J Dwight

Backdoor Adventures; Finding Fun right around the Bend.

2009-06-15T05:24:00.014-11:00

The City of Oaks and its folks have fun in their blood and with summer just around the corner everyone is itching to have some backdoor adventures. Me and my boys saw this as a perfect opportunity for us to lend a helping hand to all the local backdoor adventurers which is why we established a haven for all things fun, The Raleigh Boys Club.

RBC minus Robert.

As an ambassador for the RBC it is my responsibility to spread the gospel of fun, and I've been hard at work. Jordan Lake camping expedition was one of the first backdoor adventures of the summer. Myself and two of RBC's biggest fans decided to explore our own backyard by camping and kayaking out at Jordan Lake.

Cour-bear, Dance party initiator and RBC staple.

Rah-Rah doing what she does best, sleeping.

RBC ambassador Jeffron

RBC on the left

Jordan Lake base camp.

The next ambassador mission was to spread the word about The Raleigh Boys Club Alley Cat on Sunday July 12th, check the RBC blog for updates. Myself and ambassador Duggan infiltrated Bike First Friday to spread the word and the fun.

Chicks with tricks

No Rules Tandem Ride

Micah, comfort cruising

The RBC then decided that we needed to add some edge to our crew. I said I had an in with some really rad dudes who love to shred the gnar. When the opportunity came to go with these bros down to Wilmington for the day I hopped on it. We spent the day playing in the clear waters of the Atlantic and on the way home stopped by the Skate Barn so they could get a slice of gnar pie before the ride home.

Rich recouping after a shred session

Layne killin it

Layne adding some shredded gnar to his party taco.

This is just the tip of the summer funberg and I'm pumped about reaching around the bend and grabbing hold of some solid backdoor adventures. Don't worry I'll take plenty of pictures and give you all the juicy details as things come up.

Live Free, Ride hard

Ridin the Grizz and other Yellowstone happenings

2009-05-05T08:37:00.009-11:00

Yellowstone don't play by the rules. Snow in May, Buffalo roaming the streets, Grizzly rodeo, outdoor natural spas and Coca-Cola sponsored geysers.

Hot Spring's lizard leaking to the river

Underwater hot springs caverns look awesome

Mom and Pops peepin the Yellowstone steez

Always the scientists, we each have to check and make sure that the water is actually hot, you never know.

I met Buffy when we almost ran over him thanks to a "moron on my tail" (See video below)

I could tell that Buffy was upset about almost getting run over so I tried to console him by taking my shirt off. It worked.

Me and Buff Buff on our first date.

My Parents were so happy for us!

Mom thinks she sees something in the distance

Pops checks it out with his trusty 'nocks.

Can you believe we spotted the elusive winged buff buff

Discovery Channel's next documentary title: Epic Earth

Ol' Faithful

Mammoth Hot Springs

Within minutes Mammoth was overrun with winged Buff Buff

Checkin out the Yellowstone souvenir/apparel/film store hoping to find a Yellowstone Apparel Deep V made from 100% Freerange Shadegrown Organic Seasonally Shed Bison Fur.

I thought something was fishy when they had a schedule for when the "natural Geyser" Old Faithful erupted. Turns out it isn't hot water that its shooting 50 feet in the air, its COKE! Even mother nature outsources occasionally.

Grizzly Country

This Grizzly tried to hide out in the tall grass but he knew what he had comin

Always Always Maintain eye contact with the Grizz, if you don't he won't run towards you allowing you to take part in one of the most sacried and rarely photographed Yellowstone Traditions...

Grizzly Rodeo!!!!!!! I wrangled this bear up something good.

One night in the desert, almost.

2009-05-04T20:22:00.003-11:00

Here are some of the highlights of my journey in the desert.

Being solicited for sex by a married man in an Oldsmobile.

Getting horrifically lost in an ATV park

Dragging El Dorado up and down countless trails only to retrace my steps once they became dead ends

Narrowly escaping being trampled to death by El Dorado as it careened down the hillside, repeatedly.

My epic mood swings, joy to rage in one second flat

Abandoning El Dorado at midnight in the middle of the Mohave

Jogging in the dark along the dirt roads deathgripping my multi tool knife in my hand and more then once stopping dead in my tracks ready to attack a wooden fence post thinking it to be a person.

Jumping army man style into the tumble weeds, desert thorns and yucca plants that lined the dirt roads as a 4Runner with a spotlight drove by scanning the roadsides.

Laying face first in the sand hiding in the shrubs from what I though was the 4Runner coming after me again, it turned out to be a train. I stayed there until it was gone anyways, just in case it was an elaborate trick.

All of this was wonderfully miserable at the time but it has given plenty of hilarious story fodder for days to come.

Well that didn't work.

2009-04-29T06:04:00.002-11:00

The line between adventure and misadventure is a fine one. Maybe as fine as delusion and reality. As it turns out riding an old road bike and towing 75lbs of crap through the sandy dirt roads of the mountains of the Mohave Desert might not have been the best plan. Who knew?

Initially, I felt cowering in a dark room, not talking to anyone, and eventually just pretending the whole thing never. Then I said to myself "What are you going to do go and hide under the covers and piss and moan about how much of a loser you are and ignore the fact that you quite and failed because of a few minor setbacks, like getting lost and being solicited for sex by married men?"

I answered myself with a resounding "Yes."

And so I did. And it was a pathetic a scene as you have ever scene.

Anyways, after very careful rationalization I have come to understand that in fact I didn't fail at all! That in fact, I may have exceeded my initial goals by one hundred or maybe even a thousand fold!

Sure the nay sayers will say "Jeffrey, my ignorant friend, you not only failed, you failed in such a way and with such immensity that your failure constitutes the use of the term, epic fail."

to which I would respond

"No, my poor misguided friend, your thought processes and understandings of the world are to be pitied and indeed I do pity them. You see friend, you live in a world of boundaries and limitations, of rules and regulations, of goals and expectations, where as I, I am not thwarted by such things in my quest for life. I can not be bound and shackled by such things. I can not be imprisoned by expectations, my own or others. What you fail to see is that you are an inmate to the prison of accountability. I, through a dark, stinking, rotting, mud filled tunnel called rationalization, have escaped and now roam free outside those stifling walls. I am man, I am free, I have escaped!"

Self Delusion is a wonderful thing.

I'll be posting about my wonderfully funny mis-adventure in the future, giving all the juicy and embarrassing details that are never funny at the time but become deliciously hilarious in retrospect.

Get it gurl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Home Run!

