Yeah, it's been a busy time here (what else is new?) There's a lot going on though--here's the scoop on what's new:
* It's only a scant 4 days before Sheila leaves for Germany for a full month (!) It's a wonderful opportunity for her to see a different culture, eat bratwurst, wear lederhosen, etc. but she will certainly be missed in Colorado. The only upside is I get to watch Mystic for the month of May and into June, which should be a blast (except when I have to take him outside at 5 AM to pee). I'll have to have her send me some pics to post on the ol' blog.
* My series of REI "World Tour" slide shows for my book kicks off on the 22nd of May right here in Boulder. I'm going to try and make it fun and lighthearted, since just babbling about how enlightened I got in the wilderness is going to make people fall asleep. One downside: you know that trick where you visualize the audience in their underwear to ease nervousness? That's not going to work here, because everyone is uber-fit and I'll probably just feel more intimidated and possibly weak. I was thinking about maybe wearing just MY underwear in case the audience was nervous, but I don't think I have any appropriate boxers for public speaking.
* The reworked and revamped web site is slowly nearing completion--though Mountain Air will likely stay the same. I do have a second blog that will probably be the "Colorado Summits" blog that will go up soon to be more outdoorsy (since I assume there isn't a huge crossover between mountain climbers and Donkey Konga fans).
* Next week I'll be ordering my new mountain bike from Kona (WOO freakin HOO!) This one is long overdue and yes, you can start making your jokes about it costing twice as much as my car (though I'm getting a fat deal on it from the Kona rep).
* The home studio is going through some bumps n' bruises and I realize I either have to figure out how to use the Tascam-224 to output MIDI + Soundfonts or else get a new internal card for higher quality recording. I've been practicing quite a bit and it feels good to get back in the swing, though my poor fingers are paying the price for not playing a lot in the last few months.
* Last night I finally broke the 50 minute barrier for a 10k (6.2) mile run, with a 47:54 time. My idea goal is to run 3 instances of sub-8 minute per mile 10ks and when I get that third one, I'm signing up for the Bolder Boulder, which I last ran in 2006 (see blog). The funny thing is I don't really LOVE running, but I like listening to music and being outside so 2/3 ain't bad, right?
* I've been reading a ton lately, mostly cerebral heady stuff about freedom and evolution, philosophy, etc but also acquired some new Simpsons comics and took out "The Bad Guys Won: The Story of the 1986 Mets" from the library.
* I'm not thrilled about my company's move to new offices but at the same time, it should be fairly painless for me since I'll be working from home quite a bit. If any of you guys need Yoga Balls or want Billy Blank's autograph, let me know.
* Also, check out Nileguide.com soon-- it's a great trip advisory site that is going to take off, you'll see! I'm doing some writing for them as the local expert for Boulder, Vail, Aspen and Breckenridge.
* Xanadu is going great, thanks for asking.
PS: Currently playing: Donkey Kong Country on the SNES.
PSS: Happy birthday to Paul Lenhart, the ol' one-lunger, severely sun-burned dude himself!
