Survived another bike-commute in to work... - The Coalition For Disturbing Metaphors — LiveJournal

Log in

No account? Create an account

Remember me

Forgot password

Facebook Twitter Google

Prev | | Next

21 May 2009 @ 12:03 pm

Survived another bike-commute in to work...

If I can keep this up for another couple of weeks, it'll get easier— school will be out, and I can take the most direct route on my side of the freeway. That would eliminate some lights/stops that are really slowing me down! Once I cross the freeway and get out of that local neighborhood, the ride is much faster. Still around 80-85 minutes in, and the average speed is pathetic. I tried going faster today, but no— it's the stop/starts that are taking so long.

Today I noticed that the street before "Mason" (where I had the horrific speedbump/chuckhole extravaganza last week in the shade) is named "Dixon Line." When I pass "Mary Kate" on another part of the route, I always wonder if there's an accompanying "Ashley."

Also—and I hope this is for irony—someone named a cul-de-sac "Infinity Court." That is SO wrong!

Nothing majorly fun planned for the three-day weekend. We used to go on family outings (such as visiting Tilden Park) one of the days, but the kids have outgrown those places. HSH and I have a date Friday (delayed anniversary dinner), and one on Saturday—about time for both! \o/ My parents are coming on Sunday, which is also my M-I-L's birthday, so maybe a dinner would be appropriate. We also have some old family friends we hope to see, from back in the kids' preschool days. But no out-of-town trips, unfortunately. Safe but dull...

HSH and I have been married 20 years now. Our anniversary was yesterday, but our dinner plans got torpedoed by Lauren's school's Open House, and tonight is Christopher's Open House. We're still hoping to get away to a Bed and Breakfast sometime in June, though this weekend would have been nice! :(

Mini-rant on greeting cards: there are a lot of nice-looking cards to choose from, but why are they so WORDY? The more the manufacturer "writes," the less personal the card is, and I can't work with that. And the supply of blank cards is so limited! I run into this kind of problem for all romantic occasions, and also for Mother's Day (because my relationship with my mother does not fall into the "goopy" or "haha!" or "greatest-mom-ever" categories). *sigh*

Tags: cycling, me

24 comments | Say what you feel

24 comments —

( 24 comments — Say what you feel )

badboy_fangirl on May 21st, 2009 07:25 pm (UTC)

Happy Anniversary! 20 years is awesome!

I know what you mean about greeting cards. They drive me bananas sometimes. It's either too light or too heavy and there seems to be no middle road!

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 21st, 2009 07:37 pm (UTC)

Thank you!

I don't mind a serious tone if it's brief. But if the card is going to detail every possible point about love, well... that's all the more wrong in something mass-produced!

I'm generally looking for the right backdrop to add my own words. Not for someone else's saga! :0

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

eponin10 on May 21st, 2009 08:20 pm (UTC)

Happy anniversary! :)

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 21st, 2009 08:32 pm (UTC)

Thank you! And what a lovely icon for the occasion. :)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

deirdre_c on May 21st, 2009 08:30 pm (UTC)

Happy Anniversary, honey!!! Wheee!! I'm sorry you couldn't get away this weekend, but I hope you have fun in June! *hugs*

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 21st, 2009 08:33 pm (UTC)

Thank you, Dei!

I'd feel a lot better if there were a date on the calendar and reservations, you know? As opposed to the vagueness of intentions. :0

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

lampshade_days on May 21st, 2009 08:53 pm (UTC)

I hear you on the greeting card thing. It always bothers me how birthday cards are always either super sappy or "lol, you're old", and ditto what you said re: Mother's Day.

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 21st, 2009 09:08 pm (UTC)

Oh god, I forgot about the birthday card thing-- because it does tend to be one or the other. Try buying a card for a 17-year-old, who wants neither of those.

Father's Day has a similar problem, though my Dad is always good for a humor card. But the quantity of FD cards about golf and fishing just boggles the mind, and my Dad doesn't like either of those!

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

astrothsknot on May 21st, 2009 10:13 pm (UTC)

If you'd killed HSH, you'd be out by now...

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 21st, 2009 10:55 pm (UTC)

Awwww! He's my soulmate, I was lucky to find him!

The kids, though... ages ago, we used to joke about selling them to the Gypsies on their bad days.

Now, all one of us has to do is say "Gypsies," and the other one knows what you're thinking. :0

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

astrothsknot on May 21st, 2009 11:06 pm (UTC)

Gypsies? Join the modern era! EBAY THEIR ASSES!!

My mother used to tell my brother she wished his mother would come for him. Stewart's ass is going on ebay. He's actually got an mp3 on his phone of me laughing hysterically, calling him a horror and telling him his arse is going on ebay.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 21st, 2009 11:10 pm (UTC)

My mother used to tell my brother she wished his mother would come for him.

