Kangatopia

I realized this morning that I have some stories to tell from the last few days, but haven’t gotten around to telling them. On my birthday, I got up early, packed up my bike and after taking little Bear to school, I drove out to a local lake that has some really good cycling trails circling it. It took me a while to find the lake. I had printed out mapquest directions, and I’ve been there several times before - but not on my own in many years. After an hour of driving around and checking out the bike trails that wind through the neighborhoods surrounding the lake, I finally found a parking lot and started the ride. It was a cool, beautiful morning - perfect weather for cycling! I didn’t go all that far or fast, but it was good to get out and get my blood pumping. The really cool part was the neighborly camaraderie of the other riders, and the walkers and joggers. Most everyone said good morning, or waved, or when I finally got off my bike and started packing up - one very nice older gentleman on a recumbent (I think that’s what they’re called - the kind of bike on which the rider is leaned back in what looks like a comfortable sitting position) seemed sort of sorry to see me go. It was in all a lovely way to spend the morning of the first day of my 35th year.

After packing up my bike, I headed back to my father’s home and spent some time with the girls which I followed up with a nap at my place. I had a very nice dinner with a friend in the evening, and then I went back to the kids to finish the night with them. Unfortunately, by the time I made it over, Bear was asleep but the girls were still going strong. Bear told me the next morning in no uncertain terms that I was not to be so late on my birthday again. He finally came around the next evening when we had cake and ice cream together as a family.

On Friday Bear “crossed over” to… Bears! in cub scouts. I was going to take pictures and post them, but I only managed to get one before the shutter busted. By the time I fixed it, the cross over was all done. Our den is going to have another campout and we spent a lot of time talking to the other parents about getting ready and the organization. The weekend of the campout is also the weekend my sister arrives into town and Monkey’s dance recital, so it’s going to be busy and packed with activity. We are more or less going to spend this coming weekend getting ready!

On Saturday morning I packed up my bike again, and Bear and I drove over to my dad’s. There was another ride, but this one started less than a mile from the ol’ homestead so I parked there and planned to ride to the start line. As I was sorting out the bike and getting ready, one of my dad’s neighbors came out of his house. He was all suited up and drinking a cup of coffee. He called Good Morning!, and it was apparent that he was going to be riding in the same ride. He has lived across the street from my dad for 30 years, and while I knew his children (sort of, they are a a few years older) - I had never really met him. It turned out that he rides in a mountain biking club, but every once in a while they will ride these road rides and since this one was so close, they meet at his house every year and ride together. I asked if I could tag along, and I met a bunch of really nice people as a result. I told one woman, who works in HR recruiting for Texas Instruments (but I didn’t know this before I said this), that I was looking around for a job where I felt I could make more of an impact. She offered to help me out at TI if I thought that would do it, but I must have looked so shocked that she didn’t think I was interested. I was just taken aback by her offer. I mean, that might have been the very first time a networking opportunity paid off like that! In truth, my biggest interest right now is to go to grad school (more on that in a bit) though I am a little sorry I didn’t get her phone number. TI is roughly half the distance from home to where I am currently enslaved.

After everybody was ready, we all pedaled off to the ride. I was supposed to meet a friend there at 7:30 and it was almost 8, the start time for the ride. We met up pretty quickly (thank God for cell phones! There were easily almost 2,000 people there) and found a place to wait until the majority of riders had left. We decided to do the 40 mile ride. There was a 50 mile “bail out” that we were considering heading towards, but it was going to be a hot day and neither one of us felt comfortable with committing ourselves. The course of the ride took us out over a dam of a local lake and then we turned around and wound our way back. The dam marked the first 20 miles, and I was feeling pretty good when we turned back. But, by mile 30 I was starting to fade. By the time we got to my dad’s neck of the woods again, I was really tired (I had to hop off my bike and let it fall when we stopped at an intersection because I literally didn’t have the strength to stop properly in such a way that I could stay on the bike) and overheated. I had been drinking plenty of water and pouring it over my head, but that didn’t seem to make a difference. I was starting to feel chills - the kind of chills you sometimes get right before you start vomiting and passing out. Lacking the strength to go the 8 tenths of a mile to the finish line, I peeled off and went to my father’s house where I laid on my back for an hour to settle my heart rate before I got up and took a shower. When I went in the house, both Bear and Monkey were playing in the living room. They stopped and stared at me, and Bear kept asking me if I was okay. I must have looked pretty bad. After I cooled down, I felt all right again and debated for about 30 seconds if I should go back and finish the ride. My odometer read 41.6 miles, so I felt that I had accomplished what I wanted and there wasn’t much point to putting back on my damp shorts and jersey.

On Sunday, Monkey and I went to an alumni event in Austin. I haven’t met anyone in Texas who went to the same college since I came back, and so that there would be an alumni event in Austin at which the current president would be giving a talk - well, I couldn’t resist! So, Monkey and I loaded up on drinks and headed down I-35 in record time. We arrived about 45 minutes after the event began, and as Monkey ate up all the strawberries and grapes on the fruit tray, I chatted with some of the alums. I talked to one guy and his wife for a long time about going to grad school ten years after getting a BA. He was really encouraging (he’s working on a PhD in the RTF program at UT) and gave me his card if I need advice or help. I also had a long conversation with a faculty member of my college who came to the event with the president. She is by training a lawyer, and she gave me a lot of helpful advice and feedback on my ideas as well. The thing is now to follow through and begin researching the programs that are available locally.

After the event was over, I ran into a couple of the alums drinking beer outside. We chatted for a while as Monkey played, and then I took Monkey out to show her where my brother and I lived when we shared a house there. She wanted candy for the road, so we went to the grocery store that my brother and I shopped at way back then - and Holy God, everything had changed. The store was still there, but the whole area had been revitalized and been turned into a major shopping strip. It was better than a mall. There was an Old Navy, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Lance Armstrong 24 Hour Fitness. A real surprise.  And then, when we went into the store we ran into the same RTF PhD student I had been talking to at the alumni event. He and his wife picked up their kids after they left, and he and his sons were there getting dinner. It was amazingly cool.

Monkey and I finally got back on the road, and had an uneventful drive back. She fell asleep about an hour before we got home, and stayed asleep until I dropped her off with her dad the next morning. I think she might have woken up briefly in the car to have some leftover jellybeans for breakfast.

So, yesterday, I began doing some online research for local programs. I have a lot of fear about this, and I don’t know if I actually will make this effort - but I am not going to rule it out. I think I can do this, but well… it is just very scary.

As for the health thing, the ride on Saturday netted me a 2,400-calorie workout, and then I went back to the gym last night where I watched a basketball game as a distraction from my workout. I think that came out pretty well. I worked out a lot longer and harder than if I weren’t concentrating on the Mavs keeping their lead.

Winston stayed with me at the apartment last night. She had a big long bath, and then we spent at least an hour on her skin. She was sleepy and not putting up much resistance to all the lotion and rubbing and nail clipping. Poor little girl. I hope she grows out of this sooner than later.

This morning as we were leaving, I discovered that the key lock on our door was unlocked, but the day lock was in place. I know I locked it last night because I triple check the locks before I go to bed. I haven’t decided yet what I should do, or if I should be worried. It’s possible that Winston unlocked the door and I didn’t notice, but it is very unlikely. I’m just hoping that this was a mistake on my part, and that I only thought the door was locked last night.