Long time, no post

Holay!!! I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted something here and shared the goings-on of my life. There's no good reason to have been away for so long. I've been lazy, plain and simple. I've not been lazy in the sense of not doing anything at all in life; I simply haven't spent much time writing lately.

As one could imagine there's been a lot of activity that's taken place over the past month or so. I haven't spent much time on the road since getting back from visiting Dolly the last time. Most of my time has been spent working on the SDSU Festival of Cultures, which draws closer every day. It's still more than three months away, but it will be here before we know it.

Outside of work I've been spending a fair bit of time exercising at the SDSU Wellness Center, working out around the house, and playing drums. With the onset of winter weather I haven't been able to spend much time outdoors, so I've had to entertain myself with indoor activities. There have been a few things I've been able to do in the garage. Otherwise I've had to occupy myself with doing some home remodeling, working on drums and such, and reading in the house.

There are a few things coming upon the horizon as Christmas and New Year's get closer. Over the next few days I'm going to get as much work done so I'll be free to spend the next three weeks or so with Dolly in Wiky, South Dakota, and points beyond. I've also been looking after Dad and have been helping him get ready for his cataract surgery on Thursday. With any luck there will be no complications and Dad will be in and out of surgery within about 20 minutes. I really hope the surgery goes well, and the results will greatly improve Dad's quality of life.

In the meantime, there's little I can do but keep plugging away, do what I can to keep happy, and plan for the best future I can. There are times when I need help with that, especially keeping myself happy, but overall I'd say I'm doing the right things and am on the right path.

Another fine trip to Canada

I'm back in South Dakota now and am back at work on the SDSU Festival of Cultures. It's a funny thing ... I was only away from home for about 12 days, but it feels as though I've been gone longer. It doesn't matter, though. This latest trip to Canada to visit Dolly and to see the Madonna show was awesome, just as all my visits to Canada are.

My original plan had been to leave to see Dolly on Wednesday, October 15 and then arrive at Dolly's place the next day. I was so anxious to see my sweetheart again, though, that I left the evening of Tuesday, October 14 and arrived in Wiky Wednesday night. I would have left earlier in the day on Tuesday if it hadn't been for a homeowner's association meeting at 4. The week before I had called our treasurer in the hopes of rescheduling the meeting, but doing so wasn't possible. Leaving in the afternoon worked out well, though. I felt awake and alert as I headed east into the darkening evening and made it as far as Shawano, Wisconsin. Near the end of my drive that day I considered going as far as Menominee, Michigan, but decided to stop in Shawano.

The following day I was able to get on the road fairly early and reached the U.S. - Canada border in the early afternoon. Thankfully getting through the border was no sweat; the border agent asked to see my identification, asked me a few questions, and sent me on my way. It was early enough in the day were I could get to Dolly's before dark, so I stopped and gambled and ate a bit at the Casino Sault Ste. Marie before continuing. I really didn't stop between the casino and Dolly's place and I arrived about four hours later. It's always wonderful to see Dolly, to see the smile on her face, and the happiness and laughter in her eyes. But seeing Dolly was especially sweet after such a long day of driving. And I was blessed to be able to spend another 12 days or so with her.

On Thursday I gave Dolly a lift to work at the W.H.O. and then returned to her place to catch up on some sleep before meeting her for lunch and hanging out with her at work for the remainder of the workday. I don't know what it is ... it may be the fact that the house didn't crawl with teenagers like it had in the past, but Dolly's house felt so good and so peaceful. The feelings I experienced in Dolly's house this time around, whether I was by myself or sharing time with her, reminded me a lot of those I have here at my house here in Brookings.

Dolly took Friday off, and we spent the day sleeping in, hanging out around the house, and doing some visiting. Dolly and I also took care of some errands and prepared for the trip to Toronto the following day.

Saturday's weather was rather nice and it took Dolly, Sarah, Ashley, and me about six hours to get from Wiky to Toronto. The only real stop we made between Wiky and Toronto was at a Tim Horton's in Nobel near Parry Sound. That place was farther than the halfway point to Toronto, and it was good to be able to get out and have some coffee and refreshments. A few hours later, we left the normal highway traffic of Highway 69, pulled into the high-speed traffic on the 400 and 401 and arrived at our hotel without incident. It always amazes me how well so-called "underpowered" cars like the Mazda5 are able to handle traffic moving at speeds of up to 150 km/h. My 5 had no trouble keeping up with traffic on the expressway, and the car felt good and solid. It performed equally well as we navigated the busy streets of downtown Toronto on the way to our hotel.

Over the following few hours Dolly and I checked into our hotel room. Soon after we were joined by Sarah, Ashley, and our friend Glenna. We hung out in the room for a bit and rested before walking around downtown. We tried in vain for about an hour to find a reasonable place to eat. Ultimately we ended up eating at a Chipotle Mexican Grill on Yonge Street. I was unaware there were any Chipotle restaurants in Canada.

The following morning Dolly and I slept in until close to noon and then set out about downtown again. Meanwhile Glenna had to work and Sarah and Ashley checked out the Royal Museum. In the scope of Toronto as a whole Dolly and I didn't travel that far from the hotel. But we were on foot for a good three hours and probably covered at least five miles on foot. Around 6 that evening we returned to the hotel room to rest for a bit and then get ready to see Madonna.

