i know, i know, i know; it's been awhile cool your jets. i'll post a lot today to make you happy, kay?
- guess who fell asleep with all the windows open and guess who has the sniffles? this guy. i don't care, i can finally breath in this friggin' city. 90% humidity is gone for a few days and it feels so nice to take a deep breath and not inhale hot, muggy, air. i was actually cold this morning but i'm starting to get fired up for the fall. no, not because of football but because of all the great things that comes with the fall. i think i want to go on a hay ride or perhaps a haunted tour; anyone interested? how about hot cider mixed with spiced rum or j-crew sweaters? do i have your attention? my great aunt used to hate the fall, she'd always say "everythings dying and turning brown." while i see her point there's just something about it. furthermore, i recently realized i have a fireplace at my house; guess who'll be lighting a fire every single day? yup, me.
- there was a 2 day, 2 part series on npr that i've been listening to this week which was very interesting and i think you should check it out. to summarize its a piece about how americans are living where they want to not where they have to. in short, how wealthy americans are taking over areas like flagstaff, az. buying second homes at a premier price which force locals out to smaller towns which, in turn revitalizes these "old route 66 towns." think: yuppy gentrification. i don't think this should surprise anyone but here you have these granola towns, which are the epitome of a simple life, they embrace nature, and harness a slower lifestyle but are changing as folks buy $400,000 second homes to "get away." i'm not mad, i like how it revitalizes smaller towns. i'm reminded of something my sister once said: "bri - out west you have a lot of long-haired, nature loving people BUT they wear Prada sweatshirts and Armani hiking boots."
- i'm getting a little worried, its starting to stay darker in the morning which pushes back my bike time by 15 minutes. i give it another month and it will be dark until 7AM. this could be a problem. i get no respect on the road as it is - you think i will with a red, flashing light on the back of my bike? further, can you see me in winter hat with the little ball on the top, sweatpants, and a ski jacket riding a bike to work? sadly, i can.
- oh, so i go by the pentagon every day and i am shocked that the pentagon memorial isn't done yet. here's a picture:
i don't know, its been 7 years and while i see how cool the memorial is and what it represents - it doesn't look overly complex; you tell me. - fyi this november the state of virginia is using 17 different types of voting machines. not 1 or 2 or even 3.....17! they have 17 different contracts with voting-machine-companies? how/who made this decision? how are we NOT voting online. you're telling me i can pay bills, transfer bank funds, file taxes! buy stocks, apply for loans, but i cant click a button to vote? holy eff! look, lets even take it a step further. i would vote for every single, representative i could if it were online. local school officials, local government, state-wide representatives etc. thats a million dollar idea right there. i might be fired up today, but i blame it on the starbucks. actually, i am going to start a fund for starbucks for me. if you buy me starbucks my blogging percentage is greatly increased:
- i don't get linkedin. my profile is 46% complete and i dont see it being completed any further. plus all of my connections are friends. friends who i've probably done shots with or eaten a jumbo slice of pizza on a sidewalk somewhere; they don't need to see my professional development, right?
- so i received a great piece of information this morning:
"The sour economy is hurting Americans in many ways, but is it hindering the ability of single guys across the nation to get a date? After all, TV and the tabloids are stuffed with images of good-looking women latching onto the rich guy with the expensive car, right? "Unless he’s also cute, smart and funny, a car alone won’t do it for most women," argues Pamela C. Regan, author of 'The Mating Game: A Primer on Love, Sex, and Marriage' and psychology professor at California State University, Los Angeles.
Regan agrees that on the surface, women appear to be going for the gold, but it’s far more complex than that.
She believes that most woman look for the same things in a man: emotional stability, intelligence, honesty, trustworthiness, expressiveness, friendliness, attentiveness and openness.
"Lower down on the list, bust still moderately important, is good looks, she said. "This same pattern has been demonstrated in literally hundreds of studies around the world." And that’s where money, status, and power come into the picture. "A man who has status usually also has ambition, intelligence, and good social skills" she explained. "To become financially and socially successful, you need these other attributes."
