- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under biking , Chicago Cubs , fantasy sports , friends , lifestyles , outdoors , sports , work .
Hello there fellow readers...
Checking back in, to let you all know I finally got the route entered in at USATF's site tonight from my bike-ride on Saturday the 13th. The ride on Saturday wasn't anywhere near the trek I took on Sunday, but it was another long ride. I wasn't gone on the ride for over 3 hours on Saturday, so I knew the distance wasn't as great. If I hadn't been messaged about going down to the Art-Fest that was going on downtown, I probably would have ridden much more. Ultimately, I wanted to get on the bike trails out on the south end of town, south of 32nd Avenue!
That would have been another very long ride - just as, or perhaps, longer than the ride was on Sunday!
As you can see, the trek on Saturday went a grand total of 9.08 miles!
http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=299513
So, my grand total for the weekend was a whopping 27.64 miles! Impressive, I'd have to say - especially, given I haven't ridden my bike much at all over the past couple of years I've had it up here.
In other news, our first couple of days after that beautiful weekend we had, have been slightly gloomy. Cooler and much cloudier, for sure. But, not too bad, really. We had some rain this evening, but it wasn't anything that caused too many problems. I was over at Victor's place tonight for a little grilling and hanging out with friends. The rain pushed back the scheduled grilling a bit, but it was still sufficient so that most of us were able to get something to snack on.
Unfortunately, due to some recent lifestyle changes, I had to resist the urge for anything grilled. As some, perhaps, many of you know already, I've made the decision to cut back on the meat intake. It's something I've thought about before in the past and if anything, it's mostly just something I want to see if I can do, at all. I could see some people looking at this as me succumbing to peer-pressure (3 of the 4 people I'm gardening with ARE vegetarians!), and it may be to some extent, but really it's more of just a little kick in the pants to something I've actually wanted to try for a couple of years.
If you asked my family, they could probably tell you that I grew up eating a lot of veggies and fruit. I remember eating strawberries when I was younger until I'd get stomach-aches and would eat radishes until I stunk everyone out of the house! Hah! Actually, when I put it that way, it isn't all that much different today. Tee-hee...
Anyhow, so yes, it's a big commitment and a major lifestyle change, but it is something I am going to try. I began a few weeks ago and have slowly cut back the intake. I was down to maybe 3-4 meals that had meat in it a couple of weeks ago, last week, I may have splurged on a couple of meals, but so far, this week, I haven't ate a thing with meat in it. I've consulted with Tim, Kalli, and Justin and they've helped me quite a bit... On things I can try, what to get, what not to get, and they all have helped me find vegetarian recipes that are well-balanced. I'm not sure exactly if vegetarianism is really what I'm after... I guess that is something I'm really going to have to think about. I've found out that people that do decide to go that route that decide later to go back to meat after years and years, their bodies can reject the meat, and can actually cause problems. So, I'm not exactly sure what I want to accomplish quite yet. Right now, I just want to see how long I can go. From there, I'll see what happens. Either way, I'll keep you all updated. ;)
Other rumblings, since the last time I really updated all of you? Not much else, really... The new position at work is going fairly well. We haven't had a lot to do up until recently. The traveling between Grand Forks and Crookston has slowed down considerably over the past few weeks and actually, with the Minnesota contract now shut down for the summer, I will mainly be working on developing training modules for the MDSS application. This week, I'm hoping to get many of them done.
My fantasy sports teams are both performing poorly... Much like my Chicago Cubbies. They have disappointed me this year - and I'll just leave it at that. Maybe sometime in the near future, I can elaborate a little further - I just don't feel like it tonight. ;) In fact, I don't really feel like writing much more, anyway.
It's getting late and I want to get a little snack before I hit the sack.
Anyway, so there's a little bit of an update on my life the past couple of months. I'll have a couple of chase reports to post to the Chase/Wx-Blog here soon, so stay tuned there, as well.
Take care, folks! Have a great week!
Checking back in, to let you all know I finally got the route entered in at USATF's site tonight from my bike-ride on Saturday the 13th. The ride on Saturday wasn't anywhere near the trek I took on Sunday, but it was another long ride. I wasn't gone on the ride for over 3 hours on Saturday, so I knew the distance wasn't as great. If I hadn't been messaged about going down to the Art-Fest that was going on downtown, I probably would have ridden much more. Ultimately, I wanted to get on the bike trails out on the south end of town, south of 32nd Avenue!
That would have been another very long ride - just as, or perhaps, longer than the ride was on Sunday!
As you can see, the trek on Saturday went a grand total of 9.08 miles!
http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=299513
So, my grand total for the weekend was a whopping 27.64 miles! Impressive, I'd have to say - especially, given I haven't ridden my bike much at all over the past couple of years I've had it up here.
