leaving San Francisco

So, we've left San Francisco and we're on our way through sunny Nevada. We split with north route yesterday and we won't see them again until DC in August. Kinda sad. We don't get to see the transamerica guys until DC either, and there are three Missouri State kids on that route that I actually knew before this adventure.

I'm starting to settle into a routine, which is good because the chaoticness of the first week was getting to me. I felt like I never knew what was coming next. I got into the mindset that I was just along for the ride. I suppose that I still am. I spent the entire first two weeks thinking about uncertainty reduction and expectancy violation theories.

The guys get super excited about the friendship visits. This is JOH's opportunity to connect with people from a group home or some other organization. I don't get all that excited because I've had two summer long friendship visits. I also haven't been too impressed with the staff at the group homes. I watched one of our guys give a guy a Red Bull. Ok - we should know better, but their staff should be paying better attention. These guys and girls are on a laundry list of medications that interact in funny ways. The most dangerous thing some of these people do is eat - it's the quickest way that something gets into their body. Push America emphasizes abilities, but we absolutely must assume that they don't have the ability to choose what they consume. :(

I presented my first Kid's on the Block. It went well, but I also see room for improvement. I also have the best cheesy magic trick/joke to use in between acts. I can't wait to use it for the next one.

Nevada has so far proven to be a pretty desolate place. Outside of Vegas, there's not much there. It's a great opportunity to play "throw things at other things." The game is pretty much how it sounds. I try to spend most of my time along the way writing postcards and ignoring my responsibilities that await me two days after I leave DC and Charlotte on August 20.

I expect that the routine that I've gotten into will allow me more opportunities to add to this. I will eventually create some photo albums.

By the way, before I left San Fran, I had the opportunity to stop by my mom's apartment in 1968, the summer of love, I'm told. It just happened to be three blocks away from where we were staying for orientation at the University of San Francisco. I didn't know that she lived in San Francisco - I thought this was when she was attending Drake University in Des Moines! Anyway, pretty neat. I wanted to knock on the actual studio apartment door that she lived in, but I could never get there during the day. Anyway, here's a photo!

on the road

WELL! I survived the journey from sunny North Carolina to San Francisco. We had our first accident, sorta. (see picture) And, it wasn't even me driving!

The drive across the country took us through Memphis, Wichita, Breckenridge, Vegas, and than San Francisco. Special thanks to all the sponsors that provided us with accomodation and food along the way.

Vegas was pretty amazing. It's everything I detest in the world. I lost $96 while north crew stud-muffin Matt scored a cool grand. It's ok though cause gambling is evil so he'll eventually lose and die poor and lonely. I suppose that I should win my $96 back when we go through Vegas again in three weeks. But, that's how gambling problems start.

Spending five days in the car made my current dorm room at the University of San Francisco seem spacious and relaxing. Training and organizing for the upcoming kick-off from the Golden Gate bridge is taking up a lot of time. I've made three bike shop runs, two visits to Walgreens, and a trip to the UPS store because apparently kids can ship bikes these days.

Tomorrow, we have our first practice run, our kick-off dinner, and than the kick-off itself on Sunday!

leaving Charlotte

The day finally came...I left SMS as scheduled on May 27. I moved myself and everything that could fit into a U-Haul trailer to Norman, Oklahoma. Lots of things got left in SW MO. I put everything into storage on the 28th and than spent the rest of the week searching for apartments, exploring Oklahoma City, and getting ready for JOH.

I signed with my new apartment on the 29th. Plenty of space. Pool. No puppy hating landlord. Great. I visited Oklahoma City on the Friday and it turned out that it's a pretty neat town, overall. I look forward to triple-A baseball games and the riverwalk. Than, I got on a plane on Sunday heading for Charlotte. Continental pushed my arrival time back an hour and I got a $150 travel voucher. I could've gotten another one for $250 had I delayed the flight another four hours. I totally should've done it - would've paid for my whole flight back to OKC.

I got a $900 phone call on Monday. I was going to have to pay for June and July in Springfield, but the evil puppy hating Ron Looney found a new tenant so now I don't have to pay anything. Megan, the accountant, told me that my apartment was the cleanest they've ever seen left. I thank my mother for cleaning the apartment for me even though I told her it wasn't necessary. She was right and I was wrong. There, I said it. Anyway, it made my day/week to not have to pay for an apartment that I'm not living in. Of course, now I'm technically homeless.

We've had training the last few days. CPR, procedures, working with the equipment, and so forth. We successfully stretched two days worth of activities into three days, which was totally fratty. Tomorrow, we load up the vans and head west. We're taking five days with one night in Vegas. Should be a good experience. We meet the riders in San Francisco on June 11.

This is gonna be an amazing summer. Thanks for reading!