Point being, women aren’t drawn to a wealthy guy because of his money alone, they are attracted to the total package of qualities that make up the man. The same things that can make a man successful in the financial and social worlds also help fuel his success with women. The antithesis to this argument, of course, is the "Hugh Heffner" model, where the gorgeous young woman marries the geriatric millionaire.
Regan countered that these scenarios are actually very rare and overplayed in the media. When it does happen it’s usually a clear case of trading. You see the younger partner offering youth and physical appeal and the older partner financial stability, which may be one way up the social ladder for the younger partner.
So fellas, relax. There’s no reason to be insecure about the size of your paycheck.
"Money is down on the list, really," Regan advised. "Mostly, it’s personality, personality, personality." - woo hoo! (this is where the title makes sense, its a simpsons reference: [opens door and water comes in up to his ankles] Hey, they're working! My feet are soaked, but my cuffs are bone dry! Everything's comin' up Milhouse!) apparently this pamela c. regan has never been to dc but i do think this makes sense and that women aren't that shallow; this is great news to me! if a girl can get over the egg yolk on my torn polo, gross nail-less toe, and yellow-lab-hair on my head - then she's okay in my book. :o)
happy wednesday folks, thanks for reading and i'll check back soon.
-bhensal
so the bike "race" was fun. 40 miles, a beautiful day, proceeds go to charity, rolling maryland countryside, everything was right in the world. well, kinda.
you see as i was unloading my bike and getting ready for the start i asked a lady next to the car who was also unloading her bike what the deal was. i wanted to know what time the starting pistol went off, good race times, and anything else i should look out for. she said: "this is your first ride huh?" i said yes and she went on to explain that it really wasn't a "race" in the traditional sense. more of a ride. i was dumbfounded. no starting line, no finish line, no spectators with cowbells lining the streets. just cycling enthusiasts out on a saturday morning going for a ride. defeated, i decided it wasn't a waste seeing as it was for a good cause, i like biking, my buddy came too, and it really was gorgeous out.
some highlights include: not following the barely visible green arrow spray painted on the road (course markers) and getting lost for 30 minutes. all i know is that i was at least 30 feet from interstate 70 which was way off course. after brent and i stopped a guy in his car - he got us back on track. other highlights include taking pictures as i peddled (will post them later in the week pics are up), and passing people at will. something must be wrong with me. seriously. with about 10 miles left brent and i came up on a pack of riders (maybe 15) that were just starting up a HUGE hill. i said to my buddy "i'm going to just go ahead and pass them all, try and keep up." and i did, and it was funny, and it was great, and i gave words of encouragement as i passed each rider. "mornin', gorgeous out huh?" or "where'd these mountains come from?" or "have a great ride" or "at least we get to go downhill once we get to the top." hilarious, there were even two riders who actually got OFF their bike and pushed it up the mountain? how is that more effective?
on the decent i hit 45mph and that was probably the scariest thing i've ever done. every little crack or hump felt like a speed bump and it really took some concentration to keep from wrecking and sliding a hundred yards to a bloody pulp. at the bottom of the hill there was a red light which i was the first to and it allowed the growing pack to catch up. when the light turned green, i clipped my foot in and started up another monstrous mountain. my legs were like goo after the last climb but i couldn't/wouldn't let someone pass me so as we started up - i turned it up a notch and set a pace. after about 5 minutes, i looked back and saw nothing.
folks, keep in mind this is a gentle ride for the brain injury association of maryland; something is wrong with me right? whatever it was my pace and its nice to know that i'm probably stronger than the average cyclist.
after the race there was a pavilion that wasn't stocked with gatorade, powerbars, bagels, bananas, hammer gels etc. nope, there were mothers/grand mothers handing out tomato and mayo sandwiches, homemade cookies, pretzels, and water. it was so good. have you ever been to a county fair and there are people selling like, leather belts, vegetables, maybe some art made out of soda cans? well that's what this was and it was great. it kind of reminded me of home. people selling quilts, beads, wood carvings etc. all the volunteers were so nice and helpful - it really made the race ride well worth it.
hmm...what else, oh - i watched a lot of the olympics. basketball, diving, swimming, and even a little gymnastics but that quickly put me to sleep.
oh, AAR beat up on some teams yesterday in softball. one of our arch-rivals the bayside tigers11-4. they were runners up in the spring and it's nice to know we can hang with the best of the best. the hard part, and continues to be hard - is consistency, we lack it and need to work on it.
that's all i got, peace.