2009-04-16T21:48:00.011-11:00

It was 7 weeks ago that I boarded the first of several flights that have taken me to friends new and old all over the country. I've had an insiders view of so many different lives and lifestyle in the past few weeks its unbelievable. Everyone has been exceedingly generous and I'm grateful to all those who have let me crash on their couch, sleep in a cat hair lined bed, be eaten by a love seat cushion in the middle of the night, or let me pretend to hit on your really sweet friend in an attempt to make her feel uncomfortable, which promptly backfired when I became uncomfortable instantaneously.

I am grateful to have the kind of friends that will let me stay on their couch for 12days and feed me pizza every other night and the kind that choose to live in the dirtiest city in the country but are surrounded by some of the most fun loving people I've ever met, albeit the smelliest.

I've also been exposed to other cultures. In Canada, for example, they like to act and look just like Americans but feel the need to have a separate currency and they have enough good humour to actually have a Customs office. They are so silly!

So Thanks to everyone who has helped me to reach this point and don't hesitate to call in the favor that I owe all of you.

I'm going old school for the ride and not bringing the comp so this will be the last post for a while. I have extra memory cards for my camera and I will be recording the days events in my Thoughts and Feelings Journal so there will be plenty of stories and photos and laughter and Internet friendship once I reach MT.

Kick the tires! Lite the Fires! Lets do this thingggggggg!!!!!!!!11111oneoneone

No Rules Bike Ride

2009-04-13T16:53:00.005-11:00

View 2009 Western Explorations Map in a larger map

A departure date is set. Friday April 17th I begin my No Rules Ride from California to Montana. The route is by no means direct and the there is no estimated end date. With the help of Google Maps I've estimated the length of the ride will be in the neighborhood of 1500 to 2000 miles.

UPDATE: The bicycle has been dubbed: El Dorado.

El Dorado and I went for a great test ride the other day to Rancho Cucamonga. The weather was fair and the ride was smooth so the next night I decided to test out some more of my gear.

The MSR Fling Tent stood up to the unforgiving terrain of my Grandparents backyard.

The tent is designed as a two person tent and its pretty spacious so I'll have plenty of room to throw all my junk in if my keen outdoorsman skills sense an oncoming gail.

As an added bonus with this stainless steel pot, the lid can double as a mirror allowing facial hair alterations as needed.

This bright orange dome is going to be home sweet home for the next few months and I'd like both of you who read this to know that you are all more then welcome to crash with me any time but remember the words of Gob Bluth "Theres only one sleeping bag so we're gonna have to double up. Pigs in a blanket!"

California Preparations

2009-04-09T15:01:00.005-11:00

First things first, this song has been stuck in my head ever since i arrived here a week ago yesterday. Avid readers will remember this very song from a post back in September entitled "Dropped Zone" and my 8 day survey of Southern California has confirmed this songs hypothesis.

Moving on, preparations for the bicyle expedition are moving along nicely. Thus far I have acquired all major gear and equipment needs.

My budget is as tight as my lycra jumper so I am retrofitting an older road bike and using kids trailer to haul all my equipment.

The bike was a rusted heap of junk when I bought it a few days ago and after what seems like hundreds upon hundreds of man hours and dollars the bike is now a well oiled heap of junk.

The excitement and anticipation are building and things are shaping up for this to be my greatest adventure yet!!!!

Canada Dry, Drink it In.

2009-04-03T19:21:00.015-11:00

Vancouver BC, home to Squad Hercules Team Self Respect's Co-Founder Graham Flanagan Bennett, is the first International Base Camp of the journey thus far.

My dear friend and overwhelmingly generous host, mentioned above, opened his house and his heart as wide as he opens his mouth for a 3rd serving of nacho cheese covered french fries from the State Fair and I, much like the Nachos, will be returning, in some form or another, in the near future.

A total of 12 days were spent at Base Camp Vancouver during such times no posts were made public about the current happenings due to the overwhelming amount of adventuring, bonding, eating, laughing, and practical joking.

I was very fascinated with the Graduate School system I observed during my stay in British Colombia. According to my notes, it would appear that in fact only 1 out of every 22 Graduate Students residing in Vancouver are actually from the area. Many of the students are from as far away as Scotland and Israel and I can only conclude that they reside in Canada out of ingnorance and confusion thinking Vancouver is in fact part of the United States. For a brief moment I questioned if it i should inform them of this error but much like when a young child reaches up to touch a vibrantly red stove top, it is best not to interfer and allow them to learn at thier own pace.

With a very regimented itenirary intended to maximize recreation, minimize relaxation, and abolish productivity I, along with Graham's Gang of Rogue Graduate Students, often worked well into the night doing anything from

Anthropological Studies on Canadian Mini Bowling Research

Forestry Field Research in Stanley Park

Outdoor Exploration of Mt. Cypress,

all done to meet the high expectations of the itenerary.

The Vancouver days yielded to very succesful expeditions. The first, exploring and recording the fascinating and beautiful Stanley Park. The second, ascending Mt. Cypress via snowshoe.

Stanley Park- From almost any where in Downtown Vancouver you can hop on the #19 bus and escape all the sites and sounds that come along with a big city and have a taste of what Vancouver must have been like a 100 years ago. The constant precipitation allows growth to flourish, so much so that trees literally grow out of other trees.

Tree on Tree growth

My own little hobbit hole

Mushroom Shelf

Everything is green

Giant Red Ciders

Mean Creek

Mt. Cypress- We summited Mt. Cypress on top of 10-20ft of snow and some of the freshest powder that I have ever seen. We arrived early and had the trail to ourselves for most of the morning. The size of the trees and the amount of snow was really mind blowing. All morning was very gray and foggy adding to the peaceful mystery that surrounded us.

Graham and Luke leading into the great forest

Im pretty sure its this way

Tree cluster

Early morning fog

Luke and me at the summit

I was introduced to many a fine lad and lass and land while I toured around Vancouver and everyones generousity is much appreciated.

For a different perspective of my time in Canada check this guy out.

Travel Update

2009-03-30T15:18:00.006-11:00

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Hello all! I am enjoying my last day in beautiful Vancouver BC this evening before I catch a 5:15am bus down to Seattle airport to hop on a plane to Riverside CA.

I have been in Vancouver with my good buddy Graham and his awesome new friends since 3/19 and its been a blast ever since. I have plenty of wonderful pictures and posts to come.

I'll be in California for the next few weeks visiting with family and preparing for my first bicycle expedition.

I'll be at this address for the next couple of weeks so lets get old school and become pen pals.

Enter Creative Name Here
7158 Foxcroft Street
Riverside CA 92506

Post Script, I recently discovered how to make personalized interactive maps through Google so check 'em out when you see 'em.

This post is brought to you by the Spirit Animal: Animated Blue Whale Eyeball!

