A little trip

I rolled some coins today and decided I'm taking a mini vacation next week. Olivia is headed on her Disney Cruise with her mom. I'm gonna go to the Cohutta Mountains in North Georgia. You can camp for free anywhere inside the National Park. I'm going to leave after work on Wednesday - the trip shouldn't cost me anything but a half a tank of gas and some food. I'm taking my mountain bike and plan on a 4 or 5 hour epic ride on Thursday.

I was supposed to go to Alabama to race in a criterium that weekend, but I think I need this trip more. I'm broke and don't need to waste money on a bike race anyway. If I don't get away I may shoot someone....and I'm really not in the mood for jail.


I'll probably throw in my old fishing rod, my camera, and a good book. I need to get lost for a couple of days, and this is the perfect opportunity.

A day at the races

Olivia and I tripped it on over to Birmingham (Leeds, actually) yesterday to watch my dad race at Barber Motorsports Park. I raced there a few years ago. It is, by far, the nicest race track I've ever been to. The grounds are immaculate.

Not such a great weekend for the old man. It was the first time he had seen the track, and there was only one qualifying session and the race. He managed to keep his nose clean after a first lap spin, and qualified 4th. During the race he got a great start and even got side by side with the leader going into turn one. The cars disappear into turn two, then come back into sight for turn 3...which is where his race ended.

He was third entering the corner - a downhill 180 degree left turn. The guy in front of him locked up his brakes at the same time my dad did. There was tire smoke, cars dodging, and part of my dad's nosecone flew into the air. His car lifted slightly off the ground, enough that he couldn't steer and sent him right into a large gravel trap. He tried valiently to get out, but it just dug the car deeper - day over.

Olivia actually seemed to kind of enjoy herself. Got to see a few people I hadn't seen in a while, and despite being a little hot, the weather was pretty nice. Birmingham is only two hours from my house, but the drive back always seems much longer.

The view from the backstretch where we watched the Spec Miata race - my camera battery died before I could get any pics of my dad's race

The grounds are covered with interesting sculptures - this is a giant spider on the infield of the track

The Miata field entering the hairpin where my dad went off - stage left

Rick Gambill (82) passing a competitor after his first lap spin

An old bike racing friend of mine, Tommy Mulkey, was in fifth until he ran off course into a tire barrier.

Olivia chilling at the races
These two old guys kissed each other after I took this picture...

I'm a pig

As my brother would so elequently put it, "Look at the terd cutter on that chick".

I'm standing at my sink this afternoon doing dishes. I turned on the TV and saw that they are showing the US Open. Ana Ivanovic is playing some other girl, but I can't take my eyes off this Serbian hottie.

As many of you know, I've been trying hard to get a new job. I think I've found it. I'm going to apply to be Ana Ivanovic's husband. I swore I'd never get married again, but I live on the edge, kids. I'm willing to make the supreme sacrifice for a hot, rich, probably non-English speaking girl that's half my age.

I'll let you all know how it turns out. In the meantime, I need to go back to being a HUGE tennis fan.

Like winning the Lottery

Olivia and I stopped by the grocery store on the way home yesterday. We needed to return a movie and get just a few items - peanut butter, chips, etc. While walking down the cleaning supplies aisle I remembered that I was about out of toilet paper. I'm pretty snobbish about my TP, but for some reason I grabbed a four pack of the house brand - it looked to be of decent quality. I figured it would do until payday when I could afford an eight pack of the good stuff...

We go to pay and the kind, old, wrinkled, heavily made-up cashier says "You got the penny item". I looked at her quizzically. She said "Well, I'm going to give it to you anyway (with a wink). This toilet paper is the 'secret penny item'." SHANGRI LA!! I'm gonna wipe my butt for the next week basically free with GreenWise Market Double Roll Bathroom Tissue goodness! If life gets any better than this I may just eat some rat poison and die content.

Under the influence

First off, I am under the influence of a couple of Ambien - I simply have not slept in two months and my body needs it BADLY. We'll see if this works. If this post is rambling, then it's not entirely my fault.

I gave some advice to a friend the other day. I said, in essence, that if you keep taking the same approach towards something then you shouldn't be suprised if you get the same results. It sounded good at the moment even though my friend didn't seem to quite get it.

