Coming Soon...

I'm shooting for a launch date of January 11 for Vebe Visual's website. We are working toward leaping into the new year with the business up and running now that the branding is wrapped up. We'll see what it takes to balance Vebe and my current work flow without disrupting life completely. Hopefully the economy starts to turn here because I know Vebe can stand on its own in 6 months time ... with the right revenue backing of course.

We've tried several site concepts but, being a design / communications company, settling on the right look is no easy task. A clean, white look with minimal graphics seems to look the best and is understated, which is what we were looking for with the design. We'll save the overly fancy graphics for Prep Sports Insider ... our first major project to be launched as part of the Vebe publishing portion of the business. We've already got the updated logo wrapped up for that one too! Once we've updated the coming soon graphic for www.prepsportsinsider.com, we'll be sure to let you know. Right now the focus is on Vebe Visual's launch and the holidays!

Hawai'i photostream.

For our friends and family who don't have Facebook. What a vacation!

Wedding Date and Reception Location Set!

That's right folks, Tracy Burns will become Tracy Vogtman on November 6, 2010. We have reserved The Grands at Mulligans for the wedding reception. We are so special we got the Grand Ballroom!

Saturday's were already slim pickings and the nice locations in St. Cloud and Sartell tend to go fast. That said, we made the move and are willing to gamble on fall Minnesota weather in November. We are both excited to have such a nice reception center for the wedding.

Now, time to search for what's really important: where we'll exchange our vows. First, we are checking with Tracy's church St. Francis Xavier in Sartell to see what kind of wedding we could have. We don't want to have an hour-long Catholic service, so we hope they can do something different. If not, Tracy's friend Ellen goes to a newer Lutheran church that would have a nice ceremony. We'll get it all figured out here in two weeks.

We are both excited and I'm sure November will come a lot faster than we anticipate! There's a lot to do, but a lot of it we can handle ourselves. With the help of Vebe Visual, we'll design the wedding invitations and some cool table settings no problem!

But, I'm sure all the small things will add up. We'll be sending out Save the Date invitations along with some engagement photos in February ... engagement photos we still have to take of course.

Hawaii Was Great

So, the updating of the blog has taken a major hit lately. With all the trip planning for Hawaii, it's got lost in the mix. A cool trip overview and photo slideshow is in order to make up for all the lack of posts.

If you haven't heard, Tracy and I are engaged! Now the next step, wedding planning. We are shooting for the weekend of October 8-10 after clearing some schedules with Tracy's friends. Now, I need to talk to my friends and make sure they are clear for that weekend.

In Monterey

Monterey is a pretty classy place thus far, but the morning overcast fog would get old in a hurry. We are here spending time at Laguna Seca, the most-famed road-race course in North America. New to my job duties, videographer. I'll be shooting video, conducting interviews and producing movies in the next two days.

Granted I've never actually produced any movies or short media clips in my day, but I spent plenty of time on camera and writing scripts and shooting video at the ATV publications. I just received Final Cut Pro software to produce the movie clips, so I'll quickly have to learn that program too. So far I've managed Adobe Flash for our flash online ads OK, so I hope this is as easy to learn as the other Adobe programs I've studied and learned.

At this point, my skills are being tapped to their limits. After leaving the magazines I never thought I'd be using all these skill sets at KTM, nor making them even better. Crazy to say the least. Here's a taste of what I'm up to: Photographer, videographer, PR press releases, marketing programs, designing ads, creating model line brochures, designing T-shirts and various logos, creating flash ads, writing ATV / Husaberg sales programs and creating them from scratch, managing press functions, managing racing efforts, managing ATV / Husaberg product, managing dealer development functions and trying to stay sane. That's just a taste. Needless to say, my job NEVER gets boring!

So It's November Already I Guess

Wow, where has time gone? Tracy and I have been pretty swamped here lately. It seems something always comes up to keep us busy and distracted and the time just whips by.

It's officially been 13 months since the move to California, but it only feels like it's been about 2. It's been a hectic last couple of weeks at and outside of work. I've been putting in 11-hour days at work, launching two all-new ATV programs while working on a ton of street media launch items (I have a flight up to Monterey Tuesday and come home late Thursday night).

But, it wasn't enough to get home late from work as I spent my nights wrenching on my ATV for the big sale ... it's like brand new now! I had enough of trying to sell my Suzuki virally via Craigslist and forum boards, so I put the puppy up on eBay. I was skeptical of the whole deal from the get-go, but at minimum hoped it drew some interest. I was right on both marks. Selling an auto or big-ticket item on eBay is a risk. Yet for me, in this economy, it was a risk worth taking.

I went the 10-day selling route and marketed the quad everywhere I could think of to draw up interest. After the 5-day mid-point, the Zuk had one bid at the minimum of $3995 and had more than 575 page views. As the time ticked away, the page views jumped to more than 1,000. By day 9 I had 5 bids, 36 item watchers and 1575 page views. Unfortunately the top two bidders both had zero feedback scores. From my experience, this is not a good thing.

After a short nap, I was awaken by Tracy excitedly saying, "Honey, the bid is up to $7600." Me being the skeptic that I am, I pulled up the auction and sure enough that's where it was at. Of course, my next move was to question how serious these two bidders were. Both had zero feedback scores. And this is where eBay needs improvement.

I didn't think the top bidder would come through with the purchase ... all the while Tracy was holding out hope. I didn't think the second chance offer to bidder No. 2 would move the Suzuki either, but Tracy wasn't giving up. eBay has its risks, and unfortunately my skepticism won out. This is were eBay needs to invoke a penalty to the top bidder, forcing them to pay the seller's listing fees. I dropped $22.50 listing that ATV, and non-serious bidders ripped away a sale that would have went to a lower more serious bidder who now had lost interest in the item. It happens all the time when bidders run up the price with a fake username, just to skew the auction. An authorized credit card with bidder listing fee penalty would protect the seller, and would help prevent goofballs out to ruin your auction.

I made second chance offers to all of the bidders, and only had one response. Naturally, it was the first bidder at the lowest price. Thankfully, he was still interested and we came to a fair price with a lot of bonus items included. I got the deposit in PayPal and we are arranging for pick-up next Monday. This eBay auction and ATV prep managed to eat up way more time than I ever fathomed. But, at the end of the day, I got a sale so it was all worth it. And, I managed to make 35% (less interest paid on the loan) on my investment. I'll take that to the bank.

Beach in October ... Okay

I think Tracy and I are starting to like this whole California thing. While most of our friends and family are suffering from an early arrival of winter, we're planning a trip to the beach. Somehow we're OK with 90s and sunny when it's cold back in Minny!

It finally rained here this week, and things are quickly greening up. It doesn't take much here in the desert to get things looking decent again. After two weeks of high 60s, the Santa Ana's return for the next four or five days bringing with them warm desert air. After living here 13 months now I can attest to the fact it cools down fast after Halloween. By cool down I mean 60s. California, I like you today. Tomorrow when I fill up my tank and we buy groceries, we'll see if I still appreciate everything you have to offer!

Want some 'shine?

Today I'm spending my time in the beautiful state of West Virginia. I don't say that sarcastically. The leaves are changing and the colorful mountainside is almost enough to make you overlook the crazy people here at TrailFest in the small town of Gilbert. Hillbilly, yes ... good people, most definitely.

I've always found the small economically depressed areas of West Virginia interesting. Gilbert lives and breathes ATVs, and without them there wouldn't be much draw to make a visit here in a town of 375 people. Sure, the hillbillies get a bad wrap, but they mean well. I wouldn't know what it's like to go through a coal boom and watch the entire state fall on its face when the coal mines start to dry up. You can see that throughout the ride down in small towns built on coal and right on the highway. The drive never lacks excitement. And, it quickly reminds you of how good you have it.

Abandoned properties and ghost towns are pretty much the norm. It's hard to believe what it's really like until you see it for yourself. And it's hard to believe towns as financially challenged as found here exist in America. The town of Gilbert has done a nice job of ATV tourism and has many of the basics. The whole foundation of the trail systems were built on abandoned old coal roads.

I'm in the southwest corner of the state near Kentucky. The moonshine was out in full force last night at the camp fire outside our motel. The Moonshine of Kentucky and West Virginia is no movie myth. It really does exist; it can be really good and super potent. Last night we tried cherry and apple pie out of a Kerr jar, just like you see it joked about on TV. I only had a few sips, but a few sips were more than enough. The power of the alcohol content can sneak up on you in a hurry when you're drinking the 'shine.

When you look back on the places you've visited in life, a few stand out for their own reasons. West Virginia stands out. For the most part the people are nice, be it a little strange. I'm sure I'm strange to them. But the landscape is so overwhelming. The forest feels like it is growing right on top of you everywhere here ... almost jungle like. And the abandoned towns and 'shine are impossible to forget.

After this trip, travel is just about done for awhile. It's occupied a lot of my time lately, so I haven't had the ambition to write a lot after a long day at work in front of the computer playing catch-up from traveling. Tracy is doing great. She planned to fly to Oakland to visit her friend Missy over the weekend but that fell through when Missy came down with the flu bug. Thankfully, Southwest Airlines is great with crediting back flights when plans change.