In other news, our first couple of days after that beautiful weekend we had, have been slightly gloomy. Cooler and much cloudier, for sure. But, not too bad, really. We had some rain this evening, but it wasn't anything that caused too many problems. I was over at Victor's place tonight for a little grilling and hanging out with friends. The rain pushed back the scheduled grilling a bit, but it was still sufficient so that most of us were able to get something to snack on.
Unfortunately, due to some recent lifestyle changes, I had to resist the urge for anything grilled. As some, perhaps, many of you know already, I've made the decision to cut back on the meat intake. It's something I've thought about before in the past and if anything, it's mostly just something I want to see if I can do, at all. I could see some people looking at this as me succumbing to peer-pressure (3 of the 4 people I'm gardening with ARE vegetarians!), and it may be to some extent, but really it's more of just a little kick in the pants to something I've actually wanted to try for a couple of years.
If you asked my family, they could probably tell you that I grew up eating a lot of veggies and fruit. I remember eating strawberries when I was younger until I'd get stomach-aches and would eat radishes until I stunk everyone out of the house! Hah! Actually, when I put it that way, it isn't all that much different today. Tee-hee...
Anyhow, so yes, it's a big commitment and a major lifestyle change, but it is something I am going to try. I began a few weeks ago and have slowly cut back the intake. I was down to maybe 3-4 meals that had meat in it a couple of weeks ago, last week, I may have splurged on a couple of meals, but so far, this week, I haven't ate a thing with meat in it. I've consulted with Tim, Kalli, and Justin and they've helped me quite a bit... On things I can try, what to get, what not to get, and they all have helped me find vegetarian recipes that are well-balanced. I'm not sure exactly if vegetarianism is really what I'm after... I guess that is something I'm really going to have to think about. I've found out that people that do decide to go that route that decide later to go back to meat after years and years, their bodies can reject the meat, and can actually cause problems. So, I'm not exactly sure what I want to accomplish quite yet. Right now, I just want to see how long I can go. From there, I'll see what happens. Either way, I'll keep you all updated. ;)
Other rumblings, since the last time I really updated all of you? Not much else, really... The new position at work is going fairly well. We haven't had a lot to do up until recently. The traveling between Grand Forks and Crookston has slowed down considerably over the past few weeks and actually, with the Minnesota contract now shut down for the summer, I will mainly be working on developing training modules for the MDSS application. This week, I'm hoping to get many of them done.
My fantasy sports teams are both performing poorly... Much like my Chicago Cubbies. They have disappointed me this year - and I'll just leave it at that. Maybe sometime in the near future, I can elaborate a little further - I just don't feel like it tonight. ;) In fact, I don't really feel like writing much more, anyway.
It's getting late and I want to get a little snack before I hit the sack.
Anyway, so there's a little bit of an update on my life the past couple of months. I'll have a couple of chase reports to post to the Chase/Wx-Blog here soon, so stay tuned there, as well.
Take care, folks! Have a great week!
0 conundrum(s) | Have one of your own?
Hello folks,
I'm back into town and am getting settled back into the routine. You know, the working, sleeping, eating thing... Vacation went really well. Even though it seemed to just fly by, I was able to do pretty much all I wanted. I wanted to visit and catch up with friends - which I was able to do a lot of, to visit with family - which I was able to, and to relax - of which, I did quite a lot of, as well.
Traveling went pretty smooth... I ended up getting on the road by 12:30am on Friday the 4th, and with the weather cooperating, I nearly made it home in record time. Besides some hang-ups within the Chicago suburbs, traffic flowed fairly well. To avoid the apparent heavy construction on I-80 south of Chicago, I decided to take Highway-30 east off of I-39 in Illinois. This routed me through several very small towns and through Aurora, Plainfield, Joliet and Chicago Heights... and with construction going on within Plainfield and Joliet, it went painstakenly slow through that area. Still, I made it back into Bluffton by 4:00 pm. The same was true on the way back west on Friday the 18th, but the travel went even slower with scattered, light showers affecting traffic-flow through much of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Heavy rain in western portions of Minnesota really slowed things down... I was going 30 mph at one point because I couldn't hardly see in front of me.
The first night in town, I spent over at Jeff's (Justin's brother)... Justin and I decided to go swimming in his pool, since it had been a rather warm afternoon. Plus, it sounded really good to me, since I had been stuck in the car all damn day! Then it was off to Webster Lake, Saturday morning... Amy and Chris went along with us this year - it was the first time they had gone up with us. We had a pretty good time. Most of the time Saturday we were out on the water, tubing, or hanging out near the cottage, talking, drinking, and catching up with each other. It was nice to be around some of my closest friends again. It was nice to see Brian and Becky again, as well. I hadn't seen either in a long time... Sunday, the boat broke down, so we were forced to stay ashore most of the day. It got a little boring at times, but it was still nice to just be there with friends, relaxing.
