2012: The year of the half-life.

I've been a pretty awful blog-keeper-upper over the last few months.  It's not that nothing has been going on, because I'm sure that I've had plenty of things I could have written about... but between being completely exhausted while in the field and trying to play catch-up and have somewhat of a life when I'm at home, there hasn't been a lot of motivation to spend time writing about what I've been up to.  We had a really nice, mellow Christmas here in Albuquerque this year.  It was just what I needed, although I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that 2012 is already over.

Disclaimer:  I love my job.  I enjoy the people I work with, I love the work that I get to do, and I've been very lucky to get to work on some pretty fantastic projects over the last year.  
But with that being said... I'm burnt out.

We moved to Albuquerque last February, and since that time I have basically been doing fieldwork non-stop.  I spent the months of March through June working a 4-days-on/3-days-off schedule, which meant that I was away from home 3 nights out of every week.  This certainly got old after a while, but it was nice because at least I was able to be home every weekend and have somewhat of a social life.  Starting in July, I went back out to Gallup for the Highway 491 excavations.  The 491 project schedule included 8-day-on/6-day-off sessions, so from July until Thanksgiving, I was basically gone from home more than half of every month.  Now I'm on a new project in Nevada that is also consisting of 8-day sessions.  The holidays provided a nice break, but a good chunk of December and half of January-- gone.  Thus, I've dubbed 2012 my Year of the Half-Life.

Eight day sessions aren't horrible when you only have to work one or two, but to do them for more then 4 months straight?  Not. Cool.  By the time I would return from an 8-day session, I was so physically and mentally exhausted from working 8 straight 10-hour days that I usually needed a full day of sitting on the couch to recuperate, and then I spent a couple of days catching up on normal life things that I was unable to do while in the field (like paying bills, doing laundry, going to the post office- stuff that you never realize is a big deal until you are unable to do it).  And because I'm a bit of a masochist, on top of this ridiculous schedule I was determined to continue riding my bike and to check off my race list this fall, so my every-other-weekends at home were often consumed with long bike rides which left us little option to go out of town to do other things.

Orange safety vests: Not classy.

This year, I watched the Olympics from a crappy pizza joint in Gallup.  I missed the annual Balloon Fiesta.  I celebrated the re-election of our president with boxed wine in my hotel room.  I didn't get to see the first snow of the year on the Sandia mountains.  Being in the field as much as I have- it messes with your head.  Living in less-than-elegant hotels, either eating out or eating microwaveable food every night, wearing grungy and definitely unattractive work clothes every day... it really wears on you after a while.  Lately I've noticed that I curse like a sailor, my first instinct is to wipe my dirty hands on whatever pants I am wearing before reaching for a napkin, and I maybe shave my legs once every ten days (sorry, Josh).  I need to re-accustom myself to the ways of the civilized world!

Basically, I feel as if I've had no life for the last year.  A lot has happened this year, but I feel like we only just arrived in Albuquerque and I have no idea where the last eleven months have gone.  On the bright side, my face and arms have a perma-tan and I've been able to stay in good shape while eating whatever the hell I want all year.  So there is some good mixed in with my bitching!

Despite being away from home so much, 2012 was a good year.  Mentionable bullets from the year:
-Moving to Albuquerque was a fantastic thing, and Josh and I are both really happy to be here.  I love New Mexico, and (other than the people we left behind) I don't miss living in Arizona at all.
-My mom has also relocated to Albuquerque and I am so happy to be in the same city and be able to spend time together with her on a regular basis.
-This summer I was given a promotion and was officially put on salary at work.  This has all gone to solidify my relief and happiness about my decision to leave graduate school when I did-- the real world is SO much better!  Having a 401k makes me feel like a certified grown-up.
-I've ridden my bike a lot this year and have gotten stronger and faster than I've been before, and I had a blast in the four bike races that we completed in 2012.
-In August, Josh and I decided to buy a house in Albuquerque.  Obviously, that transaction is not complete yet, but the process has been pretty exciting and quite the learning experience for me.  Not to mention the fact that buying a house is a freaking-scary-awesome-big-deal.  Hopefully very soon into the new year, we will have our new house and can embark on the many tasks associated with tackling a fixer-upper and creating a wonderful home for ourselves.
-I guess the last big noteworthy thing in 2012 was our engagement.  Big and noteworthy, I should say.  Don't ask me about wedding plans- there aren't any.  I'm still trying to figure out how to say the word fiance.

