Enjablog

- I am surprisingly out of shape.
- 8 5 miles is far.
- Even though I could walk outside in short sleeves and short pants right now and be comfortable, 15-20 mph winds makes it really cold.
- I’m terrified of cars. Need to find a new route without cars…
- I love my new bike! :)

I love that Friendmas is starting to collect traditions aside from just occurring every year. So tired right now though. Will probably link to Squidgey’s entry later when she posts pictures. Yes, I’m that lazy. ;)

So glad almost everyone was still able to make it, even though we’ve been having to relocate the past couple years. And thanks Santa!! I got a new game, some cookies, and a spiffy light for my bike so I can put safety first. Woohoo!

I did it! I bought a bike today! After all the debate yesterday, I was talking with my bike commute buddy and while I was in his office, he got an email from the bike shop I went to… They have a clearance sale starting today. 10% off all new bikes, 40% off all gear, 50% off clothes. The bike is still on the high end of my range, but with the reduced price on accessories, I might still be coming away only about $100 over what I had hoped to spend. Which is ok.

Also, my bonus turned out to be awesome. I only saw the amount deposited the other day. It turns out they also took out for 401k, which I hadn’t accounted for. So between that and taxes, my bonus was much better than I had expected. So, I can kind of justify spending a little bit more…

They let me take it out for a test ride and ohmigod it was fantastic! So, my memory of bikes: kid bikes with just the one speed and when you stop pedaling the bike stops. That’s what I am used to, that’s what I know. Then, when I went to college and was living in an apartment, my cousin let me borrow her bike, which was an old 10-speed. I rode it around campus a few times, but every time I had to go up a hill, I would try changing gears and the chain would fall off. I ended up taking twice as long to bike as it would have to walk. So, I stopped using it.

Apparently, modern-day bikes are awesome. I barely had to pedal and I was already zipping around the parking lot. I changed gears with no problem. The hand-brakes made the bike stop. I am so thrilled. I am back on board with biking possibly 3-4 times a week instead of 1-2. We’ll see how it goes though… I still haven’t tested the route out. The guys at the bike shop were incredibly nice and helpful. They helped me pick out the bike, explained how to change gears, what kind of accessories I should consider… and were even willing to help me figure out a good route, either to get to bike trails or using streets that aren’t as busy.

I’ve decided that I won’t be taking Dellilah with me on the days when I bike. At least not at first, for sure. I’ll re-evaluate as I get more comfortable. I’m considering if bringing Maggie would be useful or not. I think it’d be fun, but for my current uses (to/from work) isn’t at all necessary. I will be bringing change of clothes, possibly towel (depending on where I park my bike, not sure if it will be more convenient to bring that back and forth each day or just leave a gym bag in my office), and general purse stuff. The saddle bags I’m eying will also have the capacity for carrying papers conveniently, but I doubt that will be a regular occurrence.

So excited!

I finally went over to Spokes today to learn more about bikes and get some idea of what I’ve talked myself into… I am newly enthused, but also disappointed to find that the bikes they were recommending were ~$2-300 more than I had hoped to spend. So, I took a catalog and am now looking on Craig’s list to see what I can find. Maybe I’ll borrow a friend’s bike to test out the commute before deciding… So torn now.

This was an interesting Christmas. The food was a little different from years past… no turkey or mashed potatoes. There was still way too much food and it was all delicious though, so it was all good. The white elephant exchange was entertaining, I guess. We all picked numbers and then had to pretend we were Sonny to pick out what we thought he would like. And the baby participated too, so we let her have whatever she crawled toward… which, surprisingly, was a sparkly gift bag. I totally won Christmas though: TurboTax!! :)

After Lenny & co headed out, there were some lively discussions going back and forth about what we should do about gift exchanges in future years. This devolved into a religious discussion and the “true” meaning of Christmas. And that quickly lead to the history of Helen Keller. Christmas was weird. But fun. And family: important, etc.

Anyway, spending the day listening to Christmas music, cleaning, and knitting. Had a few errands I meant to take care of today, but the rain is putting a big damper on any motivation I may have had to go outside. Oh well. Nothing that I can’t take care of next weekend.

On Christmas night, Santa is in a superposition of quantum states, smeared out all the way around the planet, and each quantum state delivers presents to a single child. This explains why it is so important that children are asleep, because if just one child sees Santa, he immediately collapses into a single state, in accordance with Heisenberg. This would mean that no other children would receive presents that Christmas. This theory elegantly avoids all the flaws in the conventional theory. The only problem is that you will have to explain quantum theory to your children before you tell them about Santa.
Sean Smeltzer, Croydon, Surrey, New Scientist, January 16, 1999

Saw this on my way to my parents’ this weekend, so thought I would share:

Not much new going on these days… My sleep deprivation finally caught up with me yesterday. I took a nap after family lunch and then was pretty drowsy the rest of the afternoon sitting around at home. Went to sleep just before midnight and slept for close to 14 hours before waking up for the first time to look over at what time it was.

Still haven’t written my Christmas cards. I have a list though… So, I’ve kind of started, right?

