Rotorglow

I could say I've been too busy since November to write anything. And that's kind of true. I've taken a couple of trips, and am about to embark on another, longer one. But really I've been just chilling out.

I left my job in early December, when I realized a long period of dissatisfaction wasn't fixable. There's somewhat more to the story than simply that, of course, but that's what it boils down to.

Hence the chillin'. I've been slow about getting the Job Search Machine spun up to full speed, partially since I'm unsure about what I want to do with my life, and partially because I really enjoy not having a nine-to-five. So the motivation has been stronger to do "less" on that front, and "more" on all the others, rather than the other way around.

A big part of what I need to do with this break is get my life on track (or confirm that it is already on track). But that's quite a task. (New apt? Dog? What kind of job? Where? Why?)

So instead there's been the sleeping, and the eating and the housecleaning and decluttering (I even bought a shredder), and the going-to-PA, and the going-to-NYC, and (starting this weekend, because it seems I need an adventure) the driving-to-Florida-for-racing-school. Last weekend I realized that I had a unique opportunity to make use of my Skip Barber grad discount and take a (further discounted) class at Moroso Park. I'd been hoping this particular class would come to Lime Rock, but it looks like that won't happen till spring of 2009 at the earliest, after my special deal expires.

So off I go to drive MX5 Cup cars in the sun for 3 days. Whee!

I've done this kind of wandering around before, though not since my voluntary sabbatical in 1999. That was a 4+ week jaunt through VA, NC, TN, AR (no, I'm not kidding), MO, KY, WV, VA (again) and PA. That was more ambitious (though less purposeful, and I had a copilot, so maybe it doesn't count. Plus, that time, I was merely taking a break from a job I intended to return to.

Before that I have to go back to 1992, when I was truly jobless (and without prospects, even), and did a long solo swing from PA to FL and back, with lengthy stops in NC and AL. That was a bit of a long haul (in a 1986 Golf, no less--I was stylin'). It also seems like an unimaginably long time ago. Yeesh.

Other stuff continues apace. The trip to NYC was to see some friends who just had a little tyke, and some more friends who're about to. The wheel in the sky keeps on turning, I guess.

Deb got me hooked on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Dexter and Weeds (in increasing order of brilliance). And we watched the Super Bowl last weekend with the usual suspects; we enjoyed the taut contest, even if everyone else was bummed out by the outcome. (I'll confess I was really not displeased, despite how much I hate my NFC East rivals, but I do hope I was gracious about all of it.) And now baseball is on the horizon.

So. There it is. I'm busy, but not. Regardless, I'm filling the time with the simple yet important things.

If the thunder and lightning (!) that that's happening as I type this doesn't portend the end of the world (or, I suppose, even if it does): The road is calling.

As I mentioned the other day, I'm on a trip south to learn some car racing in Florida. After 4 days (including an off-day with my parents in PA), I've made it to near Daytona Beach, just as the NASCAR crazies arrive for this weekend's "great American Race," the Daytona 500 (and assorted other, inscrutable duels, shootouts, chases, and challenges). Here're a few stats and thoughts:

Total road miles from front door: 1292
Avg speed, including stops: 59 mph
Avg fuel "economy": 29 mpg

Observations:

• VA, NC, SC and GA are crawling with highway patrol cars. CRAWLING, I say....
• ...which led to (only!) one "oh shit"-moment.
• Instead of maintaining I-95, I hope SC is teaching kids to read.
• Super 8 is at least three steps above Motel 6 (not just 2).
• The smoke from the recent forest/wildfires in western NC and VA was blowing east over I-95 between Petersburg and Rocky Mount, NC. It cut visibility down to about a mile, made the sky orangey/brown, and made everything smell like....wood smoke.
• There are way fewer vans than I expected.
• The driving hasn't gotten boring yet. In fact, it's improved. Boston to Richmond is sucky; but that's no surprise. South of Richmond, the traffic abates, the roads improve (except for SC), and the land flattens out. The air smells different, too. I haven't driven south of DC since I stopped living in Chapel Hill, and I'd forgotten how (and the degree to which) things change mile after mile. It feels good, I have to say.

Last leg is tomorrow, an easy 200 mile run to Palm Beach (with a brief stop at the Kennedy Space Center, which I last visited when I was 8). Thursday is a day off by the pool.

And then....