The rest of that first week I was home, I spent down at Amy and Chris' down in Fishers... Chris is still in the process of beginning his real estate venture, so I was helping them out fixing up a home in Greenfield. It went pretty smooth and I enjoyed just helping them out and hanging out with my sister and brother-in-law for a week. Plus, they took me to Carrabba's - and damnit, that made it all worth it! I love that place!
Back in Bluffton, on Friday, I had to make it out to my dad's that evening for a cookout he was hosting for me. Several from my step-mother's family wanted to see me while I was home, so they were all there. It was nice to see them and visit for several hours. Saturday, I spent much of the day with Justin, Brian and Amy. Brian evidently had bought a new gun, so we were out at his parents shooting away. I have never enjoyed guns, per se, so I didn't shoot much, but did shoot his .45 caliber hand-gun. I didn't think it was going to be so loud, so I didn't have ear plugs in, initially. After that one shot, I put a pair of headphones on. As if my hearing isn't bad enough already! Then Sunday, my mother had yet, another cook-out for me. Members of my mother's family wanted to see me, as well, while I was home. It was nice to see them, as well, since I hadn't seen them in nearly 2 years.
Most of the second week, then, I spent at my mother's home in Bluffton. I was able to hang out with friends during the week and mostly just relaxed. My mother and step-father took me up to Bandido's for lunch on Wednesday (the 16th) and Justin, Brian and I all visited Bummies for dinner on both Tuesday and Wednesday. That's the one thing we lack up here in Grand Forks - a drive-in restaurant. As far as I know, we don't have one at all...
Thursday, I primarily spent packing things up... I wanted to visit with my dad, once again before I left, so I went out to his place for dinner Thursday evening. It was nice that they offered to make anything I wanted. :) I asked for my dad's famous fried potatoes. Ahh, were they good. Plus, they know how much I love steak, so they had steak on the grill ready, as well!
All in all, it felt really good to be back in Bluffton. And even though, I always said that I wanted to make it out of that small town, in a lot of ways, I miss it. I miss my friends a lot of the time and miss being close to my family. It was sad having to leave Friday morning - but I still have this thing deep in my heart for my career and know that eventually, I'll have a family of my own someday to love and support.
Maybe that will be my next "thing" to accomplish this year... To finally meet someone that just may be my next serious relationship. We'll see!
Enough for now... Phew!
I'm back into town and am getting settled back into the routine. You know, the working, sleeping, eating thing... Vacation went really well. Even though it seemed to just fly by, I was able to do pretty much all I wanted. I wanted to visit and catch up with friends - which I was able to do a lot of, to visit with family - which I was able to, and to relax - of which, I did quite a lot of, as well.
Traveling went pretty smooth... I ended up getting on the road by 12:30am on Friday the 4th, and with the weather cooperating, I nearly made it home in record time. Besides some hang-ups within the Chicago suburbs, traffic flowed fairly well. To avoid the apparent heavy construction on I-80 south of Chicago, I decided to take Highway-30 east off of I-39 in Illinois. This routed me through several very small towns and through Aurora, Plainfield, Joliet and Chicago Heights... and with construction going on within Plainfield and Joliet, it went painstakenly slow through that area. Still, I made it back into Bluffton by 4:00 pm. The same was true on the way back west on Friday the 18th, but the travel went even slower with scattered, light showers affecting traffic-flow through much of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Heavy rain in western portions of Minnesota really slowed things down... I was going 30 mph at one point because I couldn't hardly see in front of me.
The first night in town, I spent over at Jeff's (Justin's brother)... Justin and I decided to go swimming in his pool, since it had been a rather warm afternoon. Plus, it sounded really good to me, since I had been stuck in the car all damn day! Then it was off to Webster Lake, Saturday morning... Amy and Chris went along with us this year - it was the first time they had gone up with us. We had a pretty good time. Most of the time Saturday we were out on the water, tubing, or hanging out near the cottage, talking, drinking, and catching up with each other. It was nice to be around some of my closest friends again. It was nice to see Brian and Becky again, as well. I hadn't seen either in a long time... Sunday, the boat broke down, so we were forced to stay ashore most of the day. It got a little boring at times, but it was still nice to just be there with friends, relaxing.
The rest of that first week I was home, I spent down at Amy and Chris' down in Fishers... Chris is still in the process of beginning his real estate venture, so I was helping them out fixing up a home in Greenfield. It went pretty smooth and I enjoyed just helping them out and hanging out with my sister and brother-in-law for a week. Plus, they took me to Carrabba's - and damnit, that made it all worth it! I love that place!
