a little bit of everything all of the time

I was sitting between two others on the bench seat of a pickup, holding on to a couple of "forties".  I don't remember who the driver was or who had the window seat.  I was 15 or 16 years old, and the three of us had gone on a booze run from a party we'd been attending.  Who bought the booze?  Why forties?

Those questions didn't really matter to me at the time because I was thinking, "Wow, my first drunken high school party!!"  Yeah, I'd made the "big time" *snore*.

I recall that my first real "ex" was also at that party.  He'd been a bigtime crush - sent my heart all a-flutter just at the site of him.  He drove a Pontiac Thunderbird - the only one like it in town - and whenever I saw that car, I became a big noodle, knowing he was in there.

Earlier that school year, I'd gathered all of my nerves and asked  him to go to the Homecoming dance with me.  OMG, what was I thinking?! I was a sophomore, he'd been a senior the year I was in 8th grade!

But I'd crushed on him big time, and it worked.  I actually called him from a payphone to ask him out because this was LONG before cell phones, and I didn't want anyone in my house overhearing the momentous call.  

We went to Homecoming and were together for a while.  It eventually fizzled the way these things do, so then I had an ex!  AND I was at a drunken high school party!!  Woo hoo, look at me checkin' all the boxes!

Thankfully, while I attended that party and many more to follow, I was never a big drinker - or smoker for that matter.  In the low-income small town where I grew up, "drugs for the rich" weren't much of a problem as far as I knew.  Alcohol and weed were about it.

Oh sure, I underwent that rite of passage, but in the end, I got over the "let's get shitfaced!" mentality pretty quickly.  That served me well later in college as I'd already gotten my party days out of me for the most part.  I was too broke to party much in college, plus I needed to do my homework.

College was where I met the equally not-into-getting-shitfaced Magnum, who eventually asked me to marry him.  Admittedly, I think we both were a little tipsy at the impromptu proposal.

There are so called "healthy" addictions too.  I've sometimes wondered if I'm addicted to running since I've enjoyed running for as long as I can remember.  Times when I couldn't run - e.g. injuries and pregnancies - I would sometimes have dreams about running, then wake up and be all, "ah, bummer".

Or people will ask what I'm training for, and I'm, "Nothing.  It's just for fun".  But I'm sure I'm not addicted.  Pretty sure.

For January of this year, a local running store created a challenge on the running app I use: walk or run at least one mile a day for 15 days in January to be entered in a drawing for a free pair of shoes.  I signed up, mainly to support the store but not expecting to win anything.  January came to a close.

This morning, I decided to see what was what with that challenge.

Lo and behold.

My name?  Listed as the winner?

I thought maybe the app was glitching.

But nope, apparently it's legit.

New shooz for me!

Not only do I get freebie shoes, but everyone who participated gets a 15% discount in February.

What a nice thing for that store to do.  These COVID times, businesses are hurting. 

And I thought I'd link up with Mama Kat this week, but it was a tough decision regarding which prompt to write about!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Tell us about something you are “addicted” to.
2. Write about your proposal.
3. Tell us about a crush you had in high school.
4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: party
5. Share a blog post about a tough decision.
6. Tell us about the last nice thing somebody did for you

how far off, I sat and wondered

Thursday night, I was awakened by... nature sounds?  In my grogginess, I thought maybe it was raining, and I was hearing soft drips from the backyard trees.  Then I remembered it was cold outside and our windows were closed.

Upon further awakening, I concluded the sounds were coming from the cat.  He was cleaning himself.  But then... he doesn't usually clean himself so loudly, so moistly. 

At that point I debated on whether I even wanted to know what he was doing.  But yeah, of course I needed to find out.  I flicked on the reading lamp.

Ew.

He was eating a mouse. SH*T!

We've spotted some mice lately, running around the yard.  It seems they've infiltrated.  On the one hand, I was all, "Yay, the cat's doing his job!".  And on the other hand, "Ew".

We had a similar awakening on Friday night.  We're sure he's catching the mice somewhere in the house, then bringing them to our bedroom as trophies.  Yeah, no.

Thankfully, last night was mouse free.  I'm hoping the others, if they exist, have gotten the message.  And I'm thinking it's highly likely there are more than just two, because when there are two... there are never just two.

And yes, we have mouse traps now.  And also, for this reason, I've deemed that we will always love and care for employ a family cat.  Napolion's badass.

act like you don't see me

I was talking with one of my coworkers today, sort of connecting the dots to how we'd both ended up working at a college in a testing center.  

I knew she'd been a school teacher for several years, elementary through high school.  But then she told me she originally wanted to be a nurse.

"I liked science, and took the test, and was accepted into a good school, but I just wasn't sure that I could really do it", she explained.

So she tried the waters and earned her CNA certification.

"The first job they assigned me was in a dementia ward of a nursing home, and in a short period of time, it became a job I just DREADED going to".