I have a couple of more sessions of work in Nevada through January, but after that I've been promised copious amounts of time in the office.  A few years ago, I never would have imagined that I'd be craving work in an office; but after my year of non-stop fieldwork I am completely excited about being home for months at a time, sleeping in my own bed, wearing regular clothes, having a more normal social life, and eating homecooked meals.

2013 promises to be another big one- so keep checking in and I'll try to be better about posting things to the blog.  There are still a few back-logged entries I've got up my sleeve from the last couple of months.

Happy New Year!

El Tour de Tucson, v.2

Even though I've had a pretty awful field schedule over the past 6+ months, I've still managed to bike as much as possible while I'm home and improve my cycling fitness.  I was excited to ride both the Tour de Acoma and the Day of the Tread this year, but my main training focus was El Tour de Tucson.  I had a score to settle with El Tour de Tucson.

We did this race in 2010, and I loved every second of it.  I had hoped to ride it again last year, but I just didn't have the time and energy to train for it.  This year I was doubly committed to the race because I wanted to both visit Tucson to see my friends there, and also to get my revenge on El Tour.

Josh and I left Albuquerque midday Thursday to travel to Tucson for the race weekend.  After staying up late at the bar with our friends on Thursday night, and then having an incredibly stressful, not-relaxing-at-all day on Friday that ended with a proposal... well, let's just say I was less than rested when we woke up at 4:30am Saturday morning for the race.  We both slammed our energy drinks, pulled on our arm warmers, and after finding a parking spot about a mile from the start line, rode up to our spots in the middle of the Silver category (El Tour corrals riders based on your expected finish time; Silver is between 6.5 hours and 9 hours).  One of the higher-ups from my company, Richard, was also riding and found us at the start line.  We chatted and tried to stay warm for the hour prior to the race.

Last time I rode El Tour, I finished with a time of 7:42.  This year, I knew I would be a lot faster.  My goal time was to beat 7 hours.  I wasn't entirely sure that I could do it, but I knew that I'd be completely thrilled to break 7.  Bottom line, I was going to happy with any improvement over my previous time.

Like every El Tour, there were thousands of riders tackling the 111-miles course that day.  We were probably about in the middle of the pack, so it took us a couple of minutes to get across the start line after they blew the horn, but soon enough we were off and rolling along.  It was just as I remembered from the last time- a little bit frantic, very crowded, and super thrilling.  I just love big huge races!  About 7 miles into the race, everybody has to dismount their bikes and walk down and up a big, sandy wash.  After this point, Josh and I lost track of Richard and he went on ahead of us.  I had a finish time goal for this race, but I wasn't about to push too hard at the beginning and ruin my chances of making that goal.  Moderately-paced and steady, that was my plan.

Josh and I managed to ride together for this entire course, to my surprise.  We would get separated for stretches, but then would catch up to each other at the aid stations.  I felt great for the entire race, and I think I can attribute part of my strength to the fact that I've been training at much higher elevations in Albuquerque this year.  I made sure to eat and drink at regular intervals and I even managed to go pee at one of the water stops!  (This is kind of a big deal, since I very rarely can pee in the middle of a long bike ride since I apparently do not usually drink enough fluids.)  So, all-in-all, it was a happily uneventful, strong ride.