Our tickets showed the concert was set to begin at 8 p.m. Dolly and I took a taxi cab to the Air Canada Centre and arrived a little before 7 p.m. The gates opened around 7 and throngs of people began filing into the facility. Before looking for our seats, Dolly and I took a few minutes to pick up some Madonna merchandise. Dolly initially bought a t-shirt; after the concert she picked up a hoodie sweatshirt and a couple of posters.

Once we took our seats, we waited about an hour for the show to begin. Our tickets indicated the show would start at 8, but Madonna took the stage a little after 8:30. Neither of us minded waiting, but Dolly and I were curious why the show began a half-hour later than expected.

Both of us were excited for the show to start, but Dolly was definitely the more excited of the two of us. I was happy to be there to share such an experience as seeing Madonna in concert with Dolly. But deep down I was happiest knowing that seeing Madonna was a dream Dolly has had for nearly 25 years, and I helped to make her dream come true. I'm always happy to see Dolly happy, and the show is one I'm sure we'll remember for years to come.

Madonna ended up performing for about two hours, and most of the songs she and her band performed were from her new album, Hard Candy She did perform some older material, too, and it was cool to see how she re-interpreted some of her older music. For example, the song "Like a Prayer" almost had kind of a hard-rock feel and sound to it. I enjoyed hearing all of the songs, but truth be told I paid more attention to Madonna's band and to the immense video displays behind her than I did Madonna herself. The Madonna performance wasn't just a musical concert ... the show put me more in the mind of performance art. And it was an awesome show.

After the concert Dolly and I headed back to the hotel room for a bit, changed into more-comfortable clothes, and then walked to the nearby Fran's diner. Dolly has always talked about eating at Fran's, but our visit that night was my first. Fran's is open 24 hours a day, I guess, and breakfast is available all day. And breakfast is what Dolly and I shared. We finished our meals, went back to the room, and prepared to bed down for a good night's slumber. My ears, particularly my right ear, rang a bit from the loud sounds that made it past my earplugs. But the ringing was gone by the following morning.

Speaking of the following morning, Dolly and I met Sarah, Ashely, and Glenna at Fran's for breakfast. It was good for all of us to be together again for a while, and it was fun to share videos and photos of the concert the night before. We hung out at Fran's for about an hour before we returned to the hotel, collected our luggage, bid Glenna adieu, and headed back to Wiky. It rained all the way between Toronto and Wiky and it was dark when we arrived. After spending a long day on the road, Dolly and I returned to her place, relaxed for the rest of the evening, and then hit the sack.

The following few days were each subtly different but played out essentially the same. I would give Dolly lifts to work in the mornings, and I would then return to her house to hang out, work on projects, sleep, and do things like that. I then would meet Dolly for lunch and then would spend the afternoon with her at the W.H.O. It was fun to be able to hang out with Dolly, Dwayne, and the others in the office, and it was good I was able to get some work done in the meantime. For example, one of the major projects I worked on in the afternoon was to come up with an initial version of a flyer for the Festival of Cultures. I also received an answered some work e-mails, too.

Dolly and I spent some time outside of Wiky this past weekend. On Friday night after work Dolly and I headed to Sudbury and spent the night there. In the meantime, we spent some time with Dolly's daughter Angel, ate plenty of good food, and even enjoyed some fruitful gambling at the Racetrack Slots. My initial luck wasn't as good as Dolly's or Angel's, but I ended up coming out ahead in the end.

Before returning to Wiky on Saturday, Dolly and I got our hair trimmed, did lots of shopping, and checked out the Disney/Pixar movie Wall-E. I knew the movie was going to be good, but I didn't realize how good it was until we saw it together. The visuals are stunning, and the story is fun and heartwarming ... it's a tale of robot love. Dolly and I left the theater in good spirits, and I was happy we were able to share the experience of seeing the movie together. It sounds as though the movie will come out on DVD on November 18, and I definitely plan to pick up a copy.

Monday morning came way too soon, and it was time to head back to South Dakota. It's always wonderful to travel to Wiky and see Dolly and the family there and have many wonderful adventures. But it's also hard to leave her and them each time the time to come home arrives. What sustains me in the meantime, though, is all the awesome, wonderful times and adventures we share. And we both know we'll see each other again before too long. It may be about a month-and-a-half before we'll be able to be in each others' presences again. But in our hearts we know we'll see each other again soon.

2008 Guitar Center Drum-Off

Tonight I participated in the 2008 Sioux Falls Guitar Center Drum-Off. I was one of three contestants in this first round of three preliminary rounds leading up to the store final competition on October 14.

In spite of my best efforts I wasn't among the two drummers who will advance to the finals. I have to admit I'm kind of blown away by that considering the quality of my performance relative to that of at least one of the other drummers. But the important thing is I had fun, gave a good performance, and was a good sport. When I didn't hear my name called among those advancing to the store final, I congratulated the other two drummers on their success and wished them success at the next tier of competition.

