They've been few and far between, but we're going to try and get back on track this week.

About a month ago, we decided to start putting out the Changing Gears TV show. That was a good decision and we made three episodes in three weeks. It was pretty grueling though, and we worked some pretty long nights to get them completed by our self-imposed deadlines (Friday each week). We met some great people and certainly learned a ton about our work flow and how we work together.

But after three episodes we lost some momentum. That was also a valuable lesson. I think we're increasingly feeling the pressure of the departure and the realization that we have a lot of work to do to be ready for the trip. That stress and a slow week at CATS saw us slip just a bit from the level of output we were getting a couple of weeks ago. This week we're going to need to kick ourselves in the butt and get it back in high gear.

There's a tough balance here though. We need to work hard to get ready for the trip, but we also need to reserve some strength so that we have plenty of gas in the tank when we hit the road. Right now there's plenty in the tank, but we need to make sure we keep ourselves in good shape as we pick up the pace again.

There are other big things that are distracting us right now. April 22nd, Melissa and I proposed to each other. Both of us said yes, so we'll be setting a date soon to be married and we'll get the invitations/notifications out to everyone.

I can't begin to describe how thrilled I am to be engaged to such a wonderful, thoughtful and engaging woman. She's made a tremendous difference in my life, making me think about things in new ways and challenging me to improve myself on a daily basis. Melissa and I have a great rapport, and we seem to want many, if not most of the same things in life. That's very fulfilling as a partner, and I very much look forward to us accomplishing great things together.

But of course the engagement has complicated this too. We have more plans to make and friends and families to work with. That process has be a bit stressful too, and it's not like we need more on our plate right now. Hopefully we've settled on a plan though. I think we'll exchange vows at the end of the trip in a small, private ceremony. Then we'll have a big celebration and re-vowing in Bloomington sometime in October. Neither of us want much in the way of a traditional wedding, but we do want our friends and family to be involved, so we need to work out some kinks in how this is all going to fall together.

What else is going on? Last week I completed my application for admissions to SPEA's MPA program. We'll see how things go, but I'm excited at the thought of entering the program, and I very much want to learn from some of the best minds in the field. IU has a tremendous program, and I would relish the opportunity to test myself with some really gifted students in such a good program.

But the trip is coming before SPEA right now, and the next couple of weeks are going to be huge. We need to contact everyone on our interview list, assemble 90% or so of our gear, and really start our fund raising efforts in earnest. We also need to produce a couple new episodes of CG in the month, and begin some serious training. While we commute on the bikes, we really haven't been long-distance training. If we don't get on the ball with that, the first couple of weeks will be hell on the trip while our bodies play catch up with the strain.

I'm excited about everything though. The engagement, the trip, and SPEA. It's been a great two weeks, but the next few months are going to be spectacular!