move over phelps

my team took first at the mtb race on saturday -- 13 8-mile laps in 12 hours. granted, there were only three teams in our division (3-rider coed), but we had two women, whereas the other two teams had two men. yeah, we rule. :) we went by the name "blind date," primarily because two of us had never met before, let alone ridden together. i suspect there will be a second date!

no real injuries that day (a broken collarbone and the usual bloody calves), but there was drama. of course, we were in humbolt county. (excuse me while i inhale.) i finished up a lap and one of the timekeepers yelled at me, "watch for the guy with a stick. he's beating on the bikers!" uh, ok! there was apparently a guy up in the redwoods who assaulted one biker, rammed his stick through the front wheel of another biker, and then whacked a search and rescue guy on the neck, who then grabbed the stick and fought back. yes!!! this crazy bum (puff puff) spent the night in the slammer (more puff puff).

so after the fact, i am still trying to decide if i actually like to race. i need to make that decision quickly because i don't half-ass things, so i either need to go big and start training hard, or just give up on the idea and get some sleep...or more likely, pull some more overtime at work. huh. maybe i should hop on the bike after all.

we start drilling on monday. it goes for three weeks straight, i.e., three weeks of hella early mornings, dealing with homeless people, nosy berkeley passersby, regulators, control freaks, disgruntled drillers, field glitches, dirt, and likely a bit of hazardous waste (the least of my concerns). i am going to be the uber grumpy girl for the upcoming month. and to think this is the project i stuck around for rather than heading off to phoenix right away. i traded in a HOT, sunny summer with my kickass family for cold coastal fog and a hella delayed drilling schedule. hurrah. hurrah. hurraaaaaaaaaah. i might as well cook.

i maintain i will crack within the next month and end up at a mini dealership. now the question is...17 or 18 inch wheels for my turbocharged little wonder?

in the void

that's where i seem to be right now. that void, that place otherwise known as "the slump" in life. the bottom of the cycle. the trough. i am working a LOT. feels like that is all i have going on in my life at the moment. i am just waiting for the magic to happen. every moment. around every corner. despite my wanting to go with this flow, i am attempting to counteract the void with some new biking adventures. i partook in a techniques training workshop put on by Luna Chix last weekend with 40 other female mountain bikers around the bay. they DO exist! ratchets, bunny hops, ascending, descending, fast cornering, tight cornering...covered it all. i made a few contacts, one of which has talked me into my first endurance mtb race. we're a team of two, riding for 12 hours through humbolt forests. and this is next weekend, so i have made an oath to myself: i will NOT work more than 40 hours this upcoming week, considering my last two fridays have ended with me arriving home from work and literally falling onto the couch, and then barely being able to run a complete lap around the lake the following weekend. (last saturday's workshop was BRUTAL.) i need my energy next weekend.

as for my transfer to phoenix, i told HR i would be ready to move in october. it would be very nice to at least be down there by thanksgiving. we are planning a trial project for me in early october, just to make sure everyone gels. hell, i may not even like that office and call the whole thing off...or at least quit, make the move, and find something else when i get down there. only time will tell. i don't want to have to quit, though. i would like to stay with this company for the long haul. last week was my first year anniversary with them. (are you impressed? AMAZED?! :)