lavish dream embellishment

two nights ago i was in a delicious deep sleep. in my dreamy realm there was an extravagant celebration taking place. i had, apparently, done something of fantastic merit that warranted recognition, thus the purpose of the celebration. everyone was waving and smiling at me as i walked across the room. i think i was being summoned up in front of the crowd to receive some honors. as i reached the front of the crowd i was jarred awake by a cacophony of sizzling and sparking noises. my room lit up suddenly, and i jumped up to see a HUGE fountain of flames and colors emanating from a mortar in the middle of the street outside my house. it was about 3:30 in the morning and there was a long, beautiful fireworks display taking place in front of my glazed, sleepy eyes. perfectly in sync with the workings of my imagination.

pretty magic.

the inferno sputtered out and i rolled back to bed with hopes of another cozy fantasy to grace the remainder of my slumber.

birthday weekend!

this past weekend was my birthday weekend, and it was totally delightful. i love being old!

on friday the boys and girls at the paul sweet through a totally nutty party out in the woods that was more like an adventure. in the same way that there is a difference between vacation and traveling. traveling is sometimes hard, scary, taxing, but also exhilarating, wild and free. vacations are cushy, relaxing, and comfortable. this woods rave was none of those things, but (in my opinion at least) still a grand adventure. there were lights twinkling in the oak grove canopy with tall bikes perched in the branches. there were generator powered bumping tunes and illuminated projector screens floating in the darkness above. there were bothered police. there was a toasty bbq, hamburgers, and roasted corn. there were belligerent, obnoxious party animals harshin' all types of mellow. there was a roaring dinosaur stuffed animal. there was a full bar. there were angry hustlers demanding free drinks. there was a shiny gold lame one-piece. there was full out beat box supported bonfire rhymes. there were flying fists.
it was traveling, not vacation.
.
saturday was the 'allgirls alleycat' thrown by the local ladies-only bike club, las palomitas. the most amazing and heartwarming part of this race was the rad crew that i got to ride with. christina, riley, erica, laurel, and last but DEFINITELY not least will-a-mina. laurel was a super tough lady, new to oakland, who rolled down to santa cruz, just hoping to meet some cool gals to ride with up in the bay. this seems really intimidating to me because i'm a bit self-conscious about just jumping in the mix and keeping up with the crew. she, however, didn't have anything to worry about. she was up front the whole time on her fixie. EVERYONE else had gears and brakes aside from her. point being laurel was rad, and it was really fun to have her join our group. most awesome impromptu addition ever. will-a-mina was our friend will in drag, riding on his...ahem, her, tallbike. she definitely tore it up. chasing our speedy fancy road bikes all over town from 10 feet above us. the most awesome part of will-a-mina participating was that she was beautiful and fooled everybody. later i was talking to a gal who said she didn't know there was a new tranny girl in town! awesome. it was also will's first alleycat EVER, so it was really fun to have him as an addition to the crew too. erica tore it up on her poorly geared mountain bike like a champ. riley and i were super zoomy the whole race. christina was MVP for sure. without her we would have never made it to half the check points. she knew were every spot was! it was awesome. i've never had so much team spirit in my life.
the race took us all over santa cruz: up to the base of campus, out to pleasure point, out to the old tagged-up mansion, to the end of the wharf, etc. our crew definitely kept up like champs. it was mildly strange because there were probably 3 times as many boys running the checkpoints as there were girls racing. i guess they are just supportive! sometimes i'm not sure i like the gender polarization, if only co-ed events could bring as many ladies! i don't know why there aren't more equal turnouts more often. oh well, the world is changing in front of my eyes, perhaps this will be something i'll be lucky enough to see change in the future.

sunday, my big day! it started with mimosas, pastries, and ladies. all my favorite ladies! both chemistry and paul sweet gals. everyone was so sweet to me. i got showered in totally unexpected sweet gifts: ginger spread, chocolate, warm lemon bars, jewelry, flowers, bike tubes...i was in heaven. once everyone had had their fill of sweets we headed down the street to kiva, a spa/retreat spot. it was 'ladies morning', and the spot was packed with relaxed ladies. we lounged in the hot tub, shivered in the 'cold plunge', giggled on the perfectly manicured lawn, sweat away our worries in the sauna, and enjoyed a perfectly spoiled princess morning...

perfect. that afternoon i lounged in the park, listening to music and thinking about how lucky and stoked on life i am these days. then my fella, mikey millz, rolled up with a whole crew of biker boys. we BBQed. i beat mike at horseshoes (a miraculous display of beginners luck)! we giggled on the kids spring toys on the playground. we slack-lined. mike tried to not to scoff at my pathetic cartwheels. we cuddled on a GIANT beach towel. it was the perfect park picnic.

i know always moan about miserable graduate school when i talk to my old buddies in portland, but, as i'm sure this post has communicated, life ain't bad. in fact i am having a tough time muffling my smiles during these sunny santa cruz days. 24 is my age, and this is going to be the year of endless gratitude. i'm too lucky for bellyaching. this life has treated me too well.

speaking of which, thank you friends. you make life worth living. yes i am a cheeseball, it's my birthday I DO WHAT I WANT!

that's all!

POW!

santa cruz to san francisco via bicycle

my oh my was this an epic weekend.

on friday mikey millz, ryan agler, will, and i packed and suited up for a bicycle ride. our destination: the city of san francisco. we headed out at about 11, later than was probably wise. then it was about 75 miles up to the city. we took hwy 1 the entire way. it was definitely one of the most challenging things i've done in my life. the first 30 miles up the coast was against a grueling headwind. at one point i was in my second chain ring pedaling as hard as i could downhill! i have never worked so hard to accomplish so little. after 30 miles the headwind did let up a little, which was an absolute requisite in order for me to finish the ride.

i got into the bike touring groove at about 45 miles and was feeling great. we stopped about every 5-10 miles for water, bites of food, and stretches. the night before will and mike whipped up about 15 peanut butter 'n jelly, and honey/peanut butter/banana sandwiches, which we steadily devoured over the course of the ride. i felt like i was hungry at every stop, which surprised me. the boys stopped for jooze breaks every 10-20 miles, which i did not partake in, well not much...

when we hit half moon bay everyone was feeling pretty worn out and hungry, so we chilled out at a taqueria and munched on some tasty mexican cuisine before the last leg of our trip. i was feeling pretty freaked out. the sun getting low on the horizon and we still had the toughest 1/3 of the trip still ahead of us. nothing to do, however, but jump back in the saddle. i am pretty mental when it comes to physical challenges, so this leg didn't seem as bad as i expected. i was pretty cheery and full of smiles. at one point we were bombing into pacifica and it felt just like a really steep run down OG (zoobomb!).

as the sun set so did my attitude. i was pissed by the time we arrived and left without really saying goodbye to everyone. they headed to a show and i headed to the airport via BART and then CalTrain. i was dead and the train was full of obnoxious drunk assholes coming from a) horse racing b) a shark's game or c) a giants game.

i explained my life to some real sweet squares who thought i was totally insane by the end of the conversation. then, in an effort to find out how to get to the airport i met a really rad lady named emy. she invited me to stay at her place, which was a true blessing. she gave me water, a shower, a bed, and a route to the airport for the morning. i can't explain how awesome this was.

then portland! nick graduated! the clowns won best bicycles for the st. john's parade! we rung in summer with the first portland bbq! i ate SO MUCH tasty food! i got a free plane ticket anywhere by getting bumped off my flight!

life is good. now i'm back and feel like michael j. fox in back to the future! i just can't keep track i'm moving so fast!