I've thought about it a lot since saying it. I realized that I'm not taking my own advice. I am no doubt in a rut right now, and I think it is because I expect different results without changing the way I do things. The old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" still applies today, but turning the radio up to drown out that awful sound your car is making doesn't work either.

I have really attempted, and I think I'm succeeding, at taking a more positive attitude, regardless of the situation. I think I am coming off as a more happy person now.

I've got to re-evaluate several things in my life. The one thing positive that comes out of being confused is that you realize what is important to you. Being a good father, staying in shape, enjoying what you do for a living, learning new skills - I may not be achieving all of them, but the list of that which is important becomes smaller, but more passionate.

I need to heed the attitude I had for 3 of the 4 decades I've been on this earth - I've made it this far and I can only assume that everything moving forward will work out as well.

Reading

Olivia has become quite a good reader. Part of her homework for last night was reading to me for 10 minutes. I usually let her try and figure out most of the words for herself, but I helped her a little in this video for time purposes.

Uploading video was new for me. Not that hard - you just have to be patient.

A great night in Gainesville

Went up to Gainesville for the last of the TNT Mountain Bike time trials. We picked up Anne and made good time up there. The mountain bike community in Gainesville is awesome. They told me to bring Olivia up and people would watch her. I barely know most of the people, but they were great to her.

Olivia was given all kinds of jobs. Her first was decorating number plates for those that wanted. She helped put down the start and finish lines. She called out numbers of riders as they approached the finish. She drew names for the series finale raffle....and she stood in for Aimee Murphy, who couldn't make the final, on the victory podium. Aimee finished 2nd in the series and Olivia did her proud.

Me? I finally felt like a mountain biker tonight! I took almost a minute and fifteen seconds off my previous time. I changed my position a bit and put a different fork on my bike this week. I also rode better. Two weeks ago, my fastest time was 14:24. Today, I put in a 13:16, followed by a 13:12! I recorded the third and fourth fastest times overall of the night.

I came within 4 feet of hitting a deer on my first run! He just appeared out of nowhere. On the second lap I hip checked a tree and I'm gonna have a really nice bruise on my hip bone. I hit it so hard that it lifted the back end of my bike off the ground. I was better off than another guy tonight that broke his collarbone!

Anne finished 3rd in the series. She has been battling a sickness for 6 months now that they just can't diagnose. She and her husband have a great attitude though, and she continues to compete even though she gets sick to her stomach often.

Norma Rainwater (middle), Anne Ledbetter (left) and Olivia standing in for Aimee Murphy on the series victory podium
Me and my girl after my first run.

Olivia helping Anne decorate her number

The best number plate of the night - notice "I love you" above my number!

My Girl

Wood Acres School map ^

The first day of school went off without a hitch. I drove Olivia to school yesterday - walked her in, took a pic of her with her teacher, settled her at her desk, kissed her and left. When I picked her up she seemed to have had a great day. She is really a very happy girl.

When I got her home we went through her folder. There was a school calendar in there and I asked her if she could ask the teacher for another copy for me. She is acutely aware that her parents are divorced, but sometimes wears it as a badge of pride...It's strange, but I'm sure it's just one way she copes with it. She said "Sure, I need to tell her that sometimes I need two copies of things because my parents are divorced". It was matter-of-fact and very adult of her....and, she'll remember. She has the memory of an elephant.

I'm going to pick her up today and we'll go do the mountain bike time trials that were postponed from last week. I think she'll enjoy it. I think they are going to give her a job to decorate people's number plates. I don't have anything planned for us this weekend. I need to be more creative with her and think of new activities.

Gotta get to work and make something productive of this day off.

Meet N' Greet

Today was meet and greet at school. Olivia starts first grade on Wednesday. Her teacher is Mrs. Pacifico, who has been an assistant teacher, but this will be her first year as a head teacher. She seems very nice. The school looks phenomenal. There was a lot of construction last year, but now the grass has grown in and it looks great.

Olivia only has 12 kids in her class - I guess that's one of the huge benefits of private school. Olivia and I went to Chick-Fil-A with a few moms and their kids afterwards. Sometimes I feel pretty odd being the only dad at a lot of functions, but I'm trying to be a little more social this year. We are, once again, the only divorced parents in Olivia's class. Odd, considering today's divorce rate.

