It seemed like a good idea to post a “State of the Neal” address or general update on things.

My bike is holding up well. I’m to take it into the shop for a tune-up sometime this week and that’s when I’ll make a decision about getting the clip pedals and shoes. It would cost about 130 for both, but it would really make riding my bike as much as I do (and I’ll be doing even more when I move) a lot easier. I also have to take into account a time when I’ll be able to go out and just get used to them. Riding up and down the street starting and stopping all the time. It’ll be like when I learned how to drive a clutch in the church parking lot with Rob.

I’m getting more and more excited about moving to Orem. I got a letter a little over a month ago about being approved for a tuition scholarship, but there was nothing about regular financial aid for everything else I would need. I sort of forgot about that until this week and remembered that there is a deadline for me to accept that scholarship. I wasn’t sure when that was and was afraid I might have missed it so I logged into my account and there was the other financial aid waiting to be accepted or denied as well. Nice. Even better is that it’s more than I was expecting so I declined some of it.

This semester of school at SLCC has been somewhat rough. I’m behind in almost all of my classes due to various things. You know, the whole pouring rain thing. This week I should be able to turn that around and not only catch up but get ahead. I have a schedule for most of my classes and I plan to stay at least a week ahead so I can relax more and not be as stressed (even though I don’t get really stressed often or make any indication of it when it happens).

My car runs as well now. I bought some of the parts I needed (O2 sensors, fuel filter, new spark plugs and wires) and spent most of yesterday in the garage sweating and taking things apart and putting them back together. All those parts cost me a little over 100 and the estimate for parts and work regarding those things was about 450. I think losing a Saturday that was originally planned to be spent with Wendee and Sam to fix up my car, gain a better working knowledge about engines in general, and get a nice little bruise on my forearm was worth 350 bucks not spent. I also ran it over to the car wash with Wong after and degreased the engine. That was fun. I’m not done with the car though. I still have to do some things that the shop put on my list. 450 is a lot of money but isn’t the bulk. The other things are for maintenance that will become problems soon if not fixed and they make up 1,000 worth of work. Should be fun though. As much fun as cleaning the battery and cables up was. I got blue water after that. I’ll just talk about that in person though if you’re interested.

Finally, and a little off topic, I’m going to start playing Dungeons and Dragons. My inner nerd has been wanting to do this for sometime. I bought the books in high school and was getting others to play but it never got off the ground. Recently that nerd part of me has been building and with the release of fourth edition Dungeons and Dragons (which from all that I’ve read from the rulesbooks is awesome) and some friends that are also interested in playing, we will soon be adventuring into the world of fantasy with swords and armor. So far the people interested are Alex, Sheree, Wong, Wes, and Sheree’s brother Michael. And myself of course. If you would also like to play, let us know. Right now the schedule will probably work into meeting up once a month on the weekends just for this. It’s going to be great! I made an elven ranger named Andurse Bloodletter. Any enemies that come within range of my bow will be pierced through the throat by arrows.

A- Attached or single: Single baby. But I am attached to my cats.
B- Best Friend: I have a few best buds.
C-Cake or Pie: Cake all the way. I like pies too, but cakes are so fluffy.
D-Day: Yeah, I’m not sure what to make of this. Is this a question asking us to reference a point in my life where metaphorically speaking I gained a major advantage over some obstacle I was facing but at a great cost of personal expense and loss? Cuz I gotta say, that’s a pretty lame and historically inappropriate question then.
E- Essential Item: I don’t know if I really have any essential items. I could say my family and friends but they are not items. So I guess I’ll say pants. Those seem fairly essential.
F- Favorite Color: I’m a fan of blue all the way. It’s such a calm color. I could cuddle up in it and sleep.
G-Gummy Bears or Worms: Not a fan of gummy substances in any form.
H-Home town: Riverton
I- Indulgences: Video games and food I suppose.
J- January or July?: July all the way. When else do we get two holidays to celebrate by blowing things up? Hells yeah!
K-Kids: Are funny when they’re not annoying me.
L-Life is incomplete without: Breathing
M- Marriage Date: August 22. Or maybe April 14. I dunno. Whenever.
N- Number of Siblings: Four. Three older brothers and a younger sister.
O- Oranges or Apples: In solid form, apples. In liquid form, oranges.
P- Phobias or Fears: Spiders. Those stupid spiders. I will seriously scream like a little girl if I see one big enough and fast enough.
Q- Quote: He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you. -Nietsche
R- Reason To Smile: I don’t really smile. I’ve talked about this before.
S- Season: I like them all in their own right. But I suppose the tail end of summer and first half of fall are best. Not too hot, but not cold.
T- Tag Three: Wendee, Wong, and.. uhhh.. I don’t know anyone else that hasn’t done this.
U- Unknown fact about me: I want to own a house with a large enough plot of land to build a big greenhouse and garden to sustain my family (not too odd yet), but I want to surround all of this with a wall at least twenty feet high like a medieval castle to patrol on and keep the zombies out.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: In between. My meat consumption has gone way down over the past few months, but I think I’ll always be a fan of seafood.
W- Worst Habit: I am the model procrastinator. What’s funny about that is I want to change it, but I keep putting it off. Also, I don’t answer the phone if I don’t know the number.
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: I’ll take x-rays because I’ve never heard of a person gaining super powers from ultrasounds.
Y-Your favorite food: Oriental. I really like curry. I mean, I REALLY like curry. Also good Mexican food. Good Italian food too. You know what, my favorite kind of food is the kind that tastes good.
Z- Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

It’s now been a week since I purchased a bicycle and I have to say, I should have bought one sooner. It’s a pretty decent mountain bike. Not the best out there, but it’ll get me where I need to go. Whether that place is down the street or up a rocky terrain. I don’t even mind that I have a car sitting in the driveway.

