First time for everything

I am going to ramble a little bit about bicycles. I wanted to point out that the other night was the first time ever that I bent a rear axel on a bike. I don't know how I accomplished it, but I know that things were not working right. A quick trip to my preferred bike shop in town had me back to normal in about a day. Me and the shop owner talked a little bit about gas prices and I told him I love using my bike to get around town some days. Well, that is all for now, when I have something actually worthwhile to post I will let you know.

Gas, no, not that kind of gas

So with gas prices looking like they are lately my GT Avalanche is looking better all the time. I also started looking online at (don't laugh) motorized street legal scooters. I was checking out a few, looking at how much trouble some would be to register at the local DMV, how many miles per gallon they got (some claimed 75 to 80), etc. Of course the more I looked the more I realized two things: 1. I have a mountain bike that can get me across town and back, and 2. I would probably get laughed at for riding a scooter. Why did I write all of this? I dunno, because it is late and I can.

My stint on live radio

Ok, I am such a dork, I am actually going to share an experience that happened to me today. The local Christian radio station does a question of the day in the morning and then again in the late afternoon, I have tried calling in before but always hit a busy signal. Today I decided to give it another try, and as soon as I heard the question I dialed expecting to hear a busy signal. Much to my surprise I got through, and I was the first caller. I probably sounded like a complete dork on the air, I realized that I was going to be live on the air and any friends or family listening might hear me, along with a good portion of people in this town. So it was exciting and nervous, and I had the correct answer, kinda cool because I rarely win anything and I can count with one hand how many times I have been able to get through to anyone at a radio station. Sorry for boring all you folks with this information, I know I need to get out more and stuff, lol.

Boycott, eh

So from what I have heard all Hispanic people are supposed to boycott businesses in the U.S. on May 1st, as well as skip work. They are doing this to show how much impact they have on the American economy. First off, a one day boycott like this doesn't work, pure and simple. Just because a group of people don't shop or go out to eat one day doesn't mean that they won't go shopping the day after or the day before, eventually they will step foot back in their favorite store or restaurant, so it is not like all the Hispanics are going to bring the economy to a crashing halt in one day. Also, if all the illegals were to be taken from the United States I believe the economy would still be ok. My reasons for thinking this is the fact that they abuse the system making it harder on taxpayers, and they hold jobs that some people who are hurting for work would want to fill. The less freeloaders the better I think. So, go ahead with this so-called boycott, we all know that Wal-Mart and McDonalds are still going to be filled as usual, and business will go as usual.

Happy Easter!!

Sorry this is a little late, but I wanted to wish everyone I know a happy Easter. My pastor made a strong representation at church this morning showing how while each of us may have "bags" of stuff in our lives that might hold us down, what Jesus did at the cross was big enough to handle all of our baggage. How one man could come into the world and be a willing sacrifice to show how much we are loved is beyond words, a love like that can never be fully written about, but it can be experienced in a relationship with Him. Thank you Lord that you not only died for our sins and transgressions, but you also rose again giving us a new life. If you don't know Jesus, you should meet Him, and the best part about meeting Him for the first time is you don't have to go to some fancy church, He is waiting to meet you wherever and whenever you are ready to talk.

Takahishi: final chapter

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 6:It's all or nothing!