Charlotte, New York Next Weekend

After a season away from the races, I've got a full slate next weekend as I travel for the GNCC race north of Charlotte next Saturday. Immediately after the race, I head to the Charlotte airport for a flight into Newark, NJ for the NEATV (New England ATV) motocross race on Sunday. We are a sponsor of the series and haven't had representation there all season.

I'm looking forward to the weekend, but travel from the West Coast to East eats up a lot of time. Flying from SoCal to NC is like a fat guy at the buffet, gobbling up all my time on Friday. I get in around 9 p.m. after leaving here at noon.

Saturday will be fun. I used to attend about four to five GNCC races a year, and this is my first one this season. We will clinch our second championship in the Women's class, which gets a lot of publicity, so it's good to be there to celebrate.

Sunday is more of a meet and greet to get to know the series promoter and several of our support racers. I'm also on the hunt for some talent to ride Orange next year, so we'll see what turns up.

After the race, I'm off to Albany, NY, 100 miles north of Walden so I can visit a Husaberg dealer early Monday morning before flying back to San Diego. It should be an action filled three days that's for sure.

Dan's Season Ticket Seats

Hopefully I'll be able to watch the Gophers at the new TCF Bank stadium in the near future. I figure I'm holding out until they're ready for a Rose Bowl run. Next year? Two years? We'll see. Right now, 2,000 miles separates me from being there in person.

Dan's seats look pretty decent. The Gophers played a gritty game today and actually managed to keep me entertained for 3 1/2 quarters. Kudos to Brewster, I think the team is on the right track.

State Fair 2009

A little photostream of the happenings of late. Again, it's a pain but you need to click show info to read the captions. I'm looking for something that's a better solution for photostreaming.

Making It Rain

Tracy and I are doing our collective best to keep the economy rumbling forward. On Saturday, we were throwing money around making it rain in Murrieta. After running my tires for four years, I finally decided to put new meats on the Ford. Compared to the California standard of running 'em to the belts, my tires weren't completely useless. People literally run slicks here in SoCal. It adds up to entertainment when it finally does rain.

$975 later, my truck has new tires from American Tire, sister store of Discount Tire. Truck tires aren't cheap in SoCal, where everything involving cars is a surcharge compared to the Midwest. I went with the new Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors. So far, I'm really pleased. Hardly no lug noise on the highway and my truck is riding and tracking smooth.

For Tracy, we brought the Jetta that will eclipse 170k this week to the dealer to check out some dummy lights. The ABS speed sensor has gone bad, her large cooling fan is no longer working and her catalytic converter is bad, causing a check engine emission light. I'll take care of the ABS sensor and large cooling fan, saving her about $300 there. The catalytic converter estimate was $1,075 from Volkswagen. They are on crack. Sure, we'll spend a grand on a 2003 car that will hit 200k in a year. Sounds like another job for me.

Autozone catalytic converter: $325. Not sure how an exhaust system job can cost $700 more than that at the dealership. Unfortunately, in California you have to pass an emissions test every 2 years. Tracy is good for another 18 months, so we won't be tackling that one anytime soon.

Speaking of that timeframe, I'd be shocked if we lasted another 18 months here. Both our J-O-Bs are becoming a major P-I-T-A. I guess that's why they call it work. But when work egregiously takes advantage of you, it's when you start looking for other work. Our values are upping here in CA, and that means it's harder to be taken advantage of. 50 hour weeks at 40 hour pay can only last so long.

On a good note, we've been very happy outside of work at the beach and spending time with friends. We have slated another trip to the San Diego Zoo with Tracy's friends from Pasadena, so that should be fun. And, while I'm out of town in October for a work trip, Tracy heads up to San Fran / Oakland to see her friend Missy who is from Minnesota / Ehlert!

Week of Traveling

After a relatively calm travel schedule for KTM standards, I'm packing for a week in the midwest. I fly out of San Diego at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, which is a tad early for me but it will be worth it. I get in to Indianapolis at 3:15 p.m. just in time to see the AMA flat track race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 7 p.m. with co-workers.

On Sunday, the biggest motorcycle race of the year goes down in that of the Moto GP. All of the world's fastest super bike racers are in attendance. I'll be helping out at our demo ride truck with customers between races. Nobody misses the main event. I'm pretty sure my bro-in-law Kevin would love to see the Moto GP. Maybe next year!

The fun of the weekend quickly subsides on Monday and Tuesday as our annual KTM dealer meeting gets underway, which is a ton of work for our staff. This year the work will be a little easier because we are working with my old co-workers of Ehlert, who are putting on a professional business seminar for all of our dealers via their magazine Powersports Business. It will be great to catch up with old friends and hopefully learn a little bit more about the dealer business side for two days.

Wednesday is the highlight for our dealers and staff as we get to ride Red Bud in Buchanan, Mich. This is one of the best motocross facilities in the country, and is also where we held our ATV press event last year. Some of you may remember me leaving Friday night from South Bend and huffing it to Milwaukee for Brad and Kristi's wedding. Only to return Sunday morning hungover ... scratch that, really hungover.

Thursday I'm off to Minneapolis hitching a ride with our RSM who is from Fargo. Maybe I'll hit up the dentist while I'm in town, my teeth are looking like a carney in training. No Tracy this trip unfortunately. This will be the longest we have been apart since she moved to CA. With that in mind, I decided to book a Saturday night flight back to SoCal instead of hanging around through the extended Labor Day weekend.

My only plans while I'm in town ... fantasy football draft and hopefully a trip to the State Fair. Anybody in for the Fair?

One Word For The Melting Pot ... Wow!

So, Tracy finally cashed in on my Valentine's Day promise of a nice night out. We both ditched work this afternoon for Friday night date night. First we went and saw Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and it was interesting to say the least. No doubt a Tarantino film as it was graphic from the get-go. Yet, some how he transcended all the queasy violence with a film that was kind of comedic.

After the movie, we headed for Tracy's extremely overdue V-Day dinner of choice at the Melting Pot. Wow. This place zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ... sorry I fell asleep while typing, seriously. Major food coma going on. I woke up and the laptop was all sweaty from my palms. Serious meat sweats too. It kind of reminds me of Brad's bachelor party dinner at Fogo de Chao.

OK, for the first course we're going to melt in front of you two pounds of fondue cheese, pile up a loaf of sliced bread and some vegetables and apples to make you feel healthy. Naturally, we ate all of it but a small piece of cauliflower to make us not look entirely like pigs. Next up was the salllaaaaaaaadd. Sorry, coma kicking in again. This course 2 salad was bigger than my head, and that's big folks. We both dug in and ate more than Caesar probably did in a lifetime. We left a few crutons to make it appear like we weren't completely pigging out.

Course 3 was the highlight. Seven dipping sauces, lobster, shrimp, pork tenderloin, chicken, filet mignon. The fondue dinner is cook it yourself, and we didn't screw it up because we weren't in a food coma yet. Once again, Melting Pot provided vegetables including really good mushrooms, potatos and broccoli to make you feel like you are eating healthy. Needless to say, we put the vegetables in the fondue broth but never ate them. The manager stopped by and said, "I'll box up those vegetables for you." We both pretty much laughed him from the table. Oh sure, reheated broccoli is always delicious.

At this point, the wine was stirring with the food in the gut and the comas starting kicking in. The food sweats didn't hit until after dessert. Yes, course 4 ... arguably the best course. Cheesecake, Rice Krispie treats, cake, strawberries, brownies, bananas and marshmellows ... all of which get dipped in a chocolate of your choice. We went with the turtle flame chocolate ... flambeau style complete with a blue flame at the table. It was at this point that the meat sweats hit and they just wouldn't go away. As we were wrapping up the dessert the waitress asked if we wanted more strawberries. I turned her down but Tracy relented and asked for two more ... she brought seven!

What a dinner. A few minutes ago Hinz called and asked if we wanted to rally and meet up with the Hardhats crew for more drinks in Old Town with an 80s rock band the highlight. There's no rallying going on here. We have our fat pants on and are literally stuck to the couch. Maybe next time Hinzy!

Can't .... Stop .... Sweating. Tomorrow should be interesting.

Back From Warshington

Well, after a crabby and tired Monday at work I'm back in the swing of things. It was a long weekend with early mornings at our press event near Olympia, Washington. We arrived on Friday and pinned it to get everything prepared in time for the editors and our 2010 offroad presentation.

It was a typical overcast and misty skies in Warshington (the preferred pronunciation from my co-worker Tom, formally from the state). The event was a success and all of the editors, from all accounts, like the 2010 models.

Tracy managed to hit up the outlet malls in Carlsbad and kept her spending under $1,000,000, which is neat. I did get a nice shirt from the Gap as a just because gift. Naturally, I really liked it and I wore it yesterday! While I was busying working away on Sunday, Tracy cleaned the apartment and went grocery shopping at Target. I'd say I got the better end of the deal there. She only spent $2,000,000 at Target. Hard to stay under that level when you shop there.

