Weeknote 31/2022
I spent most of this week in the beautiful environs of Boulder, Colorado. Travelling there last Saturday, I was in town for The Badge Summit, an event that this time around was held at CSU Boulder and had around 200 attendees. WAO‘s client Participate enabled this to happen, and we (Laura, Anne, and I) stayed in an amazing Airbnb with them (Mark, Julie, and Don).
On Sunday, I went for a hike into the Rockies with Julie and one of her friend’s daughters, who happened to be pet sitting in a $4m dollar house in Boulder. The views were incredible, and I got back to watch England women beat Germany in the Euro final football match. It was a shame I couldn’t be at home to celebrate with my family, but the massive screen I watched it on almost made up for that.
I had a great time in Boulder, going for a couple of 10k runs in amazing scenery, helping run two sessions, one of which you can find out much more about in this post on the WAO blog. I was reacquainted with some awesome people who have been part of the badge community for a while (the OG’s!) as well as meeting new people. I’d forgotten how much I miss going to events.
On Wednesday, everyone headed off before me, so I went to a zero-waste shop that my sister recommended, travelling there on an electric scooter. I then got an Uber to the incredible Meow Wolf immersive art experience that Julie had recommended. I really have no words other than to say that if you’re ever near Denver (or Las Vegas, or Santa Fe) you really need to go. What an experience!
My trip back home went more smoothly than the trip going out, as my wife Hannah tested positive for Covid last Friday. My parents were amazing and looked after the kids at their house while I was away, meaning she could recover without having to worry about parenting while feeling rough. I think the current strain is more virulent than the one I had back in January of this year.
British Airways rearranged my connecting flights between Newcastle and London so I had a long layover in both directions. Thankfully, on the way back I got the entire back row of seats to myself on the flight from Denver, so could stretch out and slept for seven hours straight. I then got on a train instead of waiting 9.5 hours for my next flight, meaning I was back home in time to take my son to training!
Thankfully, I don’t seem to have suffered from any of the jet lag I usually get going forwards through timezones. I think that might have had something to do with the quality of sleep I got on the way back, and the fact that I exercised every day while I was out there. In addition to running, there was a decent gym in the Airbnb where I could do free weights, pull-ups, etc.
On Friday, I spent most of the day with the family, running errands for Hannah, and sorting out my expenses. There were some things I needed to order from Amazon to either arrive before we go, or to be sent to the in-laws’ while we’re in Devon next week. One of these things includes a new battery for my son’s phone which he (despite my many warnings) plugged into a charger much too powerful for it to handle. So part of our holiday will include performing some open heart surgery on his device. Every day is a learning experience, etc.
I’m composing this on Saturday morning, and am about to go for a run before going to the gym with my son. We’ve pretty much just got today to get things sorted for our trip to Devon for a family wedding and our holiday in France. That’s because my daughter has a football tournament tomorrow night for her new team — so we’ll be hitting the road straight from there.
Photo taken during one of my runs in Boulder, CO
