Biking to Boulder!

Last year I set a goal to ride my bike out to Boulder, and for various reasons, it didn't happen. BUT... this year, it did happen, and it was GREAT. I woke up early as usual, and after taking my pooch for his morning walk, he and I grabbed a bit of breakfast, and I got myself ready to go.

I made it to Boulder about 2 hours later, and first thing I did was head to Spud Brothers for lunch, where I feasted on poutine (a Canadian specialty, and one I used to have back when I lived in New York). Then it was off to The Cup for a Bhakti Chai milkshake and relax a bit more before the ride home.

The ride home, while hot, wasn't quite as bad as I thought it might be. In almost no time, I found myself at Mojo Coffeehouse in Lafayette, where I enjoyed an iced latte. Then it was time to head home.

The day was a bit longer than I had originally planned, but I'm really glad I took my time; I got some great pictures and had fun taking some video while I was at it. The movie below is a little videoblog of my adventure. Enjoy! (Cross posted to Elephant Journal.)

Elevision with Robert Thurman

Yesterday I found out that Robert Thurman is going to be in Boulder on July 23rd for a book signing and interview on Elevision, a talk show done by Elephant Journal, at the Boulder Theater. I've been familiar with who he is (aside from being Uma Thurman's dad) for about two years now, and while I often thought about how great it would be to meet and talk with him, I never really considered it in the realm of possibility... until today. As soon as I found out about the event, I emailed Waylon Lewis, the publisher of Elephant Journal, and volunteered my help with the event. Today, Waylon called me and asked me how soon I could make it to Boulder so he could sit down with me and talk about the event and how I could help. I had to help out a neighbor with getting a washer, dryer, and dining room table into her house, but once I did that, it was off to Boulder. Waylon, Blake, and I sat down, and by the end of the meeting, I was pretty much in charge of the event! I even get free yoga with Richard Freeman at the Yoga Workshop out of it, so that's SUPER cool. If you are interested in the event, by the way, here's the link to it.

Needless to say, I'm really excited about this opportunity. I've done promotions and marketing work when I lived back East, so I have a good bit of experience doing this type of thing, but this one is different. I'm really excited about the possibility of meeting and talking with Prof. Thurman; I really never thought it would happen, and I'm really glad it is. I'm definitely going to get a copy of his new book and ask him to sign it and see if he would also be willing to sign the copy of another book of his that I have. (Yeah, I know... totally geeky and fanboy, but hey, I'm pretty geeky and even I have my fanboy moments.)

While I was in Boulder, Blake and I stopped by Tee and Cakes, based on a blog entry Waylon posted on the Elephant Journal site. They have some MIGHTY tasty cupcakes, let me tell you!!! Not too sweet, and the frosting was nice and light... YUMMY!

This has been a pretty crazy summer... I'm still hoping to get out climbing SOON. Waylon has never been climbing outdoors, and he really wants to go, so I have one more reason to get my butt out there. At least my bike is getting put to good use!!

Another great day

An absolutely amazing day today. I'm still unpacking from the move (where did I get all of this junk??), but took the day to head to the farmers' market (of course), and stopped by the shop owned by my friend, Tenzin. Also had the pleasure of catching up with another friend of mine who formerly owned a coffee company but has switched over to hibiscus-based drinks. I tried one, and it was pretty tasty, I have to say.

I still haven't been able to do any yoga, climbing, or cycling, but considering that there is no room in my living room for yoga, my bikes are buried somewhere in the garage, and I've had no time for climbing, I guess that's not really surprising. Soon... soon.

I've been eating more vegetarian meals lately. Don't worry, I still like MEAT. In fact, I made some bison burgers this week that made me really happy, but tonight I experimented with tofu a bit. I sauteed some tofu in coconut oil, then baked it in a chipotle-citrus barbecue sauce, and topped it with a pineapple-mango salsa that Blake (Kyle's friend) and I made from scratch and off the top of our heads. It turned out pretty great, really. Oh... and yes, it was all organic. :-D Much of it was even local, compliments of the farmers' market.

I've also had no time for reading, which really bums me out. I'm thinking of doing some tonight, provided that I can find the book I want to read. :-p Oh yeah... moving is great, let me tell you. My goal is to be completely settled in before next week's farmers' market. Craigslist is going to love me pretty soon... I've been finding a lot of stuff and wondering why I still have it, so it's time to get rid of it... an ice cream maker that I've never used, and in fact I now have two, so it's time to get rid of one of them, a LARGE cast iron frying pan, a wok (again... I have two [why?]), a windsurfing board (was a cool gift at the time, but....)... all things that I have no idea why I still have them, and I know there will be more to come once I get to really sorting through boxes. Time to purge those things I no longer need... I even found a decoration I'd saved from my high school senior prom, for Pete's sake... what have I been thinking?? Time to purge. As Henry David Thoreau said, "Simplify, simplify." I thought about having a garage sale, but that's too much hassle, so I'm probably going to give most of it away, with the exception maybe of the extra washer and dryer I now have.

I like the new place except that the dishwasher doesn't work that well. bleah. I'll deal with it, or perhaps discuss it with the landlord; we'll see how bad it gets.

More unpacking tomorrow, then I can start on the garage and get my bikes out!! Woohoo!!