and working to improve the situation. It's not easy, all of our jobs are hard, but the point is I had the opportunity to succeed in a relative sense on a scale from 1 to 100. I probably got an 80. Still have a ways to go.
But the point is, everything is a test and it's fun. Don't view the 'test' as a pain in your ass but an opportunity to recognize the subtle good in life and work to improve yourself on all of the different levels.
Next thing: Life is truly short. My God, some lives are cut extremely short. And to stress out over almost anything in life is foolish. The only truly, TRULY, important aspects of life are your health, your family and their health, and your friends and their health. Yes there are many, countless aspects of our lives which we can, and often do, pretend are vastly important. But, the truth is all that counts is your health and happiness, the rest is bullshit. So take it for what you will and focus all your energy on what you choose, but don't forget that.
Allright, next important subject? The MDot Tattoo. Do I get it or not? My friend and I just completed an incredible journey, the Ironman, but...the MDot tattoo supposedly represents the 'Ironman Corporation' which sponsors certain races, and so getting that tattoo supposedly represents that you did a sponsored race. Problem is, there is no other tattoo that sufficiently represents the accomplishments in such a simple, non-extravagant symbol.
I don't pictures of a stick figure swimming biking and running on my calf, and even 140.6, which some people think makes sense doesn't really work for me (after all, we actually did a longer bike and run than we were supposed to because of course changes due to a forest fire), and having the word Ironman tattooed on my calf seems too obvious. There is something attractive, alluring, and mysterious about the MDot, but should I give a shit that somebody else might think I shouldn't have it because my race wasn't offically sponsored by that corporation? I just don't know. Me thinks not. I spoke with Rodey today and we agreed that the MDot is the way to go, to hell with what anyone thinks, it symbolized doing the distance, that anything is possible, and it only really makes sense to people who know what it is.
So I think yes, I'm getting the MDot.
Last thought: I believe there is a bet going on between the big honchos of the music lables to see who can get the most retarded, irritating song on the radio and have people approve of it. It's kind of a college-buddy kind of bet, you know, 'hah! check this one out, loser!: I got this retarded song on the air, and the idiots love it! Hardy har har!'
Mike
I feel great though. Life is surely interesting. I was thinking today that it is all a test. Every day is identical in only one aspect: It is a test of your physical and mental strength; where are you at now? There is no pass or fail in the grand scheme of things, but, there is a pass or fail for how you perform compared to how you could/should perform at this stage of your life. What's your potential? How understanding/patient/organized/loving/couragious/decisive/etc... can you be in your life and how did you measure up to that today?
At work today there were a thousand things that were wrong and should have been done better, the test for me was accepting that situation, not experiencing any stress and working to improve the situation. It's not easy, all of our jobs are hard, but the point is I had the opportunity to succeed in a relative sense on a scale from 1 to 100. I probably got an 80. Still have a ways to go.
But the point is, everything is a test and it's fun. Don't view the 'test' as a pain in your ass but an opportunity to recognize the subtle good in life and work to improve yourself on all of the different levels.
Next thing: Life is truly short. My God, some lives are cut extremely short. And to stress out over almost anything in life is foolish. The only truly, TRULY, important aspects of life are your health, your family and their health, and your friends and their health. Yes there are many, countless aspects of our lives which we can, and often do, pretend are vastly important. But, the truth is all that counts is your health and happiness, the rest is bullshit. So take it for what you will and focus all your energy on what you choose, but don't forget that.
Allright, next important subject? The MDot Tattoo. Do I get it or not? My friend and I just completed an incredible journey, the Ironman, but...the MDot tattoo supposedly represents the 'Ironman Corporation' which sponsors certain races, and so getting that tattoo supposedly represents that you did a sponsored race. Problem is, there is no other tattoo that sufficiently represents the accomplishments in such a simple, non-extravagant symbol.
