Goodbye 2007!

Well another year has passed. Rather than review the year that has passed, I will foreshadow the year to come. Simply put, the goal for 2008 is: WIN RACES! In order to achive this goal, I need to be physically and mentally prepared. It starts January 4th when I get home. It will require a lot of hard work and determination on my part, but I'm ready to accept the challenge.

So I would like to wish all my readers a Happy New Year and I hope you achieve success in all your goals for 2008.

I'm Proud of those Giants

Wow what a game. The Giants actually looked like a playoff team today. Eli lived up to his last name. But in the end, the Patriots completed their tear on the NFL. I have to give credit where credit is due. Congratulations New England.

Feeling Better

Somewhat of a false alarm I guess. I'm leaving here tomorrow at like 6:30 am for Ann Arbor. My dad has some kind of meeting in Detroit so he's dropping me off on the way. I've had fun here the last week so I'm gonna miss everybody.

I still can't post pictures but I forgot to comment on my cousin's reaction to receiving my bike for Christmas. Let's just say he was overwhelmed with his emotions. And still no word on wheels for me.

Bad News

I've had a slight case of the chills today beginning this morning. I thought nothing of it. Well now I'm thinking of it. My head and back are a tad toasty. Please tell me I'm not getting sick. Maybe I can convince my parents to let me stay in Michigan while they go back to New York. Hey...a boy can dream can't he?

So whatcha get?

Leave a post with what Santa brought you. I'm having a problem posting my pictures again.

It pays to be 5 years old

This is from last night. I'm gonna laugh at this for weeks. This is my cousin Mikey's reaction to a remote control truck my family got him. Watch how fast the rest of the wrapping paper gets "removed" from the box. LOL! Sorry about the shaking, I don't film or take pictures very well.

Merry Christmas!

Surprising my cousin

Most of the presents are under the tree. However there's one that obviously can't fit...my bike. I was reunited with it last night. My uncle and I took a ride to a storage place where he's kept it hidden from Ryan (my cousin). I so badly wanted to go out for a ride, but it was night and I wasn't dressed appropriately. This is cheesy but I had to do it...I put a big bow on it for him. I took a picture of it but unfortunately can't post pictures to my blog without the necessary hardware.

I'm beginning to think Ryan forgot my promise to him. Probably because I was living in Ann Arbor when I said it to him. I'm pretty sure he has no idea what he's getting from me. He probably figures that we wouldn't spend the money to have it shipped. Well we did. And I can't wait to see the look on his face when I roll that into his living room. I will of course video the whole event and post it when I get home.

Losing streak snapped / Giants clinch

Despite a scary 2nd quarter, the Lions managed to walk away with a victory. Thank you for saving my sanity.

As I'm writing this the Giants are completing their game and clinched a playoff spot. So it was a good day for football.

Gearing up for football

The fam is gathering by the tube for some afternoon football. If the Lions don't beat the 4-10 Chiefs I am disowning them. It's bad enough this team has lost 6 straight. Meanwhile I will be keeping an eye on the Bills-Giants game. They have a chance to win 10 games today and maybe clinch a playoff spot.

Aggrevating Flight

So my dad neglects to tell us that we're all sitting apart on the plane until we board. That didn't bother me since I had a deck of cards and my ipod. What did bother me was the man sitting by the aisle snoring the whole flight. With the engine humming and the ipod at full volume I could still hear this guy snoring. What made things worse is that about 30 minutes before we landed I really needed to go to the bathroom. Stupid me neglected to go before we left. That must've been my punishment.

When I stepped off the plane I had this really weird feeling in my stomach. This is the first time I've ever been a visitor in my home state. Man it felt weird, but I'm happy to be back. Cue the violins.

I have internet access

My cousin Ryan is letting me use his computer as long as I mention him in my blog. There I mentioned your name.

We had a very interesting night last night. I'll fill you in after breakfast.

To All My Readers - Merry Christmas

I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I will try to post to my blog for the next 2 weeks, but if for some reason I cannot, I wanted to make sure I extended my holiday wishes to you. I also wanted to thank you for reading my blog and commenting. I promise to be more organized with posting in the upcoming year. I'm off to the airport. Peace!

AIM

Does anybody use AIM? If so, are you having problems with it? AOL claims my account doesn't exist. I need to find a new instant messenger.

Oh by the way...

Just in case you were wondering., I finished packing everything today. And my dad was able to recover the airline confirmation.

Big News

I was on the phone this afternoon with two cycling teams in the area. Kreb Cycle which is on Long Island and Century Road Club which is in New York City. They would like to meet me so when I come back from Michigan I have to meet with them and decide which one I want to join. The more juniors the better. I'm starting to get anxious, I wish it were Spring.

New Header

While cleaning my computer I found the header I made for a school project from last year. So I edited it a little and put it on the blog. Is it too cheesy?

Here's something funny. My father deleted the email with the confirmation number for our airline tickets. Duh! I know somebody that will be on the phone with Delta tomorrow.

Packing Early

I just started packing my luggage for Friday. I'm one of those people that take forever to get ready for a trip, so I am starting early this time around. I never can estimate how much clothing I should bring. I'll be in Michigan for a week and 1/2 so knowing me I'll pack for 5 days. Someone should come out with a Packing for Dummies book.

I am writing this and my mom is yelling at me saying I don't have enough clothes. LOL!

6 Days and Counting...

Three more days of school and then off for two weeks. It is nearly upon us. What is everybody doing for the holiday? Hopefully it's something interesting.

I think I have an addiction to Vitamin Water. I'm noticing that I crave it during 4th period and 8th period. It's funny because I stray away from caffeine so I know its not that. I don't know.

