Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Two slices and a birch beer

Yup...still feeling homesick.

Got to spend some time with Pat, Sara, Chris Duncan, and Quad Ben a couple of weekends ago. I trucked it home in order to get to Winter Park early, and the long day behind the wheel was worth it. It was so good to see them. Despite the work involved in getting the race set up, we managed to have a great time. It was a much needed dose, that's for sure.

It's show time next week, which will mean another week of hanging out with some very good friends from across the pond. In the meantime, I've been in South Jersey. It's still summer hot and humid here. We've been riding and taking my dog to the beach, and today gave surfing a shot. Bad day for it though...the waves were 'unorganized' and choppy, with a serious current that made paddling next to impossible. Oh well, it was still nice to swim in the ocean in mid-September.

We're off to Detroit on Thursday for an event at VW headquaters, then I'm leavin' on a jet plane for Sin City. Hard to believe that summer is pretty much over, and my first season of demo touring is under my belt. It's been such a whirlwind. I've been dealt some blows, and had many good times which I'm sure prevented it from being a crappy season.

That's all I have to report for the moment. Many thanks to Kirsty and Nick for the phone call! And to Steve for even considering the idea of a surprise visit.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Oooooh my vision!


signsIMG_0449.jpg, originally uploaded by Cyclenaut.



I just got done driving over 1000 miles. I started at 8:30am and stopped at 12:30am. That has to be a personal best. I'm now way ahead of schedule and should arrive back in Boulder at a reasonable hour tomorrow, er make that today.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Skeletons in the closet

I started downsizing tonight. Being on the move for the better part of four years really teaches you just how much you can do without. Now that I'm back where the majority of my stuff lives, I face the prospect of sorting through it all and figuring out what I want to take to Boulder. I knew going into this process how I was going to feel: I have way too much crap. I feel like I should be selective as I'm sifting through it and see if there's anything I can sell. What I really want to do is just put everything is trash bags and set it out on the curb for collection. But, I'm trying to be less wasteful.

I'm also trying to not hold onto things 'just in case'. All of the suits and clothes I acquired during my Wall Street years have pretty much been collecting dust since the end of 2003. Going through them has been...weird. It seems like a lifetime ago when those items were my 'uniform'. I never fancied myself to be much of a suit person. I didn't hate it then, but I just can't imagine myself in them at this point. I'm a tad bummed, because some of the work clothes I have I really like. I splurged on really nice shirts a few times, and wish I still had reason to wear them. I suppose they'd look fine with jeans.

The whole thing really has me thinking about how much my life has changed over the past few years. I honestly think that , with the exception of a few patches of crab grass in the lawn of life, I've never been happier.

Friday, September 02, 2005

Random late night blogger

With all the misery and negativity I spew on here, I thought it only fitting that I should write about something that has brought me joy. I felt so compelled to write this that I actually got myself out of bed. I was suffering yet another night of being unable to settle my brain down enough to fall asleep. So, rather than roll around for a second hour, I got up and came downstairs to punch some keys.

I think I've figured out the most prominent reason why I miss the UK so much. I realized this as I was tossing and turning and reflecting on the days events. I was reminded today by two people during two unrelated conversations, just why I love my friends so much. This got me thinking about how my chats today are concominant with emails and comments I've gotten from others. Simply put, I have great, and I mean GREAT friends. Not only do I think my friends are great in their relationships with me, but I enjoy watching the interactoins that take place between everyone. It's quite a posse I've found myself in. My sweeping eagerness to return to a country that has welcomed me so has everything to do with the friends I have there. I just want to see everyone. I want to do the usual rides, and visit the usual pubs, and just sit back and listen and take it all in.

I shouldn't have taken my time for granted so much. I wasn't anticipating an end. or this much of a hiatus between visits. I feel like I should have done a better job of 'living in the now' when I was there, and really appreciating the time I spent with everyone. It was all so much fun!

Yes, I will keep taking pictures Steve, but I don't think I'll stop wanting to impress you with them.

Yes, I was changed by my time there because of the people I met, even you Brant. ;~)

Damn you all for being so nice to me, and for being so fantastic in general.