Anti-freeze, oil leaks, FM-200, blue and white wires...

Holy man...this week is already nuts...and it is one day old.

Mica's car blew a radiator hose, my truck is leaking oil like a professional oil leaking thing and apparently FM-200 releases 3 states away take down phone systems. I didn't even really get into the whole department swapping causing me to see blue and white wires in my waking dreams.

Party at Bobby's this past weekend. And I also ate a pile of shit trying to get nose-dive 360's on the hip. Ow.

I'll post up some pics tomorrow. It is time to lay down and figure out how to navigate tomorrow...

Classic rock invasion...but only the chorus...

Mica is breaking down...she is singing multiple classic rock songs, but she does not know all the words. Not even close. So I am being inundated with either the openings of songs or the chorus.

The clouds parted and the Sun warmed just a touch on Sunday...so we jumped on the opportunity to ride like a crow on roadkill. I gladly took some pictures because I wanted to shoot anything...and I did.

This is Ginger John. He is one of my favorite people to ride with at the park. He is young, salty as hell and has a good sense of humor.


Corey busted some moves. This table was the first offering, but the stem-hump was next damn level.



I don't really get too many pictures of myself because, as has been documented, I am usually taking the pictures. So, I wind up with lots of pictures of the bike that I ride.


Garrett got in a little trouble for wrecking his bike on purpose at daycare and saying "shit" over and again when he fell. So, no bike videos for a bit. I AM LOOKING AT YOU, BRIAN KACHINSKY.

Two-year-olds love Rick Ross.

My son has taken a shine to the Rick Ross song, "Everyday I'm Hustlin'" It's in the Chill Bro BMX video, which Garrett loves watching.

It goes something like this...


Anyways, we have a new president, and while I am sorely grateful that we have good, intelligent man at the helm, I lament that we will probably not be getting gems like this any longer...

"There's an old saying in Tennessee I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee that says, fool me once, shame on shame on you. Fool me you can't get fooled again."

I reckon I will take the trade off.

I took a picture of myself the other day and was interested to see how much I look like my father. I am pretty much totally estranged from my dad, but he did contribute to my existence, so I thank him for that.


This is certainly not the best picture of Garrett and I that I have taken, but it struck me as kinda funny.


I got some new wheels recently, and I took some pics that sort of involved them. The front was built by Tom at Empire and the back was built by Corey at his house. I love diversity. Someone asked me at the park today how much they weighed. I did not know, nor did I care. They look boss as shit, but they are harder than hell to get a tire on. It reminded me of wrestling with a Primo V-Monster and an Alex triple-wall. My thumbs hurt!

There's a war outside still raging and it isn't mine anymore to win...

I had typed up this big long blog about how shitty the attitudes of the BMX'ers in this town are and how maybe the scene here just wasn't ready for a skatepark...then my son melted down and and the browser got closed and the draft did not get saved. So no bitch session, because the clouds parted for a moment, the temperature went up and I got to fucking ride today. I learned a new trick (new for me) and had a good time with everyone. I guess I just need to roll with the punches and understand that if the skateboarding community wants us out of the park, we're gonna be gone and there isn't much I can do about it. I let myself get pissed off when I see the BMX guys acting like dumbasses and eventually it colors my whole experience. I don't have time to worry about this. I am just gonna ride and try to enjoy the experience as long I can.

I want to build a pump track. Trails are rad, but in my advanced age, a pump track might be more my speed. Maybe not. I think we can make such a thing, and I even think I know where to put it. Let's just say that recycling is all the rage.

I have to read one chapter in Western Civ by the 20th and 3 chapters in Poli Sci by Thursday. I like this. Much more interesting than my online Spanish class. No offense to Spain. It is a lovely country that I hope to visit one day. But taking a foreign language online is fairly torturous.

You know what? Lilly Allen has a third nipple, just like me. I bet we'd hit it off famously. *Waits for Mica to slap me*

Macworld announces that I hate winter.

Well, I do. Rain for days. And what happens when there is a break in the weather? I jump over the spine and land on my head/shoulder/elbow. I am trying to stay positive, though. 2008 presented some challenges. It started with a trip to Austin, TX and ended with some drama that I did my best to handle. 2009 has started out a little unsteady, but I am determined to make this a good year no matter what. One of the last snaps of 2008 involved me hanging out with Garrett, which is always a good time...



Nothing special, but it is moments like these that I rarely get to have a picture of, because I am usually on the hunt for pics of the kids. Granted, I took the picture, and Garrett seems like he has other ideas, but still...

So Winter is just hammering away at me and my sanity...


Corey is young and nonplussed by such things...


He can rock a massive wallride from flat, though. The sun was out but then went in and a crazy storm rolled up. The light went bye and thus some blur, along with my unwillingness to adjust the ISO...


So later that day Mica and I go to Java for some coffee. Her cup sucked but mine was delightful. You can't tell because Mica does not know how to operate my camera.


However, she looked very Obscura...so ready to be heartbroken...


Hapy New Year. Let's see how it does, right?

50 millimeters of freedom

As I mentioned in my previous post, Mica got me a 50mm 1.8 lens for my Nikon. This thing was anticipated, but not without some trepidation. I had a similar lens for my Canon, but it seemed like it just flat out sucked for action photography. Well, it seems that Nikon has proven once more why they are awesome. This thing is leaps and bounds better than the Canon lens of the same spec. All pics in this post were taken with it...

Corey nailed this toboggan over the hip. The light was a little dim, but I still liked the shot. Apparently I cost him some money by exposing him to a stomach virus at my house. Sorry about that buddy.


Billy was just pedaling away during this. I liked the feel of the pic. Wild William is more photogenic than he thinks...


This is me getting nosy on the hip. Corey was nice enough to snap some pictures with my superior camera.


Billy airs out on this higher than he should, and really he should just do the same thing in the bowl. Airs on the spine side like that scare the piss outta me.


My brother-in-law says life is too short for bad beer. I say life is too short to have to use a bottle opener all the time on the fancy stuff.

Rolling with the punches...Merry Christmas!

Life throws us curve balls, and sometimes it pulls a Nolan Ryan and just straight up throws at our heads. Well, we had a bit of a curve ball tossed our way for Christmas this year, but we did the best we could do with it and in the end, we came out okay. The kids seem really happy with everything; as well as the adults, so mission accomplished.

We hosted a Christmas party the night before Christmas Eve. It went very well and everyone had a good time. As per usual, I took pictures.

Bacon and brussel sprouts!


The amazing lady that makes it all happen. If all I got for Christmas was more time with her, that'd be enough.


An Indian, a redneck and a Irishman walk into a party...


John and Shauna gettin' their glutton on!


Taylor and Bobby discussing the finer points of the car of tomorrow, no doubt.


Couples!



LOLZ.

Me and the best friends a boy could have...I look like an Arab trader...


I got a Nikon 50mm for Christmas. Anna and my brake lever helped me test it out...



When Garrett showed up, sissy had no trouble helping him open stuff...


He does not want to share his Hershey Kisses with you.


Inside the Optimus Prime pop-up tent...


Time to drink a little wine and call it a day. Merry Christmas!