Bubba's Life

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 12:45:50 GMT

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
14
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Heck Yeah! ;)

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 18:57:03 GMT

Your Wrestler Name Is...

Prince of Darkness Grover the Giant

What's Your Wrestler Name?

Why???

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 14:54:04 GMT

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/more/specials/tour_de_france/2006/07/27/landis.doping/index.html

LONDON (AP) -- Tour de France champion Floyd Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said Thursday on its Web site.

The statement came a day after cycling's world governing body said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the Tour.

I give up on pro racing. :(

That time of year!

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 13:24:38 GMT

Well.. it's finally here. The time of year where I can usually be found on the couch from 9am till noon, nearly everyday. Yes... the Tour de France starts up tomorrow. Three weeks of the most grueling sporting competition on the planet. This year held lots of promise. The first time in eight years that last years champion will not be racing. Last year, Lance Armstrong retired from professional cycling after seven consecutive victories... a record that I don't think will be broken in my lifetime. I must say I was really psyched about the upcoming month.

In the past couple days, however, that excitement has become a knot in my stomach as some of the biggest names in professional cycling have been implicated in a huge doping ring.

Jan Ullrich, Armstrong's chief rival the past five or so years, has been suspended from his team. Ivan Basso, my pick to win this year and winner of the Giro d'Italia, has been suspended by his team. Fransisco Mancebo, fourth place finisher in last year's Tour, suspended... The list of minor characters suspended goes on and on. Check out this link for more info: http://www.velonews.com/tour2006/news/articles/10176.0.html

I don't know if I'll be able to get myself excited about the Tour this year... and that tears a huge hole in me. Seeing these men, that I sort of idolize, be accused of cheating... drains some of the passion that I have for biking away from me. Hopefully, I can cling onto that passion enough to keep it with me throughout this next month. Right now... I can barely stand to look at my bike. :(

Where's Bubba???

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 19:16:58 GMT

Well... I am still here. Been kind of busy as of late, so I haven't had much time or focus to be able to sit down and update this. We're onto a 10 hour shift at work right now... plus weekends, usually. So I don't get home from work until 9am and by then Jordyn is usually awake, so the free time I had in the mornings to decompress from work and update this and check e-mail is extremely limited. I usually get through my e-mail while she eats breakfast, but then she'd rather have daddy play with her then plunk away at the 'puter. Go figger!

Anyway, I do the work thing, come home and spend time with Jordyn, go to bed around 10:30 or 11 (sometimes after lunch), wake up just after dinner, and spend more time with Jordyn... except on Tuesday nights, which is my night to ride with the club. We're also kicking off our Friday night Ice Cream Rides, which I am co-captain of. Last week I led the "fast ride" and shocked myself by being able to keep the pace up. SWEET!

Really not too much been going on in my life. I'll try to get back into the swing of doing this... I know... I've said that before. But, really... I'll try.

When it rains, it pours

Thu, 11 May 2006 15:41:57 GMT

As if the rainy weather we're having today and if the weatherman is right for the rest of the week... and the news I got that most likely I won't be getting laid off work for a week like most of the rest of the guys I work with (was hoping for a week off with my family and my bike (yes, in that order, Rebekah))... now I get this! Ugh!

You Will Die at Age 70

You're pretty average when it comes to how you live...
And how you'll die as well.

What Age Will You Die?

You betcha!

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 14:37:19 GMT

You scored as New Democrat. New Democrats emphasize fiscal conservatism, and have a strong preference for the free market. They believe in small-scale programs that provide targetted help to those in need, while working with the business community.

</td>

New Democrat

90%

Old School Democrat

75%

Green

75%

Libertarian

70%

Pro Business Republican

55%

Foreign Policy Hawk

45%

Socially Conservative Republican

35%

What's Your Political Philosophy?
created with QuizFarm.com

Did I Volunteer for That?

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 12:02:08 GMT

So last night at work I was reading over the EH&S (Environmental Health & Safety) Committee meeting minutes. It was the usual, accident reports, machine modifications, blah-blah-blah. At the bottom they mentioned that they were going to be doing a self-audit for ISO 14001, an international standard for environmental safety. Apparently, they are going to train four hourly employees to do the audits.. I read through the names... Keith Bryan, Janet Ingersoll, Bob Howland, Rob Gerwig. Wait! Hold on... Rob Gerwig? How the heck did I get volunteered for that? I think I will have to go talk to the HR Manager in the morning about this. I'm not sure I like being volunteered to do things like that.

