Old bike, almost as bad as an old car

Being on such a small island, it has been great to have a bike. But recently my bike has been a little less than great. Well, a lot less than great. I bought the bike used from a man who sells them right from his home. He supposedly buys the bikes, makes a few repairs, then sells them for about $50 bucks. This would be a good deal if he actually made any repairs, but I suspect that he didn't fix a thing for selling the bike to me.

From the beginning, I could tell that the brakes were pretty worn, but I figured they would do for a couple months. I changed my mind when I was riding on a sidewalk last Friday because there was too much traffic on the road. The sidewalk got very narrow in a few places and one place was so narrow that my handlebars couldn't fit through. So stop, right? Easier said than done. I held the brakes and slowed down, but not enough. I dragged my feet, still not enough. Then I did what everyone knows you shouldn't do, but does anyway because it's an automatic reaction. I put out my hand. I hit the post that I was trying to avoid hard enough for my wrist to hurt the next day, but no permanent damage.

Before suffering any serious injuries, I decided to get the brakes fixed at a nearby bike shop. Twenty dollars later, I had all new brake pads and a new rear brake cable. They worked great, then two days later while riding my bike I had more problems. The chain came off for unknown reasons twice, then came the horrible grinding. Obviously not a good sound. I was stuck on the opposite side of the island from the hotel (in high winds) so I called a few people for help. Fortunately, Patty, a very nice co-worker, answered her phone and was able to come and pick me up. She drove me to the man's house where I bought the bike so I could see if he would fix it.

Now, keep in mind that I paid $50 for the bike only 3 weeks ago, I spent an additional $20 on brakes, and after paying an extra $10 for the basket he told me I could bring it back at any time if I had any problems. So I bring the bike back thinking that I've already spent too much money on an old bike and I was hoping he would take a look at it free of charge. He starts getting out some tools and when I ask for an estimate, the guy acts all offended and has the nerve to say, "How much is it worth to you?" I'm pretty pissed and I tell him I already spent more than it is worth. Then he says that he's not fixing it for free and tries to tell me how fortunate I am that the bike worked for 3 weeks. As if 3 weeks is a life time or something! Are you kidding me?!?! He says I never could have rented a bike for only $50 for that amount of time. Never mind the fact, that the rentals are new with working brakes and no grinding or getting stranded.

Anyway, I decided this jerk was not getting another dime from me and I took the bike back to the shop where I got the brakes fixed. The man who owns and the shop is very nice and he said he'd take a look at it when he had time the next day. I told him my situation and that I don't want to spend much money. Later this afternoon, the guy from the bike shop called and said the bearings should be replaced, but that would probably cost more than I'd want to spend ($30 to $40 depending on how long it took). My other option was to just have him add a lot of lube, tighten everything up, and then ride it until it quits for good. The second option cost $8 so I decided to go with that one. I made it home okay. Here's hoping for 4 more works of smooth riding or at least no more emergency calls after being stranded.

On the bright side, I finally got the prints I ordered at the end of December from Snapfish for no additional charge. I had problems with my order because I had them sent to the Days Inn since that is where I was staying at the time. Then, I moved to the Sheraton and the Days Inn wouldn't give me my mail. They said hotel policy is to return all mail to the sender if the guest is no longer staying there. I offered to come to the Days Inn and pick it up with as many forms of ID as they need. Flat out "no." Anyway, a month later after a couple emails to Snapfish customer service and my order was resent to the Sheraton. I love all of the pictures, even though they make me homesick. I also got an email from Jess with pictures from their vacation to Daytona Beach. Of course, Joey was the center of attention and very, very cute. Here's a couple pictures. Sticking out his tongue is a new thing. Jess says he is practicing to become the new Gene Simmons.

Carpet Magic

As you probably know, I like taking new adventures like traveling, windsurfing, someday I'd like to try skydiving and bungee jumping. However it doesn't always take something extreme to make me happy. Over the past week, I've heard from 3 very good friends that they will be coming to visit me in Key West. Katie is coming first from Feb. 5th to Feb. 10th, then Rita and Renee are coming the very next day from Feb. 11th to Feb. 15th. Of course I'm very excited to have some company at the southernmost point in the U.S., but believe it or not it doesn't even take that much to make me happy.

