Panera Bread

New favorite cafe. Panera Bread Co. BEST CHIPOTLE CHICKEN SANDWICH EVER.

The end.

Blog

Well,thanks to goodness... the cuts have all healed and I'm pretty much back to my normal life. My wrist is slightly disabled...but no problem.

Anyways, I got my new shoes and they're great-ran two miles in them without a problem. Initially, there was a little soreness, but you get used to it and they feel much better than traditional gel/spring/gimmick running shoes. There's a flat outsole (which I have a feeling may wear out quickly) that curves up from the forefoot and above. This helps propel your body forward with momentum--genius. If you want to see the link, look at the earlier pages of this blog.

I've also found a new interest: stargazing. I never thought that staring at distant lights in the sky could even give me the slightest hint of enjoyment. However, it does. After returning from a concert, I looked up from the windows of my vehicle. Staring into the pool of black with sprinkles of white, I realized how emotional I felt. Though I am not the kind to be moved by love stories or the like, it seems stargazing instills in me a sense of... perhaps nostalgia? I find that strange, since I've never been even five hundred miles from earth, let alone several light years. Maybe the word I'm looking for is wanderlust or awe. Though I cannot put my thoughts and emotions precisely into words, I'm sure you all understand how I feel. We're birds in a cage...

P.S. Remember to set your clocks forward

Quick Update

I am indeed too sore to type. However, I will add that, today, I was welcomed by a sharp pain in my left tricep. Hopefully it's not a tear or anything serious.

Anyways, my shoes came! Karhu fast fulcrum ride in yellow and gray. Extremely comfortable. I will write a review later.

Like I said, this is a quick update... it pains me to type and the cuts are somewhat fresh.

Biking

Like I said, I am a big fan of biking. Just a couple of weeks ago, I bought a new bike, a Diamondback, to replace my Ironhorse. Every sunday, about six or seven of my friends and I go biking around town for recreation. Today was no exception.

I woke up in the morning feeling pretty good. I brushed my teeth, read a few pages in Brave New World, and played a superbly addicting mini game called Balloon in a Wasteland. It's your average shooting game-you kill baddies and get money to buy better weapons. Then, you escape.

I left promptly for the bike trip at 11:35, which was to begin promptly at 11:30. I met up with seven other people and we played hoops for awhile. At about 12:30, we began heading out to meet with the others. The ride was, for the most part, very comfortable and smooth. As we neared a large intersection, I began picking up speed as the street was flat and easy to ride on. My shirt slapped against my stomach and arms, begging me to slow down. Seeing the stop sign, I pulled the brake levers, but was suddenly thrown headfirst into a flip.

One and a half revolutions later, my five seconds of horrific terror were over. I was immediately dazed and had no idea what just happened, but thankfully enough, I was left with some clues as to this mystery- a widespread stinging and burning sensation on my right arm and left leg (perhaps cuts..?), a curiously unexplainable dizziness, and loss of sight and hearing. Of course, my bike had flipped over, and as I struggled to stand up, my friends came to my aid. At first, they thought the flipped looked cool until they realized it was much more serious than an "awesome trick".

While my friends helped pick up my bike (which at the moment was propelled yards away from me), I heaved in deep breaths and looked to cure my pains. Aside from not moving, there was no real refuge. My eyes became blurry and my ears muffled. The faces of my friends and the bushes, signs, and houses around me became intolerably bright, almost fluorescent in shade. I could see my friends talking to each other with angst, but I could not make out what they were saying. My knees began to shake and my body felt numb. My logic became impaired and consideration was no longer a necessity. I walked into people's front yards and rang their doorbells. I yelled and kicked the ground as if I were fighting in a match.

About three minutes later, dizziness drowned out all my thoughts... and fatigue began coaxing me to sleep. I spoke very quickly and loudly to my friends, hoping to somewhat comfort their distress. One of my friends, John, gave me some animal crackers and advised me to sit down. I was all too willing to listen to something/somebody so I did as I was told.

Blood came back into my brain; my eyes finally calibrated and my hearing came back... with the blood came all the ideas I have held for so long. I remembered who I was, my age, my family, where I live, everything. There was still the issue of my physical pain. I fought it out for about ten more minutes until I got a ride to the emergency room.

There, I was x-rayed and found myself with whole bones. Thank goodness for milk. I stayed until three o'clock, diagnosed with cuts and contusions and sprains to the right elbow and left wrist.

