Thank god for forest first aid. I am happily free of poison ivy despite smashing into it with my face. Amazing.

In other news, school is just around the corner and that means that I'm going to be up to my neck in coursework in the next few weeks. While I generally like the stimulation and the more relaxed schedule of class as opposed to work, I'm usually not crazy about the homework. One thing that can be said for the life of the working stiff, is that when you're done with work, you can go home and do something entirely different, no need to stress about upcoming papers and tests. I'll just have to keep the end goal in mind during classes.

I've got my fingers crossed. While mountain biking today at the Belmont Plateau area of Fairmount Park here in Philly, I somehow managed to smash my face into a branch hanging down from a tree above the trail. While this is usually a painful but tolerable part of mountain biking on the tight single track of the park, this particular branch gave me pause. Just after I was thwapped on the right side of my forehead, something about the hairyness and shape of the offending shrub gave me pause. Yes folks, it was indeed a large-ish branch of poison ivy that I had splintered with my noggin. Uttering some choice words, I headed back home at top speed, stopping only long enough to smear some touch-me-not stem juice on my face and spray myself down with water.

We will just have to wait and see if my face turns into a pussing boil or not. I'll post pictures if it's really nasty.

Ok, so today has not been a very productive work day. I will readily admit that this was one wasted. But, I found some interesting racer diaries, specifically this one from Ben Kersten, an Australian who is learning the ropes in the Japanese keirin circuit. While my experience there was quite different, I can empathize with him on sooo many levels. It is one of my few regrets about my time in Japan that I never got to watch a keirin event. Next time for sure.

NEW SPORT ALERT!!! NEW SPORT ALERT!!!

I had never heard of this particular sport, but I think I've just discovered a new favorite!! With an introductory paragraph like this, there is no way that I'm not going to engage in some Mangold Hurling this fall:

Thank you for your interest in ballistic root vegetables. This is the official site of the Mangold Hurling Association, whose goals are to make the traditional Somerset sport of Mangold Hurling known to a wider public and to encourage others to join this happy band of Hurlers.

What is Mangold Hurling? Put simply, Mangold Hurling is the sport of throwing – or more accurately pitching – the mangold-wurzel. It requires skill, strength and cunning. Mangold Hurling is usually performed during October each year. The mangold-wurzel (or mangel-wurzel) is a vegetable of the beet family, grown mainly as a fodder crop.

I found myself lacking the quarter necessary to procure a cup of the lovely "Flavia" coffee from the machine that sits like some kind of hyper-caffeinated robot on the table in the lunch room yesterday. Not to be put off the chase of a warm, sugary beverage I turned the proverbial lemons into lemonade and created a drink all my own. Noticing a container of Coffee Mate Non-Fat French Vanilla Creamer sitting on top of the Flavia, I poured a hefty amount into my mug, squirted in some hot water and created the ALL CREAMER HOT DRINK! It was pretty good, much like a white chocolate chocolate milk. While the drink contained a tragic number of chemically altered lipids and semi-solids along with an equally disturbing number of artificial ingredients, at least I had the necessary sugar rush to carry on for the next 45 minutes. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.