Series 4: Registered Options Principal Examination

For the past couple of months, I have been studying and preparing for another securities exam. Yesterday, I passed the Series 4 exam and added another professional license to my name. The nice thing with this license, is that my boss doesn't have it. I do not intend to celebrate his failure, that's not my style, but he did not pass the test and has never retaken the exam. It's a nice feeling to have it over with while taking it just once.

The Series 4 exam is for managers supervising options sales personnel or supervising compliance. You must have a Series 7 license before taking the Series 4 exam.

Series 4 Test and Course Information

Test topics include:

Option Strategies
Equity Options
Debt Options
Index Options
Foreign Currencies
Customer Accounts and Orders
Supervision and Compliance
Employee Supervision
Business Conduct
Record keeping & Reporting Requirements

I am happy to have this one completed, and it proves to be a very valuable license.

Sometimes, achievements come with great work and sacrifice.......but the reward it worth it.

Tour of Utah Criterium-Stage 3

Last night was Stage 3 of The Tour of Utah. It was really cool to be downtown SLC and see this event live. The riders are amazing. The weather was beautiful and the company was even better.

I put together a short slide show highlighting some of the photos I took from the event. It was fantastic and I'm glad I went. Enjoy!

Road Cycling

To be honest, in the past I've found road biking less entertaining than mountain biking so my road bike has collected it's fair share of dust while sitting idle in the garage.

However, I've recently been riding a fair amount on the road and enjoying it. I have to admit I've been inspired a little bit by a girl (no names for now) but let's just say she is pretty darn cool. She has ridden LOTOJA twice and taken 9th, and 10th in her category both years. Yes, it's intimidating for me to ride with her; I can admit that with a humility! LOL! This Friday night we are going to downtown SLC to watch Stage 3 of the 2008 Tour of Utah, the Criterium stage. I went a couple of years ago and it was very cool to watch the event.

The toughest stage is ahead of them scheduled for Saturday. The Queen Stage of the Tour of Utah is a brute; 14,778 feet of climbing in 99 miles. Riders will see five KOM’s on their way to the finish at beautiful Snowbird Ski Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Along the way they will tackle the tough climb past Sundance ski resort, up and over the Alpine loop into American Fork Canyon.

Park City to Snowbird Course:

4 Climbs - Mountain Top

Finish Length: 98.1 miles, 159 kms

Climbing: 14,778 ft., 4,504 meters

I'm amazed at how committed the athletes are and by their achievements. What's even more amazing to me is how much the human body can endure. It is nothing short of inspirational to see them perform at their best.

Dad, Mom, & Cody

This past week my father and my nephew spent the week at my house. It was a blast. I had a great time and enjoyed their company. We kept busy and played as much as possible. We went to a movie, pulled weeds, went rockclimbing, hiking, wakeboarding, biking, played guitar hero (Cody Rocks), went to the Days of 47 Rodeo, and other things. I'm grateful to have a fantastic father and a great nephew. Thanks for hanging out and keeping it real! I miss you already!

Enjoy the slide show of just a few of the things we enjoyed!

My mom was in town as well and she spent the week with her siblings. Sadly, her brother has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. My thoughts & prayers go out to him and his family. We love you Steve!

All of us went to The Osmonds 50 Years performance for Pioneer Day. It was really awesome to see them in concert and it was a great time to hang out with my mom as well.

Thanks everyone for the fun week and great memories!

Albion Basin Alta, UT

A couple of nights ago, I went hiking in Albion Basin near Alta, Utah. It was a beautiful night up in the canyon. I was surprised not to see more wildflowers. Because of the great winter snowfall this past season, the wild flowers are expected to blossom a little later in the summer than previous years. Usually the road is open up to the picnic area and trail head but his trip it was closed because there is still snow on the road. Long live winter!

It was nice to be in the mountains again. I love the fresh air, cooler temperatures, and the peaceful feelings that are only found in the mountains.

Diamond Fork, Utah Riding & GPS!

Diamond Fork was a great mountain bike ride. My buddy, Mike Both, and I set out for a few hours of pure mountain biking fun. We had a great time and this was a great ride. We will plan on doing this one again. The great thing about this ride is there are hot pots along the trail so it would make for a great cold weather ride and prove to be relaxing and more enjoyable with a little dip along the way back to the car.

We got an early start and left my house at 7am. After about an hour of driving, we made it to the trailhead. It is located off HWY 6 a few miles into the canyon before you head up the first long strech of uphill on the highway.

There is plenty of good cross country riding and a constant uphill that is rewarding and a great work out. I burned over 3500 calories on this ride and was starting to feel a little tired toward the last stretch of uphill riding mainly because of the 30 mile road ride I did the afternoon before.

The great thing about this ride was the fact that it reminded me of mountain biking in Montana & Idaho. We saw no other bikers and the trail was great singletrack. The canyon is beautiful and was very colorful with recent bloom of wildflowers. I really enjoyed this ride!