Meanwhile... did my first ride of the year last week Tuesday. 26.1 miles total. Didn't do too bad but I kind of hit the proverbial wall with about 3 miles to go. That was a struggle.. into the wind and mostly uphill of course. My new pedals worked great, I love them. The new shorts were quite comfortable... but as usual, the first ride of the year resulted in an extremely sore bottom-side for a couple days. OW!!!! Got to toughen up the tushy again for the season ahead. My goal this year is to get in more than 1000 miles... wish me luck!

One more thing, then I have to go... I just wanted to say that I am perhaps the proudest papa in the world right now. The other day Jordyn and I got her new big girl bike out and she took off on her own right away!

Here's a pic...

Getting a raise? SWEET! (brief cycling content)

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:26:55 GMT

So a little over two years ago when I applied for my current job at the foundry, a new position that had just been created, I had to agree to stay on the job for two years. Must have had something to do with the month of training in Germany (all expenses paid :)). Anyway, we were told that after our two years were up that they would re-post the jobs, but that if we applied again we would get them. Usually job bids get awarded based on seniority, but because this is a specialized job, it is awarded on previous experience. So there is no reason I shouldn't get it again. Another aspect of the agreement we had to sign, that I apparently had forgotten about was that the Union and company would re-negotiate our pay rate... I figured it would stay the same or get lowered slightly. We have been the highest paid production workers in the shop... by $.08/hr. So imagine my surprise Wednesday afternoon when I saw the jobs posted with an advertised rate $.50/hr more than we were making. SWEET! That extra $20 per week will be nice considering my car is about to die. Just in time. :)

Also, Rebekah and I are working on starting a cycling club at our church. The Director of Congregational Life, fancy title for someone that organizes events, has approached me a couple times now about starting something up. I'm starting to get the ball rolling on that. Thank goodness I have such a supportive wife. Couldn't do half of what I do without her help... THANKS BUBBY! Love you!

Enough for now... keep tuned in for further updates.

Never had it.. but want to try it...

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 14:18:01 GMT

You Are Guinness

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world.
Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them.
When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well.
But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

What's Your Beer Personality?

And the hits keep coming

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 13:35:04 GMT

So last night, I thought maybe I'd run out to my parents house to get my bike (I stored it there this winter) while Rebekah was gone to choir practice. When I got to my car I noticed a nice bright green puddle under the passenger side tire. About a week ago, on the way to work I watched the temperature guage max out. I pulled over before any major damage was done, popped the hood the next morning and noticed the coolant reservoir was friggin' empty. I refilled it, drove home, and had been driving Rebekah's car since. When I got out to it last night... the friggin' reservoir was empty again... of course it was, I thought, I'm standing in it! Crap! So here I am with a car that's leaking coolant like there is no tomorrow (probably a head gasket, I've been told it was getting bad and was leaking slowly), bills up the wazoo (my car had been running good enough that we had made a couple large purchases of stuff we needed), and no idea what I'm going to do. I'm looking right now at the under $4000 section of Michigan Auto & RV and also contemplating getting a small loan to get the stuff I need to start commuting to and from work by bike. I just can't believe my luck this week... three crappy nights in a row at work and now this... makes you wonder what can go wrong next! I give up! :(

Now that's what I'm talking about

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 15:02:14 GMT

You Should Drive a Toyota FJ Cruiser

A true adventurer, you're always up for trying the latest new thing.
And you need a car that will take you anywhere, because there are no roads where you're going!

What 2007 Car Should You Drive?

Work is a pain in the a$$!!!

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 14:53:35 GMT

Another day, another dollar. Had another crummy night at work tonight. Everything started out great, machines ran great, Dave brought me the Girl Scout cookies I had ordered from his daughter, it was a good night. Then... the night took a steady decline. I ran out of one part and went to setup for a different one. The cutting wheel was all set up, but the part holders were not. Not really a big deal, but we have a setup man that is supposed to have all that stuff ready for us. He hasn't been getting too much of that done recently, because the new machine operator on second shift, my counterpart, is not catching on. She has been training since December to run the machines and she just doesn't get it. So instead of getting our setups done, the setup man spends most of his night helping run the machines. They had talked last week about bumping the first shift operator and myself up to 12 hour shifts, to "be there for her in case she has problems". This morning I found out that the supervisors still hadn't gotten permission for us to get the overtime, so that deal is sunk. That bites, because I was really looking forward to have a little extra cash in my pocket in two weekends for me & Jordyn, when Rebekah is gone. Now, all I can do is hope they change their minds and get some sense.

