even for me. And I'm one of those people who can actually find the art in watching grass grow... or paint dry. If you haven't noticed, I'm a big fan of the ellipses. And since I have an undergraduate degree in writing I feel I can abuse the conventions of writing any way I choose.
I am on day 5 or 6 or something like that with bike riding. Then I had an idea. Hop balls for transportation. Yesterday she was scooting around the yard like her hair was on fire. I mean, she was faaast.
I am still obsessing over bike racks. Maybe I could invent a kind of bike rack you take with you. But how would you transport it? I already hate the clunky U-lock under my set that clanks and clunks when I go over bumps.
I think that's it for today. I will listen to some new music now and plan my future. What ever happened to Sub Pop records? I will look it up. Also, I read some stuff about the Wooster Collective that looked interesting. How do art kids get away with being art kids? Who is supporting them?
Why is it that everytime I sit down to write at the computer I just can't do it. But when I have paper I can... and I can sketch my ideas out... all that. It probably has something to do with my prevous Office Space-like work life.
Tonight I made a big pot of chilli. Cooking the turkey meat almost made me wretch. Yuck. I really have to start taking a stand and cooking separate meals for myself. There are veins and stuff in there! Yuck x 90. How I hate cooking.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Days 3, 4, & 5/30
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I avoided driving when possible. I am often foiled by them. She likes the car. Yesterday I told her it was broken and that we'd have to ride bikes to the park. She frowned but agreed. Not that she has a choice under my rule.
When I do use the car, I am conscious of my route and make the most of it by planning stops on the way to or from my destination. My general rule When it comes to anything along my "library route" is that I will use my bike (exceptions made for large grocery loads). My neighbor sees this guy in our neighborhood who has a big basket attached to his bike for groceries. What's he do to lock his bike up?
The Dominicks on 176 doesn't have any place to lock a bike up. It's really amazing. Nada. When asked, the employees told me a bike rack would be a great idea. When I get time I'll post a photo of this little mall. There is a mailbox supported by 8" (or so) posts that I'm not sure I could get my lock onto. I could probably lock one of the tires, but I feel more comfortable when the frame is locked, too. Most of the sign posts are in the parking lot. There are 2 stop signs in the middle of the road near the entrance, but I can't lock my bike to those! Then, there are 2 no parking signs on what look like rubber stoppers. I might be able to lock my bike to those. Other than that, it's a stark landscape. It's funny, too, because there's a Hallmark shop and Blockbuster there - shops that kids go to.
My brain is burned out from writing my sub-par research paper all night. It was pretty pathetic and I'm not looking forward to the rewrite. It's just getting too tedious. Just as tedious as the pretentious pseudo-scholars in my program. Obviously my university doesn't have very high standards. What did Groucho Marx say? I refuse to belong to any club that would have me. Heh heh.
When I do use the car, I am conscious of my route and make the most of it by planning stops on the way to or from my destination. My general rule When it comes to anything along my "library route" is that I will use my bike (exceptions made for large grocery loads). My neighbor sees this guy in our neighborhood who has a big basket attached to his bike for groceries. What's he do to lock his bike up?
The Dominicks on 176 doesn't have any place to lock a bike up. It's really amazing. Nada. When asked, the employees told me a bike rack would be a great idea. When I get time I'll post a photo of this little mall. There is a mailbox supported by 8" (or so) posts that I'm not sure I could get my lock onto. I could probably lock one of the tires, but I feel more comfortable when the frame is locked, too. Most of the sign posts are in the parking lot. There are 2 stop signs in the middle of the road near the entrance, but I can't lock my bike to those! Then, there are 2 no parking signs on what look like rubber stoppers. I might be able to lock my bike to those. Other than that, it's a stark landscape. It's funny, too, because there's a Hallmark shop and Blockbuster there - shops that kids go to.
My brain is burned out from writing my sub-par research paper all night. It was pretty pathetic and I'm not looking forward to the rewrite. It's just getting too tedious. Just as tedious as the pretentious pseudo-scholars in my program. Obviously my university doesn't have very high standards. What did Groucho Marx say? I refuse to belong to any club that would have me. Heh heh.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Day 2/30: Suburban Blahs
I rode again this morning after the rain for 45 minutes and discovered a pond not on my park district map. No destination this morning, but I decided to bike for exercise instead of using machines. I'm not sure how fast I went or how far so I can't calculate the distance. I'm happy. The wind in my hair felt good. Flying past massive trucks, landscapers, dog walkers, and Nike-d yuppies (with their dog-children) felt good.
