The Race

I have been a mountain biker for years. I am also a very competitive person. As a result of the afforementioned facts, I tried my hand at racing mountain bikes over the years. I've never been anything more than a midpack finisher, but I've always enjoyed myself. Last Saturday, I decided to give racing on my road bike a try. It turned out that I had a lot of fun. I was once again a midpack finisher (as is clearly my lot in life), but I won't bore you with the details of my mediocre race efforts. What I will bore you with is something that occurred to me while cranking my pedals and drafting behind another rider at 26mph. The thought was "I need to speed up." I'm aware this isn't terribly groundbreaking, as every racer in history has had this thought for at least a moment. I would submit that my thought process was different than every other race in history. As I told myself to speed up, I was not looking longingly at the front of the pack, I was looking at my watch considering all of the things left on my "to do" list for the day. Right now, I am a busy, busy person. Whether I am on a bike or not, I am constantly in a race. Previously, I gave a nod toward the fact that I have something exciting on the horizon. If you're reading this blog, there is a good change that you already know what it is. If you don't, you're about to find out.

I Am An Accountant

Being an accountant at this time of year can be described in one word: Busy. If I'm awake, I should be at work. There have even been a few times when I was asleep and I should have been at work. In short, I really don't have time for anything but work. The problem is that I do need to find time for other things. Because . . .

I Am Moving. Across the Country. Next Month. To Work For a Missions Organization. And I Have to Raise My Salary.

This is where things get really tricky. I have more tasks in the air than I can juggle. At this very moment, I am thinking of all the things I should be doing rather than typing this post. Fortunately, I had a massive victory last week as I sent out the bulk of my support letters, but there is still so much to do. I still have more letters to send and people to contact. I have to sort through all of my belongings to decide what to keep, sell and give away. I need to find a place to live in California. I need to try to stay physically active so that I don't get tired and discouraged being sedentary. Finally, I need to squeeze all these tasks in the middle of spending as much time as I can with the people I have to leave. As I said before, I am in a constant race to accomplish everything on my "to do" list.

How Am I Going To Get All of This Done And Keep My Sanity?

For starters, by ending this post, right now. I've got stuff to do. I'll let you know how I get it done as I figure it out.

Here's hoping you and I both find some time to relax.

-Clint

March Madness

This post will have absolutely nothing to do with college basketball. This is partially because my Hokies failed to make the big dance, but mostly because this post is meant to serve as an opportunity for me to get warmed up and for anyone reading to get caught up on what work I happen to be doin'.

My temptation has been to go ahead and establish what I will be communicating and how I will be relating it in this first post. I've come to realize this will not work because the truth is I have no idea how to write a blog or communicate with an audience on a regular basis (Not that I'm assuming I already have an audience). So rather than set expectations as to how humorous or entertaining this blog will be, I will reconcile myself with that fact that I am neither as funny or as interesting as I would like to think I am. My hope is that as time goes on, I will improve as an author and this bit of writing will establish its own tone that you will find entertaining and, at times, thought provoking. With that long-winded introduction, I'll go ahead and get started with the parts of my story that are pertinent now.

Sunday, February 28 should have been awesome, and it was for a bit. I got to attend NAHBS with my brother and girlfriend. For a bike dork like me, it was awesome. Check out that link if you want to see some cool bike stuff, I'll spare you from having to read about it. Right after the show, a cold I had been battling got real nasty, like gremlins nasty. Before I knew it, I had a 101 degree temperature and had to bail on an evening I had been looking forward to with my brother.

Monday found me home sick from work which was a huge bummer. You're probably wondering what's so bad about that. After all, it worked out for Cameron. Well, I was in no condition to go to a parade and perform and, more importantly, I happen to be an accountant. If you've noticed all those H and R Block commercials, you know this is a very busy time for accountants (By the way, if you need tax help, don't go to H and R Block, go here). I spent both Monday and Tuesday on the couch watching Bad movies and wishing my skull wasn't stuck inside a vice. You see, I had to get better, because not only did I need to get back to work as my inbox was getting stuffed, but I had moves to make.

What kind of moves?

Well that's kind of what starting this whole thing is all about, but it's getting late, I'm tired from this first effort, and I think I have overused the whole hyperlink effect. Also, if your attention span is anwhere near as short as mine, I've already lost you. If you've had fun getting started with me, come on back. If you didn't, come on back anyway, please, I'm begging you.

I'll be back soon with a little more to share. I'm quite excited about it, actually. Hopefully, I'll come up with some clever sign off in the not to distant future. For now, I'd just encourage you to relax. We're all doin' enough work.

-Clint