you know you're in over your head when...

1. you actively daydream about escapist endeavors abroad
2. you seriously contemplate what you would do if someone offered you a one-way ticket home
3. you neglect to blog for fear it might stimulate a degree of introspection

so. the past few weeks have been - we're all friends here - hellish for me. but let me back up a few paces: fond du lac, wi, and it's residents - a dream. individuals on the disaster team - stellar. disaster recovery work - rewarding. as if by magic, "the team" (a.k.a. the collective soul that emerges from the 9 outstanding individuals on disaster with me) + me (as stand-in team leader) + organizing work = a nightmare. i'd be hard-pressed to think of a month during which i've cried - or wanted to cry - more. now that is out, let's discuss happier things in my life.

like the fact that i live at the fond du lac fairgrounds. that's right. every night i bed down in a building adjacent to the cow palace. cow palace, you ask? it's an industrial-sized barn-ish building that houses several arcade games and a giant flat screen tv. on warm nights, i drag my sleeping bag outside and soak up the starry sky and scent of early autumn.

but that's only the start of fond du lac's magic. this city of approximately 45,000 has a beautiful library, an amazing mom-and-pop restaurant i discovered while lost on a walk and in dire need of a restroom and sustenance, and multiple invitations to speak (and eat) with local volunteer groups.

additionally, it turns out that teammate alyssa is an avid "speed solitaire" player. to cannons, this is more affectionately known as nerts. we've turned a few other teammates on to this game, resulting in some heated competitions.

i could go on about michigander-driven karaoke renditions of the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald, proximity to oshkosh bi-gosh!, and other bits of goodness. but i think i'll settle on rosemary.

i met rosemary on monday while doing mold remediation in her basement. she is a widow, mother of ten, and a once-avid cyclist who has biked across most of europe. she actually demanded that our team take a mandatory cookies-and-milk break. what's not to love? i thoroughly enjoyed hearing her stories about meeting her husband, card-playing with the ladies once a month, and biking across denmark. when we parted ways she apologized that we hadn't met under better circumstances and made us promise that if we were ever in fond du lac again, we'd give her a ring for cookies and a chat.

my time is up on the computer. so i'll have to save my tales of tall bikes, choppers, and jenna's hospitable family for another time.

much much love to all.