The Sun is Out, so the FoJ Runs Free!

Guess what? The weather has finally turned, and while it still rains (for inexplicable reasons) every couple of days, the temperatures are at a point where the throttle no longer gets frozen on the FoJ and I can take it anywhere and everywhere I so please.

I'm down to only my white hoodie for cold protection on the way to campus in the mornings, and on the way home it usually isn't needed because the temperature is up into the 50s or sometimes 60s (like today). It's nice to not have to spend 15 minutes getting bundled up again, and I can't wait for about four weeks from now when I don't have to bundle at all and the evenings will be perfect for some stress-reducing joyrides every so often.

I need to give the FoJ another oil change here in about 200 more miles, which means I am drawing nearer and nearer to the 2,000 mile mark. I feel like that is quite an accomplishment since I haven't even owned the scooter for a year yet. It sure is saving a lot of money as well as a lot of wear and tear on the Saturn these days. Not to mention that now that Jack is old enough to go on adventures with Holly she isn't cooped up waiting for me to get home everyday anymore.

I love my scooter. I also love my wife for allowing me to get it.

The Gloves are Off

I have made it all the way through the winter months, and now it is time for me to enjoy some warmer (albeit slightly) weather while I ride the FoJ. I have had to wear gloves for the past 5 months every time I got on, but for the last 4 days I've been able to ride with my bare hands and don't even need my neck sleeve either to keep my neck warm.

It is a glorious thing indeed. Another 6 weeks and I'll be riding without a jacket on some days, I can't wait for that.

Busy Week

Most of you know by now that Holly and I are moving back to Wymount this coming weekend, which means that we've been spending a lot of time packing and trying to plan things out properly. Holly packs several boxes each day, and then we take them over to the new place each evening when I get home from work. The goal is to get all of the small stuff over there without having to get a massive truck to do it. So far it is working out nicely.

On Saturday morning I'll get the smallest U-Haul available and have a few guys from the ward help me move the big furniture like the bed, couch, and crib, and then we should be mostly done. Thankfully if there are a few straggling items, Grandma Chatfield isn't going to care if we have to come back for them over a couple of days next week. That takes the edge off the stress of getting everything done right at once.

The weather has picked back up, which means I'm back on the Federation of Joy every day, which pleases me to no end. I like being able to feel like Holly has the ability to go somewhere if she needs to, and do things with her sisters or someone without needing to wait for me to get back from campus. The other plus is that by living in Wymount again I can come home for lunch if I have time between classes because the scooter makes parking next to the buildings I need to be in so convenient.

Also been working on a massive project for my CHum 489R class this past week or so. Russell is my technical advisor and has been very patient with me as I worked through a few hurdles. However, the past two days I've managed to clear the hurdles myself as I am finally understanding how a while() loop is supposed to work, and the proper ways to refer to objects and join database tables together. It is nice to feel like I'm learning something and having it stick, even if it seems like it is always a small piece each time.

I have to give a presentation on this project tomorrow morning and I'm hoping that I have enough done to keep myself from looking like a slacker/fool. Russell seems to think that I'll be much further along than anyone else, but until I see that I'm still a little bit worried. The core of the project site is working now, but I'm hoping to tack on a couple of "bells and whistles" before the presentation tomorrow to try and make it a little more complete. I do like the style that I've applied to the site though, I'm quite proud of that. It looks very modern and sleek. Once I have it up on an actual server (curse you slow BYU people) I'll post a link so people can see what it looks like so far.

Let's see, what else is going on... Oh, I was sick, then Holly was sick, and Jack wound up catching a little bit of it, but nothing too bad. He even learned how to shoot snot out of his eye the other day, which I told him was not a skill that we really needed to practice a whole lot if he didn't mind.

That's all of the big news for now, mostly just trying to get my list of things done each day and help Holly as much as I can when I get home in the evenings.

Billy Duncan, the Hero

I don't remember if I ever posted about how the FoJ has been out of commission for a little over a week because something happened to the throttle and I was unable to get it to do anything but hover at 7,000 RPM, which isn't a good thing.