I used my GPS to help track this ride and see exactly where we were. Technology is pretty darn cool, and I enjoy the mapping part of things almost as the actual riding. I used the Garmin Forerunner 305 for this trip and even though there are a few limitations with this GPS, it works pretty well for this type of activity.

I have to admit that a couple of years ago, I forgot who I was because of some personal things going on and I lost interest in riding among other things. However, I am very grateful that I am past that point in my life. I am back enjoying hobbies that I love and will continue to do them as much as possible.

Man, that was a Hitch!

Have you ever needed an extra set of hands to help with a project when nobody was around? Well, tonight turned into one of those manly nights whereby I improvised and made good with what I had; my two hands!

I put a hitch on my car (yeah I know sound redneck but I don't care) so I can use my hitch rack to transport my motorbike. So, the instructions say it will only take 30 minutes. Well, perhaps it would take only 30 minutes if you had the second set of hands to help. For me, it took an hour and a half to complete this little project. Regardless of the time, I feel like it was a success and I'm happy to have that project completed.

I did it all by myself and the entire time I thought how grateful I am that I don't have to work on cars for a living. Don't get me wrong, for those that enjoy it I respect them, but for me I would not want to do that every day. I couldn't help but think of my friend Devin who is a very talented mechanic while wondering how long this silly little project would have taken him; Thirty minutes? Yeah, I'm sure he would have completed it within 30 minutes or less.

It wasn't so much that it was difficult, it was just that I could have used a second pair of hands while putting the hitch in place, reaching for tools, lowering the exhaust, and torque the bolts to the right lb/ft. However, I'm glad that it is a project that I can cross off the list.

Now I just hope that I can get out and ride my motorbike!

Saratoga Splash!

This weekend was pretty fun. I saw Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband perform at the Saratoga Splash. It was a fun night and I enjoyed the music very much. I was introduced to the band when I was in college. It's great to see that they are still doing what they love and trying to break into the mainstream music business. It was a beautiful night and I enjoyed the cool summer air surrounded by a few friends. For more information about the band check out their website: http://www.shupe.net/

Father's Day

Today is a special day for fathers throughout our country. More importantly, it's a special day for me to pay tribute to my father. He is always there for me and has helped me in many ways throughout my life. He has a wonderful way of comforting me in times of need even though he lives 500 miles away.

Dad, thanks for being there for me; thank you for giving advice, encouragement, discipline, help, kindness, and love. You are a wonderful father and I appreciate all that you do and have done for me!

Someday, if I'm fortunate to become a father, I hope to be at least as 1/2 as good of a father as you have been to me. I'd consider that a success.

Happy Father's day!

Good bye BWT!

Life has it's moments whereby one feels great sadness and emotional connection to a variety of things. Well, I've been dealing with exactly that the past few months. I love my truck. I've always had a truck ever since I graduated from college. They are very nice to have for many reasons. However, I have said my sad goodbye to the BWT. Not becuase I wanted to, but because of obligation to other important things, my mortgage, and future retirement. You see, I drive 280 miles each week back and forth to work. Keeping the truck just did not make sense at this point in time with the economy the way it is. So, I made one of the most difficult decisions in my life (I know what you are thinking.....this is really pathetic) but I said my goodbye to the BWT. The good news is I worked out a great deal on a car that is really nice and will save a significant amount of money each month, and a lot of money each year. For now, the car will serve my needs and I'll still be able to get my motorbike around to Idaho for an occasional ride.

Fairwell my good friend known as The BWT!

Price, UT

This weekend I went to Price, Utah. Camping was fun. The weather was pretty good for the most part. I am lucky to have a great younger brother and his in-laws. They are all good to me and I'm very appreciative.

We all enjoy the races and watch with great anticipation for the start of each moto. Thanks Scott for creating another reason for all of us to get together again and enjoy each other's company.

These pictures are from the same race in 2006.

Mountain biking!

Yesterday I wanted to get a nice ride in before the weather was expected to change into rain, so that's what I did. I rode the Little Cottonwood Canyon trail two times. Yes, that's right, two times. Many of you know the trail already, but it is about 3.5 miles uphill and then you turn around and rip downhill. It was so much fun the first time, that I had to do it again the second time. I felt great and it was so nice to be out yesterday. I enjoyed spending the time in the mountains. The creek is raging, the trees are green and full of leaves, and the trail was dried out all the way to the top.

There were quite a few other riders, runners, and hikers out on the trail. Even though that was the case, I felt the pleasant solitude that comes from being in the mountains. Recently, I got a free Ipod for test driving a new car that I was considering buying. The car did not work out, but the Ipod was sure nice to have along for company.

Many more days and nights will be spent riding my bike. Great fun and a wonderful way to keep fit. Ride on my friends and keep the pedals turning!

www.utahmountainbiking.com

A new idea?

Well, I've enjoyed having a glimse into the lives of my family and friends around the world through blogs and I decided to join in and share a little bit of what goes on in my life. Nothing too exciting, but here is to new adventures.