West Coast Explorations: The Anderson Island Expeditions, With Promise of Seals. Part 3 of 3

2009-03-30T06:00:00.000-11:00

West Coast Explorations:
The Anderson Island Expedition, Day 2
Anderson Island Kayak Northern Expedition: With Promise of Seals

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The second and final day on the beautiful island of Anderson began the evening prior with a promise of seals. While recapping the days land and sea expeditions with MLee and Anderson Island Native Jeff i was informed of an island just to the north of base camp that is rumored to be a lounge for all sorts of sea creatures such as seals and sea lions. Sensing my excitement the native said he would leave the skirt, life jacket amd paddle on his porch so that i may explore and discover for myself if the rumor had any merit.

The morning of the Anderson Island Kayak Northern Expedition was typical Pacific North West conditions with a solid gray sky and light drizzle. The Puget Sound was as still as yesterday and for the second day in a row i was boarding my vessel in the blanketing silence of morning on Anderson Island in MLee's wool hiking socks, sandals, and skin tight exercise pants.

Eagle Island is a short 25 minute paddle north of base camp. 100 meters away from the island i slowed my paddling and focused my gaze upon the shore searching for any signs of animal activity. Ever so quietly i sunk my paddle into the cool waters do the Pacific and scanned the shore. As if appearing from beneath the sands themselves i find a pod of seals, 20 or 30 strong, laying on the shores enjoying the cool rain of this march morning.

Maybe it was the small splashing of my paddle on the water or maybe it was the gigantic yellow kayak and bright orange coat that grabbed the attention of one of the seals but immediately he waddled into the water and the pod followed behind him. Swimming to a safe distance away the pod stopped and showed as much interest in me as i did them.

I stopped paddling and just floated for a few minutes and as we became more comfortable with each other the more curious and brave of the pod began easing their way in for closer inspection. I began to paddle around the island to see if i could spot some sea lions. As i cut through the water the seals flattered me by following at a distant of about 10 meters behind my kayak. The group consisted of about 30 curious eyeballs each intent on watching my every move. Occasionally they would send a recon seal to inspect me at close range but always from the rear and always keeping a distance of about 5ft from the tail of the kayak.

Once the recon units recognized they were spotted each would immediately do a 180 barrel roll and disappear into the depths only to resurface again with the rest of the pod.

I managed to capture a few of these guys on video. At the end of the video I focus on a gray blob on the beach that through the haze of excitement and rain thought was a sleeping sea lion. Upon closer inspection i discovered it to be a rock.

The Northern Expedition yielded quite a discovery of sea creatures and confirmed the rumor of which the native spoke.

This post brought to you by the Spirit Animal: Indian Wolf Horse

West Coast Explorations: The Anderson Island Expeditions Part 2 of 3

2009-03-26T20:59:00.015-11:00

West Coast Explorations:
The Anderson Island Expedition, Day 1 Part 2
Andrew Anderson Marine Park

After a brief shower to facilitate easier movement amongst the limbs I began the journey towards Andrew Anderson Marine Park. AAMP is located in the southern part of the island in the forests surrounding Oro bay.

The Trail is a short 1.5 miles to the coast and is filled with greenery year round. The park's wildlife is of an elusive nature and seem to have a preternatural understanding of camera lens avoidance techniques.

One such creature that was not in afraid to be seen in the light of day is the Ant. This hill was no less then the circumference of a small tree and was teeming with activity.

The path lead to a very rocky, very deserted coastline.

At first glance the shore appear quite lifeless but after picking up a shell for its oddly geometric shape i was startled to find a pod of crabs hiding from predators or the bright afternoon sun or hunting or doing what it is that crabs do, for i have no knowledge of the creature other then the larger ones populate many buffet lines across the county.

Next time Part 3: Anderson Island by sea Northern Expedition

This Post has been brought to you by the elusive Spirit Animal: Vampire Bat Dog

West Coast Explorations: The Anderson Island Expeditions Part 1 of 3

2009-03-21T08:45:00.016-11:00

West Coast Explorations:
The Anderson Island Expedition, Day 1 Part 1

Upon my arrival in Seattle I was picked up by a trusted companion by the name of Margaret Lee Wilkins whose house was the base camp for the Anderson Island Expeditions.

Anderson Island's 7.8 sq miles houses 900 people and is accessible only by a 20 minute ferry ride from Steilacoom. Residing in the Puget Sound just south of Tacoma. The islanders are of a kindly nature. Upon my arrival I was greeted by one of the island natives by the name of Jeff who immediately suggested that I borrow his kayak the following morning. I agreed. To show his appreciation for me accepting his offer he gave us a entire pot of Corned Beef and Cabbage allowing us to celebrate St. Patrick's day proper.

I did feel a tinge of guilt because i did in fact accept the kayaking offer under false pretenses. I have never in fact used a kayak but my excitement about the opportunity to lead my own solo expedition of the uncharted waters of the Puget Sound was so over overwhelmingly appealing that when he asked if i was familiar with the craft and its use i immediately and with no sign of hesitation informed him that i was well versed in the kayak travel and frankly i didn't appreciate his tone.

Sleep came quickly and morning arrived quite early. After a 30 second preparation course about how to use a kayak i was on my way to the water.

Getting into the kayak went surprisingly smooth and heeding the advice of my last minute kayaking coach i began to figure out the direction of the current. Quickly i remembered i have no idea how to do that and i decided to head south.

The waters were calm and clear and the sun was shining.

I took my lunch, roast beef and mustard sandwich, in the remote Cole Point.

I discovered a marker from a previous expedition lead by the National Geodetic Surveyors.

After documenting some treasures of the sea I headed back to base camp to recoup before exploring the island by land.

Next time Part 2: Anderson Island Land Expedition

This post has been brought to you by the Spirit Animal: White Stallion+Dolphin Friendship

Philadelphia Steezin

2009-03-16T18:30:00.018-11:00

How did I let 9 days go by without informing my loyal readers, mom AND dad, about my travels!?!!?? To be fair its not my fault, its Philly's fault. This place has been so much damn fun I haven't had time to sit down and play on the internets.

For starters I stayed a wonderful little place known in my mind as Never-Never Land Ranch North East Edition. This place is home to some wonderful peeps all of whom welcomed me in with open arms made me feel right at home.

That pretty young lady in the saucy red top was my host for the past week, Her name is Derrick Wesley McNew. She really knows how to show a guy a good time, we attended danced the night away not once, but twice!! A 50s style dance shin dig and then a Bella and Sebastien throw down.
She also introduced me to a very fun game known as bike polo. As you can surely imagine the game bike polo is quite similar to regular polo except you play it on a bike, hence the name. It is quite the gentleman's game and not to brag or anything but yours truly did score within 15seconds of his first game ever. However some with a more cynical nature would challenge the score on the because it was not technically scored with the proper end of the mallet but to those people I will say this, Get a life, freak.
Derrick lives with some wonderful house mates named Matt and Amy. I was not aware of the city wide ordinance in Philadelphia that there be at least two gingers per household but Matt, being the law abiding citizen that he is, and Derrick, being unable to survive in the prison system due to her delicate nature, haved joined red headed forces and tackle that ordinance head first.
Matt makes cool things out of other things and also builds sweet whips.
D-rock's backyard is a wonderful place with two fire pits, a treehouse, outhouse, two story bike garage and a garden.