Back in Bluffton, on Friday, I had to make it out to my dad's that evening for a cookout he was hosting for me. Several from my step-mother's family wanted to see me while I was home, so they were all there. It was nice to see them and visit for several hours. Saturday, I spent much of the day with Justin, Brian and Amy. Brian evidently had bought a new gun, so we were out at his parents shooting away. I have never enjoyed guns, per se, so I didn't shoot much, but did shoot his .45 caliber hand-gun. I didn't think it was going to be so loud, so I didn't have ear plugs in, initially. After that one shot, I put a pair of headphones on. As if my hearing isn't bad enough already! Then Sunday, my mother had yet, another cook-out for me. Members of my mother's family wanted to see me, as well, while I was home. It was nice to see them, as well, since I hadn't seen them in nearly 2 years.
Most of the second week, then, I spent at my mother's home in Bluffton. I was able to hang out with friends during the week and mostly just relaxed. My mother and step-father took me up to Bandido's for lunch on Wednesday (the 16th) and Justin, Brian and I all visited Bummies for dinner on both Tuesday and Wednesday. That's the one thing we lack up here in Grand Forks - a drive-in restaurant. As far as I know, we don't have one at all...
Thursday, I primarily spent packing things up... I wanted to visit with my dad, once again before I left, so I went out to his place for dinner Thursday evening. It was nice that they offered to make anything I wanted. :) I asked for my dad's famous fried potatoes. Ahh, were they good. Plus, they know how much I love steak, so they had steak on the grill ready, as well!
All in all, it felt really good to be back in Bluffton. And even though, I always said that I wanted to make it out of that small town, in a lot of ways, I miss it. I miss my friends a lot of the time and miss being close to my family. It was sad having to leave Friday morning - but I still have this thing deep in my heart for my career and know that eventually, I'll have a family of my own someday to love and support.
Maybe that will be my next "thing" to accomplish this year... To finally meet someone that just may be my next serious relationship. We'll see!
Enough for now... Phew!
0 conundrum(s) | Have one of your own?
- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under car , family , friends , photography , relationships , weather .
I'm up at 5:30am again... I was extremely tired after getting home from work yesterday afternoon, so I ended up taking a nap. After the nap, what else did I do? Well, went to bed, of course. What else? So, I suppose my getting up early this morning is justified, to some extent - much the opposite from yesterday.
I've been pulling the day shift at work (8:00am - 4:00pm) which is good in a couple of ways. I've had some things I've wanted to get done around here, plus I have errands I need to complete. I missed my appointment for my car last Thursday, so I still need to get it in for maintenance. Yes, I'm still having issues with the cruise control.
I've also been checking around for prices on enlargements for the lightning photos I shot during the evening of the 7th. I'd really like to get an enlargement or two to hang on my walls here. I have some interest at work to get some enlargements made to hang up there, as well. If you can believe it, we're a private weather forecasting company, yet we have not one weather picture hanging up in that office - anywhere! So, maybe I can start a trend here - and start getting some photos up on those walls. We have plenty of people in that office, especially among us forecasters, that chase and take photos. So, I'm sure we could all contribute.
Anyhow, it's been a little cool around these parts and especially rainy this morning. This upper-level cut-off low is still spinning around the Great Lakes and extending this shield of rain/showers over the eastern part of the state. It should taper off this afternoon, but it will likely keep things a little dreary through a good part of the day. It will, at least, be a good day to be inside at work. I'd rather have it that way, than have a beautiful 80° day and have to work.
I'm looking forward to this next week. A friend of mine will have her week-long vacation and I'm hoping we'll be able to get together and hang out. I managed to meet this woman a couple of months ago and have been e-mailing her back and forth for a while now. She's a little paranoid when it comes to sharing phone numbers and everything, which I can respect and can understand... But, it has been over 2 months now! Hopefully, we'll be able to find a time and finally meet each other.
I haven't talked to Amanda in a while... I should call her to see how she's been and what she's been up to. You know, I'll be honest here -- I understand that some women think that it's the "right" thing for the man to make the first move in a relationship... and to be the one responsible for "calling back..." In very nearly every relationship I've ever been in, that's been mostly true. But for you women (if there are any that actually read this) I'll let you in on one little secret. Us guys like it, too, when you call us! We like to feel wanted too, from time to time. I can recall a relationship while I was a Sr. in high school where this woman, in particular, would call me (out of the blue) and ask me if I wanted to come over, go on a walk, or simply to go out for ice cream... Don't get me wrong, I would call her plenty - but I'll just say, I enjoyed that. It's sad that it doesn't happen anymore - and especially sad that it hasn't in over 4 years.