After calling the Scooter Lounge I needed to find someone with a truck to help me get the FoJ over to the shop and leave it for a couple of days while they figured out what had gone wrong and got it fixed. Luckily for me, Billy Duncan is around and has a truck, so we set up a time to meet at 3:00pm today and get the scooter loaded up and over to the shop to get fixed.

However, Billy, being the automotive genius that he is, wanted to take a quick look and see if he could deduce the problem before we spent all our time loading it into the truck. As it turns out, the problem was something rather small, but deceptive and with the help of a screwdriver and a little of Billy's knowledge the FoJ is back in working order.

I couldn't be happier as it easily saved me about a hundred bucks to not have to take it into the shop and get it fixed by them. They always charge a ton of money for the smallest of things.

Also, because of Billy's area of academic study, we decided he could make a sweet looking nameplate for the FoJ to cover up an empty hole in the dashboard. I can't wait!!

FoJ + 10 Degrees + Fog = Not Nearly as Warm as I Thought

I may have been a bit ambitious this morning. I think I probably should have used the car to get to campus after all.

The Federation of Joy Returns!

I last rode the FoJ as he is affectionately now known on the last day of class for Fall semester, which was like December 12th or something. I had managed to make it all the way through the semester and only missed two days, one due to rain, and the other due to the threat of snow.

However, once Jack arrived, and finals got going, and the snow started falling like no tomorrow I was forced to park FoJ for a few weeks and hope that he survived the winter. As it turns out, he survived just fine and yesterday I was able to break him out of his winter hibernation and ride him to campus once more!

The temperature only has to be at about 30 degrees or higher for me to ride comfortably because of the layering system I use to keep warm, and my very nice gloves and helmet that keep my hands and face out of the wind. The problem was the stupid snow that just refused to melt in the parking lot and let me get FoJ out from behind the complex and into the dry streets of Provo and Orem.

That is all fixed now, and barring a severe drop in temperature, or a random snowstorm, I should be back in business which lets Holly have the car at home so she can run errands, etc, and allows me the freedom to run errand in Provo between classes if need be.

My scooter is freaking awesome!

A Lesson in Tire Pressure

Lately, as in the past week or so, I have been noticing some weird stuff about my scooter. Mainly, that it wasn't accelerating nearly as quickly as it used to, that if I let off the gas it would slow down really fast, and that when I went around a corner the handlebars seem to have a bit of a pull to them.

I'd been thinking about it for a little bit as to what it could be and then I thought that perhaps I needed to check my tire pressure. I haven't done it since I bought the scooter, and I've driven it over 1,200 miles in the past three months.

So, yesterday morning I left a little bit early for school and swung past the Holiday Oil just outside of the place we live. They have one of those free air hoses there. My front tire was really low, I could push it in with my bare hands, and my back tire was just a little bit low. After filling them up I got back on the scooter and took off down the road.

Miraculously, my acceleration was back, the slowing down with no twist of the handle went away, and cornering is a breeze once more. I guess I never thought about how much low tire pressure would affect a vehicle that only has two tires. You don't really realize when the tires of your car go down by a pound or two because the engine has far more power and can muscle its way through the difference.

Not so on a 150cc scooter it seems.

The Halloween of 1000 Miles

Happy Halloween! It's a day that I don't really do much different than any other day, except answer the door more often during the evening hours, but it's fun nonetheless I suppose. Holly is dressed up like the character Juno from one of her favorite movies, which works out perfectly since that character is pregnant in the movie and so is Holly. Me, I don't really like to dress up for Halloween, as I think I've sort of grown out of that excitement. Holly really like Halloween though, so I let her do her thing.

Today was a milestone day for the scooter as well. On the way to campus I rolled the odometer over to 1,000 total miles. That's pretty impressive for only owning the thing for 3 months. I've certainly gotten a lot of use out of it, and I think I can make it at least another week or two before I'll have to switch back to the car for the winter cold. We'll see though, I've gotten pretty good at finding ways to stay warm when the air is cold outside, so maybe I can use the scooter longer than I had originally planned.

