Procrastination wins again; it’s been a few weeks since I’ve updated…
We went to the Smashing Pumpkins show at the Fox Theatre on the 15th which was a lot of fun. They’re a lot more “jam band-y” than I would’ve expected live, but definitely worth seeing overall. Three encores, all their classic songs, and Billy Corgan bringing every child in the place under the age of 10 up on stage (including a several-month-old baby which he was coddling) made for a highly entertaining night.
Drove up to Nashville the following Saturday and spent the night in the city with Erik and some of the guys at a karaoke country bar watching drunken locals belt it out. “Elvis” was there along with his lovely wife who could actually sing very well. Wandered around for a bit then went back to the hotel to (not) sleep.
Sunday was the first-ever DGTrials gymkhana event. It was at Nashville SuperSpeedway and we had a grand total of 6 registered drivers (10 if you count the volunteers who drove as well). Not nearly enough to break even, but it was good to work out the kinks and
get the timing gear “broken in” and see how things go. No major catastrophes (other than some poor kid’s car falling off his trailer as he was pulling in to the facility… oops). Tony, Struka and Marty decided to run the course on foot and race and while it was absolutely hilarious to watch, they almost killed themselves sprinting all out for ~80seconds. Definitely worth it 😉
Flew up to New York on Thanksgiving afternoon. Mom met me and Erik at Newark and we drove to his Aunt Tema’s. This was the first time (evar!) that my mom was meeting his family and, surprisingly, it went very well. Dinner was great. I love Erik’s family; they’re all so normal!
Friday we met up with my dad and brother (at Erik’s request) and mom to get lunch. Pat came by and Alana too (who I hadn’t seen in forever, but she is just as much a part of my family as I am). It was great seeing them and strangely enough, everyone got along. I think this my-family-only-seeing-each-other-once-a-year thing is great. Why didn’t we try this years ago??
After lunch we (mom, me and Erik) drove up to Lia and Wayne’s to go riding. Lia said she had a horse I “had to ride” and holy crap was she right! Donovan, an 18.2h “who knows what” was by far the largest horse I’ve ever ridden. It was really odd because I had to duck a bunch of times to keep from smashing my head into the rafter
s in the indoor. Ha. It was also very strange because his stride was sooo big it felt like he was practically running in every gait and I had to remind myself nope, he’s just that damn big.

me & Donovan (18.2h!!!) at Indian Head Ranch in Long Island, NY
Erik rode a sweet paint horse named Remo and managed to eventually get him walking along the rail. He mastered backing up and at one point got stuck in “reverse” which was cute to watch. He trotted a bit and I was proud. I rode Remo for a few minutes too, just for fun. He’s a lovely little beginner western horse.
Mom rode a fantastic little palomino mare who was an absolute doll. I rode the mare for a while too and fell in love. She was unbelievably comfortable, willing and very easy to collect/extend. At one point she threw a buck at me and I just laughed because it was so cute. I love ponies 🙂
That night we went to the Lynbrook Diner to meet up with some of Erik’s friends who he hadn’t seen since Thanksgiving of last year and also for the bi-weekly IFX meet. I hadn’t seen the IFX guys in *years* so it was really great seeing the old faces. Small world though, Erik knew everyone too. All in all, a really great day of riding and playing catch up with good friends.
Came back to Atlanta on Saturday. Laguardia lost my lu
ggage (JFK is way better!) which sucked but I got it back Sunday (thankfully). Now I’m sitting at work, on lunch, wishing I were riding…
What’s next for me? Erik’s birthday is tomorrow, we’re going on my happy-graduation!!-cruise in a few weeks, and then EJ is coming to visit!

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This week has been so horribly horrible that I’m not even going to bother writing about it… But the premise involves work and the fact that I will be putting myself further into debt just trying to pay off my goddamn student loans… fanfuckingtastic.
Anyway, since all I feel like doing lately is hiding in the couch and crying, I might as well share something nice that happened yesterday.
Erik was in Rhode Island for work this week. He was supposed to be back last night around midnight. Yesterday morning I am sitting at work, involved in something, not paying attention to what’s going on. All of a sudden, someone comes up behind me, plants their chin on the to of my head and asks “what’s for lunch?” My office is the kind of place where everyone messes with everyone else and it’s really casual (attitude wise) but I was still surprised someone put their head on mine. I tiled up and looked directly at a face that was upside down and two inches from my nose. It seriously took me all of four seconds to realize it was Erik! He had taken a 7:30am flight instead of the redeye he was supposed to and surprised me at work to take me to lunch. 🙂
Other than that, it’s been pure suckage.