Philly rolls with Utah rocks.

D-Rock introduced a new word, a universal word, a word that can be used to describe anything and also be anything and everything all at once. The natives here use it frequently and once the word is primed in your brain you will hear it on every street corner, bar, and train across the entire city. The word is Jawn and to give you a more complete understanding of the use of the word I will you it in a sentence reffering to the picture on the right;
Yo man that jawn be made outta skraight steel.

In this example the word jawn has replaced the much more descriptive word airplane in order to inform the listen that the orator is both a local and very hip, something known world wide as a "two-fer"(although the spelling may change depending on the region).

The city is covered with mosaics like these and the guy who makes them...

lives here which is a maze like structure that is built out of anything and everything including bike rims and glass bottles.

Never-Never Land Ranch North East Edition bonfire party.

D-rock exploring the abandoned elevated train tracks.

My Philadelphia experience has been stuffed to the rafters with dancing, biking, laughing, friends, cats, and coffee and I would like to thanks Derrick, Matt, Amy, Jessie, and Holly for showing me such a great time, you guys utah rock.

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And now the 3rd leg of my journey begins, I am westward bound!!!! Seattle watch your tail 'cause griggsy's comin' ta get ya!!

It is now 2:20am est and i have to get up at 4:15am est to catch a bus then a train then a plane then another plane to be in Seattle by 11:34 local time, let's kick the tires and light the fires Im'ma goin' WESTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This post's spirit animal is Casey Affleck's bleached Mohawk with shoulder rabbit.

Get it New York

2009-03-08T14:09:00.014-11:00

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I started the week by staying with a crazy polish chick named Asia and her fiance Eric. Asia, like myself, likes to have a good time and dishes out the laughter like its nobodies business. Asia taught me one very important rule of traveling which she relied to me with her heavy polish accent; Everyone know Borat!

Asia and I doing our best Borat impersonation.

After I left Asia's another friend visiting NYC left me crash with them. It was in a delightfully safe little neighborhood know as Bed Sty who has born and bred such pop culture icons as this guy and this lady.

The apartment was a very nice studio guarded by two large cats whose concern over any residents health was very evident by the thick layer of fur they both placed on every single article of clothing that every made its way inside the apartment. Their generous nature wouldn't even allow them to accept even so much as a single pet without donating a significant amount of fur in what is surely their own way of say Hey, its cold out there. Bundle up.

I managed to go to a number of museums here including the MOMA and the Natural Science Museum. Here are some of the highlights.

MOMA

Add it to the life goal list: jump out of one of these

MOMA

A performance artist named Tehching Hsieh imprisoned himself in this cell for one year and did not communicate with one including the guy who brought him food and removed his waste every day. His daily self portriats, which he often did during endurance pieces like this one, have inspired the spirit animal hosting that I will be doing at the end of each post from hence forth.

Natural History

That is one very extinct dude.

Natural History

The next time I am 5 feet away from a 90ft long mammal weighing over 400,000lbs I plan on it being real.

Natural History

An Antarctic Explorer, what a pimp.

Natural History

Jim Gaffigan says it all.

Natural History

The dreaded Hugasaurus, he would smother his prey with kindness.

I also found some super cute, kind of unknown new york, places.

This one is for Bry Bry

Tomorrow I will be taking a bus to Philadelphia home of cheese steaks and really rude sports fans.

This post was sponsored by the spirit animal: Danzig's Wolf Blood tattoo

Minor points

2009-03-05T10:32:00.010-11:00

A Raleigh goodbye

Books stores are where all the cool cats hang out. This was so cute I almost threw up

Name what bridge this was taken from and you win a brand new track bike, fitted hat, plaid button down shirt and some new Dunks.

Let the great experiment begin!!!!!

2009-03-03T03:15:00.004-11:00

Today is day one of ISPVSTW09, I am excited about the new faces and places that I'm going to see and I will miss those that are known to me.

Kick the tires! Lite them fires! Lets do this thing!!!!!!

Week Three: Joe's Place

2009-02-24T13:49:00.011-11:00

For week three I am going to be sharing friendship and good times and laughter and friendship with Joe and Perry, lets take a closer look at my most recent roomies.

Joe: I met Joe a few years ago through this guy while organzing the greatest bike race Raleigh has ever seen, of which no recorded evidence exists. Through our mutual enjoyment of cycling our friendship has inflated to over 120 l-psi Laughs Per Square Inch.

Joe shares his abode with his mutual life partner and bandmate Perry. Both Joe and Perry are musician s and create nothing remotely close to this.

Perry: I met Perry earlier this year when he, Joe and myself went on a very fun ride to Chapel Hill. Perry has a knowledge of music and musicians that would put TRSEORAR to shame. Perry is also is a contributing author to the not yet released book "Radiohead and Philosophy" that will be released this spring.

I like to have a good time and the way these guys have a good time is this and this and I thank them for sharing their joy with me.

Also, here are some personality defining quotes:

The scenario:
Joe at midnight upon my discovery of the source of a very annoying broken lap top part - "That's great but its not stopping me from going to bed"

The scenario:
Perry after I shared a story about me telling a girl I thought she was pretty, on facebook because I was to nervous to tell her in person- "Congrats on growing a pair"

Fire and Brimstone

2009-02-18T06:17:00.008-11:00

In a day when movies like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button we get it you're Brad Pitt, you're sexy, special effects are neat get nominated for best Picture that picture wouldn't make the cut for my refrigerator! Bah-Zing!!! and movies like Vantage Point and 10,000 BC even exist it is something to cherish when a movie is not only enjoyable but actually touches you that's what she said.

Revolutionary Road is the best movie of the year it's only been two month i know thank you! This movie is absolutely terrifying and really really heavy. I want everyone to go see this movie but get ready to have your whole world rocked and brought down a notch or two. Despite the intense subject matter and the depressing hopelessness of the story there is a twisted bit of inspiration that you can see if you look at it just right. Inspiration may be to positive of a word, its more of a sense of confidence that you I know that you I never want to allow yourself myself to get sucked into that bottomless pit of despair that is explored in this movie.

