i know what i'll be doing next summer

I will be riding my bike from Austin, TX to Anchorage, Alaska. I got a phone call today from the Texas 4000 organizers inviting me to be a rider for Summer 2008. Yeah!

If you weren't watching Ironman World Championships yesterday, it turned out to be a very exciting race. Both of last year's winners dropped out. Macca won the men's race and Chrissie Wellington won the women's. Rachel Ross won the women's 30-34 age group again and Bree Wee one the women's 25-29 age group--go Hawaii competitors! I was watching the online coverage as Chrissie crossed the line and it brought tears to my eyes. I'm not really a crier but watching people finish that race turns me into a big ball of mush.

Maybe the even more emotional aspect of it was seeing Hawaii. I was reading an interview with the author of 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' in the NYTimes the other day (the book is supposed to be very good) and the author at one point said people don't pick places, but rather places pick people. I think Hawaii chose me, and family members and friends have commented on that at various points on their own accord. Austin is a nice city and will be a nice place to spend the next few years. I'm meeting a lot of cool and interesting people and think there are some great opportunities here, but it is not home. While this may seem like a rash judgement, I give you the examples of living in Boston and then in Hawaii. Within a month or two of moving to either, I referred to them as home. I've been in Texas for about three months now, and that same feeling is not here, which speaks rather loudly to me. Somehow I'm okay with this.

I'm thinking about looking into tickets to Hawaii for New Years to come back for a visit. Anyone going to be in town?