You gotta know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em...

So, Elaine and I decided to buy a new microwave over Christmas. We have had the same mw that I had in college (going on about 11 years old). I won it at prom my senior year of high school (I think). Anyways, with my new job and our transition to being real adults we bought a higher level mw from Panasonic via Target.com.

Here is a very poor picture of the MW

 We got it shipped to us, opened it up and it worked like a charm....for 4 days. Then, one night when we were steaming a bag of broccoli (because we are super healthy like that), it started smoking from the back. Not like a little smoke, like, "I was sure it was on fire" smoke. We had not put anything metal in it and had used it as per the manual.

Elaine and I said,"no big deal, we will return it and get a new one." However, Panasonic did not see it this way. When we called them, they seemed skeptical that their product could break. After Elaine spent several hours with them on the phone, they finally agreed to pay for us to ship it back to them, not to return it but to inspect it. They also, told us that it may be quicker to just take it back to Target and exchange it.

We had an ethical dilemma. Really, it is Panasonic's mw that is defective and they should have to replace it. Also, I almost threw water on the microwave when it started smoking. Now, I am not the smartest person on the planet, but I have a feeling I would have gotten shocked had I attempted that fix. I think Panasonic should know that their product is defective and could potentially harm people. We also felt a little abused and mistreated in the return process (first world problems).

So, Elaine and I decided to go through Panasonic. You know, to prove a point to them. Then, after we were mailed the info on how to ship our product to Panasonic, we decided it was too much work. After a brief discussion we decided what we really wanted was to be able to cook things in a convenient fashion and the fastest way to get this done was to go to Target and exchange the product. So, we did.

Target was great! We got a new microwave. I think it is fun to be stubborn and prove a point, at times. However, I think there is also a point when you have to ask yourself, "what am I really attempting to accomplish here?" At this point, we wanted to be able to cook food in a microwave and we accomplished that in a far less time consuming manner than if we had "done battle" with Panasonic. Gotta know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

A poor picture of our new microwave

The kicker to all this....I loved the microwave so much (except for the smoking part), we got another Panasonic. I am a little ashamed of myself on that. Oh, well.   

Locked and Loaded

Well, I registered for a half-ironman today. I will be doing the Door County Half-Ironman on July 21st. At this point I am still deciding between training programs. My father has sent me the program he used and I/my wife have found several other programs. As of Monday January 27th, I will be 25 weeks out and 171 days from race day.

As with my marathons, I am setting up a pad calendar to layout my training. I obviously will have every intention to follow it as closely as possible, but things happen, hence the pencil in the picture.

I am also taking in some literature on the topic. The two books on the right have been suggested from my father. The book on the left, I read the second edition, then lent it to my father, then he threw it away, then I decided it was good time to buy the third edition (I realize the grammatical train-wreck that was the last sentence). I do enjoy "nerding out" about topics that I am interested in, so I am excited to read the books. I am not sure if I am more excited about the actual race and training, or researching how to train.

I am deciding between a few training programs:

Beginner Triathlete's Plan
Tri-newbiews
Matt Lieto's - This is the one my Dad used and really liked
Amateur Endurance

I am still reading the books and will probably choose the plan that seems to most closely align with what they say. They talk a lot about  the benefits of rest in the books. I think that is something I will have to pay attention to. When I ran the majority of my marathons I was still in my mid 20s. I don't remember being tired or injured throughout my training. I think now that I am a little older, I might be more likely to break down. If any of you have suggestions for plans let me know.

99 problems, but nerdy humor ain't one...

So, I was running regression analyses today, while listening to Jay-Z. After I ran a particularly awesome regression (one in which my Tolerance and VIF suggested I was not falling victim to multicollinearity), I found myself making up songs about stats to "99 Problems." I realized that I am both a genius in  research and rapping. As a result, I thought I would post a picture interpretation of some of my work (this is not actually my research).

I also like this picture because it is a great example of being middle aged (e.g., being a little too young to enjoy something so dorky and a little too old to admit you like rap). If you don't understand the stats reference, it will probably not help if I explain it.

Back to school....

I have something to admit, I have never really dreaded going back to school.

Though I was never what one would call a "stellar student", school came fairly easy to me. Also, I like being around people and all of my friends were at school. This is probably why I decided to become a professor, I simply love everything about school. So, tonight I am not really dreading starting classes tomorrow.

Though, after some introspection, I decided there are a few reason why I am not really dreading beginning classes tomorrow. Also, I love lists, so this gives me a convenient option to make a list of reasons I am happy to go back to school:

1. I have all of my classes prepped. For the first time in my career, all the courses I am teaching are courses that I have taught before. I made some minor changes, but they were good to go about a week into winter break. I am pretty excited to get to "tinker" with my courses and not have to plan them from scratch. 
2. I had an awesome break. 


1. We got a new treadmill. We have had a treadmill for about 10 years and finally decided to upgrade. We broke it in today, it has a TV and IFit! I realize nothing screams middle aged person like buying exercise equipment. However, I am going to own it.
2. We hung out with lots of friends. I had a "Congrats you are hired" dinner and I got awesome gifts (I am wearing a new tie and sweatshirt I received in the picture to the right). I would like to say the sweatshirt just makes my gut look big, but as I have mentioned I had a lot of fun over break (e.g., ate a lot). 
3. I really enjoy working with students. I will be the first to admit that there are days when students grate on me. But, most of the time, they are thoughtful, motivated to learn, and all make may day when I see them. So, tomorrow will be the first time I have seen them in a month. Hopefully, I make their day a little better when they see me.

Well, that is it. What do you all think? Excited for the new year/school? Not? Tell me your thoughts.

I am ironman? Maybe half...

My sophomore year of college I ran my first marathon. Admittedly it was not the fastest marathon in the world, but I enjoyed it. A few weeks after I finished I decided I wanted to give a half-ironman a try.

Fast forward 9 (ish) years and I still have not given the ol' half-ironman a shot. After watching my dad (who is 48) finish a half-ironman this summer, I decided now is the time. As a secondary benefit, finishing this race will prove that I am just as spry as 21 year old Bill (though with less glorious hair).

21 year old Bill and his glorious hair.

 So, I have begun training for one as of December 15th. 

So far I have been focusing on swimming. I have been swimming 3 times a week for a month now. I have been focusing mainly on distance (I am up to between 3200 meters and 2400 meters). I have also been riding our spinning bike some too. I will begin a training plan in earnest about 20 weeks from the triathlon (about 7 weeks from now).

I think I have decided on the Door County Half. It has gotten great reviews online and seems well run. It appears to be on a bluff, I assume that means it is downhill the whole race. Any of my 3 readers heard of it? 

The best thing about being middle aged and undertaking new endeavors? I have money to buy fun gadgets I would not have had the money to buy as college student. So, I leave you with....me looking awesome in my new goggles. 

Goggles are fun!

  

A new direction!

So, I have been wanting to start blogging recently. I feel like my old blog (www.graduatemonkey.blogspot.com) has run it's course. So, after celebrating my 30th birthday last summer, I decided now might be a great time to start blogging about my journeys into middle age-dom (that is a word). So, until I get bored, I will be blogging about things that I think are seminal and not so seminal moments of my middle years.