bike congestion

another ride into work this morning. they decided to play with the steel bridge and leave it up (it's a draw bridge). the first is the bike/pedi path i take on the bridge, the second picture is bridge up and third picture is bridge as it is normally.

work people informed me bridges will be up and down this week and next monday for Fleet Week. i kinda like watching those big navy ships roll in, as long as it doesn't make me late for work. maybe i'll post pictures if they're coming down the river on my evening commute.

so the bridge was raised. it's annoying because it makes me late but at the same time seeing "bike congestion" makes me happy. there were so many of us waiting on the bridge, on both sides. yay bike commuters! so we're all waiting looking around for the boat or barge because that's what they raise the bridges for. no boats. no barges. there's nothing except for some canadian geese swimming back-and-forth under the bridge honking away. raise the bridge for the royal contingency of canadian geese. honk honk.

one-by-one the bike riders start turning around to find another way to get across the river. i decide to join them and right when i get to the switchback the bzzzzzzz of the bridge moving happens. i wait. it stops and a voice says something about 10 or more minutes for the bridge. ugh. forget that. i continue up the switchback to interstate to head up to the broadway bridge. i stop and call work to tell them i'm late before i hit the hills. the hills aren't too bad, more gradual than anything but still a work out. i think i added another mile to the ride? maybe.

so despite making me late i was happy because i had more time on the bike and rode on some different streets. how many people can say they were happy to be detoured on their morning commute? if i was in a car i'd be annoyed. on a bike it's no big deal, i'm just happy to be out there riding around.

my favorite part is when i have a good stretch and i have a steady comfortable rhythm going with my legs and i feel 'one' with the bike. i know, cheesy. it just feels great! now if i could just learn how to (or have the huevos to) balance and ride with no hands like the other fancy bike riders. i could dance around too....because you know i would.

garden procrastinator

it's supposed to be almost 90 degrees today. i decided to sleep-in and chicken out about riding my bike. this morning it would have been great but it's almost too hot to ride those 6mi back home. last time i rode in that kind of heat my face was as red as a tomato for hours and jamie was asking if i was okay. not hot.

i just checked the weather and the weather sites were lying about it being super hot...damn. i could have rode my bike into work.

yesterday i decided to attack the garden. finally. i've been procrastinating for months. "attack the garden" meaning, create one where there was none. i started around 6 or 7 last night so it was cooler outside. it was a workout! i was sweating like crazy. i decided to turn the soil in the part of the yard that the sun hits the most; in an area of maybe 4'x5' or somewhere around that.

there's this black plastic stuff under the dirt which is super annoying to pull up. i had to use my whole body as leverage to roll it out of the way. it's heavy! obviously it was put down years ago so there's layers of dirt, weeds, and whatnot on top of it. it was used to control weeds? my guess. it's not working. our backyard is overrun with weeds, rasberry bushes and three different vines. it's pretty wild out there.

under the plastic is compacted dirt so i had to get the shovel in there and turn the soil. whew. if you've never done this, believe me it is a pain in the ass and difficult. i broke the soil up (breaking up clumps), aerated it and raked it and turned it over another time. By the time I was done the soil was all nice and smooshy. I grabbed my plants that needed to be planted and put them in the dirt so now I finally have a garden. Yay!

i was filthy. i think i had dirt on my face but it felt great. jamie said the garden looks great and she even watered it for me. :)

soon i will have red, yellow and orange bell peppers. i will also have spinach, roma tomatoes, jalapeno's, cayenne peppers, parsley, garlic chives, garlic, cucumber and japanese eggplant! i still have room for more. i'm thinking about putting in some salad greens. we also have thyme, mint, 3 types of basil, sage, rosemary, and a baby lime tree growing on the deck.

yum. fresh veggies.