What a hen house these types of functions are. I understand that there are a lot of traditional families in East Cobb, but sometimes I wonder if Olivia is the only child with a dad at that school. It's a bunch of friggin' women standing around talking about "mom" stuff....and none of them are remotely cute. It would be one thing if I was standing there listening to them go on and on about the cost of eggs and I could at least be thinking "Hmmm, Kate's mom's got a nice rack"....but, no, they dress in their Winnie the Pooh T-shirts and their Keds and look like a member of a late 80's sitcom.

Here are some pics:

Looking in the classroom from outside
Olivia's favorite subject

Hope

I've learned not to get too excited about job prospects. I applied to five jobs this week - three of which I think I am very well qualified and have contacts within the company. This certainly doesn't mean I'll even get an interview, but it is better than nothing. I've been very reluctant to even mention job leads because they can lead to false hope, but I've been busting my ass and have to believe that something will pay off soon.

I met an interesting person this week - a professional organizer. Not only does she literally organize people's belongings, but also helps them manage time. I find the whole thing fascinating. Maybe it's because I'm such the opposite at times.

The Olympics start tonight. I still don't sleep worth a damn, so at least I know there will be something to watch in the middle of the night.

Wow, what a day...

Holy crap, someone must be filming my life! I swear I'm being tested for some reason - just to see if I'll crack. This complete bitch came in the bike shop today. I could tell she was trouble from the first words out of her mouth....after her 3 minute conversation on the cell phone before she'd even look at me.

She was vague and argumentative from the get go. I decided I was going to kill her with kindness. I showed her several bikes. She had something negative to say about everything. After 20 minutes, she tells me that the current bike I'm showing her "looks like crap, and is cheap". I decided I just would stop talking at that point. I really didn't know how to respond. The nicer I was, the ruder and meaner she got. I hope that my job in Purgatory is pissing on her head in Hell....Some people are just meant to be miserable.

So, my self-imposed deadline of August 1 to find a job has come and gone. I'm cutting myself some slack since I did pick up a client to train. I am still pounding the pavement hard. Something has got to come my way soon because I'm about to lose my shit working retail. I had a lady the other day that sweated which color of baby jogger she wanted for a full half an hour. Seriously, if this is a big fucking decision for you perhaps you need to analyze your life. It's not a car, it's not your house, it's a STUPID MOTHER F'ING BABY JOGGER!!!!!! She brought it back two days later and exchanged it for another color. Her husband must wish for a car accident to take his life every day on his way home....

Busy week

Went to Gainesville last night to work/ride some mountain bike time trails that they hold at Chicopee Woods. You can ride the 3 1/2 mile loop as many as 3 times, with your best time counting. I was the only one to ride all three times - I figured if I was driving that far I was going to get my money's worth.

This is my mountain bike that I "kinda" own - I've begged, borrowed and bartered to put it together. It is an Orbea Scandium Team, made in Spain. The cool thing is that this was a Team Issue frame and I doubt I'll see anyone else on one anywhere.

I finished fourth in the Expert class, which I think is pretty good considering I've ridden this bike exactly twice and have never ridden the course. I was pretty spent afterwards. Each loop took about 14 1/2 minutes and I rode them with my heartrate pretty much at 175 beats and above the whole time. That's about 45 minutes totally anaerobic!

The crazy thing is that my first lap felt totally out of control - I overshot corners, wasted energy and rode over my head and fell off twice. The first lap was in 14:25. Because I was tired and needed to ride better, I concentrated on riding smoother the second lap. I didn't fall and I felt like I rode much better - 14:36....I was very tired on the third attempt, but felt like it was technically FAR superior to what I had done the previous two rides - 14:37....All three rides within 11 seconds of each other! I took about 20 minutes rest between each attempt.

I got up early to meet with the guy I'm going to be coaching. It went very well and he is very excited about the program. He is like a sponge trying to absorb all that I am telling him. Someone else came in the shop today asking if we knew a coach. I gave him my number. I guess I'm going to make some business cards and build a basic website to sort of legitimize the whole thing. If I can get 4 or 5 regular clients it will definitely supplement my income.

I guess I need to keep working out myself if I'm going to portray the image that I know what I'm talking about!

I have Olivia this weekend. We are going to a birthday party tomorrow morning at one of the inflatable jumping places. We'll probably hit the pool at sometime. I have tickets to the Braves on Sunday - we didn't go the last time I had them.