Yesterday I got a phone call from Paul Burkinshaw. He had borrowed one of my books a few weeks ago and wanted to make sure I got it back before he forgot again. I stopped by his place on the way home from working on some stuff for Russell's class and picked the book up. The twins were there, and as I walked in the door Paul said, "Hey, wanna hold a baby?" I thought that was pretty funny and proceeded to hold Aislee (sp?) for a few minutes while Paul did something, although I'm not sure what. They are pretty cute kids, but had just had their first shots earlier that day, so they were crying in a kind of start and stop fashion. Nothing too bad though.

I had the chance to catch up with Paul and Molly, which is always good, and we set up a dinner date for a week from Sunday. That should be fun. It was last time and there weren't twins around to play with then.

I Need a Good Name for My Scooter

Alright, I've owned my scooter for a little over two months at this point, and I've put over 700 miles on the thing. It's saved me a ton of money, made life far more convenient for not only me, but for Holly as well, and I really like it.

With all of that said, I still have not come up with a good name for my scooter, and all good vehicular companions need a name. My companions and I had names for all of our cars during the mission, such as "Abby" the champagne colored Chevy Malibu in my first area with Elder Ivins.

So, does anyone have any good suggestions? Here are some various things I've thought up:

1. Jaxter
2. Black Bandit
3. Victory

That's it though, so any further suggestions would be helpful and perhaps if there are enough good ones I will have a poll or something to decide the final name.

Really? Can You Seriously Not Tell Where the Turn Lane is Located?

Yes, I'm sorry everyone, but there seem to be a proliferation of drivers suffering from idiocy in the Provo area. See, I ride my scooter back and forth to campus every day now, and so I take the same route on a regular basis. Interestingly enough, when riding a scooter, you find out all sorts of interesting stuff about the drivers of the four-wheeled variety.

Take for instance, the following example:

A week or so ago I was on University Parkway at the corner where it intersects Canyon Road. I was three or four cars back in line at the red light, and at the front of the line was one of the BYU mail trucks. As I had approached the intersection I had passed a multitude of bikes, perhaps 6 or 7 who were riding along in the bike lane to the right hand side of the road. They were minding their own business, doing their own thing. You wouldn't think this to be a problem would you?

Well, with the light glowing red, these bike riders obviously stopped at the intersection and waited for the light change. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but common sense says the fact they remained in the bike lane means they were doing the right thing, but here is where it gets interesting.

A car in front of me decided that they wanted to turn right, so, rather than wait for the light to turn green (as they should have), they took it upon themselves to squeeze their car in behind the bike riders and next to the mail truck. In the bike lane, yes, that's right, they pulled their car into the bike lane thinking they were going to make their turn much faster. How unfortunate for them to do so and then realize the bikes that were patiently waiting for the light instead.

But wait, the story gets better!

The car behind me driven by some rich kid accompanied by his girlfriend then pulled around me (I had my right turn signal on and was in the proper location), and got into line behind the other idiot trying to turn right. He then proceeded to lean out the window of his car and scream at the bike riders: "Get out of the way you stupid bikes!"

Yes, he really was that stupid, and therefore my natural tendency to make idiots feel like the fools that they are required me to respond with "You do realize you aren't even in a turn lane right? You are sitting in the middle of the bike lane."

His response to me was "Who cares, they are in my way."

I gave him a blank stare as his girlfriend then grabbed his arm and yelled at him "What the hell are you doing in the bike lane? Are you a moron!?"

Oh sweet justice! His face turned red and he slid down in his seat while she continued to berate him further. Idiocy at its best, plain and simple.

Commuting for the First Time

Growing up, there was never much of a reason for me to commute anywhere. Obviously my father did, especially when we were living in Broomfield and he would ride the bus to work each day. Even in Bartlesville he had to drive 10 minutes or so to the other side of town to get to and from work, but I know he liked that much more than riding the bus.

As for me, I went to school via bus or car each day, and I never had a job that took more than about 3 minutes to get to so I would never have considered myself as a commuter. Not even once I got to Provo and started school here at BYU have I had the opportunity to classify myself with the other commuters. Living on the edge of campus precluded that until now.