Just another day in the life, I guess...

Till Later!

Ummm.. yeah.... they're really not that sexy

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 14:09:28 GMT

What Your Underwear Says About You

You buy the sexiest underwear you kind find, and always have something hot on underneath your clothes.

You're the type of guy who lets his girlfriend pick out his underwear.

The Underwear Oracle

Adjusting to the sleep thing and BIKES!!!

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 13:52:03 GMT

So here's the deal. I work nights during the week, but on the weekends, I try to adjust my schedule so that I can spend more time with Rebekah & Jordyn and don't sleep the days away. It means alot to me to be able to spend the time with them, and I HOPE that it means a lot to them, too. I try to do this by waking up early on Friday and going to bed at a normal time on Friday night. That gives me most of the day with them on Saturday. Then I just catch a nap after church on Sunday and I'm ready to go on Sunday night. Sometimes, though, like last night I have a hard time making through the night without waking up. I went to bed around 12:30am, and by 6:30am I was up and about. I gotta figure that out.

I went to my bike club meeting Thursday night. We had a bunch of the local shops bring in their latest and greatest products and show them off. Let's just say I should have brought a towel for the drool. There were some gorgeous bikes there. My personal favorite of the ones they had was probably either this http://www.serotta.com/pages/ottrott.html or this http://www.scottusa.com/category.php?UID=312. I know I'll most likely never have one like one of these (just slightly out of the budget range), but it doesn't hurt to dream, right? Also, fell in love with a new pair of shoes, http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=12781, well, at least they are slightly more affordable. In case you can't tell, I'm getting the bug again... can't wait to get my bike out on the road. I guess it's sort of a zen thing.

Till later! Rob

Starting Over

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 15:05:35 GMT

Okay, okay. Now I really suck at keeping this updated. But, what the hell I'll try again.

Life is quite different now that I'm a "third shifter". I work from 11pm until 7am. I get home and have a breakfast date with Jordyn, which is great for both of us. Then it's off to bed for me (which is where I should probably be right now). As a matter of fact, I think that is where I shall head. Look back here in the next couple days as I PROMISE to post an update very soon.

Okay, okay...

Sun, 13 Mar 2005 14:32:18 GMT

Well, I think I'm officially sucking at keeping up on this thing like I said I would. It's been kind of hard lately. First, I've been kept busy working lots of overtime at work... 10 hour shifts plus trying to spend time with Rebekah and Jordyn doesn't leave much time for computer stuff. And secondly, I had a chance to experience "Dell's award-winning customer service" (he says with a chuckle). The hard drive on my 3-month old computer decided to stop working last weekend. A few calls to Tech Support revealed that Dell, too, had shipped its jobs overseas. Try explaining to someone in India that you know something about computers and you've already run all those tests they are trying to get you to run on the computer... well, forget explaining and just humor them and run it again. Then, after playing phone tag with Dell and the company they subcontract to do their service calls... well, we went a week without the computer, lost pretty much everything, but now we have a new hard drive and are trying to rebuild it. Oh, joy!

Staying on 10 hours at work... probably for another week or two. Makes for a really nice paycheck, but kind of sucks on the family and sleep side of things. So don't count on an update anytime soon... but feel free to keep checking.

Rebekah, Chuck, & Charity took me out last night to celebrate my birthday (3/14). We went out for dinner and then out to the Bresa delRio. Had a really good time... Rebekah had vowed to get me drunk... we almost got there... ;)

Super Sunday

Sun, 06 Feb 2005 22:25:18 GMT

Greetings,

Not a whole lot to report today. I'll be on 10 hour shifts next week at work. We're starting to really fall behind only running one machine. Hopefully, the other will be repaired sometime this week so we can start to catch up. Union audit tomorrow morning, so I don't have to go to work. Another night to spend with my family, which I'd really rather do than working nights. I think if I can get onto first shift doing what I'm doing now... I'll definately jump on it, as long as Rebekah isn't working.

We're getting geared up for a Super Bowl party... Chuck and Charity are coming by to watch the game with Rebekah, Jordyn, and I. Should be a good time. Here's my prediction for tonight... let's see how close I can come. I'll pick the Patriots over the Eagles... 28-16.

Check in later.

Blah blah

Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:37:52 GMT

Not much has been happening lately. Most of my free time has been consumed by either Jordyn, the Union newsletter I am in charge of producing, or playing America's Army.