Now, I'm at home, I've had my first meal of the day at 4:30 and am currently rubbing a boiled egg on my forehead. Chinese traditions. Anyways, I'm feeling excruciatingly tired, but I'll tough it out for awhile.

On the bright side, I have a good, regular blood pressure (114/67), my bike has been fixed (brakes broke and wheel stopped working), and supposedly, my bone plates are still open (which means I will still be growing).

It's been an extremely long day. I need some coffee. And pain reliever.

Links:

http://armorgames.com/play/5272/balloon-in-a-wasteland

The video game I was telling you about. Great entertainment:be prepared to use up about fifteen minutes.

P.S. Comments are always welcome. I'll take constructive criticism to improve my writing, compliments, anecdotes, jokes, news, and any random thoughts you happen to have. I'm going to go watch the Oscars now... something I can do without aggravating my various cuts, bruises and sprains.

Thanks for reading! Til' tomorrow (unless I'm too sore to type)

Hello, I'm new :D

Intro :

My name is Collin and I life in California (the Bay Area). In my spare time, I play soccer, tennis, basketball, and have weekly bike trips with my friends. In addition, I play saxophone in the school band as lead alto, and I have only recently begun to study jazz. This week, I'm reviewing the II-V-I chord progressions (which I've memorized) and I'm transcribing a song called "Besame Mucho", by Dave Brubeck. So far, I have 29 measures completed. Unlike my peers, I have steered away from mainstream rap. Though on occasion I listen to rap (Aesop Rock, Celph Titled, KRS-One), I mostly listen to jazz and r&b. My favorite artists are Paul Desmond, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Rich, Thelonious Monk, Cannonball Adderley, Earth Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, and Billy Paul--in no particular order.

After seeing the movie "Julie & Julia" and much discussion with the parentals, my family and I have decided that I should give blogging a shot. However, unlike the movie, I am not going to cook through an entire French cookbook within the period of one year. I will be sharing some stories about my life an general, through the eyes of an ABC (American Born Chinese, great book to read, for those of you who haven't heard of it).

Blog:

Today (Saturday, March 6) shall be my first ever blog. Here goes nothing. While my peers were away in Sugarbowl for a school-organized ski trip, I stayed at home reading books, watching movies, eating a lot (go PopChips), and practicing saxophone.

At least three or four months ago, I started the book Huckleberry Finn (which I'm sure you are all familiar with...if not, that's what Wikipedia's for) and somehow managed to put it off until now. I've been busy the past few weeks, but as soon as I had some time to read it, I lost the book. That was a week and a half ago. Fortunately, it was in my room all along, hidden amongst a pile of shirts, underwear, socks, and magazines. Huckleberry Finn is a great adventure book and I would highly recommend it to anyone longing to satisfy his nostalgia for his once very carefree childhood. The book was great... however I thought the conclusion was slightly underdeveloped but then again, I'm not nearly as capable as Mark Twain is when it comes to literature. Now, I will be reading Brave New World.

I also watched two movies today. One was called "Blood Diamond" and the other was "Men of Children". Both were great. I got some sweet couch potato action.

There's also two links I would like to add. The first is just for entertainment. The second link is a link to a pair of running shoes I recently bought online.

1.http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/stories/story_round_shot.htm

Once you reach the bottom of this page, there is a series of three letters. They are witty and sarcastic--and the police officer gets dissed.

2.http://karhu.com/

This is a pair of running shoes I recently ordered. The pair of shoes I ordered was the Karhu Fast Fulcrum Run. It reduces the time your foot is on the heel when you run, so that it decreases impact. Soon as I get them, I'll go for a run and review it. You should look into the barefoot running stuff too. It's actually quite interesting... pretty much based on the fact that humans were meant to walk on their bare feet, therefore it is better to have minimalist shoes. Advanced running shoes with highly cushioned heels tend to create unnecessary pressure on the heel and leads to injuries. To add oil or gas or fuel or the old-school sticks to the fire, having running shoes the have more elevated/supported heels can shorten the Achilles tendon. Read for yourself: search barefoot running on google--there's lots of articles.

Before I write to much, I'd also like to add that I'm going biking tomorrow... and there was this funny but awkward incident where a lady (I'd like to say in the 80s) who almost ran me over--but I guess I'll save it for later.

Thanks for reading

P.S. Feel free to comment..if you find anything offensive, factually incorrect, disagreeable, agreeable, want to give me advice, or want to do anything in the world that involves writing something in a box and clicking comment, please feel free. If I do in some way offend you, please don't judge me... I'm not a bad guy. Have a great day~