So now we’re two full days into 2009, and it’s been… well, another set of days.

Actually, it’s been a lot of fun – though I’ll need to backtrack to last year to really recap what’s been going on.

After arriving back from New England early Wednesday morning, sprite and I got a bit of sleep before heading out on our traditional New Year’s Eve pastime: movie watching. We saw three films (with a dinner break at Ella’s Word-Fired Pizza), including Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire and Bedtime Stories. I liked all three films, though sprite really disliked Slumdog (it exceeded her tolerance for graphic violence and tension, so she left part-way through the film – Sarah and I stayed for the duration and liked the film quite a bit). The pizza, as usual, was good.

And due to the crazy timing – the third film was really short – we were home before midnight, so we got to toast the arrival of the new year with Dick Clark on the toob.

On New Year’s Day, I went out and rode 24 miles as part of the annual “Circle of Cycles” down at Hains Point. The morning was clear but brisk, and the wind was its usual strong self on the northbound side of each lap. But I got in some good miles, saw some old cycling friends, and felt alive on the bike – I guess I’m finally over my slight burnout that affected my riding in the last few months of 2008.

After that, sprite and I went to a wonderful brunch hosted by friends on The Hill, and partook of traditional Southern luck food, enjoyed lovely drink and lively conversation. So far, so good.

And today was a final vacation day for me (sure, I’m off on Saturday and Sunday, but those days are always off), so I slept in. After going out to a late lunch with sprite (who had to work, and whose lunch I delayed a tad because I didn’t realize the time), I came home to prepare a pot of chili before watching the Sugar Bowl.

And all I can say is…. GO UTES! And they once again prove that the BCS is a crooked crock: 13-0, destroyed a strong EC opponent, yet never in consideration for #1 because they’re not part of the money racket that is the BCS consortium – there was no way that they would be selected for the BCS National Championship Game, barring serious calamity. If they’re not #2 in the final rankings, it’s a sure sign that the system is rigged to favor those who pay into the scheme.

So where were we? Oh year – 2009. Should be a fun, busy year. I’m looking forward to skiing this winter (been skiing 5 days already this season, all in Vermont, all in less-than-ideal conditions), and will certainly make my way out west to Utah and Colorado. And I hope to meet up with more friends, old and new, on the slopes, because the social aspect of skiing is a real draw. And I might race a bit, too – the clarion call is there, once again.

I’ll ride the bike and race it some more in 2009, but I’ll also make sure to allow myself more time with sprite and our friends – better time management. I rode 5,300 miles and change in 2008, and aim to do the same or more in 2009.

I also plan on writing more often here on this blog. I’ve been distracted by other online social centers over the past year – Twitter, Facebook and sport-centered forums – but my real focus is this website, where I’ve been writing for years. Sure, I’ll still be writing tweets more often (easier to do on an iPhone), but they’ll be part of this site (once I get the silly plugin working properly again – it’s still mired in the past, it seems).

So welcome to 2009, everybody. Tighten your belt, exhale, and hold on – it’s going to be quite a ride.