Anyhow... Any more of this and I'll be forced on anti-depressants for the rest of my life. What I need is to be around my real friends... and I wish I could be. I'm getting very anxious for my trip home in August. I miss Brian and Amy. I miss Justin. And I miss my family. I can't wait to see Brian and Amy's little girl. They sent me a picture the other day of little Zoey... She's getting big and she's staying healthy! Check out this little cutie:
More later...
I've been pulling the day shift at work (8:00am - 4:00pm) which is good in a couple of ways. I've had some things I've wanted to get done around here, plus I have errands I need to complete. I missed my appointment for my car last Thursday, so I still need to get it in for maintenance. Yes, I'm still having issues with the cruise control.
I've also been checking around for prices on enlargements for the lightning photos I shot during the evening of the 7th. I'd really like to get an enlargement or two to hang on my walls here. I have some interest at work to get some enlargements made to hang up there, as well. If you can believe it, we're a private weather forecasting company, yet we have not one weather picture hanging up in that office - anywhere! So, maybe I can start a trend here - and start getting some photos up on those walls. We have plenty of people in that office, especially among us forecasters, that chase and take photos. So, I'm sure we could all contribute.
Anyhow, it's been a little cool around these parts and especially rainy this morning. This upper-level cut-off low is still spinning around the Great Lakes and extending this shield of rain/showers over the eastern part of the state. It should taper off this afternoon, but it will likely keep things a little dreary through a good part of the day. It will, at least, be a good day to be inside at work. I'd rather have it that way, than have a beautiful 80° day and have to work.
I'm looking forward to this next week. A friend of mine will have her week-long vacation and I'm hoping we'll be able to get together and hang out. I managed to meet this woman a couple of months ago and have been e-mailing her back and forth for a while now. She's a little paranoid when it comes to sharing phone numbers and everything, which I can respect and can understand... But, it has been over 2 months now! Hopefully, we'll be able to find a time and finally meet each other.
I haven't talked to Amanda in a while... I should call her to see how she's been and what she's been up to. You know, I'll be honest here -- I understand that some women think that it's the "right" thing for the man to make the first move in a relationship... and to be the one responsible for "calling back..." In very nearly every relationship I've ever been in, that's been mostly true. But for you women (if there are any that actually read this) I'll let you in on one little secret. Us guys like it, too, when you call us! We like to feel wanted too, from time to time. I can recall a relationship while I was a Sr. in high school where this woman, in particular, would call me (out of the blue) and ask me if I wanted to come over, go on a walk, or simply to go out for ice cream... Don't get me wrong, I would call her plenty - but I'll just say, I enjoyed that. It's sad that it doesn't happen anymore - and especially sad that it hasn't in over 4 years.
Anyhow... Any more of this and I'll be forced on anti-depressants for the rest of my life. What I need is to be around my real friends... and I wish I could be. I'm getting very anxious for my trip home in August. I miss Brian and Amy. I miss Justin. And I miss my family. I can't wait to see Brian and Amy's little girl. They sent me a picture the other day of little Zoey... She's getting big and she's staying healthy! Check out this little cutie:
0 conundrum(s) | Have one of your own?
- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under fantasy sports , friends , Indianapolis Colts , music , sports .
Not much to write home about today folks; but... since I have the laptop up and running. I didn't end up getting up out of bed today until 3:30pm, so there went half my day. Got showered up and lounged around for a couple of hours, then started doing some laundry. I've come to the conclusion that I hate doing laundry. It's not the fact of actually doing it as much as having to pay for it. I'll tell you what, if I ever get another apartment, it's going to have its own washer and dryer. The washer/dryer units in my apartment complex are located on each floor at the end of the hall... and I suppose the one positive is that I live very near the utility room they're located in. The negative is paying... can you believe this, washing a load of laundry costs 75 cents, while drying is 60 cents. Friggin' dumb as shit, I think, but well, what can you do?
While I had the laundry going, I took advantage of some free time and called my best friend, Justin back home in Indiana. This guy, I'll tell you what, can make me laugh no matter what. He could take the most mundane, dry conversation and crack a joke and make you laugh. It's amazing, really, how he does it - but its also something I miss dearly. I tried to convince him to move up here with me, and really, I could see him doing so if it weren't for financial concerns. Unfortunately, he's living with his grandmother and to put it in his words, "blows fucking ass." He hates it and he gets sooo frustrated with her. He needs to get out on own and I'm hoping before long he does... He's one cool dude, and I just miss hanging out with him and laughing non-stop for hours on end.
