A 7am meeting meant being in the office at 6:30 which is too effing early as evidenced by the fact that my effing coffee shop isn’t even open that early.

Alas, my morning blogging time was eaten by the work monster.

My world is frantic with activity lately, leaving me with all the highs and lows of a kid who just ingested an entire can of chocolate frosting…but at least the issues are “high class problems to have”…kind of. Details on that when they’re mature enough to share.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I don’t have the time or energy to deal with a fugged up template that was corrupted during a midnight exploratory session with Word Press, but for you, my babies, I found the time. Note to self: I am the coding equivalent of a Mogwai.

It’s a stop-gap and there remain issues – funny time/date stamps, the lack of recognition for a hard return (manually having to retro-code br/br!? Suck.), old blogroll content, and a dead feed but this is the best I can do for now since the Scrabble match with Girlfriend Squad 2 ran until nearly 11p and in general I. Am. Over. It. (Where “it” = WP/Blogger pissing contest)

Thanks in advance to Dave for offering to be my guide during my WP conversion adventure, thanks in real-time to Steve-O all the way in Boston and newly engaged for attempting to be a voice of reason today/yesterday when I wanted to hurl my machine across my office.

Kissy boo, rawk, whatever.

Easter is only days away for you Catholic folk, and that means it’s almost time for my Western Lent to be over, which also means I can watch TV again. There is a God!

Talking with The Mc last night I ask what he’s got stored on the TiVo for me to devour when I break the fast. “Some soft porn and Battlestar Gallactica” he says, and of course I giggle.

He starts rattling titles off – “American Idol, House, Lost, 24, American Idol, the 19th Hole, House…” I interject with my juvenile laughter. He insists its a golf show.

Suuuuure it is.

I haven’t been in the office since last Tuesday…but “I wouldn’t say I’ve been missing it, Bob.”

I’ve spent several glorious days with my baby boy, breathing in the cool air and soaking up the warm sun and not surprisingly I’m hardly looking forward to life back under the fluorescents.

While I was gone last week most of my team moved to a new area of the building – just down the hall on the same floor. Working for a large corporation means intermittent cube shuffling among other annoyances. When I return to my desk in an hour it will still be in the state of disarray it was when I abandoned it, my flair packed into two large tubs sitting directly behind my chair with the real work files yet to be packed. Me? I’ll move this Friday morning.

My new digs are directly outside the one major conference room on campus cleverly titled “the Multi-Purpose”. It can house 70 people semi-comfortably and those people tend to be very, very loud in addition to being confused by where the room is despite the fact that it’s just around the corner from the bank of elevators that deliver them to my world.

Sure, I’ll have a wall that slides shut to block some of the chatter, but I’ll also be creating two signs similar to these, just in case:

No, I’m not kidding. Management has been put on notice.

This weekend is the annual Dogwood Festival in Atlanta, and this year I actually braved it…if only because I slept like crap and was awake to note the rain at 8:30 and realize it would be a good time to visit because the crowds would be minimal.

Prettiest part: dogwoods in bloom with the old meets new skyline as a backdrop.

Most disturbing part: condiment utters.

Read more here if you must.

When I decided to bring my bike with me on my mini-vacation to Atlanta to visit Maigh, I had no real plan for riding; I thought about getting a map and maybe asking some shops for some scenic routes. Enter the legendary guys from APB who would welcome me and let me tag along on some of their rides.

Along the way I’ve been learning some things, namely they’re very active listeners and when you’re the guy from Alaska, you need to stay on your toes to try and anticipate their unspoken sprinting points.

I’ve finished each ride with a smile that lasted into the late evening hours and their generosity and hospitality got me thinking about the rides I would take them on if they ever came up to The Last Frontier. I’d have them bring their mountain bike and roll part or all of the epic Soggy Bottom course with the 18 mile downhill from Devils Pass to Hope or have ‘em come up to shred the Fireweed 400…or even the long shot of having them up to show them what winter cycling is about.

What it really boils down to is that when people share their time with me and I benefit by having amazing experiences, I want to reciprocate and share my little space on Earth with them. So with that, the invitation is wide open for any of the APB guys to come and visit me in Los Anchorage to ride with me and my bro’s.

Thanks to Darren, Ed, Marv, Jason, and the entire APB crew for your time. I hope to roll with you a few more times before I check out Sunday afternoon, and good luck in Gainsville!

(Editors note…Kev is dipping his toes in the bloggosphere, give him a word of encouragement or at least a short visit: http://bosskat.blogspot.com)

The cycling community in ATL takes the cake. When I put out the call for guys to road rally with my brother while he’s in town, you responded with style.

Darren, Ed and the guys from the APB team have been showing him how it’s done in the dirty dirty, hell there’s even been a pre-agreed to jersey exchange between Stinky-D and BossKat last night over some white pizza, vino and erratic/topic hopping/ADD conversation at Fellini’s.

A ride to Stone Mountain from midtown wasn’t enough, these cats took it above and beyond offering themselves up for a quick spin before dinner. Cyclists with heart, intelligence, good looks and quick wit – you fellas git it done.

For the first time since late December, this morning I don’t have to be awake/out of bed before 9am. Sue me for reverting back to my old ways and postdating my entry (it’s 11pm Weds). On second thought, save your lawyer fees, I don’t have shit worth suing for.