I don't pictures of a stick figure swimming biking and running on my calf, and even 140.6, which some people think makes sense doesn't really work for me (after all, we actually did a longer bike and run than we were supposed to because of course changes due to a forest fire), and having the word Ironman tattooed on my calf seems too obvious. There is something attractive, alluring, and mysterious about the MDot, but should I give a shit that somebody else might think I shouldn't have it because my race wasn't offically sponsored by that corporation? I just don't know. Me thinks not. I spoke with Rodey today and we agreed that the MDot is the way to go, to hell with what anyone thinks, it symbolized doing the distance, that anything is possible, and it only really makes sense to people who know what it is.
So I think yes, I'm getting the MDot.
Last thought: I believe there is a bet going on between the big honchos of the music lables to see who can get the most retarded, irritating song on the radio and have people approve of it. It's kind of a college-buddy kind of bet, you know, 'hah! check this one out, loser!: I got this retarded song on the air, and the idiots love it! Hardy har har!'
Mike
Sunday, September 16, 2007
what blog?
OH my god! How embarasing! I completely spaced the fact that I have a blog... Was I supposed to be typing something about my life onto this website on some sort of regular basis? I had no idea.
Well, a hell of a lot has changed since I last wrote. I'm sure my loyal fans are writhing in agony from the acute pains of motivational fuel withdrawel. Or...maybe not. Either way, I'm back.
So...without further adeu: I am an Ironman. As of last night at 917pm I crossed the line of the Grand Columbian Iron distance triathlon. 2.4 mile of swimming, 118 mile of biking (that's right, the bike was extra long) and at least 26.2 miles of running...and you can bet your ass I'll be getting the tattoo.
I'll write more about the Ironman another night, but for now that's the news. My best buddy Chris Rodes also finished, and we are both very proud of the epic accomplishment.
I now manage Performance Bicycle. I began training four weeks ago in Sacramento, CA. From there I went to Hawaii for a week for our friends' wedding, and when I got back I took over my new store. And what a night mare. I mean seriously, the first week and a half of work there was as difficult as anyone can imagine. One day(s) I worked 31 hours straight, no sleep, no breaks, just trying to get the store up to speed. And this right before my first Ironman (not smart!).
But everything is working out, we just need to sell a couple of our houses and maybe get me a cheaper car and things will be awesome. I'm tired of stressing over money, that's not what life's about. You should never have more posessions/debt than you can easily cover with a reasonable income, that's my new belief. You can ruin a perfectly wonderful life by taking on too much debt and responsibility.
Relax, sit back and enjoy. This is your life, and you only get one.
Mike
Well, a hell of a lot has changed since I last wrote. I'm sure my loyal fans are writhing in agony from the acute pains of motivational fuel withdrawel. Or...maybe not. Either way, I'm back.
So...without further adeu: I am an Ironman. As of last night at 917pm I crossed the line of the Grand Columbian Iron distance triathlon. 2.4 mile of swimming, 118 mile of biking (that's right, the bike was extra long) and at least 26.2 miles of running...and you can bet your ass I'll be getting the tattoo.
I'll write more about the Ironman another night, but for now that's the news. My best buddy Chris Rodes also finished, and we are both very proud of the epic accomplishment.
I now manage Performance Bicycle. I began training four weeks ago in Sacramento, CA. From there I went to Hawaii for a week for our friends' wedding, and when I got back I took over my new store. And what a night mare. I mean seriously, the first week and a half of work there was as difficult as anyone can imagine. One day(s) I worked 31 hours straight, no sleep, no breaks, just trying to get the store up to speed. And this right before my first Ironman (not smart!).
But everything is working out, we just need to sell a couple of our houses and maybe get me a cheaper car and things will be awesome. I'm tired of stressing over money, that's not what life's about. You should never have more posessions/debt than you can easily cover with a reasonable income, that's my new belief. You can ruin a perfectly wonderful life by taking on too much debt and responsibility.
Relax, sit back and enjoy. This is your life, and you only get one.
Mike
Friday, August 3, 2007
Some Irish quotes - Enjoy!
"The Irish don't know what they want and are prepared to fight to the death to get it” - Sidney Littlewood
“Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter.Lullabies, dreams and love ever after. Poems and songs with pipes and drums. A thousand welcomes when anyone comes... That's the Irish for you!” (boy does that sum me up!)
“Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat” - Alex Levin
“Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women and Irish Whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste.” (Hah! I love it!)
