Things are looking up.

Disclaimer: I wrote this about a month ago and never posted, it obviously isn't finished but I havent posted anything in a while.. (11/19/07)

New job.
New bike.
New husband (hah!).

Those are the new things in my life that really going well.

I remember the final cross race I did last year at Bloomer, I crossed the finish line with a sense of relief that can only come from being burned out. Not from cross, but from committing myself every week to riding for the past 6 years; all I felt was obligation, but what happened to fun? This was a symptom of a larger problem or smaller ones happening at once: some crazy ass medications, a job that I despised, good friends moving away, a wedding to stress over, a crash. It makes sense now, but when so much is wrong it is hard to know what is right and that is kind of difficult to fix.


And, it wasn't that bad. I slept in and tried not to obsess about getting on miles.


I raced (and crashed!) at Lower Huron acouple of days agao and it felt great (well, the crash sucked). I've wanted to ride more in the past two weeks than I have in a long time. When Andy cancelled on me this morning, I was genuinely bummed so I went and rode around my ice cream bike around the neighbourhood. Things are starting to feel right again. I wake up in the morning and I want to get up and not hit snooze. It's a good thing.

I'm on week 2 of my new job and so far things are going rather smoothly.

You can't keep doing something out of obligation. You have to make the necessary changes to create happiness.

Tissue

I don't know if it's allergies, the dust from the construction at work, or all the goose shit in my neighbourhood but my sinuses have been under constant attack all summer. I've violated my external nares more in the past 3 weeks than my entire time on this earth.

So, when you pull up along side a CRV and notice a girl with her finger jammed in her nose.. it is most likely me.

Prodigy

I have a new game that I play at work, it’s called, “Smack the FruitFly” (sungalong to the tune of that Prodigy song – which I always thought was “Smack my picture” cuz that makes a ton sense.) Today I had a personal best of 4.

I am such push over with kids, partly because somedays I forget I am 30 and not like 12. As I pulled into the driveway last week, I noticed the little girls from across the street pacing in front of the house. They were in a state of panic because their cat, Romeo had escaped into my backyard. When you’re 10 this like the end of the world. I remember this because our terrier was like a straightup bullet everytime the front door opened. This is the terrier that must have bitten me like 17 times. Clearly, he was trying to tell us something. I offered to go look for cat and spotted him heading underneth my neighbour’s deck (Gill!). So, I updated the girls on the kitty’s whereabouts and was asked (begged?) to accompany them to Gill’s and by the way, could I stop in the house for some cheese? Because Romeo loves cheese, like a lot. Armed with my lunch cheddar and the dog’s dogs, I went with the girls and helped throw processed food pieces under Gill’s deck until Gill came out and was the voice of reason (adult) in the situation. Letting us know that Romeo wouldn’t be coming out anytime soon because we were probably frightening him and would probably return home at his next scheduled feeding or sooner. Before we all went home, one of the little girls asked Gill how big his backyard was and informed him that if it was her back yard she would fly paper airplanes in it. Yesterday the doorbell rang and I was given the cutest note-

“Dear nice lady who lives across the street. Thank you for the hot dogs and cheese. Romeo came home at 3am. *heart* Brooke ps. Heart=thankyou. ”

I wonder if Gill got one too?

Random Things.

If you leak on the seat please clean it up.

I think I’ve finally broken up with Subway. Who will take it’s place?

Honda Dealership: Please rethink your early bird/night owl key dropoff box. If I can stick my hand into it and pull out my keys then anyone can take my car, including terrorists.

Why do we spend more on water for the grass in the summer than utilities for the house in the winter?

I am a princess.

60 days in pictures.

Tired of working in inhumane conditions and really bad 60s paneling,Jason and I decided to packed up our mule and trek north to Leland Michigan.
We stayed in Fishtown and since it was too cold to lay out on the beach, we decided to sample many of the local wines instead.
On the way home, I traded our surly mule for a bicycle! Best decision I ever made.
Until I had a run in with the law.


I never thought it would happen but management missed me so much that they rewarded me with a new cube! Joy!My happiness has increased productivity so much that I can now afford to keep up with the Jones' (more like the Steeles & the Klumbs & Grofverts!)

Application

Since all of our friends are on the move! Jason and I have decided to post this ad on craigslist.

WANTED: COOL PEOPLE.
Local athletic couple seeks interesting, active people who enjoy the outdoors and boozing. Must enjoy sushi, traveling and shopping. Also, any potential candidates should possess a willingness to listen to anecdotes about bicycles, computers, dogs, and dirty underwear. Having a second home in a tropical location, a plus.

Loco

My big red dog is as neurotic as my little dog is sweet. I adopted him from the Humane Society when he was 8 months old and while I can only speculate why he ended up at the pound, it isn't the least bit surprising. He is a very high energy and pushy dog that always has to be doing something. Like many canines, he doesn't enjoy having his nails clipped and part of that is my fault. I have always had little terriers that were tended to by groomers, so the first time I attempted to clipped Rufus' nails I did it incorrectly and ended up traumatising him. It is fortunate that he is very food motivated because I can usually just open a jar of peanut butter and he'll let me do his back feet. His fronts are another story, however I decided to use his own neurosis in my favor. When we bought the house last May, we discovered his love of concrete, namely licking and scratching the crack that seperates the segments. I don't know why he does it, or what he gets out of it but I can tell you that during the summer I never have to trim his front feet because he will dig and lick to his heart's content.