On the way home last night I got my hair buzzed again at Sportclips for the LA trip. I had the same woman as last time that has the horrible foot pain.  At first she didn’t remember me but as we talked a bit she recalled my last visit.  Her foot still hurts like crazy, she has no health insurance but still put on a happy face with me. We had another good interaction.  I wished her a happy holiday and she wished me a fun trip in LA, which I told her about.

When I got home I went on one of those get shit done circuits where I am moving about the house, sometimes randomly just tending to what is both in front of me and in my head.  Luckily I did not have to take time out to consider what I was having for dinner as Kerri gave me some excellent eggplant parm that was from her work luncheon yesterday.  I made some good headway but there will be much more to knock out before we leave the house early Saturday morning.

One of the things I did last night was box up my OneWheel XR to ship it to my sisters family in Texas, a rather big Christmas gift.  Originally I was going to sell the board to help offset the expense of my GT but I never did.  When I went to Texas last year for Thanksgiving both Damon and Emily liked riding the XR around so I thought it would be a nice surprise to have it show up at their place (Torrin knows)

Late last night I got a call from Alison.  Sadie had a couple of seizures in rather short order and she was upset, of course.  I talked to her for a little.  Sadie has had a tough road dating back to when we discovered she had cancer in her mouth several years ago that was treated aggressively with surgery and chemo.  She has had tooth issues, severe joint degradation, and most lately eye surgery that has left her with very limited vision.  Ali talked about how much of a fighter she is, which I already knew.  Her mind is willing but her body is failing.  It was painful talking about Sadie’s potential demise and I don’t know exactly what will happen from here.  Both Ali and I would prefer that if she were to pass it would be on her own.  The idea of putting her to sleep would be emotionally crushing, yet perhaps a final act of kindness if she continues to struggle.

So when Cindy and I split I gave serious thought to the idea of selling my house.  As I walked around back then it I felt my sadness amplified by the the constant reminders that were all around me.  However that idea was back burnered because of the chickens, yes the chickens.  The idea of me having to rehome the chickens was a deal breaker as I felt responsible for their well being. I know that sounds crazy to most people.

Within the last couple weeks I realized that the anchor I felt at that time was no longer there.  This was triggered by a random email I received from a realtor that I knew from my days with the running club.  She also was the one who sold Ali’s place in Naples.  I responded to her email and after a few communications back and forth I plan to have her come out to the house after Christmas to get the ball rolling potentially.  Of course there is no pressing timeline to sell.

I have talked a lot lately about how I have been pushing out of what have been established boundaries more and more.  This would potentially be the biggest push yet.  I love my house, Ali and I built this place.  The house fits me like a glove in many ways.  However the house is also one of the biggest consumers of my free time with the endless projects, repairs and upkeep.  The idea of streamlining and simplifying my life at this stage is something that is appealing to me.  I want to spend more time enjoying things I want to do as opposed to being locked down by things that I have to do.  2023 could be one of the biggest shifts in my life since moving to Florida back in 2000.  Forward movement is what I want.  Endless holding patterns are safe and predictable but the view never changes.

When I got home last night I was buzzing around the house getting a number of tasks done.  I think buzzing around is going to be theme for the week as I feel I need to get almost everything Christmas related handled since when we return from Cali there will only be a couple of days left.

I had also set a goal of getting a road test in on my newly reassembled S22, hoping my many hours of work have resulted in a once again functioning wheel.  I don’t do a lot of night riding but I only went to the park for the test.  As soon as I hit my first significant bump I could feel the difference the low friction rollers make, everything felt smooth.  The new fat road tire definitely felt different as well and will take some adjustment time but I think I like it.

I can’t believe in a couple days I will be 55 freaking years old, blasphemy.

I busted ass for a good portion of Saturday.  I had skipped weeding last weekend so I paid the price this time around, it felt like I was running a weed pulling marathon.  The only plus was the temperatures were not oppressive.  I also got most of the weed whacking done, working right up to the edge of darkness.  I mixed in various indoor tasks during the day including going through my closet and pulling clothing I either didn’t wear or was just old.  It added up to a full garbage bag which I dropped off at Goodwill during the day.

