Work next week. Real work.
The brink of poverty, albeit quite short-term.
Brooding over racing (or lack thereof).
Learning to pay for debt that I did not incur.
A yearning for return to respite in the wilderness.*
Ben and Jerry's Imagined Whirled Peace.
Other assorted, unrelated bits.

All of the above induce some sort of issue or avoidance complex. (The ice cream is just adding calories and associated guilt.)

*=I just returned from leading a 3-week academic expedition with a class of 10 Wilderness Leadership students. While camping directly across from two cooling towers of a nuclear power plant on Chickamauga Lake might not be considered much of "wilderness venture" per se, traveling as a self-sufficient unit under human power while living in the outdoors offers so much simplicity. For me, it also offered the opportunity for poison ivy to cover my hands, feet, and an odd small spot on my right cheek. Alas, I digress.

Does anyone else find it difficult to return to the so-called civilization after immersing oneself in an outdoor environment for an extended period of time?

When do you find yourself expelling such a sigh of relief?
After mind-blowing sex?
After a satisfying meal?
After a great bike ride?-->yes
Yesterday, I logged a few hours at Fontana. Conditions were perfect: hardpack with some tacky sections. No snow. No mud. Upper 40s. Gorgeous blue sky. The Advantage on the front and now rear was clutch and hooked up wonderfully on loose uphill sections in addition on to tight turns.

Today involved a major contrast in conditions. On a typical out-the-backdoor (from the house) Dupont ride, I encountered copious amounts of mud, sections of 3-5"-deep granulated snow, and -ugh- lots of horses on the trails. Twelve miles felt like twenty-four today. I celebrated with some women time and wine at Chris' birthday dinner party at John and Jackie's house. Mmm. Pinot Noir tastes so brilliantly in the winter.

I really want to compete on American Gladiators.

According to a recent exam required for a new health insurance policy, I am ridiculously healthy.
age 26
5'10 1/2"
137 lbs
104/60 BP
58 bpm heart rate

Underwrite me, baby. I dare you.

Finally, a question to pose:
How do obese people physically have sex?

(Yes, my mind has been in the gutter lately. Blame it on the oversexed newlywed status.)

Really? It has been a month? Sheesh.

Per the previous post, life still remains reasonably grand. Actually, it could not get too much better. (Hmm, then again, I could think of a few additional realms of minor improvement. Most notably, I would not like to continue today's streak of accidents. I fell down the stairs while tripping over a pant leg this morning. Ouch. Falling down stairs is a brand new experience, as of today. I highly recommend avoiding a tumble down wooden steps. Then, this afternoon, I was driving back from work with Thad, tapped my brakes obviously a bit too much in an icy turn, and tailspinned 180 degrees into a bank and luckily not into a car. Kitty emerged seemingly unscathed, though, with no visible damage.)

Back to joy. Highlights of the past day/week/month:
- Sledding - first time ever this morning!
- Instructing - If I can be a faculty member for the rest of my life, I may very well choose this calling. Student Affairs may just be the Dark Side of higher education.
- Marriage- What an adjustment. Things definitely changed between me and Thad and really just in general. I feel like a completely different person, mostly for the better. Budgeting and financial issues have been some difficult issues to navigate effectively. But, I am still glad to be sharing life with my wonderful husband!
- Summer work - A 98.3% possibility exists that I will be instructing whitewater kayaking for a local organization, Camp Illahee. I can't wait to be back on the river and in my boat!
- Job prospects - I received information from an extremely reliable source that I was one of the strongest candidates applying for the faculty position at NGU. Wahoo! Serving as a full-time faculty member, especially in outdoor leadership, has been a longtime yet buried dream. We shall see where God leads us...the journey never ceases to thrill me!

In the meantime, I shall go watch Last of the Mohicans (favorite movie of all time) and try to get rid of this congestion and sickness!