Saturday, August 28, 2004

Good first weekend

The past few days have been awesome. After we got everything moved in we started looking for things to get the place looking a little spiffier. We chose the typical college drinking decorum. Upon walking in the room, you are greeted by a huge picture of Mischa Barton surrounded by Budweiser Christmas lights. It has also been decided that, since we will all be living together for a year, we need a sort of "bonding" area. The living room is designed quite well for it, but there was something missing. We looked all over the place for a cheap and good looking coffee table, but we couldn't find one. However, while browsing in Target we came upon a cheap and well-suited card table. The card table, combined with the TV and futon, allows us to all gather to eat and watch Pats and Colts games this fall.

Whatever the case, the place is finally starting to look like someone lives in it. On the first night after everyone moved in we met a bunch of females and by the end of the night we probably had around 20 girls in and out of our room. We had a "wicked" time last night too. My kick ass roommate, Mark, is from New Hampshire and so we constantly hear words and phrases like "that's chill," "wicked cool," "that's sick," and "that's nasty." All of which mean the same thing. Anyway, just givin' a shout out to ya Mark... keep on kickin' ass. Tonight I'm heading over to PJ's place in Louisville with Lydia, Erin, and 3 other girls. That should be pretty cool because I haven't seen PJ in awhile. Tomorrow I have the Athletic Banquet and a few other things to attend. Guess that's all for now~ Rich

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Tunnel State Workout

Today our team headed over to Tunnel Hill State Park for a workout. I ended up doing four 2000 meter repeats. We did an out and back loop on a trail that was sandwiched between two small cliffs. Once you ran into the area the temperature dropped 5-10 degrees which was really cool. What was even cooler was the fact that we ran through this long tunnel on each repeat. Once in the middle of the tunnel all you could see was the light at the end of the tunnel; you couldn't see the person running next to you. All you could do was hear their breathing and their footsteps. When practice was over we drove over to the Garden of the Gods and hiked around there. There were some really nice views of the surrounding hill and some cool rocks to climb on. I'm keeping tonight's short... later~ Rich

Monday, August 23, 2004

XC... campus life... 'n more

Wowness.... It's been a number of days since I have posted anything on here. I can explain this unlikely situation by the fact that I didn't end up going to Wal-Mart and purchasing a network cable until today. So, now that I have the cable, I can once again throw my thoughts out into the cyberworld.

XC

Practice started on Saturday with a 2 mile warmup and then a 4 mile cutdown, each mile is run faster than the previous, followed by a 3 mile cooldown. Yesterday we ran 9 miles easy. I finished 8 of them in 53 minutes and change. Today we started two-a-day's with an easy run in the morning and we are doing some stride drills and circuit training tonight followed by and easy run. I also found out I have tendonitis in my right knee (yay) so I have to hop in the ice bath after each run. Speaking of the ice bath, today's chilly episode was pretty funny. Jesse, one of our top runners, hopped in at the same time I did. A few minutes later one of the trainers came in....

Jesse: Hey, is it ok if I'm in here, I have ringworm?
Trainer: Ringworm?! Where do you have it?!
Jesse: *more than knee deep in the water* Um.... on my calf
Trainer: What?! Why would you...? Get out of there!
Jesse: I'm just messin' with ya man....

Campus Life

To start off, I'd like to say my dorm room freaking rocks! I moved in Thursday and I've got it all to myself until Wednesday. My room is at least twice the size of my old bedroom. HBO is included in the cable. The internet is faster than back home. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that everything down here is better. Although in terms of flatness abyss, Hebron definately kicks E-ville's ass.

So Thursday I went over to my roommates house and hung out for awhile. I have a feeling that by the end of the year I will be proficient in the art of playing Halo. John was also kind enough to let me have his TV and DVD player before he even moved in so that I could stay sane during the (very little) downtime I have.

Friday coach called me right before I was going to walk out the door and run. He said a bunch of other guys were gonna be running at 4, so I waited around until then. I ended up doing 6 miles with a few of the upperclassmen and a fellow freshmen, Rob. Rob's from Terre Haute and ran for North. He was pretty cool so we ended up grabbing some supper and hanging out after the run. I showed him some of the lesser-known music I listen to. Then we headed over to his room and he showed me some stuff that he listed to, Juliana Theory among a number of others. Around 1-2 in the morning we went out in the parking lot for some Frisbee. After that we headed over to Steak 'n Shake for some food and then crashed. All in all, a very enjoyable night.