Random thought: Sometimes I wonder if living in the suburbs will have an affect on me like that guy in the movie Altered States where the guy does the sensory deprivation experiments and turns into a weird beast. If you want mind stimulation here, you really have to a) hunt and drive to it, or b) make it yourself.
School, music, art, and documentaries. These make me think. My public library has a pretty good selection of music, surprisingly, since everything else seems so bland at times. When I worked at the library we had a say in what was bought so we ordered the most alt of alt rock available. It was fun. And we had a great art book selection. The photography section is pretty poor, but there are 2 I love: an archive of Stanley Kubric's work (always overdue, oops) and Drive By Shooting - shots by a NY cabbie.
Yesterday my 5 year old was angry. She usually draws pictures of hearts and flowers for me when she's angry. But yesterday she drew me 2 hearts with Xs over them and later in the evening I found the word NO written on a paper taped to my door. Defiance.
Random thought: Sometimes I wonder if living in the suburbs will have an affect on me like that guy in the movie Altered States where the guy does the sensory deprivation experiments and turns into a weird beast. If you want mind stimulation here, you really have to a) hunt and drive to it, or b) make it yourself.
School, music, art, and documentaries. These make me think. My public library has a pretty good selection of music, surprisingly, since everything else seems so bland at times. When I worked at the library we had a say in what was bought so we ordered the most alt of alt rock available. It was fun. And we had a great art book selection. The photography section is pretty poor, but there are 2 I love: an archive of Stanley Kubric's work (always overdue, oops) and Drive By Shooting - shots by a NY cabbie.
Yesterday my 5 year old was angry. She usually draws pictures of hearts and flowers for me when she's angry. But yesterday she drew me 2 hearts with Xs over them and later in the evening I found the word NO written on a paper taped to my door. Defiance.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Day 1/30: Errands complete
I made my way around town early. There is one tricky stoplight that is child unfriendly. Why can't urban planners plan for children and parents on bikes? There's really no way to bike to my grocery store or library safely with a child. The engineers put in a good path, but ya just can't cross the street safely. I think a lot about this because my kiddo will soon be home with me for the summer and I don't want to fall into the gas trap just because I can't get her across the street. It does become a handful: me, my bike, her, her bike, her favorite stuffed elephant (Sparkly).
Enough complaining. Before I started this I wondered why I rarely saw adults riding bikes down our new 2M path. On the weekends I see the racers training, but what about regular old people like me?
Today I made note of stores I patronize that have bike racks. Not many. The library has this weird rack system with a fat black double pole that you're supposed to mount your bike above somehow. While I have a light-ish aluminum frame I still found this difficult and couldn't get my old U-lock around the bike and the pole. Hmmm.
I rode to the gym, dropped off my library books, and bought my junk at CVS (I used my own bag - something else I'm trying), and rode home without incident. Goal accomplished. Errands complete. :)
Enough complaining. Before I started this I wondered why I rarely saw adults riding bikes down our new 2M path. On the weekends I see the racers training, but what about regular old people like me?
Today I made note of stores I patronize that have bike racks. Not many. The library has this weird rack system with a fat black double pole that you're supposed to mount your bike above somehow. While I have a light-ish aluminum frame I still found this difficult and couldn't get my old U-lock around the bike and the pole. Hmmm.
I rode to the gym, dropped off my library books, and bought my junk at CVS (I used my own bag - something else I'm trying), and rode home without incident. Goal accomplished. Errands complete. :)
Hello. A 30 Day Challenge.
I have lived in the northern suburbs of Chicago for over 4 years now. I stopped cycling and walking after I moved out of my old Lake View neighborhood, after I had a child (ouch!), and after my bike was vandalized in my "secure" condo parking spot. I have no excuse to drive everywhere. My tax dollars were recently put to good use by my town's expansion of the Millenium Trail. I could ride to the gym, just 1 mile away. I could ride to the library, just 3/4 of a mile away. I could ride to the CVS and buy tampons for Pete's sake (just 1/2 mile away)!!!
I'm currently taking a qualitative action research class to complete my masters degree. I wondered how I could apply the methods I've been learning about to real life.
Why not challenge myself to put the environmental/health research I've done to good use and do something about my bad habits? I am challenging myself to ride my bike around town to do my errands for 30 days. I'm starting small because I don't want to feel defeated too soon.
So here I am.
I'm currently taking a qualitative action research class to complete my masters degree. I wondered how I could apply the methods I've been learning about to real life.
Why not challenge myself to put the environmental/health research I've done to good use and do something about my bad habits? I am challenging myself to ride my bike around town to do my errands for 30 days. I'm starting small because I don't want to feel defeated too soon.
So here I am.