We've got a more relaxing weekend in store this go-around. After talking last night the only things we must do is go to the beach to test out our new beach chairs and head to the Melting Pot for dinner. Tracy's friends Jeff and Maria may make a stop done for wine tasting on Saturday, though, and it would be great to see them.

Not much else to report. I did find out that I'm out for the work trip to Idaho, so I guess Tracy and I will have to coordinate a trip there when my parents plan on visiting.

Busy Month Ahead

It looks like work is picking up more so than normal if that's possible, as I will have to balance deadlines and travel over the next month. This weekend I'm off to Seattle / Tacoma for our 2010 KTM and Husaberg offroad model press launch. Thankfully, it's a short Friday to Sunday trip.

After a two weekend break I head to Indianapolis for Moto GP, the biggest road race in the U.S., and our annual dealer meeting. This year's dealer meeting is a solid three-day event from Monday to Wednesday, with the Moto GP the weekend before that I'll be attending representing KTM. The plan is to hook a ride with a Regional Sales Manager from Indy back to Minneapolis on Thursday and fly Tracy up for another weekend in MSP over Labor Day. We'll have to see if flights are affordable of course.

Then, it's a weekend break before traveling to Idaho for our Adventure Rider Rally. In case anybody is wondering, that's the bike my dad "rides". Long story, not that entertaining. I'm hoping to piggyback that trip with a short visit with my grandma and four uncles in the area. I won't have time to visit the fifth in Southern Idaho. If I can work that out, I think it's pretty fortunate I'll be able to see a lot of family over two weeks time piggybacking off work trips.

If we can't get Tracy back to MSP over Labor Day, I really want her to join me at the Rider Rally in Riggins, Idaho so she can meet some of my crazy uncles. We'll see how it all plays out here this week.

I better get back to work or my 11-hour day might end up being 12.

Wiens Winery and Hardhats

Here's a photo stream from some recent fun at Wiens Winery in Temecula and the following fun at Hardhats bar. Tracy's new Canon Powershot A2100 IS works amazing and has a 12.1 megapixel capture and 6x optical zoom.

If you don't see captions during the slideshow push the up arrow key on your keyboard after you expand the slideshow.

My Own Intern

Today I was given the final go-ahead to hire my very own little intern. To get the process rolling my co-worker Hinz and I called the local college in Menifee that offers a degree focus in visual communications.

I'm pretty much swamped here at work. You could say the boat is taking on water and my pail to bail it out has a hole in it. Or, I'm neck deep and the waves are splashing up over my nose. Or, I'm the lone horse and I have no time to drink. Enough with the analogies. What it all really means is between product management and graphic design, there's no time in the day to breathe. So, I pitched the idea of an intern a month or so ago and everybody has finally warmed to the idea.

Apparently my design skills have been ramped up about 50 notches the last few months as I'm now responsible for all of the product brochures (Three total at 28 pages each). It's a huge undertaking because I'm not just responsible for design. That's right ... I'm technically a "Marketing Product Manager", so that means I have to write the copy and headlines too! We run a small marketing department here that's for sure. The other two people in my department, Christy and Hinz, help with the copy during the rough draft stages and usually a few things get changed.

Along with the model line brochures, I'm responsible for all of our magazine ads, any promo flyers, modifying and creating Flash ads, creating dealer ads upon request (which average about 4 a week) and any POP (Point of Purchase) material for our dealers. It can get pretty overwhelming at times because that's just the graphic design aspect. This is where the intern comes in. If we can land somebody who can take just the dealer ads, flyers and a few Flash ads off my plate I might be able to come up for air again.

The sad part of the whole graphic design angle is I'm partly if not majority responsible for crushing an entire company that was once at 70 people in that of Arras Group ... our previous marketing / communications agency. The Arras Group had a head count of 70 when I started and is now at 5 or 6 people strong. I guess that's what happens when you become difficult to work with at times and you don't cut your rates in a down market. I estimate I've taken over $600k of business from them this year. I truly wish I was joking, but I'm not and it's probably even higher than that. From what I know we were their largest account. But we haven't passed so much as a dime on to them in the last six months. On the back end of the whole Arras Group collapse is me feeling guilty for people suddenly landing in the proverbial unemployment line. I guess I did what I had to do to keep myself valuable in a rough economy.

Lest we not forget, graphic design is only a portion of my job duties. In three weekends I'll be presenting all the new KTM offroad and Husaberg dirt bikes to the media in Washington. This obviously requires presentations and prep. After that it's our dealer meeting in Indy in late August. More presentations and a lot of front end grunt work for that one.

Needless to say, an intern can't come knocking soon enough. Who knows, doors might open for said intern if this market ever turns around.

Here Comes the Twins!

We just purchased our first set of tickets from Stub Hub for the Twins vs. Angels game this Friday. Terrace box on the visitors first base side Row A. Tracy is all about a Circle Me Bert sign, so we'll try our arts and craft skills Thursday night. We also plan on going to the Saturday night game, but we aren't so sure about a Sunday day game.

It's been super hot here lately. Here's what the last five days looked like: Friday: 98, Saturday: 101, Sunday: 103, Monday: 106, Tuesday: 102. Sadly, we're starting to get used to it. I'm still biking about 25 miles five times a week, but I have to be really selective on what time I go!

On a different yet related note ... we are planning on going to the Angels vs. Twins game at the Metrodome Saturday Aug. 1. Right now it's Jason & Carrie, Paul & Kristine, Brad & Kristi and the two of us. It's not a couples thing. Anybody who is interested in going to the game should let me know by Tuesday of next week at the latest. I plan on ordering a group of General Admission tickets in the upper deck.

We can't wait to see everybody. And we actually wouldn't mind seeing a thunderstorm or two. You start to miss those after a while.

Pedaling Away

I've been logging a lot of miles on the bike Tracy bought me for my birthday. So far it's been a great gift. It's pretty similar to the one pictured, except I'm riding with clip-in pedals.

For you non-bikers, clip-in pedals require a special riding shoe that has a cleat on the bottom of it. Said cleat clips in to the pedal, allowing you to pull and push the pedal on uphills etc.

I'm now up to 27.5 miles around four to five times a week. My co-worker, who got me in to this whole biking thing, was gone for three weeks on vacation and traveling for work. Once he got back he learned how out of shape he really was when I punished him on a recent bike ride. I felt like I was waiting for the little kid who didn't want to climb up the hill but knew they had to!

I've noticed the money up front to road bike seriously is kind of hefty. I spent $100 on my shoes, $75 on compression shorts and a Nike fit shirt, $40 on a new helmet, $15 on two water bottle cages, $28 on a nice air pump, $25 on another Nike fit shirt when I realized keeping up with laundry is a lot of work, and $38 total on an extra tube, small under the seat pack and CO2 air cartridge. I learned quickly the final $38 is the best money spent.

It didn't take long to experience my first flat tire. I guess road tires are really thin so it doesn't take much to get a puncture. Thankfully, I was riding with my co-worker and we were only 1 mile away from his house. He pedaled back to his truck and came and picked me up. It was at this point I realized I better spend the $38 for the spare tube and CO2 gadget considering how often I ride by myself and how far I ride from our apartment.

However, it was at an entirely different point that I learned tipping over on my ass at an intersection isn't really painful, just embarrassing. It was one of those "forgot my feet were clipped in to the pedals moments". To unclick you have to turn your heels out. Well, turns out forgetting that and panicking results in tipping over on your ass. A car stopped short on me so I had to stop early in the bike lane losing my forward momentum. I probably looked like one of those grooms fainting on their wedding day. Steady, steady ... he's down! I'm hoping that's the one and only time that happens!

The Joys of Summer in SoCal

Ah yes, the joys of summer in sunny, dry and hot Southern California. On Thursday I was all set for another 20-mile bike ride after work. It's typically a little hot around 4:30 p.m., but it usually doesn't smell like fire!

I guess it's a smell we are going to have to get used to here. This view from our apartment balcony is a fire blazing just south in the mountains. Naturally, I sat out on the patio with a drink and book and watched the whole thing unfold. All I needed was some marshmallows and graham crackers. The photo doesn't really give the size of fire much justice. If you look closely after you click on the image to expand it, you will see a helicopter just above the smoke line. That should help put the size into perspective.

I was amazed at the efficiency of the firefighters here. This fire raged in 95-degree temps for two hours. That's all the time it took for the helicopters and planes to put out the fire looking to advance in the dry brush. The foam phosphate does an amazing job retarding fires. I tried to snap a few pics of the planes dumping but my lens was maxed out, the smoke made them grainy and they pretty much sucked. This mountain is about five miles southwest of us.

The fire consumed about 125 acres in two hours time. Needless to say, the air quality here in the "valley" wasn't ideal for a hard bike ride so I had to shelve that plan for the day.

Other than that, Tracy and I had a great holiday weekend together. We were able to watch another type of fire from the porch on Saturday as two fireworks shows were visible from our balcony. Pretty ideal for us. No fighting crowds or traffic and the drinks were cheap! But we didn't completely cheap out. We managed to make a stop at a couple of wineries on Saturday for some tasting. We had another glass at Leonesse Cellars, which is by far the best winery we have found here so far. They have good reds and whites, which is a rare find here for some reason.