I'm sure there will be another drum-off again next year, and I plan to take part once again if I'm able.

Before I forget...I want to thank my buddy Dan Merchant for tagging along with me tonight and shooting the video of my performance.

Lucky to be alive

This past Thursday afternoon on the way home from another trip to Northern Ontario, my vacation took an unexpected turn. That is, my 350Z took an unexpected turn - into a ditch and then into a farmer's field.

I was driving down Chippewa County (Michigan) road H-40 as I have so many times before. Light rain fell from the grey sky as I traveled down the highway, which features lots of long straights and several sharp 30-mph and 45-mph curves.

As I approached one 30-mph corner, I slowed, turned the wheel, and gently applied the throttle after passing the apex of the turn. I must not have applied the throttle gently enough because the car oversteered on the wet road surface and I soon found the car sliding toward the ditch at roughly 50 mph. The car's nose hit the ground and the Z then rolled two or three times before finally coming to a rest on its wheels in some farmer's field. None of the Z's airbags deployed. And while the car's body sustained a lot of damage from the first impact and from rolling, the passenger compartment was pretty much intact. The Z had effectively "given its life" to save mine.

Once the car stopped moving, I checked myself for injuries, unhooked the seat belt, and searched the car for my cell phone. Failing to find the phone, I forced my door open, stepped out into the field, and walked through tall, thick grass toward a nearby farmhouse. No one was home, but a pickup passed by about that time and I was able to flag the driver down. He went to a nearby town to get help as I made my way back to the car so I could recover my luggage and any other valuables from the car.

Police and paramedics arrived within 10 minutes and an ambulance took me to a hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The ER doctor and a team of nurses started an IV, X-rayed my neck, spine, and pelvis, and later did a CAT scan of my lower abdomen to make sure nothing was broken. Fortunately my injuries appeared to be limited to a "rope burn" on the left side of my neck and to some bruising on my lower abdomen. The burn and bruises were caused by contact and impact with the seatbelt when the car hit the ditch and rolled. Apart from those minor injuries and some sore muscles, I'm in good shape and am very lucky to be alive.

The Z now sits in a body shop in Sault Ste. Marie awaiting inspection by my insurance company; I expect it will be totaled. After taking care of business with the insurance company and renting a car yesterday, I am now back at home in Brookings resting from the trip and recovering from my injuries. I'm also reflecting on how lucky I am and how grateful I am that no one was in the car with me and that no other vehicles were involved in the accident.

I hope this story will remind others, as this experience has reminded me, of what can happen on the road when we're not as careful as we should be and of how fragile and precious life is. Please be careful out there.

Resting the days away

After all I've been working at SDSU lately and after the long journey to Wiky, I couldn't be happier to be here. The weather has been warm but not hot, and the nights have been good and cool and have made sleeping present. The weather is supposed to be warmer this weekend, however, which should make for good conditions for a barbecue on Labor Day if there are any to attend.

I've been fairly active over the past few days I've been here, but I've also taken plenty of time to rest, too. Each morning I've awakened and taken Dolly in to work at the W.H.O. and then returned to her house to nap for a few hours. I've done the same this morning but didn't nap quite as long. I've spent the past hour or so surfing the 'Net, checking work e-mail, and taking in the day's financial and market news. After I finish writing this I'll get cleaned up, hang out with Dolly at the office for a bit, and then take her to lunch. I don't know what's happening this afternoon, but I do know Dolly and I will cook spaghetti for a birthday party later this afternoon.

Apart from hanging out at Dolly's place, Dolly and I have been able to taken in a fair bit of what's been happening in the community the past few days. We spent Tuesday night mainly at her house hanging out, eating, and watching TV. On Wednesday we attended some workshops during the day and then watched the movie The Bucket List at Dolly's place. Yesterday we hung out together at the W.H.O. for a good chunk of the day and then checked out the Thunderfest II music festival at the community ballpark. What we do this evening after the birthday party remains to be seen. But I'm thinking we'll probably rent the movie The Pathfinder and watch it at Dolly's place.

Our plans for the weekend aren't set in stone just yet, but we do know we're going to spend tomorrow night in Sudbury. On the agenda thus far are to watch a movie tomorrow afternoon, have a nice dinner somewhere, and then go gambling at the racetrack slots in the evening. We'll probably start heading back to Wiky sometime Sunday morning or early Sunday afternoon. Regardless of what we do, it should be a nice relaxing weekend.

Visiting Wiky is always great, and this time 'round has been no exception. The days behind me have been good and pleasant, and I imagine the days ahead will be the same.

More adventures ahead

As I wind down from all of the day's activities, I can't help but feel excited for the coming day. Tomorrow I will once again travel east, north, and east again to visit Dolly. It feels like it's been longer than three weeks since I last visited her. But no matter ... I'm so happy to get back on the road again, especially to see her.

More adventures lie ahead, but life has been a different kind of adventures since I last posted something here. And I have to apologize to all of you again for being so lax in writing here lately. There actually has been a lot that's happened day-to-day; I've simply been lazy about keeping up with my writing.

