Exhale and Begin Anew

Here we are in 2007. I am taking the perspictive of change; progress to be a bit more specific. Nothing is as it was in 2006. Tomorrow is January 3rd in northeast Ohio and it is going to be 50 degrees and sunny and I will ride my bicycle. This is the upside of global warming. For the sake of not sounding like a doomsday environmentalist I will mention that some folks will name the cause as El Nino, which seems to have been effecting us in the U.S. since I graduated from high school.

Uh-oh, I've gotten off track....maybe for 2008 I should focus on order. 2007 is about going further. It is about evolving. It is about running the Cleveland Half-Marathon. It is about completing my first triathlon. It is about going for a nice little 200K spin on Amaterasu.

2007 is about traveling up to Cleveland regularly to work towards a degree that will land me in a new career. Wait....did I just say career?? Not long before 2007 I would have scoffed at the idea of a career. Vagabond's don't have careers. The truly hip don't need careers. I didn't need a career. I made the decision that, "I would rather have a life than a living." Progress for me is combining the two.


Now, on to the events of the day that brought about the afformentioned thoughts. Despite a cold rainy day over 600 folks showed up for the Great New Years Eve Race in Stow. The course was an out and back 5K that was nothing but hills. I somehow managed to PR with a 21:21, even though I have not been running over the last couple of months and was the epitomy of bad health over the holidaze. My most wonderful friends Paul and Julia joined in on the run as well as both of their fathers. I would not own a pair of running shoes if it weren't for these folks!!! Daisy Duc placed second in her age group, even after a 13 mile training run earlier that morning. I'm glad I got to with her and Joey a happy new year.

After a delicious supper of fine meditteranean cuisine it was time to begin celebrating. The beautiful Ursula invited me to join her and her new roomates for a drink. Over a sip of Cabernet, vintage 1976 (I was not brave enough to go for an entire glass) we all made our resolutions for the year. It was a very uplifting moment, indeed.

Then...downtown for drinks....then fireworks....then the first party for a drink.....then another party (and drink).....and another party (maybe 2) and drink (or 2).....then......

I was welcomed into the new year by a spectacular sunrise.