I waited so long to write about the race that I don't really have a lot of specific anecdotes about the day to recount; it was a great ride, but I don't have a lot of specific memorable moments to tell about.  I smiled for all the photographers, I chatted with lots of other riders, I thanked all the police officers helping to direct traffic, and I cheered along with some of the roadside spectators.  Last time I did this route, I remember reaching mile 80 and thinking, 'I have 30 more miles?  How am I going to do that?!'... this time, at mile 80, my thoughts were, 'Only 30 more miles?  Man, this is cake!'.  I guess a couple of years can really make a big difference.

With about 20 miles left to go in the ride, Josh and I realized that we could finish in less than 7 hours if we just rode the remainder of the course at a steady, comfortable pace.  I was ecstatic.  We took off with purpose and were ready to knock out the rest of the 111 miles.  Then, the inevitable happened.  Josh, Mr. King-of-flat-tires, got a flat tire.  ARGH!  I wasn't going to leave him on the side of the road after we'd ridden 90 miles together already, so I stopped and waited for him to change his tube.  He changed the tube and inflated it, and realized that the spare was also flat.  So then he took my spare tube and had to change it all out again.  This whole thing took almost 20 minutes.  Twenty minutes!  I quickly realized that my chances of beating 7 hours were now out the window, but oh well.

In the end, we crossed the finished line in 7 hours, 18 minutes.  You do that math.  I felt great after the finish line, and although I didn't beat my goal time, I knew that I would have if not for the mechanical difficulties, and knowing that was just as good.  Next year, 6:30.  It's on!  El Tour is one of the best events I've done, and there's no wonder it's such a hugely popular event.  Everything is run seamlessly, the people of Tucson are so supportive and awesome throughout the ride, and you just cannot beat the weather.  Having good friends to visit in Tucson makes the whole thing even better for me, and I plan to continue the tradition.

Now it's December, and I'm giving Gustavo a little break for a while.  Bring on the snow!!

If you liked it, then you should have put a...

A couple of weekends ago, Josh and I traveled to Tucson to ride El Tour de Tucson again.  We spent time with our friends there and we had a fantastic race.

Oh, and also, pigs learned to fly.  In other words...

I got engaged.

... more on this later, on the race too!

Sale still pending...

Dear Freddie Mac,

You own a lot of houses.  I would really like to buy a house, and I would very particularly like to buy a specific one of your houses.  This house has been empty for three years, and nobody else seems to be interested in it.  I want it.  I am willing to pay you for it, and I am even willing to jump through a few hoops to get it.  This house needs work, and I am willing to take on the cost and effort required.  With as many uninhabited houses as you own, wouldn't selling one of them off be a good thing?  Wouldn't you want to get rid of an empty house that needs repairs?

You're making this way more difficult than necessary, Freddie.  We've been patient.  We've been waiting on you for months, but you are dragging your ass for no apparent reason.  You accepted our offer, and then you didn't answer calls for a few weeks.  You put up a sign in front of the house to indicate that our sale was pending, and then you did nothing for a solid month.  What am I supposed to do?  I have no choice but to sit around and wait for you to allow me to sign away my financial future.  I'm ready to sign it away, if only you'd pick up the damn pace.

I'm sorry if you were hoping for a cash-buyer to swoop in and take this property of your hands in a matter of days.  I'm sorry if you have to fill out some extra paperwork on my account.  But you know what?  I'm patient, and I'm determined, and I want this damn house.  I want this neighborhood and I want this lot and I want the dysfunctional pool and the walls with holes in them and even the horrible, painted wood paneling in the office.  I realize that five months isn't really that long of a time when you think about how long we're likely to live in the house; but really, Freddie!  Five months from offer to closing?  That's a long time.  I just don't see how it could possibly not be in all parties' best interest to get this thing over and done with already.  This whole deal could have already closed by now if you'd just have hurried the hell up.

Sorry, Freddie, you're stuck with me until I get this house.  I'm not backing down.

Sincerely,
Meg

Day of the Tread

I'm a big fan of Halloween- that's no secret.  I first learned about Albuquerque's Day of the Tread ride a couple of years ago, well before we knew that we would be moving back to New Mexico.  Of course I immediately loved the idea... costumes and a 100-mile bike ride?  Sounds right up my alley!