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
G.B. Shaw
"A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart."
Jonathan Swift
For your sweet sake, I will ignore
Every girl who takes my eye,
if it's possible, I implore
You do the same for me. (Oh God, I love it!)
It's a good thing to be able to take up your money in your hand and to think no more of it when it slips away from you than you would of a trout that would slip back into the stream.
Lady Augusta Gregory
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.C.S. Lewis
Father O'Malley was going through the post one day. Drawing a single sheet of paper from an envelope, he found written on it just one word: "FOOL." The next Sunday at Mass, he announced, "I have known many people who have written letters and forgot to sign their names. But this week I received a letter from someone who signed his name and forgot to write a letter."
We can't win at home, we can't win away. As general manager, I just can't figure out where else to play.
Jock Brown - Celtic General Manager.
“Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter.Lullabies, dreams and love ever after. Poems and songs with pipes and drums. A thousand welcomes when anyone comes... That's the Irish for you!” (boy does that sum me up!)
“Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat” - Alex Levin
“Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women and Irish Whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste.” (Hah! I love it!)
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
G.B. Shaw
"A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart."
Jonathan Swift
For your sweet sake, I will ignore
Every girl who takes my eye,
if it's possible, I implore
You do the same for me. (Oh God, I love it!)
It's a good thing to be able to take up your money in your hand and to think no more of it when it slips away from you than you would of a trout that would slip back into the stream.
Lady Augusta Gregory
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.C.S. Lewis
Father O'Malley was going through the post one day. Drawing a single sheet of paper from an envelope, he found written on it just one word: "FOOL." The next Sunday at Mass, he announced, "I have known many people who have written letters and forgot to sign their names. But this week I received a letter from someone who signed his name and forgot to write a letter."
We can't win at home, we can't win away. As general manager, I just can't figure out where else to play.
Jock Brown - Celtic General Manager.
Mile 16
It's been a while since I've posted, been incredibly busy, and a lot has happened. Here's the short version:
Raced Vineman 70.3 and drank lots of wine (more later)
Raced...errr...completed Escape from Federal Way (though, interesting enough, I can't figure out what we ever escaped from - except in my case, perhaps I escaped having a good finish time) (more later)
Made good progress on Bonney Lake build...woo hoo
Been on several interviews for management positions...all good (more later)
Have 3 properties for rent...teeth are chattering
swam 1 and a half hours straight with Rodey
But it was today that I ran 20 miles, well almost 20. And it was at mile 16 that a profound realization struck (it happens more often than not with me).
It was at mile 16, with fatigue cutting up from my legs, through my stomach to grasp my heart and squeeze what little passion I had left for pushing myself out of it - it was at mile 16, with a thirst I've rarely felt wrenching my insides and leaving a chalky feel in my mouth - it was at mile 16, with a desire to stop and walk, or stop all together swelling up inside of me like a title wave, daring me to keep going and begging me to stop - it was at mile 16 that I realized - mile 16 is where the real training happens.
And so it was, that while fatigue was taking hold of, and breaking my spirit, and my very foundation was crumbling beneath me, that I reached just a little bit deeper and willed my legs to keep moving.
And that's really the point isn't it? In life, just as in racing, we are faced with incredible difficulty, overwhelming fatigue, an incredible desire to just stop pushing and walk a little; it's at mile 16 that we learn what we're made of. It's at mile 16, when we come face to face with our own limits, our own weakness, and the deepest, truest forms of our real emotions that we learn who we truly are at this moment, perhaps glimpse what we know we can be, and make the decision to accept one or pursue the other.
And that's just mile 16.
VINEMAN...BABEEEEEY!
Well, if there is anything to be said for my half-ironman race at the Vineman in Sonoma County, it would probably be this: There is a lot of delicious wine in Sonoma County.
Other highlights would probably include these:
Swimming in a relatively narrow river makes for an excellent time siting. No troubles there, my friend. Are you next to the bank, or at least looking at it and it's at the right angle? Well you're good to go then. It was a 42 minute swim for me, which is fine, not great, but I will get there.
