For the past four years, we have been doing the ADA's Tour de Cure. We lost Rachel's father, Ken, a few years to diabetes. In addition, Rachel and a number of family and friends have diabetes. Therefore, we like to support the ADA when we can.

As Rachel and I do not normally ride our bikes, we are in poor shape for this event; had it been a walk, we would have an easier time. Additionally, even with the liberal application of sunscreen, we still become sunburned. However, we still enjoy doing the ride.

I keep kidding my wife by telling her she does not need to generate situations for me to write about; I have enough stuff happen to me as it is. :) Anyway, I am overdue for an update:

We finally had our garage sale. Anything we could not sell was donated to Goodwill and the local library. It is nice to park (at least one vehicle) in the garage again. Now, if we could only get the garage door open to work.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I ordered from Pizza Hut. We did not have the greatest of experiences. So, we sent the following letter. We have yet to hear anything from them:

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November 30, 2008

Pizza Hut, Inc.
ATTN: Customer Service
14841 Dallas Parkway
Dallas, TX 75254

To Whom It May Concern:

On Monday, I was reviewing transactions on my bank's website. I noticed two charges at a local gas station that totaled over $540! I knew that they did not belong to me. I know gas is expensive, but I have never spent that much at a gas station in one day. As it was past banking hours, I had to call my bank on Tuesday. They closed our account. They also mentioned that whoever stole our information also tried to charge our account another time at a different gas station.

One of the benefits (if you can call it that) of being unemployed is that I can sleep in. Of course, I cannot goof off all day, but I no longer have to wake up before 5:00 AM. This morning Rachel did not want to get out of bed to let the dogs out. Normally, she would let them out while I would get ready for work. Today, I figured I would let her sleep in and take the dogs out by myself.

I need a break. A few Fridays ago, Rachel started feeling sick. A few days later, I was also sick. I was out of work from Monday through Wednesday of last week. As I spent the majority of my time either sleeping or only marginally coherent, I did not accomplish a lot. Both my work and schoolwork suffered.

I was starting to get back to normal when my mother-in-law called Friday night. She was suffering from bad indigestion and was having a panic attack. Her indigestion medication only made problems worse. We ended up calling the rescue squad and going to the hospital.

On the way to work, I hear about an accident on the radio. The accident must have been a big one as officials blocked three of the traffic lanes. Sure enough, traffic halted once I was a few miles away from the scene. So, I sat back and watched other stupid drivers. Of course, there were the usual idiots trying to get ahead by driving in the emergency lane. I saw one driver drive across the median and head the other way on the freeway. On one of the on ramps, I saw a number of people either backup or make a U-turn.

Yesterday, Rachel and I were relaxing. The weather started okay, but quickly became quite windy. Apparently, remnants of hurricane Ike was passing through. A number of small branches and twigs came down.

We had the dogs out for a quick potty break when the wind really started to pick up. I said it was time to go in and we started to corral the dogs. I was not quick enough. A branch fell right on my arm. It did not leave any marks, but it is still sore today.

I live in Lorain, OH and commute to Twinsburg, OH (about an hour away) each day. For those familiar with the area, I take 611 to 90 to 176 (Jennings) to 480. On Monday, I was on 90 near the 176 exit. I hear a traffic announcement stating that the ramp from 176 to 480 would be closed until 6:00 AM. I decided to take a "slight" detour.

Rachel and I went to watch "The Dark Knight" yesterday afternoon. The movie was great. Heath Ledger did an excellent portrayal of "The Joker." I was a bit concerned that we would not make the movie in time. I had intended on doing my homework last weekend, but I ended up catching up on some much-needed sleep. Unfortunately, this meant I was up until midnight putting the final changes on my work before I turned it in. Of course, this meant that I also slept in.