For the past few weeks I've been spending a fair bit of time getting the ball rolling on the Festival of Cultures. Next year's festival will be Friday, April 3. Most of what I've done thus far has entailed finishing the first mailing, making some entertainment contacts, and coming up with additional entertainment options. I'm surprised by how many hours I've been putting but can't complain. I'm enjoying my work and I'm happy with how I'm being compensated.

I've raced in Sioux Falls a few different times since I last posted here. Overall my performance has been good, but I must admit I've been disappointed that I haven't taken first until today. Still, I remind myself from time to time that the most important thing is to have fun and to not worry so much about competing with others. Ultimately I should compete with myself. I must admit, though, that it feels good to come in first like I did today.

Ordinarily I'd be up for a while yet on a night like tonight. But I plan to leave around 5:30 tomorrow morning, so I should call it a night. As it was the last time I posted, life is going very well and I expect it will continue that way. It always takes some work to stay on that course, but the result is well worth the effort. And driving great distances can require a great deal of effort. But driving to Wiky is always worth the many hours spent on the road because it means I'll be able to see and spend time with Dolly again.

Back on the job

Things haven't worked out quite as planned, but I've found that things not working out as planned is sometimes a good thing. My job as the coordinator of SDSU's Festival of Cultures is one such an example of such a phenomenom.

Months ago, I had visited with my boss about the possibility of my work on the Festival of Cultures being incorporate into a half-time of three-quarter-time position with benefits. And during the same discussion I requested that the position being a nine-month one in which I would have summers off. A few months came and went until I received an answer to my query.

The long and short of what's happened is the position didn't quite pan out as I had originally requested. But I'm back working in the same position but am making more money. I'm not receiving benefits like health insurance and paid holidays as I'd hoped, but I am enjoying the same freedom I had in this same position last year. So it looks as though everything is going to work out fine. It will be good to make some additional money in this position but still have time to travel, especially to visit Dolly and the rest of the family at Wikwemikong.

This past week has been my first official one in this revamped position. It's been a fairly busy week even though it's still pretty early in the game. I've been able to get my workstations more-or-less set up and I've gotten my files and thoughts organized. There really isn't that much, apart from a first mailing, that will need to be done this month. But all of this preparation will allow me to really hit the ground running when I return from a two-week vacation at the end of this month and the first part of September.

Other than working on the Festival of Cultures, I've been spending a lot of free time playing drums in my house and working on increasing my physical fitness level. It's fun to play drums, and I've been also working on getting my chops back into shape for working on music with my buddy Dan. I'm also working on composing a solo to play during the Guitar Center Drum-Off coming up in late September. I'd like to try to make it beyond the preliminaries this year. If I don't, though, I'll know in my heart that I gave it my best shot. And I'm hoping someone can videotape my performance during the competition so I can post the video to this blog and to my Facebook page.

Last weekend was the annual Sports Car Club of Siouxland two-day event. We didn't attract quite as big a crowd as we have in the past, but our numbers are still respectable. The club drew 40 drivers, some from Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska, on Saturday and 47 on Sunday. I'm pleased with performance this past weekend, but would liked to have come in first in my class both days. I ended up taking third in my class on Saturday and second on Sunday. Both days I was within one second of the class leader, who is now in first place overall. I'm in second place overall in my class now. There's a chance I may be able to reclaim first in the four events that will follow in the next couple of months. But I need to remember the most important thing is to go out and have fun and give my best each time.

In the meantime, amidst all the busyness and work, I've been taking time to get plenty of rest and just take things easy. And I'm pleased to say I'm feeling happy in my work and am looking forward to the challenges ahead. As I've said before, life is good, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure it stays that way.

Another week in Wiky

It's Sunday now, and it's hard to believe I've already been in Wiky a week. And today is my last full day in Wiky for a while until I don't know when. But the past week in Wiky has been a good one, as always. And I'm already working on figuring out when I'll be able to return.

I've spent most of my time this past week in Wiky; there were actually a couple of the days when I went to Sudbury. But apart from those days I've been in Wiky the whole time. The days in Wiky have been relaxing. I've had plenty of chances to catch up on my rest, but I've also been fortunate to be able to get back into my exercise routine as well.

Dolly went back to work this past Monday after being off for about three weeks. I'm sure it was difficult in many respects for Dolly to go back to work. But she seems to be doing fine and is back in the swing of things. In spite of her having to work so much this week, we've still been able to spend plenty of time together. I've spent a fair bit of time with her at the office, and of course we've spent the mornings before work and the afternoons and evenings after work together. The time together has really been sweet. I've also been able to help out with chores around the house while Dolly has worked.

When Dolly hasn't been working, we've spent some time with the family at the cabin and at Rabbit Island. As always the time with all of us together has been great. We've also eaten plenty of delicious ice cream, checked out a dress rehearsal of the latest Debaj play and have gone to Sudbury. The most important thing, however, is that we've had plenty of good times together this time around. And I'm sure our future adventures will entail the same.

