My world as I see it

So the other weekend I was biking along the James when i came across a gaggle of canadian geese. I noticed that as I biked by them they were all sticking their tongues out at me. Not only can I not get a date in this town, the damn birds have it in for me too. On second thought, they may have stuck their tongues out at me because I yelled “Honk! Honk! Honk! Look out geese!” Maybe.

I have a hole in my wall. I didn’t put it there. The maintenance guy was searching for the source of the water that has rotted out my baseboards, part of my wall and a good chunk of carpetting. He didn’t find it. The next words out of his mouth were “blah, blah, blah, jackhammer, blah, blah, blah.”
“Excuse me, did you say ‘jackhammer?’” I asked.
“Yes.” Was the reply.
“Shit.” Was my response.

I have now decided I must rob a bank, or go hooking on the street or take up some other kind of lucrative job because I just got the notice for how much it’s going to cost me to have my wisdome teeth removed. Ouch is the appropriate word for all parts of that statement.

Now if you excuse me, I’m going to see how I can turn margarine and some carrots into meals for the entire coming week.

I listen to a podcast called ‘The French Podclass’ and occasionally the um, teacher, has games, contests. A couple of weeks ago he gave out three slang terms used in the South of France and you could email in their meaning, or what you thought they mean. So I did. And I won third place. Wicked, huh? I believe it was last Friday when I opened my mailbox to find a little package from ‘Frenchie Productions’ with a little French book in it. It’s a story with very easy grammar and vocabulary that I can read pretty quickly, at least more quickly then ‘Harry Potter et l’Ecole des Sorciers.’ Pretty exciting stuff. You’re all jealous now aren’t you? Admit it, it’s ok.

This morning I got up at 6 and was out the door by 7 and at the starting point of today’s bike ride by 7:30, started biking at 8. Many (most) of my adventures involve some catastrophe or mishap or stupidity and once again I did not dissapoint. It wasn’t anything too terrible, just missed the turn and biked 2 miles out of the way which means today’s 52 mile bike ride was really 56 for me. Woot. (that was for you, Chris) I also had to walk up a hill. Don’t judge until I tell you about this hill. It wasn’t huge but steep (read ’straight up). I was in gear 1-1 and could barely make my bike go forward. It was awful. Luckily, I was biking on my own and no one saw me hop off and drag myself up the hill with ropes, carabiners and harnesses. Good thing I had the forethought to pack all of that.

I have, however, come to the conclusion that if I plan to continue on with these bike trips then I need to save for a road bike. I believe this involves some serious bargaining skills and a sharp eye for adds for used road bikes. If you hear of any in my area…

That was today’s adventure. Tomorrow’s adventure involves wine and the final game of the World Cup. I know, I know, it doesn’t sound like an adventure but I plan on making it into one.

I hope everyone out there is having a great holiday. My holiday begins as soon as i get suited up for an all day bike ride. Yea for 110 heat index! I’ve been preparing for the crazy heat by not running my AC. So basically, that means I live in an aquarium. I’m going on a bike trip on Saturday and this is my last day to get out and log some miles. I’m packing my phone (I have finally entered mainstream and bought a cell) and my camera so if I see any bald eagles I’ll be ready.

I would like to put up pictures from my vacation but once again, I can’t open Adobe Photoshop. Yar.

Hmm, look at that, nearly 7:30. Got to get biking!

So, sometime in March or February I hinted about a job development and now I can tell the world what’s going on. On March 20, I applied for the job of Textile Refurnisher for Colonial Williamsburg and I found out today that I got it! I will be making and researching the bed hangings, curtains, slip covers for CW and making them. I can’t wait for the challenge, can’t wait for the responsibility. Don’t expect to hear any more though because I’m not stupid enough to write about work on my blog - I read Dooce.

June means a couple of things to me. First on the list is the higher rent I must now pay. I didn’t get a cost of living pay raise so this year will be interesting. Second, it means the air conditioning is now on. Ok, that isn’t directly related to June but I had to turn it on this morning so that I will be able to work tonight. Last night I tried to sew but ended up melting into a puddle and it’s very difficult to sew when you don’t have bones. Thirdly, it means that my one year anniversary is approaching. One whole year at Colonial Williamsburg! The exact day is June 6 and you can be sure I will celebrate somehow. Probably by numbing my pain with alcohol or food or both. Just kidding… no I’m not. Yes, yes I am. Or am I? Lastly, June means VACATION! In about a week I will be heading off to the beaches of North Carolina to hang out, get tan, drink, play cards and basically be a slug. No work for a week, I can’t even fathom it right now. Sweet, sweet vacation. And that is June.