After practice on Saturday we headed over to the track house for pancakes and water (to rehydrate). Later on a few of us ended up at Jake and Reffett's apartment. They've got a really nice set up. I'm tired of typing now, so I'm gonna head. Peace~ Rich

Mood: happy
Music: Soundgarden's Superunknown album

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Bye Hebron

I am quite happy right now. Tonight is my last night in Hebron. By this time tomorrow I will be sleeping in Evansville. And, by Thursday, I will be moved into my dorm room which will leave me with at least 2 days of having to do absolutely nothing. I'm really looking forward to doing nothing except eating, sleeping, and running. I haven't had a lot of time by myself this summer and I think it will be a nice break. Saturday is my first team practice and it promises to be a killer. I'm smart though... I'm bringing 2 cases of Gatorade down with me. That should last about a week, haha.

Today went by quick. I saw Collateral with Eric and it was really good except the ending sucked. After that I headed over to Wheeler and ran a hilly 10-miler with Jake. It was a good run and we finished in an hour and six minutes. Anyway, my next post will probably be in Evansville. Until then..... PEACE! ~ Rich

Monday, August 16, 2004

New Shoes! Yay!

My shoes arrived today! As an added plus, both pairs fit great. I would even go so far as to say that the Kennedy XC's feel like a second skin. The remainder of this afternoon is gonna be pretty boring as I have to clean up downstairs and get my stuff packed. I leave in 47.5 hours for Evansville. After I get everything packed I'm going up to Wheeler to run with Jake and we might be heading over to Rob's for the night after that. We did 10 miles yesterday at Sunset Hill as well as the hilly section of Campbell Street and I was totallly dead the rest of the night, so I'm hoping we only run 8 tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to see Collateral with Eric, a fellow USI student who resides in Portage. That's all for now.

Article for the day: VDH on Loathing Bush: It's Not About What He Does

Sunday, August 15, 2004

My weekend was pretty fun. I went to the Railcats game with Joe on Friday, which was pretty fun. Saturday morning I got up at 6 and picked up Jake in Wheeler to run the Rotary Ramble 5k. Jake was looking to break 16 minutes. I was looking to break 17 minutes. Neither of us accomplished our goals. Next time I'm eating something for breakfast because I totally bonked after the second mile. My splits were 5:12, 11:12, 17:35.

After I got back from the race I crashed for about 3-4 hours. It felt really good napping; I think I need to do that more often. Once I woke up I talked to Sheets for awhile and we ended up going over to his cousin's party with Matt and Jenson. I had a good time and I saw a bunch of people that I hadn't talked to in awhile.

Today I'm heading up to Merrillville because I need some more running shorts. Later on Jake and I are running at a yet-to-be-determined location. After that I'm sleeping, for a very long time. I'll post a new quote of the week later on tonight. ~ Rich

Friday, August 13, 2004

I ordered my shoes for college and cross-country today. Because of the fact I usually wear ratty old running shoes when I'm not running I decided it was time to get some casual shoes. Asics' Onitsuka model caught my eye (those are similar to the shoes Uma Thurman wore in Kill Bill... mine are cooler though). Lucky me, they had Zoom Kennedy's (normally $100) on sale for $40. I feel kinda dirty about buying them because in the past 3 years I haven't spent more than $20 on XC spikes haha. Anyway, my day is stacked. I'm going over to Joe's @ 6 and then to the Railcats game from there. And Johnny's gonna be here any minute to go to the mall. So I gotsta go. Laterz~ Rich

Thursday, August 12, 2004

My nipples were really hard this morning. I think it was because it was like 60 degrees and I was running without a shirt. It really needs to warm up. Whatever the case, it was yet another good run through the hilly countryside by Shorewood Forest with my running companion Jake. When we returned to his house from the run I got to listen in on yet another humorous verbal exchange between Jake and his mom regarding food.

Jake: Mom, I'm hungry. Make me some biscuits and gravy.
Jake's Mom: Jake, I'm not making you breakfast, I'm busy right now.
Jake: Mom, I haven't had a hot meal all week. Your a housewife and you belong in the kitchen. Now get in the kitchen and me some biscuits and gravy, woman.

