No excuses, no regrets. . . fish on (can I help you)

I think there are only two people who have ever read this blog, which has not been updated in about 11 months. So for you, I'm sorry. I'm either sorry that I let you down by not writing, or I'm sorry that I started writing again. . . whatever shoe fits. So there will be no flow, no updates, and no connection to the previous entries. If you're playing the home game, it is important to know, I guess that:
1: I started a new job in june
2: There was no road trip, and no "Hawk's Place" sign was ever secured.

I think a lot of people are reviewing new year's resolutions right now, trying to remember why it was that in a moment of hungover reflection on new years day they decided they were going to go to the gym more, be nicer to people, or some other futile effort like that. So my resolution(s) involved stuff I really wanted to do, and they really only serve my own goals. Long story short, more time out with friends, more one-on-one time with the good ones, and expansion of my boulder food and beverage resume.

So those first two are pretty obvious, and something I'm pretty serious about now that I'm not traveling 5 times a month for work. As far as the food and drink, I've come to realize that I go to the same places a lot. Most of them I really enjoy. But after 10 years in the people's republic, there are a lot of places I've never been. And that is changing.

I'm drawn to new (to me) places now. The Pita Pit was my first conquest. Yeah, 10 years, never stopped in before lunch the other day. I did, it's over, and it is probably off the list. But I'm glad I went, and I'm not bummed that I did.

So last night I went on a "mini vacation" with a very good friend of mine. The gameplan was to get some dinner. . . little did she know that she was helping fulfil resolutions 1 and 2. When I got to the door, she immediatly called the play that secured #3. Turns out, her mom had sent a resturant review of a new place in boulder (which, she and I agreed, will remain nameless until after the 2nd time we go there for dinner). This place was awesome, and I can't really figure out what detail emerged to give it such a high ranking on the awesomeness scale.

When we got there, we both immediatly felt like we were not in boulder (in a good way). The whole staff was friendly, even shook our hands and asked our names at the bar, which is where we ended up eating. Called us by name every time we spoke, introdused is to the so-mal-e-a (sp? wine guy). This story could go on for hours, so I'll cut to the chase. Awesome atmosphere, great food, amazing wine. Good company too. All together, maybe the best dinner/most fun I've had in boulder. . . Ever. So bummed to leave and walk back outside "into boulder."

So what did we learn? Resolutions 1-3 are in full swing and awesome. So psyched that I didn't pick "read more books" or something like that.

Today I went to Home Depot. I didn't need anything, I'm not even sure that I carried my wallet, I had no intention to buy. Most of the time, when I'm actually shopping, I can't find anybody in orange to help me out. Today, I didn't need anything, and the Home Depot Helpers (HDH) were all over me, like I looked totally lost.

HDH: "Can I help you find something?"
No I'm fine thanks.

Next HDH: "finding everythign you need?"
Yep, all set, thanks!

Another HDH: "You look like you are looking for something"
Actually, I'm just walking around. Do you ever have one of those days when you just want to walk around a hardware store?
"uhh, I guess, so I can't help you find anything"


So thanks for reading. What is the real motivation behind this resurgance of SkiBum blogging you ask? Grad School Essays. Due soon, haven't started. Keep sitting down to do it, keep finding things that "have to be done before I could posibally start writing," like using a q-tip to clean the grout lines in the shower, or sorting that box of undergrad papers and textbooks that somehow didn't get tossed in the move.

Sportcenter is up next. . .

Felonious Research

So I set out to determine where I might be able to find my "Hawk's Place" road sign. With a quick google search, I found a service called "melissadata.com," which seems to be pretty good at searching road names by zip codes. I signed up for the trial run and went to work. "Hawk's" yields a lot of responses, and without a method to sort them further, I had to do it on my own. Nest, road, landing, point, cove, circle, street, bay, beach, and rest all come through frequently. "Place," however, only exists at 3 locations in the country. After finding these, each one got further research.

1. Hawk's Place, Fish Haven, Idaho, 83287

Fish Haven was the first score, and for awhile, it looked like it might be the only one. My limited research indicates that it is a little town on Bear Lake, in idaho, just north of the Utah boarder. It's close proximity to Salt Lake makes this a day trip from my friend M*tt's house. We'll speak in code for the illegal stuff, since I'm sure M*tt will be pretty bummed if this project sends him to jail. . .
Oh, and the google map says "Hawk Place," which is way different than what I'm looking for. This will require further investigation before any rubber gets laid down to Fish Haven.

2. Hawk's Place, Palmyra, VA 22963

Palmyra doesn't seem that exciting. It is near charlettsville. In researching Palmyra, however, I realized one fact of "Place" that makes this task difficult. "Place" seems to refer to roads that dead end or cul-d-sac. Great places to live, not much traffic, but it means that (according to my google earth map) that there is probably only one "Hawk's Place" sign per host city. . .reconsideration of the Fish Haven Map confirms this setback. . .

3. Hawk's Place, Bennington, VT 05201

Bennington is at the intersections of Hwy 7 and Hwy 9 in the southwest corner of Vermont, near the NY boarder. Map research indicates that this is the shortest "Hawk's Place" so far. Only one intersection again. I like the Vermont location the best so far, and I'm not sure why. I've got a lot of friends in Vermont, and my recent "Job-ectemy" will probably cease my 2-3 annual trips to the region. This would be a great excuse to get back. Also, my friend M*ghan would totally be up for helping with a project like this. In fact, when I think about completing the project, no matter what the venue, M*ghan is exactly the kind of person who would be up for this. As I write this, I'm so sure that she'll lose sleep over how cool this is, I'm going back to search for "Meghan's Place. . ." stand by.

PS: Meghan, happy birthday. Per the usual, what a random set of events that led me to finding a sign in vermont and writing about you on your birthday. You are totally the "ORG" (original roadtrip gangsta')

So there you have it. Looks like 3 host cities of my sign, and each one probably only has one sign. Divide that by the fact that Fish Haven may have the imposter "Hawk Place" sign, and we could be down to two.

The road show is born. . .

I've never really thought of a blog as something I had time to do. Other people have always had them, and I've always thought that maybe they needed more work, or something. Well, anyway. . . I'm leaving my job in May, and it is amazing how much free time I've developed now that the pressure is off to get so much done at work. As another friend who is leaving his job in August put it: "Welcome to the Farewell Tour."

And so far, the beginning of my tour has been a sold out show. I had no idea how much life goes on around you when you are sucked into a full time (double time) job for a few years. I've caught up with more friends since I announced my departure (about 3 weeks ago) than I have since I started this job (about 3 years ago). And, as much as I've traveled in the last 3 years for work, one idea keeps coming into my mind: Road Trip. As many friends as I have caught up with in Boulder, imagine the scope if I got in my car and got serious.

I've always wanted a street sign for my house the reads "Hawk's Pl." There are some obvious setbacks to this desire, not the least of which is that stealing street signs. . . I think. . . is not legal. None the less, as I think about a list of key road trip objectives, I cannot ignore this goal. There are other objectives, subject to revision, related to things I have never seen, places I have never been, or people I would like to see. Two that come to mind:

1. See real country music in a real country music venue
1a) if necessary, buy cowboy boots in aforementioned certified venue city
2. See a Cubs game

And thus, the May 2007 "Incremential Retirement" Roadtrip is born