5 posts tagged “life”
The show I was in all month closed last night. We sold out every show, and thus I have completed my longest run ever (12 shows total).
I'm having a bike crisis, because Lysander is in the shop and they are full of bad news about braking surfaces and chain cassettes and other things. I've been thinking about getting another bike because every time I'm riding lately, it's not the usual, "GOD MY LIFE IS AWESOME" feeling. It's more the, "God, my back hurts. My butt hurts. My knees hurt. Did I mention that my wrists hurt? Wow, is my neck stiff" feeling. It seems like I could use a more casual riding position (and a wider seat, dang). Totally struggling on the anti-consumerism vs. comfort question. I haven't talked to the bike shop about it yet and I'm frustrated that they're talking about $400 worth of work on a bike that cost $350 in the first place. I am anxious and worried. It's great. I'm tired of feeling both suspicious and frustrated by bike shops. I have FIVE bike shops within walking distance of my apartment, and somehow I can't seem to find one that will take the time to get things right.
Paul and I decided we wanted to keep some of our herbs indoors, so in the last month, we've gone from one plant (a kind of ill-looking palm) to twelve plants: A small bamboo, a bay tree, basil, parsley, spearmint, cat grass, dill, oregano, 3 giant bamboos, and an aloe vera. I'm suddenly addicted to house plants, although we saw what happened to the fern I tried to grow (let us not speak of the ivy my mom bought me, or the cacti, or the flowering things...). The outside garden is also thriving. Plants are good and TOTALLY entertaining. I spend a lot of time rotating them and looking at their new leaves growing.
My family is coming for the show. This inspires excitement (HOORAY they are visiting Minnesota! I get to show them around!) and fear (OHGOD our show is crap what the hell they're all flying out to see the worst show yet). We did a showing yesterday that was oof rough! The feedback was great but dang the showing itself was hard. We only have a little bit of time to work on it and I'm....panicked would be a good word.
I had no idea it's been a week since last I posted.
Here are things that have been on my brain:
- Dance / taking dance classes again
- Gardening / Biking / DIY
- Writing / freelancing / graphic design / volunteering / self-determination
- Australia / harassing Australians to get contacts from them
Annnnd a series of posts will follow illuminating said topics.
As usual.
It's Friday and in celebration of such, I decided to reward myself (for living) with a Coke and some sunflower seeds. I seem to have (again) broken my addiction to Coke and really only drink it on occasion. When I'm not in the throes of addiction, I don't suck it down with the fury and passion of a thousand Draculas consuming the blood of innocent children and nuns. Seriously, I used to drink half a can in one giant gulp of desperation. I craved the acid, the bubbles, the sugar, the caffeine. I would be distracted from my work thinking about it.
I raise a glass (of Coke) to this current rehab period lasting for my the rest of my life. I can never quite convince myself that I should not drink sodas ever again, even though the clear fact of it is that I should not drink sodas ever again. Days like today, when I relent and let myself enjoy some of the goodness, are dangerous. I will not allow myself to believe this sweet acidic, battery-acid-removing nectar is something I should be drinking regularly!
Other disconnected thoughts:
I always feel smug about people dropping $4 on coffee every day, because everything I read about saving money says that to cut out the Starbucks first and foremost. Then I realized my bus costs $4/day. I have to get back onto the bike! I have been lazy. I have been enjoying arriving at work unsweaty and on-time. But I'll save my $4/day...$20/week...$80/month...$960/year! Jeebus! Admittedly I do like to pamper the bike and spend money that way, but at least I get use out of it. It doesn't just go into the gaping maw of the bus, never to be seen again. And let's be honest--I'll be spending the money on the bike either way.
The bike and I had a big fight recently. Riding was slow, and it made my back hurt. I couldn't figure out why the hell Lysander was so sluggish; Lysander couldn't figure out why the hell I didn't air up her tires. I had to ride hard to a show I was late for, face first into a snow storm, winds of 10-20 mph on two very low tires. Sure, the increased rolling resistance probably kept me upright in the snow but DANG it was slow. And sort of embarrassing, because they were...excessively low. Plus the seat was not in the right position. Which explains both the sluggishness and the back pain. Shameful. I'm surprised I didn't ruin the tires or the wheels (or my back). Whoops. I'm still a n00b; what can I say?