Bonuses are supposed to be deposited in our account tomorrow. No idea what mine is going to look like, but I was assured that everyone should be happy with theirs.

And now off to spend my evening playing MarioKart. Woo!

I finally got to bed at a normal hour tonight… And then I woke up at 3:30 freaking out about Christmas. Presents, cards, decorations… Somehow, I feel so completely unprepared all of a sudden. I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep. That continued unsuccessfully for almost an hour.

In the past half hour, I have found one more gift and put together my Christmas card list. And I’ve decided that I think tabbed documents, like they do for spreadsheets, would be good. I want a text file that would have separate tabs for letter drafts, addresses, gift list, etc. I mean, I guess I could just start a new page or something, but that doesn’t sound as efficient as separate tabs would be.

Current Music: Christmas Radio on Pandora

This made my commute tonight: Kai Ryssdal rocks out! Kevin Pereira and Stephen Hoffman on bass/guitar, Jennifer Collins on drums. So entertaining.

Ian and I went to this swanky Washington Post gala last night. It was in this big mansion and while we were standing at the top of the spiral staircase, I happened to look out the French doors and saw Miss Manners standing outside on the patio.

Now, I read her column every week and think she’s fantastic, but I didn’t want to bother her. So the two of us stood there for like 15 minutes staring and pointing, trying to decide if that was really her and whether it would be rude to go over and say hello. Or gush, as I would have done.

The strange part was that my hair was all done up and fancy, which is very unusual in the first place, but it was much longer than my hair is now. And I was wearing a dress I didn’t remember buying. But that’s bound to happen every once in a while, right? Through all this, I also never figured out that I don’t have a clue as to what Miss Manners actually looks like.

So, I was stuck in traffic today behind a FedEx truck. In the next lane over was a UPS truck. The two lanes alternated taking the lead and then falling behind. Do you think the different delivery drivers smack talk and try to get ahead in traffic?

I am both exhausted and too riled up to fall asleep right now.

I am in love with Maggie. I bought a Magellen GPS Navigator a few weeks ago and with her by my side, I am fearless. I have driven into DC 4 times and after my office Christmas party tonight, I went back to a coworker’s place for an after-party. And as I was leaving there, just up and offered to drive a couple people home. What? You live in Arlington? No problem! I no longer get lost every time I see a street sign.

I signed up to volunteer at the Capital Area Food Bank last weekend without a second thought, even though it was in DC. I made it there without a hitch. I can go to new places, visit people, and do new things. Maggie is my wingman. Maggie is confidence. Maggie is freedom.

I changed my mind. Not too riled up to fall asleep. ‘Nite.

Happy birthday to my cousin in NJ!

I used fabric softener for the first time today. I stopped using the dryer a few months ago and my world has changed. I haven’t gotten shocked in my apartment all winter. My clothes continue to fit and have less wear and tear. And now, they come out of the washing machine soft. I’m so sleepy. My clothes are soft though.

Went to a former coworker’s place for a holiday happy hour tonight. She got a real tree for the first time and her apartment was so festive! Lights, garland, decorations… She even had boat ornaments all over the tree. They were so cool.

Looks like I’m going to be re-taking Advanced Aero/Hydro next fall. So, I’ll be studying up for the PE this spring, take the summer off, and be back with this same course. Uf. At least I understand much more of the material now.

Sleep.

Got together with Rain for dinner on Tuesday night and had a blast catching up with her. We got a chance to do the grownup thing and talk about work and how kids these days just aren’t good workers, gossiped a little, and then her roomie got back and we put up their Christmas tree. We all tried Chai Nog for the first time. It was all so festive!

Last night was an exciting night of drunk shopping. A bunch of us were getting last minute accessories for my office holiday party on Saturday as well as brainstorming for some Christmas present ideas. My best find: Pirate earrings.

I just got them for fun and I got a pair of pretty dangly earrings for the party. But now I’m seriously considering wearing a pair of these on Saturday. They’re totally appropriate… and would go with my dress too. Hm…

I was also discussing with Ian today… I totally prefer ninja paraphernalia, but they need better marketing. Aside from the ThinkGeek badgeholders, which just say ninja on them, I don’t think I’ve ever seen ninja-y stuff. Pirate gear is everywhere though. Hehe, I rhymed. But maybe ninja stuff is so stealthy, you don’t even know it’s ninja stuff. Maybe.

Today was an early day at work. Got in around 7:30 so I could get home to meet the cable man. The time window I was given was 3-6. And they’re never on time, right..? So, I got a call at 2:55 asking where I am. The guy is already there. I said I was on my way, but would be about 15 more minutes. That was apparently too long. The guy left and came back around 4:30.

I set up the cable modem and router in preparation for his arrival. He told me that I couldn’t use my own cable modem, so he installed the [identical] one that he brought and seemed completely clueless as to how to get the router to work. It took him about an hour to get the new cable modem to the step where I was when he arrived. And so I just spent 25 minutes on the phone with a nice gentleman with an Indian accent (from Portugal, he assured me) getting my cable modem activated. So now all I have to do is go drop the modem back off at a Comcast office. Comcastic!