Poor little orphan blog. I do think about you. Don't take it personal. I've been neglecting everything and everyone this season.
Start with the car. She broke down just before I left for Jordan, and I didn't get around to trying & fixing her until last weekend. I don't cook any more - it's all fast food or microwaved food. Friends on the mainland are thinking I'm pissed at `em 'cause I don't write or call anymore. Friends here don't even bother - they just roll their eyes and tell me they'll see me when the season is over.
I've lost friends to paddling before. Now I see why. I love the sport, but it takes over. Tues and Thurs we're on the water. Mon I do weights and then yoga. I try to do weights Wed and Fri morning before work, but don't always make it. I should be running, and will need to start if I'm going to survive distance season next month. Saturday we have brutal practices, and I end up curling up afterwards and sleeping all afternoon. Sundays are regattas, and we spend the day at the beach racing.
Time left for the rest of the world: none.
Sure I've taken some time off. I smoked and drank and went out with Ron and Beth when they were here. I fell off the wagon again for a week when I met Chip from St. Louis. Other than that, I've been pretty good.
And still I need to train harder! 3 more months until the world championships, the Moloka`i Hoe, and ... I've got no illusions that I'll be competitive in it, but I at least want to earn a seat.
So, forget recapping the last x months. I'll start from Sunday, catch up to today, and then try and maintain ...
Sunday - Regatta at Kihei. We place 6th. Kumulokahi Elks beat us for the first time. Last week we did well, and were within spitting distance of placing. This week our time improved a bit, but everyone else improved a lot & the big four teams left us in the dust. X & Y stress that the guys know they're a couple and spend the day pretending not to know each other. Funny thing is, none of the guys seem to care who's queer and who's not. Jeff M and I pick up a six pack and a pack of smokes and chill in my garden after, which was a very cool way to end the weekend.
Monday - Bring the van into the repair shop. Work. Get a call from the repair shop telling me the bill will come close to 2G. Resolve to send the van to the glue factory. Gym. Yoga. Bike home. I'm exhausted.
Tuesday - Work. Practice. It's brutal - a twenty minute 'warm-up,' then four 10-minute sprints, then two 8-minute sprints, then ten one-minute starts, then ten ten-second starts. I can barely move by the time I get home.
Fourth of July - Have breakfast at Lulu's with Dave C and Dirk. We behave (!) and only have one round of Bloody Mary's. We cruise around a bit, and I head home and try and mix music. I'm not inspired, and don't make much progress. Evening time they pick me up, along with Aussie Michael, and we head to Alan's for the fireworks. It's a mellow crowd. We're all home be ten.
Thursday- Work. I go to the Credit Union and sign up for my first loan so I can afford a new (used) car. I prepare myself to go into debt for the first time. I've never had credit before. I apply for cards, and my name comes up blank. I don't have bad credit, I have zero credit. No banks can handle that. Lucky we have a State Credit Union! And then Practice. I'm still suffering from Tuesday, and feel like I'm ready to puke in the canoe. I feel good about my own stroke, but we switch seats around and some of the guys in our novice canoe are outside their comfort zone. We rocked so hard a few weeks ago, but haven't felt that magic since.
Friday - Work. Meet David L at Ocean Club afterwards for mojitos and poke. I like Oceans on Fridays. The location isn't great, but it's a nice club. I always associate it with late nights and hip-hop, so this is a pleasant surprise. Afterwards we head to Pfleuger Honda, David helps me out with the cars and bargaining, and ... hours later ... I walk out a bright shiny 1985 Honda Accord SE with only 69G miles on it. It's older than I wanted (I had my eyes on a 98 Cadillac, and in fact had been singing Springsteen songs to myself all day in anticipation, but it was not meant to be), but this car was the shiniest thing they've had. It's actually in better shape than any car I've owned - from a nice paint job to pretty leather seats - so I better change my grungy ways and try to keep her looking fresh.
Downside is, I was hoping to meet Keiko and Greg for their going-away bash at 6pm. Somehow I don't have their number in my phone, and I got their late. This hurts. Keiko is one of the first people I met here, and we later discovered that we had arrived in Hawai`i the same afternoon. She got married, I turned more queer-oriented, and we haven't hung out much in recent years. The first couple years here it felt that every summer I'd spend saying goodbye to everyone I met over the winter. Keiko and I were always the last two standing. Lately we've both been talking about making a break for it. I feel more settled now that I'm paddling - it really has calmed me down - and I feel better about staying on. Still it's sad to see her go.
I guess that's another mark of the modern age. One by one we lose our links to the past. Some people live one life their whole life. I've lived so many lives, and with precious few threads connecting many of them to today.
Time for bed. Tomorrow it's a 6am practice, then a cost-co run, and then heading to camp out in Ma`ili for the night. The regatta is there tomorrow, and our canoe is up for providing food. We're going for a full-on barbecue instead of the standard Cost-co produced wraps - our team should be happy!
