Trying to Catch Up

(And here's another one that I started and never finished from a week ago)...

And not only here...

It's been so long since I blogged, and I mean really blogged, that I'm not even sure where to pick up...

Really I don't. I mean, there's been some really deep emotional shifts moving around, good ones though certainly not always pleasant. Stuff around becoming a father (this goes back, oh, 4 years or so), and more navigating the radical shift a marriage goes through when kids come along. It's been a lot of work and I'm glad that we've come out the other end of it, not because I ever remotely doubted we would, but because it just sucked.

And then there's these 2 people in my life that are my kids, and they're getting older so very fast, and yet still so very little and vulnerable.

(anyhow, I'm in no mood to finish this one, so I'm posting as-is; just know that there's some big, deep stuff happening, too ;)

Stomping in the Ol' Cruzin' Grounds

Wow. I got as far as titling this post back in the beginning of April when I was out in CA on a biz trip. Must have been right after I rented that sweet (and I mean *sweet*) Turner 5 Spot from Another Bike Shop. All I can say is....oh...my....god....

I can still feel that bike, and the long, long, ok-I-have-no-idea-where-this-trail-comes-out-and-it's-gonna-be-dark-and-I-have-no-lights-or-reflectors-and-I-really-don't-give-a-flying-fuck ride I did up through campus, then down through Grat Whale and into Wilder. Seriously, I couldn't just cut and go back to the studio, and I ended up, well, out in the dark. By the time I made it down to the bike path back to town I could just barely make out the white stripes against the black pavement. But, the bike; it was literally like flying. At one point I was down in a gulley and the sun had gone down and it was near total dark down there. I went down a little berm on the trail that looked to be smooth and ended up being a 2-3 foot drop, all onto the front end. On most bikes it would have been an instant over-the-bars wreck, though with a 5" travel front fork from Fox it just plushed through like buttah. Seriously, people talk about the ease of a point and shoot camera, well this is a point and shoot bike. So incredible to ride...

Anywhoo, that was the highlight of that trip. Also got to eat up a burrito at my favorite SC taqueria, grabbed a breakfast burrito and latte from the Chill Out Cafe (where they roll the fatty :p ), picked up a 6 pack of Red Tail Ale, saw the first swell in many weeks roll through the Lane, and generally had a kick ass time even though I was working like a dog during the days. Managed to get up to SF to see the old crew (and even bump into my brother, w00t!) and pick up a pre-release of the new Bassnectar cd. Which has me soooooo fired up for Burning Man this year OMFG!!!!!

Yeah, a good trip. Did I mention I worked a lot? I did, though true to the company values, that too was a blast. Oh, and the coffee place a couple blocks from the office has redefined the latte for me. It's that good; they even swirl a little heart into the touch of foam on the top. I'm such a sucker for that kind of stuff; the last touch of love...