It is already day 5 in Egypt, and I really don’t know where to begin this conversation.

I could begin by discussing the high level meetings with the minister of state and family population or a member of the Egyptian parliament, whom both shared their visions for a better Egypt.

Or maybe I should tell you about the 250,000 students that attend Cairo University or the growth of private colleges in Egypt and shared thoughts of America from a college students perspective.

Oh, I know what would be a good topic. Close your eyes and imagine this. You are driving through downtown Cairo along the Nile, pass the citadel, pass an occassional KFC & McDonald’s, past all of the historic mosques.

And as you contine to drive on the expressway looking at the apartments in the skyline, you begin to see the peaks of several of the greatest man-made accomplishments in the world — the mighty pyramids. It was a surreal momment to see the pyramids. And it was even more surreal climbing to the top of the pyramids from inside and remembering that they were more than 5,000 years old and more than 455 feet high.

Oh yeah, just when you thought there was nothing else to see, don’t forget about the gigantic Sphinxs that protects the riches, Roar.

- Quentin

Ward 4 Waterloo City Councilman Quentin Hart is he traveling in Egypt as part of an international exchange program offered by the American Council of Young Political Leaders.

Hart, 38, is part of a delegation of six young leaders from across the country — three Democrats and three Republicans — that will make the trip next month. Hart paid his way to Washington, D.C., where there was a dinner and briefing, and the ACYPL is handling the two-week trip to Egypt.

Hart will be blogging from his trip.

His first entry is about his walk up to the Nile.

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It’s been a couple of weeks and a lot has changed with my house, everything short of an offer. I let my realtor go, simply because I felt it was time to get some new blood in to sell the house. Hopefully, when the place goes back on the market, people will come looking.

Of course, they may start looking at the house across the street from me. It just went on the market, at about $10,000 less than what I will be asking for my house. The house compares to mine, except I have one more bedroom. They have 200 more square feet, and a partially finished basement. However, my upstairs and kitchen are a little more updated. If this were a heavyweight fight, it might end in a draw. Which is not a positive, since their fighter costs much less than mine.

What worries me even more is the house on the other side of mine. It was a rental and someone has purchased and remolded the home. It is not quite finished, but at the rate they are working, I am guessing it is a flip house, and scheduled to be on the market shortly. Three homes for sale within 30 yards of each other. It’s going to be a long fight.

Well, the time for ghosts and goblins is upon us. And whether you are handing out candy or wandering through a haunted house or bar you’re sure to notice something weird in the air.

Although I have little proof, I believe a ghost paid a visit to my home this weekend.

Since the house is vacant, I make it a point to check it out every week. I walk thorough and make sure the water is running and the heat is running to keep the water pipes from freezing. Just general maintenance stuff.

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It has been a slow week at my cozy little doll house in Waterloo. No showings, no painting, not even an open house. My plan of a garage sale/open house was nixed early in the week, partly due to cold rainy weather, but mostly due to my cold, drainy nose. So in-between shots of cough syrup and 17-hour naps, I thought of a few things I would do to my house, if I did not have money as a blockade.

First, I would do all the obvious stuff. Put a new roof on, fix the remaining windows, upgrade the heating and cooling system, etc. Not that any of this will fail within the next 10 years, but newer always looks better.

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Another week, another open house. Two groups of people came through during this opening to the world, which is a touch disappointing. According to the Realtor, one person dismissed it entirely, and another couple seemed relatively interested in the home.

I should hope someone will take interest in the house soon. During the past two weeks, I have painted the basement floors and the walls. I transformed the bathroom from a bright, blinding blue to a calming, neutral tan. I certainly hope an offer comes in soon, I am running out of rooms to paint. I feel so helpless during this process, there really is little I can do, since I am at the mercy of the market. I can’t do anything about it, so I have to do something, and that something is paint. The kitchen and the upstairs attic are next.

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That’s the only word I have after Monday’s workout with Sarah. After a quick warm-up on the bike she took me over to do some arm and core work on a bosu ball. It started easy enough with sit-ups and some arm exercises. I think I threw her for a loop when my left arm almost gave out with a 12-pound weight though. (I broke that arm at the elbow when I was 5 and had limited range of motion with it for a very long time. Now, I just baby that arm so it is much weaker than the right). The upper body and core exercises continued with more abs and more bosu work. The exercises were tough, but didn’t beat me down.

She was saving that for the cardio. When the strength training was done Sarah sent me over to the elliptical with these words: Turn the machine on manual. Start at Level 3. Every minute up the resistance until you get to level 18. Then come back down. “It’s like climbing a hill,” she said smiling. Sure, smile all you want while I die over here. My mile last weekend was nothing compared to this. I started out fine, but by level 8 or 9 I was getting pretty tired. By 12 I wanted to die. Somewhere in there I stopped for a brief second and the machine turned off. When I started back up, I may have cheated a bit, but by that point I couldn’t see through the sweat running down my face to tell. If I did, it wasn’t by much.

This was definitely the hardest cardio workout for me, but I loved the strength training component. I don’t know that I could push myself to try that hill again on my own time, but I might just give it a try — on a day when all I do is cardio!

When I first put my house on the market, I heard all the press and all the experts talking about the housing market being a buyers market. I read all the stories about people giving away cruises and even cars just to sell their homes. I was not deterred, however. Regardless of the fact that I had to sell my home due to a divorce, I was almost certain that the home would sell within a month. I even had visions of a bidding war for my cute little doll house strategically located in Waterloo.

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I never thought I would be so excited about 1 of anything (except maybe a baby — I’m not cut out for twins). But, on Saturday I went to the gym after my husband ran his first 5k — his running got me motivated — and logged some minutes on the treadmill.

I will preface this by saying I hate the treadmill. If I am going to do cardio, I prefer the bike. But, I am trying to like other things (and the bikes I’ve tried at Snap don’t seem to comfortable) so I headed for the treadmill. I warmed up for one-tenth of a mile and then started running/jogging. I don’t know if a 12-minute mile is considered running? I think when I have tried the treadmill in the past I have always tried to push myself to run too fast. So, I backed off and was amazed at my results. At the end of the mile, I had about 5 minutes left and I just kept going. That’s right, I kept running! I was never so excited to see that one-mile mark, but a good song came on the iPod and gave me an extra little kick that helped push me for a few more minutes.

Unfortunately, my Sunday run wasn’t nearly as good. Tyson had printed off my workout plan for the day (a repeat of Monday) and that really cut into my stamina for cardio. Oh well. It all starts with one day. Hopefully, I can do it again next time I do cardio only.