My Story as Told by Water

It rained yesterday.
I was working.
Building bikes.

After a long and lonely work week with temps going above 105+ according to the forecasts and 110+ according to my bike computer it made my heart ache to see and hear water right outside the door without being able to enjoy it. Today I picked up David James Duncan's My Story as Told by Water. It didn't help the heartache.
Duncan speaks of his childhood of fishing and creek stomping fondly. It took me back to my own childhood. The countless hours spent sitting with my slingshot in the tree with the little round green fruits. The awesome power that I enjoyed imagining myself having over the banana trees as I slashed my machete through its fleshy body to get to the regime of bananas at the top. The combination of frustration  that I had for Monkey while he went scampering off with my highlighter that I needed for AP Euro, and the love I both felt toward and from him when he would hop specifically onto my lap, belly up, wanting it to be rubbed.
And that was just the childhood of 'home'. Some of the most defining memories come from sliding down a slide into a mud pit in a cave in some province in China. Or finding myself swimming in place against a strong current deep in one of the oldest protected rain-forests in the world in Malaysia. Or jumping into the deep dark blue of Ha Long Bay, Vietnam with MCC friends and family amongst the giant jutting rocks that give the place its magical feel. Or snorkeling with the Schrock-Hursts through shallow beautiful coral right up to the edge of the reef in order to peer over the edge and into the darkness of the deep. Or being stranded on an overturned catamaran in midst of a tropical storm with my cousins with out sight of land. Or simply sitting on the bottom of a sandy ocean floor with scuba gear, gazing up at the sun twinkling through 50 feet of clear tropical water disturbed only by the bubbles we send upwards.
As you can see, my story too, can be told by Water. From what I've heard, and from the little I saw on Saturday, that water is coming. Its coming soon and it'll be coming hard.
I can't wait.

Shed Life

Figuring out my new life here in Tucson has been tough. I don’t think its overly cocky to say that I’m doing a pretty good job of getting by, and being patient, and making the best of things, but despite that it's still tough. There are many things about these early days that are interrelating and obviously affect the other aspects of my life so I’m not sure which to put first. But basically this whole episode is going to be one of complaining, whining, or general expression of looking forward to better things. 

Most generally, its tough not knowing people, or not being near those you do. I’m just under an hour bike ride from the MVSers, especially if I don't want to show up sweaty and gross. So hanging out with them has proven to be a weekly event reserved for the weekends. Unless of course they’re in Mexico at the beach. Then I just get jealous. To add to the jealousy... My more regular readers will remember Derek my mountain biking friend, he’s a great guy. Expect that he too is in Mexico enjoying the beach with some friends.

But hey! I’m good at entertaining myself. I went mountain biking on Saturday (more on that further down), cruised around downtown and played darts with some random dude at a bar on Friday and went to church on Sunday. So I would be misleading my dear reader if I were to imply that social connections were my only concern. 

Its also tough when what's supposed to be a balmy sunny paradise, is actually cold windy and wet! Well... at least its colder, windyer, and wetter than I thought it would be. But its not like I'm unprepared. I've got enough clothing, bedding, etc. but it can’t be denied that this cooler weather has a way of encouraging indoor activities; activities that make it harder to go meet new people, that make it harder to visit those I do, or even just entertain myself with the grand outdoor adventuring I normally go in search of.
Of course, it really should be said that the weather isn't all that bad. The majority of my time it has been fine and pleasant. My particular current disdain for it stems from the bitter and strong winds that led me to take the bus home from church on Sunday and stay cooped up in my hovel watching a poor quality pirated version of The Godfather, and some West Wing.

Then there's the dogs! I used to like dogs. Along two sides of this property are dogs that get very close to driving me berserk. Their vehement and continuous! barking means that I generally avoid being seen outside, even with nice weather, to clip my nails, or change my tires, or read my book. And it's not just my neighbor dogs. I've gone jogging a time or two. The whole way down the street my movement can be audibly tracked from the resounding aggression of these beasts who are seemingly bent on tearing my apart.

And so, I often find myself working on figuring out how to make this stupid 8x8 box of a home of mine as livable as possible. Since the acquisition of my rice cooker and electric skillet, my food prep capabilities have dramatically improved.

BACON!

However, despite such wonderful conveniences I am still nearly constantly left pining for such simple things as counter space. Or a chopping knife (I have been checking goodwill regularly btw). Or a real fridge! Mine is so small I can only fit the bare essentials in it. Milk, cheese, bacon, salad dressing, maybe a few vegetables, maybe some spaghetti sauce, or an open can of beans.

ANYWAAAAY... I think I'm done being childish, churlish and cantankerous for now. 

In other news I have restarted the housing hunt. Just this morning I visited one place that seems pretty great, except for the price tag. rent is $410 (utilities included). That compared to my current $150 would take some getting used to. There is another place a bit further away for a much more manageable $260, but it would be sharing an apartment with a young couple and I can imagine that getting kinda weird. We shall see. I hope to meet them soon.


More excitingly, the mountain bike ride on Saturday. It was super gnarly. This is same loop that I did with Derek the week previous, but this time I took a left instead of a right and that kept me on the trail and off the road a bit longer. It was a harrowing descent full of large drop offs and sharp corners. These pictures are two view of the same scene hopefully demonstrating the 90 degree nature of this corner. In a couple cases I had to pop up on the front wheel and swing the back around just to take the corner. In other cases I just jumped off to avoid tumbling into a sharp rocks and even sharper thorns.