Everything is going smoothly

Everything is going smoothly. It's just not going according to plan. I intended to do a lot of biking in the Fort Collins area. That was before I caught the plague. The plague consists of running a very slight temperature, a mildly scratchy throat, a light cough, and a general feeling of blahness.

I am still going to do some biking. I will be leaving in a half hour or so to pit myself against Rist Canyon Road.

The big thing that I did not plan is a flight back to Michigan on the 13th of May. I will be back home for a week. No, it's not because of a funeral or even a court date. Really it is more an effort to avoid a court date. What I have known for two whole days before you is that I am driving around the country on an expired drivers license. It took a highly trained security guard at Intel to discover that.

Thankfully Michigan gives out of state residents a six month extension in order to give them time to get home. Unfortunately, six months expired three days ago.

One would think that the State would have sent me a letter letting me know it was time to renew back in October. Well, they did. Trouble is the envelope looks exactly like the "Renew your license plate on your car" letter. I distinctly remember wondering why they sent two of them within a week of each other. Like a good absent minded professor with a touch of ADD, I was quite proud of myself for going into the secretary of state, in person and on time, to renew my plate. Mission accomplished and expelled from my memory.

So the car is good to go, but I am not. Should I get pulled over, they can let my car go on without me. I want to avoid this as my car really has no ambition and would probably just sit around without me there to push it's buttons. So I am going to drive somewhat carefully to San Diego so my sister can watch my vehicle whilst I fly home to take care of this little issue.

I know it sounds a bit extreme, but it's better than the rash a stickler like me would get sweating every second I am out on the road. In all truth it will be good to spend a week at home. I need my spine adjusted (Hi dad), I could use another round of prolotherapy treatments for my wrist (Hi again dad), and I really should catch one of Tim's baseball games, baby sit Ava (My niece), and give a certain Brit a big pat on the back for surviving both high school and the family household.

I do have reservations to stay at Phantom ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon next week. I am thus, not exactly rushing off. I have been a bit illegal for six months, whats another week? I will be quite happy to not have that to worry about though. I figure with the (hopefully free) medical treaments and weeks worth of home cooked meals (I miss you mom) this unplanned bit of smoothness will pay for it's self.

Now to find a way to board an airplane without a valid photo ID...

Sam's Summary

• Sam already knows all this
• However, there is some delightful word play here that was not in the phone converstation
• He would have to read the whole thing anyway to appreciate it
• I actually have already taken care of the ID for the plane problem
• I am pretty good at taking care of problems when I know what they are
• As this is my most embaressing post I am sure all of you will find it the most entertaining
• Meanies!
  

When it rain, it floods

It rained yesterday. It was not a heavy rain; just a normal rain. Texas, however, was designed to concentrate and focus all runoff such that the water does not actually run off. It does not soak into the ground either. It simply piles up. How a little spring shower leaves four inches of water on the roads is beyond me.

Luckily, Texan have spent a inordinate amount of time preparing for the occasional rain. They build runoff features into everything. The neighborhoods have nice attractive concrete spillways built through them. They are dry 95% of the time. When it rains they become raging torrents that could sweep away unwary children and pickup trucks.

One the other hand it is fun to make a wake with my car. I was throwing out eight foot high waves to either side on my way to see a friend. Great fun if you are an averaged kid like myself.

In other news, I wrote this company offering to work for free. No bite so far.

Sam's Summary

• It rained
• The flood drains filled up
• No reports of missing people or objects... so far.
• I got to splash through the puddles they call roads.
• I am the Dallas king of 21 tip-in. After 5 games.
  

Dallas News Issue 1

Does anyone out there know how to clean a shoe soaked through with blood? Feel free to comment if you do. This question is not so random as one might think. I do in fact have a bloody shoe. I will now pause for a few moments to let you conjure images of horrible accidents and draft dodging...

Ok, is your imagination quite finished? Now I can tell you how lame the real story is. I was playing basket ball, and someone (I won't mention any names) stepped upon my previously traumatized big toe. I looked down and noticed that blood was seeping out of that area of my shoe. Did I stop? Oh no not I. I played through the pain. This was a fairly easy accomplishment as there was no pain. Shaquille O'Neal take note. It is possible to play basketball for free with a bloody toe, much less while getting paid millions.

Really it was just blood from the last time I hurt it. It was trapped under my toenail. Now it is not. I think I may have a fighting chance now of keeping my nail. Vanity I know. Anyway, paultryness of the injury aside I still need to clean my shoe. Anyone with crime scene cover up experience feel free to contact me.

Sam's Summary

• I have a bloody shoe
• It's not my blood
• It was my blood but I have no use for it now
• I want it out of my shoe and out of my life
• I am tougher than Shaquille O'Neal
• Apparently the only point of interest in Dallas is the spot on the road where Kennedy was shot.

Making life sound good

The great thing about a blog is that I get to make all the decisions about how you will see my life. Really I am just killing time at my friend's place in Texas and lazily planning my next move. But it has been fun. I went swing dancing. They all do Lindy out here, but the girls who begged to dance with me had to settle for some smooth east coast. East coast is a little more playful anyway.

On Saturday we traveled to Austin to visit our friend who has made something of his life. He is married, has a nice house, an Xbox 360, a job he loves, a cute daughter, and a huge TV; but he still lives in Texas. Anyway we spent two days there doing horribly boring things. Things such as grilling delicious shishkabobs, disc golfing, playing rock band, playing darts, playing board games, and most importantly reliving all the memories in which I humiliated him during college.

The biggest event of this week is that I went to the Texas A&M Rec center for some pick-up basketball. I have never seen a larger sports facility. The place was amazing. They had 30 or so racquetball and squash courts. They had 8 basketball floors. It was, and I presume still is, quite huge.

I did not play particularly well. I tend to eat very little when I travel and low blood sugar levels do not facilitate great game play. This is without even mentioning proper hydration. I held my own on defense but could not make a lay-up to save... well insert your own trite expression here. It will probably hold true. People always end-up stepping on my feet in pick-up games and I think that I am probably going to lose my left big toe-nail as a result. Darn kids. They are all so young now.

Was I ever that young? Or, ever that hot headed. Luckily I only had one meat head swear on his honor as a neanderthal that he would hurt me.... in retaliation for boxing him out. It all worked out in the end as his goal of running me over clouded his memory that the point was to WIN the game.

I will probably be here through easter. I have will be able to attend all the various rites and rituals that way. Did I ever mention that I love easter. Best holiday ever.

Sam's Summary

• I am still in Texas
• I visited a long lost college chum over the weekend
• I am derilict in my duty to take pictures of everything I see
• I danced
• I danced well
• I always dance well
• I played basketball poorly
• It was good enough because we kept winning
• There are a lot of bullet points here