We've Lost Something

I see children everywhere. I speak specifically of the little kind -- the ones just learning to talk and walk. At the grocery store, the park, around my building. Not alone, of course, but do you ever notice something about them? They're way different than we are; like a different race it seems.

They're humanity in its rawest form. It can be easy for us to become ensnared in life's bullshit, to feel defeated, but I'm always filled with hope and exultance when little strangers say hi to me. Gaze at you for a second and then laugh at the top of their lungs. Or run over and hug your leg. And always smiling at you, at everyone.

It's how we humans were meant to be, you know.

...I am an Island

Email conversation from work today.

Me: Vlad, I found 10 wires for that will be acceptable for use in our gage study! Andy

My Russian co-worker: You are Rock. Thanks. Vlad.

18th

of 46 in my age group, according to the unofficial time sheet I saw.

The official results aren't completely updated yet, but hopefully there were more than 18 in my group who actually crossed the finish line, because my parents said there were a bunch of guys in my group who got into the middle of the lake, panicked, and were pulled out of the water.

I didn't see this happening, but I slammed into/inapropriately poked a ton of people in the murkiness of lake nokomis. Pretty gross, really, my goggles gave me visibility up to about 6 inches past my fingertips. I suppose I would've started panicking if I swallowed water like they were.

update: 18th of 55.

Bike Crash

So for anyone who cares to know my goings-ons, I'm participating in this Triathlon.

Anyway, I'm out training on my silly-expensive-racer bike after a swim (2 days til the event). Now I'm usually a meticulously cautious person, but tonight I was fearless, and kinda reckless. But not Wreck-less. (buh - dum - pssshhhhh)

I started out my ride by pulling onto a 4 lane street, right in front of a very large 70's cadillac, subconsciously assuming that the driver was paying attention and would pull into the other lane. Nope. He was on my ass within a few seconds, but he swerved past me on his way.

I get onto the bike trail, where there are no cars, and I start shooting gaps in top gear between rollerbladers and not-as-cool-as-me-bicyclists while tucked way down on my handlebars.

Now I'm on my way home, and I see the traffic light is blinking red, meaning everyone stops like a 4-way stop. There are two cars stopped: some lady taking a left turn on the right, and a dude in an Orange VW bug on the left. Again, I make one of those split second decisions---I'm fucking going! The lady hesitates in the middle of the intersection, thinking Mr. Bug has right of way as I fly past her.
I don't think she saw me until I flew past her bumper. The dude in the bug yells, "you got balls of steel" OK. maybe that's just what I heard. What came from his mouth was probably way different. But it's my story, and that's how it will go down in history, ok?

Ok. Where did I crash?

In the middle of my ride on the trail. Thoroughly aware that there is a sharp turn leading onto railroad crossing ahead of me, I hit the brakes at the last second. My back tire locks up, whipping out to the side, so I have to ease up on it---which means I'm not slowing down anymore, and I'm now aimed away from the railroad crossing---and am careering (not careening) to the railROAD.

Somehow my reflexes tell me to jump off the bike & lay it on it's side. The front tire hits the rail, and I land in the grass -- perfect dismount, stick the landing, wave to the judges.. o fuck o fuck o fuck...nevermind. The bike is fine. What?

I think to myself and wonder where I got the reflexes to pull that off, being that I haven't owned a bike for about 7 years. Not kidding. I remember back to the farm at age 9 riding my little BMX as fast as I can, locking the brakes and stopping sideways on the lawn, and my grandpa irate because I ripped up the lawn.

Ha. Who'da known that would be handy 16 years later? I'll hafta counter his "what the hell are you doing?" next time I see him.

I don't know what was wrong with me tonight, but I think there's a good reason my everyday cautiousness is written into my genetic code.

Mayfly

This morning I sat down at my desk to see a mayfly sitting on my monitor. Over the night, it had made it through 3 security levels only to end at my desk. Those things only live about 24 hours, so it probably spent half it's lifespan working its way up through my office, only to die here alone. Sad. Alot of PEOPLE will end up that way.

Oh, I am so Pissed

So. Again I'm shaking my fist to the sky. I'm actually making the above "irritated smiley" right now.

Isn't it supposed to go "April Showers bring May flowers?" Someone forgot to send "Mother Minnesota Nature" the memo. But so far, it's been "April sunshine brings snow(yes snow) and persistant rain in May perfectly timed to piss off Andrew."

I bought this sooped-up-racing-bike for the Triathlon I'm competing in this July. I actually purchased it last week, but it took a week for the bike-hippies at Boko Bikes to put it together, so I finally picked it up on Sunday. I was wildly hung over on Sunday, so I didn't dare take it out. And then it rained anyways.

It rained yesterday.

I went to the gym today, swam a frikkin' mile without stopping, planning on hittin' the street after most cars were off the road to take my newest form of transportation on it's virgin voyage. I got home, changed into my biking gear, whipped out my bike, and got in the elevator.

I get to the bottom and a pretty girl was waiting to go up. She smiles, and tells me that its raining. I didn't believe her--what does she know? I carted my bike to the front door of my apartment.

God I hate rain. Send it to North Dakota.

Mayday Gloat-a-thon/Cheapo Purchase of a Lifetime

This morning, I woke up late for my sunday-morning-routine- breakfast-at-The Egg&I -with-Amy, so instead, I went to Cheapo to pick up the new Garbage disk(which was a killer show, btw) and just as I was about to check out at the register, I saw, in the USED cd rack nearest to the counter, in plain view, Mike Doughty's new cd, Haughty Melodic. A disk that I have been aching to get for months!

On any normal day, this would not be incredibly alarming , but today it is May 1st, and this cd is not going to be released until May 3rd, 2005. I picked up a full length promo album used before it was actually released!!!!!!

What makes this more even astounding to me, is that I know cheapo employees. They usually cherry-pick all the best incoming cd's, so you would begin to think that this wouldve quickly ended up in the mits of a music savvy employee. Nope. It's in my mits..ur...cd player.

And it is so good.

I'll add a photo for evidence.