The Pro athletes are...amazing. And what a cool experience to see them in person. Michellie Jones was there! Craig Alexander was there! Chris Lieto, Luke Bell, Samantha Mglone, I mean commmmeee on! It was very cool. They swim like a bunch of piranhas, just absolutely attacking the water, totally amazing.
You should have a spare tire or fix it junk for your tubular racing tires. That's right...that would be me that did not have any way to fix my tire. Which leads me to...
Racing 30 miles of a half ironman bike course on a flat tire sucks. I mean suuuuuuccckks. But, here is the cool part; my attitude was amazing, and my taper was superb, because I still completed the entire race in just 5:56, which is only about 50 minutes slower than a good time for me. I mean, I was really pushing on the bike, and I took a lot of risks, almost crashing many times when my flat front tire would slide out from under the bike...scary.
Running 13 miles in 93 degree plus heat, after biking on a flat tire, is very hard. It took me 2 hours. Not too good, and the run course you ask? Oh, just as miserably hilly as the bike course. Such a hard race!!!
Next up? The 'escape' from alcatraz olympic race... 6 days after killing myself in the Vineman...annnnnd...with no rest days between, because we drove home from the Vineman the same day (though it took over a day to get home), and then I began doing physical labor on the bonney lake house. So I was toasted, completely.
Here's the craziest part about this race, besides my being wasted and going very slowly; in the swim, only about 50 yards into it, I accidently hit some guys shoulder trying to pursue Rodey (by the way, it was a mass start through a 10 foot wide start chute, complete, utter chaos, people climbling all over each other, literally). So this guy, this lunatic, reaches over to me, grabs my wetsuit at the shoulder and rips it completely off. ANd I said, what the hell dude? And he says, get this, "you pulled on me first". Can you believe that? What a maniac!
If anyone reading this does triathlons, or is about to do your first, read this: If anyone punches, kicks, pulls, grabs, squeezes, climbs over, crawls under, or indian burns you - it is unintentional and not a reason to be upset, and especially, not a reason to conciously, physically retaliate against said person. If you do that, you are an idiot and should not be racing in a triathlon.
That being said, the race was well organized, very tough, even if I hadn't been completely worn out and pissed off about swimming my entire 1500 yards with my wetsuit completely unzipped. By the way, the swim took me about as long as my 1.2 mile half ironman swim the week before!
Well, I'm about spent with typing. Job wise? Well, I've had some incredible interviews, and I'm just waiting to hear back from some people to see what they are willing to offer me pay/benefits wise, and I have a couple of second interviews scheduled. The most exciting opportunity at this point is a second interview with a DM from Performance Bike. If that goes well, they will likely offer me the position managing the Tacoma location, and that would be very cool - I've wanted to manage a bike store for a while, it's the perfect fit for me, to be around cycling all of the time and be able to get other people excited about it when they come it. We'll see though, I'm only at the second interview with them
Have a great day/night/week or whatever, and stay positive, life is only as good as you make it and allow it to be. Remember, you're alive now and that won't always be the case, enjoy it while it lasts and don't sweat the petty stuff (or pet the sweaty stuff as my old friend micah would always say)!
Mike
Raced Vineman 70.3 and drank lots of wine (more later)
Raced...errr...completed Escape from Federal Way (though, interesting enough, I can't figure out what we ever escaped from - except in my case, perhaps I escaped having a good finish time) (more later)
Made good progress on Bonney Lake build...woo hoo
Been on several interviews for management positions...all good (more later)
Have 3 properties for rent...teeth are chattering
swam 1 and a half hours straight with Rodey
But it was today that I ran 20 miles, well almost 20. And it was at mile 16 that a profound realization struck (it happens more often than not with me).
It was at mile 16, with fatigue cutting up from my legs, through my stomach to grasp my heart and squeeze what little passion I had left for pushing myself out of it - it was at mile 16, with a thirst I've rarely felt wrenching my insides and leaving a chalky feel in my mouth - it was at mile 16, with a desire to stop and walk, or stop all together swelling up inside of me like a title wave, daring me to keep going and begging me to stop - it was at mile 16 that I realized - mile 16 is where the real training happens.
And so it was, that while fatigue was taking hold of, and breaking my spirit, and my very foundation was crumbling beneath me, that I reached just a little bit deeper and willed my legs to keep moving.