On Sunday we made our first stab at beer can chicken on the grill and it turned out really well. After 90 minutes the bird was ready and I was impressed we pulled it off for our first time. Tracy did the preparing and I did the grilling. I really, really didn't want to mess up my half of the duties. Bet that chicken never thought it would end up in our grill with a beer can up its ass!

Today (Monday), I took in another solid bike ride and am thoroughly enjoying an extended holiday weekend as KTM gave us Friday and Monday off. I feel like I'm the only one out there with Monday off too. Tracy wasn't as lucky.

Watercooler Talk

It appears the old cliche reference to watercooler talk at the office doesn't really apply to KTM anymore. Due to cost cuts I guess, the Glenwood Inglewood cooler service no longer exists at the KTM West office. It was a little sad once I learned of the cooler's demise.

We have an espresso machine, a selectable coffee style machine and a sink filled with dirty dishes. I guess that's where the non-fancy water comes from ... the dirty sink. Unfortunately, the water here in Murrieta tastes like a swimming pool so I'm going to have to come up with another option. Way too much chlorine; it must be the only solution to killing off all the nastiness found in the Colorado River these days.

My suggestion was to have people pay for the coffee and espresso, which would fund the water cooler rental. Ultimately, you know things might be bad if the water cooler service costs get cut. At least I get AC still, unlike all the mechanics in the back shop, drying out like a sponge here in the desert.

At the end of the day maybe I've just been a little spoiled with a water cooler at every job I've had. As long as I don't become the old water cooler, kicked to the curb looking for a new office to call home, there's really nothing to complain about!

Mama We're Coming Home

For those of you we haven't alerted, Tracy and I will be home from July 30th through August 3rd. Hopefully we can meet up with most of you. We're looking in to going to the Twins vs. Angels came on Saturday night. Maybe a little grilling and tailgating pregame?

Nothing much new to report here. It appears we are out of June Gloom here and 90-degree days and blue skies are what's in store for the next four months. Meteorologists have it rough here ... no, no they don't.

Before we come home the Twins are in town for a four-game set against the Angels. We're planning on attending three of them. Tracy really, really misses Bert ... must be from all that gas he used to throw! Think we won't make Circle Me Bert signs?

KTM Flash Ad -- 1st Ever

Check out my first-ever KTM flash banner ad. Dad, this would be an ideal event for you since you ride the 990 Adventure and all!

It wouldn't all fit in the frame space requirements here even after I modified the size, so you can see the finished polished version at http://megaswf.com/view/f7f976dbec168ad2ba6a2a57f74dda27.html

I Suppose

I suppose I should post an update as it's been a while since the last real post. Last week my parents came to visit and spent six days here in SoCal. Sorry for the lack of pictures, we didn't have a working camera. Bare with me, this will be a longer than usual blog. I promise the next one's won't be so long winded.

Overcast skies were the norm for the first three days of their visit. Tracy and I had to work on Thursday, so my parents were on their own. They're big kids, so we figured they could handle it. They hit up Old Town Temecula and then made it over to a winery for a late lunch. Sounds like they enjoyed themselves. We got a sweet Friends Welcome, Relatives By Appointment plaque from my parents that they acquired in Old Town antiquing ... my mom's favorite pastime. Kind of like her baseball.

On Friday, my dad and I donated to the local Indian tribe, losing $100 cumulative at the Pechanga Casino before we headed to meet Tracy in Orange County. My mom was smart and just looked on as we dumped cash into their pockets. We met up with Tracy around 2 p.m. after a trip across the Ortega and the four of us had lunch overlooking the ocean in Laguna Beach. It was a really quaint location and even better than the scenery was the food. After lunch, we made our way to Anahiem stopping at Huntington Beach on our way for shopping. Once we got to Anahiem we scalped some excellent seats for the Angels v. Mariners game that was proceeded by a much better than expected fireworks show. Bang, ooooh, awe.

The overcast weather persisted in to Saturday with a nagging mist ... not ideal for enjoying the world renowned San Diego zoo. Turns out the day worked out perfect. The mist quit as we entered the zoo, and it managed to keep the crowds down too. The zoo just opened its new African Safari featuring elephants and Jaguar that was really impressive. Overall, the zoo was great and we did a good job of saving money. Tracy and I are now zoo members, a less expensive alternative to buying four admission passes. It cost us $80 and the membership lasts for a year, came with two guest passes and discount passes. Standard admission for four adults would be $140. Our other cost saver ... we packed lunches and brought souvenier plastic cups from our last trip to the Wild Animal Park. The zoo refilled them for free, which was a $11 savings! Once we returned home, my dad and I grilled up some delicous steaks and chicken ... Tracy and my mom were off on their own adventure as Tracy picked up my birthday gift. I'll update you more on that in another blog.

Sunday the weather turned, turned really hot. We headed out to Palm Springs to visit my mom's second cousin in 98 degree temps. Downtown Palm Springs was a little disappointing. I guess it has appeal for the sunny skies, but it just wasn't my scene. Palm Springs just didn't live up to the hype. The only cool thing, literally, was the mist features outside the shop awnings. Other than that, nothing to see here, move along. Nevertheless, Tracy and I enjoyed the pool and the sun and my parents enjoyed catching up with two people whose names I can't remember. I'm sure they were great names though. Later we hit up a mexican restaurant that was just OK. Fairly standard mexican food fare.

I also took a vacation on Monday afternoon and spent time with my parents bumming around at our outdoor mall here in Temecula. Tracy managed to swing another half-day and the weather was sky blue and 70. Pretty much perfect weather for a little wine tasting. We bought a bottle of blush wine at Wilson Creek and enjoyed the high alcohol content and some cheese and crackers. My mom seemed to enjoy the high alcohol content more than the rest of us though :)

On Tuesday morning, I took my parents down to La Jolla before their flight and we did the standard walk on the beach. Then, we headed over to the must see and smell ... the seals! We got to the cove just in time and were able to stand right above some of the biggest and stinkiest of the bunch. It's always fun to see the seals. After that, we had a really good lunch at The Cottage in La Jolla and were off to the airport. Wow, six days goes fast. Especially when it's really, really fun. Thanks for visiting mom and dad, it was great to see both of you.

Thanks Mom And Dad!

Tracy and I had a great time with my Mom and Dad during their six-day visit. Unfortunately, Tracy's camera was out of commission and my parents forgot theirs. Oh well, there's always next time! The weather was overcast for the first half of their trip, but it started to cooperate since the Sunday visit to Palm Springs. I'll post an update tomorrow on the fun we had. Right now I need some rest.

I noticed my parents are about 35 minutes behind schedule, but they're making up ground quickly on their flight back to MSP with the jet stream at their tail. Thanks again for visiting, Tracy and I had a great time.

Joe Mauer The Next .400 Hitter?

It's been 68 years since Ted Williams' amazing accomplishment of eclipsing the .400 mark. Williams was penciled in the line-up in that final series against the then Washington Senators needing two hits to finish above the historic mark. He went 2-for-3 that day, finishing the 1941 season at .406.

Sixty-eight years later, the purest hitting catcher in the modern era is gracing the game with class and pure skill on the team that used to be the Senators. The Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer is batting a zany .429 as of Sunday morning and has a serious chance to put his name in the record books next to Williams. Yes, it's early in the season for Mauer, but he looks like a changed hitter this year. He's hitting for power and he's slapping base hits through the holes like he's playing in a slow pitch softball league. He is a complete hitter in the box now. With 9 home runs accounting for more than one-fourth of his hits, fielders must respect his power more than year's past.

As a comparison, Williams was batting .383 at this point in the season, tallying 36 hits in 94 at-bats. Yes, Mauer missed the first month, but he's not far behind Williams in the at-bats department. With that in mind, it shouldn't cheapen Mauer's accomplishment this deep in to the season. In 77 at-bats Mauer has 33 hits. Now that he's batting in the No. 2 hole, Mauer should close the gap on Williams in the ABs department in just a few weeks.

During that epic 1941 season, Williams hit a high water mark of .439 in early June before dipping below .400 just after the All-Star break. Williams increased his average to .400 and managed to keep it there after the final game. His final stats in 456 ABs marked him with 185 hits.

If Mauer can stay healthy, he'll easily reach and exceed Williams' officially recorded ABs during '41. The real question is, can an everyday catcher fight off fatigue late in the season and stay focused enough to average .400? If anybody can, it will be Joe Mauer. He has an amazing command of the strike zone and a strong line-up behind him in Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Joe Crede and Jason Kubel that force pitchers to throw him strikes. [Update: Mauer goes 2-for-3 with another homer to up his average on Sunday night. Morneau adds a grand slam. Further proof to the protection in the order argument.]

Just as impressive as Williams' .406 average, he also led the league in home runs (37), base on balls (147), runs (135), slugging average (.735) and on base percentage (.551). Williams' keen eye at the plate is the key contributor to his .406 average, reducing his official ABs.

It's highly unlikely Mauer could ever lead the league in home runs, but the other stats are doable. Right now Mauer has 9 home runs, 16 base on balls, a mind-boggling 22 runs (in 93 plate appearances!), an .844 slugging average and .516 on-base percentage. Stats most beer-league softball players wish they could achieve!

