Date: 2012-02-24
To: Goat Rodeo
Miles today: 0.0

I am seriously considering changing my trail name to "Goat Rodeo" as the term aptly describes the last or near last workdays before I start my thru-hike.There's no doubt that stepping out of the "real world" is as much work if not more than preparing for the hiking world. At least when preparing for a big hike, you do some research (poke around on WhiteBlaze, read some trail journals, pester the local outfitter with questions, add about a bazillion bookmarks to your web browser, etc.), then you buy some equipment, do some shakedown hikes, more research, adjust your equipment, and then you get going. I think that's probably about the tune most people dance to when preparing to hike.On the other hand, though, stepping out of the "real world" (my phrase, and many of you may disagree with it) is a dance that's performed to a song written especially for you. Some people have to step back from a career, or delay starting one, or have to put social interactions and relationships on hold (or have had the reset button pressed for them), and so on. Some people will have to find accommodations for pets, perhaps a pet sitter, maybe someone to water the plants. And then there's the work that goes into making sure you have someplace to which to return. Maybe that's paying ahead on rent, or packing stuff into storage, or putting mortgage (and utilities and other periodic bills) on automatic payment. There's also reminding friends that you'll be out of pocket -- that way they don't get their nose bent out of shape when you don't respond 14 facebook event invitations in a row, or you'll be missing cousin Videtta's renewal or her vows in June, or whatever. The list goes on and on and on.For me, it's a number of the things above, plus prepaying a number of domain names set to expire over the summer, making sure my web & database server's are put on auto-payment, clients are happy with how I've left them and comfortable with the people I helped them find to take care of things after I leave.There's a ton of little projects around the cabin I was going to attend to and which I might yet still get to (but probably not), like re-caulking the bath tub, pulling up the dead winter plants from various pots on the front porch and planting things that can go through about August with little or no attention, there's putting away my fishing gear (now pleasantly lining the front porch) so it doesn't turn into a jumbled mess of poles and fishing line and knocked over tackle boxes. There's cleaning up my office and tossing all the stuff I probably won't need when I get back. Again, the list seems to get longer every minute I think about it.But today, it's all about my professional obligations and that's where today's vocabulary comes in:Goat Rodeo (noun) --A Goat Rodeo AKA Goat Rope, is about the most polite term used by aviation people (and others in higher risk situations) to describe a scenario that requires about 100 things to go right at once if you intend to walk away from it.Urban Dictionaryhttp://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=goat+rodeoI have (as of this moment) about three critical and big clients with issues that will take me well into the night and a good chunk of the weekend to resolve. Plus, I have about 3 more clients with small but still necessary loose ends to tie up. And finally, there's two more that I could probably let slide but doing so would weigh on my mind -- I'd much rather have them taken care of so I can embark on my hike guilt-free.Gads. And to think tomorrow I was going to finish stuffing a couple of boxes for some mail drops (the usuals, like Fontana Dam, for instance) and a bounce box. Well, that has to get done no matter what. And I still have to make reservations at the pet boarding place for the dog to stay overnight. Oh, and one of the cats.Well, it sounds like I better get another cup of coffee and get to it, then.Wishing everyone else starting out this week and next good luck on your hike. I'll see you out there.