Random Fact: #1

I attended a portfolio presentation on Sleep deprivation this evening. It started with a meal and the speaker got up to talk following a lengthy intro from some LLU employee. It was at this time that they turned down the lights to show a power point presentation. Well, several minutes passed. I took a look around and what did I see. Yep, thats right. Four or five people with their heads on the tables out cold. That is Irony. Attend a seminar on sleep deprivation -- sleep through it. NICE.. I want to send out a firm and hardy handshake to these folks as they have reached a point where sleep was just more important. Cheers. Rich

Reasons to Love LLU #1

Here at LLU we are often faced with days where you wonder why I picked this place. I mean signing up to by tested and retested then tested some more, and somewhere in all the madness they want you to study for thee afore mentioned tests. It can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. It is at times such as these that we remember reasons why we have chosen to spend years of our lives and thousands of $$$$$'s to attend the University they call LLU. Today I present Reason #1.

Not long ago we had a chapel on wednseday morning that saluted our faculty and staff members and allowed the student body to see just who was running the show around here. It was on this wild morning that I saw two of our professors Dr. Sulzle and Dr. Lohman. Just seeing the smiles on their faces as we the students came by refreshed my memory as to why I was in school at LLU. These two professors have been known to go way above and beyond the call of duty to help out students with any problems they may be having. I can tell you personally these are Reasons #1 & 2 of why I love LLU.
rich

Turkey Day part2

Hey Turkey-day lovers. The big day has come and gone. Many an American overeater has had their Gastronomical dreams come true.They have eaten as much food as they can possibly stomach, then for an encore they will fall under the spell of the mysterious "Turkey Sleep". Better know as the affect of Tryptophan a marvalous little amino acid which is a precursor to serotonin. This chemical combo is responsible for many of those couch potatos lounging around livingrooms everwhere over the holiday's. Plump protein packed pultry packin plump peoples pantry's. The holiday's are such a thrill. It is this thrill that is carried over from Thanksgiving till the end of December. Big bad budda bellies beggin badly burnt beef burger breakfasts. Yeah? Weird. Well I can tell you when you cram your stomach full of food over the holiday's you are looking to have some serious time spent on the treadmill at the gym to loose all the extra poundage. It is this unwillingness to stomp along on the treadmill with the millions of americans this Jan-Feb that provides me with the will to watch the amounts I eat over the next several weeks. So as the holidays begin be warned. Watch yourself. Turkey-Day is just the start. More Over eating to follow. Enjoy your vacations, but beware of the "Turkey Sleep". Rich

"Turkey Day"

Thanksgiving is here. No way to push this one out at all. I can tell this vacation is going to be great. I plan to get some long days on the bike and long hours in bed tring to catch up for 10 weeks of sleep deprivation. Turkey is what's for dinner, and sleep is on the menu. Hope you can get a lot of both of them as well. Rich

"Hey, Can I borrow your pen?"

Here I am on the eve of a monster Histology test Tuesday typing away. I can't help it though. I mean this blog had to go out. Let me start you off with a little thought to ponder. You walk into a public bathroom, look around pick a location to do your business, head to the sink to wash your hands (as any good manered individual should) then hit the door back to what ever you were doing. Ok.. Gotta the picture. It may be a bit of a strange picture yet hang in there it's going somewhere.
So I am out for dinner a couple days ago with my friend Bio-chica. I believe we were at the Rama Garden in Redlands. It was a nice evening with the full moon and the moderate climate we have been enjoying. Dinner was wonderful and we bantered on about politics and religion, social life and friends. The waiter tried to light the overhead heater like four times with absolutely no, I repeat myself, NO success. It was beginning to get cool as the evening had now progressed. It was after his final and futile attempt at lighting the heater that I gave up. "CHECK PLEASE".... Soon after the waiter appeared with the bill. We as always split the bill down the middle. Put our two cards in the black bill carrier and he quickly scampered off to run the cards. Shortly there after he came back with two black bill carriers one for each of us. I quickly opened mine scanned the ####'s picked up the pen and signed the paper. I looked over at Bio-Chica and she was rummaging in her purse for something. I asked if I could help? she said no, and continued the search in her purse. Soon she was triumphant in her search and happily pulled a pen from her purse and signed her bill. Huh... was all I could say... "aaah... was the pen they gave you broken?" I asked. Bio-Chica: NOPE. I don't like to use the pen they provide. You don't know where it's been. RICH: "yeah.......hmmmm... yeah....ok.. uuuuhhh... you wanna get some Ice cream?" and "CUT" I was waiting for the film crew to come over and powder my nose but, nope..... no film crew here... "real life" that's what I'm talking about. Where has the pen you picked up from the grimple holder on your desk been? More importantly, Is it yours? You may have washed your hands, but how about dude hitting the door in front of you? Wash? or Did not Wash? Your make the call. Real People .... all different... diversity is our strong point and our weakest point.. So next time you go to grab that pen, or pencil laying by the computer. what you may really want to do is ask your friend; "Hey, Can I borrow your pen?" Rich

