about 90% there and so many years ago

yeah, baggage has mostly evaporated in the night. woke up early with the dog, headed back to bed and slept some more.

feel like i'm getting over the cold, and now just one thing let, the albatross. Need to get it owned by someone else i think.

But - no tome for thinking today. Gotta get the rusty race wagon fit for duty, take the commuter tires off the Giant and let the spark get some air. Time to let the smoldering ignite into a full flame so the smoke goes away and I can shake the shackles no matter what and enjoy it.

I can look back at this day and the weekend of insanity that preceded it in 2001.

My brother got married in Newport, I flew out for two days or so. Drove to Detroit, hopped on my first SWA flight to PVD. Headed down for the wedding, had a bunch of fun, slept for 2 hours got back on the plane and flew to PVD. Had dinner with a friend on the way home was denied beer because I couldn't find my ID. Searched the car, came back in and then found it had slipped down between the seats only after I was just about to leave. Then headed over to a big TDI gtg at Hondo's place. People had driven in from everywhere. I missed the first day but got good and dirty the second. My girls (just my wife and oldest) were in DC area visiting family. They flew out of Dulles on the 10th. On the 11th I headed to work.

It was a tuesday. Staff coffee day. The bio department technical support staff, stock room, shop, computer, lab coordinator, microscope guy and sometimes animal care. But the meeting didn't really get a chance to happen. IT guy spread the news. Robert was pale and shaking when he came down to the stock room, I was in talking to Ray and Jeff. Everyone headed back to their office and CNN's web page crashed.

We decided to head over a bit early for coffee, and stopped as we entered the Student center and watched the drama unfold from the TV there.

After a while we headed back somberly. The Prez of the place canceled all classes, and locked the whole place down. Everyone was told they could go home. I think I wound up leaving at 2pm.

I was out of fuel and had meant to fill up on the way in, but for some reason I didn't and I pulled into the BP in Ithaca to find huge lines in the gas pumps and normally the four diesel pumps were deserted, today not so much. Diesel price jumped 75 cents between the guy with the power stroke filling up in front of me and when I got the nozzle. Gasoline prices went up 3 dollars and they ran out of regular unleaded while I was there.

Then of course I wasn't done. It was just past two years on my cell phone plan (of my first cell phone) and since I rarely am in the area during the day to get the free every two year phone I headed over. Odd feeling in that it was business as usual. People were trying to carry on, pretty successfully. More out of not wanting to be paralyzed, and wanting to put on a face of "you can do that to us but it isn't going stop us" fighting back as best they could by carrying on. It was surreal almost. The Meijer's gas station's prices had gone up but not by the 3-5 dollars other places had and I could watch the long line of people filling up their cars. A run on gas like that may never have happened since? I don't remember experiencing it.

Now I'm in full on Michigan memory flood mode. The phase of working and driving 150 miles a day, not the grad student/bike shop mechanic/bike commuter phase when I discovered Cyclocross.

I hope everyone is having fun at Brockton today. After a couple years of rain and weird mud that smelled funny, roots and needles and flats and concrete bridges and the timing of the event I've sort of stopped going. I guess they redesigned it last year or the year before, I hope it is better, for the sport's sake.

To take a twist off of Eleanor Roosevelt's quote: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." I had let myself spiral down precipitously. Irrespective of the big picture, myoptically getting weighed down with pretty insignificant issues.

The sun is shining - time to make some food, refuel, and prep for tomorrow.

It is a gorgeous day out there.

HTFU

heddwch
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