Much like the News and Observer gave youth everywhere a step by step instructional guide on how and where to buy a legal hallucinogenic drug on the front page of yesterday's paper all the news that fit to smoke this movie is also a step by step guide of what not to do with you're life. I'm not suggesting that you take the N&O's advice either and start smoking essentially what amounts to legal LSD Dont forget to record it and post it on YouTube! but if I was forced between living in the reality portrayed in Revolutionary Road and living in a permanent nightmare brought on by an overdose of Salvia Divinorum, I'd pick the latter no questions asked.

Although I don't support fear based mind/life control techniques like those used by this group and this group and this group I suggest that you go see this flick, scare some sence into yourself and pretend you were just a participant of the Scared Straight program, the cool prison one not the ultraconservative religous right anti-gay one.

Week Two: Dream Team Extended version

2009-02-16T14:32:00.012-11:00

My hosts for warm up week two of my International Slumber Party Vacation Sabbatical Walkabout Tour 2009, ISPVSTW09, like to have a good time, and I like to have a good time and you know what, we had a good time!!!

These fellows live in a wonderful old house that Bryan and Rob rescued from the cat and flea infestation that the previous tenants left behind. If there is one infestation that you don't want its a Flea. Hey look at me I'm a flea, I'm a pea, I can rhyme and play naked, so f****ing what. Anyways, with blood, sweat, tears and beers see everyone can do it Flea put your pants back on and get back to your hole they got the place back in living condition and now have a wonderful abode.

To kick the week off these lovers decided to throw an all boys, no shirts, dance party on their roof, which was just splendid. It was vaguely reminiscent of this, in a totally good way. And things just kept going up from there thats what she said.

This Guy- Josh- Likes to have a good beer and watch his hockey. The man knows his movies and according to his video collection is not yet ready to hop on the DVD bandwagon, VHS like a mofo. Stickin' to your guns, i like it.

This Guy-Bryan- Dream Team Co-Founder and Motivational Facial Hair Life Coach. He may look like a bear but he's as sly as a fox with the ladies that is, much like his dream dog and the new official Dream Team mascot.

This Guy- Rob- That stance says it all, I'm here, I'm Rob, You're welcome. If he's not twerking hard then he's playing harder, with his camera that is. I have yet to met his partner Jamie! Jamie! Jamie! but with I'm sure she has a million dollar smile.

This Guy-Bryan- He'll rock your socks with his Northern Ireland football skills then melt your heart with his sweet sweet music inspired by such greats as Arrested Development and Kelly Clarkson only to pound you to a pulp with his supple upper body strength. He also does NOT watch Survivor, does not. Let's squash that rumor right here and now he does not secretly watch Survivor on his computer.

Time for Best Thing Worst Thing:

Worst Thing: Trying to watch the movie Frailty. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS MOVIE! Instead go sit in a corner and count backwards from 583 outloud, it will be much more entertaining.

Best Thing: Dying my socks green and purple: trying to go to shoe sales: AND being invited to stay for an additional week! Kick the tires, light the fires lets Party! Party! Party!

Week One, Ranch Hands in Raleigh

2009-02-09T15:47:00.003-11:00

"The Ranch" in Raleigh NC houses some of the manliest men you will ever meet. To pay tribute to these fine men, I am organizing a boy band to be call "Everything but the thumb". I will be holding open auditions for the following band positions:

Adam- The Charmer
Chas- The Bad Boy
Ryan- The Wise Sage
Cameron- The Lady's Man
Walker- The Viking King

The CD release party will be held at a barn near you. Thanks again boys for letting me be a temporary Ranch Hand.

Kick the tires, Light the fires, Lets do this thing!

2009-02-04T07:40:00.006-11:00

I've moved out of my house, into my car, and next onto your couch! I'm homeless! Lets have a good time! I recently got rid of most of my things but i did manage to hang onto my camera that takes pictures of things in the future. Here is one of me and my buds Living the dream as we catch up on current events. Lets do this!!!!

Critmas Time

2008-12-29T11:50:00.004-11:00

Season's greetings all. I'd like for both of you to enjoy some of the gifts of the season. First, a gift from myself and one of my life partners in friendship.

Second, A gift from the city. Some little prankster from the street sign department at City Hall decided to do a public service for us all this Critmas season and give us the gift of juxtaposition. Isn't that funny? It's a DO NOT ENTER sign right next to the Welcome sign! How rediculous! Its like "Hey come on in and enjoy a breakfast burrito" and then the sign is all like "DO NOT ENTER" and then its like "Hey anybody want a Mcflurry?" and then the sign is all like "DO NOT ENTER". Oh thats rich indeed. Its good to laugh again.

Chill Out

2008-12-19T03:39:00.004-11:00

This site has some truly epic pictures from Jon Bowermaster's Arctic Expeditions. Spend some time and check them out and get inspired.

The Dark Knight

2008-12-18T20:47:00.007-11:00

My #1 movie of the year

And my latest creation.

Check out this special edition limited release poster Warner Brothers released just moments after they discovered the latest Vinylsmiths creation.

Da Goal Update

2008-12-12T22:58:00.006-11:00

One Step Closer.

Holdin' Paper

2008-12-09T07:55:00.024-11:00

For both of you who read this blog I thought I might plug my newest entrepreneurial endeavor. All this month at Design Box's 7th annual Brand Fandango I will be unveiling/selling my 186% recycled vinyl wallets. Drop by sometime and peep the steez. Also if you're interested in getting something custom made just drop me a message in my holler box, vinylsmiths@gmail.com. Below you can get a small glimpse of what these fun loving wallets are all about.

While mapping uncharted wilderness in Switzerland one of my wallets, Fat Daddy, discovered this flock of wild fenced in sheep and began teasing them with its amazing levitation abilities.

Sheep love levitation.

Here another one of my wallets, String Bean, somehow invaded a thought bubble of mine! These guys are so much fun!

Look out for these tricksters all month at Design Box.

Update!!!!

I found some Family portraits of all the gang that are going to be at the DB this month. Check it out.

Every piece is Dick Tracy approved.

Slow Night

2008-11-18T20:07:00.004-11:00

Raleigh Cops are no different then anybody else at 10:00pm on a Tuesday night, bored. I was to so I grabbed my climbing gear and headed to a parking deck to do a little rappelling and climbing. It was a whopping 15-20 foot rappel from the walkway down to the next level. After the two second drop I wanted to try and ascend the rope with a technique I read about a few weeks ago. I tried it, thought I could probably go all the way up to the top and did! Yeah awesome Fun!

About 3 minutes later a cop pulls up as I'm packing my stuff. He was a young guy, very nice and asks what I'm doing and blah blah blah. I explain I'm sponsored by Mountain Dew and have to get Xtreme at least twice a week or I'll lose my sponsorship. He realized pretty quick I was no threat. As he took my drivers license to his car and did whatever cops do when they take your drivers license the other cop asked if he could search my bag. Not having anything to hide I gave him the bag and wouldn't you know it the first thing he finds is my secret Herion stach. Just kidding, it was crack.

