Empire Trials!

Yesterday was the trials for the Empire State Games in gymnastics. I competed in 3 out of 4 events due to knee issues.

Vault: 8.05 (not bad considering a start value of 8.8 and I didn't train!)
Bars: 7.2 (missing difficulty, one break in connection)
Beam: 8.1 (missing flight series, no falls, a couple major bobbles)

These scores would have put me in 2nd place on bars and 3rd place on beam at last year's meet!

The games this year are way out in Rochester at the end of July. Not sure if it's worth the travel just to do a level 6 bar routine, but I had a blast yesterday.

Next stop: the knee doctor.

Weird...

Wow - it's so weird how accurate this is...
Crush Calculator

Louisiana Man Warns: Listening to Your iPod May Cause Hearing Loss!

Lawsuit: iPods may cause ... eh?

I don't know about you, but my favorite game is to see how long I can listen to my iPod at max volume before my eardrums start to bleed. How dumb can the government allow people to get?

I'm engaged!!

This ring looks a lot like mine, but I had to pilfer a shot from blue nile since I couldn't get a clear shot with my digi. More details to follow.

I Knew It!

If I do these, I never post the results, but I thought this was intriguing.

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything.No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

New Year's Resolutions

1. Be better at keeping in touch with everyone
2. Spend more time doing things I love and trying new things
3. Keep a journal (by recommendation of my Great Aunt). Some may say a blog should be the journal, though I'm still convinced the rest of the world is on a "need to know" basis, and, for the most part, it doesn't "need to know".

A coworker of mine told me his "mantra of the year" yesterday that is also highly appropriate: No sh** in 2006. Words to live by.

NYC Transit Mania

While I fully appreciate a good struggle for workers' rights (I'm sure I am about to partake in my own individual one for the year), the transit workers' union is going too far. First of all, your average bus driver makes more than I do, and they get around an 8% raise every year, so my hope of catching up is pretty slim.

My teacher friend actually makes less than everyone in the MTA except the cleaners, who, in my obviously unqualified opinion, don't do a very good job for it either. When I came out of the subway at 51st & Lex this morning, the entire platform smelled like some unimaginable combination of rotten meat and poo.

There's so much construction it's impossible to get anywhere on the weekends, there are often ridiculous waits for trains during rush hour, during which time the platform fills up and it's all about throwing elbows to get yourself on the train, where one of the following is guaranteed to occur:

• your pocket is picked
• you are squished into Smelly Homeless Guy, who insists he is being pushed from behind as he grabs your butt
• you are squished into Loud Preacher Guy, who insists on shouting (in your ear) about how you are a sinner if, in short, you're a liberal
• you miss your stop because of schmucks who won't get out of the way
• ...

The main sticking point in the arguments is the MTA's proposed new pension plan, in which MTA employees will have to put in a few extra years before retirement. Not to discredit anyone at the MTA who actually does a lot of productive work, a few more years of hanging out on the platform, doing seemingly nothing useful, yet still making a paycheck doesn't seem so bad.

Maybe if NYC transit was perfect - clean, safe, on time, few service disruptions - I would change my opinion. It just seems to me that now that the MTA has announced a surplus, the workers want to get their hands on it, when it really should go towards improving transit. Maybe they could actually start on the 2nd avenue line they've been promising for years. Maybe the daily commute wouldn't smell like doody. Maybe leaving the house on time to get somewhere would be a good indicator of when you will actually arrive. The possibilities are endless.