Josh and I signed up for this event months ago and tried to come up with some cycling-appropriate costumes.  This event includes a few different distances, and apparently the 100-mile ride is typically the least costumed of the lot.  I guess *most* people find it cumbersome to wear a costume while biking 100 miles, so typically the impressive costumes show up for the rides of 50 or less miles.  My main objective was to find a costume that would not only be impressive but also comfortable for wearing on my bike for 6+ hours.  Josh clearly was not so concerned about comfort, and paid for it in the end.

We got some great comments on our costumes (mostly for Josh), and quite a few people asked to take our photos at the start line.  A writer for ABQ Sports magazine interviewed Josh and took our photo as well, and said that we would see ourselves in the November issue.  I guess that means we'll be famous.  Or something.  Some other people were dressed up for the 100-miler, but our costumes definitely seemed the most appropriate for the theme of the ride.

The race started at sunrise, and riders were sent off with a very New Mexican-style raising of the flag via hot air balloon.  The morning was cold, and my fingers stayed pretty numb for about the first hour of the ride.  Five miles into the ride, Josh was already needing to stop and adjust his costume.  I was annoyed to have to be stopping already so early on, but we had agreed to stick together and just enjoy the day, so I sat back and watched people ride past us.  This would turn out to be the theme for the day.

I don't know what exactly I did, or what combination of food I managed, or what the hell had gotten into me, but I was on fire for this entire ride.  I was feeling great, spinning fast, and passing people!  Maybe it was the tutu.  I rode up the five-mile-long Tramway hill faster than I'd ever ridden it before.  My legs felt great, my breathing wasn't bothering me, and I was happy to be on my bike.  Josh continued to need to stop every five miles or so (he never really planned for the fact that he was unable to eat or drink with his mask on), so I would get ahead of him on the hills, and then wait for him to catch up at the rest stops.  I admit that I was upset to not be able to keep riding and stick with some of the larger packs of cyclists, but no matter what I was having a blast.  Everybody smiled when they saw us in costume.  Very similar to my side-ponytail hypothesis, I've decided that it's pretty much impossible to be in a bad mood when you're dressed up in a silly costume.

Trawmway Rd.- five miles of uphill fun!

So we pedaled, and pedaled, and kept pedaling.  Josh continued to have trouble with his mask, and around mile 45 he finally took off the big top hat and stowed it in the backpack he brought along.  By this point I think the damage had been done, as his back was bothering him quite a bit from the pressure of the wind and not being able to lower his head.  We headed north, knowing that we'd probably have a big hill to climb in Placitas.  Turns out, we had multiple big hills to climb on the way to Placitas.  I was still feeling great and was flying up the hills, but J was slowing down considerably and was NOT happy about the elevation gains.

Unfortunately we have few photos from this ride.  I tried to take photos for the first part of the race, but towards the end I just had no desire to mess with my camera while on my bike.  And Josh flat-out refused to chance using the camera with his mask on, so I have no photos of myself riding.  Oh well.

Long story short, we finished the ride.  Barely.  I basically had to drag Josh behind me for the last 30-35 miles of the race, force him to eat and drink at the rest stops, and continue to try my best at being supportive even though all I wanted to do was ride ahead and finish.  But, we made it!  And somehow I still felt great at the finish line... I could have ridden for another hour or two, easy.  At the least, this gives me great hope for El Tour de Tucson next month.  I'd been worrying about not having trained enough.

All-in-all, I think we made no less than fifteen stops over the course of this ride.  According to my fancy GPS device on my bike, the difference between time spent actually pedaling and time spent total is 1.5 hours.  That's a lot of time to be stopped on the side of the road!  By the time we finished, all of our friends (who were riding shorter distances) had departed and the race volunteers were starting to break down the tents.  It's a shame, because I think that if we'd finished earlier and been present for the awards ceremony, Josh could have made a good run at the Best Costume contest.  I guess we'll never know.