So despite a day filled with labor I got the idea in my head that I wanted to take another crack at putting the S22 back together.  To make it more interesting I had the idea to do it live, on the internet, no pressure.  I have hated having my hobby room look like a mess for a month since I started and failed this project repeatedly.   My goal was to get this done before I left for California and this was going to be one of my last opportunities to make that happen.  I set up my laptop with a webcam in the hobby room and had it.

Now you might think that doing this sort of work on a stream could be counter productive as you are distracted with the interactions with the audience however in this specific case it was exactly what I needed.  As I was trying to remount the tire and encountering similar difficulties as the prior two attempts I started getting feedback from people on the stream that have had similar issues.  Thanks to some of their tips I successfully got the new tire back on the wheel in about 20 minutes.  I yelled out in celebration, repeatedly.  I did this without using a single prying tool.

The key was the tip to use a clamp to pinch the tire together on the side opposite what you are working by hand.  This allows the clamped side to sink into the deeper, center portion of the rim temporarily giving you just enough leeway to muscle the rubber into position.  It was such a relief when I applied my inflator and the tube actually held air.  I got the tire on so quickly that I decided to put the rest of the wheel together.  Again there were some hiccups along the way but by the end of the two hour stream I had the S22 reassembled and working, a minor miracle.  Out of my various personality traits, the ability to persevere and overcome hardship is one that serves me the best in various aspects of my life.  I don’t give up easily.

After the wheel was back together and I ended the stream I immediately started cleaning up the hobby room, despite it getting late.  I wanted things back to normal.  I am hoping to take the S22 out for a maiden voyage with it’s new tire and roller suspension this evening.

I also posted the video from the prior attempt where the amount of frustration I was experiencing is clearly visible.

Sunday morning I finished up the weed whacking and then followed up with mowing the yard in anticipation of being away next weekend for my trip to California.  The grass had not hit jungle stage in most spots but it felt good to get the yard looking uniform before heading out.  The Eagles continued to roll, beating the Giants convincingly.  I don’t know how to feel about the incredible season the Birds are having.  I can only hope the momentum doesn’t derail any time soon.

Kerri came over Sunday afternoon.  One of the priorities was to make my famous chocolate cake, the ONE bakery item I feel confident making.  Unlike most of our time together cooking in the kitchen where Kerri steers the ship, when it comes to cake time I was doing most of the steering.  The preparation went smoothly, very smoothly.  The end result was a near perfect cake. It was moist, rich and the buttercream icing was spot on.  She was impressed with the end result.  No we didn’t wait until my birthday to try it.

Kerri also made a chick pea salad dish for her to eat for lunch this week.  It was easy, quick but quite good.  She finds these recipes on the internet and is able to turn them into healthy/tasty meals reliably.  For dinner she prepared some food I got as part of my birthday gift from my step mom.  It was a package from Omaha Steaks.  It sounds odd right, a gift of food from a company that is known for steaks, which I haven’t eaten in close to 10 years.  However they also sell a lot of non-poultry, beef, and pork products.  Kerri made the cod that was in one of the boxes and it was very good.

So the other day Kerri and I were talking about the Christmas tree.  She asked me about where I have it in the dining room.  I told her I have always had the tree in front of the dining room window since the house was built some 21 years ago.  I said I thought it looked nice for the people driving by to see the tree in the window.  She then said something that made me think.

She pointed out that the tree should be something I get the most enjoyment out of first.  One way to do that would be to have the tree in the main living space where it could be a more visible part of the season. Hmm, never have I thought about it that way.  Like many things, I have done it that way each year because I had always done it that way. However when I thought about it for a few moments, I realized she was right.

The end result was her assisting me on sliding the intact tree on furniture sliders to the corner of the great room right by the kitchen.  This is also at one of the highest points of the ceiling in the house so it fills the space well.  Once we moved it Kerri cautiously asked me if I was ok with it.  Without hesitation I told her I was.  As I have documented here repeatedly, the last 18 months have been all about changes.  Just because something has been a certain way for a very long time does not mean it is cast in stone.  It’s a feeling I have been embracing which will become much more clear in a moment.

