hiking at Caesar's Creek

Mandy came up from Cincinnati yesterday, and we went hiking at Caesar's Creek. She had expected a mulched trail, so the 14-mile loop pounded into the dirt, going up and down hills, at times crossing creeks without bridges, and most of the time being generally overgrown, came as quite a surprise. We only rested twice, and the trek took us several hours. We finished as dark fell, and worn out and tired and exhausted (all synonyms meaning that we got our asses kicked) we went to celebrate the accomplishment at my favorite restaurant, China Cottage. We shared lots of laughs and good conversation and I even scared the shit out of her at least twice. Here is a picture of the two of us as we were calling people to find out where the hell we were (somewhere on Interstate 73):

Tonight I am going down to Cincinnati to smoke pipes with Blake. Amanda and Mandy will no doubt join us, and Sarah may jump into the fray. I'm looking forward to sitting on the Refuge patio with a latte and a smoke. It should be a good time.

I decided to skip my own graduation. I already have my diploma, so why go? Today was the practice run, and tomorrow is the actual graduation. I'm sure by now the school has realized I'm not attending. It doesn't really matter. I got my diploma, I have my degree and transcripts, I've purchased my Bachelor's via 130+ $400 credits. Now I'm moving on to the next stage in my life. And what stage is that? Hell if I know. I told one of my friends the other day, "I feel like I'm in a transition stage. But I don't know what I'm transitioning to." I have some ideas of what I want to do with my life, but it's a wrestling match to figure out which direction I want to pursue. I need to make some sort of decision or I'll be stuck in the same place for the rest of my life, that "place" being confusion and internal chaos.