As time flies by

So, what I was saying a week ago, about how "fucking long ago" it seemed since that canoe race? Well, Sunday just kind of flew by.

I've been coming to grips with the fact that I'm an insomniac. Or at least I don't seem to either get tired or be able to fall asleep at what would be considered a reasonable hour. I blame this partly on me no longer sharing a bed with the girl, as was the case for the entire summer.

And even though my nights don't see me going out and getting wildly drunk anymore, I still just can't get my ass out of bed early in the morning, even when I'm stone sober.

I was fortunate to answer my uncle's third attempted call on Sunday morning, hopping out of bed and grabbing my Blackhawks hat before heading out the door and immediately wondering when I was going to be able to have a cigarette (I don't smoke in front of my aunt and uncle).

I had feared that I was going to be sore and exhausted by the time I arrived at work later that evening, but there was not an ounce of strain or any feeling of sweat by the time we reached the finish line just a little over an hour later. As I remarked to the girl later when she asked how things went, "We probably in line for food longer than we were in the water." I attributed my well-being to this being the first race that I was probably not hungover for.

The girl also asked if we had "won." I sort of scoffed, as though the question were silly, when in fact, it was totally reasonable. Considering herself "very competitive," she went on to describe how she would have been paddling furiously and finished with a superior time. I tried to explain that while the event is considered a race, I do it every year only because my uncle asks me to. It seems to make him happy and I get to tell myself that I participated. Everybody wins.

Then, of course, the results came in and when my uncle saw we finished ninth in our group, he immediately suggested how next year we could possibly put a little more time into our annual "familiarizing" session. You know, do the entire six miles and remind ourselves where those rough parts are going to be, plan ahead, that sort of thing.

And I'm trying not to think about where I'll be at this time next year. I'd be there in a heartbeat for the canoe race, I'm sure, but the girl's talking about moving. And she's talking about me moving with her. And I'm saying, "Well, it's not like I've got anything keeping me here."

I mentioned this briefly to B. Doggy on Saturday night after we were enjoying one of the last nice nights of the year that would allow us to sit in the beer garden. "I didn't realize you guys were that serious," he said.

Yeah, I guess I didn't really realize it either. If you're going by the length of time my relationships usually last, I guess this one's going longer than in more recent years.

But I'm not stressing about it, by any means. It's just kind of a marvel how fast some things seem to happen.