Not feelin' like writin'.

Good holiday, here's the highlights:
- Pre-Brined turkey from Trader Joe's, GOOD.
- Turned 33. You didn't wish me "Happy Birthday" yet? Shame on you.
- Went for a ride on the new bike this past Sunday. Smooth.
- Work is busy and will remain so.

Gobble, gobble...

... let's keep this short this time. Perhaps I can catch up with many of you in person this coming TurkeyWeek. Sweet as pie.

Family - Busy busy busy getting ready for the holiday at the Kator house. So, I'll be staying at the Boyle's house. They have the double tall aerobed that will become Uncle Marty's room for the duration. I do have to be ready to be woken up about 6AM every morning, usually with a "BOO!", but it's worth it; a tradeoff I'll gladly accept. Also, Jes doesn't know it yet, but I intend to bring some laundry and use their big machines while I'm in town. I mean, the plethora of quarters needed at my building are getting old.

Friends - So, the big birthday dinner is a no-go. It just wasn't going to happen this year with people's travel plans and the fact that I'm in Milwaukee. I think it'll end up that I have dinner with some peeps in Chicago while I'm down for the holiday. This will be fun too. I mean, it's not like I still need a kid's party and an adults party... I am going to be 33. It's ok, I'll buy myself some presents and beers and move on.

I hope I can see most everyone this coming week in the city, but I think I'll miss seeing Jenny most. She's going to be in K3 and we won't get to have breakfast at France's. This is one of the best breakfast spots in the city, and a place we like to go to... just on our own... to gossip about everyone else... no, not really :)

Bike - So, it's done. The new 29er. If I ever get a digital camera, I can post some pics of all my bikes. I went out yesterday for about 45 min on it. It rode very nicely - no hands and all. It's mostly Johnny Cash black except for a few of the company parts which come in pimpin' white. Also, my brother Matt's gonna get the green Kona back. I have to put parts back onto it, but it should happen pretty easily.

Work - Work? It's like a 2 day work week. I'm taking Wednesday off and coming to Chicago. Work will be interesting next week when we all get back... but then we have Christmas break to look forward to. Ho ho ho.

A/R - So, have you ever cleaned the little plasctic cap on your bathroom sink's faucet? Well, I've done it a few times when I move into a new place. It's the clear plastic cap that covers the ball-socket that controls the hot-cold flow of water. It gets gummed up with all kinds of dirt, dust, hair, etc. So, you just pry it up, spray it all down with glass cleaner or what have you, and put it back together. Good as new, and I think it even keeps me cleaner - it must, right?

Fish Fry and Riding Weekend...

Family - I'm not sure where to place this topic, but it really is family related... just not mine. I went with Nicole up to Osh Kosh to meet her mom and 2nd hubby. I should have asked more questions prior to Friday night, b/c it turns out I have now met everyone of her 7 sibs save for one brother. I have now even met her grandparents and some aunts and/or uncles. They had a group of about 20, some only attending b/c they heard "fresh blood" was gonna be there. I can't blame 'em either. It was a good WI fish fry, a relaxed time, and unfortunetly, a long night. They don't normally get under way with dinner 'til about 9-9:30PM. And Nicole and I had to drive up & back, which it made it pretty interesting, esp after a fried food dinner {burp}. I'm glad I went, she has a large, excitable group.

Friends - Seems to be pretty low key right now with everyone. Perhaps a brief "catch yer breath" after the last couple weeks. I did get a call from Bret and need to catch up with him. I also sent out a bday invite to everyone for the Turkeyday weekend. It'll be the first up here, and lots of people travel, but if I can get a few, that'll be enough for fun.

Bike - Big news in bike town - I went riding. Yeah, that's right, about 3 hours off-road on a Sunday morning. Now, most of Milwaukee was getting ready for the Packers game... but a co-worker had sent out an email this week for some trails that are almost next to my house. I wanted to get in some riding and meet others. It wasn't too cold out and the group was pretty fast and large (about 12 of us). The trails turned out to be in great shape. Alot of up and down, roots, rocks, and some stinky runoff water spots. But a good loop that I was happy to get a look at with people that have done it before. I'm certainly, horribly out of practice on the MTN bike, but it sort of comes back to you after a half hour or so (kinda like riding...).