-bhensal
well this weekend should be jam packed. tonight at 8:08pm the Olympics officially begin. for the upcoming weeks i'm sure i'll have a lot to say about them. i think that i may be the only one that cares. i'll watch a little of the opening ceremony tonight but i have to go to bed by at least 10am seeing as i have to be up at 5am and in westminster, md by 7am for my bike race.
should be pretty exciting. the weather is supposed to be great but i bet at 7am its going to be cold! yesterday and today i drove into work so i could give my legs a break, i may even soak in some epsom salt tonight to get 'em right. the cool thing about the race is that it benefits the Brain Injury Association of Maryland in conjunction with the Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital of Maryland. how fitting? all you knuckleheads out there who don't wear a helmet when your biking, rollerblading, etc. wear a helmet!
saturday evening there is a fightcup tournament, a mixture of dodgeball and flipcup - i will probably be in attendance.
sunday our softball team has a double-header - hopefully we can bounce back from our L last week with two big wins.
check out this photo of wyatt entitled "be prepared"
have a good one.
-bhensal
p.s. do not do a google image search on jameson, make sure you do jameson whiskey - trust me.
- head really hurts. d@mn you jameson. it was for a good cause though.
- didn't get to eat my indian food yet. tonight the plan is to swim my butt off and then devour.
- these songs keep playing on baltimores 101.9 and the vocalist sounds like stained/3 doors down etc. - you know, those weird whiny-type alt-rock-grunge-but-not, kinda-hard-but-really-suburban-kids-with-long-hair. well turns out its american idols 3rd or 4th place guy chris daughtry. i say good for him, he's getting some airplay. and got to give some support to my bald/white guy brethren.
- you hear about this one: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The sauce for a spicy Italian sandwich was apparently a must have for one Florida man. The man, Reginald Peterson, called 911 twice after a sandwich shop left off the sauce. Peterson initially called the emergency number Thursday so that officers could have his subs made correctly, according to a police report. The second call was to complain that police officers weren't arriving fast enough. Subway workers told police that Peterson, 42, became belligerent and yelled when they were fixing his order. They locked him out of the store when he left to call police. When officers arrived, they tried to calm Peterson and explain the proper use of 911. Those efforts failed, and he was arrested on a charge of making false 911 calls.
Peterson did not have a listed phone number.
i dont blame him. i mean i wouldn't call the police but when the subway "sandwich artist" puts too much mayonnaise after i said lite on the mayonnaise i want to reach over the glass food protector and throw them out the window - i want to go to hershey park
- do you know what the phoenix foundation is from? hint: it's not an online university
- friday night, 8 o' clock, the olympics - are you ready? i am. does anyone know if you can watch the olympics online?
- lists are cool
- the dj on the radio just said and i quote: "ok here's one that will get you moving this morning, one of my favorites: here's shania and that don't impress me much." - ugh there so many things wrong with that. i can't even comment on it because it would take about 6 hours and a 25 page dissertation.
off to get some tylenol...
-bhensal
i really don't have the energy this morning but i'm afraid of the consequences if i don't write a little something. i'd say i had a life-altering experience friday night. you see it was the first time i ever had indian food. i know! vietnamese, pakistani, japanese, lebanese, cambodian, afghani, but no indian food; what's up with that? well i'm here to tell you, i'm in love. holy smokes it was so good. i think we had 5 separate dishes and each of them were amazing in their own right. i have leftovers and have literally been thinking about them since friday. i think tonight's the night i get to make a plate and devour the rest of it like a barbarian. so good. so g.d. good.
i think i like gwen stafani's music? i'll never buy any of it but it isn't awful.