With a new place to live with Grandma Chatfield all the way up in Orem, Holly and I now have to actually make sure to leave each morning in time to make it to work and class. It's not a long commute by any means (about 15-20 minutes depending on traffic), but it does give me a funny feeling of being "official" in my daily endeavors. Silly, I know, but true nonetheless.

Holly takes the car to campus each day and I mosey along on my scooter, which has almost 500 miles on it now (it's saving a lot of wear and tear on the car). That allows her to get home when her classes are over at 11:00 and I can come home in the evening when mine are finished. The morning traffic is always interesting, and I've found myself trying to think of alternate routes to get to campus on days when the traffic is particularly heavy. For the trip home each day I've found a very scooter friendly route up Canyon Road that keeps me away from the majority of the cars on the road for most of the trip.

Living with Grandma is a blessing as it's saving Holly and I a boatload of money right now, and having Grandma around is pretty fun, but the commuting part is interesting. I don't get to come home for lunch as often anymore.

Time for a Big Post

Well, I'll be honest and say that I had no clue it had been so long since my last post, although I did realize I had been away for a little bit, so perhaps I just didn't think about it much. However, I've got plenty to talk about, so this one should be nice and long for everyone.

First and foremost, school is now in session. Tuition has been paid for both Holly and I, same with books purchased, health insurance paid, and school supplies bought. As was the case last semester Holly is excited to be using her "war backpack" as she calls it, and seems to be enjoying her classes so far. She is in Book of Mormon, French, Early British Literature, and American Novel.

After the first week of school, I feel a little better about my classes, although the reading load is going to be pretty high here at the beginning while we tackle Moby Dick in one of my classes. I've never read it before, so I guess I'll have to pay attention. I'm enrolled in Web Databases (with Russell as the teacher), Late British Literature, American Novel, Career Strategies, and German. I'm not that excited about the German class, but it is turning out better than the previous two classes, so that is promising.

I'm a little worried as to whether or not I'll be able to keep up in my Web Databases class due to my weak, actually incredibly weak, skills in Javascript, but I've been hunting for some online tutorials to get me up to speed on the basics as fast as I can. We also have a reading project for that class where we have to read a book on some aspect of web design, so I figure I'll read one on Javascript to make up for my deficiencies. I will say that class yesterday was promising for me as I was able to understand what was going on and not get confused or frustrated.

My American Novel class is with the same teacher that Holly and Roxy have it with, but not at the same time, so Holly and I saved a few bucks on textbooks because we can share them. I think I'll enjoy that class much more than I usually do a literature class due to the teacher. He has a very exciting persona as far as teaching is concerned. Not to mention we get to read actual fiction and not personal narratives or love sonnets.

Work was an absolute nightmare for the entire week of the training seminar right before school started, but there wasn't much I could do about that. Not to mention that once school started it was discovered that the BYU Bookstore botched about 15 book orders, including one order for over 600 textbooks for the English 316 class. Not good, not cool, and not something that made me very happy. It took 3 days to sort that mess out. Perhaps it is just me, but it seems that both the bookstore and the part-time/full-time faculty are getting progressively worse and worse to deal with this semester.

I'm back at Conquer Club now, but in a much more controlled manner. I spend about 60-90 minutes online each day rather than 4-5 hours, and it is working out for the best. That break was something that I desperately needed I think.

In scooter news I changed the oil for the first time and it was a success. Now, perhaps tonight I can get the gear oil changed out as I still need to do that. It is running great and working perfectly for transporting me to and from school. Holly also really likes not having to drive back and forth from Orem to get me each day after she gets home at lunchtime. The days that I have late evening classes it works perfectly for me to get home without making her put down her homework or work projects and spend 45 minutes getting me home from school.

School is Upon Us

It's that time again. When I spend my days sitting in a classroom rather than doing whatever my whims dictate. It isn't such a bad thing to be honest, but it certainly is a drastic change of pace.