My suggestion, watch and attend as many Twins games as you can while he's hovering around .400 because seats might be hard to come by if this lingers in to August and September. You just might be able to say you watched one of the purest hitters of our time prove .400 can still be done ... without the need for steriods.

I'm Running Out Of Time

On Monday, I made the prediction that I would receive another offer on my house this week. I've had two showings since, but no written offers. My prediction is quickly running out of time.

Since many of you are probably wondering what kind of feedback I'm receiving from the showings after 64 weeks on the market, I figured I'd post one here.

Interior -- General Condition? Good
Exterior -- General Condition? Good
Curb appeal (lot/landscaping)? Good
Staging (cosmetics, updating)?
Appropriately Priced? Yes
If no, what would be appropriate? No Response
This buyer is considering another showing of this property? No
General comments/suggestions:
My buyer is looking for something to "wow her" This is a great house, but it didn't do that for her.

Ugh ... I don't know how to "wow" a buyer at the sub-$200k price point. Buyers are picky right now, really picky. Six more weeks and I'm throwing in the towel. Something about 70 weeks on the market says "RENT ALREADY!" I'll try my luck with a property management company and go from there. Here's to hoping, if that day comes, I don't end up with a scumbag renter and dirty family who likes dog fighting. In case you're wondering, that already occurs just one block down the street at a rental.

Brothers Marking Their Own Achievements

This month marks two full years I've been cutting my own hair. It's quite the achievement. Kind of like graduating with an MBA while working full time. OK, not so much. Congrats Dan on your MBA from Carlson School of Management, we're all proud of you. We can't wait to see where the second half of your career takes you. Skies the limit bro! Don't hesitate to ask if you need any graphic design for any future projects.

Back to the haircuts because that's more important, er something like that. It all started by a combination of factors: I'm cheap, I hate paying for bad haircuts and the waiting rooms at Fantastic Sams, Cost Cutters and Great Clips are just plain dirty nasty. That, and I always got that rather large lady whose fat rolls rested on my arm when she was working her way around the chair. Mmm...fat rolls resting on my arm. Neat.

Here's how my haircuts usually went for $17:
"Oh, I'm sorry sir. Did you say you wanted it a No. 2 half way up?"
"Yes, in fact I told you twice!"
"Sorry. The good news is hair grows back quickly."
"Thanks for the military cut but I'm not enlisting this week."
"Funny. My cousins in the military and he loves my haircuts."

Then I walk out wondering why I just tipped the fatty for a crappy haircut.

After one particularly terrible Not So Great Clips cut and experience, I decided to give it a shot trimming my own hair. 735 days later and I've been cutting it ever since. I'm not the greatest at it, but I'm not that bad either. Hopefully Tracy hasn't been biting her lip every time I ask her how it looks. Worst part is clean up, best part is I have nobody to blame but myself if my haircut sucks. I used to get my hair cut every three weeks. At $17 a pop with tip and roughly 17 haircuts a year, I figure I've saved $575 doing it myself. Now, if only I could start brewing my own beer. I bet I'd save $2,000 a year doing that!

More DMV Fun

That DMV is a tough nut to crack. Today I arrived on a co-workers motorcycle so I could pass the driving portion of the test to get my motorcycle endorsement. After 10 minutes of back and forth with the clerk, and a DMV supervisor, they decided not to let me take the test. I guess my co-worker is using dealer plates on his bike, and dealer plated bikes are not allowed to take the test even with proper proof of registration and insurance. I guess the plates are only for test riding, and they really aren't fully legal to use on a daily driver. I have until Aug. 28 to get it done before my temporary paper CA ID is expired. Oh joy, another trip back to the DMV. That place just makes me feel like I need a shower.

Naturally, I wanted to register my truck at the same time. Here's what I needed: Lien release, title, smog test papers, official weight of vehicle, truck insurance, old registration card from Minnesota and a two-page form filled out. That's a lot of work just to switch plates. It's probably easier to get a Green Card! Of course, I could only get a temporary license for my truck because they needed to physically inspect and validate that it was the same truck as the 30 papers I had to prove it was. So, I had to hop back on the bike and ride back to my co-workers house (I have a permit after taking the motorcycle written portion) and get my truck. Once I got back, I sat in the validation line behind an old 62 Bel-Air that needed a lot of validation. That car was just lucky to start.

Once the old red truck was validated I got to go back inside the DMV building and sit in line again. Then, I learned of the damages. $125 for a weight fee ... my truck weighs 5,112 pounds, which is not a good thing in the State of California. Add that ridiculous weight fee plus my plates and the total was $264. Hard to believe these crooks here in California approved those fees to double starting May 19. That means 2010 is going to cost me $528 to register a truck that is 10 years old. Can you believe that ... highway robbery quite literally. Add my $264 to the $10 weight certification fee, $50 smog fee (with coupon no less ... again trucks cost more even though it's the same emissions as cars) and $28 to get my ID. Good old $350 just to live here and drive. There goes that money I was saving for a flight home!

Got Stanky Legg?

This video was probably the best thing ever. Do you have stanky legg? It's a new hit. Tonight Tracy's friend Amber introduced us to the Stanky Legg saying after we saw a group of guys doing the dance on a car's hood (that definitely wasn't their's) after dinner. As the KTM ATV Product Manager, I'll have to push to have our ATVs in the next video.

Hey Maggot, Give Me 20

I felt like a worthless maggot on his first day of boot camp today. It was the usual routine at work ... put 10-plus hours in, check off to-dos and add more to-dos to the list. Usually by the end of 10 hours my brain starts to ooze out my ears and I'm ready for a distraction. That's where biking comes in.

About three times a week, four if I'm not completely worthless, my co-worker and I put in 20 miles of pedaling through dry desert air and car fumes paradise. It's neat. After 25 minutes of exercising in this stuff your tongue starts to swell like one of those crazy foam animal capsules.

Just as my tongue was starting to swell into an elephant shape I came to a sad realization, I haven't been pushing it hard enough. Lance Armstrong I'm not. I decided it was a good idea to have a little pedal off against my co-worker Hinzy. You could say I'm at a distinct disadvantage riding a mountain bike versus his road bike, but that shouldn't be an excuse.

We raced up one of the lovely smog hills here and I nearly spit out a lung. Thankfully that swelling elephant tongue of mine did a tremendous job holding my lungs in. I thought I might have seen Jesus at the top of that hill, and He was glorious. Needless to say, I didn't win and was still just the worthless maggot set for latrine duty. I thought I had Hinz soundly beat three-quarters of the way up the hill but I faded faster than the brakes on my truck during rush hour. Hinzy passed me toward the top and managed to put two bike lengths on me. It was at this point that the remaining spit on my elephant tongue turned in to drool on my face.

It took 3 miles to start breathing normal again and get back into a rhythm. I'd like to blame my pathetic defeat on the smog / mountain bike but in reality it was because my legs got caught on my skirt at the top of the hill. Hinzy commented, "You gonna cough up one of your ovaries." It's never cool for somebody to call out your manhood, especially a co-worker. I decided I better man up and pretend my heart and lungs were still somewhere in my chest and not rolling down the hill screaming mercy.

Moral of the story, I'm still not in shape and I need to get over the mental aspect telling me I can't go faster and I can't push up the hill in top gear. There's no point going 20 miles if you aren't pushing hard for at least 15 of them. It's time to man up. Before I know it I'll be 40. And I think the 40-year-old version of me would kick my ass for not trying harder. I've only got one more year of the 20s, it's time to ditch the ugly body for a beach body.

Time Flies

I just realized it has been quite a few days since the last post. It seems time has been ticking away quickly the last few weeks. Work continues to keep both Tracy and I occupied, but we're waiting for more summer-like temps so we can enjoy California-livin'.

This weekend is shaping up to be a relaxing one before Tracy's friend Amber makes a visit next weekend. For once, we really don't have any major plans ... besides grocery shopping. Our cupboards have gotten a little bare this week!

No new updates on the house. I've lowered it another $5,000 (exactly $50,000 to date) and I still don't think that will be enough to stop the hemorrhaging wound. I'm kind of stuck on this one. I'm giving through the end of June / early July to sell and, at that point and time, a real decision needs to be made on what to do. Buyers are picky and they can be right now. And, I've learned buying a house in a city like Robbinsdale was a terrible idea. Next time, we're buying in city known for good schools somewhere in suburbia where more buyers are present.

Lest I forget ... Robbinsdale decided to enact a home inspection requirement for any house on the market starting May 1. Lucky me, that's another $150 hit to my pocketbook. Well, hell, I don't even own a pocketbook, so that doesn't make any sense. I don't even know what a pocketbook looks like. Do they even make those for men? I digress, this house situation sucks and I really want to get out from underneath it. Unfortunately, I'm going to be paying for it for at least 12 months after I sell it. Who would have ever thought a home could lose 25 percent of its value in four years after being updated? Not this guy.

Maybe we should listen to Tracy's dad Terry's suggestion: "You should go panning for gold. There's a lot of places you can do that in California." Maybe that will bring us some luck?!

