Time to get back into gear!

Whew! What a winter break. I wasn't planning on being away from my website for so long, but with the twists and turns I've been through in the last thirty days, it wasn't such a bad idea!

I moved apartments last month in Barcelona, managed to handle six flights of stairs with every trip (the elevator was broken), and then before I could get a chance to settle in, it was off to California to see my Dad and younger brother in Los Angeles, and also spend some time with my best friends in San Francisco. Look for the Christmas special episode of MotoGPod, the internet radio show about motorcycle roadracing where I spent a couple minutes speaking with Factory Yamaha pilot, Colin Edwards II!!! It just gets better and better from there. After a hurried (and harried!) holiday week, it was time to bounce back to Europe, which I did a few days ago. Less than two days in Barcelona unpacking some of my household goods, and then a quick pack-up before I hit the road once again for Bologna, Italy, to make some of the final preseason preparations for the Asian tests at the Ducati Factory.

I'm quite nervous and I have to say this is one of the more stressful times in my life. Not only is working in MotoGP stressful for a variety of reasons, but there are factors that come into play that most people will never think about. I'll probably get into that a bit more inthe coming weeks as time allows, but for now it's almost 6AM and I'm posting this on the web because I haven't been able to sleep much this past night. I'm sick with the runny nose/super sneezing thing that everyone gets over the winter, and as it just started when I got back to BCN, I have to wonder whether I'm allergic to Europe or something! Hahaha, actually, I got into Italy last night with our electronics engineer, Jose Contreras, and by the time we finished dinner, about 8:30PM, I crawled into bed and was sound asleep, totally wiped out from being sick. I woke up at 12:30AM, just after midnight, and have been restless since then, waking up on the hour, every hour, that sort of thing. Part of the reason may be because these next three days are critical for me, and it's the first real time I'll be performing my new job.

Several members of the team are going to visit the factory with me and help me get up to speed as much as possible. As always, I'm a little nervous, but confident that I can learn what I need to do. I just wish I wasn't sick! I think I'll grab a really hot shower and go get some coffee to officially get the day started. You wouldn't believe all the cool stuff that's happened in the last month, but hopefully I'll be able to capture some of it and write about it soon, so that you'll be able to see for yourselves!

Huge shout out to my family, MotoLola, MotoEvan and Joanne, and especially, MotoBrad. Details forthcoming!

Posted by Liam on January 8, 2007 06:12 AM | Permalink