While they were running my ID and searching my bag FIVE other cop cars arrive! I felt like the bell of the ball! 6 cop cars for little old me?? You shouldn't have Raleigh PD! You really know how to make a boy blush.

Anyway they let me go no problem and just suggested that I find another place to play. No real excitement but just goes to show you how slow this town can be sometimes. I'm glad I gave those coppers something to laugh about for a while.

I feel ya Bagins.

2008-11-02T13:30:00.013-11:00

They say to strike while the iron is hot and so I shall. The journey was a success! I survived, Lara survived and many funs where to be had. This was my very first international experience and I have to say it was a good one. I'm no idealist, I'm not going to fill this post with the poop from a bull's bottom and say that traveling was the most wonderful thing I have ever done and blah blah blah, that poop is for the homeless. Traveling makes you tired, grumpy, stinky, ittitated, horney, poor, and a bunch of other things too but you endure all that so you can get the handful of experiences that you set out for and a bucket load of experiences that you never expected, but that is what makes it so much fun.

I could bore you to tears with a million stories about the past two weeks but instead I will give you some photos and if you want to know more about something I'll be glad to bore you to death in person the next time we see each other. (ISPS (In Script Post Scipt)), I'll be uploading ALL of my photos to Facebook in case you didn't quench your thirst for lurking here)

The open air Rail Carts were the best

A market in Pisa

The stick figures all over Europe are always running

The Swiss park their bikes under water

Lauterbrunnen, a beautiful valley and Base Jumping Mecca

Switzerland, you will be mine again.

The alps make her happy.

The Germans sells sausage off their crotches.

An approaching Storm, we tried to outrun it on the scooter.

We made it half way to Siena before we got rained on and had to set up camp under a church awning.

During the only sleepless night I had during the whole trip, when I freaked out and thought Lara was a ghost touching me(seriously), I watched a show on the BBC. While this vain attempt to keep away the ghosts that wanted to molest me in my sleep I watched a show about one of the Monty Python guys going on a trip where he circumnavigated the globe. Upon his return to England he made a good point that I think all travelers can relate to. After experiencing all these amazing things he wanted to share his story with somebody, anybody but nobody seemed to be to interested.

I feel the same way. It's completely understandable though, people have lives of their own and have other things to think about like bills and work and blah blah blah and I guess that is the beautiful part about traveling. It gives you a little break from all that "reality". It doesn't make it any easier for me to be back here in Raleigh, in a windowless office, writing this blog instead of working, and get excited about the election or anything after having seen and done what I did for the past two weeks.

I realize that may have sounded pessimistic and not one to end on a low note I offer you this alternative ending.

I think that for me the highs and lows are directly proportional to each other. I like my highs high and thanks to Newton and his 3rd "Law of (e)Motion" my lows are low.

Newton, however, did not know of the "The Universal Law of Jeffrey" which states- "A Jeffrey in motion will remain in motion so fuck off." Newton thought he could pull a fast one on me but what "Sir" Issac Newton didn't know was how little I care for Laws or Newtons or anything else he discovered. Except for his treats.

On the Road

2008-10-17T05:00:00.002-11:00

Ok Friends. Its go time. I'm departing for my great European Adventure. I shall return with stories from abroad.

Pickle Drip Beach Trip

2008-09-09T15:11:00.015-11:00

Since "Hurricane" Hannah turned out to be nothing but a little summer rain me and my boys hit the open road for a little day at the beach.

Along for the ride were:
Rip Tip: The Driver with such a lead foot his toenail fell off. (I'll talk about that later)

Pickle Drip: The Sex appeal

Nip Slip: The girl

Bryan: Who asked that he not be photographed in his entirety for fear that the ladies would "jump my bones to hard". For his protection I have masked part of his identity in this composite photo.

We managed to meet at Pickle Drip's house at 7:40am even after we all had such a wild time at Raleigh Wide Open. First things first we go to fuel up, our stomach not the whip! Rip Tip decides he is going to gas us all out on the drive up there so he takes up to the Golden Shower Arches of McDonald's and ingests something ungodly foul. Everybody made the wonderful mistake of eating something gross, except for Nip Slip, hippy.

Once we get on the road the Fun is never ending! The songs, the laughter, the gas all made for a wonderful drive to the coast. It felt good to laugh. Upon arrival at the beach and parking the car we all seemed to notice a wonderfully fit bird getting her exercise on. Bryan decided that he should keep his shirt on for the time being so Rip Tip and I wouldn't get jealous when the fit bird started pouring then licking melting ice cream off of his supple, hairless chest. This was the first time i ever met him but i could tell already that he was a nice guy.

Being the native we let Nip Slip tell us where to park and how to get around assuming she would have the "locals only" information since she did grow up in that very same town. Apparently the "locals" like to park 4 or 5 miles away from the beach and then walk in the sweltering heat dieing of thirst and loss of blood to the cranium because of all the fit birds in the area.

After what seemed like two or three hours of relentless walking we finally made it to the sand! The sun was out, the surf was big, and Rip Tip finally got to show us all his disgustingly dead toenail! What more could you ask for? We all decided it was best to get our base tan started early this year for SB2K9 Cancun and lathered ourselves with tanning oil. Some of the group decided to lay out and others decided to get extreme.

Get stayed out in the sun way to long and everyone got burned. Oh well, when in Rome! The drive back began with a trip to the local burrito hole. The ride home was delightful, sharing embarrassing stories and talking about tunes. Also, I was told about a certain friend of mine who never told me he diarrhea'd off of his friends pourch! Oh it feels good to laugh again!

I made it!

2008-09-03T11:28:00.012-11:00

I got over to Italy a little sooner then I thought, its been awesome! Check out some of these sweet pics from the trip.

This is one of Spago with the Leaning Toure da Pissa(it's Italian). Look how funny that looks, its like she is actually holding the tower up! Holy Smokes. I bet she works out!

Here we are in front of Gladiator Stadium. Back in history they didnt always have football so they used to play army with each other and that is why this place looks the way it does now, all the artillary fire.

I had no idea there were "Feistas De Los Streetas", roughly translated into -Good Times are Fun for you and me with dancing is Yes!- in Italy! We just came out of a 'Bucks (You gotta go! Home of exxpresso!) and low and behold a total party was going down. I was all like YES i would like to dance with you David!

Of Course, Spago wonders off right in the middle of NKOTB's hot new jam. I don't exactly know if she wondered off or I lost her while trying to catch a whiff of my Favorite Actors' Brother's arm pit. Either way when i finally get my pants back on she is gone!

Next thing I know we are on complete opposite ends of this major intersection. How ridiculous!