Enjoying 80s Poolside

Today we got lost in the time and spent more than 2 1/2 hours by the pool at our apartment. We beat the rush and enjoyed the entire pool to ourselves at 11:30 for almost an hour.

Of course it started to fill up with kids and moms after lunch. There was snot everywhere down there! Tonight we are off to San Diego to visit with Derek, Chad, Katie and Derek's cousin Chris Lyles. Yep, the same guy I graduated high school with. Small world.

Nothing else to report, besides my killer tan! It's supposed to be high 80s tomorrow, so we think we'll enjoy another day at the beach. San Diieego, drink it in! "It's so damn hot. Milk was a bad choice."

Let's Play 60 Questions Shall We?

Today I made it over to the DMV at 2 p.m. with appointment in hand. Appointment is the only way to go at the CA DMV. The place was packed with antsy customers and crying kids. But I got in and out of there in an hours time. Thankfully! I don't know how the workers handle it for 8 hours straight.

Glad Tracy went first and filled me in on all the details regarding proper documentation etc. I took the standard driver license test and managed to pass without studying. Tracy has bragging rights though, as I got three wrong to her two.

I did look over the motorcycle handbook and aced the test, only getting one wrong. Unfortunately, I don't get the neat California ID card until I pass the motorcycle driving test on May 14. No biggie there. My tabs expire on my Minnesota plates at the end of the month, so I'll just risk it for two weeks and get my CA plates on the same date.

All in all, it was a pretty busy week capped off by a trip to the DMV. Tracy and I might head to the beach on Saturday ... temps in the high 80s are calling!

Minnesota, Ohio and California Oh My!

I guess I really shouldn't wait to file my taxes the evening of the deadline. Especially when I had to file in three separate states along with one federal return.

The good news is I was at least organized enough to have all of the necessary tax documents in the same location. The bad news is it took me more than two hours to file so big brother could keep tabs on me.

I started with federal and was OK with the $29.95 Turbo Tax fee. I'm used to that one. Next, I started on Minnesota and learned there was another $39.95 charge to e-File for state taxes. I figured it was an unlimited amount of states for one charge. Boy was I wrong.

After finishing up Minnesota, I moved on to Ohio. It was weird that I had to file in Ohio because I was kind of a vagrant there for six months. I never had a permanent residence and lived in a couple of cities moving from the hotel to apartment. That, and my pay stubs were going to my Minnesota address. Confusing nonetheless, but I guess I did live there so it was accurate. As soon as I was wrapping up Ohio, I learned Turbo Tax was hitting me up for another $39.95. Damn, I was thinking, this a fricken racket and Turbo Tax is the king of racketeering.

At this point I knew Turbo Tax would be digging in to my pants pocket again and bringing out more than lent when I filed for California. You guessed it, another $39.95 for three months in California. Turbo Tax was like my adopted kid from abroad for the year. For just 54 cents a day, you too could have a Turbo Tax to call all your own. It's only the cost of a cup of coffee. Yeah, it cost me $199 to file four returns last night. Not to mention there was a sales tax charge on filing my taxes. That just doesn't seem right.

Fortunately, I planned pretty well for my taxes and I don't have to pay in for any of the four returns. In fact, I broke exactly even for Minnesota. I didn't even know that was possible.

THE BEST NEWS IS: That lost frisbee sort of turned up. Tim surprised me yesterday when I met Tracy, Tim and Laura for lunch with an identical frisbee. Man was I happy. As a side note, Wal-Mart is better than Target for some stuff. Wal-Mart's price on the same frisbee: $8.98.

LOST: $9.99 Frisbee

After cutting out of work early to spend time with Tracy and her brother and mom on Monday, we headed over to Laguna Beach to enjoy the sunny skies, high 70s and the ocean. On our way, we purchased a sweet 175-gram Ultimate Frisbee disc. I had to go for the heaviest on the shelf, knowing how much ocean breezes can impact flight.

After an hour or so of discing with Tim and a little break, we decided to move down the beach to a better tossing location. This was a bad idea. Waves were at high tide and literally breaking at the 9 foot mark. Now, Tim blames me, and I blame him for what happened next. But, in reality, we are both partly to blame and the ocean takes most of the fault. Tim bombed the disc over my head and everybody knows how slow I run. Right as I started to make my break for the disc, a huge wave came crashing in. I normally look like I'm running in slow motion, but this was freeze frame. I missed the disc by a few feet and my two-inch vertical didn't help matters. Next thing I know the disc is rapidly getting sucked back into the great blue abyss. After 20 minutes scanning the massive waves hoping it would wash up, we finally gave up hope. It's probably floating along next to Wilson out there somewhere.

We got about 200 tosses in, so it was like throwing a nickel back and forth for an hour. You could say we really didn't get our monies worth on that one!

Angels Vs. BoSox

We're preparing to head over to Anaheim for the Angels vs. BoSox game today. This marks the fourth baseball park I've watched an MLB game at. Tim, being the hardcore baseball player he is, is pretty amped to watch his first game at an outdoor stadium.

So far I've seen a game at the Metrodome, Indians' Progressive Field and the Padres' Petco Park. We'll post some pictures of the fun. We're in Row C in the lower deck right field with four aisle seats. Maybe I'll catch a dinger from Torii with two iis. Or, maybe I'll have to fight Tracy, Laura and Tim for it!

Verbal Powersurge

Tracy's family Laura and Tim are here. Let the verbal diarrhea begin. Between me and Tim, there's a lot of smart-assed comments. Let's see if Tracy and Laura can handle it for five days. Today we are off to wine tasting, again. Tim is a little too excited about it, so we are starting to question his manhood.

Sunday we're going to the Padres matinee game against the Giants. Should be fun. I bought a roast so we'll slow cook it starting in the morning and it will be ready for Easter dinner when we get home. Tracy loves her boiled eggs on Easter, so we are going to do that too. Tim will probably partake in the Easter egg hunt at Petco on Sunday. Kids can bring their pillowcases and hunt for eggs at the park. Tim definitely qualifies for that.

New RC8 Ad

Check out this RC8 ad I created today at work highlighting our Race Orange program. I was responsible for both copy and design. I think it's pretty slick. The orange loses a little bit of its pop on the Web though.

Will My House Ever Sell???

I hate this economy. I feel lucky that I'm able to squeak by with a home mortgage, credit card bills (thanks Home Depot) and steep California rent partially subsidized by my employer. Today marks 54 weeks that my house has been on the active real estate market.

What have I learned?

I was way too aggressive with the initial $244,900 asking price. I wish somebody would have kicked some sense in to me before that listing that feels like 54 years ago, not weeks. I'd even take a Jet Li chop to the throat over reliving that stupid listing price. The original listing was through relatives at Cushman Realty who only had my best interests in mind. Nobody wanted to offend the other so the list price stuck. After four months with Cushman and two price reductions, we decided to part ways. My aunt started a new job, and we figured it made sense to go with a more proven Realty company in Edina Realty that could focus on my property full-time.

Now another 7 months have passed and the house still sits on the market.

Back when this mess was unfolding shortly after accepting my new job in Ohio in January 2008, I ramped up house improvements in hopes it would move my house off the market quickly. We opened up the kitchen by removing a wall, replaced the vinyl flooring with ceramic tile, updated the sink, faucet and countertops, and bought a new microwave and dishwasher. Tracy even contact papered in the cabinets and drawers and we added new cabinet fixtures. The fun didn't end there.

My dad and I updated the entire basement over a course of several months. First, we freshened the ceiling paint, sheetrocked half the main family room wall, removed wallpaper, painted wood paneling and had new carpet installed in the family room, bonus room and up the stairs ... and when the house still didn't sell we replaced the second kitchen carpeting and updated the wallpaper. A Jet Li drop kick to the cajones was starting to sound more fun than selling my house at this point.

All the main floor rooms got new light fixtures and we managed to paint the entire exterior of the house and garage. Still no dice ... nothing close to a Yahtzee ... seven months in at this point. Yeah, that point where the entire economy fell flat on its face like a drunk overweight coed walking home from the bar in six inches of fresh snow.

The worst part is I was dumb enough to put it all on a Home Depot credit card with no interest for 6 and 12 months on the major purchases. Back then, I figured all those wonderful improvements would move my property to the the top of the list and I'd pay off the card in quick order. Nothing's happening quickly these days. If this economy continues to be worthless I'll be eating 4:30 p.m. dinners and changing my Depends before my house sells. Read: I'll be really, really old.

$44,900 and one President later and the house still sits and waits on the market at $200k. A lot has happened in these 54 weeks. Businesses have went belly up, foreclosures have become commonplace and I was transferred to California. Thankfully my company wrote a contract up to assist in living expense until late 2010. It was a blessing in disguise. If I was still in Ohio, I'd be working 8 jobs to make ends meet. More important is I still have what I love most: Tracy and a great job.

Well, what have I learned? I've learned not to trust that stupid show "Designed to Sell" on HGTV. Lisa Laporta might just deserve a Jet Li chop to the throat herself. Maybe I should have just smeared crap all over the walls instead of fresh paint and let it go in to foreclosure like everybody else. What do you think of that "Designed to Sell ... In Foreclosure" Lisa?

