Something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?

Today is the first day of my offseason, and it is a strange thing. My last race was on Saturday, and since I am not not eight on the team, I will not be racing Regionals this coming Saturday or Nationals the Saturday after that. That is not to say I will not be there.

My last race was a fun one. Well, the last mile was, at least. I didn't feel great in the middle, but I found a second wind of sorts with just over a mile to go. I counted in my head that last mile, and I passed 19 people, finishing up a 27:18 race. That makes four races in a row between 27:17 and 27:22, I believe. Consistency is good, yes? Perhaps improvement is better. Let it be known, then, that this last course was a tougher one than the previous three. Narrow, rooted, and topographically noticeable. It took place at Colt State Park, in Rhode Island. Pretty place, right on the water. Let me Google it and find a picture.

The course winds through those trees in the background. We cooled down over this footbridge. Our sky was not blue.

Last week my latest story (well, Part One of it) was put up to workshop, and people liked it a lot. A lot more than my previous poem, anyway. Encouraging.

Have I talked about Mario Kart yet? I don't believe I have. Chuck brought Mario Kart to our setup, and we play it almost every day, usually for 20, 30 minutes at a time. We (Chuck, Kevin, and I) have two rooms, one for the beds and one for the Mario Kart. Everything else is scattered between them. The Mario Kart room has an open-door policy, and on any given day any number of our teammates stop by and play, regardless of whether or not we are at home. This is a wonderful thing.

Chuck is really good at Mario Kart. Really, really good. He probably wins 9 times out of 10. Maybe 8 now that we (the others and I) have improved over the semester. His banana placement is unreal. This means it's a big deal when he doesn't win, and an even bigger deal when he loses. If we have five people in the room, (only four can play at a time) the rule is, of course, loser switches. So whoever gets 4th sits out and the other person joins. Unless Chuck doesn't win. If Chuck gets 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, he switches. That is the rule and it is fair.

I always pick these two. Not that car, though.

Last week, something amazing happened. I was playing with Chuck, Mark, and Brendan, and Chuck got last place at Baby Park. Dead last. And then he did it again. Both were very close races, but the thrill of Chuck DFLing twice in a row was too much for us. I will store the memory of that celebration in the spot where I keep the best memories, which is in my head, not on this blog. Suffice to say we were jubilant. Chuck was not. He was pissed, actually. He accused the three of us of violating the sanctity of the game by deliberately teaming up on him instead of treating the race like a free-for-all. But history is written by the winners, and I am writing this history — I don't know where I'm going with this, so I am going to stop.

A few days later, I won three races in a row. I normally don't win more than 2 or 3 every 10. That was also cause for celebration, but of a more contained sort because I was the only one happy about it.

On the subject of victory, the Ducks are still number one in the NHL. Eight of the top nine teams are in the Western Conference, and five of the top 13 teams are in the Pacific Division. I know this means nothing to most of you, but try to understand that this is crazy.