What would you do?

This past Friday, I was fortunate to meet two incredible people who were staying with some friends in town.  Adam and Christy Coppola are spending a calendar year traveling across all 50 states via bicycle.  Having embarked in January, Montana was their 41st state.  They entered Wyoming today, their 43rd state, after Idaho.  Obviously familiar with the idea of adventure to have cooked up such a scheme, they are also doing it for charity, inspired by their brothers- the Peace Corps volunteer inspired connection to World Bicycle Relief and the other inspired a connection to Achilles International's Freedom Team for Wounded Vets.  Christy writes the blog, while Adam takes stunning photographs- I'm really hoping they turn this into a book, they've gotten an incredibly close experience with people from all walks of life and the photos to match.

After watching Harry Potter 7.2, a gaggle of us headed to a local pub where I finally tried their famous Moscow Mule (potentially very dangerous).  I can't remember if it was there or waiting for the movie at the theater when, in the course of the conversation, I told Adam about last fall when I went from ~71 deg N to ~77 deg S in the course of five days or so.  His response was a smiling and incredulous, "Who does that?".  Coming from a guy more than halfway through a bike tour of all 50 states, I'll take it as a complement!  But it definitely reminded me of why I do what I do.  

Meeting them in someways feels like a bit of fate poking me in the rear.  With my current job ending in December (unless that fellowship comes through, fingers crossed!) I've been facing the possibility of being unemployed in January.  While I've been quite excited about a few job openings and applying for every job that I'm remotely qualified for, anyone who's looking right now can tell you that prospects are thin.  Terrifying in some ways, exciting in others.  Moving back home is certainly not an option, so I've been thinking of what other folks have done.  Like the friend who quit his job, traveled the world, and then lived out of a van when he went back to grad school to pay off his credit cards.  So, I started to thinking about what I would do if I couldn't do what I do now.  Of course, the fantasy of doing what you love doesn't always meet the reality of the grocery bill, but I'm a little less scared of that unknown now than I was just a little while ago.  Not that I'll hop on a bike and tour the 50 states, but maybe something equally awesome in its own little way.  I still have 7 states and 1 continent on the list.  And a dog who has decided she really, really, likes day long hikes.  Heck, I turned working for a rental car company after undergrad into a month long backpacking trip in Europe.

Cologne (I think), Germany, 2001

If you had the opportunity to take a year out of your life or to start over, what would you do?

R.I.P. Lucky

One week ago today, Lucky passed away in his sleep after entering a hibernation state from which we were unable to rouse him. My mother was delayed coming in to town and so never got to share a room with the little bugger. He is now buried beneath our potato pot in the garden. He lasted a record breaking three months. My office is much quieter now, albeit less smelly.

We'll miss you, Lucky.

Still Lucky

Sassy is still very much interested in the hamster. Here's a close-up of Lucky:
I think he's a Dwarf Campbell's Russian Hamster. Definitely a Russian Dwarf, and definitely male.

It's still very hot and humid here- it's makes getting work done very difficult.

Lucky

Jen and I went to a friend's wedding last Saturday.

Yesterday, we "saved" a hamster.

Apparently, the best man gave the couple a hamster (and a popcorn maker) as a wedding present. They don't want a hamster and left for their honeymoon yesterday. The matron of honor (who lives in Pittsburgh) was saddled with dealing with the situation so Jen (her best friend) was called. We now have a dwarf hamster. We named it Lucky, because if we didn't take it it would have either been released into the woods or dropped outside of the Humane Society on a Sunday evening.

Sassy really likes the hamster. Obsessed, one might say.

When I was taking a shower this morning, I heard a loud crash. I thought it was my new roommate, Mark, moving stuff. When I got out of the bathroom, I discovered the door to my bedroom open, the hamster cage shattered on the floor, and Sassy laying on Jen's bed. Next to Sassy was a very soaking wet hamster with curled legs and closed eyes.

Not so lucky.

But wait! Jen detected a heartbeat, then we saw it breathing. Lucky is still alive. He regained consciousness and is starting to move around in a slightly more coordinated manor.

So, here's the question:

Did Sassy
a) swallow the hamster and regurgitate it on Jen's bed?
b) found the unconscious hamster after she knocked the cage off my dresser and gingerly carried it back to Jen's bed and proceeded to lick it back to life?
or c) dunk the hamster in her water bowl and sing it to sleep?

It's official!

Sassafras passed her Canine Good Citizen test today! As a reward, she gets a whole month off of classes!

Camping trip

This past weekend, Jen, Sassy, and I went to camping in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Sassy was not amused by the large racoon that tried to eat her food at the campground the first night. She took the first chance she had to tell us how she felt.
Friday was gorgeous- we went to the Munising side of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We were fairly limited in where we could take the dog, but we still had some spectacular views.

We stopped at Sand Point along the way and discovered Sassy's dislike for the water. We kind of got her to swim in knee-deep water, but it was more like a hop from one leg to the other.

On Saturday, we stuck around Taquamenon Falls where we camped because it was raining buckets in the morning. In early afternoon, we went on a couple short hikes to see the falls. Sassy was quite worried we were going to make her go in that water as well. She was actually more interested in all the people and made friends with a little boy who was glad "she's not one of those biting dogs".

After the Lower Falls, we took a break and went to the Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Shipwreck Museum. Michiganders are big on their shipwrecks. Funny thing, when you try to have a ton of commercial shipping boats go through a narrow channel east of Lake Superior, sometimes they run right into each other.

We went the Upper Falls on our way back from buying more firewood. On our walk back to the parking lot, we decided to take the "nature walk", i.e., the unpaved trail. When we were almost back, we heard two distinct woofs. Couldn't see it and Sassy was oblivious, but it was likely a black bear.

That night, it was hard to start a fire (damp newspaper and damp wood), so I had to take a picture of our hard-won log cabin fire.

We made one last stop in Mackinaw City.

Before.
and After.

The day before I left for Toolik, my pup, Sassy got her summer haircut. I swear she's half the size she used to be.