Football Sunday

How about those Miami Dolphins. They finally snapped their 0-for with a 22-16 victory in overtime. I won't even mention the Lions who got mutilated by the Chargers. The Giant game just started and already i'm getting aggrevated. Eli Manning sucks.

Bicycle Shopping

My dad and I went to three different bicycle shops this afternoon. Man my head is spinning. I don't know what he plans to replace my Cannondale with. He ain't volunteering information. Did I just say ain't? I saw some pretty sweet bikes though. Some of the price tags on these babies could scare Donald Trump away.

The guy at one place let me test ride a Cervelo R3 which was like $3,500 and weighed less than my sneakers. It was pretty sweet but definitely out of my league. I also test rode some bikes from Cannondale as well. I am seriously confused.

Sorry, I was bored when I woke up today

What do you want for Christmas?

Here's another question to poll. Just curious to see what's on everyone's wish list.

1/2 A Day

It started snowing today at around 11. By noon, I was on my way home. Nothing better than a surprise announcement from the principal telling us to go home. I promptly ate lunch and took a nap when I got home.

My legs have been sitting idle for too long. Since my bike is now in Michigan, that leaves my fathers bike to throw on the trainer. I have to post a video showing you my fathers bike. If you like to laugh then you'll love seeing this thing. Talk about budget bikes.

Physical Torture

So I finally went to the orthopedist immediately after school today. After staring at the wall for almost an hour, I finally get called into the examination room. In there was this life-sized skeleton that showed all the ligaments and cartilage of the human body...it was actually pretty cool. Anyway, the doctor begins examining my shoulder and has me do these exercises to see what my range of motion is for my right arm. Now keep in mind, I have a high threshold for pain. So he has me hold my arm out parallel with the floor and he begins to push my arm back. OMG I can't tell you how that hurt. I actually screamed (not like a girl if you were wondering). He then pulls out this needle that looks like it was made to inject elephants, and injects some kind of dye in there so he can do an MRI. Sorry if I'm rambling.

Well the prognosis is that I have a partially torn rotator cuff. I bet you all the bicycles in the world that it's from trying to throw a curveball. Because of my age and the fact that I am a growing teenager, surgery is out of the question for now. I now must apply a heating pad daily and take anti-inflammatories for a few weeks. I'm 14...I'm not supposed to be falling apart.

Wish Me Luck

Well tomorrow is the day I see the orthopedist for my barking shoulder. It's been unbearable lately.

Big Update Part II

Sorry for the delay. Well....my suspicions were correct, the Cannondale is being retired. I will miss it, it served me well. So I'm giving it to my 11 year old cousin for Christmas. That leaves one question.....what's next? I have expressed a strong desire to build my own bike from scratch since I intend to race next year. Will I receive components from Santa? Santa if you can hear me....I've been a good boy this year.

Huge Update

There's a void in the garage and it isn't a car. I'll fill you in when I come home later.

What kind of bike do you ride/race?

I'm in the process of updating my blog and thought this would be a good question to poll. Since lots of people have custom bikes composed of different parts by different manufacturers...I decided to poll this question as a post. So leave a comment with your bike's specs.

I'll Be Home for Christmas

This brought a huge smile to my face. I was informed as soon as I got off the bus today that we are flying to Battle Creek to spend Christmas with my aunt and uncle. We are spending a week in Michigan. Yeah baby! Now don't get me wrong, Long Island is not a bad place, but I miss my friends and family. I was told that I can spend a couple of days with my friends in Ann Arbor, so I'm looking forward to that. It'll be nice to hang out with them.

No Update / Embarassment

Well I have nothing new to report in regards to my ongoing investigation. However, I was having a good laugh over some pictures my mother found of me. I found this gem in a stack she had and knew I had to share this.

Now i'm almost certainly asking for trouble by posting this. Yes Jason, before I get a phone call, I am wearing a Mets jacket. I must've been 6 or 7 here and who the heck knows where this was taken. I had a thing for the color blue when I was younger. The ironic thing about this picture is that I look the same now as I did then, albeit a few inches taller. I found some quite embarassing ones of me learning to ride a bike. When I feel like really embarassing myself....I still won't post them.

Did I ruin Christmas?...too sneaky for my own good

I think I might be ruining the surprise aspect of Christmas, but I'm 75% sure I know what I'm getting. I've noticed the last couple of weeks that when I come home from school...my bike has been placed somewhere other than where I left it. Now either my bike has a personality of its own or its been carefully examined by a member of the household(mom or dad). For those of you who know me, know that I love to investigate and uncover things. Well...I might have actually taken it too far this time. Yesterday before I went to school I carefully marked a tire with yellow crayon and placed the tire so that the mark was just above the ground. I know what you're thinking...but what can I say I'm sly. The bike was not moved yesterday but to my astonishment....it was moved today. My sneaky little yellow crayon mark was facing almost up. Now keep in mind that the bike is in a spot in the garage where you wouldn't have to move it to get to something. So somethings up. I'm kinda kicking myself right now for doing these things but part of me wants to dig deeper. Maybe its because I've heard the word Cannondale brought up in discussions on numerous occasions. More details to follow.

Confirmed

Yup....I have a cold. And by the way, I apologize for the cheesy clip art at the top of the page. Once I get a new digital camera I'll be more creative.

Can't Sleep

I'm having a hard time sleeping tonight and I forgot to mention something before. I have to see an orthopedist (I hope I spelled that right). I'm having a hard time lifting my right arm without feeling this intense pain in my shoulder. I feel some resistance from my muscles and it's causing me to do everything with my left arm. We'll see what the doctor says.

Missing home

Well it's the beginning of December here on Long Island and there are still leaves on the trees. I'm definitely not used to this. I'm really starting to miss everything and everyone back in Ann Arbor. Anyway, it's really late and I think I'm getting a cold. Off to bed.