It was enough to turn her off nursing school, and she ended up enrolling in an education program instead.

I had a similar try-it-and-see experience when I thought I might want to be a high school teacher.  I took a job as a non-licensed para at a high school back in 2017, remember?  Do ya?

I figured it was a good way to literally get my foot in the door toward being a licensed teacher and also a way to see if I'd like working in a public high school.

The short answer is, "NOPE".

I won't go into a detailed bitchfest of what I think is wrong with public high school.  And really, it's not all bad, it just was not my cup of tea.

I'm grateful for that job since it saved me from putting any more time and energy (and money) into pursuing a teaching license.

I remember one kid, Chris.  He was a senior who'd transferred in after moving from another state.  He was a bit of a "thug".  Didn't work very hard at at school, got into trouble for truancies and such, didn't care much for authority. But he had pretty solid attendance, probably to the disappointment of some of his teachers.

I worked in the study hall, and he would goof around in there while other students were trying to work.  He once told me that he didn't have anything to work on, so I told him I'd give him some math problems, which I did.

He worked on them for the remainder of the time and handed the worksheet back to me before leaving.  I looked it over, and he'd done it all correctly.  That was honestly a surprise.

Another time, he was again acting up, out of boredom I suppose - again having nothing to work on because his class schedule was ridiculously light.  I asked if there was something he liked to do that was school related and could be done quietly.  He told me he liked to write.  Specifically, he liked to write Rap lyrics.

"Great, write some Rap", I enthused.

"You wouldn't like what I write", he responded.

"No, go ahead, write whatever you want", I said.  But he still declined, saying it could get him in (more) trouble,

"Okay, write a Rap song about yourself, then", I tried.

To my surprise, he did.  To my bigger surprise, he showed it to me and asked what I thought

It wasn't nasty or filled with cusswords - not too many anyway.  He wrote about liking basketball - he'd tried out for the school team, but didn't have the grades to stay on the roster - and hanging out and coming up with Rap lyrics.  He wrote about missing his friends back in the town he'd moved from.  He wrote about his eye for fashion - he was a bit of a sneakerhead and liked hip hop style clothing.  The school didn't allow any bling, though.

I found it surprisingly good and thoughtful.  And maybe more surprising, he seemed to really want to know what I thought.

There was a pep rally in the gym one day.  I was already terribly bored with the job and just there out of obligation.  I noticed Chris in the stands among the other seniors.  He was trying to get into the cheers - how the different classes try to out scream each other at those things.  But he was off to the side by himself and didn't really know the different cheers.  

Another day in the study hall, another time I'd pulled him aside for being too rowdy, we were back near my desk, thinking of something he could do quietly for the next hour.  He leaned in and whispered,

"I don't really fit in at this school".

I whispered back,

"Me neither".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
5. Write about a time someone surprised you

surprised?

It's early afternoon, Friday, and I'm a bit surprised at how unproductive I've been so far. I currently have Fridays off and thought I would get some yardwork done.  It's hot, though... blah blah blah whine whine whine.

I've mentioned that school has started up here.  Colleges and universities started classes this week.  It's nice to have so much activity on campus at work - everyone all gung ho and motivated, supposedly.  Our vaccination numbers are relatively high, and we still have the campus-wide  mask mandate.  I've not heard of any complaints.

So  no big surprises with the start of the semester and otherwise. A few small ones maybe:

Merlin and Napolion,
the neighborhood Karens

We've put  our pooch, Merlin, on a diet.  At 70 lbs., he was about 10 over what he should be.  I think he's gotten leaner, and he's still chipping away. 

It's surprising since he was a 35-pound bag o' bones when we got him.  I guess he's been making up for lost time and calories. 

Speaking of dogs, I asked my boss if we allow service animals for clients at work.  The answer is yes, but specifically dogs and miniature horses.  Nothing else.  

Miniature horses are the one ADA exception to service animals other than dogs.  Oh, how I hope someone comes in with one!

I have noticed increased traffic while going in to work in the mornings - bike traffic, somewhat surprisingly.  Fort Collins is a very bike-friendly city, but we still have our challenges with car traffic.  

It's nice to pedal along with the youngsters in the mornings, but I'd say they need more parking!

SOURCE

And along with parking and pets, I bought Napolion a new litter box today.  This one has supremely high walls.  When we cat sat Wolfgang's Maisey a couple weeks ago, I was instantly enamored with her glorious litter box.

The one I got for Napolion isn't quite as majestic as Maisey's, but pretty darn close.  I've got it all set up within my view as I type.

I'm quite surprised at how much I'm anticipating Napolion's first gander at the thing.  

Where's that cat when I need him?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Linking up with Mama Kat this week for the prompt:

3. Share about a time you felt surprised.

let them brush your rock and roll hair

She called to me, I'm sure of it.  Subliminally.  I wasn't looking, but then all of a sudden I was.  And there she was.

