Last night, I lost my virginity...,

Last night I lost my virginity. For those of you who know me well, I can hear you laughing. But it's true. I lost my E-bay virginity. I had never bid on anything and last night, I did it for the first time.

And lost. It's okay. I don't think she meant to hurt me.

I found a set of aerobars and watched them all day. I discovered that you can ignore the bid cycle up until there are about 30 seconds left. Then-it's game on. Wow. The price climbed $40 in a matter of seconds. What was a deal became overpriced. I was disappointed. But, I'll try again tonight. Thank God the site is blocked here at school. Otherwise, the kids may not learn anything other than a few expletives and some random literature.

The whole idea of e-bay is fascinating. Charlotte has won several times and saved tons of money. I think I could literally buy everything I needed to survive off of the site. It seems as though I heard or read about someone actually trying that. My training partner Dave has scored much of his tri gear on e-bay. I suppose now it's my turn.

I could use a new crankset, some carbon aerobars, and a set of Mavic wheels. I really don't want to pay more than about a $100 for the lot. There has to be a bargain out there somewhere.

Tonight in school, we finish Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy. If you've never read Conroy, you owe it to yourself to read at least one of his novels. Rich in imagery and detail, Conroy forces me to confort my Southern roots and focus on the real issues that color our society. More than Grisham or Baldacci, Conroy has staying power. His sentences resemble Rubik's Cube in their complexity and structure. Good stuff. Really good stuff.

My shoulder is trashed. I'm beginning to think that Gulf Coast just might not happen. That, my friends, ain't good news.