www.monroecountyyia.com

Not gonna lie, my job is pretty fun.  I get to work with the youth here in Bloomington and plan fun activities.  It keeps me pretty humble too.  There have been many times when things haven't happened how I thought they would, but it all turned out to be perfect.  I always seem to learn a ton just interacting with these students.  It's a big inspiration for me.  

Anyway, in an effort to let more people know about Youth in Action, I recently created a website, monroecountyyia.com .  By no means am I claiming to be any kind of "web guru".  For anyone who hasn't ever used iWeb or iPhoto, it makes designing a web site EXTREMELY easy.

Click on the photo below to check it out.  

Hiatus...

Geeesh!  Considering it's been more than 10 days since my last entry I'd say I'm way over due for an update.  Recently I've been spending a lot of my free time trying to learn more about Dreamweaver and make a decent website.  I am basically teaching myself and rely on my trusty text, Dreamweaver 8 for Dummies.  So far my site may not look like much but I'm trying!

Oh yeah, check this out.  Supposedly my little brother has got some nice hook-ups and took the Von Eaglehausen Banner up top and made a few t-shirts.  What a stud!  I can't wait to get my hands on my own.  

That's it for right now.  I promise to be better at updating.  I've got a good feeling there is some good stuff coming down the pike.  You know, blogworthy stuff.

Farmer's Market

Every Saturday morning during the summer there is a Farmer's Market that takes place no more than 3 blocks away from our apartment.  Despite it being so close, Andrea and I had never checked it out... until today.  Our main objective was to find some Indiana sweet corn, but to our dismay we came to learn that it is not available yet.  We were still able to make some great purchases including some new potatoes from an Amish family, goat cheese from a German lady, and some gorgeous red tomatoes for which we had to wait in line.  

Things that happened on Thursday, June 14th.

Thursday is always "Take in the Recycling Day." You can barely see it, but in the shopping cart is the blue Rubbermaid container where we put all the recyclables. Actually the brand is called Homez. I think the brand marketing people were thinking "What is a new, cutting edge way to spell homes?" and this is what they came up with. If I were their boss, I'd fire them. No question. THAT'S the best they could do?! Pathetic. Besides, Andrea and I alway pronounce it Homeys, just to get a kick out of it.Needless to say I was extremely pleased to see that gas prices have dropped recently in Bloomington. $2.99 a gallon! Sa-weet! Buy low, sell high, right? Too bad it still cost me 39 bucks to fill'er up. Andrea had her PhD. qualifying exams today. The mere thought just sends shivers down my spine. Imagine about eight straight hours of hand-cramping typed responses on essays regarding your field of study. Geeeww.... However, she had a performance that rivaled Nadia in Montreal, at the '76 Olympics. To celebrate, she cooked this amazing meal with clam shell pasta and a chicken, asparagus, mushroom sauce. Accompanied with a bottle of Rosenblum Zinfandel, the word spectacular doesn't even begin to describe arrangement. For the past week or so I've been trying to solve this Rubik's Cube. Once I acheived the halfway point, my frustration almost drove me to stand on our front porch and pitch the wretched toy into a nearby parking lot. Looking for advice and tips, I turned to the Internet. So, I can't say I solved it completely on my own, but I just look at it as using my resourcefulness. Geeesh, was I happy to get that thing solved.

Surface...

Have you guys seen this?

Don't get me wrong. I'm a big fan of Apple, especially in regards to their design and usability. However, I have got to hand it to Microsoft for coming up with this concept. If you have an extra $10 Gs in your pocket then feel free to consider purchasing one. Until then it sounds like they'll soon be found in Harrah's Casinos, Sheraton hotels, and T-Mobile stores.

Vector love...

For some reason I really enjoy kicking around with Adobe Illustrator. Below are some illustrations I have finished recently. I have been trying to do some monochromatic stuff where I only use three shades of a certain color, in this case black, white, and gray.

These first two are of a underground hip-hop group called Mars Ill. Don't get me wrong here. I don't like much hip-hop at all, ESPECIALLY stuff commonly found on MTV or your local pop radio station. However, once I heard these guys, their lyrics and sound, I was hooked. Check them out here if you have time.