Well that about wraps up my trip, it was a fun 18hrs but its good to be back in Raleigh, or as they say in Italian, its goood 2 b bac n Rawlee. Great trip, great memories, great odors, good stuff.

Dropped Zone!

2008-09-01T14:36:00.009-11:00

Big weekend! First and foremost, something very near and dear to my heart, to my soul, to my entire existence is gone! And no Spago I'm not talking about you. My Home DZ is shut down for good! Carolina Sky Sports is no more! Suck mode squad. I guess you could say the bottom DROPPED out of the Drop Zone! Get it?

I abandoned them and went to a different DZ to celebrate my 100th jump! Whoa! I wanted to do something memorable. I decided on a Mr. Bill. One person(me) holds onto another person who deploys his maon right out of the door then i climb up him and jump off into freedom! Sounds Good. Me and my partner in crime Harry rehearse it a bunch off times untill we have the exit down solid. Skip ahead to 13,ooft and we are exiting the plane. Harry pulls i feel it start to inflate, see a cluster fuck of lines on one side and then we go into a hard spin. At this point in time I am very happy to have my parachute safetly packed in my rig. I bail! Duh! The thing is spinning out of control of course im going to bail! Anywho, I pull high, harry pulls his reserve and we fly down.

Some of his lines got caught on his foot and took his shoe off in the whole mess. Overall, i'd say it was a success. Also, we found the canopy just across the street from the DZ at the top of a tree. Being the nice guy that i am and also feeling somewhat guilty for having caused this i climbed up the tree to get it down. In perfect condition! You're Welcome!

Also a "friend" of mine came out of the closet AND got 6th place in an International Alley Cat this weekend. Well it wasn't international but it wasn't in this country i dont think, is vancouver in texas or alaska and is alaska in canada or the us of a? i dont know. "Congrats" Graham on the "win"(italics, quotes, and parentheses follow up, beat that!) What you cant see from the photo is the grip is actually a ween-bean(as they are called in SF, where the photo was taken) which explains the S.E.G.(shit eating grin) on his boy loving mouth.

Also, my "girlfriend" left for Italy today to study Comestology or Radiology or Political Science, I dont know which, she is always yapping on about something and its hard to focus. So little lady this one goes out to you! Keep on Keepin on!

Trifecta Internationalia!

Air Hump

2008-07-24T11:23:00.004-11:00

You can't see but I'm completely aroused.

Do work son!

2008-07-22T05:24:00.008-11:00

Finally I am done with college! That shit is for the birds. Now my time is my own, I no longer have to do anything. I could sit with my thumb up my ass all day long and nobody could say anything about it!I could quit my jobs throw on my ATS(All Terrain Sandals) and head for the woods never to be seen again.

Luckily, I favor showering and hate the scent of patchouli oil so instead of doing some idealistic Into the Wild bullpoop I've decided to work. But I'm not just working to work, that shit is what? Thats right for the birds. I am working to skydive. Why? Simple, that shit is the bomb, No questions about it. There is an undeniable awesomeness about flying in a plane with a thirty pound trash bag on your back standing on the edge, looking down 13k feet to the ground and then deciding to jump out. You need to know what that feels like. You need to understand the joy that you feel when your chute opens and everything is fine. It is unbelievably rewarding.

It's for that feeling, that joy, that I trade my time during the week to my employers. I trade my time because I know that the next time I am under that big trash bag I will be so fucking happy nothing else matters. Recognize. Recognize how powerful that feeling is. Recognize that it is so overwhelmingly amazing that you will begin to revolve your life around those moments and those feelings that you get during that short amount of time. Seriously.

That went deep. To get us out of that hole I just dug watch this video. I made it for my parents last weekend. Feel the joy. Yes, I sound ridiculous and yes I look like an idiot but listen to the joy.

Irony is my favorite mistress.

2007-02-20T13:56:00.000-11:00

Traditionally i have always hated peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Always have. There has been one exception to this rule and that is when swimming. I do enjoy a PB&J after a nice dip in the pool or swim in the ocean during a summer afternoon. The reason for this is unknown to me. The point is that for all intents and purposes i dispise PB&J. Untill about three weeks ago when for purely economic reasons i made a PB&J on my favorite wheat bread, Roman Brand Bread. It was that sandwhich that changed my outlook on this classic food staple. Not only was it good but i also realized the economic advantages of eating PB&J, its cheap, fast, easy, and portable. I decided that the PB&J would now be a part of my weekly routine, packing it for lunch so that i can save some dough by bringing my own lunch to campus. This increase in PB&J consumption obviously led to a decrease in my supply of PB&J. Once completely out i decide to go to my local neighborhood Food Lion and get some more stock. I go to the Peanut Butter aisle of the first time in my life and gaze upon the grand wall of the brown paste like heavenly food. Smooth, Chunky, Light and dozens of other options that i had no idea even existed. Out of the countless brands and varieties that were availible i decided a jar of Peter Pan Light.
Now i dont know how current you are on foodborne illnesses but the very same week that i buy my first jar of peanut butter EVER there is a recall of the EXACT brand that i had just purchased. Why? "Product may contain Salmonella" What are the odds of that? I love it. I should have trusted my instincts and stayed away from the PB&J.
Does the Universe really think that it can take me down so easily? Clearly it has underestimated my resilience, and its not that i have not given it a bit of an edge. Come on Universe, Peanut Butter? is that the bet you can do? I refuse to go down via brown paste. Score: Universe 0- Jeffrey Dwight Smith 2.

Not nearly as fun as I remembered it.

2006-08-20T15:46:00.000-11:00

Did you ever have a favorite movie when you where a kid and then you watched it years later as an adult and realised that it was not nearly as cool as you remembered it? I had something similar to that happen to me last weekend. When i was a kid i was quite the angry little man and pretty muched looked for trouble wherever i could find it. I especially loved to tick off authority figures for no reason. Basically doing random petty acts simply to try and get somebodies attention to prove to them that I was a badass. Lame, yes of course but I didn't know any better. I especially loved to mess with the cops whenever they tried to get me and my friends in trouble for riding our bikes. We must have looked like such little brats thinking we were tough talking back to cops whenever they told us to stop what we were doing. Never the less we thought it was fun and cool. That was then. I have changed quite a bit since then, i have absolutely no interest in trouble for trouble's sake anymore. But for some reason the other night i decided to try and be a billy bad ass and attepmted to run away from the cops. It didnt go exactly as planned, of course there was no plan. I lost what i percieved to be a semi friendly game amoungst old rivals. Apparently they didnt view it the same way. I got railed. Hard. Nevermind the details but after a few elbows to the head, handcuffs, multiple charges, jail time, and a high bail I realised that this was not nearly as much fun as I remembered it to be back in the day.
Its just like when I watched the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (not #2 which still rocks) a few months ago and was disappointed because it was not nearly as good as it was when I was a kid. The moral of this little story is this, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kicked ass when you where 10 or 12 but now that you are 20 years old the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can beat the shit out of you for trying to out run them and then Master Splinter will charge you with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and drinking underage. Bummer dude.