So last week I threw the idea out to Kerri about her possibly coming to California with me.  At the time we laughed about it but neither of us looked further into it.  Well last night I threw it out there again, more seriously.  She didn’t say no.  So I hopped on the United web site and checked if my flights on Saturday had any more seats available, they did.  The return flight was getting close to booked though.  So now the possibility was real.

Kerri knows the trip is focused on me meeting up with EUC riders I know out there.  There is also a holiday party that I would love to have her accompany me to.  The good news is Kerri is very independent and able to keep herself entertained if I am unavailable.  She is actually excited by that possibility.  So we had now progressed to serious consideration.  The only hurdle was her vacation schedule at work.  She had to verify she could take the time off.  It took some time but she got a hold of a key co-worker that confirmed she should be clear to take off.  As soon as this hurdle was cleared I hit the book now button.

Kerri was very excited and so was I by this unexpected joint trip to the west coast.  It was a surprising way to top off what was already a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon/evening.  Spontaneous actions like this historically are not my norm.  Change is good.

My Friday evenings for the last 20 years have followed a very predictable series of events, including consuming pizza while vegging out watching a movie or recorded DVR content.  I always look forward to them typically.  Sure they lack much excitement but after a full week of work and whatever challenges it contained, it’s nice to have that decompression time to look forward to.  Last night I took not one but two steps outside that box of normalcy.  Kerri had asked me to go to a Ben Allen concert, yea the guy that did well on the Voice a few years back.  His band was playing at a bar in Fort Myers.

We went with Amber and Jake whom at this point I have hung out with a number of times.  They are both good people and a lot of fun. Before heading up there I met Kerri for a very quick bite of food which we thought made sense since alcohol was going to be consumed for sure at the venue.  After eating we picked up Amber in the Tesla and headed north.  Kerri and her are very entertaining to drive with.

Ben Allen is a country singer.  I don’t normally listen to country music but I didn’t care.  Seeing a good live performance normally brings a type of energy that makes the music secondary, sort of.  As soon as we got there we grabbed a round of margaritas and despite my lack of experience with drinking them, I could tell they were strong.  By the time I finished my first one I could feel it hitting me relatively hard.  I thought the performance was really good and despite my lack of country music following I found myself dancing much sooner than I normally would.  Kerri is an absolutely incredible dancer, the energy she had out on the floor was nothing short of amazing. She was having a lot of fun.

Jake showed up and I got to talk to him quite a bit.  He and I get along well.  He just is a good dude from what I can tell.  I cut myself off after a second margarita since I was the one responsible for getting Kerri home.  Ben didn’t stay strictly country all night, he did covers of various genres, including Metallica which I was surprised by but enjoyed as well.  We stayed until the very end, somewhere after 10:15.  I would go again.

It was just the most recent example of me forcing myself into new territory, which is a good thing.  Repetition of familiar behavior is safe and comfortable but if you don’t take a chance on something outside of your normal, you never know what opportunities could pass you by.  Life is about movement and learning along the way.

Last night Kerri came over and once again cooked a great meal, despite the fact that she doesn’t cook, supposedly.  I helped a little bit with the prep, skinning and dicing a butternut squash for the meal.  We also had red wine again with the meal that again got me warm and fuzzy much faster than Miller Lite.  I thought the meal turned out well.  I never historically have been involved much in formal meal prep but it’s enjoyable to pitch in, making the end result more satisfying.

Yesterday during lunch we once again played pickleball which I will be repeating today, making this the most hours I have played in a week, ever.  Yesterday Kerri was on the opposite team of a doubles match and won.  She marked the occasion on my calendar, as well as her win the prior day.  She knows it tweaks me, in a funny way, when she wins.  Marking it on the calendar was just icing on the cake.  She is super competitive in most things she does, which makes for a fun dynamic since I am much the same way.

Tonight I will be doing something else I have not done in many, many years, go to a concert.  Ben Allen, who was on the Voice lives around here and Kerri is a big fan so we are going to a performance tonight.  I think the last concert I went to was with Ali to see U2 on the east coast at least a decade ago, probably longer.  I anticipate a good time.