Manchild

DJ Dust

Barry Bonds is on his way to break Hank Aaron's career home run record of 755.
Breaking records is cool, but only when you do it without steroids... like the way Hank Aaron did.
Steroids make me sick. I can only hope that with the breaking of Aaron's record, the media will place more of a spotlight on him and how he did it right.

Hank Aaron

1.37

That's it! A mere 1.37 miles is all that separates our apartment from my office! That's all. Mapquest even provided an estimated travel time of only 4 minutes, and I completely agree. Hit every green light at each intersection and I might just experience a sub-4 minute commute home! A 4 minute commute! Are you kidding me?!

Despite the occasional appearance of inclement Mid-western weather, I have absolutely no excuse not be bike to work everyday. Including the startling fact illustrated above, below are a number of other factors that have completely validated my choice to pick the velo over the v6.

- Andrea and I recently watched Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. Although many have ignorantly translated the term "global warming" to mean political strategery, it is undeniable the Earth's climate is getting warmer, especially where it shouldn't. Carbon dioxide levels are on a constant increase. Worst of all, it is a result of our own doing and not a natural occurrence.1 Riding my bike is arguably one of the most logical ways to reduce the size of my emission footprint.

- As of today, June 5, the status quo of the price of unleaded gasoline is currently 3.39 a gallon. And right now, that is considered cheap! Needless to say, I can't wait to read this at the end of summer just to compare what prices will be then. I know it sounds weird, but I'm still trying to get over the mode of thinking that my bicycle is this mode of transportation that doesn't require ANY GAS! Call me a product of this consumerist society, but the concept just blows my mind.

- Riding a bike is healthy. I teach a Fitness and Wellness course at a nearby community college and am constantly praising positive lifestyle choices and healthy alternatives. I'd look pretty silly if I didn't practice what I preach.

- The back door to one of the best bike shops here in town is literally right next to our front door. Now, in an effort to conserve the anonymity of our place of residence I won't name any names. But let's just say that if I ever need to have my bike maintenanced, this place could not be any closer.

- This next one is pretty great. If any of the above reason's were not enough for me to ride my bike more often, then this one definitely takes it. My brother designs bikes for a well respected bike company and got me this amazing ride. Check the picture below.

- Lastly, riding a bike is just fun. I love it. I love the sense of freedom to go wherever I want and to explore new parts of the city. The only problem is that I need to get a bike for my wife. It just doesn't feel right when I'm out and about, and she is not there with me. It is one of those things where you are experiencing something so wonderful (a concert, a sunset, a sporting event, etc.) and you want whoever you love to be there with you.

Anyway, here is the beautiful stallion.

Now go ride a bike.

1 According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this era of global warming "is unlikely to be entirely natural in origin" and "the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence of the global climate."

Volunteering

Undeniably, one of the best parts of my job is working with some of the teens here in Monroe County. We meet on a regular basis and plan drug-free activities called Teen Nights for other youth in the community as well as plan community service projects. In honor of National Trails Day this past Saturday we volunteered at the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve and it reminded me how much I enjoy doing that sort of thing.

Myself and four other high school students spent the morning clearing and doing maintenence on a drainage ditch next to the parking lot of the preserve. When we were finished we walked some of the trails and pruned trees and plants along the way to make it more presentable and easier to pass through. The students did a great job and really worked off each other's enthusiasm.

Not since my days as a Boy Scout had I been in a similar situation. That's what we did when we were in scouts; community service projects, Eagle Scout projects, church auctions. At the the time I only had a glimpse of the value in what we were doing for the community. Volunteering with these teens at Griffy brought back memories of those times and how good it felt to be doing something for someone else.

Interesting...

Upon visiting my cousin's blogs, both of which I find to be extremely entertaining and integral parts of my day, I realized I'm actually already signed up to create my own blog. I just never got around to doing it. I figured "what the heck." So here I am and here it is.

We'll see how this goes. I really, REALLY, dislike unfinishing things. In my opinion completion is one of the best feelings in the world. I know journals, just like many other things, are never really completed. However, I would like to put forth my best effort and write as much as my free time permits.

Writing is a good thing, isn't it? I mean, just like any type of exercise, the more you do it, the better you get. I would love to get better at writing. Perhaps that gives me one more reason to write more often.