So my Christmas wasn't quite fantastic or post-worthy. Instead, I thought I'd post about someone else's awesome trip.

Mr. Mitch just made it back to the states after 19 hours of travel from Budapest. Poor, poor guy... I feel so sorry that he had to travel to Prague, Vienna and Budapest. OK, I don't, I'm just jealous.



If you want to be jealous too, check out his photos here.

Maybe he'll stop by and share a story or two...
-----

Today was wear your pink shirt, black sweater, jeans and Chuck taylors day.



Jen and I pulled into work today at the same time and laughed as we got out of our cars realizing our matching outfits. Least we both agreed we have good taste!

Labels: chuck taylors, entertaining, matching outfits

-----

MindComet had its annual holiday party this past Saturday. Our holiday events are a way for the team to come together before the year wraps and everyone parts for their holiday vacations but we also like to bring everyone together and collect gifts for Toys for Tots to give back to those less fortunate. We celebrated the night in style with our sister company, IZEA and managed to collect a table full of unwrapped gifts to give to the Toys for Tots Foundation, even a bike!



Each year we have a themed holiday event, we find it always makes for a more entertaining night and Ill admit it, our group just enjoys dressing up and acting the part. Past years holiday events have included Rock N Roll Karaoke, a Formal Event where we had other party goers sneak into ours because we are that fun and black and white poker night. This years theme was celeb style so attendees either came dressed to impress or played the part of a celebrity. We had Tiger Woods stop by, Lil Wayne paid a visit, even Angelina and Brad managed to drop in with their kids. The night included paparazzi, red carpet runways and gift bags for guests, good food and drinks, music and of course great company!

Labels: angelina and brad pitt, celebrities, holiday party, IZEA, lil wayne, Mindcomet, tiger woods

-----

As much as I love my Ruckus, maxing out at 42MPH on my 26 mile ride to work was getting a little old. Two hours per day was more than I wanted to spend commuting each day for the rest of my life.

So it was time for the Ruckus to grow up! Enter the Ninja.

The plan was to chew up some PTO and get the Motorcycle Safety Course out of the way. I spent Turkey Day weekend getting up at 6AM and driving to Daytona to learn the ins and outs of riding a real motorcycle. Overall, it was a fun experience. I'd recommend it to anyone who has an itch for this niche.

I didn't intend on picking up a bike immediately after, but I fell in love with the Ninja 250 (who I already had feelings for) over my two days of learning on one. That was, in fact, one of the criteria that drove me to Adventure Rider Training, by the way.





So I scoured Craigslist, made some calls, and set up a spreadsheet covering all of my options. I nearly drove to Miami to pick one up, but it was unfortunately sold out from under me.





After trying out a few (probably not enough, but whatever) bikes, I settled on the pretty red ride below. By the day after I finished my course, I already had a bike!


A great thing about 250 Ninjas is that they are low commitment. I could pick up an '07 for about as cheap as another Ruckus, and likely sell it off a while later for close to what I bought it for - there's always a market. Luckily, the Ruckus is the same way.

My first week was not nice to me, bringing freezing early morning weather. But I managed it to bring it in for a little show 'n tell. It's taken over the Ruckus' spot right outside my window for all to see.


Upon introduction to the MindComet team, I found that one of us had a ninja in the past. Unfortunately, he had to let it go due to storage limitations - poor guy!


So it's the end of the week, and I'm on my third day in. It's also my second day on the highway. I thought it would be terrifying, but in fact, it's just boring! I'll have to mix up my daily routes.

What's in the Ruckus' future? It'll stay around for a bit. It may even go to another MindCometeer. One of the first inquiries about the bike was "Are you going to sell the Ruckus?" Hopefully it'll stay in the family.

But what's in the Ninja's future? It'll likely pick up where the Ruckus left off. I wanted to take some long trips on the Ruckus, but the farthest I got was south of Orlando, a 60 mile trip home. Those two hours were a pain in the butt, showing me that any real touring would require a bigger motor, or a real bike.

I just may take it home to Jupiter for the holidays. Stay tuned!
-----

Yesterday I wrote some notes on the "FREE FOOD for thought" slips we have by the vending machine. I put said slip in my pocket. I proceeded to put my wallet in the same pocket. A few hours later I removed my wallet from my pocket, only to find it was imprinted / ruined / compromised. See below:


MindComet owes me a new wallet.

Labels: Bummed Out Dude, Hungry., Ruined Wallet

-----

I've decided that cookies are too politically correct and they need to contain meat so today, after much planning, I finally brought in Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. To make your own Meat Cookies you just need to follow a normal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe but instead of using semi-sweet/bitter sweet chips use bacon infused chocolate (specialty food markets usually carry these flavored chocolates).

Alas, words alone can not describe the awesomeness that is Meat Cookie so I've provided a picture of it. You may wish to shield the eyes small children.

Behold, the Meat Cookie: