Birthday and last day before Lacey and Tallulah leave

Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday as well as my birthday. I am 36. I had a great day: Lacey, Tallulah, and I drove to Crested Butte, about 3 and a half hours away, to hike and walk around in town. On the ride, we chatted, enjoyed the gorgeous, sunny weather, and sympathized with Tallulah, who gets car sick. She didn't have any accidents, but she seemed kind of queasy.

I’m pretty sure that if you are a Colorado resident, it is a state law that you have to like Big Head Todd and the Monsters, a band from Denver. Fortunately, I do, although I didn't take advantage of my friend Paul’s offer of a BHT concert ticket for their July 4th show at Red Rocks. (I still don’t think he has forgiven me; he is a Colorado native.) The album Sister Sweetly was a good soundtrack for the trip, through gorgeous mountain passes and rustic mountain towns, including Gunnison, where Lacey lived for a couple years.

My college friends will be unhappy to know that the Collegiate Range, a group of mountain peaks we passed that are higher than 14,000 feet, includes a Mt. Princeton, but not a Mt. Princeton Sucks. Speaking of my college friends, this trip reminded me of my trip with Gary, Ken, and Tom about 10 years ago; we went hiking and camping in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. It was great too, aside from the embarrassing fact that when we were setting up camp in the dark one night we mistook a fat man’s snoring for the growling of a bear.

There’s something about the mountains—and being with good friends—that makes me feel so content. The soundtrack for that trip was The Joshua Tree, by U2, particularly One Tree Hill, which I remember listening to in the car one evening at dusk when the light was red and the mountains were beautiful. I also remember hearing Jane’s Addiction’s version of Ripple by the Grateful Dead on that stretch of road and thinking that was incredibly appropriate too. So Gary, Ken, Tom: thank you for one of the most enduringly precious memories of my life.

Lacey, Tallulah and I arrived in Crested Butte in mid-afternoon. We drove through the town and out to the head of the Dark Canyon trail, a trail that allows horses as well as people. This meant 3 hours of avoiding pasture patties and being eaten alive by flies that were also probably feasting on the pasture patties. It’s times like these that make me wonder why I like to hike. But then I am reminded:

After the hike, Lacey and I had dinner at The Secret Stash, a restaurant in CB that serves the post-hike crowd. This was fortunate for us, because we were grimy and dusty. We sat in comfy overstuffed chairs and had some pizza, and I drank my beloved Fat Tire. You can't really see the label, but it has a bike on it. My friend Moike (his name is Mike, but he's Australian, so when he says his name, it sounds like "Moike," so that's what I call him) thinks Fat Tire sucks. Moike is crazy.


While we were eating, it started to rain. But then the sun came out while it was raining. And THEN, there were not one, but two rainbows. I took that as a good omen on my birthday. I also took as a good omen that the fortune in my fortune cookie (yes, this pizza place gives out fortune cookies.) read: “You simplify your life in many ways and find great rewards.” Finally, some proof that being homeless and unemployed can lead to enlightenment! Okay, the "proof" is a pre-printed piece of paper baked into a bad-tasting wafer, but I'll take what I can get.

We had been planning to stay in Crested Butte or Gunnison for the night, but ran into a snafu with dog-friendly accommodations. So we drove back the same night, still dusty and grimy, and, by the time we got home, practically delirious.

People keep telling me they hope I find what I’m looking for. I appreciate that so much, and have been thinking about what exactly I AM looking for. I’m pretty sure it’s just contentment and joy. The trick is to figure out what it will take to bring those things to me consistently. But if my birthday was any indication, I’m headed in a good direction. More and more, as this trip continues, I am getting better at enjoying the present moment. I think about the future insofar as I need to know where I’m going to be sleeping tonight and where I need to drive/train tomorrow, and I think about the past insofar as I’m grateful not to be at my old job and in my old life. But other than that, it’s nice to be able to be here now. Or to be. Here. Now. It’s taken some practice, but I’m getting better. So happy birthday to me. Literally.

Today was another morning trip to the dog park, where Lacey and I finally posed for a picture together.


Isn't she cute? It was about 100 degrees out, but the air is so dry that it felt fine. I love this dry air, not only because it doesn’t feel that hot, but because my gis, which usually take overnight and then some to dry in Chicago, dry in about 3 hours here.

Speaking of which, Tallulah and I did some laundry,


and the three of us hiked a nearby trail called Deer Canyon. I also talked to my friend Greg, who runs a BJJ academy in Billings, MT. I had been planning to visit him for a day or two and train there, but it turns out it’s not the best time for me to visit him. So when I leave Denver on Wed, I will head to Salt Lake City to train with black belt Pedro Sauer instead. It’s kind of nice to be able to turn on a dime if I want to, which apparently I do in this case. I also haven’t decided yet whether I’ll get to Montana at all, but what’s nice is that I don’t need to decide yet.

I also played phone tag with Natasha, who is one of the most hilarious people I know. She lives in Chicago, and before I left, I was trying to figure out how to record her telling some of her stories, because I can't do them justice. No dice. So with any luck, she will show up on Saturday Night Live or something and you can see for yourself.

I did some strategizing with Sharon, too, about the turtle position I keep getting caught in while sparring. I wrote about it more in my training journal, but I'm really grateful to her for helping me see that position as one where you can attack rather than just defending. Thanks and good luck in Rio, Sharon! (There's a BJJ competition there called the Mundial at the end of July.)

Lacey leaves tomorrow on a business trip. I will stay on till Wed to train at Amal Easton’s new Denver academy tomorrow night, Mauricio Zingano’s academy on Tues morning, and Dave Ruiz’s academy again on Tues night. You may recall that I haven’t met Dave yet because he has been out of town. He will be back on Tues. I joked with some of his students last Fri that I’d be back “to worship at the altar of Dave.” None of them really laughed, probably because that’s what they do on a regular basis. Hot damn! I’m excited to train with him. With all of them.

I’m going to miss Lacey and Tallulah. They’ve been such great hosts, and I’m lucky they have put up with me for as long as they have. Thank you, Lacey and Tallulah!