What I've really learned is this is just another minor hurdle in life. I'm not the millionaire like I dreamed I would be when I was a 10-year-old pinging with dreams of making it big before 30. And, I've also learned being strained financially won't rip the enjoyment out of my life. Tracy has been amazing through all of this and, believe it or not, takes my mind away from all that is dollars and cents. Even if my house sits on the market 10 more years, she won't let it bring me down. Am I happier now than 54 weeks ago ... without a doubt.

Is It Stealing If...

Tracy and I are wondering if "taking" a newspaper from our neighbors is stealing, if said neighbors have moved out? The papers started piling up after we saw they moved out last Saturday, so we figured we might as well reduce waste by reading the papers.

Every weekend Tracy actually purchases the paper for the coupons. Hopefully we can score a second free paper this morning. Yeah, we snatched up last Sunday's paper from the neighbors too. Last night we hit up the grocery store and saved $6.35 thanks to Tracy's coupon clipping. Sometimes I wonder if the coupons don't encourage wasteful spending, but I guess most of the groceries we bought with coupons were things we actually needed.

Just five more days until Tracy's mom and bro hit up SoCal. Looks like mid 70s and sun. Mid-70s here is like 80s in Minnesota, the sun rays are pretty intense.

Wore Out

After a lot of action the last three weeks, Tracy and I are pretty wore out. John and Katie arrived Thursday night as our second straight weekend visitors. Thanks for visiting John and Katie, we had a great time!

Friday we hit up Disneyland for Tracy's birthday. Tracy got free admission for her birthday and we got two-for-one tickets now that we are SoCal residents. That means we get to hit up the Adventure Park for free within the next month! Two theme parks for $69 for two people ... not a bad deal.

We had a fun time celebrating Tracy's b-day at Disneyland. It just so happened that John and I wore similar outfits so it was an ongoing joke all day (see photo slideshow below). After hitting up Space Mountain in the morning, we made our way through the park and hit up all the major rides. Except for Mr. Toad. John was bummed when the ride shut down after waiting 20 minutes in line. I don't think he missed much from the Toad though! We ended our day on Space Mountain again. After giving Tracy a hard time for all her giggling early in the day, the tables were turned. I don't know what it was, but I couldn't stop laughing on that last ride. It was a blast. Tracy in turn gave me a hard time! Disney was actually a pretty cool time. It definitely surpassed my expectations.

On Saturday, we hit up some wine tasting again. John and Katie had dog sitter drama and Tracy was still kind of celebrating her birthday, so everybody was anxious to take the edge off with some wine. We hit up the largest winery here South Coast before moving on to the smaller Robert Renzoni winery and Leonesse Cellars. Unfortunately, Tracy's camera took it's second significant cement drop in 8 days and is no longer in operation. Oh well, the price we pay to "taste" some wine.

After wine tasting we hit up Old Town Temecula for some of the most bland mexican food I've ever had. Dirt has more flavor than the refried beans at The Bank restaurant. And the dirt in the desert has more moisture than the carne asada. I thought it was hard to screw up mexican food. Think again. This place seriously sucked. The margarita's were strong, but not strong enough for us to overlook the terrible food. In all honesty, I could probably crap out a better tasting dinner than The Bank could make and sell for $10.

Thankfully, we didn't let the poor food, broken camera or sprained ankle crazy lady dog sitter drama ruin our day. We enjoyed a jacuzzi and a few more cold beers and the day still felt like a relaxing vacation day.

On Sunday we took the Ortega over to Huntington Beach. We hit up the candy store on the way, a must-stop Dan and Miranda introduced us to. Then, we ate mexican food that didn't suck at Wahoo's. I'm guessing Wahoo's actually tastes the food it cooks, opposed to The Bank. Wahoo's is highly recommended, the food was excellent. After some shopping and hitting up the pier, we dropped off John and Katie at John Wayne airport so they could pick up their rental for the remainder of their vacation in San Diego.

Thanks again for visiting. We love seeing friends and family making the trip to spend time with us.

Recent Fun in the Sun

We've had several visitors here over the last two weeks. Check out a little slideshow of some of the action.

Thanks Dan And Miranda!

After a fun-filled five days, Dan and Miranda made the trek back to Minnesota today. We enjoyed the visit, and we hope you will make a return trip in the future.

It was a packed week for them as we got started in San Diego Wednesday night at Croce's restaurant and jazz bar named after the famous singer Jim Croce. It was a nice night in the Gaslamp as we ate on the patio and enjoyed the outdoor patio heating. Next up was a trip to our favorite Irish pub The Fields for a few pints ... one day after St. Patty's day unfortunately.

On Thursday, Dan and Miranda were on their own and took the scenic Ortega -- Tracy's commute route -- to Orange County for sushi. They managed to score some great candy halfway through the Ortega at a quaint candy store too! Naturally, we made it the Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Gophers hoops team disappoint in the second half after Tracy and I got home from work.

Friday was a fun day as Dan and Miranda split up. Not to worry, only on activities. I guess this is pretty common for them on quick vacations. I took a vacation day from work and so Dan and I could play a Robert Trent Jones' designed Murrieta course called SGCA. Miranda headed up to Hemet for a fun horseback ride in the mountains and scored a nice sunburn too! Dan managed to thoroughly smoke me in our round with rented King Cobra clubs no less. Dan penciled a 97 for his first round out this season with rented woods he struggled with. I shot a 110 and it felt like a 125. The front 9 on this course was really tough, and I really got my monies worth with a front 60. I'd say the $35 green fee cart included (a great deal found online) was utilized most on the front side.

Saturday was highlighted by wine tasting in the Temecula valley with one of Miranda's co-workers based in L.A. and her friend. I believe their names were Michelle and Jamie??? The six of us had a good time and Tracy ended up buying two bottles. It was pretty evident that Dan and I were over the whole wine tasting thing three wineries in ... we managed to hit five of them. Saturday night featured a rowdy game of Blokus, Dan won three of four games. Either he's a genius or we're really stupid. I'm hoping for the genius angle.

Sunday was pretty chill. Well, except for the fact that Tracy's car failed the smog test before it was even tested because of a check engine light. The Jetta had a bad thermostat that Tracy was aware of, so Dan and I replaced it. That's the second thermostat replaced in the apartment garage! Tracy has her license test on Tuesday, and to get the plates your car must have a passed smog test on record. Kind of last minute, but we never could have guessed about the check engine lights causing an automatic failure.

Other than that, it was a really great week spending time with my brother and Miranda. I can't recall the last time that we got to hang out so much. On the car ride home after dropping them off in San Diego Sunday night, I already started to miss them. I guess it hit me that I don't know the next time I'll get to see them. Now I know what my dad has gone through the last 25 years with all his brothers in Idaho.

Well, I don't want to bore you too much here. We'll post some pictures tomorrow. Tracy has a bunch of good ones from the week.

Now, we look forward to John and Katie's visit starting Thursday night!

Our First Visitors Are...

Dan and Miranda. We are really looking forward to this Wednesday when Dan and Miranda arrive in town for a short stay here in California. Dan's on spring break and Miranda is celebrating a new position at Ameriprise. We'll pick them up in San Diego Wednesday night and hopefully it will feel like a four-day vacation here in Murrieta. The weather looks sunny as usual, and temperatures will be in the low 80s.

It sounds like it's been a long winter in Minnesota, and I guess Tracy and I have taken our weather for granted a little bit. I've been biking 70 to 80 miles a week with a co-worker for the last three-plus weeks. It's things like that that you take for granted when you're not spending a winter in Minnesota.

After Dan and Miranda visit, our friends John and Katie are here the following weekend. It just happens to be Tracy's birthday on that Friday so we've planned to go to Disneyland. And then Laura and Tim (Tracy's family) visits over Easter. We look forward to seeing all of you!

Final Vebe Visual Logo

Tracy and I brainstormed a few logos and type sets and finally came up with a logo design we like. The double arrows represent the V in Vebe and the V in Visual. In the trendy version, we will use a drop shadow on the arrows to set them off from the blue background.

Oh, and Tracy wants me to mention the significance of Vebe, the name she came up with. It's pretty simple, really, it's the V for the first initial of my last name and the B for the first initial of her last name. V B or Vebe. It's definitely grown on me. We are putting together an entire corporate design or CD manual with our fonts and design. Once we get this deal launched, we want to approach the local wineries with design proposals ... they don't advertise enough, so we think we can fill a niche for them at a fair price.

KTM One Year Anniversary

Believe it or not, I celebrated my one-year anniversary at KTM. And, what a year it's been. From making the decision to move to Ohio, to making that decision all over again when I was relocated to California. Tracy and I have been presented with a lot of stressful decisions during my time at KTM, but we are glad we have made the ones we have.

In the last year, we went from hardly seeing each other to living together. What a difference a year makes. Living together is neat.

During that year, I've learned a lot at my new job regarding marketing strategies and keeping yourself valuable during rough economic times. It's been quite the year. I could have never imagined that my house would STILL be on the market right now too! Oh well, I'm scraping along and times will get better. I keep telling myself my house will sell ... just a matter of time. That hour glass will have to run out eventually.