i'll tell you what i don't like: cake love. sure its hip, kinda trendy but a 12 inch cake costs $120. i once had a red velvet cake from there and it was good but i wouldn't imagine paying over 40 bucks. the cupcakes tasted like someone was mixing the batter, walked away to answer the phone and then a momma rat lactated into the bowl. gross right? well not as gross as putting the cupcake in my mouth. you know what IS good?
alright, i've got to bounce - got a pretty busy week, see you on the flip
-bhensal
did you know that there are approximately 70 million landmines scattered over the geography of Laos, left over from the vietnam war? i was watching anthony bourdain's no reservations last night and in the last 20 years they have found 400,00 of them. that's about 1/2 of 1%. ridiculous. they aren't hi-tech with gps chips in them, they are old school basically like a grenade and their government uses regular old medal detectors to find them, by hand and on foot. this is a country that looks to be the size of florida - i bet the US doesn't send aid for their land minds, just a hunch.
i don't get the new burger king campaign. i mean i get it but i don't see how it is even remotely sensible. it typically shows 2 people eating the new steakhouse burger. a third person walks in and asks "what did you do to deserve that burger" and the first replies "i found a star or saved a kitten from a burning building." the guy asks the other dude eating the burger: "and you?" the guy says "oh i just wanted one" and the original questioner says "you disgust me, or you stink, or you are not worthy" etc. whhhhhhhhhhhhhhha? when am i supposed to laugh? when am i supposed to say, wow that must be a good burger - i'm off to get that. at what point did the advertising or marketing director say - yeah, lets do it! idiots...they'd be better off just showing: man getting hit in groin with football and then show the burger.
i want a fish tank but i don't want to spend money. so i'm asking all you readers to see if you know anyone that has the gear sitting in an attic or garage so i can put it to good use. i want to stick it in my room because i think it would be bomb to fall asleep to tropical fish moving around. plus i'd poll the readers for name ideas. the last fish i had in college, ike, (named after the 5 star general) was a japanese fighting fish and had a pretty good life. sadly old age got to him and he perished. some possible name ideas include: jack bauer, boutros boutros ghali, RDU-90, mo, yoyo ma, etc.
so i have a gumball machine in my room, yeah its a little creepy but not really. it an antique and was my grandfathers and as a little boy i would visit and always ask him for a penny to get out a gumball. well now its in my room and i have it full of jelly bellys and i just need to point out it is a perfect sweet-tooth-gratifier {is gratifier a word? it should be}. i don't need to make cookies, or go to starbucks for a grande mocha, or even get a pastry at the local giant. i get a handful of jelly bellys and good to go. plus i'm willing to bet the calories are pretty low too.
here are my top 5 hated songs:
5. In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
4. Turn the Beat Around - Vicki Sue Robinson
3. Kiss from a Rose - Seal
2. Forever and Always - Shania Twain
1. When a Man Loves a Women - Michael Bolton
they are all really just awful and dont tell me otherwise.
-bhensal
it's a little dreary out today and i still rode my bike into work because of, well, spite. weather channel said possible thunderstorms in the morning and i was excited to bike in so i did; and it rained on me. the best part was going down columbia pike (at about 24mph) and having a shady moving truck come up from behind me, pass me, and it was so close that i could have easily leaned a little left and hit my shoulder against it. totally not cool - ugh - i gave 'em the bird. if you drivers don't respect cyclists, i'll ride right down the middle of the road and you'll have to change lanes to pass me and it's no skin off my back. so....nah :oP
last night after work a buddy and i biked up to bethesda and back via the capital cresent trail and the mount vernon trail. it was about 29 miles and really only took about 2 hours which is roughly an average of 15mph. have a look. i realized that i biked about 40 miles yesterday after all said and done. then i noticed on my bikes odometer that in a year and a half i've put on about 1,300 miles; which is about 72 miles a month.
i came home soaked with sweat and my neighbor who i'd guess is about 75 and recovering from a victory over cancer said "goodness, brian do you ever stop?" i said "sadly i don't and i think i make myself tired." she said "well, you need to get it in as much as possible because you never know what god has in store; i get so tired just moving about the house." i agreed with her and promised to not let up. i thought it was funny because we got to talking and she said she told all her kids and grand kids about me and they all have told her i wasn't her son and to not talk about me as if i am (which i think hurt her feelings). apparently they live in new york and new jersey and i have yet to see them visit so i told her that she can treat me like her son anytime she wants and she does. she asks for help sometimes, she offers me advice, food, and worries about me and my injuries. i think it's great and i really look forward to chatting with her. (almost on a daily basis)
but she's right, you never know what the future holds and you can't spend your time waiting around for something to happen - you've got to get up and go and do the things that make you happy. so do it.
have a great tuesday.
