Here I am sitting in starbucks again. Ive found myself here, or at a variety of locations "here" a lot lately. Im working for Creative Notions again this summer. That is a company that I worked for for two kyears when I first moved to Jersey. It really kept me afloat when I otherwise would have had to move home to NC. I love the work. I travel everyday to at least two different Nursing Homes or assisted living homes to give lectures and guided art activities. It is draining though. I have to drive a lot according to my standards. At least two hours per day. Lately its been putting me in a cranky mood.

So Im here at starbucks again. Yesterday I bought a starbucks card for 5 bucks which works like a credit card, but also grants me 2 hours of internet access/day

the card has a balance.

starbucks fits into my day at lunch. my first class usually starts around 10 and the second around 2. so there are usually a couple hours to kill in between. Most classes are too far from home to go there, so ive made it a mission to find shop rite supermarkets that ive never been to and starbucks coffee shit holes to pilfer internet from. Id have loved to get it for free, but even in this day of wireless everything, the internet is still somewhat hard to come by. I know every starbucks has ATT internet. great marketing ploy on their part really. i keep coming back and usually purchase a tea of some variety.

The sky is very grey today. Its supposed to rain this afternoon. I hope not. Im tired of rain. I want to ride my bike also. I cant eat as much as i need to remain sane if i dont ride my bike. ive been counting calories lately to be lighter on the bike, and its been working to great effect and ive done better in races than ever before, but its hard to keep it down. days i dont ride, i only eat around 1500-2000 C. Thats a painful amount of food to eat. I get really cranky, and paired with the amount of driving this job has me doing, ive been a real shit lately. So, I want to ride my bike. If i can just eat a bit more, even if I burn it, its better than having not eaten it. enough about my teenaged girl tendencies.

Ive been really inconsistent about this blogging thing. I dont sit down and type enough. Ive plenty to say, i just dont like to type.

I ate the best figs EVER today. They were amazing. They were green and from california. I got them at Wholefoods. I dont normally go there for anything, but i was hankering for a good salad and knew they would have it. The salad was great but the figs were beyond compare.

Im sitting in Montclair, NJ today. Its a relatively affluent area with lots of clean shops and pretty ladies walking around spending their husbands money and hanging out at starbucks. Its a little over the top, but comfortable enough for my intentions.

This morning is the first of a coveted few that i get to enjoy free from the constraints of a timely arrival at my regular work. School is over and I am prepping to start my new job for the month of July as a summer program instructor for kids. I will be teaching basket weaving. The program is just over three weeks long, four days a week and gets out after lunch time. It should be a good month.
Training is going well. I recently got over Lyme disease though. I was not fit for my first race of the season as I had planned to be, but raced anyway and had a great time. Mostly because it was a slopfest and I decided to pull the trigger on building a Single Speed. Last saturday I spent cobbling this poor thing together, then raced it on Sunday. Great times. The Dark Horse Challenge, as the race is dubbed, proved to be another memorable event. Next weekend is another local race. I will probably be a bit better prepared for this one. my legs are feeling good and responding well. If I can keep the ticks at bay and dont over reach my training goals, I should be ok for the rest of the season.. ha, ha.

I ordered a new Iphone last week. excited, silly as it is, for the damned thing's arrival. ATT and Apple really know how to get folks excited about a trinket.

Ryder, my dog, isnt doing so well. He is constantly falling and tripping and having a hard time. I hope he can make it through the summer. He seems generally happy, but very uncomfortable and scared most of the time. I remember when he was completely unstoppable. Why do some animals get "old " faster than others? It seems a very odd concept that most people take for granted, but completely befuddles me. any insight from the peanut gallery?

Memorial day weekend just past and a great number of my fellow New Jersians dutifully made a pilgrimage to the Shore. Millions of them. So, I stayed home where it was very quiet and free of undue stress. I had Friday off from work as my place of employment did not see fit to utilize all of the snow days built into the calendar and gave us one back! So, I spent the day riding, doing chores and hanging out with Erin. My ride was somewhat disappointing. I was supposed to do a time trial that showed improvement over the same activity five weeks ago, but it did not. I was too tired from riding too hard the day prior. Some lessons must be learned over and over. So I bagged it and rode home.
Saturday was great. I rode in the woods with Matt and Mellisa at Allamuchy. I felt decent and my bike seemed to be cooperating with me, so I had a good time with it. Wouldnt you know, maybe a bit too good of a time with it. I had to postpone the TT scheduled for the following day for the day after. No problems. Monday rolled around and I made the trek to the secret, perfect 6 minute hill and did the deed. Deed done, I was pleased. It seems that when I dont muck up my own science with too much fun I can clearly see results.
So with the end of Memorial Day Weekend and my latest rest week behind me, I look forward to working hard to put that well deserved rest to good use. No more days off from work till July 4. The next training block will be tough and very regimented. If all goes well, I should be ready for Stewart.