So, I aired her up, fixed the seat, bought PowerGrips and a book about riding/maintenance. I seem to have made it up--riding has been joyous and invigorating lately. I feel like she and I are ready to take on the summer together. Whenever it bothers to get here.
In still other news, biking in the snow has really improved my riding skills. Pedaling away with the bike fishtailing and squirming, never quite sure where the road stops and the giant pile of snow begins...giant puddles (in New Mexico, we call them "lakes") that are possibly frozen but maybe just gross slush...learning to take slow, wiiiiiide turns, lest the bike go horizontal below me. My arms feel stronger from holding the wheel steady as I cross ruts in the snow. When I started, I couldn't believe the bike was supposed to feel that squirrelly, but I've calmed down and learned to enjoy it.
When I learned to drive, I was terrified at how much the car moved as soon as you took your foot off the break. You know....that gentle rolling. That extremely slow and unscary rolling. It freaked me out so bad and took a concentrated effort to get my foot off the brake and let the car roll forward. It's like that at first, except fun because you don't have to worry about running over grandmas at 4 mph on a bike in the snow.
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Um...finally. Uh...let's see. There was one more thing...
Um. I got nothin'.
Have a good weekend!
- I'm trying hard to not freak out about all the clothes I'm getting rid of. It feels like I'm throwing out memories, like I am devaluing my life. And--in case that wasn't enough--I have to essentially not think at all while I'm doing it, because if I think about it, I start to panic because I'm sort of in the midst of a survivalist crisis.
- My quarter-life crisis is totally mounting.
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We have performed five nights at the Bryant Lake Bowl this month and there is yet another show coming up for us. Some nice people from NYC asked us to be in Catch! with them.
- Then we were asked to be in anooother show at the Walker.
- And that same weekend we're MCing Twister at Intermedia's fundraiser, LoveROX.
- Then we have anoooother show in February.
- And then another in late February.
- And then yet another sometime in February or March.
- In other words, it is insane how busy Mad King Thomas has been lately. When it rains, it pours, but I love getting wet? I think I may be taking this metaphor a little too far.
- I am going to cut all of my hair off!
- It was so cold today that the gears on my bike froze and I couldn't ride. :( The guy at the bike shop said there's not really anything you can do when it's zero degrees out. But doesn't he know I have to ride?? I think I have to go back and ask again. He was a nice guy but clearly a hater of winter.
- I went in today for the first of the HPV vaccine series. (In Kool-Aid Man voice:) Ohhh yeah.
- United Airlines customer complaint site is STILL. BROKEN.
What is your daily commute like? What is the weirdest thing you've seen on that commute?
Submitted by E.
How can I not answer this? My commute basically accounts for 30% of my entries.
On my ride in today, I was thinking about how living in Minnesota is getting two landscapes for the price of one. It was a different adventure trying to figure out where I could cross streets without getting mired in the hills of plowed snow.
It is a flat commute, mostly. It is pretty car-free with lots of bikes. I cross paths with the Peace Coffee guy pretty regularly. Today I wore two pairs of socks, expedition-weight long underwear, slacks, an undershirt, a jersey, a long-sleeved shirt, a vest, a fleece jacket and then a snow jacket, a hat, a face mask, a scarf, snow boots, liner gloves, outer gloves, and a helmet. In the summer I wear shorts, jersey, shoes, helmet, and loooots of sunscreen.
The weirdest thing I've ever seen was a car with its nose melted off. There were two guys staring at it, one on the phone, so I didn't stop to help them. But this smoking ruin of a car was pretty weird and left some permanent scars on the road. What the hell would cause a car to explode? This is not a movie. This is my commute. WTF?
Lately my daily commute involves strangers asking me any of the following questions:
- Are you cold? (No, I'm pouring sweat. I've been biking for god's sake.)
- Are you crazy? (No, but you are. Have you seen the price of gas? LORD.)
- When do you stop riding? (No one knows! Maybe never!)
- Aren't you scared? (Of course I'm scared of people driving three ton SUVs and chatting on their cellphones. You should be scared too, even if you're driving a car. I'm scared of climate change and I'm scared of heart attacks. What are you scared of?)
- How far do you ride? (5.5 miles each way.)
