crack she goes!

going on six? no, the seventh week of 60+ hour workweeks. emotionally, physically, mentally taxing field hours that seem to only dig me deeper into a hole. 12 hours of working on a sidewalk during a 90+ degree day. or possibly a musty, dark basement where you feel like a zombie when you see the light of day at dusk. today i got a break - outside work in the biting wind. (yes, believe it, i felt a "biting" wind in berkeley today. in the summer.) driller jokes always. stepped in dog poo this morning. (how i managed to get BOTH shoes, i'll never know. MAN i hate that smell!) crazies in berkeley yelling at me for closing the sidewalk. (um, to protect them maybe? and i have a friggin permit, people! oh boy, do i have permits like you wouldn't believe!!!) tenants yelling at my crew, calling us "outrageous, immoral and cruel." property management questioning whether my company truly has the environment in mind. (yeah, that one stung. wanna pay off my college loan?!) being asked to grow a third, a fourth limb is the easy task...comes behind convincing our subcontractors to redesign their toolsets. field cars breaking down. equipment not working. working multiple days to accomplish NADA. local thugs following me around the building, telling me how hot a woman in a hardhat is - "take my advice." a woman pulled her pants down and took a pee on the sidewalk yesterday. a hooker got picked up on our corner. fights break out at the donut shop across the street. daily. still haven't seen a gun...wait, that's coming. our inspector nearly got t-boned by a semi on the street two days ago.

funny. i went back to school for this.

CRACK!

i bought a mini cooper s. TURBO. red with black stripes. upgraded sound system. and it's gonna have a bike rack. :) eta november.

hopefully i get to drive it to tempe, right when it comes in...and never leave!

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?! :)

pancake batter

i have decided that my move to arizona would be for ME. california is played out. as my yoga teacher says when we lie on our mats, jiggle around like you're pancake batter and fill in the cracks -- makes for greater comfort. i've attempted this strategy while in california since 1999 and i cannot fill in the cracks and get comfortable. sure, i take that chance i will not get comfortable in arizona, but it sure ain't happening in california, so in a sense i have nothing to lose. literally. i have NOTHING in california except a rent payment and a job that has officially consumed me. oh, and some baggage i would like to ditch. and besides, in arizona, i will be within driving distance of my sisters and mom, so if the going gets tough, i can just complain to them -- in person, for once. that's a novelty. :)

californication

i have a new addiction. (yes, i said "new." that means i do have others.) it's a tv show. strange, considering i don't have tv. well, i technically have a tv that likes to take up physical space and stick its tongue out at me, but no cable. yet i do have the internet which can download tv shows. so do i have tv? ok, that's not the point. my POINT is, i am newly addicted to a sweet little show called "californication." it's david duchovny's take two. his limelight without aliens and that redhead. if i were a man, i would want to be his character in this show, hank moody. minus the smoking and the lack of biking. and i'd get my headlight on the porsche fixed. (or maybe, since i AM a girl, i will simplify things and say i'd just go for him.) but this guy is COOL. and he's a romantic at heart. and honest. and sticks up for the people he loves. in fact, i think his character represents action without inhibitions, which is refreshing.

shift happens

i have nothing particularly interesting to say right now. other than the fact that the apartment below my friend, Lauren, went up for rent. i love her apartment. it's bigger than mine. it has the mandatory hardwood floors and gas range. the location is better. actually sports a yard in the back. this place would even be cheaper (well, $60 per month cheaper), and it includes a 2-car garage. yes, that is like a dream come true! i love a big garage. i can store a lot of bike parts in a garage. so, strangely, this new development has me thinking quite a bit about what i want to do in the upcoming days of my so-called life. do i stay in my current residence, which is still very pleasant (and feng shui'd to the hilt!), and enjoy the life-without-lease? i can pick up and go anytime. or do i forgo that minor freedom factor and go for this new pad? how much do i REALLY like oakland? my neighbors? what about tempe? do i enjoy my job enough to let it chain me down for a while longer? what about my business plan? how badly do i want that beemer?! meaning, i would have a garage to park it in with that move. hmm. again, a garage is critical. :)

i love how life is quirky. (or do i? something else to think about.) these seemingly random-slash-insignificant events just pop up out of nowhere and turn my/your world upside down...or possibly to a slight 13 degree angle, but whatever, it causes a shift. "shift happens." and because of this rental hitting craigslist, i now get to climb into my bathtub and think about what i want to do with this next year rather than the absolutely DELICIOUS (yes, i am using that word) man i saw on the bike trail yesterday. well, maybe i'll split my think time. yeah, my tub will be like my think tank. get it. water. tank. ok, bad.

beliefs - good or bad?

i woke up this morning to a very strange thought...no idea where it came from. what if people were to suspend all beliefs at each new experience? 1) is that even possible? 2) how would the world be different? i find it an intriguing question. even better, what are beliefs? they develop - that means they can be destroyed, yes?

so, here is my update:

-i've been studying diligently for the LEED AP exam. i have also started to look into feng shui principles more deeply, including the i ching, and i will soon be taking a course and moving that little business along.
-i am tossing around the idea of purchasing a condo. they are RIDICULOUSLY cheap in this area right now. prices have dropped 50% or more. i am debating if that is a good or bad thing. i was pre-approved for a loan, but the housing market is so unstable, i am unsure if now is the time to go big. (thoughts, anyone? anyone?)
-that being said, no word on the transfer to tempe. things are moving slowly, and frankly, i am fully happy with 'what is' right now. i feel like i am finally learning to be content with what i have and not feel the need to constantly go go go, move, plan, be quick with decisions, etc. also, it's crossed my mind that i could move down there and then my family up and relocates - anything is possible. i need to make sure the move is for ME and not anyone else.
-the job is...interesting. these days, i am doing battle with four permit offices.
-my hair is uber long - i made an appointment for next week.
-my biking is going really well. i feel very strong and am looking into joining a race team (mountain and/or road). i am going to a camp early august for advanced mountain biking techniques. the trainer is a two-time olympian. sweet!
-i have finally managed to make yoga a regular practice. that is a big deal for me.
-and i have a date tonight. with a scorpio. and i have no expectations. threw those suckers out the window a while ago.