Training in my living room

Since the recent demise of my car. I am forced to ride my bike anywhere I want to go. Not so bad if you enjoy peddling around Loma Linda. However night rides on the local streets are not conducive to safety nor do they allow for much social interaction. (Barring the occasional finger waving deviant the attempts to run you off the road into any ditch, hole, curb, or structure that may present itself as an available target) This being mainly due to current road conditions and the lack of common sense on the part of those who choose to throw their glass bottles onto the roadway to achieve a sense of self-worth. (I am somewhat jaded on this point) Thanks to these deviants we are able refine and test our tire repair skills on nearly a daily basis. This installs a desire to not ride in Loma Linda, but rather in Redlands where there are fewer deviants and more low traffic roads. However this creates a new problem of how to get to Redlands to start a ride. Normally it is as simple as jumping in my car and hauling "A" over to where ever you want to start. With the “red bandit” in the shop for the near future I have had to fall back on the trusty #2 option. The indoor trainer! Let me tell you this little guy shows no mercy. It is a constant workout with no relief in sight unless you want to just get off. I thought it would be cool to watch a movie and do a nice easy 60 min. workout. Not happening! In the first five minutes of the flick I was starting to loose interest. As the presence of lactic acid slowly began overriding any and all thought processes that were trying to take place in my feeble mind. Studying? Nope. I realized a bit late that I need 99-100% O2 sat. to even stay on the bicycle at this point. Making a long story short riding the trainer kicked my butt. Not that most things wouldn’t. However it really crushed my self-image to be so badly abused by such a small machine. It was like having to quit a marathon because you tripped on your own shoe lace and broke a leg. (well, that maybe a little random) All I can tell you is that riding thee old trainer will either make you stronger or make you sell it on ebay. Rich

CAR PROBLEMS

Ok, where do I start? The story about my car goes back a few months and will probably only make sense if I give you all a little background. About three or four months ago my sister was in South Africa traveling through the jungles looking at some pretty cool animals. At the same time I was here in good old Loma Linda getting my butt kicked by Gross Anatomy. Upon her return she headed down south to Temecula to see a friend for a day or two. It was on one of these nights that I got "the call"... You know, " hey rich, I was wondering if you wanted to buy my car?"....huh.??? What are you talking about? I was thinking.... Subaru outback.??? yeah.... that would be cool... huh. "Why?" was all i could ask her. Well, I kinda bought a new car today and was wondering if you would like to have(buy, purchase) the old one? Well, I needed a new car cause the beast that I was driving was beginning to show signs of fatigue. "OK." I said in a moment of weakness. I'll buy it. Then began the brother sister barter trade type talking to see what was at stake here. A price was agreed upon and both parties were happy. Next the "red bandit" (richie's new car) had to be retrieved from Temecula. Where it was lurking following the purchase of the "Black Pearl". It came home with me and was a pleasure to drive. So somewhere around here is when the story gets good.
I went out to Utah to work on my house that needed a little room repair. Along the way the old dummy light on the dash comes on. "CHECK ENGINE" Well, I call my sis, and she says : hey don't worry about it the light kinda comes on once in a while. Ok says I and away I go.. Sure enought the next day the light goes out and were feeling good again. Well, the light came on again and stayed on for like a week. I checked every fluid level and all the wires and plugs. Nothing. So I keep driving .. always on the look out for anything funny. Yesterday I finally said you know what I gott get this light checked by a "pro" Vs. a rookie like myself. In to the Subaru dealer the "red bandit" goes. They tell me she will be ready at 4:00pm and I leave feeling AOK about the whole deal.. Thinking nice choice son. Your gonna get all this foolishness figured out once and for all. The phone rings.. "HEllo" yeah rich?? yeah, Hey this is so and so from the Subaru dealer and I have some good new and some bad news..... Ok... what's the good new? We found the problem with your car! hey thats great... What's the bad news....? Yeah... ahh.. it's the #3 valve compression... yadah yadah yadah.. a bunch of mumbo jumbo I don't know and then followed by a # that almost made be wet my pants... it's gonna cost how much?????? I was thinking this guy must be talking about some other vehicle......cause my ride ain't worth that much money. So, taking a few minutes to contemplate the situation I resolved to have the work done. After returning home this afternoon I was thinking ... hey , How much more could it cost to put a new STI 300hp turbo charged engine in my ride? The answer ...4500 dollar... yeah.. ok well I didnt' have the amount needed to repair the old engine so what does it matter if i go in the hole for a couple thousand more dollars? hmmmmm... This is the kind of thinking that gets our government into trouble everyday. Why buy one? When you can buy two at double the cost? Yep that kind of economic reasoning is running this wonderful country.. I wish they were working on my car... Well, needless to say I am having the car fixed. They only problem is that they are pretty certain that they will not be finished before Turkey day.. In which case I will be Fred Fintstoning my A@$ Around LLU for about 10 days.. Yeah.. cool huh.. well, maybe I can loose that extra 5-10lbs. by doing a little ambulation. Keep you posted.. Not likely to happen though.. I am too smart to let a little walking help me loose wait. I will probably increase the "CT" factor (couch-time) to match the increased walking.
Car Problems make you wonder why we buy cars. I might get adventurous and ride a little public transport. Now that would be a story worth telling. I promise you that. I drive by the bus stop in the morning. Them cats have been out there for a while, waiting for the bus. You can tell by the number of McNugget containers that are laying empty around them. Some of them people are living at the bus stop. They ride the bus out on expeditions to find food. Then its back to the BS (bus stop) I will have to try the local system out... See how functional it is. Until Then I am out of GAS and OUT of a CAR. So Enjoy driving yours and if you see me walking around LLU. Don't be afraid to lay on the horn and crank down a window to hollar out a "WAAASSS UP" to a brother as I'm heading to or from school. Rich

