Cow Hunting

So as I mentioned below, my Grandpa has 15 Black Angus Cows on his property. They usually hang out in the large open field off the back of his house during the day, but every evening near dusk they take off into the tree line. My brother and I were curious where they were going, so we went cow hunting on the ATV with 2, 10 million-candle power lights late at night.

This was quite an adventure. As you get back into his property, the trees get pretty thick, and although the ATV trails are about 8 feet wide, they make super good real estate for all kinds of spiders. (Yes, I do HATE spiders, but, in the spirit of adventure, I went anyway. Plus, we looked really carefully in front of us to make sure we didn't run into any really large ones.) We spent about an hour driving all around the property looking for them but never found them so we decided to call it a night.

We took a night off, and went back out there tonight and after about 45 minutes of looking, we finally found them. They were tucked way in the back corner of the property buried in all the trees - just where I thought they might be.

Cow hunting...

Night Spider

After a successful mission, we headed back to the house, grabbed my camera and had some fun with some night photos. Here's one of the photos...


Tomorrow I think I will get to drive the tractor...yehaw!

Internet at last!

So My brother and I are here in Oklahoma visiting my Grandpa for about 10 days. He has 50 or so acres outside of Sallisaw near the Arkansas border. He has a small 3-bedroom, house, with a full scale barn (complete with a John-Deer tracker and every attachment imaginable), pump house, and pond. He has 15 Black Angus Beef Cattle, and a horse (though, these are not his, he just rents the land to the guys who own the animals).

We arrived on Monday, and have been busy helping him around the house and clearing brush out in the property ever since. Here are some photos of his property.

This is the view looking off his back porch to the right...

Straight off the back porch...

This is a clearing in the middle of his property. It pretty large, and has
a natural gas well in it right near the tree on the right...

This is the ATV path that runs along the side of the pond...

The pond...

He has a 4-wheel drive ATV that he uses to get around the property quickly, so my brother and I have been using it to drive all over for all the work that we have been doing.

Bad shape...

So my brother and I went for a ride in Whiting Ranch this afternoon. This was the first ride in the park since it was reopened after a 8 month closure following the So Cal fires of late last yet. It was a little disappointing (sorry to ruin any hopes of the 'good 'ole days...)

Most of the entire first 2 miles of the trail, the flat part leading up to the hill climb, was all sand. And not just a little sand, but deeeep sand. It seemed as if just as you were getting up to speed, one of these 20 foot sand "traps" appeared and all the momentum was lost. It was a bummer...that used to be such a cool part of the trail.

Then came the hill climb...It started out ok, and was, for the most part, the same as always. There were still lots of sand traps but most were avoidable, and there were lots of piles of ash or soot mixed in with the sand. There was no shade, and the sun was hot. It was probably due to the time of day, but, there used to be some nice trees and shrubbery along the trail that provided a little relief from the sun...not so today.

Nick and I decided to climb dreaded hill, and then have some awesome downhill sections. Dreaded was good, and the down hill was also good. Some sand, but not bad.

Single track was good. Not nice and shady like it used to be, but it was ok. This was where I had the most fun...for the first time in my riding career, I flipped the bike, almost end-over-end, and flew over the handle bars. How you might ask. This is how...

So I was moving along at a pretty good speed, and then the trail started to take a turn to the right. I naturally applied a little brake, and prepared for the turn. Once I hit the turn, which was nothing but a small sandy downhill drop, my front tire sank in about 6 inches of sand, and the front handle bars pivoted to the right spinning 270 degrees making them backwards from normal. During the process, because I was already applying a little brake, the sliding of the front end caused me to clamp down harder on the brake (not on purpose) and over I went. Fortunately, I was not going very fast or it could have been very ugly. I landed on my wrist, and scuffed up my knee a little, but that was all.

After I got up, reset my front end, and fought my way through a couple dozen more sand traps, I hit the road.

Oh, and to top it all off...my bike was not liking life today. Couldn't shift when I needed to, but was able to shift when I didn't need to, and my clips did not want to me clip in...it was a battle, but I do admit that it was fun.

It wasn't the Whiting Ranch that I once knew though...

Ride

So my MCAT exam is coming up in 5 days, and the battle to keep studying and keep focused on reading and testing is really starting to wear me out. Today, I wanted to do anything but study, but I forced myself to keep at it. (In fact, I'm still reviewing notes as I write this...with only 3 more study days, there is no time to spare)

So, to clear my head a little, and get my mind of the exam, as well as get the epinephrine pumping...I went for a ride this afternoon. It was quick...probably because it was so hot, and also probably because I was so tired from studying, that all the frustration went right into my pedals...

Here are the stats:

10.5 miles
37 minutes
16.8 mph average
70 cadence average

It was short, fast, and intense. Climbed a few good sized hills down in Ladera, and didn't pop a tire! Sweet!

Have you seen this video?

This video is incredible! Such a good story!

Cycle Ride

So about 2 weeks ago, I purchased a new road bike. I have always wanted one, but they are usually so very expensive that I could just never justify the cost. But, with graduation gifts, and birthday gifts, and a couple of sweet coupons (and a great sale) I decided to go for it. Turns out, that it was a great purchase, especially now as I have been studying. It so nice just to get out and ride and clear my mind in the middle of studying, plus, I dont need to ride with a buddy like I do when I ride off trial.

Anyway, I finally got my road computer installed on it, as I now can keep track of my rides. Todays numbers...

Miles - 20.0
Moving Time - 1:15
Total Time: 1:25
Ave Speed: 16.65 mph
Top Speed: 36.03 mph

I rode down Antonio to just about Ortega Highway, then back up to Oso, and on to Tesoro HS, then home. It was a great ride...

Turning in the Safety Badge...