There was a little bit more conversation back and forth before his mom finally got kinda pissed. I couldn't help laughing my ass off though. Just to let you all know, he was just screwin' around, so don't flip out about, k? Thanks~ Rich

Mood: happy
Music: "Song to Play When I'm Lonely" by John Frusciante

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

T-minus 7 days :)

As you may have gathered from the title of tonight's post, I have seven days left in Hebron before I moved on to what is a new and unexplored frontier for me. This week has gone by fairly fast and I'm hoping that it can go by even faster. It's too cold up here right now and I'm looking forward to running on trails everyday instead of roads. Not to mention the fact that my roommates seem really cool. So, seven days...... man I can't wait.

In other news, Jake and I ran 9 miles this morning. It was so nice out. It was also nice that we finished in 1:02:02. Until today, I had been feeling pretty shitty for a few days, but it all came together. Hopefully I can keep it together this week and end it with a good 5-miler in Michigan City on Sunday.

Totally random thought: the new Slipknot album is actually very good. They have managed to replace half of the normal crap they have on their albums with some really good songs. I recommend checking out the following: "Vermilion" (hard); "Vermilion Pt. 2"(light); "Circles" (light); "Danger-Keep Away" (light); "Before I Forget" (hard). That is all for now ~ Rich

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Kerry: The Candidate Without Credentials

What do you call a presidential candidate that lacks a valid agenda? Answer: John Kerry. It really blows my mind that anyone would vote for Mr. Kerry. Moreover, I still cannot grasp how someone with almost no political credentials could get the Democratic nomination. After all, Kerry has been in the Senate for a little under 20 years and aside from voting against every cutting edge weapon that our military now uses (stealth bomber, Tomahawk cruise missile, and the F-15 Eagle to name a few), he hasn't done jack shit. The Kerry campaign does realize this, however, and that is why nothing is ever mentioned about his years in the Senate.

So given the situation, what kind of issue(s) would Kerry run on in an attempt to win the presidency? That's the funny thing about this race: besides his plan for taxing the hell out of the rich (see my July 27 post for why that doesn't work), he does not have any issues. Kerry and 99.9% of the people who are voting for him are just trying to get a man named George W. Bush out of office. Why, u may ask? Well, it's obviously because Bush is a "moronic, fascist, and evil" man who "invades small countries on a whim and is looking to destroy the poor and middle class". These are just some of the accusations I have seen launched at the president.

Moronic? Bush had higher SAT scores than JFK and people never had any problem with his intelligence level. Fascist? I believe Saddam Hussein was a fascist; Bush took him out of power. This is what really makes me sick. There have been very few legitimate accusations against Bush. Instead, logical arguments and issues have been replaced by empty liberal rhetoric. I would have to say the best example of this was the movie Fahrenheit 9/11. Even more saddening, is the candidate the Democrats have selected to run against Bush.

Who would have thought that a candidate could run solely on the "credentials" of having won 3 Purple Hearts. I find it especially childish that his campaign has made his war record an issue, but they attack anyone that calls it into question. There is no plan for foreign policy, no plan for keeping the economy afloat, and no plan for Iraq. In addition, he doesn't have any experience with these issues (I might add, though, that Bush has been dealing with them for the past 3 years). Even more interesting is the fact that Kerry now touts himself as a war hero in Vietnam, yet after he had gotten back from 'Nam he went on a tyrade of accusing the very men who he fought with of wartime atrocities. Moreover, the criticism that Kerry directs at Bush is even more ludicrous. First, he attacked Bush for going to Iraq. Now, he admits that it was the right decision, regardless of a lack of WMD evidence.

I know that many people disagree with some of Bush's policies. Personally, I think that "No Child Left Behind" is the biggest piece of shit I've ever seen when it comes to education reform. I also disagree with Bush's idea of legalization of illegal immigrants. However, I think that there are bigger issues in play right now. Our country is just now emerging out of recession and doing so fairly well thanks to tax cuts and an increase in jobs. Also, a country has been liberated from years of oppression under a fascist dictator and it is important that democracy is established there as it could possibly lead to an even further spread of democracy in the Middle East. Freedom is a beautiful thing that we Americans cherish, and yet there are many in our country who are trying to undermine its birth in Iraq. Some may disagree with the way in which we went into Iraq. But to disagree with the liberation of an entire nation from a fascist regime is, in my opinion, absolutely absurd. Neither Kerry, nor Gore, nor Hillary would have had the courage to do such an act. Nor do any of them have what it takes to finish the job. However, it is my opinion that Bush does. Come November, I hope everyone who will best lead our nation to prosperity, and Iraq's as well.