This weekend I will be trying to get as many things handled as possible in advance of my departure for LA next Saturday.  I’m close to having my Christmas shopping done.  Speaking of Christmas shopping, yesterday I got a notice from Amazon that a bunch of stuff I ordered was delivered.  It included a picture of 4 or 5 packages stacked in front of a door.  The only problem was it wasn’t my door.  I immediately assumed the driver perhaps dropped it at the one neighbors house so I quickly walked over there only to see no packages and a door/door mat that did not match the picture.

Immediately my mind started running worst case scenarios, all of this crap got delivered to who knows where.  When I got inside I looked at the order details and realized the reason I did not recognize the door was because it was located in Texas.  A bunch of the stuff I ordered for my niece and nephew were delivered.  I felt a wave of relief that I did not need to play package detective last night.  I have plenty of other things to keep my attention on.

I don’t know what it is, sweating from all the pickleball time or something else but I have been very thirsty lately, consuming water at a torrid pace.

Yesterday I played pickelball at lunch with Kerri and the gang.  I was not sure how effective I would be after playing nearly three hours the night before.  The answer was not very effective.  We also played outside of the covered courts for the first time in a couple months which upped the sweat output considerably.  My play lately frustrates me.  I have these sporadic shining moments where I make some nice shots in difficult situations but then I have an equal if not greater amount of times where I make stupid unforced errors that frustrate the f out of me.

For some reason I got to thinking about the other sports that were a major focus of my life for many years, baseball and volleyball.  I then thought about the moments in these sports that I cherished, the moments in those sports that I loved.  I was a pitcher who threw hard.  When I felt “on” it was an amazing feeling.  I loved the one on one challenge of pitcher versus hitter.  Firing a fastball and having it crack into the catchers glove as the hitter swings and misses was a rush that I could not get enough of.  I was a decent hitter as well.  Swinging through a ball so cleanly that you don’t even feel it hit the bat was another magic moment, my favorite of which was when I hit a ball into the creek beyond the outfield as a 15 year old.

With volleyball there were a number of things that would get my adrenaline going.  Before the regulation size of courts was shortened I used to hit an aggressive serve that almost moved like a slider in baseball, down and over.  Having that hard serve shanked by the opposing team was always a shining moment.  Although I was only average defensively, when I did get up a hard driven ball or run down another to turn it into a side out, that was rewarding as well.  However the best feelings were always tied to hitting.  I loved hitting the ball hard.  I liked playing on sand for joint reasons but nothing for me beat playing doubles on grass where I could jump better and hit consistently.  The sounds of impact of the ball with your hand followed milliseconds later with the sound of the ball impacting the ground was amazing. Having a blocker up and hitting such a hard angle that went either over or through him just made me feel unstoppable, at times.

So that brings me to pickleball, what moments in this game that is seen by much of the outside world as something for old farts, light me up? I think they are actually pretty similar to volleyball, although I don’t yet have the nearly the confidence in my play in this sport that I had in volleyball or baseball.  Many times I am hitting with a more defensive, “just keep it in” mentality instead of an aggressive approach which keeps other players on their heels.  However when I do allow myself to swing more freely on a serve or ground stroke that definitely feels good.  The short game at the kitchen can get intense as short lobs turn into high speed back and forth action which tests your reflexes and coordination.  When I come out on top of one of those exchanges it is satisfying.

The best thing for me, although it happens infrequently, is being able to get a hard overhand smash where the outcome is almost always favorable.  To clarify, a high overhand smash with my LEFT hand.  Pickleball is an oddball compared to the other sports I mentioned where I play primarily with my right hand.  Baseball and volleyball I play lefty as most other things EXCEPT paddle/racquet sports.  The reason for this is when I was young my mom signed me up for tennis lessons.  The instructor forced me to play right handed because somehow playing left handed was a negative, I guess.  Ever since I was some weird partially ambidextrous mutant in sports.  I also kick right footed, go figure. So anyway, I have way more snap and power in my left hand but if I try to do regular shots left handed the results are very unpredictable.  But when it comes to an overhand smash, the left handed variety is my favorite.