So for most of the 3 readers that read my blog, you already know this, but for the rest of you out there, its time for a little update.

Two weeks ago I had to turn in my Safety Officer Badge...yep, thats right, I quit.  Why you might be asking? Well, again, as most may already know, I have decided after much wrestling with the Lord, that I should pursue a career as a Medical Doctor, and as such, there were certain things that I needed to do in order to get there.  The first, and most important thing that I need to do to reach this goal, is I need to get into Med school. Duh right?  Well, as part of that process, I need to take the MCAT Exam (Medical College Admissions Test), so I decided to sign up for a MCAT Prep class at the Kaplan Test Center in Irvine.  The class is very good, but it required much more of my time than I had initially anticipated, so, I asked work for 6 weeks Leave of Absence so that I could focus 100% of my efforts on preparing for this test.  Unfortunately, my request could not be honored, so, I decided that I needed to quit in order to get the much needed study time that I wanted.  So, I had to hang up the Safety Sash, turn in all my unused tickets, and hand over by badge.  It was a sad day to leave, but was ultimately the right decision.

So for the past 2 weeks I have been studying relentlessly.  7 Days a week, for several hours on end.  The MCAT Exam is three weeks from today (Yikes!), and I feel that I still have SO much to learn and recall from my days as an undergrad student in physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and biology.

Oh, and don't worry...a safety ticket was issued during my reign (though it was really issued by my co-safety officer after we discussed the matter).  It was issued to...are you ready for this...one of the 7 senior lab managers!  Yep, no one was above the law when I was in charge...ah, the memories...

Ok...back to studying!

Ladera Ranch Wedding

I photographed a fantastic wedding this past Sunday afternoon in Ladera Ranch for my good friend Sara. It was the most beautiful Southern California day possible. The sun was out, it wasnt too hot, there was a very slight breeze...it was perfect.

The wedding itself was beautiful. It was supper casual and yet still retained the formal atmosphere of your traditional wedding. I have posted some pictures below...more to come later.

Enjoy!

The Groom

The Bride

The Groomsmen

The Boys...

The Details

The Ceremony

The Moment

The Excitement

Mr & Mrs.

The Family

The Party

Married

The License

The First Dance

Love

I have also created a mac gallery that can be found here, but be warned, the newest beta version of Firefox doesn't support it yet...

Bike Adventure

So Nate and I went for a bike ride tonight.  It was the second ride that we got in in the past 3 days!

We just did the usual ride, the arroyo trail across the street from our place, down into the canyon, and out over by the baseball fields off of Antonio.  In total it was 5.87 miles, and took a total of 36 minutes of solid riding time (just about 45 minutes or so in total time including a few trail fixes along the way).

We got a little bit of a late start so it was a little dark when we were riding through "jungle" part of the trail, which made it a little bit scary considering there could be large cats and other animals down there...but, we braved the danger all in the name of a good ride.  

Here are some photos taken with my crackberry...

The grass, which is all dead now, was so tall that it reached above our heads, and was just lovely as it scratched us all up as we rode through...

The setting sun...

It was a good ride...

(wow...two posts in a row!)

Your busted!

So at work the other day a friend of mine, who was once the lab safety officer, approched me and asked if I was interest in filling her shoes as the new safety officer. (She had stepped down from that role because of a shift change) My immediate thought was "No way! I'm so busy at work that I can't even find time to use the restroom. How the heck am I going to now also, in addition to all the other tasks I have, find time to enforce the rules of safety?"

Well a few days passed, and I was called into my supervisor's office. I was sat down and explained that the previous safety office had to "resign" (as if elected or something), and my name was brought up in conversation as a potentially good candidate to replace her. The meeting started off as any meeting of this nature might. A simple description of the job and its duties was relayed to me. I was told what was involved with being an "officer of the safe work environment" and other things that would be expected if I were to decide to do it. I thought I could see the end of the meeting before it even came..."Think about it and let us know".

But then, out of nowhere, the greatest sales switch of all time was pulled, and the next thing I knew, I was back at the bench and the announcement was made that I was the new safety officer for the lab! Wait a minute...I didn't even get a chance to say yes or no...I wasn't even given a choice! I remember leaving the supervisors office dumbfounded and speechless upon hearing the words, "So anyway, thanks for volunteering, I will let the EHS manager know you are the new safety officer."

Sweet mary! Me, the safety officer! Oh and the best part of being the new safety officer...I get to hand out tickets!! Heck yes! Now I just need a badge (or sash, because lets face it, I'm just the laboratory version of a junior high Hall Monitor), a helmet, some sweet aviator glasses, and a book to keep the tickets in! Look out lab workers...Brian is on the case now...!!!

My first duty as "Safety Officer"...we had a fire drill the other day, and it was my job to grab the clipboard of workers, usher everyone out the the pond, and call role. Yep, people actually said "present"...it was awesome!

All-in-all...it shoudn't be too bad...I plan to be the best safety officer in the history of laboratories world wide! But you better wear your gloves, coat and face shield, or the tickets are comin' out!

Are these for real?

Oh come on! These can't be real!

Ok, picture entering your local starbucks and seeing a group of computer users working in one of these...

These are not quite as bad, but still ridiculous...

Anyone want one for Christmas? What color? Be sure to let me know...

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Nick

On Saturday March 1st, my good friend Nate and I had the opportunity to attend the wedding of David and Vicky. It was a beautiful ceremony in Irvine, followed by a wonderful reception at Prego! Restaurant.

Congratulations to you both!

Here are some photos from the happy event...

The Groom...

The Bride...

Photo of the ceremony...

I now pronounce you...

...Mr. and Mrs. Nick...

First Dance...

Congratulations again!

Funny Bible Video

This is a spoof on the "Baby Got Back" song. It's quite funny.