Normbrero

We make holes in teeth!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Marked Man

I'm a marked man now. I got an email from the Internal Affairs Department of the Taiwanese government inquiring about my trip in 2 weeks. Apparently one of my emails to the bike shops was forwarded to the government. I guess renting a bike is synonymous with terrorism to some people. I can give them a pass on this one, as there is a national election there within a month. Last time there was an election the incumbent Chen Shui Bien was shot while making an appearance somewhere. He wasn't killed and that ended up propelling him to be reelected. Currently his approval numbers make Bush look popular so this year we'll see a new president for Taiwan.

As predicted Julia's cold caught up to me. Slightly under the weather today but not bad. Still tired as I didn't get to sleep again until 11:30. My wife yells at me for not playing with Julia enough when I get home but these days I am so beyond exhausted that it's all I can do to sit upright after dinner. As I woke up this morning I couldn't help but think that 4:30 tomorrow is going to be a tall order. Plus a buddy from work wants to go have some beers after, so I may be struggling by the end of tomorrow in a big way.

My bike build is coming together really nicely at this point. I could have the bike before I go but I don't know if that buys me anything. It gives Jason more time to put it together if I want until after I come back. I'm going to need to convince him to hook up with me on Easter day so I can ride it when I get back. I almost have all the pieces together and on paper it should come in around 24 pounds, which in reality means it should come in at less than 25 which works for me.

I'm still torn on what to do with the Stumpjumper. Part of me wants to build it up with scrap and keep it as a FS bike. The other part of me wants to just sell it to help cover the cost of this bike. Between the frame and shock plus suspension fork and some wheels I should be able to get $1000 for it which would make this build a lot cheaper than planned.

Not much more to add at this point. We're almost out of the tunnel so it's about time to call it a wrap for the day. But the train has stopped because there's not an open platform for us to park at. After all these years and all these trains they still can't get the morning rush hour stuff right. I don't complain much about the trains but I would guess 1 in 5 mornings we're on time and every 2 weeks there is a major problem coming home. The efficiency of NJ Transit is hindered massively by Amtrak, because I never see any of these issues when I go in and out of Hoboken. Once the weather warms up I may switch back to that line for a little to change things up again. Routine is always a call for change.

Next and final stop, New York Penn Station.

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