Far Out Son of Lung...: An Overview of 2005

23 August 2005

An Overview of 2005

2005 has produced far more solid results, in regard to hobbies, than 2004. Thus far I have yet to break any bones (knock on wood), destroy any motorcycles or discover that I am dating any soul-less slutty bitches. All of which, I must admit, has brought me some relief.

I began my year recovering from November's 100+ mph boo-boo's and decided to make a run on the first MS150 bicycle ride of year, taking place in April. The event would traverse 180 miles from Houston to Austin with an overnight stop in LeGrange, TX at the 100 mile mark. A wealth of great friends supported my efforts and donated money to the Multiple Sclerosis Society so that I could meet the minimum requirement and take part in the event. I cannot thank them enough. Over 12,000 cyclists took part in the ride!

Shortly after that first ride I was asked to take part in the second MS ride of the year by several friends who expressed great interest in seeing me complete another event for the benefit of their own friends suffering from the horrible effects of MS. While I had not anticipated this ride or second fund raising goal, I made the effort to raise funds and was able to ride again, this time from Dallas to Ardmore, OK. This second event was 160 miles of headwind and rolling hills and featured nearly 3,000 cyclists.

At the end of May, following the MS ride and just prior to a vacation at the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I purchased a new car. This is important only because I was now replacing my aged, decrepit and severely beaten 1996 Plymouth Neon. The poor thing had nearly, or perhaps over, 200,000 miles on the odometer (we'll never know b/c the odo stopped working on a regular basis three years ago) and had seen almost every contiguous state in the union. It had also been wrecked once, gotten a new cylinder head and been attacked by numerous dogs. The paint was gone, it had one hubcap left and it looked completely uninsured.

Enter, now, the Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V. With 180HP and 175 lb ft of
torque, the little Sentra really likes to beat the snot out of Civic Si's. It also enjoys eating up pavement in clover leafs, roundabouts and has a healthy diet of possum & armadillo. Since May 16th or so I have managed to pile no less than 7070 miles on the car (as of this posting) by way of hobbies and adventures confined to the state of Texas. I am hoping to show it the open road later this year and perhaps a nice view of some mountains unless my sister guilts me into visiting her in a great city to the north.

Delving further still into 2005 I found myself with another new hobby. Rock climbing... I'm not very good at rock climbing, mostly because I've only done it 10 or 12 times since April, but I do enjoy it and decided that sucking at it is just a part of my life. It is, beyond all else, a great reason to get beat up while being outside. Jamming one's feet, arms, hands and fingers inside cracks and crevices in the hopes of not falling off a rocky surface has proven to be quite exhilirating and, at times, somewhat painful. It is an exhausting hobby, and this is a very good thing for me.

I have also been doing a fair amount of swimming recently. I have found that lifting weights at the gym is mind numbingly boring and suited for those who spend more time looking in the mirror than actually lifting a precisely measure chunk of lead over their head. In fact, the only reason I go to the gym is to work my abs and my back, look at girls and swim laps. I've been swimming about 3 miles per week (split as 1 mile every other day) and I feel great. Well, seeing as how I was now cycling and swimming, I figured I'd try jogging as well. I have found running/jogging to be very... painful. I like waking up early and getting in a few miles prior to work, but feeling like my legs are on fire is not very cool. However, seeing as how I have now taken up these three sports, I've been playing with the idea of doing a triathlon.

It also seems like a nice way to meet athletic chics, and that's always a good thing.