Calendar says it's Spring, Ohio begs to differ.

The coming of Spring in Ohio, especially up here by Lake Erie, is as highly regarded an occasion as of the start of the OSU Buckeye football season. But unlike the football season in Ohio, I actually look forward to this event.

There seems to be a slight problem, though. It isn't here yet. I write this on Sunday, March 24, 2013 where it's 29°F in Eastlake and at the moment (thank goodness), no precipitation. These temps are extremely unusual this time of year, and it seems like we're going backwards. Hey Captain Picard, can you explain this snag in the space and time continuum?

My thoughts, exactly.

Just for your amusement, here are some shots of the first three days of Spring in nearby Mentor.

Work on Wednesday March 20, the first day of Spring.

Work on Thursday, March 21, the second day of Spring. Do we sense a pattern here?

Friday, March 22 required plow service. Are you kidding?

I shall ask the following questions now:

1. Who pissed off/lost a bet to/broke up with/trash talked/otherwise disrespected Mother Nature and turned her in to Mother F*cking Nature? Can you just say sorry now?

2. How much is the bounty on Punxsutawney Phil or Buckeye Chuck? I could use the money to purchase parts to build a new computer since I'll be sitting here instead of RIDING MY MOTORCYCLE!!!

There is a silver lining to these clouds, actually. For the first time in a while, my two-wheeled buddy Eleanor does get a few replacement parts and brand new tires that won't have to be taken care of mid-"season" (I still don't believe in riding seasons regardless of what the weather tells me). But believe me, as soon as this stuff thaws out, the tires are getting road scrubbed and I'm out. Stay warm for a bit longer, people.

My hockey coach once told me that if I shot any animal, I'd have to eat it. Does groundhog taste like chicken or pork? Just raise him up a little higher; I don't want to take out the bystanders.

[The Bittersweet] SoCal Refresher Course

In the beginning of March, I had the impromptu chance to go home to Southern California for a few days for a job interview. This was a trip I had to keep under wraps until I knew what was going to happen, so if this is the first time you're ever hearing about this, don't feel so bad...I feel better enough to talk about it now.

With the company I was interviewing with paying for the flight, the only thing I had to arrange was lodging and a motorcycle to ride. Fortunately I have an extended family and good friends to help me out. Leaving at 6AM EST on a Thursday with a stopover in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (which, in ironic fashion, is the only time I've ever arrived there by air), I reached LAX by 9:30AM PST and proceeded to have a nice lunch with my aunt (a.k.a. one of the only biological relations I have that hasn't disowned me yet). After that, it was some relaxing and motorcycle riding before my interview the following day.

This was the first time I've returned to the area in two years (to read about that 2011 adventure, click here), so I did what I could to make the best of it. Here are some photos of the places I still call home.

Parents who close their doors for all the wrong reasons. Disowning is douchebaggery.

Browsing on my Twitter feed again, I came across a segment on Huffington Post about a Caucasian woman who was disowned by her father because she was in a serious relationship with an African American man. To make this even worse, this pathetic "dad" shunned his daughter BY PROXY (a phone call via the stepmom) that although he was no longer in speaking terms with her, he still "loved" her.

LOVED HER? Unconditional love does not come with an asterisk or any fine print. And with the archaic world viewpoints that this father harbored for so many years and tried to drill into his daughter's head, it is a pity that he grapples to those beliefs even more strongly than that "love" for his daughter. Believe me, ma'am, you're better off without that poison in your life. If you'd like to watch the entire segment, click the video below.



We as humans all fear rejection. Some are lucky to get small doses of it, and some people like me get a cheap vodka-bottle sized serving all at once. Those parallels between this woman's relations with an interracial boyfriend are very similar in my life. Based on a simple choice of not practicing a religion that I had shoved forcibly into my mouth since my youth and chose to not continue to follow in my adult years, I was completely rejected from the gene pool that raised me.

Ramblings in Southern Wisconsin

Earlier last month, I was in southern Wisconsin as part of a business trip. It was the first time I had been to Wisconsin since my cross-country ride in 2011 as as I rode across I-90 back to Ohio. This was quite different than the first time as I now had time to venture through a few parts of the state.

After landing at General Mitchell International Airport, I was immediately greeted by the familiar green and yellow of the Green Bay Packers and cow-related swag that I could lay my eyes on. Cow tipping, anyone?

Video Killed the Hockey Goal Judge: My Stint in the WCHA

For the last two seasons, I have had the privilege of acting as a goal judge for home games for the NCAA Division I women's ice hockey team of The Ohio State University. Here's what it entails:

1. Watch the play.
2. Watch the puck being shot at the net.
3. If the puck completely crosses over the goal line, hit the goal light button and make a bunch spectators happy. And depending on the period, it could either be fans of the home team or the opposing one.
4. If video replay is unable to determine a goal, I get asked via intercom to provide my summary of the play and confirmation of whether or not the puck went in.