A question to ponder...

Why is the Atheist's main target always Jesus of Nazareth, and never Buddha, Confucius, or Mohammed? Why is the aspiring athlete's target always the true champion and never the also-rans? - Anonymous

Another record?

A woman meant to call a record store, but dialed the wrong number and got a private home instead.

"Do you have 'Eyes of Blue' and 'A Love Supreme?'" she asked.

"Well, no," answered the surprised homeowner. "But I have a wife and eleven children."

"Is that a record?" she inquired, puzzled in her turn.

"I don't think so," replied the man, "but it's as close as I want to get."

- From Wit & Wisdom (click to subscribe)

A new record...

20.0mph! I rode 10.07 miles in 30 minutes and 12 seconds yesterday. That's the fastest I've ever ridden out and back. The only time I've had a faster average was the time or two that I had someone drop me off 20 or so miles from home so I could ride the whole way with the wind at my back...and those times weren't much faster than this one. I wasn't sure I'd ever break 19.8mph, but I did it. I'm so proud of myself. Ok...enough bragging. I will now return to my normal, humble self.

A very expensive cold...

After ten days on antibiotics, an allergy shot, chest x-rays, ten days on asthma medicine, a pulmonary function test and a visit with a pulmonologist (he’s a specialist, you know?), I find out I have a cold. I’ve been coughing for five plus weeks and that was the diagnosis I received. Argh! I have an appointment to see the pulmonologist again in six weeks if the cough doesn’t go away. He said he doesn’t worry about coughs until they go beyond three months. I felt rather stupid having gone to all this trouble for a cold, but, as I told him, I’ve never coughed like this before. His response? “You’ve never been this old before.” Argh! Argh! So there you have it. Nothing earth-shaking or terrible. Just a summer cold. I'm still coughing.

The Jalapeno Song

The Jalapeno Song

(Made up while riding my bike this morning.)

Jalapeno, Hey! There’s a gringo.
Give it to him. See what he does.

Will he get real red and sweat?
Will he take another yet?

Another yet?
Not my bet.

Red and sweat?
He’ll get real wet.

Senor Gringo, here’s jalapeno.
Take a bite now. It is really good.

(Sung to the tune of “Alouette”)

On losing and winning...

This week has been all about losing and winning.

Let's get the painful part over first. I lost to my brother in chess. He killed my queen way too early and I was playing defense forever. The play was enjoyable though, especially the online messenging feature. I loved taunting him when he couldn't figure out how to do me in more quickly. I've invited him to play again. Oh, and I have the cough that won't go away. Antibiotics haven't worked. An allergy shot didn't slow it down. Chest x-ray time! Yippee!

Now for the winning. I won a long sought after goal on my bike. I hit a max speed over 40mph on Monday and I rode over 150 miles by week's end. My average speed jumped up a notch on Wednesday too - from 16.8 to 16.9. The 19mph days last week didn't hurt. And then there was my awesome prayer time on Wednesday. Going through Neil Anderson's 'Steps to Freedom in Christ' was a real lift. I was blessed by God with new insights into his love for me.

And there you have it. Can't wait to see what this week brings.