"what have i done to deserve this"

...nothing really but i like this song.

thoughts on being single. i love it. it's safe. it's fun. it's freedom. i think loads of people in my life will applaud the girl who can settle me down. in the meantime it's me-time. there's my complication ladies - commitment scares the [fill in the blank] out of me. great, huh.

so what do i do with me-time? i go on long-ass bike rides and to the gym (when motivated to). i spend my time bouncing from friend to friend to nap to my room to event to person and so on. i read books. i savor doing things spur-of-the-moment. sometimes i take a really long time doing laundry because i can.

long bike rides are a new thing for me. a new thing i am totally addicted to. saturday was one of those days. i was taking a long and leisurely time sleeping-in, coffee with housemates on the deck and laundry. i totally forget about my phone until i see it flashing and there are a bunch of missed calls and text messages. why, because i left my phone on my bed stand on vibrate. it was one of those mornings. jess was one of the texts & missed calls - wanting to get outside to do something. of course i'm game! jess-kelly time is my favorite time. i get out of the house by 12:45 and ride over to her house for a tandem bike ride in the sunshine.

we get on the tandem, fill the tires up at the recyclery and ride over to the esplanade. let the smiles begin! people love us on the tandem. we get waved-at, smiles and people in cars getting really excited about how cute we are on the tandem. amazing. ding ding of the bell for smiles! i like to think it's because we're two curly-haired girls on a tandem bike. or maybe it's just the bike.

we ride down the esplanade, the springwater corridor and down to the Bins. park the "station-wagon-grocery-bringer-tandem" halfway in the handicap ramp. *shrug there's enough room for a wheel chair...if they're not huge. or a rascal but secretly i want to see a super wide person on a rascal attempting to get around the tandem, red in the face with frustration. backing up and forward and back and forward....we decided we could always listen for the loudspeaker asking "whoever owns the big giant bike...could you move it out of the handicap ramp...." luckily that didn't happen.

went through the bins for awhile and found a few things. i might have to see jess in her turquoise running outfit. maybe that could be worn on the next tandem ride. except then i would have to wear something as um, colorful. i might have to re-think that. we see the springwater trail and jump on the trail because neither of us have been over there. surprise - it's awesome. lots of the nature happening. a river of sorts. bridges. in one word - gorgeous. summer spot for sure. we take a route across a bridge and down a bumpy hill into a country club? random. make our way around there feeling lost until we find tacoma. ride over the freeway and down a very steep hill which is frightening on a tandem! especially when you're sitting in the back and not seeing where you're going. eeek.

we head through a neighborhood trying to find the corridor/esplanade and on the way head up a hill. the hill. did i mention the bike is 50lbs? yeah. heavy. so we're huffing and puffing. car's coming at us and we run into a big black truck that's been out in the sun all day. that means it's hot kids. jess took the brunt of the impact to avoid scratching the truck. causing a burn on her arm that she said felt like a really bad indian rub burn. we jump off the bike and what do i do? walk ahead of jess while she's in pain and leading the bike up the rest of the hill by herself. what? yeah, i know. i plead insanity. my reputation of "nice" kelly out the window. yeah, i can be clueless. what. so jess gives me shit, as she should. i feel like an ass. we get back on the bike and look for somewhere to eat. dairy queen! ice cream! that makes everything better. jess shows me how to make dirty things in the ice cream and we laugh about me being an ass while she's in pain and hauling a big heavy bike up the hill. we jump back on the wagon to head back to portland and find somewhere to eat along the way.

We decide to stop at roadside attraction for the patio. sandwiches and beer. i watch jess get more and more tired. meanwhile i'm trying to maintain my energy for the next long bike ride. walk the bike to her place, watch her crash for her double shift and i'm on my way home to meet people in a half hour. legs are starting to burn...

jamie joined cassie and i for a bike ride. remember that i just finished about 20 miles on a tandem with jess. so yes, my second long ride of the day. go me! so off we go! almost the same route: tillamook (street), 7th and down to esplanade. esplanade to springwater and a bit around sellwood. then back. my ass is totally hurting at this point and continued to ache for days afterward. it hurt to sit for long periods of time. so the second ride was super fun. it was mostly riding at a moderate-to-fast pace. we stopped for sushi on the way back. i had grilled tuna because i don't really like sushi. then back home where i took a shower and collapsed into bed. so tired!

it was a great day. i can't believe i was still going! wow.

baby cheesus strikes again

cheesus strikes again and this time they're wondering "how much could we get on ebay for this?"

for previous cheesus reference see my previous cheesus post from last year.

super creepy banker

this face greeted me from my credit union's website. she has super creepy crazy eyes.