Earlier this week, I got a sudden urge to look for a road bike to add to my fleet.  This, after determining I didn't want another bicycle just a few months ago.  I have two bicycles, I'm a minimalist, clearly, I don't need another.  Clearly.

And there she was. Staring at me from face6ook marketplace.  Her keeper said:

"...been in the closet for the past year, hardly ridden"

Well, she's outta the closet now!  Out and proud!🌈 

We had our first quality time together this afternoon.  She told me her name is Violet.

Violet, during a quiet moment.
Pondering metal watermelon slices

What can I say?  I love her already.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
2. Tell us about something you recently purchase

tasteful sideboob, not

She seemed like a committed and doting wife, maybe a bit on the controlling side.  But I had to admire her attentiveness and appreciate her graciousness toward my coworkers and me.  

I've mentioned the care facility where I work is half long term care (nursing home) and half rehab facility for people who are not bad off enough to be hospitalized but not quite ready for independent living.  That part of the biz is a "halfway house" of sorts.

So we had this man check into the rehab a coupla weeks ago.  I'd guess he's somewhere in his mid-60s?  Unlike the other residents, his wife performs a good deal of his care. I assume she's his primary care giver at home and has been in that role for a while, so she worked something out with the facility and medical team to regularly come in and do things for the husband.  This was instantly notable as "different" since no one is allowed visitors during these COVID times (unless they're dying).

As I said, she's always been nice to us and communicates well with the staff.  Yesterday, a coworker walked passed the guy's room, and wife/nurse is standing in there flashing her boobs.  To her husband, not my coworker... for clarification.

Okay, that was a bit odd.  

• The rooms have doors, and if a door is closed, we will always knock before entering.
• To be in the room, one must don a mask, face shield, gloves, and gown.  Flashing boobs (or anything, really) is not a particularly easy task in that getup.

But hey, more power to 'em.  Just maybe shut the door mkay?

Speaking of rehabilitating, our snow is slowly melting.  I think the final measurement put us at a foot and a half, which is a large dumping, particularly since it's not even November.  We've had clear blue skies ever since, and it's so nice not to be living with all that smoke and ash.

The fires are not out, however, and containment is still only partial.  Just as how the COVID pandemic has been educational regarding viruses and immunity, I've been learning a bit of fire science lately.  In kindergarten fire science terms, trees that have not fully burned during a wildfire can hold heat inside of them and catch fire later on if not cooled down enough.  That's why Smokey Bear tells us to put out our campfires to the point of being completely cool, not just to no longer flaming.

In the meantime, it's been  nice to go outside and be able to comfortably breathe. During the snowstorm on Sunday, I was already feeling the cabin fever, so we gave ourselves a mission other than shoveling to go play outside.

To the ballot box.  Uphill both ways in the snow.

prize-a-rama and an impostor

Just prior to Thanksgiving, Magnum's safety group at work had another of their many contests.  These things seem to happen mostly around the holidays with offers of prizes.  We always enter, I think we got a basket a year or two ago.  And once again, we're weiners!  Mag brought home one of ten gift baskets...

The "challenges" are not that difficult.  In this case, it was a word search based off of a fill-in-the-blank set of questions based off some reading materials.  We learned about holiday safety:  proper food prep, temps, and storage, what not to feed the pets while everyone else is pigging out, winter travel safety, etc.  I mean,  c'mon, I was a lunch lady - that stint paid off!   And now I'm pretty sure I will never own or use a turkey deep fryer.

Ironically, much of the stuff in the basket from the Health and Safety group is not so healthy.  I have yet to try the bacon flavored hot chocolate (?).

In other prize news, I got an email from the turkey trot people that there were prizes for top 3 finishers in each age division.  I swung by the Young Men's Christian Association yesterday and claimed this cute mug, from which I'm sippin' my coffee as I type.

They recently posted some photos from the race, so I was perusing for photos of myself and Wolfgang and his friends.  I took second in my age group, and there were a couple of ladies in the next older group who also beat me.  Those two older ladies have beaten me before (i.e. every time we've run in the same event), and I'm well acquainted with them as they are well known in the local running community.  

However, the name of the woman who took first in my age division was unfamiliar.  So as I was perusing the race pics, I thought I'd look for her to see if I recognized her at all - to match a name with the face.  

It didn't take long, and I found "her".

SOURCE

Now, despite this clever disguise I've applied, I think we can all agree that this is not a 52-year-old woman, but rather a virile dude in his early 20s.

A bit further investigation, and I pieced together the events of Thanksgiving morning.  

• Mom, 20-something son, and teenage daughter register for the turkey trot
• Mom and daughter enjoy the event, starting and finishing together
• Son runs his own race and meets up with them after.
• Son wears Mom's bib instead of his own, takes first place for the old ladies

HA!  I'm sure this was not done on purpose because who would intentionally try to throw the results of the old lady division of a turkey trot?  