So it’s been awhile since I’ve written about this, I hope I haven’t forgotten any details.
Everything was great in the morning, we saw lots of wild life, lots of turtles, deer, insane rodents. You know, the usual. One of the highlights of the day was the tunnel we had to go through. We though because we could see straight through to the other side that it wouldn’t be too bad, wouldn’t be too long. Oooh, were we wrong. I started out going through on my bike but after I hit a couple of invisible pot holes I decided to walk. Let’s see, how can I describe the tunnel. It was dark, cold, wet, dark and full of pot holes. And it was dark. Stepping through to the other side was great, yea for sunshine. Yea, also, for the large black snake sunning itself on the path just outside the tunnel.
It was about four miles from Hancock, MD that we ran into our first problem, a spoke on Alyce’s tire popped out. We spent a good chunk of time rigging something and then hobbled into Hancock. It was a great moment because just along the path was the bike shop. No searching required thank god. Alyce got all fixed up and we then bought ourselves some t-shirts that had the trail on them. Got to have a souveneir. Once we were back on the trail we were directed to a paved path that followed the trail. That was a nice eight or so miles of smooth sailing with only one mile on the gravel path and then we were at our campsite. We managed to get our tent up before the rain began but we had to cook our dinner (prepackaged Indian food) in the rain. I believe it was around 7:30 when we climbed into our tent and got settled for the night. This is when the real crap started to happen. Thirty minutes after entering our tent the rain started coming through the roof, right along the seam of the rain fly. So we spread a poncho over top of our sleeping bags and tried to go to bed. Right, like either of us could sleep with all the rain falling on us. Oh, and the fact that my feet were in a puddle of water, also my head, and everything else. You can imagine how happy and rested I was in the morning. I think it was eight when I dragged Alyce out of the tent to try to get a start on the day. We ate our oatmeal in the rain - with water from my water bottle because the hand pump at the site wasn’t working. it was not warm outside, it was not dry, I had lost my rain coat the previous day and yet we were still biking. We made it 15 miles in about three hours, that was pathetic considering the day before we had made 68 miles total. The trail was a mess, one big long puddle. Our gear was soaked through from being in the tent and the rain just kept coming. Alyce and I tried to keep up each other’s spirits but it didn’t really work. We pulled off in Williamsport and stopped at the visitor center where hey helped us out, let us store our stuff there while we went to find food.
This is the part where I admit how much of a weakling I am because while we were waiting for our pizza to arrive I called Chris and begged him to drive to Williamsport to pick us up and haul us back to D.C. so we wouldn’t have to slog through that awful rain anymore. And he did! I will always be so thankful he came and hauled our butts away.
Funny thing. While waiting for Chris, a group of six guys came in and they too were biking the trail. In fact, they had stayed at the same hotel Thursday night and had been about an hour behind us each day. Amazing that we didn’t meet up before. They really boosted our morale because instead of deriding us for quitting they were begging to come with us. It made us feel good that if they could have, they would have quit too. Sadly for them, they had pulled in guys from three different states for this trip and giving up was not an option.
By the time Chris came to get us the rain had stopped and we were kind of feeling like we should be back out on the trail but that thought soon left our minds. As we drove south to D.C. the rain picked up and continued the whole way down. We would have been biking right along with the storm. Ew.

Well, that’s my trip. Alyce and I plan on finishing it sometime in July so that we can honestly wear our t-shirts that say “I did the C&O bike trail.”

Well, I think most everyone who reads this site has heard about my semi-successful bike trip. For those who haven’t and who would like to be entertained, here goes.
(This beginning part will be new to all as I haven’t shared this info yet)
Thursday morning I hopped on my bike to go to work. The plan was to leave at noon then go to Alyce’s, pack up and go. So I get about 100 yards from my house when my back tire makes a huge noise and goes completely flat. Much swearing occured. I ended up driving to work and making it just in the nick of time. (A lot occured before that happened but I’m not going to go into a play-by-play of my hysterics) So anyway, my boss gives me the ok to leave at 10 so I can get my bike fixed and still be able to leave on time. (some stressful tears were shed but they did the trick, she let me go) After our third attempt to load the bikes onto the car we finally agree that taking off the front tires is the best option. Oh how silly we were. Yes, they fit better on the car rack but Good Lord are they hard to realign!!!
On the road. Everything went smoothly until we got to Reagan airport where we spent a good chunk of time driving around in circles trying to figure out where the Hertz agency was. I swear they made it confusing just for laughs. Ok, so renting the car and switching gear goes smoothly. We even manage to change our clothes in the car without anyone seeing us. Smoooooth. Since I’m the only one 25 or over (yes mom, I’m 25) I rented the car and drove it. I should clarify, I rented and drove the SUV, in D.C. traffic. AAAAAHHHHH! Some minor panic attacks but nothing too bad. Things were looking good for us until we got on 270 and then we sat. and sat. and sat. Finally we drove off onto the shoulder and took the first exit where we stopped and had dinner. By the time we were back out on the interstate the traffic had cleared - yay! Smooth saily (sort of) until we got to Cumberland, MD and then we learned that the directions that Hertz gave us were WRONG. We finally asked an older couple at a grocery store where the Citgo station was and they actually took us there! How nice is that?! It was better that way as it was pretty tricky. While driving there we passed a Holiday Inn and I put my foot down and said no camping tonight, we’re staying at the Holiday Inn. Best deicision EVER. Much scuffling about and stowing of gear in weird places occured at the hotel but everything was there safe and sound when we left around 9 the next morning. Finding the trail was a peace of cake, it was getting our bikes back together and putting the gear on in the morning that was the tough part. So off we went on our big adventure and let me tell you, it was great.
This is where I leave you hanging because I want to go shower and go to bed. I promise, more installments are on the way.

I went on a great bike ride this evening. The wisteria is in full bloom in Williamsburg so it smells great plus it was in the 80’s today so it was sweety biking. [side note. my sense of smell is much more accute when i’m biking because the air is being shoved up my nose. i can actually smell people’s perfume as i bike by them, even if they are on the other side of the street. i can also smell the airfreshners people put in their cars. and dead fish along the river, smell that real well too.] The only downside to my ride were the billions of little nats that kept pelting me. Near the end of my ride I finally got off my bike to shake all the little buggers off me and when I got back on my bike you’ll never believe what happend. I SAW A BALD EAGLE! It was actually perched in the tree above me and when I started moving on my bike it took off right over my head. It was enormous. I want one. The end.

That’s the number of miles I biked on Saturday. 20, the number of minutes I spent passed out on my floor when I got home. Here’s to hoping that the storms hold off this Saturday and I can put in the same amount of miles. We shall see, not supposed to be nearly as warm as last week so that might make it more difficult, that and the wind. I hate the wind!
And now I must go, quick bike ride before it gets dark. Day light savings, I love you.