This coming semester holds promise for me in several ways. First, I'll have 35 credits after this semester until I graduate, which means I should (hopefully) be finished with school in December 2009 and off into the real working world. I'm excited for that, but also a little bit intimidated as I think most college seniors are for the most part. Secondly, I finally am going to get deep into some more dynamic web design principles, which has me very excited. Russell is teaching the class, so I think it will be very well put together and I will be learning a lot of good stuff. I have a feeling that his grading curve is going to be a bit steeper than my previous classes though, so I'll be needing to pay close attention.

Third, I'm in need of something to occupy my mind and my classes this semester should do that quite well. I'm finally to the literature classes I can sort of get behind (the ones about novels), and so I think my major will take on a new look this semester.

In other news, the scooter is working out better than I had imagined. Holly really enjoys not having to get up and take me to school, which has made her days a little easier on her now that she is getting further along in the pregnancy, and for me it gives me the flexibility to run small errands on the way to and from school, thereby saving some time later in the evening. Not to mention that I have just now spent my 20th dollar on gas and I've had the thing for almost a full 4 weeks now. That is a big savings in fuel costs for the car.

I need to change the motor and gear oil in the scooter this weekend now that I've hit the 250 mile mark. I guess with motorcycles/scooters you have to do an oil change right near the beginning to make sure things are working properly.

Flying Through the Cold Morning Air

It's clearly still summer as it gets to nearly 100 degrees on a daily basis, but we have arrived at the point of the summer where the mornings are no longer hot as an oven, but rather cool, and enjoyable for at least a couple of hours before the sun blazes into the upper reaches of the sky. The nights are cooling down (thankfully), and that means that perfect weather is close on the horizon.

You know, the weather where it's 75 degrees, partly cloudy, and just a little bit breezy.

This morning on the way to work while riding the scooter I realized that I may need to start wearing a light jacket because at 45 miles per hour, the cool morning air can get a bit chilly if you are wearing short sleeves.

I'm not complaining though, it is nice to be leaving the hot behind.

All You Need are the Pictures

The Time is Drawing Closer!

If things go well during the month of August and I don't blow the engine in the car, or have to take Holly in for some type of emergency surgery of some sort, then sometime before the beginning of the fall semester I should be able to obtain a 150cc scooter for myself to use for getting to and from campus on a minimal amount of gas, a little bit of fun, and a lot more convenience for my pregnant wife.

Now, the one that I want looks like this:

Looks cool, huh? I think they come in red, black, silver, and blue, so I guess I would need to decide on that at some point in order to really reach a final decision.

I like this one because it is a little wider, hence a bit more safe, the windshield keeps things from smacking me in the face, and the cargo box on the back allows me to do a few more things, like a quick run to the store or something if needed.

Now I just need to find a helmet that I would like. I'm thinking a 3/4 helmet with a full face shield instead of the helmet that is a complete wraparound. It does get hot here and stuffy inside a helmet, and my face would like to breathe from time to time. I've been looking around online, but haven't found anything I'm in love with yet. I'll have to see what else I come across.

Vespa Dreams

Well, as many people know, Holly and I are going to take Grandma Chatfield up on her offer to live in her basement beginning in the Fall semester. It means we will save a hefty chunk of change on rent, but will also be able to give Grandma some peace of mind about living by herself, which she is a little worried about at the moment.However, it also means that walking to campus will no longer be an option, and with the baby on the way in December, it is time for me to at least give some thought into a secondary means of transportation. That is where this picture of a scooter comes into play:


This is a picture of the 50cc Vespa that I am borrowing from my old mission companion, Brooks Lively. It isn't the actual one I'm driving, but it looks exactly the same. I am considering the possibility of getting a 150cc scooter of my own sometime in the Fall, but wanted to make an informed decision first. That meant finding one to drive around for a little bit and talking to some folks that have owned them previously.

Well, Brooks has owned his for years, and there are some guys around the office that have owned them before, and Brooks and I spent some time at the Scooter Lounge in Orem on Saturday while tuning his up before I borrowed it, so I found out some good information there as well. Now, I'll be driving a red Vespa too and from work each day to get a feel for what it is like and then give it back to Brooks in a few weeks.I'm trying to be very thorough in my decision about this if you can't tell.