KTM has been a great opportunity and it's a really fun company to work for. Everyone is passionate about the industry at KTM and we don't just work in the industry we live it. As an example, after racing last weekend and riding at a media event in the mountains on Wednesday this week on an ATV, today I hit up the motocross track and spun some laps on two wheels for a change. We are always living the sport out here, and it's much better than Ohio. The nice weather doesn't hurt either.

On Sunday Tracy gets to meet her friend Amber who is in town for dinner while I head up to Glen Helen for the opening ATV National race to represent KTM. Race weekends will start to slow down soon, just in time for Katie and John's visit and Tracy's family for Easter weekend!

I'll Take The WORCS

I'm pumped up for this weekend. I should be because I've been preparing for it for more than a week. Last weekend I took a KTM 450 XC ATV with our 540cc big bore kit to Lake Elsinore MX to train for Round 2 of WORCS racing.

Lake Elsinore lived up to its name, that much is for sure. The track is located on a dried up lake bed that holds some water after heavy rains such as the ones we've had recently. The track was choppy and several sections were so sloppy that at least 60 pounds of cement-mix, super sticky mud built up on the machine each moto, wearing me out quickly. This isn't an exageration. It took me 2 hours to get that orange beaut looking new again! I put in a 20-minute moto to wear a line in on the track and had to stop and scrape off the mud to avoid carrying too much weight over the bigger jumps.

The good news is apparently Californian riders are too soft for mud riding so I had the track to myself. You don't get that opportunity every day. Once I wore in a line it was actually a really fun and challenging track. I rode four motos and put in more than an hour of training for this weekend's WORCS National race.

I'm still not sure what class I want to enter. I've never raced a WORCS event, so I'm thinking I'll check out the Open B class to see how I stack up. Open A riders will be on the track at the same time so it will be a good gauge of my skills. The race is 50 minutes that combines both cross country racing and motocross disciplines. There's also tractor tires and telephone pole obstacles to conquer and climb over, but I have no doubt the KTM can handle the job. The question is, can I?

Tomorrow I'll spend time prepping the machine for Friday practice. I'm expecting a really rough course as the dirt bike riders hit the same track this past weekend. And, from a few co-worker reports, expect blisters. I'll take a before and after picture of my hands just to see how soft I've gotten being a desk jokey.

Top 5 Things I Hate To Clean

1. White blinds. Is there anything worse than cleaning blinds? Today we cleaned the blinds in our bedroom and I couldn't wait for it to be finished. We live in the desert, so dusting a lot is a must. I imagine cleaning blinds is worse than cleaning a newborn's bottom.

2. Shower surrounds. There's something about cleaning shower surrounds that aggravates me. Thankfully, Tracy cleaned our two surrounds yesterday. I feel like you scrub and scrub and never make any progress and the chemical smells overwhelm you. At least I'm not that hairy like the pube brothers (Who found a pube in their toaster of all places). You know who you are. Not being real hairy makes it a little easier to clean the shower at least.

3. Ovens. That self-cleaning function is a joke. You put it on self-clean, it stinks up your entire house and there's still crusty stuff you have to clean out. As a bonus, I'll add that cleaning under the burners can be painful at times. Kind of like a night being forced to listen to an entire Amy Winehouse album.

4. Refrigerators. It never fails that I spill something in there fumbling around in a hunger haze. Of course, I'm too worried about my next snack so I don't clean it up immediately. And, let's not forget about those new fancy upside down ketchup bottles that always seem to leak in the door. Cleaning the fridge is worse than being forced to watch Dr. Phil and Maury back to back.

5. Ceiling fans. I'd much rather put up a ceiling fan than clean it. There's an inside joke to that one, so if you're not on the inside you're missing out. Today I cleaned our ceiling fan blades and ate dust as it rained down on me. The dust was just a pre-game snack because we're off to In and Out burger for an early dinner ... the first time I've hit it up since I moved here in October and Tracy's first time ever!

In the Sinkhole

Per my usual routine I left the apartment at 6:15 but was shocked to be greeted with a traffic jam on Hancock Road. Usually there's hardly a car in sight when I leave for work. When I got to the first stoplight I was detoured right by a traffic control officer. So much for going west toward work. I busted an illegal U-turn and made it to work just slightly later than my usual 6:30 start time.

When I crossed the 215 I noticed there wasn't any traffic. Something was amiss. Turns out there was a huge sinkhole that closed all the north and south bound lanes and they decided it was a good idea to detour all the traffic past our apartment. I feel so lucky. Nothing like even longer traffic jams in SoCal. If only I had a street bike today, splitting lanes up to stoplights would have saved me 15 minutes in a commute that should only take 8 minutes! On the way home I went 4 miles in 23 minutes. That's not ideal gas mileage in the old Ford.

Incredible Dinner

I had my favorite meal tonight for dinner. I've always loved hamburger and gravy over mashed potatoes. More specifically, I've always loved my mom's hamburger and gravy over mashed potatoes. It's always a meal that reminds me of home and family. My mom sent over her recipe almost a year ago and life got too busy to make the meal. Finally, now that our lives have slowed down a tad, Tracy got the recipe again and we made my favorite meal. Tracy's favorite meal is mashed potatoes and gravy with meatballs ... only real difference is the meat isn't in balls. My mom made this meal for us awhile back and Tracy was hooked just like I am.

Believe it or not, the hamburger and gravy tasted nearly identical to my mom's sauce. It's one thing to get the ingredients, it's another to actually cook it right. The sauce was my responsibility tonight and I guess I actually succeeded. And, for the first time ever, Tracy made mashed potatoes. We've only made the instant potatoes, which really are worthless compared to the real thing. Tracy did a bang up job and the mashed potatoes were really, really good. She added half and half, butter, milk and sour cream and they were delicious! So, I'll perfect the hamburger and gravy and Tracy will perfect the potatoes. Perfect match. Neat. I guess it takes two of us to equal my mom's good cookin', but she does have a few dinners on us!

It's not right to get this excited about dinner, but we were really pumped. Man we love that dinner. Miss you mom it's not the same without sharing it with you and more importantly, Happy Birthday!!

Supercross V-Day

You can't really call it romantic, but we're going to spend our Valentine's Day evening watching Supercross at San Diego's QualComm Stadium anyway. Hopefully this time the parking lot doesn't stink of piss and puke like it did at the Chargers vs. Raiders game I attended a while back. That wouldn't really be ideal on V-Day.

We are also deciding between a few restaurants in the historic Gas Lamp District for an early dinner. I'm between the House of Blues and the Gaslamp Strip Club that is known as one of the best steak joints in San Diego. What's unique is you cook your own steak at your table. That could get interesting! I'm not so sure how busy these restaurants will be a 4:00 or so when we plan on eating. Reservations seem like a lot of work.

The Supercross race gets underway at 7 p.m. so we'll have to hit up an early Valentine's dinner. We'll be cheering for KTM's Justin Brayton and Ryan Sipes tomorrow night and hoping for no rain ... there's been a lot of that lately. February is historically the wettest month of the year here so I guess it's expected.

But, let's focus on the present. Tonight, Tracy is baking me a white cake with strawberry frosting as our V-Day treat! I don't think I'll be waiting until tomorrow for that.

Ouch!!!

You'd think I'd know better then to break apart two frozen hamburger patties with a curved paring knife. Umm ... apparently not. Last Friday I made up patties from scratch and froze the remaining patties in some wax paper. Naturally the paring knife was the closest utensil within reach so I decided it would be a good idea to use it for the patty separation. Usually I use a butter knife when separation duties call. Sadly, I even thought about cutting my finger up before I put the blade between the patties. What did I learn? I guess Chicago Cutlery makes some pretty sharp knives.

The paring knife had no problem working through the two frozen patties and gouging out a chunk of the tip of my left thumb. In fact, as I'm typing this I'm learning I use my left thumb on the space bar way more than I ever thought. Cutting a chunk out of my thumb isn't as bad as it sounds. Well, at least that's what I'm telling myself. Tracy just looked at me strange, grabbed me our Band-Aids that we thankfully had on hand and started helping cook dinner without saying anything smart assed. I'm hoping I would have done the same for her, but I'm sure there would have been one smart assed comment mixed in to get me in a little heat.

We Love Our Blokus

Derek, Chad and Katie made the trip up from San Diego on Saturday and we promptly fed our Blokus addiction with them in town. Katie and Derek enjoyed the game, but Chad (blue sweater) didn't seem to have the attention span for it. He was too busy finding just the right song on 80s and 90s hits on the TV.

After a few games of Blokus we caught a cab to old town Temecula for some fun at a club we weren't aware of. Most bars close at midnight here, but we got lucky and found a pretty nice establishment with DJ and a nice outdoor patio.

It turned out to be a fun and late night. After sleeping in on Sunday, Tracy made everybody french toast and the crew hung around until about 3:30 watching movies and playing our second favorite game Aggravation. We have the homemade version that Tracy's friend Amber gave us for Christmas two years ago. I guess we just really like board games.