Chad's spot for various thoughts, musings, poetry, ideas and whatnot

Sunday, January 09, 2005

Back to the Salt Mines

Tomorrow starts the new semester, at least in terms of teaching. For the first time in a long while, I don't think I'm ready to go back. I'm sure this lingering cold has a good bit to do with it but I just could use a little more time where I felt good and got to get a few more things done. Add to that the contemplative mood my most recent reading has put me in and I'd like to be on a schedule of morning reading and light housework, afternoon rides and evenings practicing bass and enjoying my wife's company rather than preparing for classes, grading work, cajoling students to give something approaching their best and all the rest. I love what I do and I'm blessed to be able to do it but it can take a lot of energy which is in somewhat short supply right now. Maybe today I'll finally vanquish this cold...

Training is coming along well. I feel stronger than I think I did last year and I've added in more intensity early this year, which was one of my mistakes from last year. I didn't build in some hard workouts early enough so I couldn't go with the strong moves early in the season. My time trailing is way ahead of last year so I'm feeling good about that. The big thing I'm working on there is developing more strength by riding a bigger gear, especially uphill, and pedaling in strong, full circles. I've got one more week of Base 2 and then a week of recovery and then I'll starting building in the first light interval work of the season.

I've been practicing on the bass now for two and a half months. I feel like I'm making progress (Master Jeff, if he heard me, might disagree though) but the more I work, the more I realize I have a long way to go. I've learned a lot about music theory that I didn't know, which has been cool, and I'm getting better at technique. I still need lots of work developing my sense of rhythm and time and getting fast enough to play some of the things I want to. Some of this just takes time and practice but it's hard knowing that there's some much I'd like to play that I can't.

I think that the big thing is that I want to do something that I really feel like makes a difference, probably for all the wrong reasons. I want to create an event but I find myself stuck in the continuum of life and the things I've chosen to focus on. In a way I want to break out of the daily routine to create a positive splash but I'm not sure how exactly. I don't feel that I can sacrifice the good things I'm working on now and I don't want to sacrifice some of the activities that create balance in my life. And I want to work as part of a team to do it. I want to expereince the synergy of a group of people coming together to create and make something new and powerful but everyone around me is in the same boat I am. They have the commitments they've made and activities that bring them a sense of wholeness. What could I ask them to give up?

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