Last Days in Starkville, Fun in Kentucky, and a Loooooong Drive...

Warning: Contains some wimpy sentimental stuff at the end.
By now, you've probably gotten the email I sent out... But here's a summary. Drove up to Kentucky (9 hours) on Friday. Got up there pretty late. That driving wasn't too exciting. Probably the most scenic part (Kentucky) was done in the dark. Oh well. The next day, we (Ford, Amanda, Zephyr and I) went down to London to do some work on their land. Ford has a friend at a horse farm that had some left over fencing supplies like gates, posts, boards, etc. So we picked up some of that. To make a long story short, dug a bunch of holes, put up some posts, tried to put up some boards, but had a problem. The board we'd used to figure the spacing was the longest one in the pile by about a foot! So instead of each board spanning three posts, they'll have to cut them down to go post to post. Oh well... Got two gates put up as well. Amanda painted them with this black creosote stuff which looks awesome, but sure was messy. Lots of good teamwork.
The next day, I'd planned on driving all the way to Massachusetts and staying with Kristen. Well, her plans changed a bit, and she was having an appointment at BIW (Bath Iron Works in Maine) so she wouldn't be there. So, I was going to take it easy and drive halfway to Maine or something. Don't know what happened, but I got motivated and drove the whole way. 19 hours straight. It would have been a bit shorter, but I got stuck in Pennsylvania covering 6 miles in an hour and a half. Anywho, I had enough No-Doze and Redbull (yuck) that I was still shaking the next day. Rolled in to Oakland, where Kristen's mom's house is, at 3:30 am.
Yesterday, after about 2 hours of sleep, I got up, went down to Belgrade to Kristen's dad's house, and did some work on her bike. She wanted to put drop bars on her hybrid, so I set up the shifters and wrapped the bars and all that. Seems like it'll be a bit stretched out, but we'll see how she likes it. I still owe her a real road bike. After that, got to see her briefly in Brunswick before she headed back to Worcester to talk to her advisor about the new plan. She's looking and doing great. It was extremely nice to see her after her rather abrupt departure last December. Her and Zephyr got reacquainted as well. Good times.
Then, drove on down to Boothbay to check things out. Turns out, and I should have known, that Travis (my boss) doesn't really have a place for me to live. So I've got to figure something out for that. Argh. So that's a bit frustrating. Fortunately, Kristen's mom is letting me stay here for a bit until I figure something out. I have to get the car worked on too, so I'm kind of stuck here for a bit, though I'm supposed to work this weekend. It'll get sorted out I guess.
In any case, it's sure nice to be in Maine. I do miss Mississippi, but oddly feel a bit more at home here. I guess it's partly the memories of everything that's happened. I've still got some work to do on realizing that memories are memories, and don't really come back or go back to the way they used to be or whatever. I guess the only thing that'll fix that is time. And maybe more heart ache...
I realized something as I was sitting in the car driving along (no radio to distract me). I don't feel like I've really accomplished anything. I did great in highschool, I hiked the AT, I did well in college, I just finished grad school... so what? Doesn't seem like anything. I almost feel like a failure. I kind of think it's because the things that have meant the most to me haven't worked out as I'd liked them to. And of course I'm talking about the girls in my life. I remember way back with Kara, she never liked the pressure I put on her because I relied on her for so much of my happiness. Maybe that's what I do wrong. Does that make me "co-dependent"? I don't know... I guess I'll have to learn or end up a lonely old hermit.
I should have just posted the pictures with a few captions like I originally planned instead of all this junk...
On to the pictures (a bit out of order):

Good ol' "Cow-Dog". This guy lived across the street on a farm, hence the name. He's a very sweet dog, despite the fact his owners seem to neglect him. Turns out (found out about 2 weeks before I left) that his real name is "Bob".

Zephyr and Cow-Dog licking noses.

Another shot of that tree from Southfarm. From my last time out there... I'm going to miss it.

Baby horse fly. The little f**kers bite as hard as the big ones.

Actually had some weather, made for a nice sunset.

Zephyr chasing a couple Canadian geese.

The car parked in front of the apartment. Sure was a lot nicer than the one we lived in our first year here. Guess I never took pictures of that old one. Huh...

The following are some of Zephyr's various sleeping poses in the car... This one is particularly amusing I think.


Ah, Mississippi, land of flatness...

At the first gate we put up on the new road to the property. Amanda's already got that creosote stuff all over her...

The 4 of use in the same spot.

This is a phenomenal roadcut! Check out that syncline! Not a bad photo for driving along at 65 in 4th gear while cars are trying to pass me on both sides either, I think. Somewhere in Maryland.

I stared at the back of this Hyundai for over an hour. Ugh.

Kristen's bike after the conversion. Her dad also got her a Brooks saddle, which she seems to think is awesome. Always wanted to try one of those. Maybe now I will...
I should also mention how wonderful and nice Kristen's family has been to me. They're willing to let me stay here until I find a place. Her dad and I took a walk last night and discussed things as well. I never got to know him too well, partly because there always seemed to be a bit of friction between Kristen and him, but we had a good talk and it helped to get me thinking about what comes next...

New adventures...