I also went out to Best Buy today and bought Martina McBride's new CD, "Timeless." Her first new studio album in a couple years was released on the 14th and being the Martina-nut I am, had to go buy it. I haven't listened completely through it, but so far, I've found it pretty good. She's redone a lot of the older country hits, adding a little modern touch to them, and of course, her beautiful voice. If you're a fan of Martina or of any of the older country music, you'll love this CD.
Well, it appears the MNF game between the Falcons and Jets has approached half-time with Atlanta leading 20-7. I have a feeling trading away Warrick Dunn on my fantasy football team is gonna come back and bite me in the ass. One of the guys in the league needed a marquee running-back and even though I really didn't want to trade Dunn, I did get L.J. Smith and Tatum Bell to cover a weak TE spot in my lineup and a fairly decent running-back in Bell, to help fill in what I'm losing in Dunn. The first week after the trade (Week 6), it actually worked to my advantage, as Tatum Bell had a pretty good game. This week - well, it's been the worst one yet. I had a total of 58 fantasy points. Yes, you heard me, TOTAL. I suppose that's what will happen when LT only runs for 7 yards and your starting QB only throws 130 yards for 1 touchdown.
The one upside... my hometown Colts pulled it out in Houston to become 7-0! The best start for them in franchise history. These guys are playing more as a team than they ever have, so they deserve it...
Well, hey the 2nd half is underway - and I'm missing it! So, I'm hopping off here for now. Take care and have a good evening!
Regards -
While I had the laundry going, I took advantage of some free time and called my best friend, Justin back home in Indiana. This guy, I'll tell you what, can make me laugh no matter what. He could take the most mundane, dry conversation and crack a joke and make you laugh. It's amazing, really, how he does it - but its also something I miss dearly. I tried to convince him to move up here with me, and really, I could see him doing so if it weren't for financial concerns. Unfortunately, he's living with his grandmother and to put it in his words, "blows fucking ass." He hates it and he gets sooo frustrated with her. He needs to get out on own and I'm hoping before long he does... He's one cool dude, and I just miss hanging out with him and laughing non-stop for hours on end.
I also went out to Best Buy today and bought Martina McBride's new CD, "Timeless." Her first new studio album in a couple years was released on the 14th and being the Martina-nut I am, had to go buy it. I haven't listened completely through it, but so far, I've found it pretty good. She's redone a lot of the older country hits, adding a little modern touch to them, and of course, her beautiful voice. If you're a fan of Martina or of any of the older country music, you'll love this CD.Well, it appears the MNF game between the Falcons and Jets has approached half-time with Atlanta leading 20-7. I have a feeling trading away Warrick Dunn on my fantasy football team is gonna come back and bite me in the ass. One of the guys in the league needed a marquee running-back and even though I really didn't want to trade Dunn, I did get L.J. Smith and Tatum Bell to cover a weak TE spot in my lineup and a fairly decent running-back in Bell, to help fill in what I'm losing in Dunn. The first week after the trade (Week 6), it actually worked to my advantage, as Tatum Bell had a pretty good game. This week - well, it's been the worst one yet. I had a total of 58 fantasy points. Yes, you heard me, TOTAL. I suppose that's what will happen when LT only runs for 7 yards and your starting QB only throws 130 yards for 1 touchdown.
The one upside... my hometown Colts pulled it out in Houston to become 7-0! The best start for them in franchise history. These guys are playing more as a team than they ever have, so they deserve it...Well, hey the 2nd half is underway - and I'm missing it! So, I'm hopping off here for now. Take care and have a good evening!
Regards -
0 conundrum(s) | Have one of your own?
- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under fantasy sports , friends , relationships , work .
Hey folks,
I realize its been since, what, June that I last posted in here? I suppose there really isn't any particular excuse, except pure laziness. Anyhow, I hope everyone out there is doing well.
Things here in Grand Forks are pretty much the same. Work has been going "relatively" well. Our new forecasting system went live about 2-3 weeks ago and us forecasters are continuing to get use to it. It has taken time, and even though some of us don't particularly like portions of it, we're pretty much stuck with it. We're still doing pretty much the same thing - making forecasts for DOTs and 511 services - however, are now using new software for our grid editing and site-specific forecasts. A lot of it is now automated and, among other things, it makes certain aspects out of our control as forecasters. So, while it makes some of our forecasting slightly easier, there are other aspects that make it more difficult. Anyhow, I won't go into too much detail as I'm sure you are really not that interested. But, just to make a long story short, while everything has been going relatively smooth, it just makes the job more stressful. At least, for me...