Apart from do lots of walking and running and doing chores, the main thing I did during my solo time this week was head to Sudbury to pick up Dolly's home theater system. We took her dead home theater system to Sudbury a few weeks ago for warranty repair. When I brought the home theater system back to Dolly's, however, we discovered it still didn't work. Frustrated with the performance and attitude of the repair shop in Sudbury, I contacted JVC Canada directly. We sent the unit to JVC a couple of days ago and Dolly should get a repaired or replaced unit in about three weeks' time.

We went to Sudbury again yesterday with Alec and Mary Ag in tow. We didn't really have a specific agenda for the trip apart from leaving Mary Ag and Alec at Allison's house. But we ended up doing far more than that. After dropping off Alec and Mary Ag, Dolly and I ate at what proved to be a mediocre Italian restaurant, did some shopping, and then headed to Whitefish River to spend a short time at the powwow. We ended our day in Sudbury by checking out the Mike Myers movie The Love Guru at the Rainbow Centre. We had hoped to do some gambling at the Racetrack Slots before we left town, but the facility was closed. Dolly and I returned to Wiky about 12:30 this morning. Now Dolly and I are hanging out at her house and are getting ready to attended a feast in Sheguiandah this afternoon. After that we'll probably spend the afternoon at Dolly's house and then at Rabbit Island. I'm heading back to South Dakota tomorrow and plan to make it was far as the Twin Cities tomorrow.

All told, Dolly and I have spent nearly a month together this time around. We've divided our time between South Dakota and Wiky and have spent roughly equal periods of time in both locations and have done much. It will be hard to part again tomorrow, but we both know we'll see each other again. When is up in the air right now, but I'm hoping to make it back to Wiky again sometime in late August. In the meantime I'm going to suck the marrow from my remaining hours here and carry the memories I've made this time around in my heart. And in my heart I know I'll return soon.

The train keeps rolling

It's been a few weeks now since I've last written, and I apologize to my readers about my absence. There's been so much happening in life over the past few weeks that it's been difficult to keep this blog updated with new text and more pictures. I'm going to try hard over the coming weeks to be more diligent about keeping this site updated.

The past few weeks have been filled with tons of activity, and it looks like the remainder of the summer will be busy as well. Each day has seemed long and full, but the summer as a whole seems to be passing rather quickly. Where does the time go? I guess the old saying about time flying when you're having fun is true.

There's so much that's happened that it would take several blog entries to cover everything. I don't have time for several entries right now, however, so I'll summarize what I can in a few paragraphs.

For the past several weeks, I've been spending time with Dolly and her family in Wiky. I arrived in Wiky not long before Dolly's birthday on June 30 and remainder there for about a week. During that time we played lots of Pokeno, attended the Wiky rodeo and the Sheguiandah powwow, and went to Sudbury twice. Dolly and I headed back to South Dakota about a week ago.

After arriving in South Dakota we picked up a new vehicle for me (a 2008 Mazda5), attended the Brookings Summer Arts Festival, and participated in our latest Sports Car Club of Siouxland event. In that event I squeaked out a first-place win in the NXE class by less than 2/10 of a second and ended up posting the 10th-fastest time of 44 drivers.

Dolly and I have been in Rapid City for the past three days, and we've certainly seen a lot of the Hills. We have actually stayed in a hotel in Black Hawk, but we've not spent much time here; we've been out on the town and on the road most of the time. A few days ago we checked out Prairie Edge and a few other places in Rapid City and have spent some time at Bear Butte and Devils Tower. Today was our fullest day, however. After having breakfast at a Hardee's in Rapid City, we visited Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Wind Cave National Park, the mammoth site at Hot Springs, and the Badlands on Pine Ridge. Now that the day is at an end, Dolly and I are exhausted but filled with good feelings.

Tomorrow will be another full day, considering we have to drive back to Brookings and then get ready to head back to Wiky the following day. We'll pick more sage along the way. It will be a busy day, but I'm sure it will be another good day. It would be nice if we could spend more time in the Black Hills, but we're both sure we'll return again someday. In the meantime, we'll carry the good memories with us.

A few full days

It's Saturday morning now and I'm sitting on Dolly's couch and getting ready for breakfast to be served. As I'm waiting, I find myself reflecting on the events of the past few days.

A lot has happened in the past few days to be sure. Yesterday, for instance, Dolly and I made another run to Sudbury. Our primary goal was to take her home theater system to Stringer's Electronics so it can be serviced. We did that, but we also shopped in Wal-Mart and in a few other stores, had lunch at the food court, and spent some time with Shar. We left Wiky about 10 in the morning and returned around 6. It was a good trip to Sudbury, and I didn't feel quite as tired at the end of the day as when we went to Sudbury on Wednesday.

Thursday was a fairly quiet day mostly spent at home and with Dolly's family in Rabbit Island. And like Thursday, it looks like today and tomorrow will be fairly quiet days. But both days will be filled with activity at the same time.

This afternoon Dolly and I plan to attend the Wiky Rodeo for a few hours. The rodeo is one of the biggest annual events here in the community, and it'll be interesting to see how it pans out. In spite of growing up in the West, this will be my first rodeo. Once the rodeo is finished, I imagine we'll head over to Sheguiandah for the traditional powwow going on this weekend. Tomorrow will probably be a repeat of today, and I'm hoping some time at the cabin will be thrown into the mix.