Despite the setbacks, I thoroughly enjoyed myself on this ride.  And though he was physically miserable by the end of it, I know Josh loved all the attention he got for his costume.  I will absolutely return to do this ride again next year (and every year!), but it's comforting to know that we can always choose to do the shorter versions of the race if necessary.  [And, for the record, I offered the option of only doing 80 or 65 miles, but Josh was the one who insisted that we should ride the 100.  Famous last words.]

Junky trunk

Another pallet project!  This one has been in the works for a couple of months now, sitting around the garage in pieces while I went to the field, got distracted, or injured myself.  But it's finally done!  Of course, I don't actually have anywhere to put it right now, but I have a feeling it's going to work quite well in the new house.

Once again, I found inspiration for this project from this blog.  I had originally planned to make the trunk in a size that would also be appropriate for a coffee table... but that didn't pan out and the trunk turned out to be pretty big.  I think it's actually going to be perfect for storing blankets and pillows and looking cool at the foot of a bed or something.  Now I'll just have to make something else that can be used as a coffee table!

This was my most ambitious construction project thus far, so I actually had to draw up plans for what I wanted to do.  Almost like I knew what I was doing or something!  (Probably not totally necessary, but it kept me more sane during the process.)

We had a giant stack of pallets in the garage, so Josh helped me pull them apart and make piles of wood.  I went about trying to find the coolest pieces in the pile to make my trunk with.  I'm a fan of pallet wood because you often get pieces that are roughed up or have strange patterns worn into them, or sometimes just funky with knots or bark still attached.  For the outside of the trunk, I was able to piece together 1x4s from the pallets with a few extra boards we already had.  The first step was to cut everything to size and make sure all four sides of my trunk were laid out correctly.  This is where I ended up making the trunk larger than I had originally planned, because I didn't want to have to cut down the width of any of the boards- I just liked the way I'd arranged it and wanted to keep it.

The next step was to paint everything, since I did not want the whole trunk to look like it was painted as one big unit.  I was originally going to paint the whole thing gray and purple, but Josh said he thought I should use red.  So I used gray, purple, AND red.  This turned out to not be at all what he had in mind, and he has since told me numerous times that he does not like the colors on the trunk.  At all.  Too bad, mister.  I painted each board individually, sanded down the paint to expose some of the wood and make it looked sort of weathered, and then doused everything with a dark-colored wood stain.  [And for the record, I do think it would have looked better with only gray and purple, but it's done now and it's growing on me.  From now on, I won't ask for opinions on color.]

After all the paint and stain had dried and set in, it was time to build the main compartment.  I used 2x4s from the pallets to hold everything together from the inside.  And a TON of wood screws.  (This is the point at which I managed to punch a giant hole through my thumb with an electric screwdriver... but we don't need to dwell on that.)  So basically the main box of the trunk is constructed out of pallet boards and a few other spare boards we had around the garage.  I didn't take very detailed photos, but there are 2x4s in each corner, and also one down the middle of both long sides of the box.

After the box was finished, I had to actually spend a tiny bit of money at Lowe's.  I bought four simple screw-in feet (which I stained), some nicer-grade plywood for both the top and the bottom, and a few hinges with which to attach the top.  I stained the top to match the feet (they're a slightly darker shade than the stain I used on the rest of the trunk), and I had Josh work some magic on the hinges so that they would fit around the back corner.  For the bottom, I screwed the large plywood piece into the bottom end of the 2x4s, and then also added a long 1x4 across the middle for extra support.

And there you go!  I tried to keep the weight of this thing to a minimum, so I didn't choose to use very heavy material for the bottom of the compartment.  This means that we won't really be able to store anything heavy inside of it,  but like I mentioned earlier, I think it'll work nicely for pillows and blankets.  And maybe the guest room in our new house will just have to end up consisting of colors that compliment red and purple.

Benched

Since I discovered my new fondness for building things, Josh has been bringing me wooden pallets that he finds at work.  Our garage is now filled with many different kinds of pallets in different states of dis-assembly.