Sunday, August 08, 2004

crappy run, boring day

Today was kind of dumb. Jake and I went to the dunes for some miles and it just ended up being a shitty run for both of us. It wasn't really important enough for me to go into any detail. Whatever the case, Jake and I are running in Hebron tomorrow @ 8. So if any of you are cool enough to be up that early and you see two guys running around town or on country roads, well, chances are it's us. Be nice and wave :) . Anyway, I really don't have anything to talk about. I gotta start getting my plans organized for my last weekend in Hebron. Hopefully it'll be a crazy one. Laterz~ Rich

"It was twenty years ago today that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play"

Music

Oasis thought they were the Beatles of the 90's. If the only Beatle's song that you ever heard happened to be "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," then you'd probably agree with them. My dad and I used to devote nights to going through his vinyl collection and playing all of good shit that he had (and believe me, there's plenty). His extensive collection includes the likes of The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, The Mamas & The Papas, and The Beatles. He actually has every Beatles album and, at one point or another, I've listened to all of them. Unfortunately, that has been some time ago as the belt for the turntable is broken. Lucky for me, I had been listening to 97.1 a week ago and heard "Sgt. Pepper's...." for the first time in years. At that moment, I realized just how hella good that song was. Today I found myself in Target staring at the CD and it was $9.99. Lucky me. So I did what any sane person who doesn't have a copy should do: I bought it. What I like about the Beatles, and countless other bands of the 60's-70's, is that they give you an album that has a number of great songs on it. For example, this album has 13 songs, ten of which I absolutley love. Since I'm gonna be at college in 2 weeks I really need to get some more classics. I've decided upon The Who's Who's Next? and The Doors' L.A. Woman.

My Day... oh wait... it's 12:28... My Yesterday

I got up at 12 today. Sleeping in sucks. Thomas Edison used to live off of 4 hours of sleep; if only I could do the same. Regardless, I headed up to Valpo for some Jimmy John's and then I went browsing around B&N and Target. Once I had properly digested my delicious sandwich I drove up to the dunes for a sandy little run. Real dune runners real barefoot. Not only do you look like a hardass by running over rocks barefoot, but your feet also feel really good when you hit the fine sand (tee hee). Plus, sand is about the only thing I feel comfortable running on right now with the way my right knee feels. Anyway, I felt great during the run. The only downside was that people have a tendency of not watching where the hell they are going and I almost run them over. Nevertheless, the run was very enjoyable and I'm probably going up there tomorrow. That's all for now, bitches. ~ Rich (sorry I've been watching too much Chapelle's Show)

Friday, August 06, 2004

"Been dazed and confused"

I wrote the majority of this little rant last week, but I did not get it posted until this week. I would apologize, but I figure everyone has gotten used to hearing about John Kerry's extremely lengthy war record from 30 years ago.

Last week I watched most of the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Like all the other conventions (Democratic or Republican) the music sucked, there were scary looking people left and right, and protesters were outside protesting just to protest. Too make matters worse, "those f#$%ing baloons" wouldn't drop. Like John Kerry himself, the overall message and image of the DNC flip-flopped. Senator Obama from Illinois told me that there is one America whereas vice presidential candidate Edwards told me that there are two Americas, rich and poor. On one had the Democrats tried to convey themselves as a party for all people by having various races speak. On the other hand, one of those speakers was "Reverend" Al Sharpton, a man who once publicly referred to Jews as "hymies" and New York City as "Hymietown." But, I must admit John Kerry's speech was simply amazing. He was so well-spoken, that if I had not been paying attention to the rest of the convention, what other Vietnam vets had to say about him, the opinion of active servicemen about him, , his desire to raise taxes, his war record, and his Senate record than I may have actually developed some respect for him. Moreover, he left me confused about his life. I believe that my father put it best when he said that "the way Kerry and his friends spoke about his life you would think he spent 20 years in Vietnam and 4 months in the Senate." Kerry did not mention anything about his time in the Senate which is very interesting seeing as he spent 4 months in Vietnam and almost 20 years in the Senate.

With so much time spent in the Senate, one would think he would highlight his leadership skills. After all, 20 years would be more than enough time to have sponsored a number of important bills that might deal with issues such as taxes, social security, or education. Yet, Kerry has only sponsored two bills, both of which were concerned with fishing in Massachusetts. A president is supposed to be a leader, not someone who is just along for a free meal.

