Perspective

I am a schemer. I am also a horse-trader. Whenever my dad or I would say to the other, "I'll make you a deal..." my mom would leave the room and tell us to let her know how it shook down when we were done wheeling and dealing.

I also love a good project. Whenever I started thinking to myself (usually out loud, because I do that), "I wonder if I could..." Nicole rolls her eyes at me, usually so hard I wonder if they are going to roll right on across the floor at me.

I am a very curious person. When I discover something I like or am interested in, I study it. I do research on the internet, read books, talk to people who are knowledgeable on the subject, and pretty much every other thing I can to learn about it and/or become better at it. This is a sub-feature of my "project-ivity" that also causes some eye-rolling around here.

I'm also not very patient. I can watch a hillside for hours waiting for a woodchuck to show his little rat head, but when it comes to waiting months or years for something, I quickly reach my limit. And then I have a project on which to scheme. Perfect.

My bike was just such a project. It began with a realization: since I'm in school, I no longer have time to boulder for hours ever day. Then it was realized by a horse trade. I traded my brother I snowboard that I had purchased with the intent to learn how to ride it, but also didn't have the time or money for, and a rock-climbing hangboard for a Liahona Mission bike. Then I started to do my research. Being fairly mechanically-minded, it didn't take me long to recognize the features of higher-end bikes that make them higher-end bikes, and superior to my Liahona. Then I started scheming. I scrounged, saved (usually not for too long, see impatience, above) and started buying upgrade parts. New handlebars, stem, pedals, and fork made a noticeable difference in ride quality and comfort, and finally my birthday came around and made possible a horse-trade-ish deal. I found a new, lighter frame on eBay. It was listed at $90, which was $10 more than I had managed to save, but being impatient and scheming, I watched it anyway until it closed without receiving any bids, at which time I contacted the seller and asked if he'd take $80 for it. He agreed, and even better, said he was driving from Vernal to Salt Lake City that very afternoon and could drop the frame off so I wouldn't have to pay shipping. Perfect. I started with a $400 bike, and through scheming and slow project-izing (I've since replaced the handlebar yet again, the pedals yet again, and the saddle) I have a bike that would spec out at around $900 sold new. It's not a full-suspension bike, which means around here I'm still in for a rough, slow ride everywhere I go, but it'll do.

The reason I tell you all this is because I had a flash of perspective the other day, which led (surprise surprise) to a new project, and some more scheming. I realized something. I've spent 3 years and lots of brain cycles on my bike. Don't get me wrong here, I've enjoyed that bike immensely and will continue to leave patches of skin cells scattered around the hills and canyons anywhere I can get a chance. However, this is a sport that I can only enjoy for about 4, maybe 5 months of the year. I've also realized, in this same flash of perspective, that I'm not likely to be in as good shape any time in the near future (at leas while I'm a student) as I was 10 years ago. Spending time with Nicole is way too high on my priority list (and time in the weight room too low, because of the opportunity cost factor) for this to happen. So on to my new project.

Some of you may know that I play the guitar, and even fewer of you may know that once upon a time I was quite good. In yet another horse-trade, a little over 4 years ago I traded my electric guitar for a Pocket PC, which was incalculably valuable to me in my job back then. However, this means I have been electric guitar-less for almost 5 years. That is much, much too long. In my flash of perspective the other day, I also realized that playing my guitar is a perfect way to unwind for a few minutes when every thing looks like a semi-colon, or I can't tell which bracket closes which block of code any more because the whole world looks like mono-spaced text.

So I'd like to introduce you all to the new scheming, horse-trading, impatient project: the Fender Highway One Telecaster.

I've never owned a Telecaster before, but I've played a few, and owned a couple other kinds of electric guitars. The telecaster has a very unique sound that I really like, and the fact that Jimmy Page played a telecaster on "Stairway to Heaven" is a definite bonus. The guitar solo from "Stairway" is my favorite sounding guitar of all time. I now have a new project. And so I'm saving. And scheming. And, of course, impatient.

Some Telecaster highlights I patched together from the Fender Highway One website.