Look into my eyes!

YOU WILL BANK WITH _______.

YOU WILL GET A CREDIT CARD.

YOU WILL GET A SAVINGS ACCOUNT.

YOU WILL GET A CD.

YOU WILL GET A LOAN.

Capricious Bearded Sky Fairy

I really enjoy reading the news. What i enjoy more is reading peoples' comments about articles or forum postings on the news sites. this bbc news forum article had quite a few that are worthy of sharing.

articles like this are also fun to read because seeing all those other non-believers out there makes me happy.

A few of my favorite outtakes from these comments:
1. "Capricious Bearded Sky Fairy"
2. "It's rumbly-jumbly nonsense made up centuries ago to pacify the masses when most of us were thick. "
3. "...a bit like harry potter for loon balls"
4. "I don't know why we should listen to this guy just because he has an invisible friend."

A few of my favorite comments:

No, he doesn't because he (or she) doesn't exist. It's rumbly-jumbly nonsense made up centuries ago to pacify the masses when most of us were thick. If it gives comfort, fine, but don't pretend to the rest of us it has any wider worth. Some of the most hypocritical, immoral, supercilious, uncaring and self-satisfied people I come across are those who feel the need to inform everyone of their religious faith (yes, including Christianity), as if this makes them irreproachable. Frankly, Scarlett...
- Neil Hardie, Aberdeenshire

Dr. Williams claims to have some exclusive line of communication with a supernatural entity - "god". He claims to know the will of god. What planet is this man on?
I find his whole "religion" and "god" claims to be without any substance whatsoever. Men of superstition should not be given so much air time.
- N M, High Wycombe, United Kingdom

Well what's going to happen if we accidentally destroy the planet? Who's going to worship him then? Aliens? They're probably smart enough not to waste their time with all that religion.
- Nick, Manchester

Isn't this the same God who plans on sending the vast majority of mankind to eternal hellfire?
If anything, the sadist must be licking his lips over the whole thing.
- Allan Banda, Blantyre, Malawi

lazy blogging

re-post from my [secret] i'm-going-to-lose-weight-and-be-healthy blog.

wow, slacker i am one. when it comes to my blogs. i'll try harder, promise.

let's see, as for exercise. went to the gym a couple times last week. walked around a neighborhood. lifted my fat cat up and down a few times. did some push-ups and sit-ups in my room.

i haven't weighed myself because i'm afraid to, the scale's never correct (i know because i tested it against the one at the doctor's office and the one upstairs) and it's that time of the month so that means i'm retaining lots of water. i don't need to weigh my water weight.

as for this week. i slept monday night because i didn't get enough sleep all weekend. this taking naps thing after work is making me feel old. i won't have time for the gym until tomorrow. i think this weekend i'm going to try to go almost everyday (depending on degree of hangover after friday night). i'm planning on painting the kitchen. that's a workout. dancing is planned for possibly thursday and definitely friday and saturday. sunday birthday = maybe bike ride. monday night is gay skate and more dancing? possibly. this will be the dancing birthday extravaganza.

food. i've been watching that, for the most part. i've been trying to get more veggies in. i'm cooking more vegetarian dishes. i'm trying to drink less beer and more mixed drinks. calories, check. i'm watching my portion sizes. except sunday night i was starving from only having one meal all day [hungover] and ate a big portion of corned beef and cabbage. yum. hangover, solved. oh and last night we had chicken nachos, which was probably not low-fat but very tasty. i had a salad for lunch...which cancels guilt feelings for cheesy nachos.

anti-pc thoughts

thoughts:

those who are so concerned about being politically correct and avoiding the chance they (or someone else) may offend someone often cause more offense and piss off more people than they would had they just pulled their panties out of their ass (and the stick hidden up there too) and said what they needed to say and stop caring so much about this perceived "offensiveness."

i'm obsessed.

thirsty?

another reason not to drink out of the drinking fountains in downtown portland.