Now I'm sure there are many that will probably argue that he showed courage and leadership in Vietnam. I really do not wish to argue this point, seeing as it will not lead to my point. The point I am trying to get at is that John Kerry lacks two key presidential qualities: loyalty and honesty.

Don't listen to me though, there are plenty of things that his fellow Vietnam vets have to say:

"While in Cam Rahn Bay, he (Kerry) trained on several 24-hour indoctrination missions, and one special skimmer operation with my most senior and trusted lieutenant. The briefing from some members of that crew the morning after revealed that they had not received any enemy fire, and yet Lt.(jg) Kerry informed me of a wound; he showed me a scratch on his arm and a piece of shrapnel in his hand that appeared to be from one of our own M-79s. It was later reported to me that Lt.(jg) Kerry had fired an M-79, and it had exploded off the adjacent shoreline. I do not recall being advised of any medical treatment, and probably said something like 'Forget it.' He later received a Purple Heart for that scratch, and I have no information as to how or whom. Lt.(jg) Kerry was allowed to return to the good old USA after 4 months and a few days in-country, and then he proceeded to betray his former shipmates, calling them criminals who were committing atrocities. Today we are here to tell you that just the opposite is true. Our rules of engagement were quite strict, and the officers and men of Swift often did not even return fire when they were under fire if there was a possibility that innocent people, fishermen in a lot of cases, might be hurt or injured. The rules and the good intentions of the men increased the possibility that we might take friendly casualties."Commander Grant Hibbard, USN (retired)

"During Lt.(jg) Kerry's tour, he was under my command for two or three specific operations, before his rapid exit. Trust, loyalty and judgment are the key, operative words. His turncoat performance in 1971 in his grubby shirt and his medal-tossing escapade, coupled with his slanderous lines in the recent book portraying us that served, including all POWs and MIAs, as murderous war criminals, I believe, will have a lasting effect on all military veterans and their families. Kerry would be described as devious, self-absorbing, manipulative, disdain for authority, disruptive, but the most common phrase that you'd hear is 'requires constant supervision.'"Captain Charles Plumly, USN (retired)

(excerpts from "Swift Boat Veterans speak out")

There is much more to say and I think I will separate the rest into smaller essays. I will leave you with something to ponder. John Kerry has 4 months of experience as a foot soldier in a war faught more than 30 years ago. George Bush has three and a half years of experience as commander in chief. Who do you think is best suited for the job?

Thursday, August 05, 2004

"I got thoughts in my head and I'm ready to sting"

It's been a couple of days since I've posted. No, nothing of true importance has been going on. This week has been pretty enjoyable and I've learned a number of things that made me laugh my ass off. Sorry kids, I can't really go into detail due to the graphic nature of the stories. Whatever the case, the week has mainly just been full of running and talking to people that I haven't talked to in awhile. I'm trying to get a lot of things settled before I head off to college. I've been hanging out with Justin the past few days. It's been really nice since I only saw him one other time over vacation. He brought his PS2 over and we played Athens 2004. Nothing beats the old school Nintendo running pad, but it was still a cool game. In other news, I roasted my ass off on an 8 mile run w/Jake two days ago. We ran out to Deep River County Park from his house and jumped in the lake halfway through our run. Maybe we should start running at cooler times of the day. Then again, if we did that we wouldn't have an excuse to go for a little swim. Decisions, decisions. Tomorrow I've got quite a bit going on, all of it fun; so I'm happy. Less than 2 weeks 'til I go to college. I'm ecstatic. Later~ Rich

Mood: ecstatic, duh
Music: See Through Head by The Hives

Monday, August 02, 2004

"I was born in the morning, I died at night"

I got up at 8 today to run with Jake and Sean at Wheeler. We went to the high school because Wheeler's team was having their first practice. It was sooooo hot by the time we finally started running. One of the 8 mile loops around Shorewood had been chosen as the route for the day. By the fifth mile Sean and I were not feeling too well, so Jake said that once we got to the lake we could take a little break. Once we raeached the lake we all jumped in. The water smelled, but it was so cold and felt so good that I couldn't have cared less. After we got out it was another 3 miles back to the school which seemed to take forever. Finally, we reached the school and I was exhausted. Tomorrow we're running @ 3 in the afternoon. I know that probably sounds stupid, but a hot day up here is like a normal day in Evansville. Thus, it would be in our best interests to get acclimated (or for Jake, reacclimated) to the weather before we get down there. That's it for now folks~ Rich

Mood: optimistic
Music: "Times Run Out" by John Frusciante