Sick

 I know it has been a while since i wrote anything here and that's not great. And maybe I'll have more of a chance to catch up. Today I should have done that but I was not doing that it seems. Until now.

So since the last recap I did Dirty Smackdown, then went and did the Cider Donut Hundo and that was really really hard and since most of you caught bits about it on Strava, well, you know what happened and how long it took. I still haven't finished that roll of film in the camera. Need to push to do that, at least to see if I got any decent photos, probably not but fuck it lets find out.

So then I went to Housatonic and took photos of the women's team and that was great, and fun, and a LOOOOOONG day. Then I decided, fuck it lets get up the next day and race at 10:30 am and 3:30pm. Brilliant move. Oh and with the impending Nor'easter (that was kind of a dud in the end). Check and check. Then hit Under the lights at NBX wed night. THEN got up early Friday and Saturday and Sunday and drove to Boston, rode the garbage truck around everywhere with a backpack full of cameras taking photos of the women's team champ boats during rigging and practice, then of course there was the 2hr+ drive home, edit all the photos, upload the photos, get up and do it all again Saturday for the club 8 race and then Sunday for the champ 8 race. Finished editing the color photos on Sunday night around 11:30pm or so, was up editing early Monday, got the black and white uploaded over lunch. Was tired. Fucked toasted. Headed to Wed night Under the Lights and started feeling off, bike felt good. Did some turning, lowered the tire pressure, bike feeling better and more comfortable now. But as I felt off I dialed it back. 

Then thursday my nose wouldn't stop running and I was sneezing...  not the 'vid, probably an RSV or other cold. All in the head/sinuses. 12hr Mucinex FTW! Got stuff done yesterday but took it easy. Was hoping I'd wake up feeling great and could make it out for Dirt Church but nope...  tired. Not achy but in retrospect holy shit I pushed myself HARD for three+ weeks straight. And then of course work got extra busy all of a sudden, and that's great but also, timing? Ooof. So yeah. I Dropped kid off at book club put gas in the car saw my brother and his dog and got some fresh eggs. And came home and didn't really do anything.

Eventually I turned on the laptop and posted the photos from the half frame photowalk day on instagram and submitted my three photos for the contest, not that I think they are winners but so there's something to make the rest of the submissions look good.

On top of next week being extra crazy I have to put together a keynote speaker talk for the 7th. I've know about it since august, have ideas, been working on format and subject for it but since it isn't a purely research talk I need to lean heavily on material that doesn't exist anywhere outside my own head. Not a problem, the whole talking for 50 minutes thing. But I'd like it to be good and concise and keep everyone awake between 3-4pm on a friday. Hell *I'll* have to work hard to stay awake for it, mostly because I have to get there for 8am and that's not going to be a ton of fun on a Friday morning.

Funny, it took sitting down here and doing a quick post to realize just how hard I've been pushing it physically, and no fucking wonder I picked up something. It is lingering but with luck I'll feel better for the CX clinic I'm doing at NBX this Wednesday.

At least if I constantly smell like raw garlic people will stay away from me and are unlikely to get sick. 

Oh and hey, if you do one of those home test kits? You know the ones we used to have to use all the time? C is the control, not Covid, so if there's only one line and it is the C? Yeah, all good, no need to freak out. DAMHIK.

The photo thing though...  was reflecting after the weekend, after editing 1500 photos, it somewhat attenuates my compulsion to shoot more and more. I had a really good burst of creativity leading up to the Head of the Charles weekend. Now? Def a slump not unlike the one after NCAAs in June.

So creative slump plus sick for the first time since maybe 2023 or 2024 when I came back from seattle with that horrible RSV that took weeks to go away...Or was that longer ago? Might have been 22 or 21 even? Oh well. It was a good run and the MASSIVE crowds this weekend certainly set me up for picking something up, esp mixed with not nearly enough rest, too much caffeine and stress, mental and physical. 

Here's to hoping it clears up soon and all that stuff.

Amor Fati Motherfuckers

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