Hahahahaha!

Though we don't actually tell the kids we're feeling that way, we just commiserate with each other.

When Lauren was about 5-8, though, we used to tell her (when she misbehaved) that we were going to send her to the button factory. She developed a severe and mysterious hatred of buttons in Kindergarten.

He's actually got an mp3 on his phone of me laughing hysterically, calling him a horror and telling him his arse is going on ebay.
:D "One extremely talkative, sometimes rude and rather used teenaged boy for sale."

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

witchofthedogs on May 21st, 2009 10:38 pm (UTC)

I rode today for the first time! It was awesome but ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL uphill on the way home. I'm probably going to do it two times a week to start, just to get into the swing of it...

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 21st, 2009 10:57 pm (UTC)

So you finished then! Yay!

The all uphill part is NOT so good. Argh. My ride tends to have a morning headwind, which is less than thrilling considering that I'm not a morning person anyway. But at least you're "fresher" at the beginning of the day.

On the plus side, with your weekend ride adding mileage, that commute will get easier all the time at 6 miles. \o/

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

astrothsknot on May 21st, 2009 11:01 pm (UTC)

I'd rather the headwind going than coming when you're tired after work. More opportunity to wind up under a bus.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

witchofthedogs on May 21st, 2009 11:14 pm (UTC)

13 miles one way (just a hair under). But yes, we're training a consistent 12-15 miles an evening, so everything IS becoming a bit easier. And we're getting used to the bikes, too, which helps.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 21st, 2009 11:30 pm (UTC)

Oh, for some reason I thought it was shorter! 13 miles is a good workout, though, and very manageable over time. Your weekends will definitely help!

I keep wishing my commute were more in the 10-12 mile range, partly because the 18+ miles TAKES so darn long!

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

witchofthedogs on May 21st, 2009 11:33 pm (UTC)

*nods*

My co-worker (who started commuting today, too) has a 20+ mile ride. But his is a lot flatter than mine is, since he lives in the other direction from the city.

I can't imagine doing 18 miles each way of the hills around here... I actually have about 1 mile total of "flat" road and the rest is up and down in varying extremes.

I did end up walking the one giant hill that leads up to where my house is located... By the end of the day, I just couldn't do any more hills.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 22nd, 2009 04:39 pm (UTC)

Walking the hill is still better than not riding! And your legs only have so much, especially when you're tackling something new.

With an "uphill" route one direction, one of my fears would be stopping mid-hill. As soon as the momentum is lost, it's extremely hard for me to crank back up again-- especially if I'm out of gears or close to it. Are you lucky enough to mostly avoid that?

All of the incline areas on my current rides have stops before or at the top of a hill. But there is a route to the bike path, for instance, where I might go out that way but would never return. Good-sized short, steep hill, and a 4-way stop right at the base of it. :(

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

brigid_tanner on May 21st, 2009 11:13 pm (UTC)

Have you thought about making your own cards? It's pretty easy and there are kits out there. I got into doing through a scrapbooking group using products from "Close to My Heart". They have consultants everywhere who do classes to show you techniques and ideas. A lot of scrapbook places also do classes. I haven't bought a card in a long time. Which reminds me, I need to get to work on the graduation card for my nephew. I still remember his stinky diapers, he can't be getting out of high school! LOL!

Oh, almost forgot! Happy anniversary! It's great that ya'll have been together so long. It seems rare any more for marriages to last. Congratulations.

Edited at 2009-05-21 11:15 pm (UTC)

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 22nd, 2009 04:41 pm (UTC)

Making the cards would be a great solution-- but I'm usually distracted by other things and remember kind of late in the game. I'd need a kit like you have to be ready at the drop of a hat.

I used to do more "crafty" things, but a lot of that energy seems to go into writing fanfic instead!

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

brigid_tanner on May 22nd, 2009 10:59 pm (UTC)

The cool thing about it was that we'd make about 10 cards each month, and they could easily be changed for different occasions. I quit going after about a year, cause I had a ton of cards and wasn't sending any! But I'm ready for almost anything now ;0 Gave a bunch to my mom, cause she sends them a lot. I'd rather you spent time writing than doing paper crafts :)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

tsuki_no_bara on May 22nd, 2009 02:57 am (UTC)

happy anniversary! if you have a date this weekend, and then go away some other weekend, you get to celebrate it twice. :D

mason and dixon line, hee. someone had a sense of humor.

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

halfshellvenus on May 22nd, 2009 04:42 pm (UTC)

Thank you!

And can you imagine having to explain to people that you're on "Dixon Line. No, not Lane, LINE."

Because that name only makes sense within the context of both names!

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)