Let's get caught up

It's Thursday morning, May 6th as I type this . I'm sitting in Emily's (and my) apartment with tea and my laptop. I'm thinking about what's happened this past week...

I quit my Logistics Coordinator job with Red Bull North America on Friday, April 30th. I won't get into why I did that in this blog, or maybe ever. I think what's most important is what I do moving forward from that decision.

My last day was interesting. Usually, my company BlackBerry would explode with calls/texts/emails all day long. That day, there was absolutely nothing. It was as if I didn't exist any longer. It felt both eerie and refreshing at the same time; knowing that I wouldn't have that jumpy reaction to my phone any longer but also that a large group of people I like and care about wouldn't need to contact me that much.

Friday afternoon, I "activated" a plan with my girlfriend Emily that we've been planning for a while. I started moving my possessions from the house I shared in downtown Denver to her apartment in Lakewood. A vast departure from the busy city life to semi-suburban living, and a substantial decrease in square-footage as well. Another polarizing difference, instead of living with two 20-something male roommates, I now live with a female... and her 3.5 year-old son. Yep... kind of a dad now. At least a father-figure/male role model.

After hustling my necessary belongings from downtown to the apartment, my head was spinning. So much in so little time. Friday night was like time-travel just trying to get adjusted to the new lifestyle. Some people ease into things, I just make plans happen and usually do so very quickly.

Saturday morning brought a renewed sense of "it's all good". We three woke up, blasted breakfast, and made plans to bike from the old house in Denver to Wash Park. I recently bought myself a sweet Giant Seek 2 bicycle. It's a commuter-style with 21-speeds and thin tires to carry my unemployed self wherever I desire to go. I also bought Emily a new bike to commemorate our being together one year. In other words, an anniversary present. I let her pick out whatever bike she wanted from Derby Bicycle Center in Thornton and she settled on a Specialized Globe commuter. For the little guy, she already owned a Step 1 child chariot. One of those jobs where the kid gets towed behind the parent's bicycle.

We took Emily's Jeep to the old Denver house then collected our bicycle gear. Got Adin situated in his chariot, and made out for Wash. Man, it was a beautiful day. The sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Cruising the City Park, Cherry Creek, and Capitol Hill neighborhoods that day seriously gave me the "dad feeling" of being with my family, looking at houses I would like to buy for us, and our futures together. I can say that I liked it a lot. Felt good to be with the people I love and just doing... well, whatever! Riding bikes doesn't get much more simple.

We let Adin tear around the north playground in Wash Park for a while, then the weather started to look stormy and we headed back. Pedaled the Cherry Creek bicycle trail to downtown, cruised by Denver Skate Park, and to the old house. Rallied back to Lakwood, started dinner, and wrapped up the night. It was surely a family-style day and set the tone for the days ahead.

On Sunday, I don't know who was more excited... myself or Adin. We were meeting Emily's co-worker at Apex Community Center in Arvada. This place has a grip of recreational offerings like ice hockey and skating, a fitness center with cardio and freeweight equipment, climbing wall, hoops courts, and more. But its most noteworthy feature is the indoor pool, complete with childrens' water park, and two tube slides. I may be 25 years old, but ripping a water slide reverts me back to just 5.

Adin was feeling empowered that day, and assured us he was "big enough he knows how to swim now". Untrue, but we let him try anyway. The boy practically drank half the pool, but loved it. He did get confident holding his breath underwater. His best record was 6 seconds. I know adults that can't do 6 seconds. You ever want to see something incredible, you should watch a young kid figure out how to do something new. I'm looking forward to witnessing Adin learn many new things in our time together. Like when he discovers you can jump from the pool house at the apartment into the pool below. That seems like more of a 9-10 years activity and we probably won't live there any longer, much to Emily's relief.

Sunday night was a casual. We had a nice dinner, then played with Adin and read a book we had bought at Wal Mart earlier that day. Disney stories, re-manufactured to seem new but basically a re-hash of the old characters doing different things. Adin loves it.

So what started as a whirlwind weekend actually became quite mellow and enjoyable. I hoped it was indicative of things to come...