Football, Friends and Further

It feel like Summer was just in full swing and suddenly school is starting, the rain is falling, and football is on the tv.  Wow.  Insta-Autumn.  In typical Pacific Northwest style, we couldn't start the school year without the first week being one of the nicest of the Summer.  Sorry kids, the parents get to enjoy this one solo.  I'll flap today about some more personal goings-on, and touch on a trip planned for the weekend.

Football
In my new digs, I'm rediscovering how much I enjoy American Football.  College ball, NFL, its all good, and if I'm not careful, it will consume all of my weekend time.  Contrasting this new interest are parental responsibilities with both boys playing soccer (or should I say "Football"?).  Basically, helicopter-parenting season has opened, and this past weekend was quite an opening weekend.  C played his second game, pulling in a few assists from his mid-fielder position, and his brother T played a spirited game (also at mid-fielder), though I couldn't tell if he got any assists.  It was really fun to see both of them play with such passion.  As much as they say lacrosse is their favorite sport, they play soccer with a true love of the game.

Family
After the games, I hosted the "family" birthday celebration for C.  I tried to go a little further than usual in setting up the party, blowing up balloons and stringing streamers (okay, actually my new friend Boo did most of that, but I'll get to that later).  It was a mid-afternoon affair, to fit around little-niece and nephew naps with an abundance of finger foods.  Beer was flowing, and conversations light.  Overall, it was a great time, and C felt the love from everyone.  After the cousins and grandparents left, we ordered pizza and watched a movie: his choice - I am Number 4.  Great b-day celebration for sure.

Friends
Well, with the divorce finalized for a few months, and life somewhat settled down, my finding new, uh.. friends... was inevitable.  Dating has been a surreal experience for me, but fun for sure.  I've recently started seeing someone exclusively, though.  Out of privacy respect, her name will be omitted from posts like my boys' names and I'll just call her "Boo".

Further
Further (the remaining members of the Grateful Dead) is performing 3 nights at a tiny outdoor ampitheater in Eugene, Oregon.  Its been 2 years since "The Dead" played the Bay Area and the Gorge.  It was on that trip in Ed's bus (Belle) that really re-focused me on getting my bus project completed.  *see the "WALSTIB" posts for details on that trip* This time, I'll be driving my bus, cara-bus style, with Ed & Belle down to Eugene.  Sure, its only a couple hundred miles, but its the longest drive I've taken in him since the engine transplant.  We'll be camping a few miles from the venue to boot, so as Summer turns to Fall officially, we'll be squeezing one last camping weekend in.

Tonight, I need to get a short in the dash resolved and get the fuel tank level signal working so I can make the trip safely.  You don't want to run a diesel engine empty.... or drive out of a "Dead" show at night without tail lights.  That's a cop's dream, and a DeadHead nightmare.

More next time, and thanks again for following along.