Last Friday was an overall frustrating day. I don't want to go too deep into detail (mostly because a co-worker might be reading this), but I think I almost got permanent lock jaw from clenching my teeth for most of my 8 hour shift while trying not to say anything I might later regret. Then I got home, did I few errands and shortly before going to bed I decided to put on a second coat of nail polish on my toes. You all can probably guess what happened next. That's right, dark red nail polish all over the hotel carpet (and a little bit on the cream colored couch). GREAT! So of course I turned to the internet to find a solution to this problem and fortunately I came across Barefoot Lass's Carpet Stain Tips (http://members.tripod.com/~Barefoot_Lass/carpet.html).

One of the tips, suggested using non-acetone nail polish remover followed with warm soap and water. Blot, don't rub, etc. After a good 45 minutes of blotting while clenching my teeth and seeing little change, I went to bed a pretty ticked off. (I don't really enjoy cleaning and I hate wasting my time.)

On Saturday, I decide to go with the next suggestion listed on Barefoot Lass's from Janelle. She claims that 4 parts hydrogen peroxide to 1 part ammonia (thanks for the calculations, Mom!) works like magic. So I peddled to Walgreens after work and picked up the ingredients. The instructions said to pour the concentration on the stain, cover it with plastic, put something heavy on top and leave it overnight. I was very sceptical. It just seemed a little to easy to work, but to my surprise when I checked the stain this morning it had nearly disappeared. In fact, if you didn't know the stain was there you probably won't notice it.

Before leaving for work, I repeated the process so hopefully it will be completely gone by the time I get home. Thanks Janelle, whoever you are. Your magic solution worked great and it was a good end after having a bad day. I'd still rather go scuba diving, but avoiding a hotel charge is nice too.

Visitors Welcome

Okay, time for another update even though not much has changed in the last couple weeks. Work has been a bit hectic lately since we have been having trouble with the checkpoint x-ray machine. Key West is a small airport with just one x-ray so when it is inoperable it means a lot more physical labor for us. It's not fun searching all carry-on items by hand as the line backs up and the airlines are all trying to close their flights. Most passengers aren't too thrilled either when we start opening all their bags. I've been working a little overtime as well. I spent 4 extra hours in baggage yesterday in addition to my regular scheduled 8 hour shift. The bags were coming in non-stop and they all seemed to weigh a ton. I plead temporary insanity for volunteering for that, but I did survive and I only have to work tomorrow before taking my days off.

Last Tuesday on January 16th, my brother Jeff had surgery on his back. After the surgery began, his doctor discovered that Jeff's condition was even worse than he originally thought based on what he could see on the MRI. I don't remember all the terminology off the top of my head, but I know Jeff had 2 bulging discs in his lower back between the L4/L5 and L5/S1. The bulging discs were causing quite a bit pain and numbness. The surgery went well and although he is moving slowly, it sounds like Jeff is on the road to recovery. My dad was able to visit him in South Dakota the day of his surgery and he stayed until Saturday before heading back to Minnesota for the Sunday church service. I'm sure Jeff appreciated the company and help getting around for those first few days. I wish I coud have been there, but I'm glad that at least someone could be. How's it going Jeff? I hope you aren't pushing yourself too hard. I've seen a lot of co-workers come back after a back injury and then hurt themselves again by lifting before they were healed. So be careful.

Tom, Jess, Joey, and the rest of the Madsen family were recently in Daytona Beach for a week of vacation (Bob and Lynn are actually staying for three weeks). I was hoping to see them since we were all in Florida, but it turns out that those inches on the map are equal to about 7 to 8 hours of driving one way. That was too much for Tom and Jess to tackle with Joey and too much for me as well since I couldn't get more than my regular days off. I looked into flying but $450 seemed like a lot of money for only a day and half visit. I also thought about visiting Phill while he is in Panama City for an internship, but those tickets were about $700. I guess I'll just have to wait until I get sent back home to see them.

Speaking of visitors, I just got word of my 1st confirmed visitors. Rita and Renee will be here from Feb. 11th to the 15th. I'm excited to have them come. We should be able to find plenty to do, especially since they got a package deal with a rental car and airfare. Apparently, a state park with little deer is #1 on the list of things to do. I'm just surprised that I haven't heard about this place in the month that I've been here. The island is only about 4.5 x 2.5 miles. Renee will probably want to see if the Real World house is still around and I'm sure we will have to spend some time on the beach as well. Rita and Renee, are you interested in water activities like parasailing, snorkeling, scuba, etc. I'll wait for you if you are. Otherwise, some of my co-workers sound interested.