So all that being said, despite my best efforts yesterday I lost every game I participated in at lunch.  In the last doubles match I lost to Kerri which she reminded me of, repeatedly, the rest of the day.  Although I have always not liked losing, in her case it also means that she is getting better and better which is a net positive outcome.

I feel like I am getting into the crunch period of the holidays, so much so that I think I am going to need to crank out a list to make sure I stay on point.  This feeling comes every holiday season and I always emerge cleanly out the other side so I don’t expect this year to be a different outcome, hopefully. I think the feeling of compression is amplified by my LA trip which is going down right when I would normally be crossing my T’s and dotting my I’s for Christmas.

Last night I flew out of the house after feeding Elsa to meet up with Kerri and her volleyball crew to play some pickleball.  I like her friends and get along with all of them.  We played a a TON of games with a near equal split of doubles and singles matches for me. Despite the gang being relatively new to pickleball, they are all natural athletes so they are very good for the amount of time they have been playing.  I wound up the session playing three singles matches against Jake, who I vibe with well.  He also has expressed interest on getting on my OneWheel which I think would be a ton of fun.

Anyway, by this time I had played a ton of games and my body was just running on empty.  I didn’t eat dinner and had fueled myself with only a few sips of water during the night.  My knees were burned out from all the stop and go that pickleball, especially the singles variety requires of your body, but my mind wanted to keep going, so I did.  When we finally finished up I was beat.  As a bonus my nose was running like a faucet for the last hour or so of play, something I have been dealing with for around a week.

We wrapped up play and said our goodbyes to her friends.  Kerri had not eaten anything either but it was approaching 9:30 so our eating options were limited.  She suggested going to IHOP, a place I probably last visited when I still lived in PA 25 years ago.  Sure, why not?  We split an omelette and pancakes which tasted great, regardless of what the clock said.  It was a unique Tuesday night experience for me.  Does it sound strange to say that unique experiences are getting more routine for me?

Yesterday my tree skirt arrived.  Kerri had helped me pick out both the tree topper and the skirt.  They have some coordinating elements that I think look good together, something she pointed out that would have flown over my head.  I like the 2022 edition of my tree.

Last night I spent a couple hours editing two videos. The first one was from a very quick ride Sunday where I talked about what I have been doing and why I have not been posting many videos recently.  Hint, Kerri’s name comes up there as well.  I also got around to posting the footage from the return trip to PA which had nothing earth shattering in it, just a documentation of what happens to a human being after hours and hours on the road.

After finishing up the editing I thought I would dive back in to working on the S22 since I had the replacement tubes in hand.  I had a modest goal to just get the new tire/tube installed since that was such a struggle previously.  I took a different strategy, trying to start mounting the tire near the valve stem and then finishing on the opposite side to hopefully minimize opportunities to damage the tube.  I entered the task with a positive attitude and high hopes.  Many times if I struggle with something if I step away from it and come back later I get better results.  This was not one of those times.

Once again the tire was a ridiculously tight fit.  I tried using my body weight and hand torque to muscle it onto the rim but I just couldn’t.  Instead I had to again pull out the 9 inch tire levers and even with those it was a tremendous struggle.  I would prefer to avoid using these as they have the potential for mass inner tube destruction.  In total I bet I was fighting with the damn thing for close to an hour.  My reward for this struggle was the tube again not holding air, because I tore it……again.

My frustration level was very high as you can imagine.  I have done at least a half dozen tire/tube changes on EUCs, never has one been this difficult.  I ripped the old tube out, after fighting to unseat the tire, again.  I have one more tube left, it’s do or die time.  I need to give myself a little mental break before attempting this again.  My hands are sore from all the cranking on the stiff tire.  I will make sure the next attempt will include use of dish soap on the tire/rim to make things as slippery as possible.  I probably should have lubed from the start, lesson learned.

I had a unique weekend which was loaded up with random, great experiences.  It started out immediately on Friday after work.  I met Kerri at Blue Martini over at Mercato for happy hour.  Blue Martini was the rage when it opened years ago but I never stepped foot inside the place.  I also do not think I ever had a martini before in my life.  I ordered the same variety as Kerri did, strawberry/basil and was surprised how much I liked it.  We sat in the corner of the bar area where we were surrounded primarily by people that have been collecting social security for years.  After we left we walked around to a few more stores. We were both a little relaxed from the drinks which made even doing something as mundane as walking around Whole Foods, fun.