This past weekend I got bored and decided that I would try to make something out of what I had on hand in the garage.  This blogger has made a few different variations of a basic pallet bench, so I took her basic plans in mind and went to work on my own bench.  I didn't purchase one single thing in order to build this bench- every single item was already on hand.

I didn't take very many in-progress photos, but you can probably imagine how it went.  This didn't exactly involve a lot of complicated steps, although I did manage to use the circular saw, the drill press, the electric screwdriver, the electric sander, and the jigsaw- all by myself and without any injuries!  Very proud.  I'm also getting pretty good at the distressed-paint look.  I wish I'd used a slightly less-dark color of stain on this one, but for a quick weekend project, I'm overall super happy with all of how it turned out.

Sale Pending

Do you hear that?  That's me, squealing with excitement.  We're so close!!

Meg's Super-Secret Guide to Lightening the Mood

I'm going to share with you a big secret.  Over the years, I have developed a sure-fire method of banishing crankiness and bad moods.  I know a way to raise your spirits when they are low, and to ensure that those around you are also made to smile.  I have tested my methods many times, and tests have been effective 100% of the time.  You can't get better results than that.  Are you ready?  Do you want to know the secret weapon?

All you need is enough hair to create a rockin' side-ponytail.

That's it!  That's the secret.

Think I'm crazy?  Let me explain.

I used to wait tables in college, and I was often in a cranky mood at work.  I worked with other cranky people, and I served food to lots of cranky people.  One day, I got sick of it and decided to do something.  I went to the restroom and put my hair up in the highest, tightest, most obnoxious side-ponytail I could muster, and came back out on the restaurant floor.  I never broke a smile, I never said anything, I just went back to work.  Within seconds, I heard laughter.  The kitchen staff looked slightly confused, but they were smiling nonetheless.  The other servers were shaking their heads and giggling.  I looked ridiculous.  You see, I'm typically a pretty low-key kind of person.  I don't like to make a big show of myself or draw lots of attention, and (at least, in my opinion) my appearance and dress is usually reflective of that.  This fact definitely contributed to my coworkers' amusement.  Nobody could look me in the eye.  They simply could not speak to me without laughing.  It was working!  People were being cheered up!

The second part of this little test was even more fun for me.  Like I said, I proceeded to go about my job as per usual, which meant talking to and serving my tables in the restaurant.  For the rest of the evening, not one single customer could look at me without staring towards the side of my head.  Some would smile right away, and some would wait until I walked away and they thought I couldn't see or hear them to laugh or comment to their friends.  But everybody was amused by it.   And, in turn, my mood went through the roof.  I was loving it.  My side-ponytail brought cheer to the entire restaurant that night.  It was out of character for me, it was super obvious, and it looked absolutely absurd.  My only regret is that I never got a picture of myself in my former employer's signature starched white shirt and black vest (with red bowtie!) and a side-ponytail.

I have since used this method of smile-inducing many times over the last decade-- most recently, last week during excavation in the field.  Even my heavily-hungover crew members couldn't resist the charm of my side-pony!  Somebody walks up to ask you a question in all seriousness, and before they've even opened their mouth they find themselves distracted and laughing at you.  No doubt that a great many of my past and present coworkers can vouch for it and its effectiveness.  Often times, others will join me once they realize how much fun it is to walk around and see every person you interact with break out into a big goofy grin.  There are, no doubt, a number of photographs of myself with this particular hairdo from many different years and different places.  For the record, through my experiences, I can tell you that it is also a particularly amusing thing to do at bars and parties.  The result is always the same.  People smile.  You get cheered up.  You feel a little ridiculous, and you love it.

Trust me on this one.  Give it a shot sometime.  I'm offering a money-back guarantee.  Hike that scrunchie up high on the side of your head, bounce your step just enough so that your hair swishes from front-to-back as you walk, and just try to hold eye contact with some unsuspecting person.  You'll thank me.