Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

Hey Everyone,

I hope your holidays are treating you well. I did Christmas with a friend's family, but she and her mother got a stomach flu and spent the day puking. It was weird, but her dad got me a BB gun, so we went out and shot shit for a while. He hit a squirrel with his BB gun, but it didn't draw blood. It just pissed the squirrel off and the poor rodent spent the afternoon chattering and shaking its fists at us.

New Years promises to be uneventful for me as my first race of National Championships is on the 2nd, and I need good sleep. That means you're all responsible for doing the shit that I normally would. Please drink irresponsibly, head-butt people, and get your asses grabbed.

Next post after race #1...

Love and Adventures,

Toast

The Time is Nigh

Hey Everyone,

It's time for an update. I've been kinda all over the place lately, but race season is drawing near, and I'm mentally streamlining my life so I can really focus. At least that's what I'm telling myself... You all know that I have a gift for stretching myself thin and seeing how many things I can juggle at once. Right now it's training/racing, three part-time-ish jobs, volunteerism (lots), feebly hunting sponsors (because I've been dawdling), and life. My attempts at streamlining will probably only succeed if I quarantine myself in my car out in the woods, but it's calming to think about anyway.

Recent Highlights:

First a good story about subbing.

Severe Needs Student (SNS): What are those pictures?

Me: They are landmarks. There are the Pyramids in Egypt, Mount Rushmore, and the Great Wall of China.

SNS: I like the faces mountain.

Me: Yeah, those are presidents.

SNS: Is it a bike park?

Me: No, it's a national park.

SNS: Where is Faces Mountain?

Me: South Dakota

SNS: and that's the bike park?

Me: Sort of...

Then later in gym...

SNS: I need wings!

Me: What?

SNS: I need wings for the bike park.

Me: Oh, you want to fly to Mount Rushmore to visit?

SNS: How far?

Me: South Dakota is a long way from here.

SNS: SEX-AND-THE-CITY!

Me: WHAT?!

SNS: Sex and the city, sex and the city...

Me: That's what I thought

Second, I made some pumpkin ravioli last night from scratch, and I'm so proud of it that I can't help bragging just a bit. The pasta was one of my better batches. My friend has stolen her mother's pasta roller for me, so it was pretty easy to roll out. The filling had canned pumpkin, ricotta, parmesan, salt, and chili powder. The sauce was made out of browned butter and toasted walnuts. It was awesome. I made it at a friend's house because the walnuts would have killed my housemate, Lauren (super nut allergy). Then we invited a couple other people over and had classy dinner.

Lastly, my first races of the season are next weekend in Craftsbury, Vermont. I'm getting pretty nervous about it because I want my comeback to be glorious and noteworthy, but it's really not a very important race. I don't always deal well with nerves, so I'm working hard at not putting pressure on myself. At any rate, I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully I'll have happiness to report.

Love and Adventures,

Toast