So, other than the job - not much else is new. Life is pretty much the same. I met a woman in early August and even though we would talk on the phone now and then and even went out a few times, things didn't work out. She was a very intelligent, classy, and wonderful woman, but for some reason or another, after coming back to Grand Forks after being home in Indiana, she decided to not return my phone calls. I was frankly, surprised she would do that, but considering I'm sick of those games, I stopped talking to her altogether. So, I'm back to being alone, again! ;) I suppose Christen and I were only "friends," but it was still nice to have someone outside of work to go out and do things with.
I try to stay busy, though... I'm in a hockey and football fantasy league now, with the guys at work! I don't know all that much about either, especially hockey, but it's fun to watch and participate. So far, my football team is 4th in a league of 10 and my hockey team is 5th in a league of 9 others. The hockey season just started last week and the football season is only in Week 5, so hopefully my rankings won't go anywhere but up! We'll see...
Well, since I'm here at work, I suppose I should go. I had some free time here and felt like making a post here since I haven't in so long. Again, hope everyone is doing well!
Take care!
I realize its been since, what, June that I last posted in here? I suppose there really isn't any particular excuse, except pure laziness. Anyhow, I hope everyone out there is doing well.
Things here in Grand Forks are pretty much the same. Work has been going "relatively" well. Our new forecasting system went live about 2-3 weeks ago and us forecasters are continuing to get use to it. It has taken time, and even though some of us don't particularly like portions of it, we're pretty much stuck with it. We're still doing pretty much the same thing - making forecasts for DOTs and 511 services - however, are now using new software for our grid editing and site-specific forecasts. A lot of it is now automated and, among other things, it makes certain aspects out of our control as forecasters. So, while it makes some of our forecasting slightly easier, there are other aspects that make it more difficult. Anyhow, I won't go into too much detail as I'm sure you are really not that interested. But, just to make a long story short, while everything has been going relatively smooth, it just makes the job more stressful. At least, for me...
So, other than the job - not much else is new. Life is pretty much the same. I met a woman in early August and even though we would talk on the phone now and then and even went out a few times, things didn't work out. She was a very intelligent, classy, and wonderful woman, but for some reason or another, after coming back to Grand Forks after being home in Indiana, she decided to not return my phone calls. I was frankly, surprised she would do that, but considering I'm sick of those games, I stopped talking to her altogether. So, I'm back to being alone, again! ;) I suppose Christen and I were only "friends," but it was still nice to have someone outside of work to go out and do things with.
I try to stay busy, though... I'm in a hockey and football fantasy league now, with the guys at work! I don't know all that much about either, especially hockey, but it's fun to watch and participate. So far, my football team is 4th in a league of 10 and my hockey team is 5th in a league of 9 others. The hockey season just started last week and the football season is only in Week 5, so hopefully my rankings won't go anywhere but up! We'll see...
Well, since I'm here at work, I suppose I should go. I had some free time here and felt like making a post here since I haven't in so long. Again, hope everyone is doing well!
Take care!
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Hey folks,
It's been quite a while since I last posted to the blog here, but since I'm finished with my Indiana forecast grids fairly early this evening, I have some spare time to finally put something in here! Hope everyone hasn't missed me much. Things in Grand Forks have been improving over the past week. Temperatures are up, spirits are up, and I'm even finding myself a bit happier. Maybe it has something to do with the warmer weather... or maybe that the snow that's been on the ground since January is finally gone!
It's nice to get up in the morning, open up the windows in the apartment and to relax some. With work a bit less stressful, I've been finding it easier to sleep and I think after being up here for 6 months I'm pretty much settled with the sleep/work schedule. I can't believe I've been up here for 6 months already. It sure doesn't seem like it's been that long. And strange enough, I was talking to my cousin, Brian, on the phone just the other day and he was saying that it has seemed so long since I've moved away from home. I guess when you talk to me about my friends from back home, it does seem so long ago that I saw them last. Even though I don't get homesick as much, I really do miss my friends... I have a great time with the friends I've made of my co-workers up here, but I just know in my heart I'd have such a better time with the friends I grew up with back in Bluffton. I just can't replace them...
As far as anything else new, not much. Besides watching college basketball and managing my NCAA Tournament Brackets, Fantasy NASCAR and getting my Fantasy Baseball team setup, I haven't really done much. With the tax return this year (which was much more than I thought I'd get) I purchased a cell phone and decided to cancel my phone service at the apartment. I also set aside a big portion of the tax return for a chase vacation at the end of May. I'm taking a 7-day stretch from May 27 through June 2nd off to chase the Plains with a few of my college buddies... So, of course, I'm getting anxious about that already!
I suppose I should get back to my Indiana forecast to get my sites completed, so take care everyone! Hope all is well...