I mean, it's a cute mug, but...

plumbing appreciation day

As expected, the call of the wild took hold on Friday with the pooch.



It was a lovely day out, so it was easy to give in to Ella's suggestion to go out for a proper hike.  She and I headed out to a fave spot of the locals that is a bit off the beaten path from the touristy types - no offense to the touristy types, but... well... y'know...





I am a bit wary at this particular area because of rattlesnakes.  We've seen them on a few occasions, and a woman was recently bitten and had to be airlifted out.  BUT what's an adventure without a little danger?

It was nice to be out with such a youthful, agile companion.  We've only recently had our old lady dog, China, before she went to dog heaven, and she hadn't been up for all this scampering in a long time.  Ella was eating it up.

We traipsed around for quite a while, and thusly satisfied, headed home.  

I was looking forward to getting cleaned up before a couple of tutoring appointments, and I went to the sink to fill a bowl of water for Ella before heading to the showers.  

Nothing.

No water.  

Just that eerie sucking sound the faucet makes when there's no water.

I'd passed a crew working on our street.  They had a big chunk of road torn up from where water had been seeping the day before.  Water main break.  Oh goody.

Thankfully, we've got a bit of prepper mentality in our household (who goes by the name of Magnum) since ya never know when the zombies will take over!  I went down to our crawl space to bring up one of our several jugs of water.  They hold 5 or 7 gallons.  Here's your question of the day:  how much does 5 to 7 gallons of water weigh?

It's about 40 to 60 pounds, but I got it lugged upstairs to the kitchen so I could pretend we had a sink.  And it wasn't so bad.  Like camping, except in a house.  

Bottom line, I did not get a proper shower after our avid hiking and before the tuting.  I'll just say it's a good thing that both tutees were online and not in person!  I managed to make myself appear presentable enough.  I think.

It's rare that we lose our running water, so this little episode was a good reminder of how much I appreciate it.  I was also glad to have those filled jugs sitting in our crawl space, regardless of how cumbersome they are to heft around.  

The water was back up and running by the early evening.  Have you hugged your pipes today?

cruising with Pablo

Wolfgang has left the nest.  Again.

He'd been living back at home since last summer while considering his employment options.  He had an engineering internship that continued after he graduated last spring, but he wasn't really feeling the love for a long term position at the company.

But at least they have a fun bowling team and an annual chili cook-off...

In the meantime, he's been living the good life of free room and board at our place while perusing job openings and such.  He landed a position at a firm a couple of hours away from us, secured an apartment, and move-in day was yesterday.

Wolfgang rented a U-haul and got all packed up, but one issue remained.  What to do with Pablo?

Pablo is Wolfgang's lovable 1989 Toyota 4-speed pickup.  He's a spunky little reliable truck that has been a faithful companion for two or three years.  He hasn't spent a lot of time on the highway, however.

Pablo - stud

Luckily, it's spring break for me, and Magnum also had yesterday off.  We could help Wolfgang move - yipee.  After considering some options, we decided that Wolf would drive the U-haul, Magnum would drive Ellie Mae (our awesome Honda Element), and it would be Pablo and me to round out the convoy.

Honestly, I had my misgivings.  How would Pablo do on such a long (for him) trip?  What about Monument Hill?  All those sustained RPMs?

We got the U-haul loaded up and headed out, with me checking to make sure I had my AAA card handy...

But that little chicken truck?  He was AWESOME!

He just hummed along - up Monument Hill, hardly needing a breath.  Through the crap traffic of Denver, then further up the open road to the new home.  I could almost feel his joy of the wind in his hair!(?)

I was alone with Pablo for the trip, and he was loud.  He was loud because he was built before sound insulation was much of a consideration for cars.  Even with the windows rolled up, I could hear the wind rushing past us and the sounds of other cars going by.  It was way cool!

But I could also hear Pablo's engine, it was happily purring the whole way, not a sputter to be heard.  At about 50 miles from our destination, I saw the odometer roll over to 188K miles.  The trip only used a quarter of a tank.

with Pablo -
the first to arrive at the destination

We got Wolfgang all moved in and stocked him up with a few groceries and such.  It's a nice new beginning, and I'll miss having Pablo... er... Wolfgang around.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Linking up with Mama Kat for the prompt:

6. Write about the last thing that surprised you

that moment when you realize it's you

I was scrolling around in instagram a couple of days ago.  I got an instagram account a while ago because it's the platform of choice for geocaching pics, but I soon learned that I don't really want to post geocaching pics  *YAWN*

But I admit that it's kind of fun to find interesting things to follow.  I don't really follow my "friends" much, but I've found some fun artists and such to inspire me.  And I follow some gear companies and groups, because really, I like looking at happy pictures. 

