Been Busy

Here is a scatter gram of recent updates: Saturday night we met a bunch of friends at Herkimer. It was really cool that my biking buddy Randall showed up. I met him several years ago in the middle of nowhere during a miserable Ironman ride. We rode together for a big chunk, and continued to ride together afterwards. I really hadn't ridden with others much at that point. He then introduced me to a local cycling club, which I then joined. I logged thousands of miles with that group that summer. There were two other guys that would often join us for weekend rides. We would also hang out for barbecues and other more social situations. Randall also talked me into trying my first race, the Firehouse 50. Besides all that, he just is a very cool guy- one of the most generous people I know. I will miss him.

The rest of the crew that showed up, except for two of my cousins, had some ties to Norway, so they were very supportive of our move. I wouldn't be surprised at all if any of them visited us abroad. I didn't really feel too sad about the night.

Sunday, Randall and I met up with a coworker, JD, to watch a bit of the cyclocross race at Powderhorn Park. It made me wish I had a cross bike. I've been far too busy to even think about racing. Otherwise, the rest of the day was spent packing.

Monday was unbearable at work. I mostly just cleaned out my office and left earlier. Later we had a work party at Bryant Lake Bowl. It was a very fun time, although I was quite drunk, to put it bluntly. Coworkers were buying Lise and I shots. As much as I like the group I worked with, I never really chose any of them as "friends." Work is a rather interesting social experiment where we are tossed in an environment with all sorts of people and more or less "forced" to get along- which we did quite well. But I did very little socializing with this group outside of work. My point is simply that this social void will soon be filled with other quality people.

Yesterday was my last day. I cleaned up my computer hard drive, said a few goodbyes to the folks at the office, and walked out into the sunset. Actually it was noon. Lise was quite emotional. I really think I had finished most of my grieving weeks ago. I will miss that job, the people, everything. But as I think back, it isn't the only good job in the world. I would not have stayed around so long if it wasn't a great company. If the future tosses me a bad job, I don't need to stay there fifteen years.

We spent the rest of the day packing. The Navigator still has a bad battery, so we can't switch to a bigger vehicle. The owner said he'd fix it- after I offered. This puts a wrinkle into some of our plans, since we are flying with four suitcases, a bike, and two cats. The Porsche just won't quite cut it.

All the bikes are finally packed. My music studio is packed. I feel like we are on schedule. Last night I stopped by a former co-worker who invited us over. He is the man who originally hired me when I was a fresh-faced 22-year-old kid, straight out of college. We've maintained a low maintenance friendship ever since. Tonight we have a dinner with my Norwegian class.

Somehow, everything feels right. I guess it is only natural that my emotions are all over the chart. I just want it to be over at this point. On a practical note, I have two immediate sources of anxiety: the cats cannot travel in the cabin. They will be with the luggage. The flight out of Amsterdam is simply too small of a plane, so the entire flight requires they be out of our control for the duration. The other is that our belongings will be out of our control for four to six weeks. I just don't like how that feels.

On a bright note, we finally have an apartment in Stavanger. It is a great two bedroom in a nice neighborhood. Things continue to fall in place.