And that's really the point isn't it? In life, just as in racing, we are faced with incredible difficulty, overwhelming fatigue, an incredible desire to just stop pushing and walk a little; it's at mile 16 that we learn what we're made of. It's at mile 16, when we come face to face with our own limits, our own weakness, and the deepest, truest forms of our real emotions that we learn who we truly are at this moment, perhaps glimpse what we know we can be, and make the decision to accept one or pursue the other.
And that's just mile 16.
VINEMAN...BABEEEEEY!
Well, if there is anything to be said for my half-ironman race at the Vineman in Sonoma County, it would probably be this: There is a lot of delicious wine in Sonoma County.
Other highlights would probably include these:
Swimming in a relatively narrow river makes for an excellent time siting. No troubles there, my friend. Are you next to the bank, or at least looking at it and it's at the right angle? Well you're good to go then. It was a 42 minute swim for me, which is fine, not great, but I will get there.
The Pro athletes are...amazing. And what a cool experience to see them in person. Michellie Jones was there! Craig Alexander was there! Chris Lieto, Luke Bell, Samantha Mglone, I mean commmmeee on! It was very cool. They swim like a bunch of piranhas, just absolutely attacking the water, totally amazing.
You should have a spare tire or fix it junk for your tubular racing tires. That's right...that would be me that did not have any way to fix my tire. Which leads me to...
Racing 30 miles of a half ironman bike course on a flat tire sucks. I mean suuuuuuccckks. But, here is the cool part; my attitude was amazing, and my taper was superb, because I still completed the entire race in just 5:56, which is only about 50 minutes slower than a good time for me. I mean, I was really pushing on the bike, and I took a lot of risks, almost crashing many times when my flat front tire would slide out from under the bike...scary.
Running 13 miles in 93 degree plus heat, after biking on a flat tire, is very hard. It took me 2 hours. Not too good, and the run course you ask? Oh, just as miserably hilly as the bike course. Such a hard race!!!
Next up? The 'escape' from alcatraz olympic race... 6 days after killing myself in the Vineman...annnnnd...with no rest days between, because we drove home from the Vineman the same day (though it took over a day to get home), and then I began doing physical labor on the bonney lake house. So I was toasted, completely.
Here's the craziest part about this race, besides my being wasted and going very slowly; in the swim, only about 50 yards into it, I accidently hit some guys shoulder trying to pursue Rodey (by the way, it was a mass start through a 10 foot wide start chute, complete, utter chaos, people climbling all over each other, literally). So this guy, this lunatic, reaches over to me, grabs my wetsuit at the shoulder and rips it completely off. ANd I said, what the hell dude? And he says, get this, "you pulled on me first". Can you believe that? What a maniac!
If anyone reading this does triathlons, or is about to do your first, read this: If anyone punches, kicks, pulls, grabs, squeezes, climbs over, crawls under, or indian burns you - it is unintentional and not a reason to be upset, and especially, not a reason to conciously, physically retaliate against said person. If you do that, you are an idiot and should not be racing in a triathlon.
That being said, the race was well organized, very tough, even if I hadn't been completely worn out and pissed off about swimming my entire 1500 yards with my wetsuit completely unzipped. By the way, the swim took me about as long as my 1.2 mile half ironman swim the week before!
Well, I'm about spent with typing. Job wise? Well, I've had some incredible interviews, and I'm just waiting to hear back from some people to see what they are willing to offer me pay/benefits wise, and I have a couple of second interviews scheduled. The most exciting opportunity at this point is a second interview with a DM from Performance Bike. If that goes well, they will likely offer me the position managing the Tacoma location, and that would be very cool - I've wanted to manage a bike store for a while, it's the perfect fit for me, to be around cycling all of the time and be able to get other people excited about it when they come it. We'll see though, I'm only at the second interview with them
Have a great day/night/week or whatever, and stay positive, life is only as good as you make it and allow it to be. Remember, you're alive now and that won't always be the case, enjoy it while it lasts and don't sweat the petty stuff (or pet the sweaty stuff as my old friend micah would always say)!
Mike
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