Cheers! -- Matthew
It's been quite a while since I last posted to the blog here, but since I'm finished with my Indiana forecast grids fairly early this evening, I have some spare time to finally put something in here! Hope everyone hasn't missed me much. Things in Grand Forks have been improving over the past week. Temperatures are up, spirits are up, and I'm even finding myself a bit happier. Maybe it has something to do with the warmer weather... or maybe that the snow that's been on the ground since January is finally gone!
It's nice to get up in the morning, open up the windows in the apartment and to relax some. With work a bit less stressful, I've been finding it easier to sleep and I think after being up here for 6 months I'm pretty much settled with the sleep/work schedule. I can't believe I've been up here for 6 months already. It sure doesn't seem like it's been that long. And strange enough, I was talking to my cousin, Brian, on the phone just the other day and he was saying that it has seemed so long since I've moved away from home. I guess when you talk to me about my friends from back home, it does seem so long ago that I saw them last. Even though I don't get homesick as much, I really do miss my friends... I have a great time with the friends I've made of my co-workers up here, but I just know in my heart I'd have such a better time with the friends I grew up with back in Bluffton. I just can't replace them...
As far as anything else new, not much. Besides watching college basketball and managing my NCAA Tournament Brackets, Fantasy NASCAR and getting my Fantasy Baseball team setup, I haven't really done much. With the tax return this year (which was much more than I thought I'd get) I purchased a cell phone and decided to cancel my phone service at the apartment. I also set aside a big portion of the tax return for a chase vacation at the end of May. I'm taking a 7-day stretch from May 27 through June 2nd off to chase the Plains with a few of my college buddies... So, of course, I'm getting anxious about that already!
I suppose I should get back to my Indiana forecast to get my sites completed, so take care everyone! Hope all is well...
Cheers! -- Matthew
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Hey everyone...
I figured I'd hop on here today to update you with what all has been going on in my life lately. I enjoyed some time at home this past weekend with my friends up at Lake Webster. Wow, was that fun! Enjoyed some time out on the water - going tubing and knee boarding. I didn't get up the nerve to try knee boarding this year, like I did last year, but really, the tubing was all I needed. The lake was a bit more choppy this year, so the tubing was rough. My muscles are sore and along with that, I think I got a bit more sun than I had anticipated. The buring sensations from my shoulders and arms and legs aren't too bad, but they're just bad enough for it to bother me. My neck is the where most of my pain is eminating. The choppy water took a toll on my neck! It's pretty darn sore...
Aside from this past weekend, a lot has happened in the last couple weeks. I received a call from Meridian Environmental Technology on Monday, August 16th with a job offer. Considering the offer is for an operational forecasting position, I knew I couldn't turn it down. I accepted that and ever since, I've stayed busy with finding apartments and making out a budget... The job is located in Grand Forks, ND - so it will be quite a move for me. I am traveling out there this week to look at apartments with my mother and will spend all of the next week getting things around and packed for a move over the Labor Day weekend. It'll be a big move and even though I'll be in a strange place all by myself, I'm still excited about the job and finally getting out on my own and moving on with my life. It'll be fun meeting new people, making new friends, and getting to know a whole other part of the country! I'm not looking forward to those cooold winters, though! ;)
I'll continue to post on here, my progress with the relocation and such.
'Til next time...
73!
I figured I'd hop on here today to update you with what all has been going on in my life lately. I enjoyed some time at home this past weekend with my friends up at Lake Webster. Wow, was that fun! Enjoyed some time out on the water - going tubing and knee boarding. I didn't get up the nerve to try knee boarding this year, like I did last year, but really, the tubing was all I needed. The lake was a bit more choppy this year, so the tubing was rough. My muscles are sore and along with that, I think I got a bit more sun than I had anticipated. The buring sensations from my shoulders and arms and legs aren't too bad, but they're just bad enough for it to bother me. My neck is the where most of my pain is eminating. The choppy water took a toll on my neck! It's pretty darn sore...
Aside from this past weekend, a lot has happened in the last couple weeks. I received a call from Meridian Environmental Technology on Monday, August 16th with a job offer. Considering the offer is for an operational forecasting position, I knew I couldn't turn it down. I accepted that and ever since, I've stayed busy with finding apartments and making out a budget... The job is located in Grand Forks, ND - so it will be quite a move for me. I am traveling out there this week to look at apartments with my mother and will spend all of the next week getting things around and packed for a move over the Labor Day weekend. It'll be a big move and even though I'll be in a strange place all by myself, I'm still excited about the job and finally getting out on my own and moving on with my life. It'll be fun meeting new people, making new friends, and getting to know a whole other part of the country! I'm not looking forward to those cooold winters, though! ;)
I'll continue to post on here, my progress with the relocation and such.
'Til next time...
73!
0 conundrum(s) | Have one of your own?
