MOUNTAINS and mole hills

I've tried to stop working today, really. I came home, shut off the lights and holed up in my cool little cave of a bedroom at 4 pm this afternoon. My conscience had me back at the computer, phone in hand, by 4:15; so much going on. so much.

Or is there? Before this past month I'd never logged a forty-hour work week in my life. Now here I go with another fifty hour semana and I'm whining like the world is imploding. I just don't feel like I am excelling at anything I'm involved with in my job: I'm too busy to be a good boss, too inexperienced to be a good project manager, and too distracted to sit down and design the files I need to. Good timing with the season being over, as bittersweet as that is to accept.

The trip down to Elko over the weekend was a success. We rolled in to town Friday around six pm, and Lauren had found one of Lydia's puppies by approx. 6:00.54 pm. She came tearing around the house with a six-week old springer puppy in her arms, which my mother had already sold but not yet delivered. Lydia birthed nine of those critters, but by the time we went to Elko all were gone... save one. Thank goodness it was sold or we would have returned to Boise with a new pet. I don't need a creature depending on me for sustenance... but it was tempting.

The hill climb was Saturday; two hill climbs actually. Justin Mayfield won the Bogus Basin Hill Climb here in Boise in an impressive feat of strength and tactics. A serious pat on the back to Justin for finally bagging that event - he has valued that raced above all others since he started riding five years ago. As you know I opted to race in Wells, Nevada, at my own little world championship event. The event was super-validating for me, as I managed to pop off a great ride and smash my former record by nearly two minutes. Dig it. In 2004 I tried to beat the record but was cramping too badly. Hooray for bulimia! This year was pure velocity and determination and it proved I really am in the shape of my life.

Oh yeah, the aforementioned trip to Midvale, Idaho, was also rad. We got to check out Rodenator's varmint-destroying gun... in case you missed it on cnn.com, this device pumps a couple minutes' worth of oxygen-propane mixture into a ground-squirrel hole and ignites it; effectively liquefying everything within the tunnel system via a fire ball/energy concussion. I don't know if we tested 'dry' holes or inhabited ones, but I didn't see any survivors scampering out after our shots. Gruesome, but cool. In a good ol' boy sense.

back to work.