Well, tomorrow after one last lunch with Mylroie and the crew, I'll be leaving Mississippi. Moving is always a bit bittersweet. I'm excited to be moving back to Maine, but I'm actually going to miss Mississippi. This time down here has been a lot of fun overall. Sure, things are completely different now than when I moved here, but that's ok. I get all sentimental about those sorts of things, but I'll just keep it to myself.
I managed to get everything in my car. Well, I decided to ship a box of cool weather clothes up to Maine, but it turns out I could have fit it in. It'll be nice to see out the back window this time though. I do have 3.5 bikes hanging off the back though, so I can't see much anyway. A couple things on the roof that don't mind getting wet as well. Zephyr will be riding in the front seat with me. When I drove up to Kentucky (in December?), she rode up there with me and did just fine.
As you all know, the plan is to drive to Ford's place in Georgetown. Spend Saturday down on his land doing some work, drive back to Georgetown that night. Then, I'm going to try to make it all the way to Worcester (14.5 hours!) in one go. Kristen thinks I'm a wimp if I can't do it. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can crash at her place for the night and not have to get a hotel room. True, she's only 3 hours from Maine, but that three hours would kill me at the end of that stretch. Kristen needs to get some good quality time with Zephyr too. By the way, Kristen's going to be staying in Worcester for the summer, working on one of her engineering projects and taking classes.
Anyway, I'm going to miss Starkville. I'm looking forward to new things too though. Who knows what happens next. I just hope I enjoy it. I'll try to post again when I get up there, but it may be a while, so sit tight.
So long Mississippi, until next time.

Seasons of Southfarm (Spring and Summer)

Tree, northwest hill. (May 8, 2007)

Tractor with aerator. (April 29, 2007)

Me, Skunk Hill (south end). Looking west. (May 2, 2007)

Sprinkler on fields near the gate. (May 8, 2007)

Another tree, same hill. (May 8, 2007)

Walking south along the west side. (April 27, 2007)

Cool tree along the west side. (April 27, 2007)

Some geek along the road that connects the west side with the middle road. (April 27, 2007)

Dandelions. (April 27, 2007)

More trees on the northwest hill (with the horses). (April 29, 2007)

Little turtle. (April 13, 2007)

Zephyr and some cows. (April 14, 2007)

Tree along the middle road. (April 20, 2007)

Sunset. (April 20, 2007)

Honeysuckle. Mmm. (April 27, 2007)

Happy green tree. (April 1, 2007)

Clover. (April 1, 2007)

Along the road that connects the west side and middle road, after a rain. (April 1, 2007)

In the middle, looking southwest. (April 1, 2007)

Cows along the middle road. (April 1, 2007)

Seasons of Southfarm (Fall and Winter)

I'm going to miss Southfarm. Lots of memories of that place, from the past two years, and also from growing up here. Here's a few pictures from the past couple months. Tried to not repeat any of them.

Who says Mississippi isn't pretty sometimes? (December 13, 2006)

Cows in the mist, western side. (December 15, 2006)

Foggy day. West side. (December 15, 2006)

Zephyr goofing around. North of the catfish ponds. (December 15, 2006)

The soccer fields at night, just north of the gate. (February 1, 2007)

From "Jackass Mountain". West side looking south. (November 17, 2006)

Zephyr, not so much tethered. (November 30, 2006)

Zephyr lovin' on the horses. (December 6, 2006)

Zephyr and I having fun on the hay bales. (December 6, 2006)

Kristen and Zephyr having fun. (December 6, 2006)

Tree along the middle road. (February 12, 2007)

Trials riders in Starkville?!?!?!

So, I was riding back to campus from the bike shop this afternoon. Coming up the hill by Lee Hall, almost to Hilbun. From a distance I see what look like BMXers messing around on some stairs (in front of Harned Hall), only their frames looked suspiciously small. As I get closer I see, much to my surprise, that they're on trials bikes!!! WHAT?! A guy on a top-of-the-line Monty X-Lite 221 (same mod I had back in the day, only a much cooler 2007 version), and his GIRLfriend on a Zoo Python! You have no idea how rare this is! I'll break it down for you: 1) They think bikes are cool, rare enough in this part of the world, 2) They're riding trials, albeit just beginning, even more rare, 3) They're on mods, stock bikes are more trendy these days, 4) There's a girl riding a trials bike!, and 5) This is Starkville, Mississippi!
I was blown away. I stopped and said hi, then told them to wait up while I go get my sandals on (not ideal for trials, but better than the plastic-soled Sidi's I had on). The guy let me ride his X-lite, though he was understandably reluctant, especially after I told him I broke mine twice... Anywho, the tire pressure was way too low for my fat ass, but I could still show them a thing or two. They'd only been riding since February, but the guy had picked up pedal-kicking pretty quick. They're just moving here, and I'm just moving away. What a shame, yet awesome at the same time! Trials riders! In Starkville?!

Guess who...

You've probably all heard of "myspace". It mostly seems to be a site for highschoolers and their stalkers, but I've found it's good for finding people I've lost touch with. For example, these three ladies...


Recognize them?
Yes, it's the Lipperts. Nadia and Sonja in the first one. Britta with the cat.
They're all doing well and living in various places in California.