So I was boringly perusing my instagram feed when I came across a familiar looking photo.  Then I realized it was familiar because I had just been living it!  My PEO chapter was adorning the screen.

Yeah, we had another party.  Yeah, we had to take the Von-Trapp-Family-on-the-staircase photo - complete with a coupla pooches.

Thanks to the Veep who has a great house for parties and then took some pics and then posted them to the PEO instagram.  You go, girls.  What did we do before the internet?

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Linking up with MamaKat for the prompt:
3. Share a recent photo or video you  somebody added to Instagram and give us the back story.

no degree for me yet, but I least I got stuff!

Another semester of classes has come to a close.  When I last spoke with Chaco, he couldn't WAIT to be finished.  That was on Sunday.  He and Wolfgang actually came over as a sort of Mother's Day... thing.  Which was nice.  We just kinda hung out as we don't usually do anything special on Mother's Day, so that was special.

Whee!  I'm in college!

I was thinking about back to nearly four years ago when Chaco was just moving into the freshman dorm - how excited he was (and how rather traumatized I was).  It's been a good four years for him, and it's time to move on.

Graduation is tomorrow.  We left it up to him as to whether he would do the whole cap'n'gown thing as we're pretty ambivalent when it comes to all that pomp and circumstance biz.  We told him we'd be there with bells on if he wanted, but Chaco didn't feel a need to sit through graduation in a funny hat.  YAY.



I went to the university today.  I noticed right away that I didn't feel as old as I usually do.  There were quite a lot of "older than usual" people on campus - parents in for graduation or packing freshmen and/or sophomores out of the dorms.

As for me, I was not there to collect any degrees or any children, but rather to cash in!

Remember a little while back?  I mentioned this "Spring into Wellness Challenge" the graduate school was throwing?  I was drinking a bunch of water for that first challenge?  Sure ya do!

Anyway, the challenge took place over the final six weeks of the semester, with a different challenge each week.  We were to complete the challenges and take part in discussions with other participants.  I thought it was fun.  The challenges weren't too difficult, but made me think about "wellness", and I enjoyed the discussions with grad students other than those that are in my program.

"Prizes" were vaguely mentioned early on, and lo and behold, they awarded nicer than expected prizes to the top three participants.  And I got top prize!  Yeah, moi!  Fifty bucks at the university bookstore.  Surprise!

So I went today to cash in.  I did NOT spend it on textbooks.  (1) the bookstore book prices are ridiculous, and (2) sorry, but a textbook doesn't feel very "prizey".

I got an Under Armour ColdGear 3/4 zipper pullover.  It's fun just to say it!  This will be nice for those cold-weather rides and runs.  And yes, so far, it is "sparking joy"

As I was perusing all the paraphernalia, I was surprised to not see any reference to the university on this particular pullover.  Then I turned it around and saw this rather inconspicuous blurb

Well, okay then!  I didn't need it today as it's lovely out and I rode in single layer short sleeves.  I just put it on for blog quality - sacrifices I make.  I like the thumb holes in the sleeves.  I wish we could actually go back to winter right now!  No I don't!

I was also due for Pedal Perks from April, so...

I know they look like pretty boring socks from the tops, but the material is nice lightweight moisture whicking stuff.  And they're actually quite flashy.  Plus... free!




So that's it for now - top to bottom.  What's new with you??

.

wait, did that really just happen?

Okay, folks.  Labor Day has come and gone, summer is unofficially over, playtime is over, time to get serious!  That's the attitude I had as soon as I awoke this morning.

Okay, not really.  It was more like, "uhm... Tuesday?"

But eventually I got going, and it looked to be a glorious day.  I headed out for a lovely run in the early morning hours.  The air felt crisp and clean.  I felt well rested from the long weekend.  My shoo-gooed shoes were ready and willing.

And it was a very nice morning until... this thing.  This weird thing.  This thing what happened.

It was toward the end of my route, and I was approaching a woman and her two little dogs from behind.  They were standing at a corner, and I intended to turn on that corner.  I slowed to a walk since I figured they didn't know I was coming up behind them. I didn't want to startle anyone as I went passed, so I slowed to let them know I was there.

Clearly, that failed.

One little ragamuffin dog saw me before the human did and started to freak out.  This prompted the woman to reactively freak out and begin reigning in ragamuffin number one, who was on a surprisingly long retractable leash.

While all that was going on, ragamuffin dog number two reactively freaked out and came around from a different angle on a similarly surprisingly long retractable leash.  This all happened in about 2.76 seconds.

While the woman was distracted by ragamuffin number 1, ragamuffin number 2 took full advantage and came straight for my jugular!

Luckily, he was just a ragamuffin, so he only got this far:

It all happened so fast.  When RM2 came at me, I just bent down to say hello, let him smell my hand, all that jazz.  But he went right for the kill!  