I had to go home to let out and feed Elsa however I headed back out afterwards to meet Kerri and some of the people she plays VB with at Rusty’s, a place I had been to once before.  I had dinner there and had a good time talking to some of the VB crew.  I had a couple more drinks there but weirdly did not feel very affected by the time I left.  I am hoping to do some VB drilling with Kerri to see if my body can hold up to sand volleyball at this point first, and then hopefully regain at least some of my former abilities to move/jump in the sand.  It will be a slow process.

Kerri originally had some plans for Saturday but they were postponed so we wound up spending the majority of the day together.  We stopped at the grocery store to stock up on baking supplies, she needed to bake cookies for her office.  She went above and beyond making a second huge box of cookies for me to share at my office which I thought was very sweet.  While she was inside baking I hopped on the tractor and got the grass mowed which had not been touched since prior to me going to PA.  Later we even got some pickleball games in at the poorly lit courts at the park by the house. There were some kids playing tennis on the dimly courts at the same time.  It seemed every other point someone was complaining that they couldn’t see.  There were too many comments to even count. It made me laugh.  Saturday was a full and enjoyable day.

On Sunday Kerri was shopping with a friend.  During the trip she grabbed me a pair of shoes, a good pair of shoes which I really like. I hope to lean on her sense of style to help me update my very mundane wardrobe.  While she was out I buzzed around the house getting some tasks done, a lot of it cleaning related, which like the grass, was overdue.  I also got a quick EUC ride in where I talked about not having much time to get EUC rides in, sort of ironic.  I still am working on the edit of that video and still have the return trip footage from PA to go through.

Kerri came back to the house later in the afternoon where we made another trip to Publix for only two things this time, tomato soup and havarti cheese.  When she said she was thinking about grilled cheese and soup for dinner I immediately embraced the idea.  It’s a combo I had not had in a long, long time. The rest of our night was very chill yet great, simultaneously.

I am sure at this point most astute blog readers would have read between the lines but just in case, yes, Kerri and I are dating….

Yesterday my latest and greatest pickleball paddle arrived, the Diadem Vice.  I bought another Diadem paddle a couple months ago, the Warrior which is nice.  Kerri has been using that paddle and doing quite well with it.  I ordered the Vice the week or two before I left for PA.  In the meantime I have been using my Ben John’s Joola Hyperion which I also like.  Unfortunately the top right corner has a crack from a brief loss of control awhile back where I may or may not have smashed the paddle into the hard surface in frustration. It still  plays ok as far as I can tell.

The Vice uses a core material and construction that is not yet approved for tournament play.  Supposedly it offers a unique combination of power and control so I am very interested in seeing how it feels when we play today.  Of course I do realize that I am an average pickleball player at best, no paddle is going to dramatically elevate my game. Yet, it is fun trying out different higher end paddles to contrast and compare them, even at a 3.0 level. (only pickleball players will get that)

Last night Kerri again prepared dinner, despite the rumor that she doesn’t cook.  I got to help more this time, cleaning the shrimp before she made shrimp scampi.  She also donated one of her bottles of red wine to the cause which I appreciated.  I am finding that I actually am enjoying drinking red wine, at least with her. It takes less volume to get me feeling warm and relaxed than beer, which is a good thing.  Afterward we chilled and watched the Patriots/Bills game. Kerri is a Patriots fan….. yes, I know. It was a nice way to spend a Thursday evening, we both seem really to enjoy the others company.

I need to get hopping on some Christmas shopping soon.  With me being gone 5 days right before Christmas I feel like I need to have my ducks pretty lined up before I leave on the 17th. It feels like 31 days of December will be gone in a blink of my eye.  I need to pay similar focus to getting some things knocked out around the house this weekend in addition to putting the S22 back together, which is going to be a challenge.  Kerri and I will be hanging out as well.  We seem to be able to have fun in pretty much any environment.  I joked with her that even when we dumped heavy construction debris at the county landfill the other day it had a fun element to it, weird, but true.