A glance past sliding glass doors finds a shadow stretching across the rooftop of the laundry facility. Its 9:05 and the sun is setting. I could be on my bike right now, threading my way through sagebrush on my way back to town, having completed an hour long post-work ride. Its no wonder I hate winter and its bitter short days. Perhaps if I never knew how great things got in summer...

I woke up this morning to a soft roar outside my window. By the time it repeated itself, I knew hot air balloons were congregating above the city. With new reason to jump out of bed, I walked outside and watched the Energizer Bunny float over my apartment. I wondered whether it was difficult to pilot a balloon shaped like a rabbit playing the drums. It did seem to drop and lurch rather quickly, yet it maintained its leisurely pace in a northward trajectory.

Later in the day, a coworker would question whether or not a b.b. gun would give a hot air balloon pilot any trouble. The question became an opportunity for others to share their expertise regarding hot air balloons; in particular, how the balloons were equipped with vents which could be modulated to produce holes much larger than any hole produced by a b.b. gun. Apparantly, dealing with large releases and influxes of hot air is just a normal part of operating a hot air balloon. This fact did not satisfy the coworker who originally asked the question about the b.b. gun. What about a shotgun, he challenged. This particular coworker-someone who uses the word "like" as, like, every other word-is working on his doctorate.

As fascinated by giant inflatables as I am, I must ask whether anyone else has heard that dogs tend to be deathly afraid of hot air balloons. Upon seeing one, my boss's dog bolted out of the back yard and dissapeared for most of the day; only to be found miles from home, cowering in some bushes nursing his bloody paws (from running around for hours in a panic). This news reminded me that, yes, there is something that will make every living being completely loose it; no matter what species the being is, and no matter how in control that being thinks he/she/it is. Like, I once awoke in some abandoned mine on the other side of Lucky Peak days after having viewed a Fox News segment featuring Ann Coulter.

I'd like to keep typing, but I'm distracted by my own thoughts regarding where I'm going to ride my bike today. With my apartment fairly clean, and most other errands taken care of, I have several hours which could be dedicated to an epic ride of some sort. I keep thinking about the TFR, or "Tough Fucking Ride". The TFR consists of Rocky Canyon Road up and over Aldape Summit, down to Robbie Creek, to Highway 21, up over hilltop, down past the dam, and back home on the greenbelt. Its not really that tough, and I don't know if it really justifies the use of the expletive "fucking". The trip takes no more than 3 hours at the most. Still it is exciting and "epic" in the sense that you essentially circumnavigate a small mountain and travel over a couple tiny summits. Later, when Fern gets off work, I'd be able to go for another ride. I've been off the bike so much the last few weeks, that doubling down today sounds really great. Anyway, I'm sure my readers would rather listen to their own thoughts instead of mine, so I'll end this and start my day's adventure.

Sorry, there is no new post today. Please try again later when I'm not as tired. It's 1am and I'm powering down in anticipation of a very very satisfying night's slumber. I don't work tomorrow, so I will be able to sleep in. Also, my left buttock has regenerated itself almost completely, thus I should be able to lie in bed in whatever position I fancy.
If you ignored my previously stated assurance that there is no new post today and have read on this far, It might do you well to know that my weekend was a pleasant one. Fern and I shaked what our mommas' gave us at the Balcony on Pride Night, Saturday night. Earlier that day we ventured west to Nampa where we had our first experience in the new Flying M Coffee Garage. The establishment's design was stunning, but its edibles were less than stellar. We galivanted around downtown Nampa; checking out a knitting store (heaven on earth for Fern), an antique store, and a-place-to-eat store, otherwise known as a restaurant. Before leaving the quaint village of Nampa, we visited a couple second hand clothing stores and suprisingly found nothing but a bunch of junk not worth purchasing.
Yesterday evening, Fern and I accompanied Devlyn to the Shakespeare Festival amphitheatre and watched a production entitled "A funny thing happened on the way to the forum." (correct me if I'm wrong) The weather was perfect and while the play was no episode of The Daily Show, it was very humorous in less intelligent sorts of ways, which is something I can appreciate from time to time. The play WAS funny, but if it were much less funny, I'd simply call it "good natured". During the play; Devlyn, Fern, and I lounged on a slanty bit of grass and dined on a pasta salad supremo as well as excellent cheeses, wine, and chocolate. I could not enjoy the bread supplied by Devlyn as I am allergic to all crunchy breads. At any rate, it was a beautiful evening of merriment.
By the way, Friday evening was kind of neat too. Fern and I travelled to Eagle in order to see what fun could be had during "Eagle Fun Days". For me the fun amounted to watching category 1 and 2 cyclists race in a criterium, listening to live tunes, talking to a few people I know, watching other people and children do silly things, and ofcourse hanging out with Fern-with whom every day is a "fun day".
In the meantime, Fern is rapidly developing into a competent road cyclist. I'm hoping I will soon return to form on both bikes.

Renewed Appreciation

I'd like to express my appreciation for iced mochas, shockingly beautiful sunsets, Boise summer evenings, and being alive to experience them. They're all very nice things.

However, all is not rainbows and roses. "Shopping" for a dentist is apparantly a foreign concept in our society. I suppose when insurance usually pays for a particular type of service, price consideration goes out the window.

I've got a quick question for those who aced the grammar sections of their SATs. When is the use of the word "that" appropriate?? Should I have placed a "that" inbetween the words "suppose" and "when" in the last sentence of the last paragraph? "I suppose when insurance..." vs. "I suppose that when insurance..." This may be the grammatical dilema I find myself in most often.

Right; other things that tend to suck: Really long drives. Senior citizens with poor eyesight driving oversized utility trucks over the white line. Also, trying to maintain a good posture when you can't fully plant your weight on your left cheek.

Finally, because the good really does outweigh the bad, I'll close by noting a few things that are especially awesome. Fern's Karen O shirt. Having a clean apartment that also happens to be really cool. Getting to save the world one bicycle at a time. Intellectual stimulation, even if that intellectual stimulation comes from reading a book written by a dimwit (The Reconstruction of Belief, by Charles Gore). Flickr and looking at a slide show of recent adventures. Oh, and George Hincapie recovering from his scary crash in the Paris Roubaix in April and taking 2nd in the Dauphine Libre prologue yesterday, the traditional prep race for the Tour de France. Vive le Tour!

Fern's link updated. Enjoy!