The Fever

2006-08-09T07:30:00.001-11:00

I absolutly must go jumping within the next few days or else i am going to explode. When i went out the last time on the 18th of July i was hoping to get 2 jumps in and satisfy the craving. Unfortunately i was only able to get one jump in which was fun, as always, but it didnt quite quinch the thirst for freefall. That was over three weeks ago now and i am planning on going this friday. Hopefully i will be able to do at least 2 jumps maybe even 3 if im lucky. I have been busting my ass the past few weeks between summer school and the two jobs but i know that as soon as i get geared up and load the plane that it will be all gravy baby. It's interesting that something that lasts for such a short period of time can consume your mind so completely. I love the idea that in a few years i will be in the position to travel the world and jump from airplanes and buildings and bridges and whatever else i want because i am working hard right now to obtain the skills, knowledge, and experience that i will need to do survive such beautiful experiences. And that's fucking inspirational BABY!!!!!!!!

Hot new crib

2006-07-31T17:52:00.000-11:00

I finally moved into the new house. I enjoy the color scheme that i have going on in my room and bathroom, very HG-TV as my father put it. I think this place is going to be a dank little hideout. Close enough to ride the man machine to school yet also far enough away to have a little bit of a yard. Of course the place doesnt come without its challenges. For one it is hot as balls upstairs even with a brand new a.c. unit. Although it has cooled down some. I believe that come fall this house is going to come into its prime and will be the most baller shit ever son!

New flick

2006-07-11T14:26:00.000-11:00

I recieved a new DVD today via Fedex entitled "The ground is the limit". Its a flick about the lives of two base jumpers and some of thier interesting adventures. The flick wasn't exactly what i expected. I thought that it would be mostly action shots but as it turns out the film really tried to portray the deep down love and respect that each of them hold for the sport. It really got me pumped up and excited about skydiving and the idea of one day base jumping but considering niether of those were a possibility this afternoon i decided to hop on the old hog (thats the man machine pictured below, 1969 schwinn) and take it out for a spin.

I figure if i can't skydive i might as well keep my mind occupied with something else so that i don't get to stir crazy. Overall it was a very entertaining and inspiring flick and i'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in base jumping or skydiving or just likes to listen to cool stories. Word.

An unusual adventure.

2006-07-05T15:02:00.000-11:00

I've been reading a ton of adventure books recently mainly due to the fact that i am bored out of my mind for a majority of the time and i need to at least read about someone else doing something exciting so that i don't spiral into and uncontrollable midlife crisis at the ripe age of 20. Since skydiving is pretty much my only hobby that really truly gets the blood pumping i had to think outside of the box and come up with some other way to get the heart level elevated. The night before my exam for some reason the idea popped into my head that i should ride my bike back to Goldsboro the next day considering i was going home anyway to spend a few days mooching off the rents before 2nd summer session started. I immediately began packing my free army duffle bag, the military is willing to give out tons of free stuff if you pretend like you are interested in joining the bag goes well with my Marine sunglasses, with three smaller double wrapped grocery bags full of clothes and other essentials that i would need for the next few days. To water proof the duffle bag i streched two regular sized white plastic trash bags around the top and bottom of the bag. Who needs fancy gear when you have free army shit and trash bags. Also i used white t-shirts around the straps that would become the shoulder straps of my ghetto made backpack. In addition to this masterpiece i also hade a smaller duffle bag attached to the back of this with an old belt. All in all i had rigged together a fairly waterproof rucksac that probably weighed a solid 25 pounds. I hit the road at 11:00 a.m. after taking my spanish final. I knew that i didnt want to ride on I40 at all so i opted to take the safer yet longer route of 70 east all the way home. I hit up tryon road and after about 2 minutes of riding i knew that my seat was about 1/2 inch to high but it was to late to turn back now and i didnt have the tools to adjust it anyway. I hit 70 about 10 minutes later and didn't get off untill i hit home. Not that i didnt get off my bike, i made 3 pit stops totaling about 45 minutes the first in Clayton, the second on the side of the highway somewhere near Smithfield and the last and longest being at the Food Lion in Princton where i had to hydrate and eat a banana. It was delicous. It took just over five hours to ride the over sixty miles to my abode. The majority of that time was spent on the second 30 miles or so. The first 30 miles flew by rather quick with the adrenaline pumping from tractor trailors flying by me at 70 mph in the pouring rain as i howl like a madman for no other reason then because i can. Luckily i didnt have any mechanical problems or any close calls or any verbal abuse which i expected to encounter quite a bit.
Oh and what mosterous steed was this journy taken on you may ask. A 1969 Scwhin road bike, 12 speed. If you think this bike was fast when it was new, you would be wrong and if you think that it is anywhere near the realm of fast now you would be wrong again. Over all it was wonderful and enjoyable, the only downside being that i lost the feeling in my pinky and whatever finger is next to that on my left hand as a result of the lack of grip tape on the handle bars. Balls right brother!

Stuff from the past few weeks or so

2006-07-05T14:15:00.000-11:00

I went back to Goldsboro a few weeks ago for the little bro's high school graduation ceremony and it was a blast. Not much has changed since I was there 4 years ago, the administration is different but they still reflect the same closed minded ideals that the prior administration held. It brings me endless joy to push people's buttons when they are on some sort of retarded power trip and simply make rules for no reason other then to show people that they have the ability to do so. Some of the ground rules for this high school graduation where that nobody was allowed to clap for their child until the end of the entire ceremony or else they would be shot or something to that effect. Needless to say some people still applauded and congratulated when their child's name was called, as they should do if they so choose. Anyways after a particularly excited family yelled for their child the principal of the school interrupted the ceremony to remind everyone that this was "a solemn occasion" and that we should treat it as such. The crowd fell silent, it was at that moment that I felt it was my responsibility to provide the crowd with some well needed comic relief. I let out the loudest coyote howl that I could OOOOOOOWWWW!!!!
I don't know if everybody appreciated my comidic timing as much as i did but i did see quite a few people laughing and the little bro said later that he knew that it was me who let out the gut wrenching howl. I felt that we were victorious in battle considering after the prinicipals speech more people then before cheered for thier children. It was glorious.

Switching it up a bit.

2006-07-04T18:09:00.000-11:00

I've decided to drop both myspace and facebook. I was looking at this guy Ben Sauder's website and began to realize how interesting blogs can be and so i've decided to give one a try. Word.