10 items on the list to do today, and I've just done 2 of them. However, getting health insurance should really be counted as more then one, as it takes hours of careful consideration. After getting a couple quotes last week that were disagreeable I continue today sifting through dubious options, rates, and providers. For the last four hours, I precede to get answers from questions as:

"if we get in an accident are we going to covered in some small town of Wright, Wyoming"...
"where are there providers...oh, so you're just the broker not the insurance....well can you connect me to the insurance company that you are advertising....no, I have to just go through you to get the rate,...hmmm"
"can we be covered together on the same insurance....so Indiana doesn't allow domestic partnership, oh most states don't."

In the fact that insurance is a basic need, and this year, according to the US Census Bureau report on Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance for 2006 close to 50 million are without insurance, and even those that are insured get shotty coverage, is enough reason to be indignant. It is obvious, whatever political affiliation one stands, that we need to restructure this defunct system, as new retirees, families, single individuals, etc are continually be forced to choose between basic needs of food, shelter, and health. So, as I continued my quest for expensive, uncertain coverage, Idid come to the conclusion that the Blue Cross options were the closest bet to be covered in Idaho.

Though I could have filled out the information online, I called the random unassuming sales agent. Oh, we chatted it up, and unlike previous first meet ups, this man asked me questions, lots of personal questions that normally aren't disclosed until at least being a bit more serious. Diabetes, STDs, alcoholism, mental impairments, emergency room debacles, yellow fever, you name it, he knows it. After our conversation, he provided me a quote that was a bit higher then Andy's, even though our health history is basically the same, tip-top. I get the extra charge of $50 because the insurance system structure assumes I will and can have kids. They don't provide me with the choice, it's assumed and at a cost. I can understand if they want to up my insurance when or if I decided to have kids, but to charge me now infuriates me. My frustration with the system is right up there with the insurance companies not covering birth control as well.

Nonetheless, thankfully though at higher prices, we'll have insurance before we leave on our bikes. Now I have to firm up the equipment insurance. More on the later......

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!

The less then one month mark is upon us, and there are days and hours when we feel more pressure then others. Overall, we are always behind, however, really?... when does one catch up? Maybe when we are on the road and we have stretches o f5 hour blocks, I'll have time to catch up on my mindfulness, the latest book on audio, or the ipod songs that have been waiting my attention....more then likely, 5-6hours will be used to convince my body how hard riding is, and what was I thinking when we thought of the idea. Nonetheless, we'll keep you posted. A little bit of an update:

• We've created, produced, interviewed, edited 3 episodes on sustainability, with a focus on Bloomington. And each one seems to get better, or at least we figure more of how and what we want to do with the episodes. Episode 4 will actually be about our trip and the stops along the way.
• For at least three weeks straight Andy and I were joined at the hip, editing, doing interviews, planning, working at CATS, so I have also able to detect when he begins to get annoyed or frustrated with me or the situation. We've condensed a year of going out into a couple of months with our projects and we've tested our emotions and how we deal with them together. It's good because we have to work through the creative differences, pressure, time, my constant talking, and just our personalities and I'm actually surprised and appreciative at how healthy our relationship is as we work through our momentary struggles. I get really excited about what we can accomplish together, as we do have similar goals. I think that no doubt will make our relationship work.
  
• I am still a bit lazy on the training. I bike into work mostly everyday, and there will be the occasional ride, however, I know that's not really training.
  
• We've confirmed more of our contacts on the trip, and it's amazing the support and offers that people have given to us. Such as free places to stay even though I've never met them, listserves of organizations and others that could be interested in the project, and just the encouragement.
  

Okay, so I need to finally sign off, as this was a draft from last night.