Time to do a little updating about our recent vacation to California. Jennifer had a conference, so I flew out as well and we had a SPLENDID time. We saw the sights of San Francisco and then met up with Pete Dillon in Berkely. I hope that people have half as good a feeling when they leave my house as we did upon leaving Pete's. That guy just rocks!

The picture above is from our overnight hike into Yosemite. The peak in the background is called Cloud's Rest and is a pretty scenic slab o' granite, it sits right north of Half Dome. I'll post more pictures on the blog in a bit, but the address of the web album will allow anyone who's interested to check out my pictures en masse.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aaronritz/YOSemite

Yes, I actually graduated my program, and have the pictures to prove it. I actually just got a card from my grandmother today, "Congratulations on your Master's Degree" it said. I didn't even know that they made Congratulations on your Master's Degree cards. In it she wrote, "Here's $10, I guess that's enough for 2 gallons of gas. Maybe you'd better stay put. You finally have done something that you can be really proud of yourself for. I know I am."

Finally? Well, I guess that Grandma must have high expectations of us, since the bachelor's degree apparently wasn't enough.

Pictures located here: http://picasaweb.google.com/aaronritz/Graduation

99 degrees in the air, 120 on the pavement. It was a hot day for the Philadelphia Classic. This is the longest running and longest course of any professional bicycle race in the US. 200 riders started and only about 80 finished after 156 miles. Needless to say, I was stoked just to be there. The video shows the second to last of the small finishing circuits, with Svein Tuft, former Canadian Time Trial champion making one final bid for victory as he solos off the front. Badismo.

 

Among my other projects, is the one that you see here. These parts, along with a little epoxy and some natural fibers (ie bamboo) are going to help me complete a life long dream! I'm in the process of creating a bamboo bicycle for jennifer. It's going to be SUPER SWEET! I'll post pics of the progress as it comes.

Just goes to show that there is a benefit to being unemployed.

Holy shit it's been a long time since I posted. Fear not, all is well. Items to update include:

Graduation Status: Yes, Graduated
Job Status: No, no job (yet)
Relaxation Status: Relaxed, very relaxed
Vacation Quotient: Full, but anxious for more
Home Repair Status: Work in Progress, but actually working
Side project Status: At least 3 totally awesome side projects


I'll attempt to post pictures and musings later today.