but there are two i's

NMF and I had another late night crisis at work together (yes we work together). I dropped the ball on a big project that will basically cause us to suffer during the last week before Peru. Times like this make me so thankful that I have Nicole in my life.

You'd think that we are total opposites. I'm a dirty, disorganized mess with a bad haircut. Nicole loves baskets, a made bed and task lists. She is sporty, impulsive, and outgoing, while I resist social networking sites and showers. Neither I nor my friends thought that I'd end up falling for a girl from anywhere near the Marina.

I'm not going to say that opposites attract. Really what happened is that we discovered that under the dirt and crewneck sweaters, we really are similar. Similar enough to do everything together (cook, exercise, bike, travel, clean, watch the Tour), but different enough to be compatable. Nicole's impulse cures my lack of follow thru, my hugs cure her worries, her strength makes me grow and my patience gives her perspective.

I'm counting the hours until I get on that shitty American Airlines plane to Peru. To the start of another adventure with the one I love. Until then, I accept another late night of work knowing that we'll make it through this crisis because together we are unstoppable.

Peruvian Pilgrimage

Speaking of not quitting, the only way either of us is going to be able to last much longer at our day jobs is if we take a vacation. So that's just what we're going to do - journey to a faraway place without cell phone reception or Internet access. We are going to Peru!

We depart on July 28 - only ten days from today - and don't return until August 14, for two and a half glorious weeks of trekking.

• July 28: San Francisco --> Lima
• July 29: Lima --> Arequipa - A few days in the white city and a visit to the Colca Canyon...
• July 31: Arequipa --> Cusco - A few days adjusting to the altitude and exploring this ancient city...
• August 3: Cusco --> Machu Picchu - We will trek via the Inka Jungle Trail...
• August 6: Machu Picchu --> Cusco - We will recover for one more night in the city...
• August 7: Cusco --> Lima --> Huaraz - We will rest before starting another trek...
• August 8: Huaraz --> Cordillera Blanca - We will trek and camp on our own along the Santa Cruz Trek throughout the Andes Mountains
• August 11: Cordilleara Blanca --> Huaraz - We will recover for a few days at the Lazy Dog Inn
• August 13: Huaraz --> Lima - We'll wrap up the tour with a night in Lima, cashing in our Hilton points at the DoubleTree el Pardo
• August 14: Lima --> San Francisco - An overnight flight and we'll have a day to recover before we head back to the office!

Stay tuned for the adventures - and we are not going to kid ourselves, the misadventures - of our journey to Peru!

Starting Over, Together

It is safe to say that since we got back from Spain, our first trip together and first time spending more than just a few days and nights with just the two of us, we now spend quite a bit of time together. Hell, let's be honest - we spend almost all of our time together.

It only took a few weeks for JCB to realize that he was sleeping at my place even when I was out of town. He played it off by saying Puck needed to be fed, which was "la verdad;" but he wasn't fooling me. It was a slow progression in classic JCB style...

1. XBox 360 appeared in my living room - no complaints from me, as I love a little Guitar Hero.
2. Netflix Subscription was updated to reflect BluRay DVDs - but he didn't have a BluRay player, I did.
3. Netflix Subscription was updated again to reflect my apartment as the delivery addresss.
4. The battle of where to keep the Wustof knives was settled - and my kitchen won.
5. A new subscription for video game rentals was initiated, yes, with my delivery address.

And since I'd already been doing some of his laundry anyway, we just decided to make it official. JCB moved in back in March, and it's been pretty awesome!

He has adjusted to my organization tactics, and knows that as long as his mess is contained within a basket of some sort, I will not complain. I have adjusted to the fact that his sneakers are always going to be dispersed throughout the apartment, and that it really isn't too big of a deal. Together, we have an impressive collection of bikes, snowboards, backpacking gear, cooking supplies, movies, and probably most importantly, wine.

Throughout March and April, we spent a lot of time getting settled in the apartment. Cooking together, shopping together, drinking together. In May we bought a car together - a Subaru Outback Sport - and we have been putting it to pretty good use so far.

By June we realized that we were both getting a little too round for our pants together, so we signed up for Boot Camp. Together. And for the past six - eight weeks, we have been waking up early to get our asses kicked. Together. JCB "somehow" got placed in the ADVANCED group while I was placed in the INTERMEDIATE group. (Yes, I was and still am jealous... I think it was because I was sick on assessment day...) However, together, we endured weeks of torturous decline push-ups and hill sprints and squats and hill sprints and push-ups and push-ups and more push-ups.

Seriously, this shit is tough! I regularly find it hard to believe that I have run five marathons, and several triathlons. In particular, every Saturday, while we work out on the beach at Krissy Field, staring out at Alcatraz, I shudder to think that only a year ago I swam from Alcatraz to shore in just over a half hour. What has happened to me? I am definitely NOT in the same shape I was in last year; but I'm getting there. I've been calorie counting and sweating and avoiding alcohol and I've dropped 7 pounds. My darling JCB, who wasn't too excited to start Boot Camp back in May but did it anyway, now weights in 15 pounds lighter than he was before.

Yes, again, I am jealous! But in the words of Ron Burgundy, "Heck I'm not even mad; that's amzing!" I guess I could have worked a little bit harder, anyway...

Nevertheless, we are in it together. He says he isn't a runner, but he can now run 1.5 miles in under 12 minutes. And he doesn't mind accompanying me on my 7 mile runs to the ocean and back. He has actually even considered training for a half marathon!

I am back on my bike, riding with him to and from work, as well as around Marin on weekends. We have barely missed a second of Le Tour de France, and we are planning to head to France next year to catch some of it in person.

Starting over, together, we have found new inspiration to be healthy. When Boot Camp demoralizes us as it does, quite regularly - during our first week, we couldn't even walk up the steps to our apartment without whimpering - we told each other we couldn't give up. That there's no we in quit! And now, we have no intentions of stopping...