Hostel Queztal

I made it to Cancun after the shuttle driver couldn´t find it and we took a bunch of side allies. However thing got much better when I arrived the two guys my age that work here are very nice and I even got my own room since the other part was under construction. My room is nice with my own bathroom. Anyway first night in Cancun Mexico and I´m still kicking. This hostel thing is pretty cool too except you have to go off the beaten path to find them. Tommorow I have a 10 min walk to the bus to take to Akumal. I think I will be blogging this who trip so if anyone wants to keep updated just check on here.... Viva la Mexico!

Thanksgiving at the Devils Playground

Thanksgiving for me this year consisted of a whole lot of eating and sleeping and some excercise. We did activities like soccer, bowling and croquet. Thier was also the usual bike riding including a ride to the devils playground. This ride is what I'm going to blog about since it was quite the adventure. My dad Frank, Greg Powell, and I rode bikes to the devils playground for a couple hours screwing around on mountain bikes. This area of land between T-town and effingham is hills and trails usually used for fourwheeler riding. However as real men ride bikes we tore up the trails on two wheels. While Powell gets the climbing award for the day;

I am proud to say I for sure got the downhill award as I was the only one to brave both incredibly steep hills full of leaves and ruts. I wrecked at the end of the first but made the second steeper one successfully. I think we all had at least one wreck my worst one was at the bottom of the first hill I fell off the back at the bottom doing kind of a superman and getting my leg scraped by the seat while I was careening out of control. Then my dad doing sideways somersaults in slow motion with his bike attached while me and Powell were cracking up. Then dad got last laugh as Powell being his over zealous self did a texas wheelie and almost did an endo onto a barbed wire. Overall it was a great break and I've already lost the 5 pounds I gained over thanksgiving. I subbed my first normal high school class on tuesday in language arts and today I am doing a half day at a special high school building not quite sure but I think its for computer students like pc repair and maintenance and networking. So I was able to be on the internet all morning for my job which was pretty cool. Next semester I'm transferring to blackburn which should be quite the new experience since edwardsvilles been my home away from home for the past 6 years. I'm going there in january after the trip to tuscon to the cycle house and christmas break. I plan on studying elementary social sciences. Hopefully with this I can teach junior high geography and coach high school soccer. Also I'm changing the color of my blog temporarily for christmas don't freak out those of you with ocd.

Spin baby Spin!

Thanksgiving break is here and that means mountain biking most every day for my family. The rides are usually inspired by my dad but me and Carlos have been more than willing to go. For me the best part of the ride is the creek crossing and wondering if Carlos is going to fall in. For me and dad it is no problem because we have been riding for a long time but Carlos has yet to figure it out. One of his spills was a foot in the water while the other one he actually fell off the bike and over the damn which was absolutely hilarious. Also we have been juggling a lot and playing soccer we have indoor today at the grade school gym which should be awsome. Meantime I'm pigging out on monster cookies!

TTOWN

So it was back to the old stomping grounds and I didnt know what lay ahead of me only that I was sure the weekend would probably include lots of excercise and a competitive atmosphere. I wasn't far off either after drinks and appetizers we did battle on the ping pong darts and pool table. Then we had family trivia as my parents and my brother and I tried to name countries capitals and by the way; michael and dad look up the capital of Switzerland because you were wrong. The next day me "carlinho" and my dad went mountain biking in the paradise behind our "casa." After which a fun activity of painting the lines and artwork on the soccer field took place followed by "Carlinho" trying to bend it like "Bobbinho." After a great steak dinner at Lone Star the ping pong battles started as we battled singles and double with the four of us. scholar in me took over and me and Carlos learned all 49 African countries. Then today I was kindly reminded that i could get my ass kicked by a bunch of women as i endured a grueling and quite painful abs class with my dad. Later that day I went to a two hour lesson on raquet stringing my new career choice. Then some shooting around on the newly painted field with Carlos and a quick nap and it was time to drive back just in time to play two hours of indoor soccer at Edwardsville which was fantastic since all the soccer players from the team were there since they are done with their season which gives me people to rough up on and they were losing more than they should of probably which always makes me in a better mood. It is late and I have Elementary special ed in the morning so I'm going to hit the hay as we backwoods folk say.

Oh yeah and I beat my dad in Yahtzee! cant forget that.....

Urbanathlon

Have to make it quick, its my second day of kindergarten tommorow. Anyway the urbanathlon was a success our relay team finished. My sister Anne did well competing with all the huge guys. It was fun watching her go over the marine hurdles. I think she place 21 out of 50 some girls in her division which is pretty good. Anyway it was a beautiful day in Chicago and I recommend the race, hopefully I get a chance to do the whole thing next year. My younger bro Michael had a thriller of a super sectional soccer game. It sucks when the ref ruins a game and taints a season on a bad call, i've been there but the team handled it well. I have started substitute teaching which is a real blast. The children have plenty of energy to keep me busy and keep a smile on my face. Six a.m. comes too early for me so boa noite yall.

A phase or a new start?

While I still have many bad habits, my mom or anyone who barely knows me could attest to this. I have been doing some things since my midlife crisis at 24 years of age. Now some might say it is strange to have a midlife crisis at 24, but for those of you who know me, you know I've never been normal or behaved in the norm. No I am an individual for better or for worse, "I like to think for better." However I will share with you some of my newer behaviors. I have since taken up drawing not realizing the true potential that was there since I haven't really drawn since the art class I took 4 years ago at SIUE. Hopefully I can scan some of these and put them on here. Also I work out like a maniac mostly in the weight room but I also play soccer and tennis multiple times a week and have recently started running again. I cannot sleep at night because I don't want to waste one second of my life. Although this usually backfires when I have to play catchup and I don't think you live as long if you don't get proper sleep or you are stressed. However I've slept alot in my life so I think I'll be okay. I love pumpkin beer, just had the blue moon seasonal pumpkin ale that came out its amazing also good is the schlafys pumpkin ale. I'm close to starting substitute teaching so I'll keep that posted I am really pumped about this as it may be as close as I come to being a teacher and I love kids. I would like to give a special thanks to my dearest friend caitlyn for keeping me on track with things and making sure I clean out my truck all the time. Also I am super pumped for the "urbanathalon in chi town city I will be spending time with my sis and my greatest friend ever mr. chris sheley. Also I have been going to the human society alot because I miss having a dog and I feel bad for the ones there. Its a little way to give back I guess to go there and take them out its rewarding and super fun if you've never done it. Last time I played with a beagle named missy who was super cute and a gray something or other that I said looked like a wild dog and she informed my that the correct word was dingo. So dingo and missy I hope you get adopted. As for me I am going to get some sleep or watch a movie. I'm finally learning that lifes to short not to live for every second and I'm glad my midlife crisis came at 24 maybe i'll have another one who knows!

Six Pack and Wild Country

So I went to "wild country" under careful guidance and persuasion from my new friends and while I was no dancing with the stars candidate, I did dance a few songs. While it was neither my scene nor my crowd it was a fun experience and I'm glad I went. I really have nothing more to say about it than it was quite different. Also on a side note I went to the humane society today to check on the uncertain fate of my past relative michelob ultra light. It turns out she was not there which was sad but she might have got adopted because they had many less adoptable dogs there for a lot longer. However her fate being uncertain if you are reading this blog i request that you take a moment of silence and reflection in memory of someone you might have lost. The trip was neither grim nor uneventful though as me and Nami had a good play session with a new friend who was a boxer pup that we name six pack "mostly cuz you could see its ribs. The dog was playful, slightly dumb, and got tired way faster than mickey. It was a fun and eventful excursion that I will have to do again soon on the next beautiful day!