-bhensal
you all know that i am pro animal, pro nature, pro mother nature etc. etc. growing up i was always around animals and when asked if i wanted to hunt when i was of age i had to decline because i couldn't ever see myself harming an animal. i understand why most true sportsmen hunt and i dont have a problem with it - you gotta do what you gotta do...
...but what about these m-effin northern virginia mockingbirds? holy freight i've never been more intimidated by anything in the world, ever.......and i want to hunt them all.
you see, in central pennsylvania the mockingbirds just sit on a clothesline and sing the songs of all the indigenous birds of the area. sure they are a little mouthy and loud but they tend to mind their own business only with the worry of their next song.
these friggin northern viginia mockingbirds dont even mock; well maybe their mocking me, but they dont even sing a bunch of songs. you know what they do? they dive bomb my ass when i'm not paying attention. now, you think i'm probably exaggerating but i'm not. this is how it typically works: i'm walking my dog, minding my own business, then out of my peripheral i see that greyish-brown bomber with the distinct white markings headed right at me. i raise my hands with my dog lease in my hands which, incidentally has a garbage bag tied to it so to me, its makes me look bigger; i think. usually, within about a foot they pull up, and perch on something and wait until they think i'm not paying attention. well, that's when i outsmart them - they think i'm looking straight ahead unsuspecting of another divebomb but no, i see you, i see you coming - so he/she comes with a god-awful squawk and i turn and face it and yell "getouttahere!". can you imagine what the people in the cars think when i'm yelling loudly, waving my arms, and acting like a fool? or how about the runners/bikers that pass me like "what the hell is crazy doing?"
i dont care, i'm reminded of poe's the raven:
but seriously, its not cool. it really does bother me, and god bless wyatt, he is oblvious. he hears expletives coming from me and he thinks he did something wrong. also, the devilbirds divebomb him and he doesnt even realized it, hes too content chewing on grass and sniffing around but these jerk-face-birds come within inches of him and thats not cool."`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! - Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted - On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore - Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!' Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"
the worst part is, i continue to walk forward but i look over my shoulder for at least 200 yards - looking like a madman. they even make eye contact at me and i typically will stare them down and yell: "hisssssssss." look, i know you think i'm crazy and i'm fine with that but wyatt and i have altered our walks to not go where they birds hangout. i mean i'm changing my life around these friggin mockingbirds. i secretley want to carry a pelletgun and shoot these bastards right between the eyes.
well, i'm not angry, i'm going to deal with it. i wont harm them, i'll just need to come to an agreement with them. i wont bother you, you quit dive bombing me and my dog.
-bhensal
sorry kids, i don't have it in me today; have a great weekend!
-bhensal
i love ford excursions or chevy suburbans with save the bay license plates. or a hummer with a protect wildlife license plate. its like a drug dealer with a D.A.R.E. bumper sticker.
some friends and i saw batman last night and after some thought - i still like batman begins a little bit better. i think the reason is the drastic change from the "clooney-batman" to the darker, "bale-batman." plus with batman begins the asian-martial-arts-climb-a-mountain-with-a-purple-flower-and-fight-your-sensei really was awesome.
initially i didn't want to give ledger his props; because i didn't want him to get them for his unfortunate accident as opposed to his acting. but as my friend noted for him to come in and knock the "joker role" out of the park AFTER nicholson did it 10 years prior is pretty amazing. also he was extremely creepy and the makeup was great:
some previews looked interesting:
aight, i gotta go and "make my decision."
-bhensal