On that note, I did talk to my step-brother Jeremy and showed him what the auto place gave me and he says they’re pulling my leg. Which is odd because my dad and brother have been going to this place for years. Anyway, all I really need to do is replace my O2 sensor and fuel filter and I should be good to go. I could probably tune up some other things, but within the past week I have come to the conclusion that I only want a car to maybe drive to the store to go shopping, to take me longer distances like down to visit Wendee and Sam (or when this fall rolls around and I move, to drive up and visit Alex and Sheree), and to take me and my bike on wacky adventures.

Yep. I love it. It’s funny how driving around in a car makes you feel so isolated from things. You see people picking their nose and such like they’re in their own little world just trying to get where their going. I remember thinking that, and I even like to drive. I enjoy grabbing a friend or going solo and just cruising around in no real direction. But last night things just sort of clicked.

I started a new class that ends at ten. I was hoping the teacher would be cool with me dodging out early to jump on the last bus leaving in my direction a little after nine, but no go. There’s some class discussion that happens at the end from which test questions will be pulled from. As I was sitting there contemplating what I would do I realized I could book it from SLCC over to the Trax station just off 4500 South, then ride home from Sandy. Having just aquired myself a headlight for such night rides I did just that.

The air was cool as I cut through it like a bat out of Hell. (One problem I am finding is that I tend to get going a little faster than I actually realize) After a little riding on empty streets to find the Trax station I left from Sandy down a bike path that runs along what will soon be the Draper extension to Trax. It was so awesome riding under the hanging trees all by myself and thinking “Yes. This is nice. I am not contained within a little box on the road with other boxes. I am out in nature. I am a part of it.” That sounds weird, but if you ride a bike I would bet that you have had a similar feeling.

I made it to 11400 South and then rode along it to the Wal Mart on the frontage road to pick up a two-pack of Silk (I ran out that morning) and some ice cream (because dammit, I wanted ice cream to make a shake from with my new Silk). Then I went to 7th West and down through the neighborhoods to cross the river and head home. I got home at about 11:30 and ate some dinner then made a shake.

Getting a bike was such an awesome decision. My legs totally have a deep burn going on as the muscles adjust to the new workload, but I am enjoying that too. I’m also very excited to go pick up some clip pedals this week. Even though I could have fixed up my car with this money I don’t consider it a bad move at all. I’m enjoying the riding and I won’t be looking back.

Unless I’m crossing traffic. Then I’ll look back to make sure there’s not a car.

The past few weeks have been fairly draining, emotionally speaking that is. And since I don’t have this endless supply of emotion in which to pull from I started draining physically. I’m so freaking exhausted and can’t get enough sleep. Whereas I used to think eight or nine hours was enough, I am still way tired after. So much so that I could easily take a nap at any point in the day. It’s five in the afternoon right now and I want to go take a nap in my bedroom. I did so yesterday as well.

I won’t though. I have other things I could be doing like homework. The next eight weeks will be a big pain in my side. I had this summer all planned out nicely with the classes I was taking and when they’d start, but my plans fell through when one class was cancelled, I dropped another, I got sick for a week, and dealing with the loss of Gizmo. So now I am taking a full plate of classes in a very short time. Oh, another thing, my car is crapping out on me. It’s going to cost almost as much as the car is worth just to fix it. Bag that. I bought a bike instead. I’ll work on my car with my dad, but for now I’m biking to the bus stop in South Jordan (there aren’t any in Riverton after about eight in the morning) and riding up to school.

There is that saying that when it rains it pours. I’d like to drag the person that thought of that saying out into the middle of the street and throw mud in their eyes then stuff their mouth full of grass. Then I could make a very unclimactic retreat on my bike while laughing. Yeah, let’s do that.

Anyone know who came up with that saying?

I was wondering what I would write about today. I knew it was coming and have had time to think about what I could add onto the prior post. It wasn’t until after I stood up and looked down on the markers for his grave that I concluded I wouldn’t add anything. I don’t think it’s appropriate to Gizmo to talk about this past week. For those of you that were a part of it you know that it hasn’t been the best part of Gizmo’s life and I don’t think I’m going to dwell on it. Also, I just don’t want to talk about it. Gizmo was my special buddy and I want to keep a part of the story of his life as close as possible. If you really want to know what happened, I’ll tell you, but only if you really knew Gizmo.

I won’t be adding anything to my last post because I feel that it summed up everything I wanted to say. I love Gizmo. And while I will greatly miss the clicking of his nails on the kitchen floor as he investigates what I am cooking, I am more than happy to recognize that it isn’t goodbye, just see you in a bit.

I miss you bud.