This newsletter is getting to be a big hassle, with people setting deadlines for me, then not getting me their articles in time. Grrrr! I've basically got everything lined up with the printer... the layout pretty much done... but no articles! C'mon people! One of my two machines took a crap last week at work and will probably be down at least 2 weeks, making for very boring nights, but possibly lots of overtime. Rumor yesterday was possibly 12 hour shifts. Will definately wear me out, but make for a REALLY nice paycheck if it happens.

One last thing. I have four GMail invites if anyone wants one, either leave me a comment here or e-mail me and I will get one to you... first come first serve.

Anyway, that's all I can think of for now. Time to get back to hanging out with Jordyn. I promised to watch Shrek 2 with her. :)

I suppose

Mon, 17 Jan 2005 18:05:45 GMT

You Are a Golden Retriever Puppy

Tolerant, fun-loving, and patient.
You are eager to please - and attached to your frisbee.

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

Eerie how that worked out...

Mon, 17 Jan 2005 13:51:14 GMT

You Are 29 Years Old

29

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Weekend Update

Mon, 17 Jan 2005 06:55:53 GMT

For those that don't already know, a friend of both Rebekah and mine, Jason Eldridge was killed late last week in a horrible accident on I-96 near Lansing. We send our condolences to Trisha and family. We would have liked to make it to the visitation on Friday, but by the time we found out what time it was, I was already at work and really couldn't get away for the night.

Saturday, we got a baby-sitter (thanks Mom & Dad) for the night so that we could go to a concert. It was a cheap date, $10 tickets, but the concert was great. Matthew West, Rachel Lampa, Building 429, Newsong, Tait, and Toby Mac. Most definately worth the cost of admission. Tait and Toby Mac got together to sing a couple of their old songs.

Wow, I'm slacking

Tue, 11 Jan 2005 18:11:51 GMT

I'm still alive... in case anyone still checks out this site and wonders why it hasn't been updated. Christmas has come and gone, a busy time indeed with a two-year old in tow. Oh, we bought a new computer, too. The old Gateway was getting slower and louder... probably could have just formatted the hard drive and cleaned up all the insides, but it was getting old anyway. So we bought ourselves a Dell Dimension 4700. Very nice so far. Also, started to use Mozilla Firefox 1.0 instead of Internet Explorer. I love this browser so much more than IE. Hardly ever getting pop-ups or spyware... it's heaven! :) Not sure if it would work for you AOLers. Sorry!

Getting busy at work with the second newsletter for the Union. I had a meeting this morning with some people from Swift Printing. Kind of neat to have them scurry about trying to get "my" business. Hopefully, their quote comes in range for us, as I would really like to use them rather than OfficeMax to do the printing. We're also busy with work... gearing up to take over production for Dana(our #1 competitor). In case you hadn't heard, they are closing their piston ring foundry and outsourcing all the work to us. That means we're going to have to basically double our production, probably meaning quite a bit of overtime(and hopefully some nice improshare checks).

I'll try to get back into the swing of doing this more often. At least once a week was one of my New Year's Resolutions. Till then...

Oh, I have another e-mail address. I managed to get lucky enough to get a G-Mail invite the other day... so you can also reach me at:TrevoDaddy@gmail.com, but I'll still be checking my ameritech.net address more regularly. Thanks. Come back soon!

Post-op

Sat, 04 Dec 2004 14:57:46 GMT

Well, yesterday was the big day. I had my vasectomy done yesterday afternoon and I am home recovering. I can honestly say that it did not hurt as much as I thought it would. The worst part was applying the local anesthetic. Even last night, there was discomfort... but not much pain. Today I'm feeling much more comfortable, though if I move just right, I am reminded of what happened. ;) Just wanted to let everyone know that I am okay and at home recovering. HUGE THANKS to Rebekah for taking such good care of me last night (and not complaining). Love you, hon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thu, 25 Nov 2004 15:27:44 GMT

Just wanted to take a moment to tell everyone that might be reading this Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have a wonderful day, eat lots of turkey & stuffing, and remember to be thankful for what the Lord has blessed you with.

Me? I'm thankful for the following:

My wonderful & supportive wife, Rebekah, without whom I would probably be very lost.

The light in world on my darkest days, Jordyn Elizabeth... who'd a thunk a 2 year old could make me so happy!

My job and our new contract, all but guaranteeing me a job for the next 4 years.. a big deal in these times in which we live.

All of my extended family, for always being there when you need them to be.

and

last, but definately not least, the Lord God for giving me all these things!