Ring - a - Ling

Well, I don't have much to say except today is the last day of 2012 and the eve of the beginning of 2013.  It's been a long year a lot has happened but it's finally over and a new year can start.  I'm ready to get in going as big things are on the horizon for 2013.  Hopefully I'll have lots of great updates for everyone and lots of interesting posts to read.  Some of them may even be true.

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!

Sleepy Time

With the chaos that is the holiday season looming close (as we sit on the eve of Christmas) I decided to make a trip to visit my parents.  As with most holidays, all of my siblings and their families would also be joining us.  This means that no less than 18 people may or may not be staying in a house that was originally built to provide shelter for about five.  This means several things, with the most important (in my opinion) being identifying suitable sleeping arrangements for everyone.  

While this may seem like an easy proposition, it's more difficult than you might imagine.  For the most part, the shorties will sleep anywhere; in a tree, under a table, in a chair, you name it, they will sleep.  I, on the other hand, prefer a bit more in my sleeping need.  No I don't require a big fluffy bed, but one thing that is critical for me is have the space cool or even cold.  I cannot sleep in the heat, and with 18 people (as noted earlier) in the same house with the food being cooked constantly, that tends to raise the overall temperature of the home quite significantly.  

With this in mind, I began to search my parents' house for the most suitable location for me to get in a solid night of sack time.  For reference, the house is a one story ranch with a basement.  This means that the main floor is obviously out (because it reaches temperatures upwards of 75 degrees).  The kids typically play in the basement so the heaters are cranked to make sure it's warm enough.  I was running out of options.

As I walked onto the porch to grab another beer and ponder my options, it hit me.  I was going to sleep on the porch.  After a little searching for adequate sleeping materials I managed to put together a fairly decent bed.  It wasn't the best, but an old military sleeping bag, a few seat cushions, and a pillow provided me with one of the best nights of sleep I've had at my parents house in a long time.

Grab On

So a couple of posts ago, I mentioned (and included a picture) my wicked awesome new handlebar mustache.  Over the past few weeks of having said awesome handlebar mustache I've received a lot of mixed reactions.  That is, some people really like it and some people really don't.

While I haven't been conducting an actual survey, I think it's fair to say that the women I've asked typically don't like it (but aren't surprised that I have it).  This (unfortunately) includes my girlfriend.  On the other hand, I've received a lot of compliments from guys that think it's fantastic.  In most cases, these accolades have been unsolicited, but I'll take all the positive feedback I can get.  

I think it generally breaks down like this: the ladies don't like it because I look like a 70's porn star (not my analogy) even though I've done nothing to encourage this comparison.  The guys like it because they either can't grow a solid mustache or they aren't allowed to grow one.  I can only assume their significant others exert more influence over them than mine.  

As the weather continues to change and the cold air moves in I think I'll have to give up the mustache and grow back the beard.  It will be more comfortable when I'm on the slopes this year  and quite possibly (and more importantly) there will be one less reason for my girlfriend to question what she's doing with me.  

Interruptus

Since the inception of this blog, I have been very diligent about posting something every Sunday evening.  Sure there have been some exceptions here and there but that has usually been because I was out of town or it was a holiday or something significant.  It didn't matter if I had something interesting to say or not, I still posted.  

This past Sunday was one of those rare exceptions to the rule.  As you're probably aware, today is Monday and I'm just now posting.  I would like to say that I had some grand reason for the delay but the simple matter is that I didn't have internet service at my house.  That's right; the reason why I didn't post yesterday was because my internet was down and I didn't have the motivation to go somewhere else just to get service.  After all, was this post really worth running around in the middle of the night to some cafe just to upload a post?  I think not.

Declines

As noted in my previous post, last weekend was the 30th running of the infamous Dirty Dozen.  I survived the ride and managed to make it up all the hills without falling (but not without issue).  Ever since the ride however, I've felt very unmotivated and very sluggish and I'm not sure why.

In the past when I've done big ride weekends or been in races where I'm redlined for an extended period of time,  I've had a few days of lethargy and then I'm back to normal.  This past week has been a complete departure from that way of feeling.  I've spent the entire week being exhausted without reason.  I've been asleep (usually on my couch) several hours earlier than I normally fall asleep.  It's even gotten to the point where I'm having trouble getting out of bed (and not because I don't want to go to work).  

I realize a lot of this is trivial and I should be back to normal before long.  Soon I'll be riding again (as long as the weather permits).  Soon I'll be staying up late during the week.  And maybe, just maybe I'll grow my beard back thus getting rid of the super awesome mustache that I'm getting a bit too comfortable with.