To put it over the top, Rachael and John (she's a SRAMmie) came up from Chicago just to ride. It was nice to see them. I'm guessing she'll say something about me on her blog... linked on the leftside of mine ("rachael k"). And just to prove this whole story, that's a new pic of my dirty green Kona. I really did ride. (sorry, cellphone pic)

Work - It's pretty hectic, and will continue to be for some time. We're settling one company into Mil and moving one around in the city. It's keeping me on my toes with all my customers. I'm also trying to plan for the future. It's keeps each week, on the whole, interesting. It should be a busy winter season.

A/R - I just ate the last bit of yogurt out of one of the pint containers, so not the little dingle -single serving sizes, but the BIG one. Before I did, I trimmed off about half of it, as it's too big to really get into with the spoon and I wanted it to be easy to eat out of. Also, I rinse out, thoroughly and with hot water, everything plastic that's going to be recycled. There is one exception, peanut butter jars - it's too tough. I feel bad about it. But, I made up for it a little last night by removing two items Nicole put in the trash, rinsing them, and putting them in the recycling bag. Phew!

Back to normal?

I'm not sure any of us will be "back to normal" this week, but we'll try.

Friends - Well, the last few days have been as good as one could expect. I'm glad, as I know Harold is, to know how good of a group of friends we have. Almost all of us came in for the funeral, to support Harold and his family, and say goodbye to Derick. I couldn't believe the amount of people at the wake (easily over 100 each of the 2 nights). And a very full church for the funeral. The most emotional times for me, and most everyone, were the opportunities for the family and Derick's friends to speak about him, from their hearts, both at the wake and funeral services. As soon as the opportunity was announced at the wake, 5-6 of Derick's close friends made a literal b-line to the lecturn. I couldn't believe how fast they walked up to speak to a room full of people/strangers. That's how much they wanted others to know about how great Derick was in life. I also heard that not only were Derick's co-workers in attendance, but also many of his PT patients. That's pretty cool. And finally, Harold was impressive in such a terrible time. He gave a great thank you to everyone at the wake and you could tell he was almost literally holding up the funeral services on his own. He knows I'll be happy to give him anything he needs at any time. He said he'd pass on a road-trip to Memphis though.

Family - Since I was in Glenview, I had the chance to get lots of family time. [Was this part of someone's bigger plan?] Thursday night I stayed with the Boyles, so that was fun. Friday morning was an off day for Bridget, so we all hung out before the funeral mass. I got to watch both girls eat birthday cake for breakfast. It was pretty funny. I also got to go out to dinner with them on Friday night to Bravo (very good). They had a fun time, and so did I. Friday night, I stayed at my P's house, so it was a good chance to catch up with them. I left Saturday morning, after M&D had gone too. Just the girls were hanging out in front of the TV.

Work - After a busy and stressful 3.5 days last week it was nice that I was given plenty of time to attend the services down in Glenview. I really didn't have any trouble and everyone understood. It was nice not having to deal with extra issues at work on top of the news from Glenview. I hope the coming week isn't too crazy b/c of it. I'm sure I can handle it.

A/V - I was told I should enter one by Tom, after a restaurant incident, but it wasn't that big of a deal. I'm trying to think of one now and will post it if I do. Shouldn't be too hard... Oh, a little follow up, though not entirely new. The windsheild wiper blade still skipped/chattered. I finally just bought another, more expensive, pair. I SoftScrubbed the whole thing one more time and just had the whole car washed at a great place in Evanston. I hope, touch wood, that the next rain event proves to have cured my noisy wiper. Really, you don't know.

Bike - Well, since I last wrote, I have been told by a former coworker (who now co-owns a bike company) that he'll send me a new bike frame. This is great news, and one of the only ways I would be undertaking a new bike project. With that, I've asked some SRAMmies for parts, we'll see if any of this shows this coming week. The weather here is still nice-ish enough to ride around before the real winter begins. I'd like to get another bike done and ride it a bit. And I'm still running, but only twice a week or so. I need to get my teeth fixed (cavities? root canals?) and then feel good enough to run again.