I felt the sting on my thigh, and at first, thought he'd just scratched me with his claws.  The woman was apologizing profusely, and I, all strung out on endorphins, couldn't feel upset with her.  I assured her it was all fine, and I continued on my merry jaunt.

A few paces onward, I decided to look at my thigh, which so happened to be oozing a nice stream of blood.  I wiped at it with my hand, only to have the oozing stream replaced anew.  

I turned back to the woman and calmly (she was still kinda freaked) asked if her dogs were up-to-date on their rabies shots since one of them bit me and caused me to ooze.  She assured me they were.

That was it, I don't know if I should've interacted with her anymore.  I was about a mile from home, so I just ran on home to stop the ooze and get cleaned up. 

Moral of the story?

Don't trust those little ones.

.

I'm (almost) a weiner! And I (may) have been busted!

So... remember Pedal Perks?  That bicycling incentive program at the university?  I got a water bottle and a pretty tail light?

Well!  They also give out special prizes to perky riders each month, and it seems I'm a perky prize winner for November!  I got an e-mail that said so last week.  It included the email of the person to contact about getting my perky prize.  Turns out she's the enthusiastic typer I met when I got my tail light.

Anyway, I emailed her, it went down a little something like this:

Me:  Boo-yah, I won!
Perky:  Yes, you've won some wonderful winter apparel!  Just pick something from this list and I'll order it for you... [list of wonderful winter apparel]

Me:  Awesome, I'll take leg warmers for 200, Alex!
Perky:  ??

Me;   Erm... uh... I mean, I'd like the leg warmers.  Size small please.
Perky:  OK, got it!  I'll let you know when you can pick them up.

And... well... here they are!

Not.

Apparently bicycling leg warmers are popular items this time of year.  But hey, I'm just so delighted I won.  

On a related note, the weather here continues to be super duper.  So while out on my travels today, I was once again with young Louie and his sinfully smooth summer tires.

Not surprisingly, the path was occupied by several basking walkers, bikers, runners, and pooches taking similar advantage.  Louie and I were happily and smoothly flying along when I noticed a runner several yards ahead, running toward us.  As we got closer, I thought, "Gee, he looks kinda familiar"

Damn if it wasn't Wolfgang!  Crap!

Obviously, Wolfgang knows I like Louie, but he is unaware that we've taken our relationship to this next level.  

I enthusiastically dingled Louie's bell (a trinket I purchased for him, unbeknownst to Wolfgang) and flashed a big smile to Wolfgang, thinking "look at my face, just LOOK AT MY FACE!"

We exchanged happy greetings, then continued on our respective ways.  I don't think Wolfgang noticed... I don't... think...

But I had to fess up, so I texted Wolfgang later and admitted the whole affair.  I've yet to hear back from him.  Understandable.

It was all very sweet, but I guess I knew we couldn't carry on like that much longer.  

boxed in

*DING * DONG *

Me:  Oh {SHOOT!} Don't answer that!

Meego:  What?

Me:  Don't answer that!

Meego:  Why not?

Me:  Don't answer that!

Meego:  Go answer that?

Me:  Don't answer that!

Meego:  Who is it?

Me:  Don't answer that!

Meego:  It's UPS.

Me:  Don't answer that!

Today is Meego's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Meego!  Born Mother's Day of 2000.  So we ordered him a thing, and it was due to be delivered yesterday afternoon.  Meego and I were both at home, but I had to leave to go tute and was hoping that UPS driver would get here so I could intercept the thing.

I had to get ready to go and stepped into the bathroom to do in-the-bathroom things, and of course, that's when Mr. UPS arrives.  Hence the above "conversation", me shouting from the bathroom.

So I made it to the door to intercept the thing, which by then, Meego was on the up and up about.  At least it was in a nondescript brown box, so I took it down to the rec room to help it blend in.

In the meantime, Chaco and Wolfgang are to be out of their dorms by the end of this week, and have brought "a few" of their things to the house already.  So I have plenty of camouflage for Meego's Birthday thing.

Anybody remember where I put it??

.

greetings!

Yesterday morning, I was greeted by this in the back yard:

Yeah, it's snow and it's kinda pretty, but  IT  WAS  MAY  EVE!  Enough with the snow already!  And to my satisfaction, it did melt pretty quickly.

But it was annoyingly windy.  I contemplated taking the metro to class, but decided that would be wimpy and I hopped on Bella and flew to class with a tailwind.  Of course that meant that the ride back home would be a beotch, but oh well.  

I returned to Bella for the windy ride home and was greeted by this, clipped to her:

It's a clothespin adorned with a butterfly that reads "You make each day brighter!"  So I had to snap a pic and share it before paying it forward - to another bicyclist of course!  Thank you, random anonymous butterfly clothespin person!

The day continued into evening and I was at my desk watching PewDiePie doing homework when I heard a bit of cat ruckus in the hallway behind me.  I didn't think much of it, since the cat's a weirdo.  

