Did you get the memo?

As a side note, all employees will be issued carpet cleaner, a clean rag and shoe covers.

West Side Dining

When you work on the west side of town, your lunch options are limited. I have been eating a lot of Subway, but unlike Jared, I am unable to subsist on Subway alone! The other obvious options are fast food. If you've ever seen Super Size Me, you know McDonald's is out of the questions. So, yesterday I went to lunch with the VP of Research & Development and he introduced me to this great little deli, Granato. They are actually an importing store, but they have a deli counter. The food there is fantastic! There are 3 locations in the Salt Lake area, but if you're ever on the west side, call me and I'll meet you for lunch!

Summertime TV slump!

Last night as I was flipping channels, I stumbled across this new show on NBC.....The Singing Bee. A show where you actually follow a "singing bee" to see what word to sing next. And I must say, what a relief to know that Joey Fatone has found work. After N'Sync, who knew what would become of him (and his lack of talent.) Admittedly, I only watched for about 30 seconds. Seriously, is there anything besides reality television anymore? If you're looking for true reality television, watch the Tour de France. Sports, competition, great crashes (with carnage on the road) and Bob Roll, a man who if you tied his hands behind his back, couldn't talk. But, if you're a karaoke addict, you might enjoy The Singing Bee. For me, I'm gonna stick with the Tour. Besides, if you watch in prime time and get the code word of the day, you can enter to win cool prizes. What better way to spend the month of July.

Pack your bags (or boxes)!

Moving day is just around the corner (this Saturday to be exact) and until last night I hadn't packed a single item. And, I hate packing (and unpacking and everything else that is associated with moving) Fortunately, I have help. My two sisters in Utah and my mom came over last night and helped me begin the process of getting all my stuff packed. I have taken the approach of I don't care where anything goes as long as it is in a box and labeled! With their help I was able to get about half (I'm guesstimating) of my house packed in a couple of hours last night. I did learn one thing, don't let Meggie pack books. It took her an awfully long time to pack 3 boxes of books, mostly because she had to stop and read the cover of anything that looked interesting. I think she left my house with about a dozen books to borrow. Nonetheless, I was grateful for the help. Anybody else want to pack some boxes? Come on over, I'll let you get me packed and ready to move to SLC!

You wanna give it a "tri"?

Saturday was the Echo Triathlon preview. Basically, they take you out on the course and let you see what you will actually be racing the following week. I will not actually be doing the race on July 14th. But, just to prove how crazy I am, I went and did the preview! When you start hanging out with triathletes, the natural progression is to become a triathlete yourself. Because I want to eventually do a triathlon, my friend Mike decided it would be a good idea for me to go so I could experience an open water swim. And, as long as I was there swimming, I may as well bike and run too! Swimming in a lake is very different than swimming at the pool. First, the water is not clear, you can only see about two feet below you. Second, there are no lane markers and the water is much rougher. Despite all that, I managed to swim the 400 yards round trip that had been designated for the swim. I was a bit slower than usual, but we would also stop and wait for the group to catch up. Wearing a wet suit makes a huge difference as I could float no matter what. The most important thing to note here is that 2 people had to be pulled out of the lake by the lifeguards, and I was not one of them. After the swim, it was onto the bike. Fortunately, my friend Mike was kind enough to stay with me on the bike. (He has done numerous triathlons and is significantly faster than me on the bike, but he stuck with me the whole time!) I did what was probably my fastest bike and got a lot of tips on how to shift when riding hills. At one point, my chain popped off, but thanks to Mike's vast knowledge and experience, I was able to get my chain back on track without even stopping. I made the whole distance without falling off once! Now, I've just got to learn to drink while I'm biking. The last thing to do is run, my favorite part. It is the one discipline in a triathlon that I am confident and comfortable with. Unfortunately, by the time I got to run, I was pretty worn out. Nonetheless, I managed to do a decent run and finished what I had set out to do. I proved to myself that I can complete all three parts of a triathlon, even if I am a bit slower than I would like. I must admit that I have a greater respect and appreciation for those who currently do triathlons......it was tougher than I thought. However, I do see why people do them. Now, I just have to determine which triathlon I will choose to be my first---decisions, decisions!

BAM...not just for Emeril anymore!

This past weekend, I spent about 28 hours straight (yep, that's right, no sleep for me!) helping out some friends with the inaugural BAM triathlon. What an amazing event!! Rob, Mike, Erik and Charity (the race directors) put on an unbelievable race. I am shocked at the amount of time, effort and energy is required to put on a quality event. If you've never been "behind the scenes" of a race, you definitely need to do it (volunteer!!). I've never been so dirty, so tired and worked so hard all while having the time of my life! And honestly, how often do you get to 4-wheel over a run course at 3am to place 60" balloons for mile markers! Besides, there is something magical and amazing to watch a parking lot transform into a transition area with hundreds of empty bike racks, become completely filled with athletes bikes and gear bags and return back to that same parking lot in less than 12 hours! At the end of it all, I've got the sunburn, scraps, cuts and sore muscles to prove that I really did work (even if it all felt like fun!) At the end of it all, every triathlete says they will be returning next year to compete again. With 20 professional triathletes from around the world coming in and numerous others both local and across the country, this is bound to be the best race in Utah! With that being said, I've already decided that next year I won't be a volunteer, I have every intention of racing. So, if you're looking for a great race with lots of support, a fast bike course and a beautiful run course, come join me for BAM 2008!!