I'm still blown away that I've already been in Canada again for a week. The time has passed so quickly, but each day has seemed good and long. Dolly and I are heading to South Dakota on Monday. We'll spend nearly two weeks in South Dakota before heading back to Wiky for a few days. In the meantime I want to enjoy the time with Dolly as much as I can. I'm sure I will.

Canada Day 2008

Happy birthday Dolly

Island life

After spending a couple nights in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Dolly and I returned to Wiky this afternoon. We left the Soo around noon and arrived in Wiky around 5. The drive normally takes about four hours, but our travels were extended by stops in Blind River and Espanola.

The drive between the Soo and Wiky seemed to take far less time than I remember. I think a lot of that perception has to do with Dolly and me being together in the car and being able to visit and pass the time that way. Plus we both felt pretty good, had gotten plenty of rest last night, and were feeling pretty energetic.

Dolly found she wasn't able to get into her house right away, so we met up with a lot of the other Assinewes at the family cabin first. We spend a couple of hours there visiting before heading back down the hill. We were able to get into Dolly's place the time we returned. Our first order of business then was to unload our luggage and groceries from the car and then rest up in the house a bit. After that we stopped and Jason's and Bruce's place for a few minutes and then hung out at Gail's place for about a half hour. Now we're back at Dolly's place and resting for the evening.

It's a good feeling to be in Wiky again. And like I've said many times before, it almost feels as though I never left. I'm happy to be hear again, and I plan to make the most and best use of my time here and with Dolly.

In the Soo yet again

Today was the longest day of driving I've had in quite some time. All told I drove close to 600 miles and was in the car for about nine hours today. It ended up being a good drive, though, and was without incident for the most part. The icing on the cake was I had no trouble crossing the border at Sault Ste. Marie.

My original plan was to leave Uncle Gene's place this morning by 9 and then arrive in the Soo in the evening. I learned last night, though, that Dolly planned to meet me in the Soo tonight rather than tomorrow at noon. So I decided to get up at 5:30 and was on the road by about 6:30. Gene and I had a quick bite to eat at McDonald's and I was on my way.

The roads I traveled today were the same as I've traveled so many times before. After leaving Gene's I took I-494 to I-94 and then rode that most of the way to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. From there I took WI-29 to Shawano and took some back highways until reaching Highway 41, which took me all the way through Escanaba. I stopped for a mid-afternoon lunch at Escanaba and then continued on Highway 2 until reaching M-117, which later connected with M-28. That road took me to I-75, which in turn took me all the way to the U.S./Canadian border.

In spite of the fact I didn't sleep much last night, the drive wasn't all that hard today. I think it helped that I had plenty of music with me and there were lots of interesting topics, mostly centering on politics, on talk radio. Though I felt pretty good when I left the border agents and headed down Highway 17 to find a hotel, I was plenty tired and still am. I have plenty of energy, though, to pick up Dolly at the bus station in about an hour. It will be so great when she arrives.

After checking into the Travelodge (where I was able to get a hot tub room for the same price as a regular room), I walked up the road back toward the International Bridge and enjoyed a hearty Canadian Breakfast at the casino. While there I also played about $40 in various machines. I didn't win anything but was able to make the money last.

Once I finished at the casino, I rested at the hotel some more and then took a walk up and down the street in front of the hotel. The hotel is located roughly halfway between the casino and the bus station. I walked to the bus station and then back to the hotel. I've remained in the hotel, watched TV, and checked out things on the Internet ever since.

I'm not all the way to Wiky yet, and won't be until Sunday. In the meantime, though, I'm thrilled that I'll have an extra part of a day to spend with Dolly, and I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun in the Soo tomorrow and tomorrow night. This is the start of what I'm sure will be another great vacation, and I'm looking forward to the days ahead.

Wing thing

I picked up a Nismo-style rear wing for the 350Z late last week and finally had it put on today. It's good the work was finished today so I'll have a chance to check it out during the trip to Wiky starting tomorrow. I'll go as far as Cottage Grove, Minnesota tomorrow and will proceed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on Friday. The plan is to meet Dolly in the Soo on Saturday at noon and then head the rest of the way to Wiky on Sunday.

Supposedly there are performance benefits to having the Nismo wing on my car. It will increase drag somewhat but is supposed to increase rear downforce. I doubt I'll notice such a difference in regular driving or even on the autocross course. But the wing may be beneficial if I start doing any club racing. I bought the wing primarily for looks; I think it adds to the aesthetic appeal of the car.

The price I was able to pay for the wing from Billion Nissan was pretty good. The cost of painting and installation at Mr. V's Body Shop in Brookings was a little higher than I expected, but the shop did a great job as always. My thanks to Billion and to Chad and the rest of the crew at Mr. V's.

First trip of the summer - Rapid City

The past three days in the Black Hills have really rung in the 2008 summer season with a bang. It's not actually summer yet; the solstice isn't until sometime this week. But it's close enough to summer as far as I'm concerned.