Taka and Tony were both looking at the final turn, a gentle turn to the left that would change their direction by 90 degrees and put them on the homestretch. Tony knew that he had an advantage, or at least he thought, he was setup on the inside of the turn. "I will have the quicker line through this turn", thought Tony, "Freak boy will be stuck on the outside and take forever to make it through, victory is still mine!" Taka knew that he was now at a slight disadvantage, even though he was now dead even with Tony. "How am I going to pull this off?" Taka thought to himself, but then he realized something: he was a stock Honda keeping up with a new SRT-4. "With the vTEC force on my side I can still pull this off!" The turn came, Tony and Taka both moved with a purpose. Tony did some late braking, and with a downshift cut in towards the apex of the turn, Taka on the other hand seemed to carry more speed into the turn then Tony, and maneuvered himself so he was still side by side with Tony. Tony looked over midway through the turn and was shocked to see this Honda sticking to the road right next to him, and he even appeared to be sliding sideways a little bit. "If this guys nuts!? Is he for real!? He is going to crash and possibly take me with him!!" Tony was in a panic, to him his only option seemed to accelerate out of the turn as quickly as possibly, he floored it at the apex and began to roll out of the turn. Taka continued to hold an outside line and his suspension made him feel like he was planted to the road, so he too went wide open on the throttle when he was halfway through the turn. Then, just before the exit, it all happened, Tony had been over eager to floor it too soon and quickly realized the mistake. Coming out of the turn the back end of the car started to slide out, he corrected a little bit but was at full throttle, He quickly darted to the right, his car now sideways in front of Taka. Taka saw this and with cat like reflexes he jumped to the left lane and shot by Tony. Taka was now on the homestretch and accelerating like there was no tomorrow, but something happened, he began to slow down, he was feeling more like his old self. He realized that the force was leaving him, but only because there was now no doubt about him being the winner. Everyone at the finish line went crazy when they saw that the proud and arrogant Tony had just lost to a little econo-box. Deep down Ellie couldn’t help but be happy for Taka, and she too rejoiced over the victory. Tony remained motionless at the last turn, his car pointing in the opposite direction of the finish line out in the middle of the road, he was speechless and he felt like he was dreaming. That night forever changed three cars: An SRT-4 who realized that no one is invincible, an MK3 Supra who saw that greatness doesn’t have to come from what is seen on the outside, and a little Honda Civic DX hatchback who got to live out the one dream he never thought was possible.

My Jesus

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

"My Jesus" by Todd Agnew. I just had to share this song with y'all.

Latest news

I am on a little bit of a break from my job, got a week off to be able to recover and relax before getting back into the groove. It is also the week of the local fair here in town, I plan on going this weekend to check out the exhibits, hop on a few rides, and spend time with my family, friends, and girlfriend. Anyone who knows me knows that sometimes cleaning is optional, and I will only do it after I break down and realize I can no longer find anything. I reached that point on Monday, and used some time over the last few days to whip my room into shape, some people are still in shock after seeing what it now looks like.

illegal = illegal

Ok, I know this story has been going around and people are probably getting sick of it, but I wanted to add my two cents. The story I am referring to is about illegal immigration and all the student protests that have been going on. All right, now if I remember anything from my government class in high school we all have the right to be heard and assemble peacefully in protest of something. The protests I have seen fit that description, a bunch of kids protesting peacefully about one issue, but there are a few things wrong that I see. First off, there is the fact that these students have been ditching school, for most of them this will mean that they are getting suspended, for some others in means a day or two in lock up because it violates their parole. Just because you think that something is wrong doesn't mean you should go off and do something wrong thinking it will change things. That brings me to point number two: change. So they have been holding marches in my hometown and letting everyone know what they think, but what will it really accomplish? They did not talk to anyone who will have an influence on the deciding of the bill, instead they talked to city hall employees and people who happen to be walking by. Here is what I have seen accomplished: Class sizes got smaller due to suspensions, students who chose to do the right thing and stay in class get detained after school because the campus has to be put in a lockdown to prevent any kids who are from another school to walk on the campus, and parents were made late and irritated due to the lockdowns when they had to wait to pick up their kids. Point number three: Know your protest. A good amount of these kids (at least in my town) admitted that they don't fully understand why they are doing it, they just went along with it so they can get out of class. What does that say about the intelligence level of these kids, or more importantly, what does that say to the validity of any march I see, are they marching because they really believe it or is it because a few are dedicated and the rest just want to tag along for fun? Last point: illegal in any other language is still illegal. All these kids are crying about how it is going to affect family members and friends, and that their family members are not criminals. Lets examine that for a minute, illegal aliens come here to work a job, avoid paying out taxes, put their kids (if any) in a publicly funded school, and skip out on paying hospital bills. While not all illegals do all of those things, they are things that are done. Why should someone who uses the health care system and school system yet not pay anything for it be protected? That would be like me going and putting gas in my car, then not paying the cashier because I don't have any money. They use and abuse the system, and tax paying citizens are left with the bill, if these students care so much about the illegals then maybe they should all adopt one and pay the taxes the illegal is skipping out on. I bet you my next pay check that after a while the student would either call border patrol or tell the person to become a legal resident and start paying their taxes like they should. Long story short, you do something illegal then you are a criminal, especially when there are ways to become a citizen of this country.