But then he came into the room all proud-like and sat at my feet...  

and greeted me by commencing to eat the mystery mouse.  

*LOUD  HEAVING  NOISE*
Join me?

So (a)  the mouse has been located and (b) sent on to mouse heaven, and I now realize that (c) it lived among us for nearly two days.

I'd been thinking that Napolion seemed to be acting differently during that time, like his badassness had slipped a bit.  But he seems to be back to his cocky self since this redemption.

"FIST  PUMP,  BABAY!!"

happy trails

Happy first day after the first day of spring!  We're a little closer to nice weather, right?  That's what all the wind is about?

I realized that it was time to put Tessa on the market.  Since meeting Alice, I couldn't keep my minimalist reputation with having three bicycles around.  But I also didn't want to try to sell a road bike in the middle of winter.  The time had come.

Yesterday afternoon, I penned a quick craigslist ad with a total cheesecake shot of Tessa and sent it to the masses.  Then Meego and I left to run some errands and returned later with dinner sandwiches - which are the same as lunch sandwiches, just eaten later in the day.

After dinner, I decided to check my abbymail to see if there was any interest in the lovely Tessa, although the ad hadn't been up very long.

Oh. My.  God.

My e-mail on FIRE.

"I want it!"

"I'll buy it tonight.  CALL me!"

"I WILL buy this!"

etc...

I thought it would only be fair to go with the first response.  An interesting side to that one was that he had the same last name as ours.  Some long lost relative?  Nah, despite the fact that, more often than not, our name is mispronounced / misspelled, it's pretty common.  He was just another one.

I went with the second one.  He had me at...

                  "Hello my name is [   ~   ]. This is just what I am looking for for my beginning cyclist 
                    girlfriend.  Please call or text [   ~   ]. I can meet you."


Hopefully, readers here know that I'm not looking to make a buck.  My main concern was that Tessa go to a home where her many attributes would be appreciated and utilized.  So (1), yes, she was priced to sell, and (2) I wasn't letting her go to someone who would just put her in the garage so the neighbors would think a bicycle person lived there.

I sensed from this e-mail that this was a good home.  And the love story was gravy.  Plus he used decent grammar.

We met at a nearby parking lot.  He was all excited.  The happy girlfriend was with him.  She's a bit shorter than I am, but nothing a lowering of the saddle won't cure.  They're both in their late 20's, I'd guess.  Nice couple.

While he rummaged around his truck looking to see if he had a tool to adjust the saddle - in my separation anxiety, I'd forgotten to bring one - she asked a bit about the bike, and I let my intuition decide if they were the right buyers.

And just like that, Tessa has gone on to other pastures.  I jumped on a computer and took that ad off craigslist before my e-mail crashed.

So, it's bittersweet to see her go.  But thankfully, I got this t-shirt surprise in the mail this week from brother Guano.

YAAAAAHHH!!

.

wait... what?

I packed for the occassion:

• Novel I'm currently reading
• Nexus 7 tablet, fully charged
• Full water bottle
• Notebook and pencils

I was prepared.  Today was the one we'd designated as DMV afternoon.

I picked Wolfgang up at the appointed time.  He approached the driver's side, asking to drive.

"Nope, we have to keep this as painful as possible", I explained, "to further etch the experience into your brain so you don't lose your driver's license again".  Even though I'd prefer not to drive, this was a teaching moment.  We did what we had to do.

We arrived and Wolfgang told the touchscreen why we were there, and it spit out a number.  We looked at the printout, estimated waiting time was 23 minutes.  Wowza, sounded good to me!

We found seats and Wolfgang left for the restrooms.  I don't even think my butt cheeks were fully into sit mode when I disbelievingly heard what kinda sounded like our number:  L508.

I looked again at the slip of paper:  L508

I looked at the wall mounted monitor:  L508

I sat transfixed, staring at the monitor as the automated voice repeated the number:  L508

Then an inner voice said, "Damn you, GET UP!  Before they say L509!!"

I grabbed my bag o' stuff and practically ran to the designated station.

"Yes... we just got here....   he's in the bathroom...",  I stammered

"You're here to replace a lost license?", he asked, looking bored.

"Yeah, he's in the restroom.  I have his birth certificate", I said pantingly and slapped the document on the counter, hoping to keep the bored DMV man occupied so he wouldn't say something like, "Step aside while I take the next person"

As Mr. DMV clicked away on his keyboard, I covertly texted Wolfgang, "WE'RE  UP!"  under the judgemental eye of the "No cell phones" sign.

I'm still in a bit of a shocked state.  I have spent HOURS of my life at that very DMV in the past.  Going for snack runs, doodling the ankle bracelet tracking devices of various criminals, playing endless games of hangman as the phrases became more and more violent toward all things DMV.

Wolfgang too.  "I told my friends I'd be gone for like three hours".  We were in and out in about 15 minutes.  It almost felt wrong.