I arrived in Rapid on Friday afternoon; the trip required about six hours including stops at Pierre for lunch and checking e-mail and at Wall Drug to pick up a donut and do some looking around. The trip took about as much time as I expected, and the 350Z was a comfortable steed upon which to make such a journey. I ended up bucking the wind pretty much the whole trip, but I still managed to achieve about 25 miles per gallon.

The first thing I did upon arriving in Rapid City was check in to my hotel, the America's Best Value Inn. This place is highly recommended by TripAdvisor and was among the least expensive hotels I could find. It's turned out to be a pleasant place, but it's certainly not the nicest I've stayed in before. Still, for $55 per night while most other hotels are $80+ per night, I can't complain.

I took some time to relax and rest my eyes in the room for a bit before I headed out for the night. There wasn't much I had on my agenda apart from visiting Bear Butte and trying my luck in Deadwood. While most of the day had been windy, the atmosphere was peaceful up on the mountain. I didn't walk the trail at all but did stop by one area I frequently visit. There I took a few minutes to pray and meditate and reflect upon many aspects of life. It was good to feel peaceful, if only for a moment, before continuing on with my day.

As for Deadwood, I didn't spend much time there and my luck ran out rather quickly. Fortunately, I spent about as much money as I had planned to spend. And I enjoyed the time I spent there even though I didn't win.

Not much happened on Saturday apart from the night autocross. But there was one other notable event during my waking hours. When I walked around downtown Rapid City, I happened upon the Alex Johnson Mercantile, which is connected to the Alex Johnson hotel. I learned that Del Iron Cloud, one of my favorite Native artists from this area, is an artist-in-residence there. It was fun to be able to visit with him about his work, and I'm hoping to catch up with him again before I leave town on Monday.

Setup for the night autocross began around 4 and we started timed runs around 7 p.m. I was really surprised to see that we had more than 40 drivers at the event; Rapid City autocrosses usually don't have as many entrants. It didn't really start to get dark until after 9 that evening, so the Central High School parking lot lights weren't really necessary until then. I'd never driving in a night autocross event before, and it was kind of cool. I'll get to have a similar experience in August when the Sports Car Club of Siouxland hosts its own night autocross.

I really should have given myself more slack for not performing better on Saturday night than I did. My time, 49.8 seconds, was respectable enough. But I felt given my experience that I should have done better. Still, I needed (and still need) to remember that I was running a car I had never run before and I was running on street tires. I couldn't expect my 350Z to drive and respond like my Miata.

Today's autocross was a different story, however. The field of drivers was roughly half of what it was on Saturday and we ran two laps on the course today rather than one. We also ran the course in the opposite direction we did yesterday. Another difference between yesterday's and today's autocrosses were that I emerged the victor in my class (B Stock) today rather than fourth yesterday. The first two of my timed runs today were pretty rough; there were a few problem areas that cropped up, and I didn't feel like I had good control over the car. As the day warmed up, however, and as my tires heated up accordingly, I grew more confident with each successive run and achieved my best time, 1:28.6, during my last run. And that last run felt the best of all the runs I've made this weekend. My victory was especially sweet because I feel as though i've gained greater mastery over my car, and I feel vindicated and more confident in my becoming a better driver.

After the autocross, the rest of the East River crew headed back to Sioux Falls. I, however, stayed behind to help tear down the course and then grabbed a burger, fries, and drink at Fuddrucker's before retiring to the hotel for a dip in the pool. The pool water felt good against my red, sunburned skin. But ultimately relief didn't come until I picked up some aloe lotion at a Walgreens on LaCrosse street and applied it to my skin.

I'm now resting back at the hotel and am reflecting upon and enjoying the events of the past few days. I've certainly experienced a wide range of emotions this weekend, some good and some bad. But I'm content to near the end of this trip on a high note, and I look forward to the trip home tomorrow. I'll miss Rapid City and the Black Hills, of course, but I'm sure I'll return before too long. In the meantime, I can always look back upon the friendships I've forged and made stronger and then fun times I've had this weekend. And I can look ahead to see that more good times are on their way. Let the summer fun begin.

A fine summer thus far

Wow; I can't believe it's been so long since I've written in my blog. At the same time, it doesn't seem so unusual because not all that much has been going on. Actually a lot has been going on day-to-day but I've just been lazy about writing everything down and sharing it with everyone. Sorry about that.

It's a warm, sunny, not-so-windy day in Brookings for once. And since it's such a day I'm going to take advantage of it and head to the beach at Oakwood Lakes here after having lunch with Dad. I've also already been out in the sun some; I gave my '93 Nissan NX2000, which I will have had for 15 years as of Sunday, a quick bath.

Speaking of the NX2000, there's been quite a bit happening with that car lately. On Saturday I took the car out of storage, where it had been sitting for about a month. I started up the car and let it run for a bit and seemed to run fine until it reached normal operating temperature. Once the engine slowed down from its fast idle, it began to run roughly. When I drove the car throughout the day I was able to cruise at speed but the car seemed to be really down on power. I opened the hood when I brought the car back to my garage near the end of the day and found the engine was smoking some. At that point I feared the worst; I thought I had blown a head gasket. I decided to not drive the car any more until Monday when I could hopefully get the car into the shop and have it checked out.

