First post in a while, due to serious lack of sleep, finals, and the "biggest race of my life" as my dad woould say, where to begin? where to stop? here is a recap for those of you still reading this thing:
 
New York (Albany, NYC, and Surrounding Areas):
 
ONE:Albany, NY: Flew in early afternoonish to the airport to meet up with my uncle and took the extremely long and scenic route back to Bolston Lake, NY for the family reunion. The only hassle on the way is the Atlanta Airport, the A/C and roof is broken, so it is hot and smells like you are in the kitchen at KFC. I am very amazed with all the green stuff they call vegitation out here. I realize just how hot it is up here. On the way I see lots of people rowing, wish we had water to do that. Get back to my uncles house post big family dinner, I sit and talk with everyone until really late, that two hour time change really messes with you. I am destin to live up here $2.10 Gas and all. I also arrived to find that my brother backed over their fence with the rental car damaging my aunts prized tomato plant and plants, resulting in a new rental car and repair to the fence, all in good spirits I read myself to sleep.
 
TWO:Leave for Cooperstown, NY and surrounding area for tour of the lake and the baseball hall of fame, farmers museum and farmers art meseum. The town is generally a big ad for baseball, anyhow, back to the lake for a BBQ. Somehow I get stuck cooking everything but it was fun, those weekly BBQ's at Phi Delt really paid off. We hung out and told stories, swam, and attempted to fish in the cold. I spent most of my free time reading for my finals. Feel relived to get home out of the cold.
 
Three: Me, my sister, and two older cousins go into NYC. We leave at dawn to get to the trainstation in Rennsilear and take the two hour and ten minute trip into Penn Station. We spend all day seeing just about everything and relearning the subways, its been such a long time since Paris, but it comes back to you, i miss it...
The weather was perfect and hot, but it could be worse. We barely make our train back in to Rennsilear, and await to be picked up by my dad and uncle who get lost on the way over and on the way home, we get back really late, not much sleep, but an experience ill never forget. NYC makes me feel small enough to become a better person and do good things where i am now.
 
Four: As with any family get-together an early morning at church, they have a new priest from Nigeria, very interesting and in the back of the church a ten year old kid is screaming "i hate this place, why do you take me here with all the scary people, i hate this place" - i affectionately named that kid "mass-wrecker. Later that day a late brunch at home and then a trip to the go-kart track, all my cousins wanted a good race, i started in back and remained there, its been a while since i have driven these things, and those kids are fast. We got back home in just enough time to say goodbye and board the plane back home. Got back in late for Albuquerque, and returned to the desert. Motivated again. I love NY!
 
Fast Forward to Now: IKF regional race, this time i not only had to work on my stuff alone, but the pierce boys as well, all four, I finished third, retaining my points lead, and they all had top three finishes, ive never been so mentally exhausted. I can now look forward to a relaxing week before i leave for nationals in Iowa and really enjoy my tacoma.
 
Later This Week: John Mayer in ABQ, Dallas, and the Texas Triangle...