We hightailed it to the parking lot and drove off before some mistake was righted, and we were corraled like captive beasts.  Like before.

Something's wrong with that DMV now.  I'm scared to go back.
.

sustained!

Back when I use to teach LSAT (law school admission test) prep classes, we liked to play around with courtroom words like, "Objection!"  "Irrelevant!"  "Sustained!"  "Overruled!"

I never really thought about what "sustained" meant. It was just the judge's way of saying, "yeah, okay, I agree with ya".  So I guess that goes with it's broader meaning - to support and maintain.

This week, I got an e-mail from the Office of Sustainability at the university.  Seems they were the sponsor of the Bike Jam that kicked off a few weeks ago.  They do things to help the university (and beyond) be environmentally friendly.

I just remembered Bike Jam kickoff day.  I arrived on campus and there were some friendly booths set up with some freebies - water bottles, trail maps, and the like.  There was food.  There were signs advertising "Free Bike Parking Today!"  Bicycle parking is always free, they just wanted to make a dig at the horrendous commuter parking situation.

I registered, got some freebies, parked my bike for free.

Anyways, Bike Jam apparently came to a close.  The e-mail said I came in third (squeee!).  Come get a prize!

So yesterday, I went to the Office of Sustainability in all my third place glory to get my prize.  It was.......  drum roll......  a cute Patagonia Chacabuco backpack!  There was even some stuff in it.

Except...

Well, I bicycle to campus (Remember?... Bike Jam?... Third place?)  .  I wear a backpack.  I only have one back.

"No problem", said the nice Officer of Sustainability.  "We'll hold on to it for you, pick it up anytime".

Don't get me wrong.  It really is a sweet prize and I appreciate the whole Bike Jam and sustainability efforts, but I found it ironic that my bicycle commuting hampered my efforts to accept my bicycle commuting prize.

Back home, I texted Wolfgang and told him the situation and asked, "You think you want it?"  He just needed to walk over to the building and pick it up.  I'd tell them I was sending him as my agent.

No need to twist his arm.  He picked it up and texted me pics once it was back in the dorm.

My thought process in offering it first to Wolfgang went something like this:

-Chaco has two or three backpacks, one that we just got him for his birthday.  Plus, he tends to shy away from "granola" brands like Patagonia.  Plus, he scarfed up our ex-camera the second he heard we got a new one.  

-Meego still lives here with Magnum and me.  He already has access to the cornucopia of good stuff, plus we regularly provide his small zoo with mice and crickets to eat.

-Wolfgang it was.  

Dilemma solved.  I wonder what he'll do with the yogurt cookbook?

.

luck be a lady!

My house is tidy, all things considered.  It's just not clean.  I know it's not.  Stuff is picked up and put places, but the house needs a good post-holiday scrubbing.  

I looked around wondering where to start.  The kitchen?  The bathrooms?  Bedroom?  Faced with such a choice, I chose shopping.  Not fun, indulgent shopping, but mundane, ho-hum grocery shopping.  It seemed the lesser of the evils.

So I was at the checkout, signing off my purchases when the cashier gets all animated-like.

"*GASP*!  You won!!", she says all happy.

"Wha..?", I reply all clueless.

"You're our winner today!", all game-show hostess like.

Bells were ringing, lights were flashing, confetti was flying, a sharp man in a tuxedo was placing a tiara on my head! Really, it all happened just like that except for the sentence preceding this one!

Bottom line, I got my groceries for free.  All $72.55 of them.  Apparently, this grocery store has a random daily winner of "Win What You Spend".  Today it was little old me.

Now, I'm not much of a loyal grocery shopper.  I like to play the field.  I've got a good batch of stores within equal distance from me, so depending on what I need and where my other errands are, and my mood, I select one of them.  Today, I selected this one.

Or was it... fate?

Here's a bit of AbbyNormal trivia, in case it should ever come up at a party:   My favorite number is 13.  I just like it, probably because of the dark connotations, the rebellion of it.  Plus it's a prime number, and I've always been rather partial to prime numbers.

Earlier today, I was looking at the overall results of that 10K I did yesterday.  Turns out, I finished 13th overall for the ladies.  See that?  See what I did there?  Thirteenth overall for the New Year's Day run for year 2013??  Huh?  HUH??

Ooooh, it's gonna be a good year, you think?

Really, I'm not superstitious.  Not about numbers anyway.  I know the true force behind my good fortune, and it's none other than our cat Kat.  I've always gotten good vibes from black cats, and now I live with one!

I returned home with my load of free groceries and thanked her muchly.   And I'll let you in on a little secret.  She's not just a cat.  That's just the form she chooses to hang out in most of the time.   She's asked me to share her true self with the blog.  She's the... uh... larger one.

rafiba.wordpress.com

As you can see, she is elated that we won.
.