Once up and looking out back I realized that it only rained in the valley and no snow, yet. Honestly I don't mind the snow, well the shoveling part sucks when its not deep enough for my snow blower to chew up and spit out. Namely because of my pissed off lower back from the years of kart racing, motocross racing, snowboarding, skateboarding and pretty much anything else that is now part of the winter or summer X Games. Last year Cicely had to do the shoveling every time it snowed, no not because I am an asshole, but because I was down one arm. I ruptured my left distal bicep tendon and yes its about as much fun as it sounds.
This winter the bigger worry is the fact that I don't own a truck, actually its the first year in over 15 years I have not so I am a little nervous about heavier snow days that we get in the valley with 2 to 4 feet, I think those may have to be "stay at home and drink Baileys & coffee or Hot Butter Rum" days. I guess if it sucks driving my 2012 AWD Kia Sportage Sx Turbo I could always go back to a truck or 4 wheel drive of some sort in a couple years. Driving to work sucks anyway you look at it on those days. Turns a 30 to 40 minute drive into an hour or more.
Why no truck? Well for the next 3 years I wanted to get away from truck ownership to save some money since I'm not going to be pulling a race trailer, boat, jet-skis, motorcycles or anything like that and see how a car works for me. Already this past summer I have missed owning one a few times. For example wanting to go to the landscape companies and haul some rock or having the space to throw stuff in the bed and not worry about it, soar off-road and not give it a second thought, or plow through deep snow with little to no effort.
The Sportage has been awesome so far and is a lot of fun to drive (yes even for a 4 banger). Under the hood sits a turbocharged intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head with direct fuel injection. The official power stats are in the range of: 260 hp @ 6000 rpm and 269 lb-ft torque @ 1850 rpm. Not bad for a 122 cu in, 1998 cc 4 cylinder engine. Gets pretty darn good gas mileage too, averaging around 22 mpg with its pedal to the metal owner, yours truly, at the wheel. More on that once we get a decent amount of snow I guess.
Work and my daily trip to the gym for cardiovascular and strength training will be the biggest highlights for this Monday. That is if I don't count my sketti lunch with sourdough bread on the side! I am looking forward to it big time, and as I type this my stomach grumbles to remind me. Yea I know, I know, sounds like a lot of carbohydrates that will make for a sleepy afternoon! Relax all of you carbohydrate-Nazis and worry about your own lunches, I will be fine! YUM!
In reality a loaded carbohydrate lunch is the least of my worries. With just under 2 weeks before we go on vacation for 14 days its already difficult to focus! Must-maintain-focus a little bit longer, otherwise day-to-day responsibilities and coming back to work will not be any fun after. It's usually painful enough playing "catch-up" after a long weekend much less 2 weeks away.
Oh, speaking of spaghetti, today I learned that McDonald's offered a "McSpaghetti" item on the menu at one time, back in the 80's I think. I have no idea if it still exists in other parts of the world or if it was one of those trial and fail items. I know they have other items available in countries outside the U.S. so maybe it does still exist.
I have to admit that it did not look very appetizing in the old commercial though. When I was in Japan for example, they had shrimp burgers and teriyaki burgers and those seemed to sell pretty good. Makes me think of that horrid McRib that came out, went away, and keeps coming back as a "Limited Time" item, fuckin' gross! A friend of mine was hooked on 'em until he nearly broke a tooth on a rogue bone fragment. Shoot, maybe he did break or chip a tooth. I cant remember to be honest but I know he avoids them like the plague, me too!
Breaking news! The final verdict is in and Lance Armstrong has been stripped of all 7 of his Tour de France titles (1999 - 2005) and has been banned for life from the cycling governing body. My guess is that he will have mega issues with his sponsors and related wanting portions of their millions back, or suing him on top of it since his mistakes inadvertently taint their brands and image. I think its good, hell with doping in professional sports you fakes! If he was that good, as well as the others that were cheating then make it an even playing field and race. It would still be competitive and most of the same riders would still be up front. This could very well make corporate sponsors gun shy with any sport for some time, that's a crappy side affect. Not that I follow it, but cycling is not a very big sport as it is in the U.S. compared to say, Europe so this will hurt it that much more.
Really I don't give a shxt! I mean he was making all of that money based off of cheating and lies and poof all his hard work is gone and he has nothing to show for it but egg on his face. There is a lesson in here kids, no matter the pressure remember "cheaters never win and winners never cheat"! I do feel bad for his kids though, they will have to deal with a lot of crap probably. It too will all pass though and many years from now when the news hits that he has passed we will all perk up and say oh yea right, I remember that guy, wasn't he the one that had all of his accomplishments stripped because he is a cheater? Others will nod in agreement and we will go on with our days. Too bad really, some people need a decent idol to look up to these days.
Want some honesty from another camera angle? If not, you may want to turn the car around now. I sincerely hope this news gets people to stop wearing those fuckin' rubber "I care more than you do because I have a bracelet on, so there!" bracelets as though they are contributing to a "cause" and worse yet think they are making a difference. If you wanna make a difference, put down your TV remote during Monday Night Football and volunteer somewhere! Put your fork and baggy pants in the drawer on Thanksgiving Day and volunteer serving food at a soup kitchen. Go to your local animal shelter and give a hand to the fuzzy kids that humans have so easily set aside when they are no longer cute, cuddly or again, convenient. Oh wait, that would not be as easy as a meaningless Facebook post, a bumper sticker on your car, or putting on a $1 rubber bracelet now would it? Hard work has many rewards, but does require one thing, hard work. I digress, I get on this soapbox all to often when these topics pop-up so I will shelf-it for another day.
Photo: Gloomy weather over the hills heading south on Pyramid Hwy
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