Start with the car. She broke down just before I left for Jordan, and I didn't get around to trying & fixing her until last weekend. I don't cook any more - it's all fast food or microwaved food. Friends on the mainland are thinking I'm pissed at `em 'cause I don't write or call anymore. Friends here don't even bother - they just roll their eyes and tell me they'll see me when the season is over.
I've lost friends to paddling before. Now I see why. I love the sport, but it takes over. Tues and Thurs we're on the water. Mon I do weights and then yoga. I try to do weights Wed and Fri morning before work, but don't always make it. I should be running, and will need to start if I'm going to survive distance season next month. Saturday we have brutal practices, and I end up curling up afterwards and sleeping all afternoon. Sundays are regattas, and we spend the day at the beach racing.
Time left for the rest of the world: none.
Sure I've taken some time off. I smoked and drank and went out with Ron and Beth when they were here. I fell off the wagon again for a week when I met Chip from St. Louis. Other than that, I've been pretty good.
And still I need to train harder! 3 more months until the world championships, the Moloka`i Hoe, and ... I've got no illusions that I'll be competitive in it, but I at least want to earn a seat.
So, forget recapping the last x months. I'll start from Sunday, catch up to today, and then try and maintain ...
Sunday - Regatta at Kihei. We place 6th. Kumulokahi Elks beat us for the first time. Last week we did well, and were within spitting distance of placing. This week our time improved a bit, but everyone else improved a lot & the big four teams left us in the dust. X & Y stress that the guys know they're a couple and spend the day pretending not to know each other. Funny thing is, none of the guys seem to care who's queer and who's not. Jeff M and I pick up a six pack and a pack of smokes and chill in my garden after, which was a very cool way to end the weekend.
Monday - Bring the van into the repair shop. Work. Get a call from the repair shop telling me the bill will come close to 2G. Resolve to send the van to the glue factory. Gym. Yoga. Bike home. I'm exhausted.
Tuesday - Work. Practice. It's brutal - a twenty minute 'warm-up,' then four 10-minute sprints, then two 8-minute sprints, then ten one-minute starts, then ten ten-second starts. I can barely move by the time I get home.
Fourth of July - Have breakfast at Lulu's with Dave C and Dirk. We behave (!) and only have one round of Bloody Mary's. We cruise around a bit, and I head home and try and mix music. I'm not inspired, and don't make much progress. Evening time they pick me up, along with Aussie Michael, and we head to Alan's for the fireworks. It's a mellow crowd. We're all home be ten.
Thursday- Work. I go to the Credit Union and sign up for my first loan so I can afford a new (used) car. I prepare myself to go into debt for the first time. I've never had credit before. I apply for cards, and my name comes up blank. I don't have bad credit, I have zero credit. No banks can handle that. Lucky we have a State Credit Union! And then Practice. I'm still suffering from Tuesday, and feel like I'm ready to puke in the canoe. I feel good about my own stroke, but we switch seats around and some of the guys in our novice canoe are outside their comfort zone. We rocked so hard a few weeks ago, but haven't felt that magic since.
Friday - Work. Meet David L at Ocean Club afterwards for mojitos and poke. I like Oceans on Fridays. The location isn't great, but it's a nice club. I always associate it with late nights and hip-hop, so this is a pleasant surprise. Afterwards we head to Pfleuger Honda, David helps me out with the cars and bargaining, and ... hours later ... I walk out a bright shiny 1985 Honda Accord SE with only 69G miles on it. It's older than I wanted (I had my eyes on a 98 Cadillac, and in fact had been singing Springsteen songs to myself all day in anticipation, but it was not meant to be), but this car was the shiniest thing they've had. It's actually in better shape than any car I've owned - from a nice paint job to pretty leather seats - so I better change my grungy ways and try to keep her looking fresh.
Downside is, I was hoping to meet Keiko and Greg for their going-away bash at 6pm. Somehow I don't have their number in my phone, and I got their late. This hurts. Keiko is one of the first people I met here, and we later discovered that we had arrived in Hawai`i the same afternoon. She got married, I turned more queer-oriented, and we haven't hung out much in recent years. The first couple years here it felt that every summer I'd spend saying goodbye to everyone I met over the winter. Keiko and I were always the last two standing. Lately we've both been talking about making a break for it. I feel more settled now that I'm paddling - it really has calmed me down - and I feel better about staying on. Still it's sad to see her go.
I guess that's another mark of the modern age. One by one we lose our links to the past. Some people live one life their whole life. I've lived so many lives, and with precious few threads connecting many of them to today.
Time for bed. Tomorrow it's a 6am practice, then a cost-co run, and then heading to camp out in Ma`ili for the night. The regatta is there tomorrow, and our canoe is up for providing food. We're going for a full-on barbecue instead of the standard Cost-co produced wraps - our team should be happy!
No comments:
Post a Comment