Just a little encouragement to other potential visitors...It is nice and warm down here. Most days have been between 70 and 85 degrees. Sounds pretty nice compared to the single digits that all you Minnesotans have been experiencing, doesn't it? Also, this hotel is pretty nice and it won't cost you a dime. Finally, how could you pass on an opportunity to be on the southernmost point?

This is getting pretty long, but I wanted to share a funny story. As you all know, I bought a bike and I've been riding it to work as well as other places on my days off. At first, I didn't have any lights and you can imagine my limited visibility riding at 4:30 am on my way to work. Don't worry, there is a bike path the whole way so I'm not in danger of getting hit by a car or anything and I didn't think a light was necessary. I changed my mind after peddling along at a pretty high speed when I spotted something on the bike path. It just looked like a shadow, but I moved to the other side thinking it might be a branch or something else that could send me flying over the handle bars. To my surprise, as a passed the lump on the ground, I noticed that it was a homeless man that had laid down for a nap. That got my heart pumping. All I could get out as I whizzed by was a quick "Whoa!" Sounds funny now, but imagine if a ran over the guy. I'm guessing we would both be in pretty bad shape.

Here's a couple more pictures and just as I reminder, I'm posting all my pictures at www.snapfish.com. You will need to sign in to see the pictures and you might need an "invitation" to see my albums. Let me know if you didn't already get one and would like to see more.

Getting Settled at the Sheraton

The beginning of the year has been busy for me. We did end up moving to yet another hotel, but this one is really nice. Now I'm staying at the Sheraton Suites on the south side of the island right across the street from the beach. If any one is planning on coming down for a visit, any time in the next 7 weeks would be a good time. My room has 2 beds and a big couch. We shouldn't be moving again either so I'm looking forward to settling in one place at least until the end of February.

The only other news I have is that I bought a used bike. It's definitely not in mint condition, but it was cheap and I can get anywhere on the island with it. I've been riding to work, Old Town, the grocery store, etc. and I've gotta to say it was well worth the $50 (plus $10 extra for the basket. Oh yeah! Don't be jealous). Now, I don't have to fight over the cars that we share and I'm getting some exercise too. Here's a picture....(go ahead and laugh R&R, doesn't bother me).



Next stop, Smather's beach. Haven't been there yet, but the weather is great so I'm going to check it out. Bye.

**Updated Update from Key West**

Happy New Year! I've been keeping busy down here in Key West for the last two weeks. The airport is small, but there are only 30 TSA employees here (1/2 are NSF) and eight to eleven of them are working each shift. Also, there is no x-ray machine in baggage so we have to screen everything by hand and there is only one checkpoint lane. That means long lines (depending on the time of day, 5:00-7:00 and 10:00-12:30 are pretty bad on my shift). In between those times there is not much going on.

When I'm not busy at work, I'm busy moving my luggage from one hotel to another. Some of you may have heard about the problems we've had. For everyone else, here's an update. Originally, we were staying in the DoubleTree Grand Key Resort, but that hotel got shutdown. They had 2 separate incidences where guests suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. On December 28th, one guest died so the entire hotel (216 rooms) was evacuated. This is a very busy time of the year so NSF is having trouble finding rooms that are all in one hotel and will give us the government rate. We stayed in a place called the Banana Bay Thursday and Friday night. Then we moved in the Days Inn on Saturday. Sunday, I had to share a room with a co-worker. Tonight I'll get my own room, but in the near future we might be moving to yet another hotel if the NSF can find one with vacancy, internet, etc. Days Inn doesn't have internet so I don't have much time for email.

Last night I only slept for 2 hours so I could experience the Key West New Year celebration. Here's a few pictures of the Conch Drop on top of Sloppy Joe's Bar. I heard about 2 other major celebration areas. One was suppose to be at Mallory Square right on the water where they dropped an anchor on the New Year. I walked to Mallory Square, but there didn't appear to be anything going on except some dancing at a Cuban restaurant. There was also suppose to be a drag queen dropped in a red shoe, but nobody seemed to know exactly where that was so I didn't bother wandering too far.

The area around Sloppy Joe's reminded me a little of Bourbon St. in New Orleans (on a smaller scale) with the streets closed off, big crowds, balconies with people throwing beads, and performers painted all in silver.



I also wanted to share some pictures I took about a week ago of Mallory Square. It is a popular spot to watch the sunset and there are also street performers there every night. A very popular phrase is "the southernmost ______(fill in the blank)." This man claims to be the Southernmost Bagpiper in the United States (I thought you'd like this, Dad). I haven't done any research on the topic, but I'd say that's a pretty safe bet.