"ONE HAND OR TWO"

Today I saw something that I believed never possible. Call me naive or even the hopeless romantic. Yet, never the less it was unbelievable. A person who you see as beautiful and kind from all angles and references, heart broken. It was truly sad. (Now I must quickly inject that "anyone" in such a case should be equally understood) In most cases however, I would usually be able to say, "That’s too bad, but I could see that one coming". I trust many of us have said these words, to friends or acquaintances, and therefore can relate to my use of this comment. It shocked me in this particular case, because I could see only kindness in this person.
It crossed my mind that many people often only think of self in a relationship. This is not a new concept, being that the world has been around a long time and has seen many self-centered individuals who care only about self. These self-centered people enter relationships looking for what they may personally gain from being in this relationship. For example: "If I date this person, people will view me as being cool" Or "I will look good if I have this type of girlfriend" You know what I am talking about here, "I want a girl who likes the outdoors, but is not too woodsman like", "She needs to be pretty, but she cant know she's pretty", Most of these demands are unrealistic, and if these are not enough, try adding, she needs to be "single". I think the girl in this reference lives next to Snowwhite in fantasy land, just around the corner from tomorrow land.
If you live on this planet and have a criteria list with any of the above comments I can tell you living on this planet is going to be lonely for you my friend! Yet, do not despair you may still find a person who makes you smile, or causes butterflies to fly around in your stomach. When you do find this person hold on with two hands.
The problem we face in this world lurks in my last sentence. Most people only take hold of a single hand. Not willing to let go of whatever they have in the other. Constantly weighing the value of each at every turn it the road. It then becomes a constant choice between to loves. In which case there is always one that is not chosen. This person will be forever split between the two. Life is hard enought with out adding any additional troubles.
I make no claim to know all, or even to understand all of lifes questions. I have only one small bit of knowledge learned through a short time spent wandering this planet. It seems that those who find a person that makes them happy in this world are those who take hold of both hands. It is wise to choose happiness over some trivial fade, or phase you may be going through. Tomorrow the fade may be gone, or the phase may no longer hold you captive. The person who you hold close will change with you, and over time you will see. Life is much better holding Two Hands then only one. Good luck my friends and remember. Life is only what you make of it. Live it to the fullest. Rich

Ps. To my friend: You are truly a wonderful person and have much to offer to those around you. Do not be sad that one person on this large planet was too myopic to see the magnitude of the beauty you possess. rb

A Note to the Great "Kelly OH"

It has been brought to my attention that I did not recognize the great Kelly Oh at school today. So I have to say "hey" kelly... Whats up? your looking good my friend... Rich

What are you looking for?

What are you looking for? The question resounds throughout the universe. Each answer different than the last, each convinced their answer in correct. The best I can do is to offer you a different way to view of the question. Try hearing the question vs. speaking the question. There can be no better way to ask this qustion. U2 Rocks this question. Check these guys out.

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Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Rich

Caffeine

Here is the wonderful yet, terrible Caffeine Molecule. Its a big mover. Caffeine is able to keep about 90% of Americans on the road to work today. Way to go little fella! If little old Caffeine can stimulate that many sleep deprived Americans to go to work. What could our society do if we put a little in the water fountain at work? ha ha ha yeah......ok.. Well I gotta tell ya. This little chemical has the world on a string. Go ahead, enjoy your Caffeine today. Expect a follow up piece on Caffeine in the near future.... Rich

Attitude and Amplitude

Have you ever listened to music and wondered as to what the ultimate goal of the sounds they were making really was? It would seem a bit assumptive to believe you can interpret the entire meaning of a song or know what the intended experience was by just listening. A good example is to look at performers today as they dance around in concert. What is the message? The body language, the dance step, or the volume, or the clothes they are wearing? Sometimes it is imperative to note the style and movement of the musician. But, other times it is nice to turn down the attitude and the amplitude and just enjoy the music. Last night such an opportunity came knocking. Fernando Ortega who plays and sings with a refreshing simplistic style that was relaxing to hear and easy to understand. He did not play loudly or use any flashy key strokes to capture the listener. He simply played his songs from the heart and let the music speak. It was good music for the heart, and mind. Check out some of his songs. Rich