I experience a great feeling of relief when I learned Monday afternoon that NX's only problem was a bad spark plug wire. The bad plug wire was causing the car to run on three cylinders. The car runs better than it has in a long time now that it has new plug wires. And there appears to have been no engine damage from running on three cylinders for most of Saturday.

The only other news on the car front is the Sports Car Club of Siouxland's autocross season has officially begun. We had a test-and-tune event almost a month ago and had our first points event on Saturday, June 1. And our next event is next weekend. My Miata really drives and feels like a go-kart on the course with the suspension changes I've made and the use of the R-compound tires. I'm really happy with how the car is performing, and it's fun to have a greater field of vehicles with which to compete. I'm gunning for first place in NXE this year, but it's going to be tough with so many talented drivers against which I'll be driving. At the same time, though, the competition is friendly, and we all learn from each other. As the saying goes, "competition improves the breed."

Other than that, I've just been taking care of myself physically, have been trying to do as much reading and relaxing as I can, and have been readying myself for my summer travel season to begin. I'm heading out to Rapid City tomorrow for autocrosses there on Saturday and Sunday. And then during the last week of June I'll make my way to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where I'll meet Dolly and then head back to Wiky to spend about a week-and-a-half there. Dolly and I will return to South Dakota after that for an autocross and to gather sage and do other things out in the Black Hills. We might go to Ohio for a few days to spend some time with my family there before I return Dolly to Wiky. I'll probably hang out in Wiky for at least a few days before returning to South Dakota.

I don't know that there will be many opportunities to travel very far in August, but I am hoping to make it back to Wiky during that time. Otherwise I'll head back to Wiky again in September, depending upon what my job situation is at that time.

Yes, summer is in full swing, and it's hard to believe the days are passing so quickly. The days have been filled with fun, friends, and good times, and I hope it doesn't go too fast. At the same time I'm comforted by the fact that the lion's share of summer still remains. I'm going to enjoy it to the fullest and take every advantage I can.

A Whitehead family reunion

It's unfortunate that all the members of our family couldn't be present, but Dad and I hosted a Whitehead family reunion of sorts this weekend. Actually, I don't know that we can really say that Dad and I were hosts; the get-together was in the community room of Dad's condo, but we did little more than that. Our cousins took care of everything else. That's all semantics, of course, and semantics don't matter. What matters is that we were all together for a day and we had a great time.

As I understand, the main reason for the reunion was to celebrate the birthdays of three people: my Uncle Frank and my cousins Ryan and Megan. Uncle Frank turned 82 last week, and both Ryan and Megan are still under 10. We saved the birthday cake for toward the end of the party, and each of the 30-or-so of us enjoyed a piece. The cake was a combination of chocolate and vanilla with white frosting and sure was good. The other food we had, consisting of lunch meat, cheese, fruits, vegetables, and chips, was also good.

It's too bad that most people were only able to spend a day or so with us here in Brookings. But we savored the time we had together and I hope we'll be able to have a similar gathering in the near future.

A new racing season begins

Another season of Sports Car Club of Siouxland is now officially underway. And it feels really, really good to be able to get out and really drive again.

The first event of the season was the test-and-tune autocross yesterday. But I guess one could say the driving school on Saturday really inaugurated the season. There were 30 of us who took part in the school, and others in the SCCS helped out as instructors and course workers during the driving portion of the school. The classroom instruction was good, but being able to apply what we talked about in the classroom was my favorite part. I really feel as though I learned a lot from the school, and running in yesterday's autocross gave me the chance to apply what I've learned.

Yesterday's autocross was a lot of fun; we didn't have as big a turnout as we had for events last year, but I think we still broke even. In the past we've seen more than 50 drivers enter and compete, but we only had 30-something yesterday. That's not bad, of course, but we're hoping attendance will be better at the next event on June 1.

Overall I'm pleased with how I drove today. I'm finally getting used to driving on R-compound tires and to the suspension changes I've made to my car. It's not that the Miata ever handled poorly; it's just that now the Miata drives like a go-kart on the track and feels really, really good. I'm happy I was able to run as good of times as I was able to (72.5 seconds was my best time), and being able to run such times is a real-confidence booster. I now know that I can drive and compete in the pack of other drivers, including those in my class. It's all about having fun, of course - but I want to be competitive, too, especially with others in my class.

Not a whole lot has happened today. I woke up around 8:30 and then had breakfast with Dad at Cook's. I hung out at home for a while and gave the Miata a quick wash in the late morning and early afternoon. And I washed the Miata just in time; a downpour soon followed the conclusion of my car wash. Today's forecast called for showers, but I had no idea it would rain so hard. The rain didn't last long, however, and I spent some time over at Dad's place before heading to see Speed Racer at the theater. The movie was sort of good but ended up not being that involving. It doesn't fall into the category of being a waste of money, but it's not really one of the better movies I've seen of late.

I haven't rested as much today as I should have, especially since it feels like I picked up a cold somewhere along the way. I took some Buckley's a few minutes ago, and I'm hoping it helps with my sore throat and cough. In the meantime, I'm going to work on focusing on taking care of myself and getting back to good health.